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

[MasterLeePhD]

@Hue

I primarily play on Steam now so it’s not a major issue for me if the hardware goes away, especially as I know their games will continue to come to Steam anyway.

Just as a fan since the OG Xbox it’s sad to see what they’re doing to the platform, I also think next-gen will likely be the last gen too as they move to TV’s and Phone etc.

This is similar to myself. I’m starting to spend more money and time on my Steam account and spend less money on my Xbox, at least until MS start to discuss what their plans are and what direction they plan to go in. I plan on having an Xbox until the end but a PC is looking more and more like the place to be. If only I could build a PC in the same form factor as my Sieres X!

[Hue]

@MasterLeePhD

I plan on having an Xbox until the end but a PC is looking more and more like the place to be. If only I could build a PC in the same form factor as my Sieres X!

Ha yes that would be awesome, I have seen a few SFF PC’s come close but then you don’t have the practicality/ease of use of a Console/SteamDeck.

Recently I’ve started picking up some Xbox games on Steam for peanuts !! For example both ReCore and Ryse were only £2 each.

[MasterLeePhD]

@Hue

Ha yes that would be awesome, I have seen a few SFF PC’s come close but then you don’t have the practicality/ease of use of a Console/SteamDeck.

Recently I’ve started picking up some Xbox games on Steam for peanuts !! For example both ReCore and Ryse were only £2 each.

Nice one! Check out the new humble bundle if you like Metroidvania games.

[Hue]

@MasterLeePhD

Nice one! Check out the new humble bundle if you like Metroidvania games.

Thanks, not seen that yet! I did see Hi-Fi Rush is in the new Humble Choice too (but I already own that on Steam).

[Good_Old_Collingwood]

@Hue

I guess my point is: If the new hardware sells even less than the Series X/S do we really think they will invest in another console generation?

I answered this question in another thread:

@Good_Old_Collingwood

Xbox won’t drop hardware because it would be ceding the platform narrative to Playstation. Put it this way: if this happens then you would be developing your games using a Playstation architecture- so Sony would be calling the shots on how you develop your games. You will only be playing games using Playstation accessories.

Windows is still the platform that the vast majority of games is played on, so Microsoft already has an advantage. Xbox controllers are the preferred controller of use for most players. So for Playstation games to appear on PC’s they need to adopt the Windows gaming standards.

It’;s good that Microsft technicians are talking to Intel, AMD, Qualcom, etc., because they know what, where and when the advances in computing technology are going. It helps them develop the coming gaming technology, and the software that will go to controlling item.

[Staffy]

I sometimes watch videos by this dude, he’s a cool, level head fella. Just likes to play games. I get his point here.

https://x.com/Skycaptin5/status/1790842834540490764

Now a lot of media clowns have already made “Satya wants” into “There is no red line” and who knows at what point this red line truly disappears, I mean I would think if Satya wants something, it will happen. How soon though?

Halo absolutely should be a red line, but it DOES have MP. I say, ship solely the MP component of Infinite first. NOT the whole collection. Meh.

If by the time of next Xbox launch Xbox has shipped their flagship titles over to PS, there is no telling or guarantee how many people will even bother getting new hardware. Will GP be enough?

[Good_Old_Collingwood]

@Staffy

If by the time of next Xbox launch Xbox has shipped their flagship titles over to PS, there is no telling or guarantee how many people will even bother getting new hardware.

Thing is, technology doesn’t stand still. Otherwise we would be using Windows 11 on podunk hardware. But we still own podunk computers, so we’re stuck using Windows 10. And playing on our PS4’s and Xbox One’s. As computers become faster, more efficient, and hold more data, so everything else gets pulled along with it- including gaming.

So developing new gaming hardware isn’t an option- it’s an imperative.

