@IllusiveMan 15 hours per day would be fine, but it's 15 hours per month. I spend more time then that on the crapper. (and no I don't game on my phone while indisposed)
I'm a Star Wars fan and tactics fan. Yet somehow I find myself waiting for a sale. A humongous backlog will do that to you. I'm also hoping they port it to Switch 2, because I like playing these games on the go. 30 FPS would be fine for tactics or turn based.
I think this is silly, but at the same time brave, because these people are currently employed by the company they are protesting. I could not imagine something like this happening at my job. All is not well at Bethesda
@themightyant It looks like the best place to be right now is "almost there," with a game. If development is too early, they'll strangle you in the crib. If development is completed, they put you out to pasture.
@shoeses
On a conceptual level, cutting out the fat, or bloat as you put it, makes sense. When I read these LinkedIn posts from those who were sacked, however, I wonder if that was the reality, versus a biased perspective on internal operations of a studio of which most of us do not have direct knowledge.
@General-Foley This article focuses on XBOX price hike. I haven’t really looked into buying or building a PC lately but I imagine those prices are horrible as well. My concern is that if we are priced out of ownership and our only avenue is streaming then to people who own those services in the “cloud” can charge whatever they want. For instance, when you look at the housing market, there are homebuyers, and there are renters and there exist in a type of equilibrium that keeps the prices in check.
@AI-Generation My understanding of the quick resume feature is that it is exclusive to Xbox consoles, and for whatever reason, Sony and Nintendo have never thought to incorporate it. I think if XBOX brings that feature to Windows PC, then it will cease to be exclusive.
@asdfghjklz
I’m not an economist, but the thought process is that if prices on essentials such as food, gas and rent to go up and the salaries do not keep pace then even minor increases in non essential items such as gaming will lead to decreased demand.
@Wickedspades Yes this was brought up by late Nintendo president Iwata, about how the short term financial gain from layoffs demoralizes those who remain. Xbox has already announced 1600 additional employees on the chopping block in the next year. Who are these people, and how can they be expected to contribute to the stated goals?
@kanedase7en While I agree with you on most points, I also feel that companies who make games will also need to compete in the general entertainment market, which includes eyeballs on things such as TikTok and Netflix. So they can’t raise prices indefinitely and hope to retain customers in relation other forms of leisure and entertainment.
I would have loved to have heard from this Chief "CONTENT" Officer, instead of telling fans not to "overly fixate" on something, maybe he should tell Satya Nadella not to overly fixate on profit margins, or tell Microsoft's shareholders not to overly fixate on "number go up." Funny how it's only gamers who are expected not to care about the things that matter to them.
I can see in the mid to late 2030s what was formerly Playstation and Xbox running off a TV stream. Nintendo will be there too, but they may also branch out into a toyish 2DS type device for the age 5-10 group, to get them hooked onto the IP.
I don't want to get into a shouting match with anybody, but I have a couple of points.
Firstly, even though digital has become the majority of games, it is clear that there is still interest in physical, and this is still a multi-million dollar business. So why Sony is making this move now, is unclear. Why not wait until digitial is for instance 99%. When they finally phased out VCRs, nobody cared too much because the world had moved on to bigger and better things.
The next thing, is that I don't see the laws somehow responding to Sony's move in order to improve ownernship or consumer rights. Digital media is not new, and they have had plenty of time to "fix it." They haven't fixed it, because the politicians are in the corporation's pockets. Always were, and always will be.
Lastly, this is just an anecdote regarding the fine print. I bought a Brother laser printer a few years ago. They kept spamming me on their new subscription service for toner, with an introductory special. I tried it out, and once the price was going up, I decided to opt out, and just buy my own toner when it ran out. Well, apparently in the terms of service (TOS), this meant they could send a signal through the internet to brick my current toner that I had gotten through the subcription. It still had about 85% ink, but was rendered non-functional. So much for being environmentally friendly! What a waste of good ink. I guess what I'm saying is that as long as your physical object is online, they can build in a kill switch.
