antstephenson

According to Wikipedia Xbox Series are at 12m Vs 17m for PS5.

That's respectable recovery for Xbox for now... but once PS sort out their inventory availability, I expect them to stride into the distance.

I do think Xbox need to go MUCH heavier on marketing... whilst I always see TV and web adverts for Sony games, I never really seem to see any marketing for Xbox.

A heavy marketing campaign for the Series machines and gamepass would definitely help Xbox for both now and the future.
But they really need to do it now... while Xbox's are available and PS are not

I would play Project Gotham' and Blur... but they aren't available and probably never will be 😓

You know what... Hue and Another Sight look like they could be fun to play.
A mix of indies and oldies is fine for Gold... and keep the premium stuff for GP. Makes sense to me.
Gold is better some months than others for sure... but I swear some people come and moan without even checking out the games 😆

@mousieone

I don't think they charge for it (ps remote play)
All the info I see on it is a bit vague or contradictory... some places say you have to be on the same network as your PS, whereas others say you can play from anywhere in the world. I think not all games work with remote play either.
To be honest, it all looks a bit of a faff for limited functionality... Xcloud (though not perfect and only available as part of GPU) looks a much better proposition.

@mousieone

My understanding... which might not be correct... Is that PS Remote Play means you can play on PC or on Mobile, but... your device has to be on the same network as your PS.
I'm more than happy to be corrected on this 🙂

@LtSarge

Or...

What if GPU comes DOWN in price, but loses EA.
And they have EA+Ubi as the extra tier(s).

Would be interesting to see how that works out.

@Kezelpaso

Cheers, that's what I thought... but seems weird that nobody is mentioning this difference in their comparisons of GPU and PSPE.
Almost like xcloud is getting forgotten about or its value proposition overlooked.
No big deal, but I think it's definitely worth highlighting as a difference 👍

Regarding "PlayStation Plus Extra Vs. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate"...

GPU includes Xbox Cloud Gaming, whereas PS doesn't have directly comparable product... am I correct?

That is a big win for GPU over PSPE (if I am correct).

So, here's the thing...
I'm kinda fine with the non-upgraded version... and I can store and play it from my cheap external SSD.
But now it will automatically upgrade to XS version... meaning I'll have to move it to internal SSD to play it.
Am I understanding this correctly?
My internal SSD space is at a premium and I am trying to put off buying the expensive Seagate SSD.

Most likely:
Streaming stick (or puck).

Less likely:
A full size Xbox fridge.

In our dreams:
A handheld Xbox

In the dreams of perverts:
Xbox vibrator and a Phil sex doll.

The original Chime game needs to be resurrected.

Just to balance out some of the negativity... I'm enjoying the game.
Loving multiplayer... haven't gone too deep into single player yet, but all seems good so far.
Yeah, I'd like some more MP maps, but I'm happy to wait... Glad the devs got a break.

Have got back into Apex Legends for some reason.
Also... I was initially a little underwhelmed by FH5... However, I have tweaked some of the settings and am finding it much more enjoyable.
Tunic and GotG added to my backlog.

I think Ben's article is spot on.
Yeah, I'm already itching for some more maps and modes... but I'm also happy to wait, as I'm still having fun with the current stuff.
It really hasn't been that long since the release and in happy the devs have had a break.

"Xbox Wants To Provide A 'Steady Flow Of Great Games' Moving Forward"...
and I want a meaningless, but fun, night of passion with Shakira and Salma Hayek.
But both scenarios look slightly doubtful at the moment 😆

In all seriousness, I think we'll actually be getting closer to the future generation of consoles before Microsoft's studio acquisitions bear substantial fruit on a regular basis.
But, it's ok, I'll wait 👍

I'm guessing we'll see a Digital X in the next year or so and an X Pro a year or so after.

@FatalBubbles
That's interesting... Seems to be a divergence between critic scores (good) and user scores (not as good) on metacritic.
I remember key gaming sites giving it superb reviews, but seems gamers aren't as enamored.
Still, as I have a subscription I'll be giving it a go... Nothing to lose.

Need to hear something about Forza Motorsport.
Will be interesting to see if they're ready to go with an autumn/winter launch... or, whether Sony's GT release has MS scrabbling to add to, or improve, the game before release.
Wouldn't be a good look to release later than GT with an inferior game.
Hoping that's not the case and we get some racing goodness coming to gamepass this year.

Starfield in-game footage has to drop in the summer.

I think Deathloop should be coming to gamepass as well this year (not a new game, but new to Xbox and a win for gamepass).

