Comments 8,931

Re: Forza Horizon 6 Seemingly Sold Almost 5 Million Copies Before Its Opening Weekend

themightyant

Millionski wrote:

that already covers for any revenue shortfalls from consoles

Does it? We already know that many games that sell on console don't sell well on PC, and vice versa. PC and console gamers often, though not always, like different experiences.

Somehow for 20 years there was no need to port games to PS.

Games cost a LOT less to make 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago where a $10-50 million budget would be seen as expensive, now that's a AA game. At the same time Xbox Series consoles have sold around 35 million units v 57m on Xbox One and 86m on X360. You can't sell less than half the number of consoles, and with game development costs going up expect to make the same returns.

Re: Xbox's South Of Midnight Wins Big At CGA 2026 Following PS5 & Switch 2 Release

themightyant

@Weebleman I just finished it. Amazing music, setting, art design, I even enjoyed the predictable story, it was worth playing for those alone - can see why it would win awards for some of those.

But god damn is the gameplay bad, not even just "not good", it's really, really bad. The platforming is floaty and basic, yet just about serviceable, however the combat was truly atrocious. It feels so clunky. It got tiresome in the first quarter of the game, and with almost no enemy variety - just 5-6ish mobs that all look visually similar except in size - it's tiresome.

At higher difficulties it's especially tedious to play, dragging out these boring fights till they are downright frustrating. I almost quit. It seems the devs knew this, there's even a setting to turn off all combat encounters, which I didn't do, but I did turn it down to story difficulty about half way through (then back up for bosses) just to get through it. That made the game better, that's a problem.

It's bizarre, I can't remember the last game I played that was so glaringly uneven. To shower so much attention in some areas and fail so drastically in others. I truly hope Compulsion hire decent gameplay & combat designers because if they can make something that FEELS as good to play as it looks and sounds they could yet make something truly special. Fingers crossed.

Re: Forza Horizon 6 Seemingly Sold Almost 5 Million Copies Before Its Opening Weekend

themightyant

Xboxian360 wrote:

This just proved that Xbox does not need PlayStation. It is simple, you release a good game, and people will buy it.

How does it "prove" anything? It's one very successful game. What about Outer Worlds 2, Avowed, Doom TDA, etc. which reportedly didn't sell up to expectations?

While sales on PS5 weren't stellar either that is still millions and millions of money in the bank that might balance out the Profit and Loss statements for these developers, and prevent them being closed. Plenty of good games, and good studios, fail.

Personally I think some balance is needed, a few exclusives but also plenty that are multi-platform.

Re: Unreal Engine 6 Revealed By Epic Games, Will Likely Power Lots Of Project Helix Titles

themightyant

I only want UE6 if they are genuinely going to address some of the fundamental problems of UE5. Then it would be worthwhile. e.g.

@RadioHedgeFund We might finally be getting to the point where devs can use ray traced lighting for all their games, removing the need to pre-bake all those different lighting conditions which takes so much time.

The problem is the performance floor of devices like Switch 2, low-end / portable PCs and mobile. If you want to release on all devices - and most games will - devs will still have to create fallbacks for these, which would waste all that time.

Hopefully UE6 addresses some of these real concerns.

P.S. Gears E-Day is an interesting shout, they have worked hand in hand with Epic, but I think a bit early. Would love to be wrong.

Re: Xbox Ships Its First Mini-Feature In Response To Player Voice Feedback

themightyant

@Briarback I take your point but you are missing one key aspect that makes it different. To use your political analogy, everyone knows there is an election happening and knows to vote whereas here, comparatively, nobody knows. We don’t know exact numbers but looking at the number of votes it’s likely lees than 1% of Xbox users are voting on this and most petitions only have a few hundred votes. It’s like having an election only a tiny proportion of people know to vote. See the difference?

Of course this is not the same as politics, the stakes are minor, I am not saying we need a massive turnout, it can still be useful. But what I am saying is that this highlights one problem with it, that something might be changed that only a small percentage of people might want. On this one issue I don’t care at all whether it’s hours or days, but they could change something on Xbox I do care about that only a few hundred voted on. That could be a problem.

Re: Darksiders Warmastered Edition Upgrade Is Free For Existing Owners On Xbox

themightyant

@J_Mo_Money agreed. I’ve said before Xbox needs to make Play Anywhere mandatory going forward (hopefully from start of next gen). At the moment there’s too many ifs and buts, having to check if a game works.

They should also automatically update all your devices saves when you finish playing a game or something. As it requires internet to sync the saves which you might not have on a flight or out and about with a handheld. Checking it when you start a game is too late. It’s another step that needs fixing for Play Anywhere to really be seamless, more like Switch.

Re: Digital Foundry Labels Sony's PS5 Exclusivity Pivot As A 'Defensive Move Against Project Helix'

themightyant

I think Helix is a factor but not the main one. But with Microsoft having gone full PC if PlayStation also puts all their games on PC then not only does it put them both all on PC, but it also puts them all on Xbox in future, that weakens PlayStation's brand.

While on paper i'd prefer we could all play games on whatever device - gatekeeping isn't good for the industry as a whole - I also don't think we would have many of these exclusive games AT ALL, or not at the same scope, if they weren't trying to sell you their box and ecosystem. So there are some benefits to exclusives.

I think it's the right business decision for them, but I also don't like it.

Re: Xbox Takes #1 Spot In Metacritic's Top 10 Video Games Of 2026 So Far

themightyant

@superjas FYI Geoff doesn't make up the shortlist or vote on the awards. He's completely removed from the process. It's the same media outlets that vote for the winners that come up with the shortlist.

I've not played it yet, but all the reviews are saying it's great but also just more of the same, personally, and that is subjective, that doesn't deserve GOTY, which needs more innovation. But that's just my take.

Re: Forza Horizon 6 Is Immensely Popular Already, Even In Early Access

themightyant

@Millionski There were talks BEFORE the ABK deal that Xbox (and others) maybe couldn't afford to keep exclusives of the same scope anymore. I don't think it was a direct result of ABK.

You can sell SOME at a loss, as loss leaders, but no business is just going to haemorrhage money on lots of exclusives. I still think some games multi-platform makes sense.

Re: Talking Point: What Dream Reveal Would You Like To See At The Xbox Games Showcase 2026?

themightyant

Mostly just updates on games we already know about, plus

  • Perfect Dark... surprise! We actually decided to finish it and it's a full immersive sim.
  • Blade - coming next year and looking fabulous from Arkane
  • Clockwork Revolution - coming early 2027 feeling like it will deliver on their time travelling premise.
  • Talking of time travel, why is there not a high quality AAA Doctor Who game perhaps made by Obsidian or Larian.
  • Oh and something that we've been waiting ages for like Silkson... Oh wait that has released... Half Life 3! Oh and yes Banjo!

Honestly I am happy just seeing any games that look cool. Don't really set expectations for what they are.

Re: Rumour: Project Helix Unlikely To Include Disc Drive, But Xbox May Have A Digital Solution

themightyant

A disc to digital program would help solve the backwards compatible problem, but I still like physical media, mostly because I like CHOICE and to shop around for the best prices.

But digital only makes sense for Xbox and their play anywhere plans. Hopefully they would also introduce digital game sharing and other benefits that we have on physical media to soften the blow.

I firmly expect PS6 to have an optional disc drive. Too many territories have a MUCH higher percentage than 15% and backwards compatibility is key.