@Fiendish-Beaver It's probably just a flex aimed at companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook. They are probably double counting as well, since your Candy Crush download on an Android phone probably doesn't link to your XBOX account, I'm guessing. I don't play Candy Crush, or any mobile at this point, so I wouldn't not about that, but it has been dowloaded hundreds of millions of times, if not billions. The thing is, though, is that nobody cares. We already know Microsoft is a behemoth. They don't need to promote that aspect to gain the goodwill of gamers.
I have seen a bit of this in my work environment. It used to be I had an issue, and I could contact someone. The last few years, however, it gets bounced around with 3-4 other people added on the cc: list being asked "could you speak to this?" Eventually, the issue gets dropped because nobody is seemingly accountable.
I tired playing Dungeons of Hinterburg as an experiment during the “This is an Xbox!” era. I dual booted a 2019 MacBook Pro to Windows 10 and played via cloud on the Xbox app. It was such a laggy mess that I never tried that again on any other games, and I didn’t bother trying this game out anymore on my actual Xbox either.
@StonyKL
TBH with all the crazy news lately, I'm not sure what I mean either. It's good for games journalists though. There are a lot of newsworthy items to report. For overworked and tired shmoes like me, it can lead to confusing online posts.
Sorry to bother.
@Coletrain I have been checking my comments against Google search, and sometimes it gives random examples. I do stand by my premise though that when people use terminology like "bloodbath," and "repugnant" on video game websites, they are using hyperbole that does not help the discussion. When you look at the whole of human history, what we have here are "1st world problems," and it's still just a hobby or pastime. It's not life and death! I'll be interested to see how Microsoft follows up on this announcement by Sony.
@Gabrie Sony may be repugnant, but they've got nothing on the Dutch East India Company, which was even more repugnant (in terms of ending the lives of the indigenous people in their territory). I guess it is a matter of perspective.
@fatpunkslim I wonder if Project Helix comes to fruition what will happen with Play Anywhere. I’m not sure what it brings to the table if compared to buying a game on Steam with my current PC, enjoying that same game on Steam Deck, and then playing it on my iPad via Steam Link..
@themightyant
To me one of the most under-appreciated aspects of this latest price hike is that they straight up discontinued the Xbox 2TB model. It is being “sunsetted.” They raised the white flag on their best SKU.
I’m good on hardware right now and for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t make sense to jump in at this point with an aging generation. Might as well see what happens next.
@oopsiezz
In hindset, yes. I almost pulled the trigger when Target had PS5 Pro down to $649 in 2025. Especially if next generation ends up delayed, that machine will be king of consoles for several years.
That being said, I do most of my gaming on Switch, and PC to a lesser extent. Not once have I felt my base PS5 was lacking. So I'm still not regretful of holding off. I also got the Series S with a Target discount and free gift card, effectively for ~$200 in 2022. Those kinds of deals may never happen again.
@Millionski If Helix goes back from being a hybrid to the "NextBOX," it will need to sell many units to be worth the while of publishers. At some point certain games will be announced for Playstation, Steam, +- NSW2, and leave a non-Helix XBOX in the dust. I don't know enough about development to understand if there is a PC (Steam/ Epic) version of a game, is it easy to port to native XBOX hardware? Another interesting question about cross-gen is if Microsoft will insist on Series S parity, or discontinue/ deprecate that model so that cross gen games either require Series X or Helix. Can they afford to split their user base?
@NishimaruX OK comparing to Xbox, I got my Series S "Holiday Console" in late 2022 for $250 at Target, along with a $50 gift card, making it effectively $200. To go from that to $1200-$1500 for it's successor is ridiculous. The box is just the thing for the games. It's still supposed to be about the games.
My bet is $999 for the base model of Helix, to get under the "$1000" psychological barrier, but still have enough heft under the hood to justify the upgrade. Nobody wants to wait 8+ years for their next tech product to be a "side-grade" like Series X > Steam Machine with it's paltry SSD and mid-level GPU. By way of comparison, I paid $1000 for a gaming PC with 32GB RAM 2TB SSD and NVIDIA 4060 GPU three years ago. I guess I could just yank that downstairs and hook it up to my TV, then launch Steam. Am I missing anything ?
