theduckofdeath

@Nic-Noc20th-C I had some fun with Redfall despite it having serious development & design issues. Total playtime was 45-65 hours, though I can't be sure because even the playtime clock was bugged.

@MaseSco What the closure of Tango reminds me of, unfavorably, is the robotic nature with which MS closed the MechAssault studio after the second game underperformed.

@NEStalgia That's pretty much where I'm at with the platform as well. MS provides so much news for these sites/YTbers because the company has massive potential as well as erratic spurts. The porting rumor fiasco, slow response, and eventual ports were point where I began to disengage. After a decade of watching Xbox pull itself back together, have another good Direct and new games on the way, they throw the car in reverse gear at speed.

I still play some games(s) for a bit each day (more consistently than I play on PC), Game Pass doesn't expire until almost 2028, and I'm not selling anything. I'll probably buy the next console just because. There is an overall disinterest, however, where platforms tend to foster the opposite. Capcom releases great games (for my entire life, and I'm older now), and have been on great streak, but I never think to visit a Capcom site, you know?

@mousieone Makes me wonder if in the last 6 months MS told Xbox to make some cuts. "If Hi-Fi Rush does not sell on its third platform, we close the studio." Arkane-Austin's days were numbered.

If I remember correctly, from the ABK trial, the fiscal year for MS ends in June. That is probably weighs in on the cutting of those drowning and those treading water now.

@NEStalgia I sincerely doubt any company would relinquish the foothold that MS has in gaming, and that includes the console. The nonsense of "Xbox is in third place" or "Xbox isn't successful" or "consoles don't matter" is online trash talk. Google and Apple would like to have that third place. Thirty million consoles sold is significant. Day & date on PC is significant.

Unfortunately, Tango titles were not exactly lighting up the charts prior to acquisition, and the same goes for Arkane Austin. Greenberg's tweet about Hi-Fi likely referred to MAU metrics and internal Xbox metrics. MICROSOFT metrics are a whole different story. Business factors and decisions are not frozen in time or etched in stone. I think the ABK acquisition changed a lot between Xbox and MS.

@mousieone Toys for Bob had or raised enough money to buy themselves out. Also, I think MS/Xbox retained the IP and some other assets. TfB now has a contract to develop a game for Xbox. Maybe the cards did not fall in place for this to be an option for Tango (them being a Japanese studio may also factor in). Booty's email said that no one from Tango was joining other Bethesda teams.

@Fenbops He can't speak out or reverse course (too late for that), he works for MS. He can say he regrets what happened. I doubt he could even say he fought against any of the closures, publicly. All he can do is still around and try to do the best he can internally.

@Grackler So, in the sentence I quoted, you are stating things you have no knowledge of as fact. The reason people always pull Iwata taking a pay cut one year out their a@@ is because it does not happen. Not often, certainly not in America. Sometimes execs have to take pay cuts, don't get bonuses, or are targeted for layoffs because of high salaries. That is about it.

Companies are not in the business of paying people who don't have tasks to work on. None of Tango's last 4 games were great financial successes. I wish MS could have given them a new project, but would it sell? People did not buy their games in large numbers and that cannot be ignored.

Nintendo has children captive so they can sell a Fischer-Price console for $300-$350 for 7 years. The games can be simple and have short dev cycles. Sony and MS don't have that luxury.

@GADG3Tx87 If MS didn't buy those studios, there were not many other or better options? Embracer, anyone? Google? Bethesda and ABK were looking to be sold. They would have closed studios and enacted layoffs, perhaps sooner and on a grander scale. Unfortunately, the bail out didn't go the way we all wanted. I don't have all the information, regardless, I think they should have kept Tango.

The Perfect Dark situation (if these rumors are true) is just baffling. First, they had too many studio heads and visionaries; seems like the picked one. Then they brought in Crystal Dynamics. Great — they released out 3 Tomb Raider games in 4-5 years. So why can't the make & release SOMETHING?

