@eduscxbox I just decided to have a PS5 and Xbox, best of both worlds.

Question to X users: How often do you play your games? lol.

To be honest, the marketing department needs a major overhaul, as the communication and optics have been poor.

It's clear that Xbox is slowly pivoting away from the dying console space, and the more hardcore 5% of gamers are lashing out at the change.

Right now, most Xbox gamers just play their games and are not engaged with the future of Xbox.

But Microsoft has to be careful because these YouTube videos and constant "Xbox is dead" messaging will seep through.

Someone at Microsoft or Microsoft Gaming needs to get this trend by the scruff of the neck and make it very clear that Xbox is here to stay (which it is going by the increasing yearly revenues).

One day Xbox will just publish games, and sell off their oem to 3rd party partners like Asus, and they will be making more money than they ever did in the expensive home console space.

I am looking forward to seeing what AMD cooks up for Xbox and PS for next gen. It might be the first time there is a divergence in power.

Also its pretty normal for AMD to work with Microsoft and Sony, they have done it for years.

I am looking into the £499.99 Xbox Rog Ally as an option but I will wait for full reviews to come out first.

I am looking forward to checking this out on Game Pass.

@FrenchVaniIIuxe My advice to you is to purchase digital games only, haha.

A physical disc is nothing more than something nice to look at on a shelf and a license on a disc.

Sometimes, you even have some or most of the game on the disc.

But you don't own it any more than a digital licence.

True media format ownership would mean you can copy, transfer, or redistribute these games.

In this life, the only thing we truly own is ourselves, and even that is up for debate.

You don't need to own things to be happy. You just need to enjoy and appreciate things that come your way.

I would rather get a decent gaming laptop than the Ally X, but the standard Ally at £500 is something I may consider depending on performance Vs something like the steam deck.

I will say, after reading the statement again, I do believe it's actually a clever way to keep things vague. The sad thing is that I genuinely do not trust Microsoft to follow through with what they say anymore due to the number of times they have pivoted in a matter of weeks.

It makes me feel unsafe in my investment over the last number of years. I know that seems a bit dramatic, but when you feel uncertain about the future and there is no clear reassurance, you start to wonder if it's worth investing your time and money into this ecosystem.

I cannot say I have ever felt uncertainty with Nintendo or Sony. I trust them to be around in 5 years.

For Xbox, it's more like I hope they are around in 5 years.

@Hapless The difference is one is making more money than ever on gaming revenue alone and the other had significant financial troubles.

MS don't need to exit the console business, it would be a choice from them if they felt they could make more money another way.

@Gunbeld I guess we'll have to wait and see both have gotten things right and wrong.

@Questionable_Duck The decision was apparently made pre promotion. Hopefully Microsoft clarify the situation soon as it's getting a lot of traction online now from various sources.

The best of Game Pass will be the last week of October with Ninja Gaiden 4 and TOW 2. I saved myself £120 right there.

Im not really into the online stuff but I will check out the campaign when it comes to Game Pass.

@Gunbeld I think they will only report something as big as that if they had corroborative evidence first. If it's 2 or 3 reports saying the same thing or someone at pure Xbox/hookshot has been told by someone they deem to be reliable.

Edit: Just seen judson althoff was is involved which is a big red flag.

Looks interesting! I might have to check this one out.

The value is there but unfortunately Microsoft failed to realise that game pass is for mostly casual gamers who would never have time to play the 10-20 hours of day 1 games per week to make the subscription worth while.

For me maybe I could justify the £22.99 a month based on the amount of day one gamepass games I've played ahd saved money on buy I know I'm one of a rare few.

This will only be bad news for PS players in the future

Price rises for Xbox and lack of competition equals price rises for Playstation. Nobody wins in this situation.

The only way I will be getting Game Pass Ultimate in the future is if I can continue to get those 30% off codes. Once they are done then I am done. I didn't think £14.99 a month was worth it let alone £22.99.

@Ricky-Spanish "Discover the breathtaking landscapes of Japan and become a racing Legend at the Horizon Festival in Forza Horizon 6, which will launch first on Xbox Series X|S consoles and PC in 2026, and PlayStation 5 post-launch. Wishlist now on the Microsoft Store and Steam!" - on the Xbox website

@OldGamer999 I think the strategy is to maximise Game Pass subscriptions for a set time period of 3-6 months for those premium AAA titles, then port them over to PS5 when that has run dry. It certainly makes the most business sense.

Another great game to add to Game Pass!

I can imagine that with this being out in the latter part of 2026, it will be a little too early to show anything off yet. The developer direct in January will be where this gets its full blowout.

@Hawklord22 Just so you know, for the console, you can only add previous routes from the full launch on the 30th at 4 pm GMT.

£499.99 is a decent price for this device overall

Wolverine is the only one I will get on PS5; all the 3rd-party stuff I can get much cheaper digitally via Xbox codes.

Sony is still at it with the exclusive armour skins for Crimson Desert.

I never knew Costco in the UK even sold Xbox consoles, haha. There is Argos, Smyths, Currys and Game where you can show up and buy an Xbox in store, so it's not really the bleak story like it seems for the UK at least. I do think they are now slowing down production ahead of the new Xbox console due next year.

I feel grateful I live outside the US, where prices are still reasonable for now

@Cakefish This is mainly due to the performance levels—Switch 2 is locked at 30fps/ no split screen, while Xbox Series X/Ps5 offer 60fps and a split screen. The Series S version should be £60, but MS keeps price parity.

I might pick this up on a deep discount a couple of patches down the line. If they fix some bits, like entering different cars in free roam and performance bugs/AI, then it could be a half-decent story game.

Is this coming to Xbox? I can only see PC platforms listed at the moment, which is a concern.

Expedition 33 is under severe threat of not winning GTOY for 2025.

It's only a console war if you can't afford all the devices. I have always enjoyed a broad range of gaming hardware to get the best of each platform's game library and features.

RoadCraft and Silksong are great additions for Game Pass.

The 2019 CPU needs an upgrade if we are expecting all current gen games like Crimson Desert and GTA 6 to hit 60fps at an acceptable resolution. GTA 6 might not even be able to hit 60fps with the current CPU and that is a clear limitation.

Probably late 2026 or 2027 then. Road Kings will be out next year so that should tide trucking fans over.

It's time to get silky.

It's clear the insiders have outdated information. MS are probably trying to find a way to drive to cost to improve sales and optics.

Glad console exclusives are becoming less and less now

@Ricky-Spanish What are you talking about? It only got delayed by exactly 1 year to the day of launch, haha

Turns out that 10GB RAM was not an issue after all...

I think I want to get this haha

The more I see, the less excited I get tbh.

@FarmDog08 Curious how much the top 20 sold if E33 sold that amount.

I am looking forward to seeing what MS cooks up with Asus.

@Titntin PS5 sadly has 3 fan manufacturers, 2 batches with super silent fans and the other with rather loud Foxconn fans. My last PS5 slim had the dreaded Foxconn fans, but my new Pro has either an OG Nidec or Delta fan. It affects about 20% of all new build units, mainly the new slim.

I think it's just a new controller, haha. If it is anything more, that would be good. Asus is a great PC brand to partner with, so I could end up buying more Xbox-branded hardware from them in the future.

AA batteries - no, removable battery packs- yes.

TSW 6 will be replacing 5 just after 5 comes off the service.