EvenStephen7

Selfishly I also have PS+, which has most of Ubisoft+ rolled in through anyway. So I’m voting EA Play.

Either way, Ubi prices drop like a rock shortly after launch. EA Play still seems like the better value.

Corporations are full of people, and some people burn bridges, sully relationships, and make bad decisions.

I know the knee-jerk reaction on fan sites can be to defend the brand, but I think this is as plausible as anything else.

As others have said, no console is going to “have it all.” Every console has great exclusives and if you don’t want to miss out, I encourage getting everything you can. In fact I remember when this was just an assumed principle of videogames; it’s weird to think how wanting a console to play everything would have looked like in the N64/PS1/Saturn days or the SNES/Genesis ones.

I admire the intent, but as others pointed out they've shot themselves in the foot by making it more expensive. Even if it was more expensive to produce with this new method, you'd hope that MS believes in its values enough to cut costs down somehow.

Time and time again, studies have shown that people 1) are very concerned about climate change and 2) will happily buy a eco-friendly product if it's the same price or cheaper --- but the vast majority draw the line at paying more.

@ZuneTattooGuy There's literally a 1TB Samsung SSD for PS5 on Amazon right now for $89.99........

They're not that expensive and they also go on sale frequently.

My Series X is always riding the 95% range which sucks.

Sony gets a lot of flak for their decisions this gen (and deservedly so), but this is one area where they got it right. I upgraded my PS5 with another 1TB SSD (so close to 2TB total) for $80. I’m not even bothering to upgrade my Series X until these prices come down.

Great, Gamepass making the same moves HBO Max is these days.

Uh-oh, here come the gamers who claim to understand game design better than the devs themselves....

@Moonglow "Disruptive" is almost always a very good thing in tech and I've rarely heard anyone not wear it as a badge of honor (I work in tech). Disruptive technologies change the ecosystem, shake up the status quo, and make everyone rethink what's possible which is exactly what Gamepass did.

Gamepass was a marketplace disruptor and the market is changing to accommodate (see PS+ following suit).

This a weird game of semantics. Just because it’s additive to consumers’ purchasing habits doesn’t mean it’s not disruptive; it has absolutely disrupted the marketplace (and that’s a good thing).

Seems like MS is doing everything they can to sound less impressive for regulators these days.

1) This is ultimately good for the industry and gamers.
2) Bobby Kotick is still a piece of trash and hearing him act pious about anything makes me want to hurl.

I'm honestly fine with a solid 6-7/10 game (some of my favorites are those). As long as expectations are set, I don't need every game to be an original masterpiece — and I wasn't expecting this game to be a GoTY contender.

It sounds like the biggest gripe so far is that other games do it better, which I kind of always expected. It's just that this had a unique setting, lots of style, and a tone that reminds me of what Saints Row used to be. As long as more reviews stay in this range or higher, I'll still be interested.

(Removing original comment)

And the crowd goes mild.

Makes sense, though I feel awful for anyone who just bought a bunch of Gold and was horrified to see this was quietly canceled.

I do think this is a precursor to the inevitable GPU price increase (especially after the Activision deal clears) which is going to make some people lose their minds.

Rockstar: No, you'll have to wait five more years. And it'll cost ya.

Side note, I can't believe it has been five years already. Holy cow. When I reflect back on my time with RDR2, it really feels like a place I visited. More than any other game I can think of. It's wild we're still finding out new details in the game.

This is probably not what people meant when they wished The Last of Us was on Xbox.

Infinite nearly tied with Reach and outperforming ODST is why we don’t have nice things.

This just reeks of WB’s doing; they seem so microtransaction-obsessed. They’ve even done it to my beloved Mortal Kombat with X and 11 (though MK9 was thankfully spared). Such a shame, and makes me concerned for other WB games.

Interesting move to drop on the same day as new Mario Kart 8 DLC.

As countless others said above, when it comes to Mario Kart — no one comes close. (Though I have enjoyed some of the Sonic racing games).

"You might be able to win one!"

No thank you.

