@fatpunkslim that seems unlikely as it was "too big" before.

GOG lists the regular download (not the one click) as 39GB

My first thought after seeing the new was "how big is Fallout London?" too.

@7LORDS the cheaper ones have a USB dangle, so I guess that's where its going.

Thinking about it, with Helix supposedly paying PC games it stands to reason they expect us to be using a keyboard pretty much as standard on it.

My thoughts are...
Dinosaurs Dinosaurs Dinosaurs

I don't think this has much to do with Helix specifically, it's protecting the PS6 in general. If they waited for the PS6 to launch and played this card then many would simply wait them out. Doing it now "trains" the PS gamer on PC that waiting isn't going to work.

I think if PC handhelds hadn't grown as much as they did and the possibility of the steam machine being reasonably priced Sony might have kept its old plan "random PS titles on PC after random waits"

@MrStark Don't get me wrong, you're very right but it's also true that most of the current stuff is change for the sake of change* and largely just cosmetic (new logo, new boot, changing the branding from regular text to uppercase). For a bunch of Xbox gamers it's not been anything tangible yet (besides the welcomed GP price decrease) it feels more like a distraction than stopping what feels like a death spiral for Xbox. Hopefully, once we start hearing about some big announcements (whatever they may be), that negativity (that's not just trolls) will start to disappear pretty quickly. I'm hoping this need feeback system results in meaningful communication between us and Xbox but I also remember the BC title voteing page despite being very active wasn't enough to actually save the BC program.

*I'm not even denying that's probably right move, Xbox has a serious perception problem right now, and not addressing that before Helix launches would doom the new console.

I didn't realise RE:F has been on there that long, I always meant to play it but... backlog is gonna backlog.

At this point, I'm simply not touching another official Xbox pad unless it has hall/TMR sticks, certainly not spending elite money for a pad that drifts

An external drive that could be used on the Series S, Helix, and even PC (if that whole Xbox games on PC thing happens) would be fair solution too.

I took a shot with "Call of the Sea", loved it so will certainly be giving it's sequel plenty of attention.

@Martsmall I'm sorry the not-berry's name is BEN KENOBI?!?! That's even better

I really enjoyed Galaticare. Sure its basically a two point knock off but it's a two point knock off with Matt Berry, well worth the time I spent with it

It's weird has this isn't standard, I know I'd certainly buy more "going to be delisted" titles if they got these sorts of cuts.

I've been working my way through the story on PC, its pretty fun. Well worth 79p for a playable cop show

I'm not really sure she's been around long enough to take any credit/blame for these results.

I do find it interesting that Xbox sales have droped 30% (give or take a few %) every quarter since Xbox went on its global pity parade to get the Activision deal passed.

No stop starting in it's decline, no sharp drop then leveling only to drop, just this consistent spiral of 30% less sales every quarter

I'm glad others have the same reaction as me, if changing the colour of the logo and putting an Xbox sticker over the Microsoft gaming sticker brought them back, what tiny slight made them leave?

It really depends on the remake itself. I just don't care about "the same game with better graphics" anymore. Give me more content, give me "we made it how we couldn't then" or "we remade it to how you remember it being"

It's a recolour. It's cool, gives me weird OG Xbox vibes* but it's a recolour all the same. If it was a whole new design like the Helix one with been seeing, then it might hit harder but this couldn't have taken too long in Photoshop to do.

Tangent, give me a transparent green Series X

*Considering the OG Xbox logo isn't that.

When it comes to exclusivity, I think they should keep their LS games multiformat. There's more than enough competition in that market to justify releasing something like Forza Horrzion on other consoles, every player counts and very few are going to buy an Xbox for these games, they'll just play a different game.

Switch 2 support might also be a good idea, it's player base will understand it won't get "every Xbox games" and if they want Halo they'll need an Xbox.

Some good stuff here, some... eh...

I think the "challenger" mindset is a good call, too much of this gen has been lawsuits, contracts, and business.

More acquisitions could go either way, like trying another publisher would probably be bad, but saving blueprint and setting them loose on the 360 library makes a tone of sense.

I think Xbox needs embrace the AA game, ofcause we need the big AAA titles but they are slow. I mean just look st the yakuza studios output (ignore kiwami 3), they getting stuff out every year, sometimes multiple games a year. Granted there is a lot of reusing assets but hey maybe that idea of building a base to tell multiple stories and experiences etween major releases is worth exploring.

I would love to play it again, but MS declared that having the DLC, a bank statement, the invoice on the MS store page, and actively playing the DLC was not evidence that I had bought it and never sent me a code when the game was delisted.

I'm looking forward to it, I'm not expecting it to greatly change the game, but then again, I was one of the psychos who really enjoyed the base game.

At a grand Xbox is gonna have to do some serious convincing. I got a heck of a decent deal on a 5070 PC for £999 this month, so when Helix rolls around, it is gonna have to prove its worth buying vs just upgrading the components and quite frankly, after seeing how "4K" has had us stuck at 30FPS this gen, I just don't care about that, 1440p seems to be the sweet spot.

I do have some hope, back when Spencer was teasing next-gen, he said about how the new console is aiming to compete via features, not content, which is certainly interesting.

@themightyant yeah, as much as I want it ASAP, I also want them to take their time and get it right for release. I don't want a comeback story, I want it to come out the gate swinging.

Kinda surprised it's not Fable or something, but I look forward to seeing more of Gears.

@themightyant, with how "it'll be ready when it's ready" Inexile has been with CR, I have to assume we aren't seeing that till next year. Regardless of how badly I want it now.

@Sindayl I saw someone suggest that with how small the Xbox share of the pie is, they could have it that first party DLC is free on Xbox consoles/basic gamepass. That way they can still release on PC, PS, and Switch but you have a reason to buy it on Xbox without making g the other versions lesser.