@Grackler "No exec pay cuts beforehand, no attempts to sell the studio to the staff."

You are not privy to any of that information. Those are private business matters. We only know of the public information.

@GamingSince84 Why are people pushing this "plastic box" rhetoric? YTbers makes sure to toss it in the script, it doesn't make sense. It's a cookie--cutter talking points.

The moment there are two consoles targeting the same audience, they are at odds. Platforms need exclusives to differentiate themselves and spur creativity. If your platform is has a smaller installed base, it assuredly needs exclusives, more than ever. Releasing games on PC is wise, releasing on the competing platform is confused.

Porting Hi-Fi Rush was probably more of an ultimatum than a test.

@Kooky_Geezer Redfall didn't just flop (deservedly), it decimated the studio. Much of the Prey team left during Redfall's development.

@MrReaps What is this "Microsoft Gaming" suddenly being pushed? More rumors out of the rumor mill? That is a horrible name, BTW. Just stick with Xbox, no matter the hardware.

@Reaper_cet Because most people are selfish and self-centered in their thinking, especially regarding esoteric or obscured business factors. YTbers dumb everything down and cater to their audience (the more they amp it up the more money they make). The fuels the engine and the cycle continues.

Closing Tango hurts. No doubt they simply were not making money (despite multi-plat status). I like their games and wish there was a way to hold onto them. No doubt the squeeze is on Xbox due to the upfront expenditure for ABK. That money won't be recouped to 8-10 years, though its far better than having it sit in banks.

Arkane Austin, well...Redfall was not soon forgotten. Prey was great, yet a commercial failure.

The other closures/dissolutions would have gone unnoticed.

@P3nguinprisM @abe_hikura I have serious doubts about that. Bethesda was looking to be acquired because going it alone was becoming risky. They would have been forced to make some cuts, far sooner than the MS acquisition.

Now, would Hi-Fi Rush have done better if not in Game Pass? That is hard to say — Game Pass was and is automatic advertising and caused many people to give it some consideration. Far greater numbers of people dismissed it and advertising wouldn't have done much to prevent that. I can admit that the announcement mid-show of a "rhythm game" was not immediately palatable to me. Chai's character design was also unappealing.

However, Hi-Fi was in GP and I started the download before the show completed. It turned out to be a great game. Would I have bought it otherwise, most likely not.

@rustyduck What I think is a major problem was raising the spectre of "no more exclusives." Specifically, porting games to PS a year later, sooner, or ever. That will hang over them and deter people from picking up the next machine. MS pulled this3.5 years into the Series S|X gen, after selling 27-30 million units. What happens after two years of living under this threat (and any ports during that period), then expecting to launch a new console to higher demand?

The closure of Tango is another major blow to public interesting in Xbox.

@GamingFan4Lyf Come on. This news is unfortunate, but let's be serious.

The expenditure for ABK will take years to recoup (and then profit) and I think those financial types are impatient. I imagine if the PalWorld devs were owned by a large publisher and put out one more miss before Palworld, they would have been canned, too.

@Mooky779 I played all of Sea of Stars on Steam Deck through XPlay/XCloud. My only gripe is that you still can't play your own games that way, so I have to consider this when buying games.

I've seen multiple YTbers blame Series S for "holding back" the Xbox and in the same breath, say Xbox should put a portable in the place of Series S next gen. How wide do you think the performance divide would be then? They could even shrink a current Series S down (with more RAM, of course) 4 years after launch.

Don't care much about there being letterboxing. I will probably bounce between Series X on the big screen and PC with 3440x1440 monitor.

@Trmn8r Some information came regarding how Redfall came to be. From what was reported, the studio and/or Bethesda wanted to make a co-op live service type of game. Only they didn't know exactly what that meant. As well, this was not the studio's (Arkane's) expertise.

The plan never solidified, and dev became disillusioned and apathetic. As time went on, many developers quit. I believe it was reported that 1/3 of the studio left. Those remaining were hoping MS would free them by cancelling Redfall, once the acquisition was complete.

