elpardo1984

@Kaloudz they're very different games THPS has an ocean more depth than Crazy Taxi(and saying that as someone who adores both games).

@LogicStrikesAgain I think MS know it’s futile trying to be top dog in any market, so this isn’t necessarily a play to compete with Steam. Their current approach is to coexist.
Really they need to sell games. Preferably on their own platform but they aren’t averse to selling millions on PS5 or Steam either. I can see Xbox PC being an OS too that will see multiple OEM manufacturers building devices with this on top that can run Steam or Xbox. MS won’t care as long as you’re buying COD/Halo/Forza on top!

@IOI probably not, maybe something like Doom they might do a low key announcement when bigging up the recent launch.

@IOI and with MS largely absent from the Switch 2 reveal I'm assuming they are saving their launch window titles for this showcase.

@Justifier Steam Deck does exactly what it needs to, it's not their to compete with the Switch or a console. It's largely an add on for PC.

@OldGamer999 They confirmed they are working on the next console some time ago. They've given as much info as Sony.
They've said they are looking at a handheld but it is some time away, this partner handheld is a new rumour I dont think its reasonable to expect them to respond to all of these queries.

@Vordus yeah I'd actually forgotten theyd got rid of the timer in THPS4. It keeps it consistent across the game; as this remake is in essence one game.

@themightyant exactly this, just had a look on CDKeys and Hogwarts Legacy Deluxe is £24 and Watch Dogs: Legion is a tenner

@Fiendish-Beaver a quick google has PS4 at 70m after 4 years. PS5 at 65m in the same window. It is a lot closer than I thought but still slightly behind. And I cant see PS5 getting the price cuts that the PS4 did at the later stages

@Ricky-Spanish most people cant afford the graphical arms race that Sony/MS have been engaging in for the last few generations.
That's why the Series S is selling more than the X, the PS5 is behind PS4(and from what I can tell the PS5 Pro is a niche item) and the Switch has outsold them all in the same time frame.

@Ricky-Spanish yeah people get a bit weird about it. Especially when it often comes with future DLC at a reduced price, if you like it you're probably going to play that too!

@Ricky-Spanish I treat each one of these on an individual basis. Starfield and Indy I would have waited but I had a free weekend in that early release window so it was ideal! But then with this my backlog is such I cant justify it.

@Coletrain COD proper will be a struggle without some sort of compression or the cloud as its an always online game, but you could see Warzone being included.

@Titntin nah they dont need any 3rd parties to destroy any chance they have of getting a market foothold!
But seriously its great for them to have a platform to support and get a decent working relationship(and me as I will buy one day one!). But I think at the moment whichever of the 2 "main" consoles gets a standalone handheld with a proper console UI will do really well. The Steam Deck is great, but still too much of a PC for mass market imo, the offerings from ROG and the like will always be niche with Windows.

@awp69 its getting a Switch release so it wont be a complex game!

A lot of people were saying Perfect Dark but before that I didnt see anyone who thought anything earlier than 2026.
Fable seems likely otherwise they will have 3 big RPGs in one year. GOW:e-day is the other likelihood as there had been rumours of 2025.

It seems like a great opportunity for a shadow drop of missing ActiBlizz games or Indies.

@x3King84 thanks, might hold out for next week and see if it goes super-discount!

@themightyant I think the developer direct is well established enough now that they dont need to dilute it by putting announcements at TGAs. Unless they have a surprise remaster or GP drop they need to be pushing Indy, Flight Sim and Stalker

@x3King84 I'm contemplating getting it just for the ability to play it again on the Deck.

@parappatherapper yes that's what I'm saying it should in theory be much quicker to expand Azure compute bandwidth than it would be to install physical hardware. That all depends on how they have architected it, but it seems like the whole point of this new game is for MS to showoff the power of Azure so you'd have hoped it was up to the task. Either way it seems to be sort of working now so time to take to the skies!

If they need to bring on more of the cloud services to handle the load, the best approach would be to do it in a phased rollout. It feels slow but it would still be a lot quicker than physically having to rack and install servers in a datacentre.

Hope it wasnt deliberate to put 3 main releases just after the cut off for nominations.

@fizban3332 not sure its fair to call rebirth a remake, its far enough from the '97 game to call it a new game.

Black Myth getting the nom gives me far more pause than FFVII or Elden Ring. Dozens of games with a higher score on MC.

@Balaam_ I did this for a few seconds as it was half price. Then remembered I had no desire to play it!

@FarmDog08 Surely we'll see something from SE after announcing they are going to make their content more multi-plat

@cragis0001
Seems like a reasonable approach (although they will want pixel remaster full price, the physical releases is around £70), it would give them a better return getting the money direct from MS rather than trying to sell these games.
To me FF7 remake at least needs to be in the first tranche of full price releases, that's the one that will do decent numbers.