My daughter used it a bunch, mostly playing older AC games.

Personally, I've played all the ones I was interested in, dose Avatar count as Classic? I enjoyed playing that in co-op, but I was also playing Star Wars Outlaws, and if anything is going to take the wind out of a blockbuster Sci-fi IP skin of a Ubisoft sandbox, it's another blockbuster Sci-fi IP skin of a Ubisoft sandbox. Sure, they are different IPs and different types of Ubi Sandbox but still

@Coletrain it's worth noting last time Xbox raised their prices Sony didn't, so this might be that one adjusted for the present problems.

But we must never underestimate MS' ability to find a rake to step on

I wonder how Subnautica 2 being on gamepass plays with their bonus situation.

I get why a bunch of people didn't like SF, Some SciFI fans want to explore only the interesting places in the universe, other nutters (like myself) want to explore the universe.

Sure there might be dragons over that next hill, but sometimes its good to just see whats beyong the hill, dragon or not.

not saying there arent issues with starfield but I enjoyed it alot

There do seem to be pretty wild results. Starfield and Hogwarts look like someone turned a bunch of dials up. It has that AI weirdness, but the results aren't bad. Then, Grace from RE9 seems to look drastically different and added added/boosted make up in a way that looks suspcious side by side.

I think whatever they name it needs to be drop the Xbox when required, like how most people just said "360" they are going into this generation with zero momentum and the Xbox branding isn't a benefit.

Basically for everyone outside the existing Xbox users this needs to look like a fresh start.

if they have the dingleberries, they'll riff on this when the new console comes out "this is a PC" have a picture of a ROG Ally "This is an Xbox" have a picture of a Series X, "this is an Xbox AND a PC" with a picture of the new machine

@TrollOfWar "I wonder if the Xbox Helix will support VR headsets (like the PSVR2)?"

That's a solid point, If it's basically a PC and supports the stuff PC supports, then it should also support VR games via a headset like the Quest 3 or PSVR2.

I'm expecting this to be the Play Xbox games on PC via translation layer/emulation. It's not only going to be a required step for their next-gen plans, AND it lets them pull the same "office is now co-pilot, look at those co-pilot user numbers climb" trick. We wont hear much about the next Xbox sales but the number of "xbox users" combining those on legacy consoles, the likes of the RoG Ally, the Nexbox and PC,

"For those fans who have counted on us, I just want to make sure that we live up to what they expect of us."

I don't know. Like it's good to hear, but these things take years to see how they shake out, and by that point they'll be offering us 1000 devices and saying "we're better, this time, for double realsies this time" I'm very much tired with the whole "next year will be the year"

Give me a roadmap, give me timescale, give me some actual details I can work with, do some faith building now not raising prices every 9 weeks and resurrecting the BC program would be great start.

I'd also save bluepoint and set them loose on the 360 library,

Shame it seems to switch to a battle pass is breaking g community creations in a way having different DLC packs to the creator did but that's only going to get worse over time.

I think they wanted late 2026, assumed 2027, and wil likely end up hoping that 2028 will be better for RAM/Memory prices

I would be shocked if they included their live service games in this. They need every possible player on board to find their whales; limiting their player pool seems insane considering how few of the projects even launch, let alone become any kind of hit.

But single-player games, I expected them to retreat. A) as Xbox has discovered, people being able to play your games on other consoles isn't great for your console sales and B) they have a new PS system coming, they need that to be as attractive as possible vs Switch 2,the amorphous blob that is Xbox's hybrid plans, and straight up buying a PC.

I'm glad KCDII is on GP but man it's dropped so close to KCD1 I'm not ready for it

I'm at the point where I don't have any optimism for Xbox, like I don't have negativity but with the frequency MS steps on rakes I expect any good to be equalled out.

@themightyant Considering all the pricing stuff that's going on, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony lets MS drop the new Xbox and then decide if they are going to follow suit. Letting Xbox drop its "premium" console PC hybrid first will also let them undercut Xbox as the "value" option, just wedge between the S2 and NeXbox, really hit that goldilocks pricing

Man, that's such an AI/How you doing, fellow kids list. It could very well be true but it is very much a pick an "everybody" answer, a Indie, a first party, a classic. A real "please everyone" sort of list.

Not saying its real or not, justthats how it hits me

I don't quite buy the idea that Microsoft would be suprised that distancing Xbox from the console, "this is a Xbox", Pc handhelds, and multiformat titles affected console sales.

There just isn't a universe where an exec looks at the Xbox's console sales and thinks, "yeah, not promoting the console will increase the sales of the console" It had to be perceived as a trade-off: "yes, we'll lose console sales, but we'll gain cloud/GP/Multiformat sales"

Man that "Xbox deserves this." can be taken in very different ways

Knowing the new head isn't from a gaming background, I can't help but read that with a hint of "how do you do, fellow kids" . I'm open to being pleasantly surprised and this being looked back on as the start of some Xbox golden age but we will see.

The fact he and Bond are going at the same time, AND they are being replaced by an AI exec can't be a good sign.

Roadside research sems like one of those games that would be infinity better in VR but man I look forward to checking it out

I mean they keep talking about how "premium" this thing is going to be, I wouldn't be suprised if many of us can't upgrade.

Digital Foundary was saying something similar, between all the low power devices, the current costs of hardware and game developement they're not expecting PS5/XS support to end for the entire next gen.

"potentially even merge Xbox Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass"

I can guarantee this would destory PC subscriber numbers. If they didn't upgrade to ultimate they just aren't interested in anything else, they just want the PC games day and date, they will not accept paying more.