Poll: *** Xbox Series X|S - General Discussion Thread ***

[Kreeeee]

Just to reiterate, Microsoft haven't spent £7.5Bn ion the sense that you buy a loaf of bread........they have merely converted it into an asset in another company.

That loaf of bread is also an asset unless I eat it.

 

[Kreeeee]

Speaking of, although I don't think it's my kind of game I'll try it. I see on PC I have a choice of Gears Ultimate which I assume is the original updated, 4 and 5 ultimate and the spin off. Is this a series where if you don't care about the story too much you can still enjoy it? I have no way to play 2 or 3 at the moment which is why I ask as I'd rather just play the 'best' ones.

It has a throw away story that’s not deep at all, so you can play all of the games ignoring the story and you won’t miss out on anything.

 

[Huggie86]

I'm sure they do care because it's money and they can't entice anyone onto GamePass on a platform where it doesn't exist. I'm more curious to know how that's factored into any decision they make in future regarding these titles.



It won't go into one pot though, because they have a mix of games from first-party devs and third-party devs, and even the first-party ones will have their own budget allocation and expect the subsequent amount of revenue in return for their most popular games. When you're dealing with unit sales that's easy, but with a subscription model it must surely be more complicated.



All their current games are available to buy individually, why would that change? Plenty of people don't want to tie themselves into a subscription.

I look at it as they paid all that money for Bethesda and they get out of it:

1. They need studios to make games for Game Pass. Content is key to getting players to subscribe to the service.
The Bethesda deal got them 8 new studios while many have multiple teams.

2. Big blockbuster franchises to entice players to subscribe / bring users over from other platforms. Also being constantly told Xbox has no games probably didn't help.

3. Sony have been taking games from under their nose and making them platform exclusive.
Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo made by Bethesda were recently paid to be exclusive to Playstation for a year. Sony were also trying to pay for Elderscrolls and Starfield for timed exclusive.
Guess Microsoft had enough of this!

4. A huge back catalogue of games to go on Game Pass as well as a mountain of IP to dive into for more games/ideas.

As a poster above put, all they have done is move assets around on a balance sheet. Microsoft has over $100billion in cash or shot term investments, they might as well use it to grow their gaming services and offerings. They were going to spend $40billion on TikTok before that all fell through.

I can't see how Microsoft care to release on Playstation, they didn't spend the money to release the games on a competitors platform. The missed sales aren't going to bother them as they are getting so much more from the purchase than just a games sold figure. Sony wouldn't care in the slightest if the boot was on the other foot about missed sales.

 

[TheVoice]

I can't see how Microsoft care to release on Playstation, they didn't spend the money to release the games on a competitors platform.

And yet they did exactly that when they bought Mojang Studios.There were all sorts of fears that Minecraft development on PS would stall, but they've just recently released a PSVR update.

The "if the boot was on the other foot" comparison doesn't hold too much water for me because they're two different companies with two quite different approaches, especially as they both head into a new generation. Sony would definitely hold their cards closer to their chest because that's what Sony does, but MS have, as I've already said, demonstrated a number of times that they're being more open-minded in that regard.

That's not just in gaming either, their overall corporate attitude has quite rapidly shifted towards supporting and developing for other platforms across their entire product portfolio. The thought of MS releasing Android-specific apps or a web browser based on Google technology would have seemed completely bizarre not too long ago.

 

[KraniX]

Microsoft bought Mojang and continued to release Minecraft on every platform under the sun so there is precedent for this.

MS could still offer the games on PS5 but at £70 a pop, or you could buy an Xbox and get this game plus everything else in Game Pass for a tenner a month, and that's without the multiyear gold upgrade for a pound hacks.

 

[McPhee]

It would be reasonable to assume that the long-term plan is to get xCloud running on as many devices as possible. Phones, tablets, PCs, Smart TVs, etc. So chances are, by the time Elder Scrolls VI launches, most people will have a device capable of playing the game. Nobody has to miss out, even if it doesn't launch on PS5 or Switch 2.

 

[eyetrip]

Have found the xbox exclusives a little limited for a while, and wouldn't really blame them for making a few major franchises exclusive.

I'll have both consoles at some point, so not too much concern for me.

 

[steve5424]

Plus don't forgot that Cuphead has been released on all consoles now. MS would rather make games available to more people as it means more money in their pockets.

 

[eyetrip]

I hadn't considered game son game pass would be time limited. Is there any indication of length of time games would be up?

Presumably, MS games would be on permanently?

 

[Supercow]

Bought Dolby Atmos ready for the X

A Dolby Atmos what?

 

[Noxia]

A Dolby Atmos what?

I assume he means the licence.

 

[Supercow]

I assume he means the licence.

In that case I’m even more confused than before

 

[ljt]

I hadn't considered game son game pass would be time limited. Is there any indication of length of time games would be up?

Presumably, MS games would be on permanently?

It seems to vary depending on what deal they get with the publisher/developer I would assume. I.e. RDR2 was only on a few months, others 12 months.

All first party Microsoft games are on permanently from their release.

 

[Noxia]

In that case I’m even more confused than before

Someone will correct me but I believe it is software audio processing much like the SBX processing on my Soundblaster thingy. So you pay the fee and basically enable it on the console I think. Basically like buying software.

 

[Supercow]

Someone will correct me but I believe it is software audio processing much like the SBX processing on my Soundblaster thingy. So you pay the fee and basically enable it on the console I think. Basically like buying software.

So it installs the license on the console, and you can use it through any headphone connected to the controller, or would it also need to be a special headset?

 

[TonyTurbo78]

Did I hear this correct, that the new Xbox still won't have it's dashboard in 4k res?

 

[Noxia]

So it installs the license on the console, and you can use it through any headphone connected to the controller, or would it also need to be a special headset?

Again I'd assume any headset, I can use any headphones I want with my soundblaster and get the virtual surround sound (SBX); Potentially issues with the ones that use their own thing like Astros or whatever but if it's got a normal stereo jack I don't see why it would be a problem.

 

[terley]

Hang on, so you cite monopolising exclusives as a negative but you want ES6 to be exclusive. Surely you can see the hypocrisy there.
I think by the time ES6 is even near completion we will have had a hardware revision and there will be cheaper models available so shouldn't really be an issue if someone wants both consoles. Anyone who chooses to miss out on games because of brand loyalty is just plain weird.

If it was Sony that bought zenimax' it wouldn't even be a discussion.. all the games would be exclusive, no one would even question it because that's what Sony does..

 

[DHR]

So the Curry's pre-order farce continues, still waiting to hand them money it's madness

Latest update from yesterday evening...

"Hi, I have just been advised that there is a slight backlog with getting these payment emails sent out to people. Rest assured that I have contacted the relevant team, and they are working as quickly as possible to get this send over to you. Unfortunately, a lot of customers have had the same issue as yourself, so we are running a tad behind. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and frustrations caused by this, but this should be with you within a couple days. We have also extended the time frame for when you need to pay the remaining balance to Tuesday instead of Sunday."

Totally confused as to how it can be so difficult for them!?!

 

[Noxia]

If it was Sony that bought zenimax' it wouldn't even be a discussion.. all the games would be exclusive, no one would even question it because that's what Sony does..

Of course they would, you'd just have a different vocal minority having temper tantrums online instead.