TDHorizon

@GuyinPA75 Whilst I understand what you're getting at I would argue that a budget console like the S is a great idea.

However, Microsoft should remove the parity clause and if something cannot be optimised well enough for the budget version of the console then it shouldn't be released on it.

It's a slippery slope because you want people to be able to afford your console in some form, but then you dont want them to buy a console which only is capable of playing half of the new games available. I'm not smart enough to figure out the best option but at the beginning towards the middle of this gen I think the Series S has held its own.

@somnambulance Elden Ring is my favourite game of all time. I would also like to agree with you that its definitely a contender for game of the generation.

I'm sure others would give it to Baldur's Gate 3. I need to play more of it but I've never found enjoyment with turn based systems or similar. With BG3 specifically, I also got overwhelmed with the amount of options and sub-classes and specialisations and additional skills just within the initial character creator menu. It's a very deep game.

@TrollOfWar I think the opposite. i think they're going back to high budget single player games. The 15 games they canned a year or two ago they had in development were predominantly live service multiplayer titles. And these got canned after Concords failure.

They need to get their studios in line with however Sucker Punch manage to do things. Both Tsushima and Yotei had a similar budget of around 70-80 mil and absolutely killed it in sales and profit. I don't understand why other studios need to have this ridiculous £200mil plus budget. Excluding the superhero games which will have licensing costs, I just cant fathom how the other AAA games are costing the same.

@brn70121 I'm picking up Avowed on PS later this month. I'm not really into Bethesda style games but the gameplay looks massively improved over Elder Scrolls type games which is why I'm picking it up. I played Veilguard and loved it so much so that Inquisition is now in my backlog.

I think the sales numbers are first and foremost hurt by being an Xbox exclusive at least at launch. Secondly, Microsoft have unrealistic targets imposed on their Xbox brand. And thirdly Bethesda have received a lot of criticism in recent years for their gameplay style just feeling outdated, and the general consensus from skimming through online is I think people view Obsidians work as like a lesser version of Bethesda (rightly or wrongly of course I dont know).

@Realist Don't bother, he's always moaning about trophies over on Push Square too. Decides to miss out on great experiences because he's worried about his digital completion list that noone but him will look at.

@darylb24 Which was the hypothetical point I was trying to make. I want you to be able to continue to play on your favourite ecosystem (I'm presuming thats primarily an Xbox console as opposed to Xbox, PC, ROG Ally etc).

Microsoft are going from strength to strength in the software side of things absolutely as you rightly said. The only concern I had was that Microsoft tend to not let the more profitable sides of their business prop up others. So again hypothetically, I was saying maybe exclusives would be good to try and shift for more console units. Reason being is i didnt think they would consider using profits gained from the software side of things to offset any decline in revenue from the hardware side that was all.

Again its all hypothetical and as youve said the OG strategy clearly isnt working. However, they have such a library of IPs now that had they made them exclusive (COD, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Fable, Horizon, Halo, Gears among many others), in my mind there was a chance to also bring the hardware side of things back on par to where they used to be.

@fatpunkslim All valid points for sure. Apart from PS does have good 'console' exclusives in my opinion (As a PS player lol!) It's not just a FIFA machine i promise.

@fatpunkslim There were rumours circulating that PS may have their own PC storefront. Whilst this may be nothing, it may also be their way of not porting future games to Steam and therefore preventing them from being on Xbox. Not confirmed but food for thought.

All of your points are very valid but just because you like all of those features, there are a plenty that don't care about backwards compatibility. Games from the PS3/360 era have outdated gameplay and graphics and particularly the younger generation have no care for.

Mods, apps, and tools. If people cared that much they'd by a PC. Most console players want to press play on a game and be done with it.

Exclusives are still a massive factor looking particularly at Nintendo.

Again, performance increases won't be too noticeable. For the base consoles hasn't Xbox had the most powerful console for the past 2 generations and that didn't move the needle for them as much as they'd hoped. When you watch gameplay comparisons, without squinting your eyes and really taking the time to look, can you honestly point out any graphical differences between the Series X and PS5.

I'm not arguing with you I'm just trying to reiterate that a lot of people aren't overly fussed by the specifics you've mentioned which is why the console sales have gone the way they have.

@darylb24 I understand what you're saying but let's say your favourite place to play is an Xbox because of console features or the controller etc (I'm a PS lifer since PS1 days).

If sales on other platforms were so strong and Xbox consoles were't shifting, Microsoft may decide to pull the plug on consoles entirely. And suddenly if your favourite way to play was pulled out from under you for future generations, you'd be feeling pretty miffed.

Even as a PS player I've always been a strong advocate for Xbox to hang onto their exclusives. Now theyre sitting on one of the biggest and best library of IP's ever, this would be the time to bring back the glory days of the 360 and have real competition with PS.

@Exerion76 I'm definitely with you on movies. I became disinterested in films at the time that the Marvel movies started way back when. I don't think I've watched any TV other than The Witcher since then either. Nothing on tele or cinema interests me anymore. Actually I tell a lie, I watched all of the John Wick films which i thoroughly enjoyed but thats about all i can remember.

In terms of games I have such a massive backlog which I'm clearing and they're a lot of different genres that I have not been bored at all. I've been playing the Mass Effect trilogy for the first time ever and I've been having such a blast I have been playing the sequels one after the other which is unheard of for me.

@Gabrie Yes my main console of choice is PS and it does suck not being able to pick any games up for cheap on CD Keys directly. I have to buy the PSN wallet top ups which are typically discounted to then buy through the digital store. Whereas if i remember correctly a lot of Xbox and PC titles are always offered for heavily discounted prices directly through CDKeys or whatever it is now known as.

@SalaciousCrumb Ghost of Tsushima was made on a budget of 60 million and had a revenue of 780 million. Ghost of Yotei had a similar budget.

Theyre one of the only studios showing how to produce quality and keep costs down.

Yes Insomniac and other studios budgets are out of control but it goes to show that there must be a way of mitigating these 'rising' costs and its for all studios to figure out how they are going to do that.

Horizon series budget between both games was reportedly around 260 million, with a revenue of 920 million. So I think the exclusives are still selling well!

@Lup It would be interesting to see how the recent wave of Gamepass cancellations affected this number.

However, personally i dont think it would have been much. When a solid game comes out (particularly a live service title) thats not on the subscription, people are not going to want to miss out.

@Tasuki Exactly! I havent kept up with them in a while. Are they still making NFT style games too?

@Kezelpaso Personally i'm thinking it might be more along the lines of the Oblivion remaster / remake.

As a Playstation player I would prefer a full remake above all else, but i wouldn't be fussed if they went with the Oblivion style remaster.

@Markatron84 Beat me to it, I was just about to say it was Kel!

@Feffster They all but appear to have given up on console sales this generation but they're supposedly releasing the next one in a couple of years.

They will want to stagger releases still. If it became a thing where Xbox released all of their flagship titles day one on competing platforms then suddenly the PS6 becomes a very intriguing option for existing Xbox owners if they know they'll get the best of both worlds on one system.

@Fiendish-Beaver I don't think Sony fans ever said it has no games, but it had no games other than Gears, Halo, and Forza.

And no matter how much they let on, I think they all appreciate how good those franchises are even if they think that's all Xbox is known for.

@cburg Two kindred spirits! DD2 is my second fave after Elden Ring but I have yet to play the Witcher 3! Its on my list for the latter half of this year.