Weebleman

@PsBoxSwitchOwner so it's 34.99 and endless monthly payments to use it. Christ alive, you may as well just burn your money

So if you pay the 34.99 to go early and then cancel gamepass, what happens there? Personally I would like to think nobody is suckered into this but alas we all know they are out there

@TheSimulator the information that came out during the FTC trial showed the Spiderman exclusivity deal is dependant on sales numbers. As long as the games meet those targets they remain on Sony systems exclusively.

It's entirely possible that Indy is on the same kind of deal with Disney. I don't know how gamepass would factor into those targets but you can imagine that actual sales would be down due to it being there. I mean, this is all just guess work but it's a possibility.

Edit: let's also not forget MS turned down Spidey before it went to Sony.

This feels a long way from we will not be increasing prices and games will still be available day one.

As always with any corporate mouthpieces, it's what they don't say in their carefully worded statements that speaks loudest.

@lechugajr oh no, you are in fact actually getting it for free.

@BAMozzy jesus mate, log off and have a little break. Your shift key probably needs it at this point with the amount of times you typed the word FREE in capitols.

I mean, I would have saved yourself the effort as you started it with;

'there is a difference between 'Free' on Game Pass for example which is a FACT, despite the fact that 'Game Pass' itself has a 'cost' so not completely FREE in that sense.'

You literally contradict yourself right there. It's painful to read the blind lecturing. Nobody is saying gamepass is bad. They are just pointing out the fact nothing on it is free, no matter how many times you type the word out.

@BAMozzy I mean, stop paying for game pass and see how many of those free games you can play.

Unsurprisingly, when you decide to pay again, you can play them.

Literally the opposite of free.

And while some folks will pay 70 for a game outright, they can play as much as they want without a gamepass subscription. For all the money you pay on subs, you end up owning nothing. There's positives and negatives to both sides but insisting somethings free when it isn't clearly is just silly.

A larger quote from the interview makes it seem increasingly likely for bigger games.

“Our commitment to our Xbox consumers is that you are going to get the opportunity to buy or subscribe to the game, we are going to support the game on other screens – and you are going to see more of our games on more platforms. And we just see that as a benefit to the franchises that we are building. And we see that from players, and the players love to be able to play.”

Judging from his comments regarding Doom and Satya's involvement of late, I would be more surprised if it did stay as an exclusive.

Surely, for a game that relies on a steady frame rate/minimal latency, requiring it to stream assets from the Internet is something you'd want to avoid. Leaving your game play experience at the mercy of folks connection speeds and service providers feels like a recipe for disaster.

I wouldnt be surprised if they announce this as optional and you can install the lot if you want. Then the question of storage size in the series s may come into play.

I imagine this will apply to things like Elder Scrolls as well. Pre-existing franchises going multi platform day one, new franchises - either exclusive indefinitely or timed - is still up for debate.

As long as its better than we happy few. That game was terrible, not to mention a buggy mess at launch.

@Medic_alert completely agree with you. I cannot understand how they landed on those prices at all. Throw the digital X at the same price as the digital PS5, simply just to compete. Absolutely baffling why they wouldn't do that without adding a bit of extra oomph to it.

And 650 for the new 'limited' disc model is simply just stupid.

@Medic_alert I have a feeling the pro model will be the same as the 2tb disc model X.

Solid B for me, but id also add its easily the best of the 3 big shows.

Those pricings make zero sense to me. An extra 150 for an extra Tb of storage? Surely someone must have suggested at least doing a digital series x to match the PS5 digital price point. Even if it just had 1 Tb of storage in it.

Also notice that the disc model is limited in numbers.

I enjoyed the first one and will probably enjoy this one for what it is.

Side note; I am delighted the audio is getting praised as it was stunning in the 1st one.

@Ep_13 glad to hear all is well. Enjoy the last few moments of being able to put them down and they don't move!

@Ep_13 defence force, activate! 😉

Jokes aside, how's the little one pal?

@datamonkey it's a strange concept isn't it 😂

@Gamer_X it's not free though, is it. As if you don't pay, you can't play.

@Gamer_X it's not free though, is it.

One factor folks dont mention is all those xbox players who already play COD and subscribe to Gamepass. I imagine there will be quite a few. They just saved themselves 70 quid and won't increase the subscription numbers.

I imagine there will be very few folks out there who choose to buy a new console over just paying the price for a game, just so they can access gamepass.

I honestly don't see any benefit in this for MS. Although if it is true (and confirmed), then I'm glad they kept their word on the day 1 promise.

@BacklogBrad the catch with this is Sony owns the rights to Spiderman, not Disney. Now the Wolverine, fantastic four, etc. Games they are making, completley different story as they are all Disney ip now.

Edit: Apologies, Sony only own the movies (which they have to release every five years to retain). You sir, are correct.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner the simple answer was summed up by Microsoft themselves. They lost the last gen which was the most important as it is the one where digital took off and folks built a library.

