Titntin

Given the current situation, price rises were inevitable, but given MS are a big part of the problem with 'AI investment', Its hard to be too sympathetic.
I think it was a little callous to raise our hopes of XBOX resurgence when they had this and the lay offs and closures coming. Surely it would have been better to get this and the closures done first, and then start to rebuild faith and strive to strengthen the brand?
I hope this doesn't kill all the momentum, but I do think selling XBOX will be a lot more difficult task now...

@Quaali Cause your making more plastic waste that will eventually pollute the planet for no reason - it will have a shed load of downloadable updates in short order anyway, so the disc would never have a complete game on it anyway - those days went a decade ago.

PC gaming is all digital and has been for some time. Helix is gonna be a PC. The days of discs on Xbox has been numbered for some time.
I'm perfectly happy that millions of plastic discs and cases will not be made and transported all over the world just to be a key for a download anyway, if that's the result.

Excellent. Not in a rush to pre order, but I will likely be playing this on release day.

@Krzzystuff You'll miss nothing by keeping your current machine for at least the next 4 years while this all plays out and we get answers instead of cryptic suggestions. Whatever launches, it will be very expensive as hardware is simply very expensive to source, if you can source it at all. For anyone looking for just one machine to play, sticking with what you've got is definitely the smart choice and everything will be made for the current generation for at least the next 5 years.
Only idiots like me , who have spent their entire lives buying every gaming platform will bother paying Steam hardware prices to play old steam games. But I'm pretty excited to do so - lovely little box for what we want in this house.
I'm also excited to see what XBOX has cooking, but at the moment its just some empty words and will remain that way untill we get specs and pricing, so I'm content to wait on Helix.

Its very clear to me that Helix would cost significantly more. Though I'd suggest a delay would be appropriate, they need a new launch to help save XBOX, so its a difficult situation.
Its clear Steams Machine was built to a price point that simply melted away with the current hardware price issues... They could either redesign a new idea for launch in maybe 4 years time, or they simply launched with what they had, even though they realise the pricing is very 'difficult'.
As I play all the 'latest and greatest' on PS5 pro or Series X I'm not so bothered by the performance on the latest titles. My interest is in playing the smaller steam games I've missed in the last decade on a cool silent box under the TV without windows, so for me, the Steam Machine is still a viable option and I'm waiting in line to buy the 2TB bundle. Hope I'm one of the lucky ones.
Once Helix is eventually here, I can recalibrate and decide if I want to upchange or not - as long as Helix plays steam games, my investment is protected. If Helix doesn't play steam games, I was never going to buy it anyway.
Interesting times!

I cant disagree with him I'm afraid, game pass is and has been bad for the industry. In my case its also becoming irrelevant and once I run out of GPU, I will not sub again - its simply cheaper to buy the odd game I need an xbox for. I'm glad there are some exclusives again as I wouldn't even need my Xbox any longer if there were not, and I've always had and used an Xbox. Sad fact is the PS5 pro is clearly the most performant console and plays %99.9 of the titles. Xbox needs titles like Fable to be exclusive, but at this point most of us would simply play these one or two titles on a PC.
Its a horrible position they are in and I hope and wish Sharma and new team can turn it around, but I highly doubt it.

This does look amazing. I was a little underwhelmed by the first thing I saw from this game, but since then everything I've seen shows that this is the technical tour-de-force you would expect from The Coalition.
I'm not a huge gears fan, but I am eager to try this out as soon as its released.
@Sol4ris Completely agree with you, its just one more of the baffling unjoined up decision making that seems to be happening ATM, but I wont let that sour me on what will be a great game I'm sure. Hopefully it will sell really well on Xbox and on PC - The coalition deserve to see this game get great player numbers and make lots of money.

@themightyant Xbox fans haven't exactly kept their business afloat have they? Listening to the frothers is a bit like taking notice of posts on X - you can be a hero in a forum for a few weeks, but your business will not move a jot.

@themightyant Yeah, the deep dives turned me into a believer I reckon I can get some fun out of this...Though I don't get why they'd make it exclusive when its one of the games they most definitely need to get some money back from. NVM, I'll be there day one ( or day 4 or 5 as it seems to be these days).