[Popppi (Phil Spencer's shelf)]

@Staffy

…I sometimes watch videos by this dude, he’s a cool, level head fella. Just likes to play games. I get his point here. https://x.com/Skycaptin5/status/1790842834540490764 Now a lot of media clowns have already made “Satya wants” into “There is no red line” and who knows at what point this red line truly disappears, I mean I would think if Satya wants something, it will happen. How soon though? Halo absolutely should be a red line, but it DOES have MP. I say, ship solely the MP component of Infinite first. NOT the whole collection. Meh. If by the time of next Xbox launch Xbox has shipped their flagship titles over to PS, there is no telling or guarantee how many people will even bother getting new hardware. Will GP be enough?

So is Halo dead or is Halo the only thing keeping xbox alive? I can’t keep up.

[jplusip]

@Doncabesa

One of his biggest regrets was getting out of phones. Leaving gaming as a platform would be just as bad. It makes zero sense, they will not do it as long as the market exists.

Considering Satya’s thoughts on how he killed Windows Phone (oh how I miss my HP Elite X3…) makes this whole situation even more baffling to me. Satya recognizes that he made a short-sighted poor decision there, and here he is making another short-sighted poor decision.

[Staffy]

@Popppi

So is Halo dead or is Halo the only thing keeping xbox alive? I can’t keep up.

I think it’s doing pretty well? MP because sadly we never got a story expansion. But this IS a game I 100% consider to be the face of Xbox, as are Forza and Gears of War. I just don’t want to see them bringing these IP too soon to the other platforms.

@Good_Old_Collingwood

Thing is, technology doesn’t stand still. Otherwise we would be using Windows 11 on podunk hardware. But we still own podunk computers, so we’re stuck using Windows 10. And playing on our PS4’s and Xbox One’s. As computers become faster, more efficient, and hold more data, so everything else gets pulled along with it- including gaming.

So developing new gaming hardware isn’t an option- it’s an imperative.

Well, good! I will be there day one, there is no doubt.

[Andodalf]

@jplusip

Considering Satya’s thoughts on how he killed Windows Phone (oh how I miss my HP Elite X3…) makes this whole situation even more baffling to me. Satya recognizes that he made a short-sighted poor decision there, and here he is making another short-sighted poor decision.

How is it short sighted? If Starfield didn’t move consoles, nothing will. Phil was right, they lost the gen they couldn’t use, and now most of the market won’t move off of PS no matter what.

[j0nny5]

@Popppi

So is Halo dead or is Halo the only thing keeping xbox alive? I can’t keep up.

Schrodinger’s Master Chief

[jplusip]

@Andodalf

How is it short sighted? If Starfield didn’t move consoles, nothing will. Phil was right, they lost the gen they couldn’t use, and now most of the market won’t move off of PS no matter what.

Starfield? Really? A game that many felt was antiquated and full of bugs?

Look, I love Starfield; I got 1000/1000 in it. But I understand that, generally speaking, Starfield did not live up to the hype and, as such, wasn’t going to move consoles.

MS needed to stay the course and remain aggressive on the exclusives front; one game wasn’t going to make a difference, but one game a quarter for a couple of years could’ve.

[Andodalf]

@jplusip

Starfield? Really? A game that many felt was antiquated and full of bugs?

Look, I love Starfield; I got 1000/1000 in it. But I understand that, generally speaking, Starfield did not live up to the hype and, as such, wasn’t going to move consoles.

MS needed to stay the course and remain aggressive on the exclusives front; one game wasn’t going to make a difference, but one game a quarter for a couple of years could’ve.

It was extremely popular, the only single player game to hit the top 10 most played games of last year, and the only game not years old or part of a years old franchise

[Staffy]

Wasn’t/isn’t it also the least buggy BGS launch ever?

