Weebleman

@Decimateh if you are mainly indies on steam then you could also consider looking at one of the current ROG Ally models. They are cheaper, minimal power difference and the xbox app is rolling out to that as well in the next 12 months. You can do all of the things I already mentioned and likely save yourself a bit of money in the process, as long as you dont mind waiting for the xbox app to update on it.

Same as other folks, im gonna hang for a sale or maybe trade some older titles in for it, but im absolutely gonna be playing it!

Wheres that FatPunk chap who absolutely insisted this was a console, not a controller.

@Ricky-Spanish I know the exact arm dance you mean and I respect you even more for it 😂😂

@Millionski i wasn't replying sarcastically pal. If you read it that way then thats on you. Look, im not trying to convince anyone out of buying one of these, but I am entitled to state the price is ridiculous, as many others have done already. You seem to be going through comments in every article shouting down anybody who doesn't agree with you and your opinion on this.

I dont want to argue with you man, I just think this is not worth the money and xbox being reduced to an app that will be released everywhere makes me believe that even more.

@Millionski mate, im not hating at all. If you think this will replace a PC of similar cost you are dreaming.

@Ricky-Spanish I only just realised thats a shot from losing my religion as your pic. Good work my friend.

Over $1000 for the Ally X with a dock and case is mental.

@Decimateh yeah, its basically a handheld thats running windows. The xbox side of things is just a windows app. You will be able to install steam and use it just as you would on a PC. When you open the xbox app, it will show you the games you own across all storefronts or you could just ignore that and play them straight from steam (if you choose to).

You are more than welcome pal. Hope it helps 🙂

@Decimateh yeah you will be able to access games you buy from steam om it 👍

@EdgarTheBug exactly. With them confirming that the 'full screen xbox experience' is basically just an update of the xbox app, you will be able to side load it on a steam deck or just straight up use it on the older rog models.

@EdgarTheBug in a nutshell, yes. The bonus though is you will be able to set up a steam account, cut Microsoft out, and buy any new games cheaper.

They basically announced the overlay is an updated version of the xbox app, which will be rolled out to all Windows handhelds. This means I can pick up the older model as I hoped and get the same overlay. Good news for me that one.

@InfamousOrange No, available on all platforms

He-Man is a day one for me. Please God let them do Thundercats next!

Little tip for you folks joining the cause, dont buy super credits. They are easy to come buy in the game and you will be surprised how quick you can mount them up. Even if you do want to plunge, play for a bit first and make the amount you need cheaper.

Edit For reference; I have all the bonds and havent spent a penny. Im not on it 24/7 either. If a team mate collects things, you all get them, so you dont even need to be the one picking them up.

They should use Digital Foundrys quote for the cheaper model.

'We aren't quite sure what the point of this is'.

@FarmDog08 Odyssey's setting was right up my street, but I forced my way through Origins when I should have stopped and it just ruined them for me. The setting of this one swayed me and in a way, im glad I had a break as ive loved this one.

AC Shadows is the first AC i have played since Origins burnt me out. Gotta say that, as I hit the 96 hour mark, I have loved every minute of it.

@TrollOfWar this is my thinking also. Ultimately the xbox association with this is simply an overlay skin. I see no reason why it wont be released for all windows handhelds after the initial launch on the new device.

Id be very tempted if it was an xbox handheld. I may pick up an older model ROG if this makes the price of them drop though.

Waiting for the 'secret sony deal' crowd to arrive 🙄

@Fiendish-Beaver completley agree with you my man. Ive seen you shot down many a time, in many an article, for speaking complete sense. There are just some folks who, while good people, just find ways to draw a line from the reality to how they perceive it, despite it being glaringly obvious to all.

@Millionski to be fair, the 'its only old games' was an argument that many folks here brought to the table to move the goalposts following the initial 'its only these games' goalposts.

Its all just tit for tat at the end of the day.

Not had chance to check it out but glad its doing well for Obsidian. Will defo give it a tickle though once I get the chance

@Questionable_Duck cheers man, appreciate the conversation and the points you raised. Always good to have a pleasent debate rather than the usual things these descend into ha ha.

@Questionable_Duck I get all your points my man, I just dont read it that way. Although, I do agree that we will likely see more titles cone over to xbox simply because you can only drain the well so much with what they have, they are a business at the end of the day and we all know they like money!

I just dont think this particular comment is what folks are alluding it to be, if that makes sense.

@Questionable_Duck it absolutely changes the entire context of the statement. Have a read of the article as a whole. He spends a lot of time basically saying that they aren't fussed about selling loads of cameras anymore because gaming, tv shows and movies (creation as he bundles it), makes them the bulk of their profit.

Now, the bit quoted above comes at the end of the speech where he refers to gaming as an individual entity and then moving away from the hardware centric business in terms of the cameras and stuff he discusses earlier, as a second entity.

Basically he is talking about two seperate things that when taken as an individual quote puts it in a muddy context we now see.

@Questionable_Duck thats not what he says. Heres the full quote.

"And as I mentioned in the speech, in gaming business and moving away from a hardware-centric business to more to the community-based engagement business, and then that has been increasing. So, now as we make more transition to entertainment creation, the stability and the productivity, our performance is increasing. So this upward revision might not have been a direct result of these. However, the music Publishing and also acquisition of a music catalogue and also the acquisition of Crunchyroll, these are the areas where we are seeing growth. And as a portfolio, we have been expanding our businesses and also improving our profitability.”

