Weebleman

Its funny seeing all the folks who were saying exclusives are an old mindset and nobody wants them, now saying MS/Asha are making the right decisions.

The gymnastics are dizzying.

Well, this will inevitably be the rumored Ad supported tier coming into play.

Gamepass is the best deal in gaming. Problem is it was to good of a deal. Folks were conditioned to paying minimal and using loop holes to, in some cases, pay nothing. It was only a matter of time before it ate itself.

@Runex2121 yeah I can see that. For me integration would be an option for the stores to be launched within the xbox app, rather than just library integration (if that makes sense).

Windows gaming is notoriously a pain in the rear and I dont want any of that on a console. I know folks will grasp and say they all run windows, but they are vastly different things. A console operating system is not full blown windows and all the issues that brings in the background.

I have nothing against PC gaming to be clear. I just want my console experience to be just that, console gaming.

@FraserG better to hold it off so it has space to breathe than risk pushing it out early and possibly less optimised. First impressions and all that.

@Runex2121 that's all good to hear; However, you originally suggested that it had integrated the stores. My point was that it hasn't done so, and you now say its silly to expect them to. Which is the complete opposite of your original stance.

Im glad to hear you enjoy it though and if its something you dont mind doing, then fair play to you.

@Runex2121 it hasn't integrated those stores. You have to come out of the xbox app, go to windows, load those stores and buy games for the xbox skin to pick up the game in its launcher. If it was integrated then you would never have to leave the xbox app.

When you have to do that on your console, it aint a console, its a PC with an xbox app.

@Martsmall wait, didn't you comain on pushsquare about Jeff grub going on about joypads? What have you got against joypads?

@GeminiX53 This would not surprise me one bit.

The main problem i have - and it seems to be a realisation you have landed on in terms of what the ally is @FraserG - is that its not a console. Its just a PC with a skin. That is the the one thing I dont want. I dont want windows gaming throwing pop ups at me. I just want an xbox dedicated system I can hold in my hands and works like my xbox.

And therin lies my lack of interest for Helix. Once Windows gets involved to the level it will have to if this thing is gonna do what it says, then I am out. I have no doubt it will be a great machine, but I will stick with my series x going forward as it does what I want from an xbox.

I used to enjoy the NBA games, but they have pretty much become one giant loot box (surprise mechanics!) these days that any joy or interest is beaten to a pulp in minutes by relentless purchase options.

Give me a new NBA Jam any day over this.

@GeminiX53 indeed sir, indeed.

@Coletrain I appreciate that my man. I was just a little tired of console warring by someone and the levels of silliness it gets taken to because it doesn't have an xbox brand. Probably more on me I suppose for biting.

All the same, appreciate your kind words and I hope you and yours have a good Easter.

@Kiltedhaggis absolutely. I dont understand why folks who say they love gaming limit themselves from playing so many good ones simply through blind loyalty to a brand.

I think part of the issue, besides the absolute state of the world right now, is sub models in general. People don't buy games as much as they used to because they stack cheap subs, on both platforms, and wait for them to land on there.

I get that people 'try before they buy' but Devs don't get as much from being on a sub as they would if all those folks bought it. Before subs, there either had to be a demo or you just bought them and took the hit if you didn't like it. There were still sales though and that went to the devs.

@TheGameThrifter I think folks in the xbox eco system would stay there because you will get 3rd party game support on Xbox and they have huge libraries built over time. So theres value being there.

However, the main problem now is they can't move the dial on people joining the eco system. Like spencer said, they lost the generation were people built up digital libraries. You can have a wonderful machine like the series x, but people simply won't leave their libraries to start again.

If you aren't getting people in your eco system, and PS will never let them have 3rd parties as it would be a massive financial hit, you offer a PS/Switch only 1st party studio version. If people aren't buying your console to play games, sell your games/sub where they are playing them.

You never know, that might be something we need right now to give everything a boost as both make money off it.

While likely not this particular one, I do think that an xbox studios only gamepass being made available on PS will end up happening. This just demonstrates that it would be a decent amount of titles when you consider the IP's they now own, a good chunk of which already have PS versions of older games. Would be a good move for them to up sub numbers.

I suppose when you buy half of the industry you will get better output. Great for gamers though, especially if you play on all platforms

So basically they will make a PC version and helix will play that? Gotcha.

Best of luck to them both.

@Questionable_Duck I agree, I just feel they should have not gone so hard down the rabbit hole as it leads to the the opposite

Is it just me or is it feeling like they are trying to hard to confirm the whole 'it was definitely 2 weeks' thing now. It doesn't matter how long it took, they are nice little updates and thats all that matters.

We all know it could have been PR or whatever, but they're out and thats that. It feels like they are tipping into a negative to prove an irrelevant point, just to install faith. I wish they would just ignore the noise sometimes. Drop an update and let folks think whatever. The constant drilling folks to talk about how quick they work now is what makes the noise louder.

@jedinite jesus, if you stretch that logic any further mate it may snap. If i buy a game on steam, they get nothing. Not a bean.

@jedinite not when you buy your games from another ecosystem youre not.

@fatpunkslim you arent staying in the ecosystems though. You are using a frontloader app to play games you purchased very much outside the ecosystem. None of which make xbox money.

PC for the premium, laptop for the lower spec

@themightyant I said the same thing a while back. Far less elegantly though, i will add 😂

@Gemini53 I agree. There are definitely folks who will get the most from Helix and I hope it is everything they want from it.

