themightyant

I don't know why he keeps all titles back to 2020, that's not a roadmap, that's past history. Looking forward to Fable, Clockwork Revolution and Blade most of all. And of course Elder Scrolls 6, but I don't think that's anytime this gen.

I don't REALLY want it on Console, it's lacking a lot of features, but I love how it's clean and has so few ads unlike the Xbox dashboard that is littered with them. Take a bit of inspiration from that and tone down the number of ads, or at least give us more control to customise the home screen.

It sounds cool on paper, but I haven't played a game recently where space combat is fun for more than an hour or so. The gameplay gets tired fast imo. There just isn't much room for growth or player expression.

It was an interesting curio I enjoyed for a few hours and then promptly uninstalled it, never to be played again. Some games age gracefully, some age poorly, Goldeneye is firmly in the latter camp.

Looks like the Xbox UI wihout.... oh I see others have said the same. But it REALLY does look the Xbox UI without as many ads have a look yourself. https://xbox.com/play

Can we have this on Xbox too please.

I remember enjoying the first game... but can't actually remember it. Not sure quite what that says about it. But with Gamepass i'll give it another whirl.

Probably none of them, as my backlog of better games is so long. But maybe Anno Muta... (checks spelling)...tionem eventually if it's still on the service.

@Tasuki LOL. I think the reason they don't add it to Game Pass is like candy, or dealers, they have given Xbox users their first free fix and now want them to pay for it now they are hooked.

I loved Carmageddon back in the day, put countless hours into it, so fun... but I was also a teenager... not sure i'll get the same kicks from it now. Will be interesting to see how they have evolved the formula, if it holds up, and if subjectively I still find that fun.

@Fiendish-Beaver @Feffster Great shout PS+ for a new PS5 owner is a no brainer, whereas if you’ve been on the platform for a long time you’ve probably played most of those games and it’s less value. (Same for someone new to Xbox and Game Pass)

Also agree that most games are enhanced not just those with PS5 Pro Enhanced tags. Basically anything that doesn’t hit a stable framerate or has dynamic resolution scaling will look or perform better. Everything typically just plays smoother in my experience, and in some games like Elden Ring it’s a pretty sizeable difference that gets you over the VRR line pretty consistently.

@Fiendish-Beaver it’s less bout gaming at 120Hz this gen and more about using that 120Hz mode to enable 40fps modes, VRR with low frame rate compensation and other boons. Though a few games do offer 120Hz modes it’s usually not worth the graphical trade off imo. YMMV

@Fiendish-Beaver that’s quite the flip.

Anyway enjoy the PS5 Pro, it’s a great machine, and the best place to play almost all titles on console. I’ve been very happy with mine. If you haven’t played it get Astro Bot, it’s just about the closest to a perfect game I’ve played in a long time.

While I absolutely think Xbox will have another console I can understand your fears, even if I think they won’t happen anytime soon.

Maybe. Usually I’d say definitely not because they don’t want to cannibalise sales of their current console, but they seemingly don’t care about selling that much (low stock etc.) so maybe just a glimpse at what’s coming tomorrow. But odds are still low.

@Fiendish-Beaver @Sindayl I'm cautiously optimistic about Xbox-PC. I think it's the right direction for them... IF they can deliver on the alleged promise of a high-end PC with the convenience of an under TV console that plays everything XSX plays plus other PC launchers all under one roof, then it could be brilliant. But that's a big IF.

Xbox steps on so many rakes with any good news they seem to self destruct too. Here's my concerns e.g.

• I'm not convinced it will be a console like experience - ROG Xbox Ally X certainly isn't a smooth user experience.
• Will it actually play all games natively well? If so how are they going to do it. They shouldn't be able to emulate XSX games so it must either be translation layer, some sort of dual boot, or a Windows/Xbox hybrid OS (but will this work smoothly without issues). It just needs to work.
• Play anywhere needs to be on everything they sell / Game Pass. Don't make us think or have to look up which games are compatible. Again it just needs to work.
• Xbox pivots faster than runway models, I am not sure if they will follow through with it if it doesn't immediately succeed, or will pivot strategy once again.
• EDIT: Also what is all this going to cost? How many will it price out and alienate?