He says 'in gaming business AND moving away from a hardware centric business'. He doesn't say 'in the gaming business we are moving...' as you state.

He is talking about the company moving into creation more than hardware in terms of cameras, etc... @FraserG highlited.

The whole article is out there but its a wordy one, be warned.

@Coletrain massively appreciated mate. Ive been looking at these and steam decks for a while (for all the benefits you listed) but never plunged. I was watching these to see what the price does when this new model drops. If they get a discount I may well plunge as I imagine the xbox skin will likely pop up as an install on most models with it just being a general overlay, so I'd be happy at a decent price. Thanks again man.

@Fiendish-Beaver yeah, I was just gonna post this. The article is extremely misleading as it is taking a tiny portion of the quote and using it out of context. The actual quote is just reiterating that Sony no longer makes most of its profit from hardware across the company as a whole, and the likes of TV shows, movies and games make up 60% of revenue.

That's not to say we wont see more titles coming over, likely we will at some point, but that absolutely isnt what's being said in this conversation.

@Coletrain appreciated my man and good to know. I didnt even think of the battery side. Do they run everything alright? Im not fussed about having all the bells and whistles graphics wise. I was listening to the giantbombcast a few weeks back and jeff grubb was saying it was a pain for signing you out of things and stuff. How do you find it?

@Gabrie @Millionski the xbox full screen thing (i agree, terrible name lol) will just be an overlay linking to all the other stores in the background. As the ROG is running windows its likely gonna be modded in days to run on them all 'unofficially'.

Im more curious that if I can basically do the same thing on a cheaper ROG, which is highly likely, I could be swung on the older model.

Although I have heard that they are a nightmare to manage in terms of updating, etc... so it would be nice if they figure that out with the overlay but I doubt it.

@Millionski will be interesting to see benchmarks of it running with and without the xbox skin. If it has minimal impact, it might be worth picking up an older (see cheaper) ROG and just downloading the skin, as I imagine it will be mere days before someone has it running on them.

Looking forward to those of you that couldn't previously play getting to enjoy this. Its a blast with pals and even works with random.

@kmtrain83 its a rog ally, not a handheld xbox. You can access any storefront you want. You just need to install it.

Hes lost some pounds has phillip. Looking trim and well.

@Sol4ris I am unsure of both your point and why you took this to be me PPS5ing anything.

Mate.

With folks building digital libraries, its harder to get folks to 'jump ship'. Xbox likely knew folks wont walk away from a library of games they've built over two generations and brought games to the eco system those players are in. While the xbox eco system may be smaller (xbox, not Microsoft as a whole), it makes business sense for Sony to do the same as folks wont simply drop years worth of games to start again, despite the initial wobblers of the vocal minority.

If this means we all continue to get games to play, we should be happy. Its not like the consoles these days are vastly different anymore. Where we choose to play is less and less relevant.

@Millionski this is true, but even in that range it means zero growth.

For the record, im not saying Gamepass is bad, its the best value out there for games if you want the big day one hitters.

Microsoft on the other hand are a gaggle of horrors that run people and companies into the floor while they chase a quick bit of profit. Same as every other corporation out there.

@Sol4ris on xbox, yes.

@Millionski if the price is higher then thats less users as it will divide into a lower amount.

I do agree that most people use loop holes and upgrades to stack, and i agree that folks should if they could, but that wont be the casual market doing that. The majority of people who would use these methods are folks like you and me who read websites like this. There are only so many of them out there. Its the casuals that are the majority, not us.

@Coletrain as with all these companies, they throw big numbers out in a way that sounds amazing but dont paint an accurate picture.

They basically cover off everything they provide by putting it under the microsoft banner. Had they said 500 million MAU playing games then that would be serious stuff. They are just talking about folks using their products which in perspective, is what you'd expect when they own one of the biggest operating systems

@Gabrie If you break the 5 billion down as others have highlighted, it comes to around 28 million users. In Feb 2024 GP had 34 million, so its actually a decline.

In March 2023 PS Plus had 47.4 million users. While these have likely dropped, its still highly possible they hold more subs than GP. it would be interesting to compare revenues over the same period.

Short version being PlayStation may not need to give an arma and a leg for a service like GP.

@Coletrain this number will include anyone logging into any product they own. Windows, mobile games, you name it.

Folks need to learn that Microsoft numbers and xbox numbers are very much different measures.

@Ricky-Spanish I would be very surprised if the rog ally increases subs as its a pretty niche product. I imagine existing users will pick it up more than new users.

Plus we really need to be clear that its not an xbox handheld. Its a Windows handheld with an xbox skin over it. Folks going into it thinking otherwise will get a bit of a shock otherwise.

Edit: hope that didnt come across argumentative, wasn't intended if it did buddy.

I much preferred the times when we cheered for the games instead of the financials of these companies.

Foamstars revival incoming.

What an utterly bizare and tone deaf thing to put out. Thanks to those that left. They didnt leave, you fired them you plum.

Im not sure why folks are saying this proves gamepass is on the up, or proving others wrong when we cant see the split. For all we know Gamepass could have dropped numbers and the surge could be from the two better selling platforms giving numbers a bump.

I absolutely think the switch two would have bumped the figure more than gamepass or ps plus.