VideoGame_Discussion

I think it’s just a reflection of the current state of American society- overblown sensationalism and fake news. It’s all over MS a bit more so than the Japanese companies. They do a better job of not participating in the rigmarole of journalism.

All publicity is definitely not good publicity.

Archer wrote:

Thanks for clarifying. I love some of the notes. Very entertaining. “EA-Jedi Survivor: Crown Jewel. They won’t do.”

its funny because the BG3 Dev's said they did not want to put it on GP.

I would imagine that MS seeks to have a contract along the lines of an initial flat fee to bring the game to the service for at least a year. Most games tend to last that long, often longer. Then I would expect that the publishers would want some sort of usage based compensation for both unique gamers playing the title and for certain time thresholds, possibly per gamer as well but maybe cumulative for all players. I also imagine options are discussed to allow for extending the time on the service, potentially incentive based.

Was Gotham Knights really that horrible? It's installing on my console now, I'm not expecting amazing things but wanted to give it a shot.

Gotham Knights is an insult to the Arkham games. It’s just tedious and repetitive gameplay with no lock on that gets frustrating. And to add salt to the wound caps out at 30fps on consoles. Meh.

Now that Cyberpunk is fixed and not a steaming pile of crap, it's actually a good game.

So Pentiment and Grounded are going to Switch. And Hi-Fi Rush is going to PS5. Officially announced. The fourth and final game has not been confirmed yet.

I’d probably fire up sea of thieves again.

Yeah looks like Sea of Thieves is the fourth game, and for PS5. Prior to the link below being published, it was just info from the Nintendo direct and an early leaked trailer on youtube.


https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/02/21/new-platfor...

I had an XSX around launch, but then got a PS5 a year or two ago and have only been playing that (my son has the XSX in another room). I want to revisit my decent Xbox library and the Forza games in particular so I'm looking to get another Series console.

I had an XSS at one point but I have lots of BC stuff on discs + the lower res bothered me.

I see the XSX is on sale for $350 on Amazon and a few places right now. That seems like my best option as used prices appear to be in that range? I know the hardware refresh is coming out soon but since it doesn't have a disc drive I don't want it. Anyone selling an XSX? Or is $350 likely my best bet?

Probably is. And the revision is just speculation right now anyway, after the info dump last year. Even then, that info was a couple of years old.

Anxiouz wrote:

I've seen them as low as $249 new. I know i should've waited.
Go to slickdeals and make a saved search for "xbox series x" and it'll email you when one pops up.

Was the SX on sale the 18th only for $350? Not seeing it, post a link if possible. My Nephew wants one.

@Groo It's on the Xbox store on Amazon and I still see it for $350:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&lo...

Anxiouz wrote:

Awesome! Thank you!

edit: The Black fooled me, that is the 1TB S.

Oh man, I'm so sorry. Yesterday this had a toggle for XSX vs XSS but now it's just XSS and a lot of redirects take me to this now. Something did change.

Got Diablo 4 in today, pop in the disc says needs an update: 16gb from Disc 69 GB from Network. Was at about 121 speed. I have 1000mbps Fiber. I checked on the Xbox said DL was at 954. Why was it so slow? And why so little from the disc? Said it was going to take over an hour. I dont remember- this from Diablo 3. I hope I get to enjoy this game, I dont have Gold etc.

Groo wrote:

This has been an issue with xbox since the X1. Installs from a disc that also require a download take ages.

And you can play online (the only way to play game as its online only) without gold/gpu. But you can not do any of the network stuff. You wont see other players like you normally would. You can't do world events. You can't access a certain vendor (pvp vendor) because you can't earn pvp currency. And it will bug you to purchase it every time you log into the game as well. But you can still enjoy the main story and wonder around the world doing side quests/dungeons.

Archer wrote:

Happy bday Archster!

Thanks @Feeb

Series x 299.99 refurb @ woot.

This is cheapest I’ve seen them retail from CAG this year.

https://electronics.woot.com/offers/xbox-series-x-...

3 year GPC to GPU trick still works, surprising.

https://gamingbolt.com/third-party-game-developers...

This is not good for Xbox. This is even before MS decided to support other consoles. So now IMO it's compounded, why would a 3rd party want to support a console that is floundering in Europe and now MS is now even putting it's full muscle behind? Why on earth would the consumer support a console that is bringing there games to other platforms? Why not just support Sony and Nintendo and get there games also? Phil right now is doing an excellent job in Killing Xbox the way we know it. The crazy thing is even some of the Xbox games are running somewhat better on PS5? How the hell? This is according to Digital Foundry. MS needs to clear this up and stop stringing things along, going forward things are an absolute mess, and they are not done bringing games over to other platforms.

I feel like MS is mid-pivot but not communicating to existing (or new) customers where they're heading. It feels like we're in a lull and they kinda expect the hardware refreshes coming up to stir excitement..which they most definitely will not.