@Fiendish-Beaver Baldur's Gate 3 is actually one game that I'd be interested in seeing how it runs on Steam Machine, with the controller touchpad and mouse centric UI. I never did like the wheel menu when I played it on PS5.
I don’t understand enough about business to know if this spinoff move would fundamentally change anything. Are they talking about selling Xbox outright, doing some 51/49 thing like TCL and Sony TVs, or carving out an autonomous subsidiary within Microsoft, even more so than currently?
I like how they lead with this stat " Over 1 billion players choose to play XBOX and our games each year," when most of them are playing Candy Crush on Android or iOS, and have probably never heard of XBOX.
@themightyant Ya at first glance I thought this is an insanely robust lineup, then I looked back and realized it was mostly in the past, which is what got them to 3rd place. In terms of the next year, the only one I'm interested in is Fable. I'll try it on Gamepass, and when my sub expires, I might pick it up on PC or PS5. I'm also not certain why Elder Scrolls VI is there, nor if we can assume it will do Skyrim numbers. Times can change, and if they wait too long, the fan base may move on. I'm not sure if "youths" of today care about Skyrim as much as they do the TikTok and such.
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Re: Xbox Is Officially Putting Time Limits On Cloud Gaming For Game Pass Members
So if I have the Game Pass Essential and let’s say, I wanted to play Persona 5 it would take me like three years.
Re: Xbox Is Officially Putting Time Limits On Cloud Gaming For Game Pass Members
@IllusiveMan
15 hours per day would be fine, but it's 15 hours per month.
I spend more time then that on the crapper.
(and no I don't game on my phone while indisposed)
Re: Xbox Series X25 Console & Controller: Prices, Release Dates, Pre-Orders Announced
@Fiendish-Beaver
You can delete Chrome/Google and use Edge/Bing exclusively, to prove your loyalty
Re: Roundup: The First Reviews Have Dropped For Star Wars Zero Company, And They're Very Good
I'm a Star Wars fan and tactics fan. Yet somehow I find myself waiting for a sale. A humongous backlog will do that to you.
I'm also hoping they port it to Switch 2, because I like playing these games on the go. 30 FPS would be fine for tactics or turn based.
Re: Giant Rat Leads Protests Against Xbox Layoffs Outside Bethesda HQ
I think this is silly, but at the same time brave, because these people are currently employed by the company they are protesting. I could not imagine something like this happening at my job.
All is not well at Bethesda
Re: Halo Studios Suffers Job Losses Shortly After Campaign Evolved Launch
@themightyant
It looks like the best place to be right now is "almost there," with a game. If development is too early, they'll strangle you in the crib. If development is completed, they put you out to pasture.
Re: Halo Studios Suffers Job Losses Shortly After Campaign Evolved Launch
@shoeses
On a conceptual level, cutting out the fat, or bloat as you put it, makes sense. When I read these LinkedIn posts from those who were sacked, however, I wonder if that was the reality, versus a biased perspective on internal operations of a studio of which most of us do not have direct knowledge.
Re: Here's A Breakdown Of The New Prices For Xbox Series X|S Consoles As Of August 2026
@General-Foley
This article focuses on XBOX price hike. I haven’t really looked into buying or building a PC lately but I imagine those prices are horrible as well.
My concern is that if we are priced out of ownership and our only avenue is streaming then to people who own those services in the “cloud” can charge whatever they want.
For instance, when you look at the housing market, there are homebuyers, and there are renters and there exist in a type of equilibrium that keeps the prices in check.
Re: Here's A Breakdown Of The New Prices For Xbox Series X|S Consoles As Of August 2026
@AI-Generation
My understanding of the quick resume feature is that it is exclusive to Xbox consoles, and for whatever reason, Sony and Nintendo have never thought to incorporate it. I think if XBOX brings that feature to Windows PC, then it will cease to be exclusive.
Re: Here's A Breakdown Of The New Prices For Xbox Series X|S Consoles As Of August 2026
@asdfghjklz
I’m not an economist, but the thought process is that if prices on essentials such as food, gas and rent to go up and the salaries do not keep pace then even minor increases in non essential items such as gaming will lead to decreased demand.