@Xbox_Dashboard I get why you might want ofline support. But something like this is built for online, I felt I spent so much time downloading updates on 2020.

@RentedPanda this reviewed the best so I started this first and haven’t regretted it so far.

Most likely scenario here is, the demerger of Toys counts towards their head count reduction. So the 90-somethign employees their may have saved someone else's job and the studio remains in operation. Good all round if thats the case.

@sixrings that's a bit patronisng, obviously they're not slaves. But generally when you quit and start your own studio you don't keep the name or enter into a partnership with the company you just quit.

I’m not sure Nintendo can afford to. Their only selling point is their IP, who will buy a Switch 2 when they know they can get Zelda at 4K60 a year later.
Maybe something like Splatoon or Smash Bros as it relies on player base and people buying extra content.

@Shushibda it’s an Xbox website that covers PC as well as the console.
But that being said I feel like they could do with some console improvements too.

@OldGamer999 they’re worth checking in on every now and again as you get the odd bargain(I get Resi 4 steelbook for £20 a while back). But I must say I’d completely forgotten they did pre-owned!

@abe_hikura if they made just quest 2&3 compatible they’d instantly have the biggest install base in VR.

@abe_hikura this really. It's an easy win if they work on VR support for Flight Sim, Doom(s), Skyrim, Starfield, Forza thats a massive bonus if all I need is a cable to connect my Quest 3.

Seems a bit half arsed. Biggest IP they own and it’s not “best” on their flagship console. Look at what epic have done with Fortnite ported to UE5, added Lego, rocket league and rock band like features in the space of a few weeks. This just seems really stunted in comparison.

@GamingFan4Lyf yup hate delays, but hate normalising crunch more. Good on them.

Shadow drop yes, Game Pass dream on. Realistically they could shift another 5m units once it lands on xbox thats potentially another $250m in revenue for Larian.

The biggest omission was Forza Horizon 5. 92 on Metacritic which iirc put it at the 3rd or 4th highest rated new game(non port or remaster or DLC) for 2021 yet didn't make the shortlist picked by gaming journalists(who's individual scores make up the MC score). It's the most obvious bias.
As for Starfield its a way off being the best game this year, Sea of Stars, Cocoon, SF6 and Diablo IV all have a better argument to feel short changed.

Things I'd like to see;
A date for Baldurs Gate
Whatever they are doing with people can fly
Maybe a surprise drop on GP

@Blaa could be as its d1 on gamepass but I wouldnt get your hopes up!

@Banjo- the Surface comparison is an interesting one. Its a bit of a pet project where they get to show off their industrial design, which is what they're ultimately saying Xbox is here. They will still sell Xbox but its not what they are basing their ability to generate revenue on. They need Xbox, PC, Cloud, Sony and Nintendo for that in the gaming space.

@Dan1283 my biggest gripe was we didnt see any other biomes within that story. I was hoping the additional chapters would provide that. But the campaign itself was a lot of fun until it got too samey looking.

They should do a multiverse with all of their platformers; Banjo, Spyro, Crash, Psychonauts off the top of my head let double fine, toys for bob and others have a go with the ip.

Streamline COD so they free up the support studios etc

More THPS. 3+4 remake I’d love to see quite soon. Maybe some of the others with an fps boost if they can’t get it licensed.

More RTS like Star and Warcraft being rebooted.

@Dan1283 not my cup of tea but I see the logic in the older COD games as it opens up a bunch of older games/maps to play online.

@pip_muzz the DLC addition is what normally swings it for me with the early access but extra cars isn’t enough of a value add for me.

@all3forever I guess they still might. At least this way they can probably get the first bug fix out for the new version before actual Halloween

It's a second tier game to me, I still love it and expect it to improve over time with mod support and Bethesda making improvements as well as the DLC. But being objective it is an 8/10 game with a +/-2 swing depending on how much you want to role play in that universe.
Compare that to BG3 and TOTK which are 2 near perfect games (although I've only played the latter so going off the reviews for the former) and then you have RE4, Jedi Survivor, SF6, Diablo 4, Sea of Stars(likely to be the indy nom) and likely Spider-Man 2 and Mario Wonder all heavy hitters that are going to be pushing for a spot on any GotY list, it will be likely Starfield doesnt appear on many lists.(I didnt add Hogwarts to that list as I fully expect it to be omitted to avoid any controversy and Forza as racing games are always left out)

@FraserG I read it as still coming to Xbox cloud gaming. They just no longer have the right to make it exclusive(which they didnt anyway as they'd already done deals with several others) and importantly they no longer have the right to negotiate after the sale closes.

@BAMozzy yeah possibly with a lean towards European devs. Hence MS using it to showcase games like Payday 3 and Stalker 2 (hopefully with release dates!)