@Fiendish-Beaver They needed a lot longer than 6 months. The game was very good in both single and multiplayer. Yes, both could have done with more polish (e.g. SP cinematics). The dev team efficiency was low.

What I couldn't understand was why 343 didn't have a team or teams (internal or otherwise) working on MP maps in parallel to other development. Remake legacy maps. Season 02 or 03 had a long delay and the team released a video saying one map takes 5 months to complete. WTF?

@TheGameThrifter Flight Sim is Microsoft's oldest game franchise at it is excellent. Many of the games on the list are good and even were successful. The Grounded series is excellent and popular.

People complained about MS being overbearing for 20+ years, not suddenly they need a strong hand again. The goal was to establish a library appealing to various tastes for the platform, while decoupling that library from the hardware. Now people want a reduced set of games with developers relegated to chasing mass appeal?

I have two; for CoD2 and FNR3. Two of the first XBOX 360 games and two of my favorites.

@themightyant Well I say "scale" I'm referring to the enterprise. It's difficult to compare Microsoft operations with a quarter-million employees and wide breadth of industries to Nintendo, a videogame company with sub-10k employees.

Our first home system was ColecoVision and we added from there. We played plenty of games on the C128, Sega Master System, NES, Genesis, SNES, PS, N64 and so on. Yes, Genesis had the "Nintendon't" ad, and one of my brothers was a serious SEGA fan, but we still played competing systems.

So did our friends — you got what consoles (and/or a computer) you could get your hands on. We chased the games and new advanced technology to improve the games, not some bizarre devotion to one company versus another. Not arguing over sales numbers. Then there's the guys who are PC store fans...

@themightyant The scale is a significant factor. You could combine the entirety of Sony and Nintendo and the value would be a bad week for MS. An American megacorp is not going to have the safe focus when reporting to investors. Games have largely been all Nintendo is about for 50 years and are the biggest revenue source for Sony.

The question is — why does anyone even care? It's literally none of anyone's business outside of these companies and heavy investors. I don't remember anyone giving a damn if Nintendo sold more consoles than SEGA or Turbografx...A Mario game outselling Metal Gear...or how many units they sold in a vacuum. No matter how much financial data is revealed, today people are just going to use it to console war and profit from console war mentality.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner E-Day does need to "sell consoles." It's been out 2 weeks. It is a cumulative effect. The console cost $800 and is in limited supply — XBOX has clearly not been allowing console footprint to limit games & services reach for a decade. E-Day can sell platforms deemed worthy and bring people to ecosystem.

"Their report claims that it's a "source familiar with Xbox’s business","

Sigh. You could almost admire their commitment to fabricating stories or reporting unsubstantiated rumors from dubious sources. They upped the ante, adding another $100 million to the $400 million "rumor."

I would say, "why even continue to entertain & report these rumors," then I realize we all clicked on it, in a way justifying the posts. This is a parasitic, deleterious money-making enterprise.

Cronos was a good game. SH2 remake was also well received (I own it and need to start). I'm glad to see Bloober Team growing and progressing as developers.

@Dodoo They didn't get rid of Jim Ryan that long ago. Hulst was the head for a minute, then they moved Noshino to president and CEO about 18 months ago. That is three shuffles recently.

@strzelec The hopping pissed me off nearly 20 years ago, so they added absurd sliding and goofy skins to up the ante. LOL

The campaign is pretty good so far. I'm about 2 hours in. There is some roughness on PC at highest settings that I'm imagine they will smooth out.

@StoicSlab Asha is doing and saying things to keep the XBOX fans off her back. Internally, she cut studios (shuffled some) and jobs to become more profitable. Ultimately, they must continue to grow off console (other devices even if excluding PS). The XP thing may bring in more money and also act as advertising for XBOX as a whole.

@IllusiveMan Could be the marketing deal is largely exclusive. Seems like it so far. Sony would want preferential treatment, pushing as many people to their platform as possible. They intentional mention "Best on PS5" rather than "Best on PS5 Pro." A side effect is that it also implies that it is NOT a PS5 exclusive.

Great username, BTW.

