kmtrain83

It’s crazy how many 8 out of 10 games are coming out in the latter half of the year and there’s still a couple months to go.

Unfortunately, for all of them, all I’m can do right now is play Hades II, which is a 10 out of 10

I know it was supposed to be a PlayStation exclusive, but since KOTOR was an Xbox game back in the day, the Obsidian did KOTOR 2 maybe they could just give them the KOTOR remake, which has yet to materialize.

@Banjo-
You seem to know your stuff, but all this techno speak could be a turn off for those less well-versed. The operating system working well on day one should be a given when you buy a console.

@GoldenPants
I totally agree with this and when you couple that with the Xbox president already warning us of the high price, and this “work in progress” operating system, that’s why you see all the pessimism for the future of the brand.
I’m not a huge Xbox fan or anything. I had the original Xbox and then we got a Series S for the family, but I am hoping they turn it around the way that Nintendo did with the Wii and the Switch.
I’d rather not in my lifetime have to only choose between PC and phone games because console died a slow death.

@Banjo-
I’ll definitely be following this with interest for a few years to see when or if they actually announce Steam on a lower end console.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner
You bring up some interesting points such as the fact that series S has out sold X by a two or three to one margin (we don’t get official data), but they are leaning into their lesser sold direction.
And then also that if they target the hardest of the hard-core gamers, they still won’t be able to compete with the high-end Nvidia GPUs, so PC master race will still badmouth.

@Banjo-
This sounds good, but could they do it on a series S2 for a low price when it’s time for me to replace my Series S?
I also feel they don’t have confidence in the Surface line otherwise they would make their own Surface handheld.

@themightyant
I did not envision when I got my first Xbox in 2003 that a couple of decades later they would evolve to the equivalent of getting a Bang & Olufson elite speaker from the Crutchfield catalogue.

@themightyant
When I look at the graphics already on display with my 4K TV from a typical viewing distance with both Series S and base PS5, I don't think the next generation can improve on that by a factor of two, in order to justify a doubling or more in price tag.
The diminishing returns of power is butting up against massive inflation.

@Fiendish-Beaver
My eyes are starting to water at these kind of price estimates.
I miss the days when you could get a Nintendo 2DS XL and a copy of "Nintendo Selects - Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds" for a modest sum.
Heck, I got my Series S for $237.50 on sale at Target with a bonus $50 gift card (net after tax ~ $200) for Xmas only 3 years ago. This NextBox price point is a long way from that.

@OldGamer999
I usually get my phone upgrades for "free" if I trade in my old phone and keep a mobile plan with the same carrier. If Xbox offered a trade in for Series X, and gave me the next box for free as long as I contracted for 3 years of Game Pass, then that would be an equivalent situation.

@fatpunkslim
I could see PC first gamers excited about a box that plugs into the TV with a bespoke controller and UI, that runs games with modern GPU performance levels. On the other hand, folks coming from the console first perspective may bemoan the loss of low cost of entry, and mass market appeal that once defined this space.

When I hear a corporate person use the word “very” to preface the words “premium” and “high-end” my eyes start to water at the actual final price.
I already have a decent desktop PC with a 4060 card that cost roughly $1000 from Costco. I can’t imagine buying one for my desk and one for my television.

I guess Xbox fans can rejoice that this is still a console exclusive

@fatpunkslim
I have an ASUS monitor and Wi-Fi router and looked into getting their TUF gaming laptop. They make quality devices at a reasonable price. Even still I think this is relatively expensive for what you get compared to what else is out there. I’m also comparing it to gaming laptops and lower end handhelds.
It is totally fair to compare this to a Steam Deck the way you would compare a Honda Civic to a BMW 4 series. They are both sedans. I would not compare the BMW to a pick up truck though.

@BAMozzy
Hello again, I don’t think it’s a matter of people forgetting or failing to distinguish. It’s more that if you are a gamer, you’re not going to get juiced by the next announcement being touted as “From the makers of Excel and PowerPoint.” Any reminder that Xbox originates from Microsoft makes it uncool.

@BAMozzy
If people have difficulty separating Xbox from console, Microsoft is partly to blame when they claim that everything is an Xbox. Our frame of reference is gone.

Interesting take, so it is the " ROG Xbox Ally X," but if you complain about the price it is the " ASUS " ROG Xbox Ally X

I voted "Maybe when it drops in price" although it would have to be a pretty steep drop. Maybe I would try it out in 1-2 years as a clearance model if a version 2 arrives. I can't find a place for this device with my current set up, and I don't intend to renew Game Pass.

@MinervaX76
This makes me wonder if maybe I need to ask my financial guy about my video game portfolio at our next meeting.

I did not have a big gaming collection until about five years ago when I got back into it. I previously just played the same things over and over. Now my backlog is so big, that I am mostly looking to work on that.

360 was the best name

Although this is an Xbox owned property, I tend to associate it as its own thing even now

This technobabble doesn’t mean much to me. What’s the actual plan? If we’re going to get an Xbox native version of Hellblade 3: Senua”s Revenge or something, in which case I don’t care. Series X was already powerful, but it’s still below a gaming desktop level, so PC snobs will not be impressed at the Nextbox either.

That reminds me I pre-ordered the "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Lumiere Edition GameStop Exclusive - PlayStation 5" set to launch October 31. I wonder this "near future" update will be included on the disc.

Gaming PC aficianados are quite adept at figuring out what is a deal based on specs. They look at websites and Reddit posts with spreadsheets containing FPS per dollar. The lower price ROG Ally apparently does not match up well to the higher one.