I have a Xbox/Windows PC save that is over 11 days of playtime and Steam save that is very early (got coerced into the Crimson fleet storyline for a 600-credit bounty ). I will continue with both.

@fbnaulin Todd is the director/visionary and also the public mouthpiece — it is a difficult position to be in. I think he was on that Lex Friedman guy's show months before release. He said they were focusing on 30 FPS but did not rule out other modes at a later time. Can't remember if vehicles were brought up.

Obviously, if there was no 30 FPS lock at launch, the framerate would have been all over the place, which does not look good. They've now had the time tweak the game so the avg FPS is good enough to cap at 60 FPS. It will probably still bounce around at times.

@fbnaulin Howard & crew want the game to look a certain way. If they could make it look better and perform better on consoles, they would, but...they're consoles. Somehow that continues to escape people. The 60 FPS/performance modes that are coming will not look as good (frame for frame) as the original 30 FPS mode.

Depending on the type of game and performance on console, I opt to play on PC. If I have to shoot, overwhelmingly I play on PC, driving & sports games I play on console. 2K always tanks the PC version with last year's engine, away. Play Anywhere is a godsend. On PC, I'm shooting for 90-244 FPS, depending on the display I'm using.

Got back into Wasteland 3 this week. Put in a good amount of hours, making solid progress for the first time since 2020. Then two of my crew became stuck in place.

Also playing LAD: IW, Harold Halibut, Forza 5, and Tekken 8 this weekend.

In the 80's, we had some of the most brilliant market campaigns ever, executed by Hasbro; G.I. JOE and Transformers. Toys with comic books, TV shows, and movies to back them up. The first G.I. JOE 5-part mini-series aired on immediately after school on the last day of school in NYC. I can home from finishing 1st grade and that is how the summer started.

The director, Abubakar Salim, played "Father" in Raise By Wolves on HBO. He does VO for a number of games.

@Meehanuk_1987 Huh? What's the difference between PS and Xbox? I could see playing it on a portable like Switch might somehow feel more compelling. I completed Sea of Stars on Steam Deck over XCloud; not sure when or how often I would have fired it up on the big screen. I played while using the TV for watching other sports, series & movies.

@Nintendo4Sonic Most people in the West wouldn't give it a chance without a Game Pass residency. What is a "Suikoden" or "Eiyuden," anyway? I tried one of the previous games on Game Pass. There may have been rewards points attached to game objectives, specifically.

I swear, it feels like 4 or 5 of these games have been announced in the last 2 years. The name(s) keeps popping up.

@Fiendish-Beaver Yes, there has been a lot of false equivalency and "one-sidedness" regarding Xbox 1st party ports to competing platforms.

I bought into early access and will check it out this weekend.

@cardcrusher29 I used to earn about 35-36k every 6 weeks. That's without trying get to score an achievement every day. I knocked $25-50 off of SF6 & MK1 ultimate and Tekken deluxe editions.

It's all funny money; I'm not complaining. There still plenty of points to be made. My GPU membership (28 months) still grows.

@RexPowercolt Yes, I agree, it could be a contender. As you said, it could be a light year for releases, with MS/Xbox publishing a good amount of the competition. Then consider the technology on display (lifelike visuals, light & sound), along with the mental health theme, the depictions of hallucinations being integral. The team would have paid careful attention to the story because of this responsibility. The previews seem positive on everything, including the combat.

@OldGamer999 Ninja Theory is focused on telling a unique story with Hellblade and it was never going to get turned into Ninja Gaiden (any of the versions). That would be pretty silly and trivialize the theme. Senua is a normal woman (physically) suffering from psychosis, not a cartoon ninja, armored super-soldier or a mythical roided-out god. The premise that she is on a trek of revenge is pushing it far enough.

Xbox has 5+ weeks left advertise HB2; the visuals will grab a lot of eyes.