Re: Xbox's Four Priorities Detailed By Asha Sharma After Major 'Reset'
@Wickedspades
Yes this was brought up by late Nintendo president Iwata, about how the short term financial gain from layoffs demoralizes those who remain. Xbox has already announced 1600 additional employees on the chopping block in the next year. Who are these people, and how can they be expected to contribute to the stated goals?
Re: Dispatch Is Finally Available On Xbox, With Play Anywhere Support
The whole censorship controversy turned me off to this game.
Re: Xbox Servers Are Still Down, Preventing Players From Accessing Both Physical And Digital Games
@Mr-Cage
Most seasoned readers can tell gloating when they see it. Let’s not feign ignorance regarding intent.
That all being said I’m busy at work so no gaming for me, and I’m also not affected.
Lastly, I do think that in general people could probably stand to have less outrage regarding the Internet these days.
I should hope these comment sections don’t get too personal.
Re: Xbox Servers Are Still Down, Preventing Players From Accessing Both Physical And Digital Games
@oopsiezz
Yes, this generation truly has been a race to the bottom between Sony and Microsoft.
Re: Physical Sales Graph For The Past 20 Years Highlights Just How Much Gaming Has Changed
@nomither6
Both PC and console lag well behind mobile gaming.
Re: Physical Sales Graph For The Past 20 Years Highlights Just How Much Gaming Has Changed
@kanedase7en
While I agree with you on most points, I also feel that companies who make games will also need to compete in the general entertainment market, which includes eyeballs on things such as TikTok and Netflix. So they can’t raise prices indefinitely and hope to retain customers in relation other forms of leisure and entertainment.
Re: Xbox CCO Says Not To 'Overly Fixate' On All Single-Player Games Being Exclusives
I would have loved to have heard from this Chief "CONTENT" Officer, instead of telling fans not to "overly fixate" on something, maybe he should tell Satya Nadella not to overly fixate on profit margins, or tell Microsoft's shareholders not to overly fixate on "number go up." Funny how it's only gamers who are expected not to care about the things that matter to them.
Re: The Validity Of Consoles May Face A 'Real Test' Amid Rising Prices, Says Ex-Xbox Boss
I can see in the mid to late 2030s what was formerly Playstation and Xbox running off a TV stream. Nintendo will be there too, but they may also branch out into a toyish 2DS type device for the age 5-10 group, to get them hooked onto the IP.
Re: Two Final Fantasy Remakes Discounted To Their Lowest Prices Ever On Xbox
It’s a good price, but not enough to triple dip
Re: Dispatch, One Of The Best Games Of 2025, Is Coming To Xbox This Month
I keep going back and forth whether to get on PS5, Switch, or PC. I might actually get this on Play Anywhere.
Re: Video Game Retailer Urges Xbox To 'Stand Behind Consumer Choice' By Supporting Physical
I don't want to get into a shouting match with anybody, but I have a couple of points.
Firstly, even though digital has become the majority of games, it is clear that there is still interest in physical, and this is still a multi-million dollar business. So why Sony is making this move now, is unclear. Why not wait until digitial is for instance 99%. When they finally phased out VCRs, nobody cared too much because the world had moved on to bigger and better things.
The next thing, is that I don't see the laws somehow responding to Sony's move in order to improve ownernship or consumer rights. Digital media is not new, and they have had plenty of time to "fix it." They haven't fixed it, because the politicians are in the corporation's pockets. Always were, and always will be.
Lastly, this is just an anecdote regarding the fine print. I bought a Brother laser printer a few years ago. They kept spamming me on their new subscription service for toner, with an introductory special. I tried it out, and once the price was going up, I decided to opt out, and just buy my own toner when it ran out. Well, apparently in the terms of service (TOS), this meant they could send a signal through the internet to brick my current toner that I had gotten through the subcription. It still had about 85% ink, but was rendered non-functional. So much for being environmentally friendly! What a waste of good ink. I guess what I'm saying is that as long as your physical object is online, they can build in a kill switch.
Re: Xbox CEO Sets Ambitious Goal Of Reaching 'More Than A Billion People Each Day'
@BAMozzy
Yes they see it that way, but if I'm playing Indiana Jones, I don't view myself as a sheep to Satia Nadella. I just like Indy.
