The Big ol' Xbox 3rd Party Releases Discussion Thread (HiFi, SoT, Pentiment, Grounded) (Part 1)

[Anecronomicon]

@biglo25

honestly if you came to the xbox you will have to have known that xbox rarely gets the other Asian games and that localization is poor and that xbox exclusive will never match sony’s and that xbox also puts their games on pc and their marketing is bad outside of their big franchises and if you still bought an xbox i don’t know man lol

I came to Xbox because they have more shooters & better versions of third party games (except for the 2013-2017 period).

I’m not saying people who have concerns about ‘localization’ are wrong but that’s just not something that affects me. So as a consumer I never made a decision based on that. Ditto Asian games, i.e. the stuff I like (like Capcom’s RE games) is all on Xbox.

I also hated God of War 2018 as well, i.e. as a total fanboy of the original trilogy (which I can’t even play anymore natively without buying second hand PS3 hardware) the shift towards whatever the hell it’s become was painful. I don’t care if I’m a total minority with this view either, i.e. the gameplay in these new games is completely flawed & they somehow took the perfection that was GoW III’s combat & ruined it. Point being: Sony’s exclusives mean diddly-squat to me in 2024.

But I digress here, although since this topic is also about Xbox & its ‘appeal’, I have good reasons to currently see more appeal in the Xbox brand than PlayStation. I’m probably not alone either (contrary to the opinion of the ‘doomers’, the Series consoles are still reportedly near 30 million sold, which isn’t a catastrophe).

[leburn98]

@jasheeldz

I am going to say a thing I’ve been thinking about this and then that’ll be it.

Everyone needs to stop panicking.

I have a Roku stick. It is fine. On there I have Disney Plus, Netflix, Discovery… And Roku TV.

But I also have Amazon Prime. Who sell their own Streaming stick. And tablets, and home devices… They know the benefit of people being inside the ecosystem and using their stuff, but also having those outside of it can still access the content and

This will be like that. Xbox will be the best place to get Xbox Game Pass, but you can buy the stuff elsewhere. Other industries do this, and it is fine. I fully expect that Xbox isn’t going anywhere, in any real way, it makes way too much money!

I don’t feel like this is a good example.

The issue with your example is that the content follows me regardless of the streaming device. Amazon could discontinue all Fire devices tomorrow and I would still have access to my content on Roku, Chromecast, Xbox, PS5, PC, etc. If (hypothetically of course) Microsoft left the console business, I wouldn’t be able to bring my entire library of games to PlayStation, Nintendo or PC.

[biglo25]

@Anecronomicon

…2018 as well, i.e. as a total fanboy of the original trilogy (which I can’t even play anymore natively without buying second hand PS3 hardware) the shift towards whatever the hell it’s become was painful. I don’t care if I’m a total minority with this view either, i.e. the gameplay in these new games is completely flawed & they somehow took the perfection that was GoW III’s combat & ruined it. Point being: Sony’s exclusives mean diddly-squat to me in 2024. But I digress here, although since this topic is also about Xbox & its ‘appeal’, I have good reasons to currently see more appeal in the Xbox brand than PlayStation. I’m probably not alone either (contrary to the opinion of the ‘doomers’, the Series consoles are still reportedly near 30 million sold, which isn’t a catastrophe).

oh i know i was just pointing out the cons since people already know the pros

[jasheeldz]

@leburn98

I don’t feel like this is a good example.

The issue with your example is that the content follows me regardless of the streaming device. Amazon could discontinue all Fire devices tomorrow and I would still have access to my content on Roku, Chromecast, Xbox, PS5, PC, etc. If (hypothetically of course) Microsoft left the console business, I wouldn’t be able to bring my entire library of games to PlayStation, Nintendo or PC.

No, I’m not saying they’re leaving the console business at all. I’m saying the opposite - I’m saying there is a world where MS and Xbox are putting their games on other platforms, later, but the best way to play them is on Xbox Game Pass supporting hardware, like a console, PC or Game Pass device.

Amazon Prime runs like dogshit on my Xbox and even worse on my Roku, the best place for it is a Fire Stick. But that exists and doesn’t affect the ability to watch elsewhere.

This thread isn’t about MS leaving hardware it is about their software going on third party places.

[Haven (Victor)]

@MasterChief

…sher and clearly stated that the games would come to platforms where Game Pass exists, I wouldn’t blame people for moving to Xbox after these moves because Bethesda for example already had a big fanbase and make very popular games, then there’s studios like Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Double Fine and InXile etc, after all of these moves if someone decided to buy an Xbox and build their library there I can’t fault them for being disappointed now if they’re about to just release all of these games to other consoles. As for the Asian games and PC, well I have not seen people criticize Xbox here for that but if someone did then that’s unreasonable because that is something that is well established and won’t ever change, although they seem to get more Japanese games these days than they did last gen.