So they have a lot of hurdles to climb. But as I said yesterday I'll likely be there day 1 again.

It's a shame for Xbox fans but also understandable. If you are feeling the pinch as a developer and need to focus on just 1- 2 platforms the obvious one to skip is usually going to be the one in last place.

This is something Microsoft is seemingly addressing next gen with their XboxPC, but until then it will continue to happen sadly.

@Fiendish-Beaver I'll probably also end up getting both, not least I now have Game Pass stacked till 2029 and I use the service a lot. But it will depend on the cost and features of the PCBox, everything will be cross gen for a while, so I could just stick on XSX if it's super expensive and/or I don't like the direction it's gone.

Good to see it getting positive impressions, hopefully gamers give it a fair shake.

I'd love to see something new from them. Hopefully there's something new in amongst all these shows.

@acmiguens Oh that's for sure. Some people will just complain whatever, and it can be hard to parse the valid complaints from the whingers.

But as someone who used to buy virtually ALL their games day 1 and haven't bought even one day 1 for the last 5 years I think there's a lot to complain about. While I get around to many of them eventually it just feels like i've played most of it before, their games doesn't surprise and delight much anymore.

Ultimately I think they make good games now - well made, but uninspired games - but they used to make great games - games that would push boundaries and ideas - but no longer, and to me that's a shame. I'd love to be as excited for the next Ubisoft release as I was 20+ years ago, i'd love Ubisoft to regain their status as one of the great developers in the world. Fingers crossed the restructure helps them claim some of that former creative glory.

@acmiguens In a similar position, though I have a Series X I think I might want to own this and so if the PS5 Pro version is good I might but it there. Will wait for reviews. Massively looking forward to it.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner If you want a serious answer... ask AI... apparently. The only reference I could find is to how much it sold in first 6 days, which isn't the same question. It's also from a guestimate from Alinea Analytics, not a very reliable source. There are no official numbers on game sales on different platforms.

@Feffster OK I'll bite. The dislike, as far as I see it, is twofold.

• Ubisoft USED to be a company that pushed boundaries and new ideas, their content felt fresh and exciting. Even within series Far Cry 2 was very different to Far Cry 3, Prince of Persia, AC, Rayman used to all massively evolve, now they don't. We've basically had Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed on repeat for a decade.
  On top of AAA they used to bring out unique and beloved titles like Beyond Good and Evil, Child of Light, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Child of Eden. Now they don't
• All their game series now feel alike, if you have played more than a handful they all start to merge into each other, it's homogenised game design by committee. Well made, but pretty soulless games that rarely push game design in new interesting new ways.

But credit where it's due, they do support their older titles with updates, Kudos for that at least.

That would be awesome as I love this format, it's just about perfect.

They certainly have enough developers, and if their games are ready go for it!

I don't think we can quite say that yet, at least in terms of console exclusives. I think we might still see some, when it makes sense, just not many.

The memory crisis is a major concern that there isn't an easy solution to, especially for Xbox if they are committed to building an ultra-premium console. If, as was leaked due to bus size, Xbox Magnus was aiming for up to 48GB, with 36GB most likely (24GB unlikely) of ultra fast GDDR7 memory then this will cost a small fortune.

They can either.

• Release as planned and pass the cost on to us. $$$$$
• Delay, hoping memory costs come down. But then the rest of the silicon is just getting older, and every year they wait the specs comparatively get worse.
• Reduce the amount of memory to 24GB or lower, but then it doesn't do what they were planning it to, and consoles are built to work in harmony, this will be a bottleneck.
• EDIT: or yeah, cancel it like you said... But I think that would be death of the brand, one big lie too many. I don't see it happening.

No easy solutions. While this is the same issue Sony and others will have to deal with the rumour it PS6 was designed to be a more cost efficient console so the cost increase from memory shouldn't be as large. That could mean we are looking at Xbox being twice as expensive as PS6 which makes it a hard sell to many.

@Titntin + 1 for Backblaze. Off-site backup of all your digital media (in case your home burns down) for a relatively low cost. The peace of mind alone is worth it imo.

But I still like tangible things. I pick up photos, or books, or video game cases and they bring me joy. A digital picture, kindle ebook (though I use kindle a lot) or cloud streaming service doesn't evoke the same emotion in me, and I don't just stumble on them in the same way. But I understand the space they consume.