@GeeEssEff While that is entirely reasonable, this happens with every game. TotK was preordained to be nominated and likely win GoTY two years ahead of release, and the media kept up that energy. Mario Sunshine just showed up late and waltzed into the category.

@IOI I have seen posts even on this site where people wanted HB turned into something "God of War"-like. As absurd of a tonal swing as that would be.

Which makes me wonder about the other GoW, Gears of War. Yes, it has an action theme for gameplay...but what happens when the graphics are far more realistic (like the UE5 demo shown a couple years ago)? Will the characters still use goofy dodge roll and wall-bounce animations?

@Lup Nintendo will release 5 Mario and Mario-adjacent games for the Switch (the games media won't know what to do with themselves), sweeping the GoTY nominations. J/K.

I think Hellblade 2 has a good chance of being (begrudgingly) nominated this year. Xbox will be releasing much of its competition. CoD and Tekken will be silently disqualified. Probably the same for Helldivers 2 and Palworld.

@GuyinPA75 I just double-checked when I saw your message. There was no full button reassignment interface as there is for the Elite controller. You can remap the share button and change its behavior, swap sticks & triggers, as well as invert sticks. That's all the app on my machine will allow at the moment.

Two questions:

1) Will the PC version be updated?
2) Will there be cross-save/cross-progression?

Some people seem to want to turn it into Days Gone. I'd rather SoD2 retain its gameplay elements and improve upon them. The overall presentation, quests, and characters could use an uplift, too.

@FatGuyInLilCoat I don't buy 1st party Xbox games anymore because I'm stocked up on Game Pass. I was stubborn about joining for a while, finally giving in around June 2020. What a great service. I used to buy every Xbox ultimate edition at $99. The money wasn't a problem, but hey, why not take the offer?

I still buy a lot of games, mostly older ones, on Xbox. Newer games I tend to buy on PC.

When I see $70 games now, I usually hesitate, save for favorite franchises (SF, MK, VF, Tekken) and special cases. Most times I wait for sales ($10-$35).

When I was a kid, games were over $70. My brother and I would scrape money together to buy games. We got into importing, too. Japanese games were $80-$120 (SFII worked out to $150).

If the System Shock remake is the same one that came to PC, it is highly regarded. I haven't had a chance to start it.

YouTubers and Game sites are scoffing at this and not stopping to think, as usual. Bond said the largest "technological" leap, not discernable graphical leap. What technological advances have ramped up in the last 5-10 years?

AI (NPUs doing into PCs as we speak). MS invested $10 billion into Open.AI, and billions more into their company and others.

AI supersampling effects.
Frame generation.
Ray-tracing.
Noise reduction for ray-tracing.
More TFLOPS and way more TOPS.
Even faster load times (a given)
A new controller (Will they ditch analog sticks after 27 years?)
A separate SKU for portable Xbox (possible PC-hybrid).

Bringing MILO back (LOL j/k...but they could do it for real this time)

@K1LLEGAL He has been gone at least prior to Gamescom last August. The Senua actress says so herself in an interview at Gamescom (and it did not appear to be news even then). She was working with a new director for the game, who you see in other "behind the scenes" footage. The media is using it for controversy clicks now that the game is near.

@armondo36 Twenty-six years at one company, dude.

The expected length depends on the game. If Dragon's Dogma 2 or LAD were 8 hours, that would be really weird and $70 would feel too high a price. Even $50 would feel too high a price.

@Tyrant_T103 It is just the reality of consoles. I've consistently built and upgraded PC for 30 years because as you can see, we are still waiting for consoles to hit and hold the 60-fps mark. Thirty FPS is simply inevitable on consoles.

In fact, PCs have blown so far passed it, 60-fps is a "something's wrong" warning. Console game libraries came to PC and PC still has their "exclusives" due to resource requirements and happenstance.

I plan to bounce between PC and Xbox when playing Hellblade 2, starting on Xbox to examine performance and use the larger display.