The majority of sales are from casual gamers or parents who simply don't look at it like we do. They spent money and built a digital library on playstation, they see no reason to drop it or buy a second console.

Then the whole 'joneses' reason will come into play as while most of us have both, they just see folks have a PS5, they get a PS5.

If anything of late has taught us about Xbox its until it actually lands on day one, take nothing for granted.

@andrewsqual he had a baby with his other half so hopefully he is focused on that. Although he is trying to create his own brand on twitter so he's multitasking at least.

Id pick a handheld up off them once they get their house in order. At this point it will be safer just buying their games for the deck.

It seems pretty inevitable if you ask me, even without the rumours. It's a niche game many will try and drop off, same as the first one (which I loved, especially the sound design).

Simply isn't going to pull in the numbers they want.

@GamingFan4Lyf 'I do know that price hikes and studio closures isn't the answer.'

On this we 100% agree.

Like you say, we are just spit balling and I imagine (or at least hope) Xbox/MS pay people far better at making these choices than you or I. I just cant see a way out of it for them though.

Either way, I hope they find it. Sony needs a MS firing on all cylinders and vice versa. If one or the other drops out of the race the only folks that will suffer in the long run is us gamers.

@GamingFan4Lyf I think they still have a catch 22 situation in no matter what they do, they will likely lose revenue. Which is what they are trying to grow right now. It's what all companies want dont get me wrong, it's just laid very bare with Xbox at the minute with recent events.

Get rid of the online paywall, lose GP subs that only use it because of that. People who play just COD buy one copy - less than 12 months sub - and that's that.

Put COD on day 1, lose money that the sale would bring.

Don't put it on and we all know those hardcore folks will be cancelling left right and centre. The droves of folks shouting 'pay your 70 dollars for COD, we get it for freeeeee' will be throwing toys left and right, as seen by the recent porting announcement.

Expecting folks to drop a digital collection on a competitor, buy a new console and game just to play online for free simply won't be a choice most make. Some will, but if all their pals are on the console they own, chances are they won't. The majority of money platforms get is from folks who don't frequent sites like this. They will simply pick up what's hot and their kids want.

MS is trying to bring in more cash through Xbox. They have got themselves in a corner where I suppose they just have to opt for whatever hits the financials the least. It's a grim choice either way.

@Altaria_97 they should probably work on just preserving teams of people at this point.

@Lup I mean, the article pretty much has a developer confirming it. So, you know...

Now publish profit v losses. I imagine that's a very different read.

30 is fine if it's a steady 30. I have a large OLED and I have zero issue. I would have liked a 40fps option for the X but it's no biggy for me. Looking forward to it.

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

Enjoyed the first one, looking forward to this one.

Hes had a good run and some great things. Best to go out on a high before the lows keep getting lower.

Price is a big factor for this. They need to sell it at a profit (original series X is still sold at a loss, or at least i havent seen anything to say it isnt) for the business side of things. Removing the disc drive will shave some cost but is it enough to hit the sweet spot for consumers? I dont know.

Like others, i agree this should have been available day one. I kinda like the idea of the two colours, one with a drive, one without, launching together. Would have been clearer than the whole Series S/X name.

@ZYDIO 3rd date.

@UBERSICKO again, this is exactly what i said. Its a limitiation of the hdmi 2.1 it uses . Its not 'fake VRR' which is the nonsense term you threw out. It has VRR the same as xbox but is limited due to the hdmi window it allows it to operate in. Which again, is what i originally said. There is no such thing as fake VRR

I dont understand why you continually repeat what i said originally and then accuse me of not knowing what im on about.

@UBERSICKO I just said that. Its still VRR though. I suggest it is you that needs to do the research my friend.

@UBERSICKO they both have real vrr, just the X has it at a system level rather than the need for developers to implement it. This can allow for a wider window in which it operates.

There is no such thing as fake vrr.

@TheSimulator Its simply not that type of game is the long and short of it. Plus, look at the length of time taken to create what is essentially, at best, an 8 hour game (which this has been confirmed to be). Its a focused, story driven linear title from a relatively small studio. They may push for a bigger franchise one day but i doubt it will be with this as its dependant on the linear style to tell the story.

@Stoned_Patrol The fact you used the phrase ‘pony’s’ to open your comment already let us know what was coming but my god, you really went for the high bar with that nonsense didn’t you.

@TheSimulator I think that’s a very big pile of hope. I enjoyed the 1st game but they already said it’s around the same run time. This is going to be a focused, linear adventure you can finish in a day rather than a grand open plain to explore. Which isn’t to say it will be bad, just that I’d lower those expectations a touch.

We know there was originally a PS5 version being worked on before they were bought up. Its highly likely that it still exists as they dont just delete everything. It might not be being worked on now but its possible that also doesnt mean it aint coming as it isnt being built from scratch.

The games that crossed over were all clearly ready to go before any rumour popped up as well, so basically who knows.