Hoping MS have something surprising tucked up their sleeves... but I think (outside of what I've mentioned above) big exclusives will be 2023 or beyond... maybe they can tell us what decade the new Fable will release in 😆

@Kezelpaso

I'm a little shocked you can't see the difference in the visuals from 2019...
Either you are playing on a very small screen or its time for a trip to Specsavers 😜
I could really see a difference with the green JCW mini, and the San Fran circuit (both of which I could directly compare with the 2019 game).
Seriously though... It might be time to get your eyesight tested.
I had amazing vision for years, then one day I noticed a James Bond film at the cinema looked a bit soft and I was having trouble reading the airport departure board from a distance... now I'm wearing varifocals and I'm blind without them 😆

@Kezelpaso

I haven't finished the story and campaign yet, but the Race Creator gives almost infinitely customisable options, so that gives enough variety and utilisation of the new content for me
Regarding comparison to 2019... well it feels both the same and different (I think the handling is a bit more forgiving).
But this is bind for any game in a series... don't change things and people complain "it's more of the same"; do change things and people complain it's not the game they know and love.
I think they got the balance about right here, with just enough change to improve and freshen, whilst keeping some of the vibe of the previous game.

This definitely isn't for the GT/Motorsport/Assetto/Project Cars crowd.
But for those looking for a fast and fun racer, it's pretty nice

For those on the fence and not wanting to risk the cash, it'll come to EA Play/Gamepass eventually... will be a great value addition when it does 👍

I like it!

I have to take issue with the review, as there IS enough to differentiate from the previous GRID... Story mode, more tracks, jumps, drift, electric vehicles, improved multiplayer etc.

Out of the box, the handling is VERY forgiving, but there are options to tweak various aspects of the handling to taste (as well as the AI difficulty).

It's fun!
There's a yawning chasm between the fun, fast and loose Forza Horizon and the serious (and a bit more dull?) Forza Motorsport.
This game plugs that hole nicely.

Some of the street tracks even have me a PGR4 vibe.
How I've missed PGR - the love of my gaming life!
GRID Legends ain't quite PGR, but it's as close as we're probably going to get and it's close enough for me.

@Nightcrawler71

Yep, I've been a little underwhelmed by FH5 (I loved FH4).

@Medic_Alert

Completely agree... I'd rather they added a good quality old game than something borderline unplayable like Crossfire X.

I think studios are now finding there are limits to what gamers will tolerate.
We all know (these days) that games will have some minor issues at launch and expect the devs to address them reasonably promptly.
But, increasingly, games have been released in very bad states, with the studios hoping the players will suck it up until they fix them.
I think Crossfire X and the latest Battlefield have shown gamers have reached their limit in tolerating shoddy releases... We would honestly rather wait and get a game that is in a playable state.
I know the studios rush the releases to get revenue in the door... But that is a short term strategy and they will lose goodwill, lose reputation and lose future sales, doing untold long term damage.
Whilst I'm not a fan of MS or PS buying up studios, at least they might exert some sort of quality control over their releases.

Honestly, I would just pull Crossfire X from gamepass (at least for now).
It's been s*** show at the f*** factory and doesn't reflect well on Xbox's (otherwise generally excellent) service.

@Dezzy70
I completely get what you're saying about triple A. However, there are some indies out there which will surprise and delight... I unexpectedly got a lot of joy from playing Lake on gamepass recently (great if you are in the mood for something very chill 👍).

Already uninstalled.
The controls ain't great and it feels a bit buggy.
Somewhat of a joyless experience.
Pretty surprised and disappointed at MS putting this on gamepass (and I now understand the relative lack of fanfare around it's release).
Back to Halo for me.

@Somebody

"I have serious doubts that it would look or run very well on Switch."

Full fat CoD... I can't see that being possible.
They would have to do one of the following...

1) Stream the game to Switch via xcloud
2) Put CoD mobile on there
3) Make a bespoke "skinny" Nintendo exclusive CoD (Xbox have enough studios for someone to develop that).

@Banjo-

This was my thought... He's gonna make it available through gamepass app on PS (or at least try that strategy)... will PS allow it (which could cause then to lose some game sales) or would they deny the GP app (which would risk MS taking COD away and Sony losing hardware AND software sales)?

It's would be a ballsy, hard-nosed move by MS and I don't see them doing it soon... But maybe in the run up to the next gen.

Maybe Phil can afford to play nice now, knowing his successor will have to make the more unpleasant moves further downstream.