@Fenbops 100% agree with all of this. The S doesn’t have to be dropped, but Xbox is going to suffer if there continues to be forced parity between its consoles.

Microsoft didn’t deceive anyone; any consumer who got an S agreed to a less powerful console in exchange for a cheaper price. I think that’s a fair trade-off for many players. But it’s also not reasonable for the S to dictate how MS plays this gen or let gamers on both consoles miss out on games.

I also think it’s incredibly unfair and a little ignorant of development for people to insist that devs are being “lazy” for not spreading themselves thinner than they already are.

The way I see it, your approach is reasonable: leave it up to the devs. Or better yet, let games launch on both but don’t force feature parity. Previous console gens had a checkbox on the back of the box that detailed how the game would run on the base console vs the mid-gen refresh; I could see something similar here with certain features.

Xbox fridge made more sense; it was both having a good-natured and self-deprecating laugh with the internet jokes, AND was a useful staple of every game room. Mini-fridges full of soda/beer/energy drinks goes hand-in-hand with gaming.

But a toaster? I dunno. Feels like trying a little too hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice.

According to Phil Spencer, MS almost abandoned the brand after the Xbox One launch. So it's not like they haven't come very close before — and recently (and it's not like they don't have a history of doing it with other products and brands): http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/11/spencer-microsoft-almost-abandoned-xbox-brand-after-the-xbox-one-launch/

And in that official Xbox doc from last year they mentioned some close calls earlier in the brand's life where MS leadership threatened to pull the plug.

So I guess anything's possible; they're a for-profit business at the end of the day and they'll save money where they can. I don't see it being likely any soon, but there's always a chance given the historical precedent. But sell? No way. They'd just quietly defund it and turn off the lights before they sold it.

@EvilSilentFrame How dare you bring rationality, civility, and an adult attitude to this conversation?!

@Tharsman That's fair, and I appreciate the context. You're right, I still have other reasons to distrust him regarding past statements (though to be fair to him, I feel the same about his contemporaries at the other companies too, lol), but that perspective may have led me to not dig a little deeper on that. In further context, I get what he's saying, and appreciate the polite correction (a rarity on these forums and on the internet itself!).

I have all 3 consoles. I want exclusives on Xbox — something that I can't play anywhere else, and that hopefully takes advantage of the system. Honestly, that's been my biggest gripe with the Series gen so far; a lack of AAA games that both push my Series X and make me happy that I invested in one on top of my PS5 and Switch.

That said, I also remember when Phil Spencer said that exclusives are "counter to what gaming is about.” Honestly, I have never trusted the guy more than Jim Ryan or anyone else --- they're all corporate suits, doing their job to make as much money as possible — but I think he's maybe a little too candid and these statements and back-peddling can result in both confusion and a bit of hostility.

Regardless, 2.5 years later I'm really eager for some AAA exclusives that are bangers, make me feel more invested in my Xbox, and show me what my Series X is really capable of. Very excited.

@Scummbuddy Be still, my heart.

Microsoft: Cut it out, Ampere! We’re trying to get this Activision deal to go through!

A great opportunity to nab Forza Horizon 5 DLC, including the recently-announced rally expansion, at a good discount.

The clarity is appreciated but it raises the obvious question: what’s causing the hangup for Xbox?

I see people (even on the SeriesX reddit) talking about recent Digital Foundry comparison videos showing games like Callisto Protocol and Atomic Heart running better on PS5 than Series X — but I can’t imagine that’s what’s going on here.

I do wonder if co-op is running well on Series X but it’s underperforming on Series S and that’s holding everything up. It’s an odd situation regardless, and I hope it gets resolved soon.

I get why people are disappointed but I love Forza’s rally events. Overall 5 hasn’t hit the same heights as 3 and 4, but I’m looking forward to this DLC.

@Jaxx420 100% agreed.

@themightyant Not that you need me to say it, but ignore the weird basement-dwelling console fanboys. Some people worship mega corporations to such a startling degree and how much money they make, instead of just enjoying videogames.