@FraserG I agree. Though I think an optional disc drive is not the same as an optional accessory. But it would hasten the death of physical media on Xbox. (It's sadly going to happen anyway, it's just when)

@FraserG I’d be down with a reasonably priced optional add-on drive next gen.

What I find interesting is I would scream, shout and kick up a fuss if they tried to take physical media away on Nintendo and PlayStation… but on Xbox they’ve almost convinced me I don’t need a drive already. If one is available I’d probably still get one for choice and game preservation, but I’m not sure I’d fight quite so hard for it anymore.

EDIT: although on thinking about it a bit harder, it depends what my primary console is. If Xbox is as powerful as we think it might be and it becomes my primary console then I would definitely want physical media.

Unsurprising. Xbox has conditioned most users to use game pass and go digital. I am pro-physical media generally and bought a series X expecting to use the disc drive a lot, but because I primarily use my Xbox for game pass I don’t.

In fact I think the first time I used the disc drive was for Anthem this month. Crazy.

@OldGamer999 I think that is more due to diminishing returns in terms of graphics. Games do look better, have more detail, higher textures etc. but it’s not as much of a jump, so it’s not as noticeable.

But even the best looking games of last gen, like Red Dead 2, TLOU2 or Metro Exodus also took 5+ years to make. This isn’t a new problem.

But it’s not just graphics it’s gameplay and polish. Many AAA Games used to be a lot more basic and a lot jankier, now we expect them to have so many features and want those to be polished and smooth not janky. This takes time.

Personally, I think it is a massive mistake, but I don't think that Microsoft really have any choice in the matter anymore.

I agree @Fiendish-Beaver. I think exclusives ARE important, but I also think they don't have much choice anymore. The reality is since they bought Zenimax and ABK they have outgrown exclusives, they simply can't support all those studios anymore, and make a decent profit, on just Xbox and PC users alone.

Seemingly they were hoping that people would flock to Xbox and Game Pass because of these business deals but that just hasn't happened, therefore they are making the best of their situation and going multi-platform. It's the most sensible choice in their position.

Add into that equation Game Pass, and the fact that it has undoubtedly altered peoples buying habits on the Xbox, and you can see that Microsoft have no choice but to recoup their investments on rival consoles.

Agree again. While I can only speak for myself, I have seen many other's say the same, I simply don't buy many games on Xbox anymore simply because Game Pass is so good. Obviously if I ONLY had an Xbox that would be a little different, but for a gaming enthusiast, who plays too much, to not buy much on your console is a problem. Law of unintended consequences.

We've also seen developers say that the aren't porting to Xbox because if it's not on Game Pass it's not worth it. Obviously it seems like Microsoft are addressing that next-gen with PC games seemingly running, but it's a lot of reactive decision making, rather than forging the path they want successfully.

Why's no one talking about this? Because it's bloody niche! lol

I'm sure it's good for those who enjoy this sort of thing, but I imagine that's a pretty small sample size.

Either way thanks for bringing it to my attention.

@OldGamer999 I think it depends what games you play. Many games it works well, but others it just fails after a long pause and boots you back to the home screen. I also had a few bugs with Quick resume where restarting the console and games has solved it, thought this may be just due to a memory leak, or similar, in the game that Quick resume is amplifying.

@OldGamer999 quick resume is great when it works, which it doesn’t all the time, but to be honest I don’t actually use it all that much as I tend to play 1 game at a time.

SSD is by far, and it’s not even close for me, the best feature this gen. Whenever I go back and play a XBO or PS4 game it’s like pulling teeth even if load times are faster on XSX and PS5 then they were on XBO and PS4 do older games. Hard to go back.

@OldGamer999 It's my most anticipated Xbox game. If it reviews well and if it has OK PS5 Pro upgrades I might just buy it over there instead of playing it on Game Pass, as I suspect it will be one I want to keep.

@OldGamer999 Wow, I didn't even think of that. I assume every game has a 60fps mode now as so few don't. I'd be surprised if they only have a 30fps mode Playground are technical wizards.

I still think the odds are likely GTA6 is delayed. Far to early to call any unrealised game a GOTY contender imo, it's just over-inflating expectations.