More Dev's pay for Microsoft's staggering incompetence at managing studios.
Last game I worked on for MS was 18 years back and it was nice that they left us alone, but at the same time ridiculous, and they have never changed.
With these cuts and keeping just the bigger franchises, the Xbox output becomes a much less rich experience, and much less appealing imo.

This is why industry consolidation sucks. MS pled they would not lay off teams or close studios when they were buying ABK, but they have already made huge cuts and will do it more. They should never have been allowed to buy these studios to start with and the studios could have had a lot more say in their future or made more promising deals.
All the promises in the world mean nothing at all if you are actively cutting the Devs that bring software to your format.

@StoicSlab Happy you are so chuffed mate! To be fair I'm delighted that they had such a deep dive afterwards, as they showed lots more stuff including many more impressive scenes and it became clearer how they had updated the game.
Having now caught up with the deeper dives, I'm much more excited to play the game - bring it on!

It does astonish me that nobody is talking about the game, and just where its published instead?
I get its a big thing to finally get some exclusives back (I'm all for it).
But having waited for a good look at this title, am I the only one a little disappointed in this games presentation? It really doesn't look like the game has moved on from earlier iterations and I was kinda hoping its tech and presentation would blow me away. Maybe just more of the same is enough, and I'll be there day 1 to find out of course, but the game did not look as amazing as I had imagined it would. Am I the only one thinking that - was everyone else blown away by the game?

@LeonR I kinda agree with you, but shipping more product is a sign of a turn around as stock has been so low in lot of countries. You cant sell without stock so it at least signals an expectation of more sales!

It was a good show full of good games, and good to see Lucy back on presentation duties.
Geoff has been listening to feedback and has slowly been adjusting to get the format right. But most important was a bunch of game announcements most of us care about.
Now bring on the Xbox show!

I'm surprised so many people are so upset about 2 days? If this is a Sony thing it seems pretty stupid as most of the games playing world ain't gonna care over 48 hours? We usually wait longer than that for a game to be 'day one' on game pass..
Either way, it seems a strange call to me, whoever made it.

@Sol4ris Yes mate - I wouldn't go hunting them down, the series would be better if they didn't exist! 🤣
Still, this new one is shaping up to be great one...

I often use it, but I've had a few issues. Great when its working.

Its not offered by other formats as Microsoft patented it, or I'm sure they would have followed suit as its a great feature

@PhileasFragg

That's unfortunately the state of gaming now. So much dev costs its tough to invest in an unknown entity.
The issue affects all platforms though: Fable will be the 9th game with the title, I'm playing FH6 right now, Gears is hardly a new IP. Same with Nintendo who milk their IPs for ever and pretty much set the standard template on making as much as poss from your game ideas.
Fortunately many IP's develop and get better over time, and even those that don't are often still fun to play.
I very much enjoyed the show and look forward to seeing the Xbox show soon. Good time to be a gamer, especially if your multi format.

@somnambulance Family always first mate! I've no kids, and wife is over 100 hours into Crimson Desert herself, so no pressure on me to do anything "useful"! 😀

@somnambulance I've got 300+ in Crimson Desert so I understand playing a game almost slavishly. It is a lot of time mate, but in my case I've just retired so that's why I have it.
I'm really sorry for anyone who's lost data this way. I had a few issues early on with quick resume when the feature was introduced, so I try and avoid using it for the main part. Same with PS5's much simpler version (just put machine in sleep mode and it boots up where you were) - that can cause issues too with some games so I try and avoid it there too.

I'll be watching with my wife, who's also very keen to see what's coming. I'll also be in the chat on this site as I like to hear what people are saying and chip in with my own random thoughts. Looking forward to it!

Plenty of stuff to look forward too this summer - for a fan of any system!
Microsoft has lots of great stuff coming, so we are bound to get a good show.

Thanks for the heads up! This looks worth some time for us, so I'll try and find some time for it

Excellent. It deserves the sales, its a good game...

I suspect Crimson Desert will be my GOY. FH6 is a fantastic game, but its more of the same rather than an evolution, so I doubt it would be up there for me.