Most of them eventually grow up. Some never do.

I don’t really care about the outcome honestly — I don’t care which megacorp gets richer than the other one, and think they’re both acting like children honestly.

But I gotta admit: when this is all over I’m going to miss the weird period of time when a company that profits off everything from literal war to office software kept coming up with new ways to publicly say that a competitor with 10% of their market cap were destroying them in videogame marketshare. And then their competitor turned around and tried to make themselves an even bigger victim, and the cycle just kept continuing for over a year.

What a weird time.

MS not including Nintendo in this chart is akin to me taking a poll of consumers’ favorite coffee chain and leaving off Starbucks. Obviously this was intentional because it wouldn’t make for such a stark comparison, but still.

@NEStalgia I understand; there are always going to be exceptions (I hesitated on putting racing down because that could be all consoles). My point was just that every console has their strengths and no one is going to have everything.

I swear, the console warrior stuff that happens on Pure Xbox and Push Square….

Wish the sites would do more crossover stuff like others. You’re always going to have little weirdos worshiping brands but it’d might help a little (and be fun for us that just like, ya know, videogames).

@Banjo- I know, I’m saying there’s more to it than just code.

@Banjo- I think we’re disconnected on what I’m saying but all good to know.

@Banjo- I admit I don’t know for sure, but I imagine there are licensing/platform fees, additional Q&A/play testing, and other odds and ends to port over. But I may be wrong.

@Doublecell Haha I appreciate it. I don’t know if my wife would agree I’m either “rational” or “realistic” but maybe I’m capable of it every once in a while.

@senote I know COVID has warped my sense of time, but I’m pretty sure FF7R didn’t come out 10 years ago.

I mean, the Xbox has a lot of GREAT games to play; there’s no reason to be bummed it doesn’t have every game or looking at the other consoles jealously.

Square Enix has always been a company that seems to bond with one platform. They ignored Sega Genesis for Nintendo SNES. They switched from N64 to be almost strictly PlayStation. They ignored Dreamcast, Xbox, and most of the Xbox family’s consoles. It’s not like they were ever best buds with MS.

My guess is the games they brought over to Xbox and Gamepass were trial balloons and didn’t see the returns they hoped for, especially for a console that doesn’t have a strong foothold in Japan. Games cost money and time to port and they probably determined it just wasn’t worth it in every case.

Unfortunately not every console is going to have it all. If you want JRPGs, fighters, and big-budget storyline-driven games you’re probably going to want a PS5. If you want shooters, racers, and multiplayer games you get an Xbox. And if you want wild “can’t-get-these-experiences-anywhere-else” you get a Switch. Or if you have the means — I strongly suggest getting all 3. Then you can just enjoy each platform for their great catalogues, including Xbox

Just because the majority of third-party companies polled have concerns (vs the ones who don’t) doesn’t make them Xbox’s “rivals”….

Worse than this, people on the SeriesX Reddit are reporting the update wiped their saves and set them back. Saw one person lost 15 hours of game time — and another lost a whopping 70 hours.

I would pause this update ASAP if you have any time invested.

@Deshalu “…there’s a reason they got laid off they weren’t doing their job…”

Something tells me you don’t work in corporate America, and especially not in tech. Pretty gross take to say everyone laid off got what they deserved. Lots of people get laid off for a multitude of reasons, even hard working and productive ones. Doubly so in tech.

Start with the Xbox executives making the bad decisions.

Oof, this feels like some anti-consumer nonsense. No real advanced notice, no heads up when the games just went on sale, just gone. I always thought this 360 marketplace was obtuse and odd (like how you couldn’t even use gift card money) so I guess it’s fitting they’re shutting down some of the functionality like this, but this stinks — especially if anyone is traveling this week or misses the news by just a few days.

The setting and look of this game instantly bring me back to the Test Drive Unlimited days — aka the original Forza Horizon. That's enough to get me interested.

I didn't realize this controller ever went away! Bought this about 6 months ago for my five-year-old daughter (she picked the color). It looks fantastic and she loves having a controller that's all hers.