@Runex2121 the controversial thing is the 50% price increase. The upgrade was $40 now it’s $60, as much as the game itself.

@Weebleman that’s true and an issue with all these subscription services. Same with PS+ etc. if you buy DLC.

But one thing I would say Microsoft have been more than fair about so far is when they discontinue a game like Forza Horizon they have usually given the base game away to Game Pass users who have bought DLC so you still have access after it’s delisted even if you don’t have game pass. Obviously that’s a few years later, (and sooner than it should be due to licensing… but that’s another issue) yet it’s very good of them.

Size rarely matters in open world games, in fact smaller and denser it’s almost always better.

This looks unbelievably ambitious. If they can pull it off it could be an all timer, fingers firmly crossed. Very much looking forward to it.

@WhiteRaven that’s entirely fair, but it is a problem for a lot of people. Perhaps they could have a toggle to unlock cars at a fast rate, or slow it down a little bit, or even unlock them all for you. It’s an easily solvable problem.

@Markatron84 That's not true. Phil Spencer himself said

He also said in the same interview when talking more broadly about studios like Rare getting games out

So no it wasn't just Jez "I make **** up" Corden muddying the waters.

So "I" will certainly see a lot more of it in the coming year

I read that more as a threat. lol. I am watching you Undead Labs.
-Craig Duncan

TBH they said similar things about other cancelled games and studios, so I trust their ACTIONS a lot more than their words.

I was really impressed by how ambitious it was in terms of affecting the world, felt very Molyneux/Lionhead. It remains to be seen how deep this actually is, if they actually pull it off, or if it's just surface level and a bit too Molyneux, undelivered promises.

Good of him to at least TRY and clear it up... but it's not really a clear answer at all... still talking in riddles where you can take out of it what you want to an extent.

But my reading of it is they are going to try and make most games multiplatform going forward ("consistency") when they can. Note he never once mentions exclusivity, or that it could be important, only that it might not be convenient in some situations to launch on all platforms at once. Bets firmly hedged.

But i'd love to hear how y'all interpreted it.

That definitely sounds like an improvement. In FH5 after doing a couple of intro races they seemingly just spunked a load of map markers on every corner of the the map in a way that made Ubisoft's map markers look tame. Hopefully they also don't give us multiple cars before we've even had the chance to properly try the last ones we got. It was all grossly excessive and made them feel worthless.

Nope. Fell for this last time and ended up not playing it much. Even more no at £60.

Hopefully the mechs aren't locked behind DLC.

@Llamageddon That sounds wonderful. Enjoy the hobby, and India! Yes great dev direct. Xbox really nailed this format.

@Llamageddon Me too, as I thought Keeper was brilliant and would like more people to be able to play it.

But I think online multiplayer games, which need a constant flow of concurrent players to survive, make far more sense as a multiplatform release... so Kiln it is.

Pottery is great. I used to do it and miss it, my mates mum was a potter and always allowed us to throw some clay, it's a lovely hobby. I might boot it up just to try that part of it. Which I couldn't do without Game Pass.

@fatpunkslim Isn't that the exact same mistake you were making? Assuming there was some clear pattern to it all and telling everyone they were all wrong.

While I do think it will be on a case by case basis, they also told us it was only 4 games, that prices wouldn't go up due to the ABK deal, and many other untruths in the last few years. So I don't trust what they SAY at all, instead I look at what they DO, and what they are doing is positioning themselves more as a multi-platform publisher.

Hence I expect almost all titles to go multi-platform eventually and many to be Day 1. Which makes perfect sense financially now they have so many studios to support, more than they can realistically support on just Xbox and PC revenue. That was a factor no one really considered when they bought Zenimax and ABK. Unless we want even more Xbox studios to close the multi-platform model is their best way forward for now.

@Fiendish-Beaver I’m still not convinced EVERY Xbox game will go day 1 to PlayStation, but I think the vast majority will. I think they will hold back a few as timed exclusives when they think it makes sense strategically. I don’t think it’s JUST Game Dev timing holding Forza back for example.

Though I was a little surprised to see Kiln go multi-platform day 1, when Keeper didn’t, but I guess that is a multi-player online game that could do with a larger player base.

There isn’t a clear pattern. 🤷‍♂️