@Fiendish-Beaver I don't think that is the only solution. They do need to monetize each game in other ways, though. Many of the titles MS owns now are PC series that eventually came to console (and not every console right away). The actual console will forever be a barrier to revenue growth whether components are available, or a retail sale breaks even.

They need to increasingly leverage other devices, but that doesn't mean that must include PS. We saw how detrimental to fan morale and public perception that turned out to be. The reaction could be deemed "irrational," but is irrelevant if the negative impact proves tangible.

Series X is superior to base PS5. Not "on par."

Anyway, my nephew sent me the link to the trailer this morning. The game looks good and is only month away.

@BacklogBrad The Banjo Kazooie fans might have a chance. LOL

@RTGX Well, it's a message from "corpos," so...

Asha is going to tell everyone what they want to here. She's been doing it since her first press release. If it wasn't obvious, the use of the term, "AI slop," should have been a clear indicator.

These companies put serious money on the line to make far more money. They are not looking to lose or break even (and neither is even the most modest investor). I can't really begrudge them the use of tools when it is their business. Saying "don't use AI at all" is unrealistic. This is a tech company and they develop, among other things, AI tech.

@BacklogBrad They've been working on this internally for a few years. We heard small bits like their AI recreating a game from ingested YouTube videos about the game.

They're also painfully aware of the PS5 hacks/cracks and recompilation efforts. Rockstar might have to step on it with that PC release of GTA VI.

It sounds like this program will produce quickly spun up games (utilizing AI) from the conceptualization phase and put them out to the public.

@Banjo- I agree that the HALO series was not great, but it had some well done aspects. Season 2 was far better. Was it to the level that fans want? No. Curiosity and being a fan were enough to give it a chance. I watched the Twisted Metal series for Christ's sake.

I have no desire to see the Mario movies and it is still kind of surprising to see people online planning to go see them (outside of taking you children, of course). I haven't even watched the Sonic movies.

@Coletrain This is a huge launch for Rockstar, so odds are it is just "Stream Your Own Games" inclusion (and Remote Play) for GTA VI. That is cool for playing on the RoG or Steam Deck. I see why that wouldn't include streaming to a desktop or laptop PC.

One is question is with the Game Pass and XCloud tier reshuffle, would MS offer digital game rentals for some games (1st or 3rd party partners). For example — would Rockstar be cool with a $5 rental of GTA VI for 2 days? Streaming if not downloaded?

@Matthewnh The thin strip of grip is coming off on one of my Elite Series 2s. I have 3 or 4 and one Elite Series 1. That is the only one with the issue. The strip is a little too long (overshoots the shell) and that may have contributed to the issue. The images of the prototype show the grip stays low and does not climb the front-side.

In the video, the alleged prototype had a magnetic (interchangeable) face plate and the analog stick modules were easily removable with a screwdriver. No need to desolder.

@TrollOfWar XBOX has always been somewhat agile when compared to Sony and Nintendo. They tried several approaches simultaneously recently. MS isn't in the business of breaking even or making low single-digit profits. That is what was happening in the last quarter. Game Pass hasn't grown enough off console to float the Double Fines and Ninja Theories.

Component costs and hardware losses exacerbated the issue. So, those poorly performing studios had to go. They were not the first. Why spend hundreds of millions of dollars and years of development to spin your wheels, essentially? If MS chooses to spend the same amount of money (rather than just save it), then put it towards projects likely to give a greater return.

I'm pretty sure there were perk unlocks to expand the combat, executions, and you had the riposte.

@Coletrain Once they get to the profitability and stability points they're aiming for, MS/XBOX can greenlight some smaller projects here and there.

Get Game Pass on hotel/motel TVs. Get Game Pass in airports and on flights. Get Game Pass as a channel on other streaming apps. People would pay $3-5 an hour for themselves or their kids to play.

I'm pretty sure I played the Steam demo of Ferocious last year. It seemed OK. I just didn't want to commit too much time to it.

@GrapTops I wanted to fire it up this weekend and ended up not playing much of anything. The dev has put out a few updates. There are posts from early August on the Steam forum where people were still getting stuck places. This week, I am going to put a few hours in.

This game is pretty damn good and people on Game Pass Ultimate should give it a try. Denshattack reminds me of Tony Hawk crossed with Super Meatboy where the skater is a subway car.