As someone who previously rented and finally bought my own home some years ago, I can tell you it was like a cloud was lifted when I went from renter to owner. I don't think I can ever go back to renting, and hopefully I won't have to. With digital games, you are ceding part of the rights of ownership to the corporations in a way that did not exist with physical media. For some people this feels like a step back. As far as longevity goes, the jury is out on that one. I'd have to give the edge to digitial. Case in point, I am more likely to be able to play Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on Steam in 2050 than on my PS5 disc.

The screenshot of the French guy reminds me of everything I dislike about Youtube.

@OldGamer999
I agree with you in princple. It is possible by the 2030s though, that the kids who grew up with Minecraft and Roblox will settle for blocky home streaming games via Netflix. It's like me that I am fine playing songs on my Echo dot with Spotify, while a true audiophile will spend thousands on their music set up. The market will evolve in the direction of the consumer.

We live in interesting times when a $3 trillion company has to respond to a guy on the internet.

The 1 and 5 hour limits can't be the final policy. I might as well just play a throway mobile game.

@AverageJoseph
Your style actually makes sense for a subscription service because you go through a healthy variety of games on a consistent basis. I’m just not sure how large is that slice of the market.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner
I see the end coming in 10-15 years the tech monopolies will gatekeep all games behind a cloud paywall, subscription based with limited rights of ownership, at the price they decide is good for you. I could see Google, Amazon, Microsoft, which dominate cloud services, eventually forcing Sony and Nintendo to join or be destroyed.

@Questionable_Duck
Yeah I was saying if you are a Fortnite and Assassin's Creed sicko, you are probably delighted right now.

@Questionable_Duck
It's true Clair Obscur, Silksong, and Blue Prince are all contenders, but their retail value is $100 combined to own, versus just renting access to them from Game Pass. If you are one and done type of gamer, I guess you could subscribe for a month or two and rush through them, and pay less overall. If they had physical releases like back in the day, you could also buy and flip used, for a slight net loss, but are they slowly eroding that market.

I got the Series S as a cheap Game Pass experiment. Sadly, I just don't see the value on staying on with the next gen if / when that comes out. Our household was PC > Nintendo > Sony. There won't be room for Xbox proper at these inflated prices.

I'm very happy with the changes! : 1%
This person must really like Fortnite and Assassin's Creed

I’m paid for Ultimate through August 2027 when my son (who is the primary account holder on the Xbox ) goes off to college. I don’t know how much Game Pass will cost at that point. I still can’t get over the fact that this is just a rental fee. You don’t own anything. It will make more sense to be selective and just buy the games I want probably after they go on their initial markdown.

@Banjo-
Yes, I used one of those conversion deals before they closed the loophole on that to get 36 months for roughly the price of 13 months a couple of years ago. So I definitely know about taking advantage of their system.
In the end, though it’s just a rental cost like getting it from Blockbuster, because if I decide not to renew my subscription, all I have left are the memories. For the average gamer it’s a $700 Series X + $360 a year to rent games for let’s say five years that’s $2500. I just don’t know if you could call it “the best deal in gaming” anymore when you total it up like that.

@Banjo-
The people on this website are a small sliver of the most overall subscribers, and probably don’t factor into this price hike. Microsoft is within their discretion to release the data on who pays full price versus who gets codes through the gray market. I predict they will keep silent.

It’s even worse when you consider the $30 per month versus a $60 or $70 game that the former is a rental fee and the latter is the ownership price. If you just care to rent and not own, then you could buy three $60 games a month and flip them when you’re done for $50 and that’s basically the same $30 net loss. But who goes through three $60 games a month? That takes a lot of time.

@Westernwolf4
The Xbox technically belongs to my son as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago We stacked Game Pass until the month he leaves for college mid 2027. Neither the Xbox nor the subscription will be going with him.

@MarzoriuM
I paid $10 a month for Netflix with ads. If I took my family of five to the movie theater to see something similar, it would cost way more than that. The value proposition for $30 per month or $360 per year of Game Pass is just not the there for me anymore at the level I use it.

@Boogaloo_Jenkins
I’m in the same boat. I bought it on an impulse sale for $250 and Xbox remains our fourth most common platform in the house going in order of PC Switch then PS5. I also stacked three years of Game Pass back when it was a thing. When that runs out I’m out.

@Grackler
You will only be able to trade in games as long as they make a physical version. We can see they’re moving toward digital only and rental preferred.

@Banjo-
I’m not sure if these corporations can turn on a dime and go from raising rental fees every six months to all of a sudden giving away services for free.

I also play Xbox games on my Sony device (Bravia TV), so right back at you Sarah Bond!

@BAMozzy
I purchased some TV episodes on my 2006 iPod, and I have been with Apple in some way shape or form since then, but at some point they just vanished from my account. You can't account for everything. Sometimes, you just have to let things go.

I wish they had remastered Morrowind instead. That was my first TES game on Xbox. I completed that plus one of the expansions. I completed Oblivion and the expansions on PC later. I find myself wanting to go back to Morrowind, but I have no further interest in Oblivion. I also started Skyrim multiple times on PC, Switch, and Playstation, but I never got very far for some reason.

@BAMozzy
I tend to agree with this prediction, although nobody can really say for sure what will happen 20-30 years from now. People point back to SNES games they can still play, but the digital infrastructure did not exist back then. Past performance does not equate to future results. Regardless, I wouldn't worry too much about a consumer purchase decision made today with that timeframe in mind. We're not talking about retirement planning; it's just a piece of entertainment.