The new app/interface in April should be all good folks like yourself need.

On a seperate note though, its good to see them doing something different.

@Fiendish-Beaver my bad, I meant for 'next gen' games, not all games in general. That would be a wild decision ha ha.

The slide the other day essentially said this would be the case I believe.

@Gemini53 Yep. Similar to the 'exclusives are an old fashioned approach' crowd, who were quickly stating this is an essential approach when it was acknowledged by asha sharma, despite telling us all we were wrong for wanting that previously.

I said when the ally came out that it would be a matter of time until the app came out everywhere. Sensible move considering the position xbox are in and the inevitable move to PC. As I mentioned previously, the whole xbox experience will just be reduced to an app you can get on any PC, along with back compat for games.

I also mentioned a while back that there would be no need to develop xbox versions of games if the new box plays PC versions. Why sink dev costs into it when you already have a version that will work on the device. I was shot down by some folks but, hey, here we are, looking like the future is exactly that.

If you have a good set up (and from what I recall, you are pretty solid on that front), the helix will likely be completely unnecessary for you as, with the app and the back compat that follows, you will already have a next gen xbox come April essentially.

So they're confirming its essentially an app on a custom built PC.

@carlos82 nail on the head there. Its gonna be a PC with an xbox overlay app and back compatability.

@Gemini53 absolutely agree my friend.

Committed to gaming, yet he seems to avoid the word console. They are moving towards PC and Helix is the first step. Happy to be wrong but nothing im hearing is changing my opinion yet.

@darylb24 must have been a heavy few months to go from 'no not at all' to 'im done' in that amount of time eh.

In that same interview, wasnt he asked if he had plans to retire and gave a flat 'no, not at all'.

@Gemini53 Im keen to learn more about this. It will be interesting to see where it sits capability wise on the PC ladder.

The series S is perfect for that isnt it. I loved mine until it went the way of the dodo. As I said, with work travel, it was so great to have something I could throw in a bag and take to hotels with me with such ease.

@Millionski Just to be clear my man, I didnt call this a failure either.

One thing nobody seems to consider, and i highly doubt it would happen to be clear, is what if the PS6 did the same thing. Then you can play everything on the market game wise. Like I say, I highly doubt it, but it would whip the rug out pretty quickly.

On topic though, this is gonna be a niche, high priced device for existing xbox gamers. It isnt going to pull away the PC crowd as their rig will likely already dwarf this in power. The bulk of PS gamers will stick where they are due to their existing libraries, so MS will charge a high premium that will earn from folks already in their eco system. No doubt it will be a great machine, its just not going to move numbers.

I take performance leading comments with a pinch of salt as there is always marketting spiel when these things are announced, simply because they cant say anything else.

The price will be the key here though. Bringing other storefronts in means that they wont be able to subsidise as much because software is where they pull that back. You wont make a bean if everyone uses steam or epic.

Interesting times though and im looking forward to see what comes of it.

Im not sure i would say next gen is upon us. They basically confirmed a rumour (PC games) and gave a codename, which is the only new bit of info we have.

@Banjo- all this is true, yet they still keep raising the price of existing consoles for the very reasons you have listed.

Best thing to do is just wait and see. The whole ram thing may have settled by the time this launches, so who knows

I dont see this being cheap at all, just look at the ally x and if this thing is going to really push things as a PC, its gonna cost a small fortune. Theres no point playing PC games if they all run on the lowest settings.

Then theres the third party stuff, as someone above mentioned. Ive said before that, if it can run PC games, why make a full fat xbox version when you can save money on dev costs.

Now, when you look at GTA 6, which wont release on PC until a usually (much) later date, it could be a defacto exclusive elsewhere for a period of time.

Im excited to see more but i dont really see this being a console in the traditionalsense. I feel it will just be a PC that plays current/older games via emulation and PC going forward.

I still stand by my PC with an xbox app front loaded theory but im excited to see/hear more

@Gemini53 take your family to an unknown location for a minimum of 6 months 😂

@Gemini53 I hear you. Hence my lack of commenting also.

@Gemini53 aye, i comment there but not as frequent as I do here because, as you highlighted, the blinkered viewpoints are in a majority sometimes it feels. Although, as I said the other day, there are some gems in there. Not to say there arent any here, they just feel outnumbered by good discussion.

My usual haunt is eurogamer. I comment less these days but the comments are always worth a read.

@Gemini53 its a wonderful little machine isnt it. Glad you are enjoying it my friend.

@Gemini53 honestly man, ive learnt its best to just glance and walk past the noise.

@Gemini53 I called it my friend. Sad to say but I still see it going that way!

@fatpunkslim Looks like its just the base game after all

Saying they are using the console as a point of reference is very different from saying they will be going back to this.

@Millionski I think the main difference with Sony allegedly pulling away from PC and Xbox exclusives is simply that Sony have, and continue, to sell high numbers of consoles.

Xbox already tried the exclusive route, they tried timed exclusives, they tried day one gamespass and nothing moved the needle. They already sell on pc so if they want to recoup their costs, they are gonna sell on PS.

Yes, holding them back would please long term fans, but they are a business at the end of it all and they wont care.

Asha has said she will look at the lay of the land and reasoning behind the decisions that led here. If she sees that its because finances weren't as projected and pulling from these other consoles will hit her targeted figures, you can bet your bottom dollar they will all continue going over to everywhere.