[Mochilador]

@Staffy

…I sometimes watch videos by this dude, he’s a cool, level head fella. Just likes to play games. I get his point here. https://x.com/Skycaptin5/status/1790842834540490764 Now a lot of media clowns have already made “Satya wants” into “There is no red line” and who knows at what point this red line truly disappears, I mean I would think if Satya wants something, it will happen. How soon though? Halo absolutely should be a red line, but it DOES have MP. I say, ship solely the MP component of Infinite first. NOT the whole collection. Meh. If by the time of next Xbox launch Xbox has shipped their flagship titles over to PS, there is no telling or guarantee how many people will even bother getting new hardware. Will GP be enough?

That would be like Sonic Adventure 2 on GameCube if it really happens.

[Doncabesa (Jesse Norris)]

@jplusip

Starfield? Really? A game that many felt was antiquated and full of bugs?

Look, I love Starfield; I got 1000/1000 in it. But I understand that, generally speaking, Starfield did not live up to the hype and, as such, wasn’t going to move consoles.

MS needed to stay the course and remain aggressive on the exclusives front; one game wasn’t going to make a difference, but one game a quarter for a couple of years could’ve.

It sold better and had more players than they were expecting internally. I think they’re just fine with how it did.

[Andodalf]

@Staffy

Wasn’t/isn’t it also the least buggy BGS launch ever?

By a solid margin it was the most stable. It’s also worth noting that Fallout 4 wasn’t worse than the average AAA these days in that regard. Bethesda being buggy is not really true for their latest single player offerings.

[Staffy]

@Andodalf

By a solid margin it was the most stable. It’s also worth noting that Fallout 4 wasn’t worse than the average AAA these days in that regard. Bethesda being buggy is not really true for their latest single player offerings.

Agreed.

Personally I’ve never really had that many issues overall with BGS games. Oblivion I did have some freezes and that was annoying because it didn’t go back to dashboard, it would freeze the whole OS. Fallout 3 had very little issues for me, Skyrim same story, Fallout 4. It was New Vegas that was horrible for me with having at least ten saves going corrupt and plenty freezes too.

I was always quite surprised about the many reports of how unplayable their games were for some. I remember seeing videos that showed these bugs, although that could easily be clips from a large amount of people and thus not all those bugs happening to one person.

[Hue]

@Good_Old_Collingwood

Xbox won’t drop hardware because it would be ceding the platform narrative to Playstation. Put it this way: if this happens then you would be developing your games using a Playstation architecture- so Sony would be calling the shots on how you develop your games. You will only be playing games using Playstation accessories.

Windows is still the platform that the vast majority of games is played on, so Microsoft already has an advantage.

Good points, although I personally don’t trust anything they do as nothing seems logical anymore.

Although I agree the majority of games are played on Windows it’s not on the Windows Store it’s Steam, Epic and GoG where they don’t get a cut (except for first party games).

Although Jez is often critised for his takes, I think his one around the downward spiral is spot on.

• If there’s less incentive to buy Xbox hardware then less consoles will sell.
• If less consoles sell then less devs will develop games for Xbox (Console & PC).
• If there’s less customers then there’s less GamePass deals.
• If there’s less customers/money there’s more reluctance to invest in hardware and 1st party games (for GP).
• If there’s less GamePass deals then there’s less subscribers.
• As your competitors grow (as a result of the above) there will be even less incentive for people to invest in Xbox.
• REPEAT… (probably missing many other steps).

While on this spiral their competitors will just keep getting more challenging to compete with, therefore it will surely get to a point where they have to pull out.

From recent actions we have seen that they are not willing to let something carry on If it’s not making $$$. If anything Microsoft are renowned for quitting even if it does screw over any future chances of entering the market (AKA Windows Phone).

@jplusip

Considering Satya’s thoughts on how he killed Windows Phone (oh how I miss my HP Elite X3…) makes this whole situation even more baffling to me. Satya recognizes that he made a short-sighted poor decision there, and here he is making another short-sighted poor decision.

Agreed. Right now they could be competing with Google and Apple in the mobile space but they pulled out and are now suffering the consequences.

As I said above Microsoft are known for quitting just before the going gets good and it looks like they are making those short sighted decisions again here.