They’re not releasing these games to other consoles and if they are it won’t come day and date also the marketing will also be done by them prioritizing Xbox and Game Pass. The way I see it Xbox hasn’t really had great games or content in a good while to sell their consoles. Games like Indiana Jones and COD will blow up Game Pass to unbelievable heights as long as they have the capacity to hold those numbers. Content is king and if they have the content they will be fine.

[Joe_Sinister1 (Joe_Sinister)]

@biglo25

honestly if you came to the xbox you will have to have known that xbox rarely gets the other Asian games and that localization is poor and that xbox exclusive will never match sony’s and that xbox also puts their games on pc and their marketing is bad outside of their big franchises and if you still bought an xbox i don’t know man lol

If Xbox exclusives will never match Sony’s, why all the port begging? Doesn’t add up.

[CFGamer]

@Daniel

1 factor people don’t really talk about is people being interested in Xbox games but not enough to buy a Xbox and they probably never will. Some people just dismiss Xbox stuff no matter what it is, how do they beat that.

Of course you have some brand loyalists who would never switch, but the mass market will go where they feel the best experience is to be had. It simply takes time.

PlayStation are in the position they are in now because of years and years of consistency when it comes to releasing quality exclusives. Whenever I see discussion over which console someone should get, the most common things people say is “well which exclusives appeal to you more, and which console do your friends play on”. PlayStation has become synonymous with having banger AAA exclusives at a consistent rate, and that is a reputation that’s taken years and years to build, and only ever wavered slightly at the beginning of the PS3’s life.

Xbox reached the position they were in during the 360 era for the same reason. Halo, Gears of War, Fable (and for a while you had Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect exclusivity too) were all killer apps that just could not be ignored, and that was when the platform was at it’s strongest. That’s what got me and many of my gaming friends into Xbox to begin with. But they have simply not had an exclusive release cadence on this level since, but we were finally reaching that point.

Xbox Series launched with… Gears Tactics (one of my favourite games so no shade, but it’s not a console seller). Halo Infinite (which was criticised for it’s lack of content) and Forza Horizon 5 came in 2021. 2022 was barren. 2023 had the Redfall disaster and Starfield which I think was fantastic. Amongst that we’ve had quality AA games but the likes of HiFi Rush and Pentiment aren’t going to move consoles to the mass market.

This generation of consoles was always going to come a little too soon for Xbox to catch up, or even keep pace. However the back end of this gen going into the launch of next gen had super potential. Following Starfield up with Avowed, Hellblade, Indy, going forward with Fable, Everwild, Outer Worlds 2, Gears 6, Elder Scrolls 6, perhaps some ABK exclusives thrown in somewhere.

That right there is capturing the magic they had from the OG Xbox going into early 360 days. That is the kind of regular cadence of huge exclusive titles that converts people from “I’m interested in a couple Xbox games but not really enough to buy a console” to “okay, there’s so many games that I need to go and buy an Xbox now”.

If MS do decide to start going multi platform, I really feel like they’ve thrown in the towel right at the point where their investments were ready to come to fruition. We will see, I guess.

(Sorry I always end up writing too much).

[Haven (Victor)]

@CFGamer

…gen going into the launch of next gen had super potential. Following Starfield up with Avowed, Hellblade, Indy, going forward with Fable, Everwild, Outer Worlds 2, Gears 6, Elder Scrolls 6, perhaps some ABK exclusives thrown in somewhere. That right there is capturing the magic they had from the OG Xbox going into early 360 days. That is the kind of regular cadence of huge exclusive titles that converts people from “I’m interested in a couple Xbox games but not really enough to buy a console” to “okay, there’s so many games that I need to go and buy an Xbox now”. If MS do decide to start going multi platform, I really feel like they’ve thrown in the towel right at the point where their investments were ready to come to fruition. We will see, I guess. (Sorry I always end up writing too much).

I don’t think they are going multiplatform as this at the end of the day is still a business. They still want third party 30 percent cut and the console is still the foundation for Xbox being where the majority of subscribers and users are. I do wonder with Samsung TVs and many more beginning to build gaming apps on what could the future be. Samsung already make chips and have recently overtaken TSMC there could be a possible future where Xbox and Samsung work to build and integrate technology that allows native gaming on TVs without the need of consoles or streaming.

[AllianceOfficer]

@CFGamer

If MS do decide to start going platform, I really feel like they’ve thrown in the towel right at the point where their investments were ready to come to fruition. We will see, I guess.

I get what you’re saying. Frankly I dont know why anyone would buy an Xbox instead of a PC or Playstation if the games are going to those other places. And if thats the case then Im not sure how Xbox stays in the console business. If the revenue isnt rolling in from the stores then that makes the business more unstable and less profitable.

I just really dont understand why microsoft would put billions annually at risk to make a few hundred million annually.

The only way it makes sense to me is if thats the sacrifice Xbox has to make to keep buying publishers.