Re: Xbox CEO Sets Ambitious Goal Of Reaching 'More Than A Billion People Each Day'
@Fiendish-Beaver
It's probably just a flex aimed at companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook. They are probably double counting as well, since your Candy Crush download on an Android phone probably doesn't link to your XBOX account, I'm guessing. I don't play Candy Crush, or any mobile at this point, so I wouldn't not about that, but it has been dowloaded hundreds of millions of times, if not billions. The thing is, though, is that nobody cares. We already know Microsoft is a behemoth. They don't need to promote that aspect to gain the goodwill of gamers.
Re: Three Aims Detailed By Asha Sharma For The 'Most Significant Restructure In Xbox History'
I have seen a bit of this in my work environment. It used to be I had an issue, and I could contact someone. The last few years, however, it gets bounced around with 3-4 other people added on the cc: list being asked "could you speak to this?" Eventually, the issue gets dropped because nobody is seemingly accountable.
Re: 11 Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early July 2026
I tired playing Dungeons of Hinterburg as an experiment during the “This is an Xbox!” era. I dual booted a 2019 MacBook Pro to Windows 10 and played via cloud on the Xbox app. It was such a laggy mess that I never tried that again on any other games, and I didn’t bother trying this game out anymore on my actual Xbox either.
Re: Report: Xbox Disc-To-Digital Feature Will Allow You To Digitise Your Physical Collection
@StonyKL
TBH with all the crazy news lately, I'm not sure what I mean either. It's good for games journalists though. There are a lot of newsworthy items to report. For overworked and tired shmoes like me, it can lead to confusing online posts.
Sorry to bother.
Re: Report: Xbox Disc-To-Digital Feature Will Allow You To Digitise Your Physical Collection
@Coletrain
I have been checking my comments against Google search, and sometimes it gives random examples.
I do stand by my premise though that when people use terminology like "bloodbath," and "repugnant" on video game websites, they are using hyperbole that does not help the discussion. When you look at the whole of human history, what we have here are "1st world problems," and it's still just a hobby or pastime. It's not life and death! I'll be interested to see how Microsoft follows up on this announcement by Sony.
Re: Report: Xbox Disc-To-Digital Feature Will Allow You To Digitise Your Physical Collection
@Gabrie
Sony may be repugnant, but they've got nothing on the Dutch East India Company, which was even more repugnant (in terms of ending the lives of the indigenous people in their territory).
I guess it is a matter of perspective.
Re: Xbox Play Anywhere Deserves Serious Praise After Passing 2,000 Supported Games
@fatpunkslim
I wonder if Project Helix comes to fruition what will happen with Play Anywhere. I’m not sure what it brings to the table if compared to buying a game on Steam with my current PC, enjoying that same game on Steam Deck, and then playing it on my iPad via Steam Link..
Re: Here's How The New Xbox Prices Compare To PS5, Switch 2 & Steam Machine
@NeutronBomb
Yeah, we are so… not back. Big grin will only get you so far.
Re: Here's How The New Xbox Prices Compare To PS5, Switch 2 & Steam Machine
@themightyant
To me one of the most under-appreciated aspects of this latest price hike is that they straight up discontinued the Xbox 2TB model. It is being “sunsetted.” They raised the white flag on their best SKU.
Re: Here's How The New Xbox Prices Compare To PS5, Switch 2 & Steam Machine
I’m good on hardware right now and for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t make sense to jump in at this point with an aging generation. Might as well see what happens next.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
@oopsiezz
In hindset, yes. I almost pulled the trigger when Target had PS5 Pro down to $649 in 2025. Especially if next generation ends up delayed, that machine will be king of consoles for several years.
That being said, I do most of my gaming on Switch, and PC to a lesser extent. Not once have I felt my base PS5 was lacking. So I'm still not regretful of holding off. I also got the Series S with a Target discount and free gift card, effectively for ~$200 in 2022. Those kinds of deals may never happen again.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
@NishimaruX
I'm not even thinking next gen at this point. I'm thinking of the here and now, and XBOX killing their own business.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
@shiny-enzo
I think people's memories are intact. We remember the days when six year old technology went on sale instead of a price hike.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
I don't believe I have ever been first to comment.... I'm not sure what to say though.