I've actually stepped away from Crimson Desert for a few hours at a time! Though I cant wait to go back.
FH6 tempted me away and I've been enjoying it loads. It perhaps a shame that it sticks so closely to the FH5 template, but when the templates this good you cant help but enjoy it.

Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!

@Millionski I thought I'd become a 60fps snob too. But try FH6 in graphics mode and it honestly hard to see why.its super smooth (with low motion blur) and feels perfectly responsive.
Maybe that's just me getting old. But maybe its me realising that I cant stand pop in and soft images and I'd rather play 30fps these days than deal with those issues.
One of the amazing things about FH5 on PSpro was playing in 60fps without the pop in that plagued that mode on the Xbox. It made me realise that pop in was no 1 enemy and I'd sacrifice FPS to reduce it - as long as the 30fps was super stable

@Millionski I get it mate, it not easy to see the best way forward as the dynamics are always changing.
It was clear to me though that putting your games on your biggest competitors system and then stating 'you don't need an Xbox' as an advertising campaign was likely to increase the demise of your sales, and that has come to pass.
I play more on PS than Xbox and prefer the controller layout and have two ps5 pros, so I can handle the way they were going just fine. But I want MS in the game and I want reasons to use my Series X from time to time. Everyone benefits when theres decent competition and I'm delighted there is a fresh wind blowing through Xbox.

It would be great to get this in early September! If they get it right, I'll play this over GTA 6 anyway 😀

Of course the fact that Xbox is going full PC for the future is the biggest factor in their decision. Almost every media outlet covering the ROG ally, including this site, pasted screens of it playing Spiderman, because having access to those games was seen as a great selling point.
Sony make games to encourage people onto the ecosystem - letting them play on the competitors system is clearly not a clever move. Everyone here must surely agree judging by how so many are crying out for exclusives again the moment they got a chance too. Sony need to protect their exclusivity as much as MS should have done - and we can see clearly how that's affected sales of Xbox and been a detriment to it. Its the clever move to make, and had the roles been reversed, its the move I'd expect Xbox to make too.

Gotta be worth trying on GP! No hiding where it got inspiration for its shooting mechanics, but copy or not, if they got it right, I'm sure to enjoy

Whilst I'm happy to see more changes being made and an obvious renewed focus on the console business, I'm not sure that announcing a few more top end bean counters reporting to CEO's is quite the revelation the brand needs. But I hope they can be part of the team that turns things around.

Remnant 2 is well worth a look. It can get difficult for an old git like me, but was worth the effort. I already own it. Nothing else for me, which I'm afraid is often the case these days.
I am enjoying FH6 mind you, so plenty to be happy about this month, but I should scrap GP membership and just buy my titles - its cheaper for me.

I do find it amusing how many people went with the argument "exclusives are a thing of the past and absolutely not where a progressive company needs to go". Many of the same people are seemingly desperate now to get exclusivity again! I suspect many people simply want 'exclusivity' because they don't want to see MS games on rival systems, mainly from pure tribalism, as its surely too late to change this gens fortunes.
My opinion on this has not changed, Xbox needed some exclusivity to ensure that their console survived. Not so sure that's as important anymore as they have now have a bright PC future, whatever they call it.
The only issue I see, is that going multiplat was a decision based on the lack of profitability of the studios if they did not sell on other platforms. Were they to introduce exclusivity again, there would be a knock on effect for these studios and investment in them and support for them will be much less if they bring in much less money. Its a carefully line to tread. It will be interesting to see how they square that circle.

@GeeEssEff
Thanks dude - that's good to know. I stayed in the supplied cars rather than any of what they gave me, so I wasn't aware! 👍
That does indeed make progression feel better if they don't allow you to use the super cars. I've always loved these games and though I've only gotten a few hours into it, the same pull is there and I can tell I'll be obsessive in trying to do everything.
One things a shocker to me, I left it in quality mode and haven't had an issue playing it! I did notice 'pop in' on performance mode in the last game, which I wished to avoid with this one. It'll try performance on my next session, but can anyone advise how they have found it? Is there noticeable pop in again?

I follow the comments and peoples thoughts with interest.
But when all is said and done, new or not, having a forum to listen to and possibly respond to fans inputs has to be a good idea - no matter who thought of it.