[Arnor-Frost]

@AllianceOfficer

I get what you’re saying. Frankly I dont know why anyone would buy an Xbox instead of a PC or Playstation if the games are going to those other places. And if thats the case then Im not sure how Xbox stays in the console business. If the revenue isnt rolling in from the stores then that makes the business more unstable and less profitable.

I just really dont understand why microsoft would put billions annually at risk to make a few hundred million annually.

The only way it makes sense to me is if thats the sacrifice Xbox has to make to keep buying publishers.

Yeah this is the only way they surpass the likes of Tencent.

[Mort]

@CFGamer

…gen going into the launch of next gen had super potential. Following Starfield up with Avowed, Hellblade, Indy, going forward with Fable, Everwild, Outer Worlds 2, Gears 6, Elder Scrolls 6, perhaps some ABK exclusives thrown in somewhere. That right there is capturing the magic they had from the OG Xbox going into early 360 days. That is the kind of regular cadence of huge exclusive titles that converts people from “I’m interested in a couple Xbox games but not really enough to buy a console” to “okay, there’s so many games that I need to go and buy an Xbox now”. If MS do decide to start going multi platform, I really feel like they’ve thrown in the towel right at the point where their investments were ready to come to fruition. We will see, I guess. (Sorry I always end up writing too much).

Well said. I think it’s a shame if they don’t give the 2018 vision even a chance to bear fruit. This is what everyone’s been waiting, waiting and waiting for and to then just go lol jk we third party now would be very disappointing.

[Arnor-Frost]

@Mort

Well said. I think it’s a shame if they don’t give the 2018 vision even a chance to bear fruit. This is what everyone’s been waiting, waiting and waiting for and to then just go lol jk we third party now would be very disappointing.

Yeah they haven’t seen the effect of COD on game pass yet, it’s quite bizarre.

[Mort]

@Arnor-Frost

Yeah they haven’t seen the effect of COD on game pass yet, it’s quite bizarre.

Yeah, that too.

First party organization finally starting to release more games, all the old contracts fulfilled and studios focusing on Xbox, ABK deal done with freaking CoD set to launch on Game Pass with no more PS marketing and perks etc.

Bizarre indeed.

[EPC]

In my opinion, the main problem is the lack of growth of the gamepass model. This is the only thing that motivated MS to go on, being the Netflix of video games.

[AllianceOfficer]

@EPC

In my opinion, the main problem is the lack of growth of the gamepass model. This is the only thing that motivated MS to go on, being the Netflix of video games.

They havent even come close to tapping out that market though. They just secured three huge publishers that will really help if Xbox wants to reach more people and get more subscriptions.

The way to really go after gamepass subscriptions is by taking gaming beyond the console. They need to launch an app thats on all devices and is free and fully integrated with the library of games they have today. Extend their reach to billions of people and offer purchasing or subscribing as an easy option.

[MasterChief]

@EPC

In my opinion, the main problem is the lack of growth of the gamepass model. This is the only thing that motivated MS to go on, being the Netflix of video games.

Back when they thought they could probably get hundreds of millions of people through Xcloud eventually, I always assumed that they didn’t expect huge numbers until streaming started to really take off but in my mind that was at least 15 years away, Microsoft probably thought they could get there faster, not long ago they had Xcloud ads that said “no need to buy a console” lmao, this company sure loves to try and jump ahead to the future before anyone is ready or gives a crap about that future.

Perhaps they see the writing on the wall now, there is no certain future for streaming, most gamers will still be on hardware 10-15 and maybe 20 years from now whether that is through consoles, PC or mobile… doesn’t mean that Streaming won’t be much bigger than it is now by then, just that it still won’t be the main way to play, so what do they do now? The answer should be to just double down on hardware and try to grow their console user base whether that is with a handheld device or something else, since right now they’ve gotten to a point where Sony has locked down a massive portion of the casual market and they won’t even consider an Xbox and in a lot of markets don’t even know what an Xbox is, this wouldn’t be them abandoning Streaming by the way, they can still improve on that technology in the background and still give it as an option and then eventually it will be at a point where it will be viable for most people.

[Staffy]

Watch tomorrow be solely about Sea of Thieves and HFR and not a word about the rumored other games, lol. Fuck this shit. We’ll see.

[Doncabesa (Jesse Norris)]

@Staffy

Watch tomorrow be solely about Sea of Thieves and HFR and not a word about the rumored other games, lol. Fuck this shit. We’ll see.

I’m not sure why people think Sik is talking about a Microsoft announcement. Only people who would know that type of thing agree to embargoes. They don’t tease it on forums.

[morventhus]

watch the announcement be… that these games are now playable via xcloud only…

[saintsflow20]

@Staffy

Watch tomorrow be solely about Sea of Thieves and HFR and not a word about the rumored other games, lol. Fuck this shit. We’ll see.

Maybe it’s just Nintendo Direct gets announced and then we see people anticipating that it’s where the two games will be revealed like the lead up to State of Play.