Re: What Does A $1049 Steam Machine Mean For Xbox's Project Helix?
@Millionski
If Helix goes back from being a hybrid to the "NextBOX," it will need to sell many units to be worth the while of publishers. At some point certain games will be announced for Playstation, Steam, +- NSW2, and leave a non-Helix XBOX in the dust. I don't know enough about development to understand if there is a PC (Steam/ Epic) version of a game, is it easy to port to native XBOX hardware? Another interesting question about cross-gen is if Microsoft will insist on Series S parity, or discontinue/ deprecate that model so that cross gen games either require Series X or Helix. Can they afford to split their user base?
Re: What Does A $1049 Steam Machine Mean For Xbox's Project Helix?
@NishimaruX
OK comparing to Xbox, I got my Series S "Holiday Console" in late 2022 for $250 at Target, along with a $50 gift card, making it effectively $200. To go from that to $1200-$1500 for it's successor is ridiculous. The box is just the thing for the games. It's still supposed to be about the games.
Re: Eek, GTA 6's 'Physical Edition' Is A Download Code In A Box
I guess if you are really into gaming you pretty much have to sign up for high speed home internet without data caps.
Re: Eek, GTA 6's 'Physical Edition' Is A Download Code In A Box
@Kieduss
True. Just don't die because the EULA usually states your ownership is non-transferrable.
Re: What Does A $1049 Steam Machine Mean For Xbox's Project Helix?
My bet is $999 for the base model of Helix, to get under the "$1000" psychological barrier, but still have enough heft under the hood to justify the upgrade. Nobody wants to wait 8+ years for their next tech product to be a "side-grade" like Series X > Steam Machine with it's paltry SSD and mid-level GPU. By way of comparison, I paid $1000 for a gaming PC with 32GB RAM 2TB SSD and NVIDIA 4060 GPU three years ago. I guess I could just yank that downstairs and hook it up to my TV, then launch Steam. Am I missing anything ?
Re: What Does A $1049 Steam Machine Mean For Xbox's Project Helix?
@Fiendish-Beaver
Baldur's Gate 3 is actually one game that I'd be interested in seeing how it runs on Steam Machine, with the controller touchpad and mouse centric UI. I never did like the wheel menu when I played it on PS5.
Re: What Does A $1049 Steam Machine Mean For Xbox's Project Helix?
@Fiendish-Beaver
I'm afraid the "very best console experience" in 2029 will be more of the same, with slightly better shadows and hair.
Re: GTA 6 Costs $80, Described As A 'Single-Player Experience'
Nope. Not getting a Code in a Box. Better luck next time, with GTA 7, when I'm 80!
Re: The First Review Is In For The Adventures Of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
Can the plumed hat be upgraded?
Re: Two Key Members Of Xbox Game Studios Are Stepping Down
Maybe they truly just wanted to spend more time with their families
Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
I don’t understand enough about business to know if this spinoff move would fundamentally change anything. Are they talking about selling Xbox outright, doing some 51/49 thing like TCL and Sony TVs, or carving out an autonomous subsidiary within Microsoft, even more so than currently?
Re: 'Nothing Is Impossible' - Stellar Blade Developer Responds To Demand For An Xbox Port
I was surprised about the Switch 2 port, and so I agree anything is possible. .
Re: Xbox Leaders Outline Five 'Realities' That Will Be Addressed Over The Next 100 Days
I like how they lead with this stat " Over 1 billion players choose to play XBOX and our games each year," when most of them are playing Candy Crush on Android or iOS, and have probably never heard of XBOX.
Re: Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From June 2026
@themightyant
Ya at first glance I thought this is an insanely robust lineup, then I looked back and realized it was mostly in the past, which is what got them to 3rd place.
In terms of the next year, the only one I'm interested in is Fable. I'll try it on Gamepass, and when my sub expires, I might pick it up on PC or PS5.
I'm also not certain why Elder Scrolls VI is there, nor if we can assume it will do Skyrim numbers. Times can change, and if they wait too long, the fan base may move on. I'm not sure if "youths" of today care about Skyrim as much as they do the TikTok and such.