Theres loads of PR fluff happening of course, but ultimately since Sharma has been on board, there are growing signs that Xbox can stop the rot and grow to be the powerhouse we know it is.
These are positive moves from team green and we should happy to see them happening.

I actually stopped playing Crimson Desert today to start a game of this. Best looking entry in the series for sure and I'm likely to have a lot of fun with it.
I was hoping they had listened to feedback and actually gave you something to work towards and a reason to work for cars, but no, the very first race I finished I was given 6 top end cars, one each for the previous FH games I played and one for Motorsport. I guess they just couldn't help themselves, but it spoils the game and gives this game the same problem as no 5 did. Still the script and acting seem a touch better than before, but still very last gen. Fortunately I like the exploration and racing in this series, so while It has little invention of new ideas, when the racing and exploration is this good, its still a great game! But I'll be back on Crimson Desert tonight - I'll let my wife play FH6.

This is faffing about for the sake of it. Nobody really cares and it makes so little difference to the brand.
Launch a new game initiative, change the current GP line up of plans, but don't gaslight us with such nothing and expect us to swallow it. Pleased they reduced GP prices, but lets do something else that itsnt blatant PR with no substance.
Mr Burns: "They are like trained seals - throw them a fish and watch them slap their fins together"
Change what matters...

I'm like a broken record at this point: - its Crimson Desert. 251 hours in and my interest is not waning at all. My wife is now playing it too (we have two tellys in the living room and multiple games machines) and she's 70 hours in now and enjoying it just as much

I've not been able to make time for any other game , but I'm very sure I'll take time out on day 5 of the Forza launch when GPU finally gets it. I intend to play it lots!

Whatever you are playing, I hope your weekend and week is fully of fun and laughter!

I thought it was fantastic, but I do enjoy theese style of games (like Edith Finch or Everyone's gone to the Rapture).
This childish idea that it must be to my tastes or its cr@p, is much more prevelent now as we continue to devolve. Kinda appropriate I guess as it opens with a Devo track, and that's exactly where their name came from. They called it early and its now so obvious everyone can see it.

Still cant stand the 'day 4 on GPU scam'. If people wish to pay, I guess that's their perogative.
I hardly touch Game Pass these days, paying on top of the sub to get it on the real day zero is not something I would ever do. I'll play it when it drops late on the so called 'premium sub'.
Looking forward to playing this though - maybe it can prise me away from Crimson Desert which is such a huge time sink!

I'm still completely engrossed with Crimson Dessert after countless hours (200+ at this point).
I'm on GPU of course, but I've bought Mixtape as well (support small Devs) and want to make time for that this weekend.
How I'll find time for Forza soon is anyone's guess, but its a nice problem to have...

Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you enjoy it!

Crimson Desert has taken over my gaming and I intend to continue. 172 hours and loving every one of them.
I will take a break for Saros, and I'm looking forward to FH6 on Game Pass too, but its really hard to find time for all the titles that deserve a little playing!

Whatever you are all playing this weekend, I wish joy and happiness to you and yours..

Unfortunately, this is the reality and where they have steered their business to. No nice press releases and shoe gazing is going to sort this out, the business needs firm positive actions like the GP price drop and the noises they are making suggests they may do, actions not a charm offensive. They particularly need to stop Bethesda releasing games which are a broken mess of bugs, that tars the whole brand.

We are seeing signs they have what it takes to turn this around, and I very much hope they do. The business needs Xbox.

I suspect about 85, as it seems like another iteration rather than moving the needle too much.

I'm a huge fan so its an easy 9/10 for me if it delivers what they say and I will be there day 1 on GPU. Or day 4 as is so often the case with big releases...

Crimson Dessert again I'm afraid. Got 130 hours in it and feel like I'm barely started!
It'll take small breaks to play Saros and Forza Horizon 6 when they release, but I suspect my time is taken for many more months.

Whatever you are all playing, I do hope you are having a great weekend!

Pretty - I like it a lot. Delighted they are keeping the Xbox name and pushing to expand it.

That's fantastic news. It was always clear that the previous rises were unsustainable, so this is exactly the right thing to do!
Hopefully, this will restore many of those who cancelled and maybe help attract newcomers...