I used the Skull with the crazy cheekbones and pretended it was a duck skull.

I am tempted, but I already own the RoG XBox Ally X. This was bound to happen (same thing went down with the Steam Deck with a larger gap). Maybe it will go on sale for $100 off in 6 months and I can pretend I had great self-control at launch.

I don't get why people plan to use rewards points SPECIFICALLY for GTA6. Effectively, the points are cash. If you are buying other games in the meantime with debit/credit or purchased gift cards, what different does it make to save the points for GTA6? I guess if you buy games now with credit you get more points, but there will be another game to buy (with or without points) soon after GTA6.

I bought this on Steam a while back. Just waited a bit for bugs to be cleared up.

@Fiendish-Beaver There's no way there are 90 million active PS5 households. Certainly not purchasing games monthly or even quarterly. Not even 10% of that figure. XBOX has targeted console and PC for a decade. If that isn't enough, nothing is.

Better late than never. This will be a welcome update. This game is fun and I played it on console as a "chill out" game. The frame rate, however, was atrocious. I think I bought it on Steam. Too bad there's no cross-save.

@Fiendish-Beaver "Gears of War is absolutely 100% a Live Service game"

They are referring to games routed in Live Service and that does not include Gears. The series has a campaign and fun, out-of-the ordinary multiplayer. Other series are live service from the ground up. That is what they are referring tol.

Regardless, MS can make whatever they want exclusive or multiplat. Rumor has it, they wanted to pull back more than E-Day and Clockwork. Who knows? The innerworkings are none of our business (literally) and I don't know why so many people are up their ass about it. Well, the media, game sites, and YTbers, I get — clicks & profit.

@Mr-Cage Buckshot Roulette? I tried over the weekend. It is fun.

I don't store MS rewards points for long. You've lost out better redemption deals if you did. My account has 1-month Ultimate auto-redeem set. Every 2-3 months, in addition to the 1-month Ultimate, I redeem a $25 gift card.

@xboxisking No. There is a balance to find. They need to be increasingly profitable to get Satya, Amy, the BoD, and investors off of their backs. If Game Pass membership had swelled on PC (and other devices) and/or ports sold avg. 5 million units on PC and PS5, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

A Tekken 1 & 2 bundle at this price would have been cool.

@Balaam_ Tell that to Sony.

@AI-Generation We shall see how E-Day ultimately fares as a finished product, in sales, and with players & "reviewers". I bought the premium upgrade. I'm considering buying the standard edition also, as a kind of "thumbs up" to the team.

I will get the Ultimate edition and be done with it.

I was a long-lapsed CoD player and Game Pass brought me back. Well, first there was the DMZ in MWII beta, then MWIII campaign. I am fine with the removal as I understand the stakes. For me, I am unaffected financially due to stacking with rewards points. The reality that eventually Ultimate would be too full of 1st party too fast, leading to changes, never escaped me.

I am considering buying the new 2026 CoD, and I do wonder how many people like me are out there.

@Weebleman Without the MS acquisition, those smaller studios would have been shuttered years ago. They needed a buyer, thus the sale. Their games didn't sell. Even Bethesda was struggling and needed a solution.

Regardless, it is sad to see any talented studios go. I'm awaiting concrete announcements and not all the hearsay.

I got back into CoD largely due to its Game Pass inclusion. BOPS7 did not hold me for long. This new one looks promising, though. DMZ in the MWII beta was cool and I'm glad it is returning.

I bought a 4080 after playing a few hours in AW2 because I wanted to play it maxed out. The videocard came with a code for AW2. Now I'm running a 5080. I still haven't completed AW2. LOL

Undisputed is fun. The CPU starts cheating when in trouble ala UFC games on the higher difficulties, though.

Part of me is hoping this is not sold outside of the bundle to save me from myself. LOL

I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be followed by an even better, non-limited edition version within six months.

I've been using QR since launch and never felt the need to disable it. The feature works well the overwhelming amount of time. Occasionally, a game gets booted out.

The issues stem from developers failing to code their games to gracefully handle loss of connection to servers. It is not a QR problem; any service interruption would have the same result. Despite being fully aware of QR, they often do nothing. EA UFC5 is one game I play regularly where the devs corrected the issue (although approx. two years after release).