But for multi-platform stuff...Xbox still has 30M or whatever consoles out there so I think it's still worth dev effort to support that pool of potential customers.

But why I ask? How many of those have moved to PC or PS5? Why would you continue to support a console that is dying? While the others are doing great. MS complaints about the industry are exactly what they can't do while Sony and Nintendo are. MS never understood it's about solid first party and that's something the Big Two can do and do well. MS for too long has leaned on Halo and Forza. They have not released a solid big new franchise in what feels like back in the 360 days. Sony has led the way with new Franchises since and Nintendo does a great job branching existing IP into other games.


People may not like what I say, but there is a reason why MS is in the predicament they are. "Where is the games" and by that exclusive 1st party? They have bought enough and have little to show.

Meh. I don't think Xbox is going anywhere. Even if it is selling half the units of the PS5, that's plenty and no big devs will stop supporting it. Sure you may have smaller devs who just do the PS5/PC thing, but MS has money to throw at select smaller games that they think will generate buzz and keep Gamepass peeps happy. Unless porting games to the Xbox is cost prohibitive (which I don't believe it is), I don't see any way the games that actually move the needle skip the Xbox.

On Phil Spencer...I'm not a fan of his, but then again I'm not a fan of any suit. No matter how much they try to make belive they are one of us. But let's not act like he's to blame for all this. The dude inherited a dumpster fire and has done his best to pivot and carve out a space for Xbox in the gaming segment. They have a lot of developers now and have a service in Gamepass that seems to be doing well. No clue how sustainable it is long term, but I think the Xbox peeps are pretty happy. And MS has plenty of money and with the money they have invested, they have a huge stake in gaming. They aren't going anywhere.

At least that's my read on things.

I saw recently that indie devs have been disappointed in Microsoft's money offerings in putting their games on GamePass these days. Apparently they aren't offering publishers anything close to what they used to (the same was said for Epic Games too in the same article).

Xbox is absolutely not going anywhere so long as Mr. Multi-Billion-Trillion Dollar Baby Daddy Microsoft keeps backing them and footing the bill for their ridiculous expenditures.

Microsoft doesn't have a great track record in hardware, but Xbox is indeed not going anywhere, anytime soon.

... Now if the stock would just split already!

TalonJedi87 wrote:


If only they went into Zune with that level of dedication and money.
I still use mine to this day.

PizzaTheHutt wrote:

I haven't heard of anyone using a dedicated mp3 player anymore until you just posted. Most people I think just use their phones now

benstylus wrote:

I still use a very old sandisk tinny mp3 player. I use it when I go for walks/runs or go to the gym. I hate using my phone for that. Phones are too big now days. And if you accidentally drop it the glass will break.

MrBean wrote:

I don't think anyone said Xbox is going anywhere.... But there will be a shift from hardware to just software, it makes the most sense. There is a reason why no hardware manufacturer is also a 3rd party dev. They could just drop the Xbox name (doubt it)... Or rename it Xbox Studios ... I think that's great because you still carry the Xbox brand recognition. I think its better then calling it Microsoft Game Studios sor whatever. It is however end of days for MS hardware, that writing is on the wall you just look at it. I would love it if MS would just focus on software. But again could you imagine if that 69 billion was invested on expanding internal studios and reviving dormant IP? MS has never quite learned that you cant spend yourself to a market leading position. It has not helped sales and are stuck in a 3rd place spot. Yes they have greatly improved revenue but again that's on the backs of others. With how many studios they have you would think we would have seen some new AAA stuff... Or just stuff rather then the trickle.

I use an Astell&Kern high fidelity one for when I want to really immerse myself in some music. I have some high end headphones, and I have all of my CDs ripped to FLAC on an SD card. It has made me appreciate the nuances of songs I listened to for years and experience them in a new way. That being said, though, I do use my phone for everyday stuff off of Spotify.

benstylus wrote:

I have an iPod shuffle. It’s the way.

Feeb wrote:

... there is no iPod, only Zune!

MrBean wrote:

Are you the gatekeeper or the key master?

Finn wrote:

With no hardware, there's really no Xbox. If the hardware goes away, they would almost certainly pivot to a new name or revert back to Microsoft.

They kind of already have started gping that direction with Game Pass Ultimate. A very system-agnostic name.

Awful decision. Hooray for PC players tho. Bleh.

Hellblade 2 Confirmed to Run at 30 FPS on Xbox, No Performance Mode Available
https://ign.com/articles/hellblade-2-confirmed-to-...

Maybe they should drop forced support of the Xbox Series S.

The Series X has been in the $300-$350 range New many times making the Series S key value $300 not a value. Instead MS doubled down and released a Series S 1TB for $350. Worthless from day 1.

Groo wrote:

Yeah, they are killing the XS because of the SS support. Its pathetic. I know the S is cheaper and more people bought it because of that. But it makes owning an X pointless. All games run way worse on the X than a PS5. Even their own games they just released on PS5 run better on PS5 than the damn X.