What if...
When we get beyond the existing agreement, the "make them available to PlayStation" means only through a GamePass app.
PlayStation either agree to the GP app on their machine, or... if PlayStation don't allow it, then MS take the games with them and say "Well, we tried to make it available to them!".

I'm mostly loving it... and I haven't always got along with halo MP in the past.

However, could definitely do with some additional interesting maps for both QP and BTB, as it feels a little thin.
Also, some of the weapons need tweaking to make them really competitive.

But on the whole, I'm having a blast with this 👍

I need this so I can shoot people while the Mrs is watching A Place In The Sun on the TV 😆

The previous GRID had a lot of promise, but was spoiled by overly aggressive AI and the fact that you would always come waaaay worse out of any contact than your AI opponent.
If they have sorted out those elements, this could be as close to PGR racer as we're likely to get (I'm not holding my breath though).

A search on his Twitter history shows he's a PS gamer and not an Xbox gamer... I'm sure that in no way colours his views on this matter 😉

@Zucaritas
That's cool if you don't like Horizon... Different people like different things (but liking/not liking doesn't make something definitively good/bad) 👍
I like FH5 (though I do still prefer FH4).
Hopefully GT7 and the new FM are both great (for those who like that kind of game... They'll never be able to please everyone)... Only time will tell.
Guessing FM will drop 2022 holiday season close to Starfield release.

@Zucaritas

GT7 looks good... We won't actually know until it releases though, so I think calling it "superb" is a bit premature.
Horizon games are (IMHO) great games, for people who like casual arcadey racing (as opposed to sim racers) and just want a chill fun game to play.
Hopefully the next Motorsport is good... I still want another Project Gotham though! And maybe a new Blur as well!

@Kharjo yes, but what about Forza horizon 😆

@Shigurui

Yep... PGR was awesome.
I think having a city based street racer would really scratch an itch that Horizon and Motorsport don't really do.
Also having a handling model that is a bit heavier than Horizon, but not as sim like as Motorsport, would also serve a market that's neglected at the moment.

There's GRID Legends coming out soon... The last GRID had some great stuff that was PGR-ish, but also some really game breaking stuff (stupidly aggressive AI etc).

I'll say it again... We need a city based, street racing game that sits between Horizon and Motorsport (a true Project Gotham successor).
Put that game in a Japan locale and you've got a hit.

Hard to rate CoD, because the quality of the games has varied wildly.

blur 2... do it now Phil (pleeease).

I can see Warzone being multiplat for a long time.
However, I can see the base games moving to Xbox/PC exclusives at some point... Prob not for 3 or 4 years though. I think will see the aggressive moving everything behind the Xbox payroll in the lead up to the next gen.
MS playing a long game..

@Chaudy

Yeah, I see Starfield and Forza dropping in the holiday period (Nov/Dec 2022) to drive holiday sales, like Halo and Forza H5 did this year.

@ParsnipHero

That's a shame about the headaches... Do you think it could be motion sickness?
I found Doom and Alien Isolation unplayable for that reason (I think some games have an option to turn off motion blur, which can sometimes help... not sure if that's an option in Splitgate).

@Would_you_kindly

Yeah, it's weird, because it looks like there's a crossplay toggle in the settings, but it's greyed out... maybe they'll activate it at some point.
Crossplay hasn't been an issue for me, but I do understand what some players want to avoid opponents who are using keyboard and mouse (although i believe you can use those controls with some series X games... but I'm guessing that would be a tiny minority).

@Would_you_kindly

TBH, I had been loving Splitgate and couldn't really see Halo drawing me away.

I played the Halo beta and still found myself getting much more drawn towards Splitgate.

However... since launch, I've been completely sucked in to Halo Infinite (to the point I am worried I'm developing an addiction!).

In fact, I've found this the most playable and enjoyable Halo MP I've ever tried.

Different for everyone though and I really hope Splitgate maintains a healthy player base, as the devs did a cracking job on that game 👍

Forza Motorsport November 2022 😉

360 just edging out the X... but only just (for now).
I expect X to overtake in the next couple of years if the good games keep coming.

@Would_you_kindly

Yeah, I heard that. Would also be nice if the grenades could be used on opponents (not just portals). Terrific game though, with lots of fun modes.

@Would_you_kindly

I'm with you on this... I prefer Splitgate.
More fun, also feels like a lower skill barrier, prefer the jump mechanic etc.
Kind of wish there was Splitgate, but with more polished aesthetics.

However, cool to have Halo as well for a bit of variety 👍 And Halo will have the campaign coming, which hopefully provides a few hours of fun.