Its just all really coming together now: very good hardware, best in class services and a lot of diverse studios and partners with creative freedom to produce interesting content for game pass. We can see the first glimpses of this with the projects from Ninja Theory, Obsidian and the use of Azure technology in Microsofts oldest gaming IP. Nobody other can create a next gen multiplayer sim stretching over our whole world in this way. Very exciting times for xbox fans.
There are some people who want to make you believe that every game from MS in the near future will be a GAAS game, because that’s the only way a subscriptipn service could be sustainable. I think it’s quite the opposite. Most GAAS take up a large part of your freetime, so if you play SoT and Destiny2 for example you don’t have enough time left for other games. Let alone another GAAS. It this case it would be stupid to keep that subscription. You’d be of cheaper to just purchase those to games and the occasional season pass. To stay relevant to gamers Gamepass has to deliver a wide variety of Games. Big AAA games, more innovative AA games and indies alike.
SO MUCH THIS, you put the exact thoughts I had regarding this whole Game Pass GaaS concern, variety is necessary for Game Pass to thrive. This is also why you see Grounded doing great on Steam despite being on Game pass for dirt cheap.
Game pass. This one move has a very wide consequence. It has to provide great new games on a regular basis to keep gamers engaged. There needs to a diversity of games and we are seeing that. Ability to play those games anywhere and on diverse a platform as possible. The last one leads to Xbox building great consoles and at great value to ease into game pass.
Adding to everybody else (I especially share the excitement about investment into first party and exclusive RPGs), it’s also the little improvements that over time are just so beneficial to the consumer. Just look at the new store experience and the Xbox Game Pass app. There’s always something going on and they are never staying still! Value-related things like Play Anywhere (pay for one version get two licenses), Game Pass keep crushing it, too.
They are making a point of going back to the strongest console possible, but in case they ever stray away from that again they are giving us choice on where to play their games, so I can just build a PC and play them. So we will never be forced into a underpowered device to play the games we want, like what happened with xbone, or to an even more extreme scenario Nintendo.
That choice also expands to secondary devices, I can play at home with my console, but can pick from where I left off and continue on my laptop when I’m away (and I work remotely even before the pandemic, so I was used to travel for extended periods so I could work in another country/city while still enjoying a trip, and not having to carry an xbox for that is awesome).
Then there’s gamepass. They releasing content day one completely changed gaming for me. I don’t think ever in my life I’ve played so many games and so different stuff right on top of each other
I also like their take on BC, how they are increasingly bringing the advantages of PC gaming to console but without the hassle, like getting games “remastered” without having to resort to me modifying the games and making sure they run and look great with the modifications. With the upcoming enhancements such as auto HDR, ML for reconstructing textures in higher res and a hopefully broad support for resolution boost and FPS doubling they could have something truly special regarding BC support that even on PC would be hard to match.
And finally but not least the amount of investments in content. That is partially covered by Gamepass, but it’s being so insane that it deserves it’s own talking point. It’s mind blowing how many projects they are working on, how diverse that portfolio is becoming in all regards, many different genres, sizes and styles, and even more insane that it’s all coming to gamepass. Heck we are getting 4 new games this month alone, this gen there were years that’s all they had to release in the entire year. And they are not done with Halo Infinite also arriving soon.
Power of the Series X. I’m ready for shorter load times, better framerate, and pretty graphics.
Game Pass/XCloud. I love being able to pull out my phone and load up my save of Forza to play a race or two while I wait. I love having games ready for me when I want them.
New studios. I am excited to see what Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Compulsion all make with MS full backing and funding. Other studios like Playground and Obsidian will continue to make great games, but these studios really interest me in what comes next.
Xbox Game Pass. The sub is a great saves me a fortune compared to buying games outright. Seems like they will go ham with it this gen, I’d be okay with that even if that means a small prce increase.
First Party. Not all of their studios excite me, butI’m looking forward to games like Everwild, Avowed, Forza, and Fable.
Backwards Compatibility. I want them to continue adding Xbox 360 and Xbox games to the program, so the Series X can be basically an all-encompassing box that can play four gens of games. The proposition of this being “the only xbox you’ll ever need” is really enticing, and I hope they make it a reality.
I am excited about the smell of a new console. I like new toys. I would be more excited about the things MS do with Xbox if all that stuff would be available to me in Germany and on iOS. Currently i am just pleased that the console will be an upgrade even to my only 18 months old PC.
The future of gamepass and backwards comparability definitely. But what excites me most if the first party stable. I dream of an Xbox first party that is comparable to Sega’s in it’s heyday. Just a big ass collection of talented developers making all kinds of off the wall creative games! The xbox division will need an enormous first party stable to really feed Gamepass with constant high quality original content so i can see them easily having well over 20+studios in the coming years!
Answer is a combination of things:
Gamepass bringing me a ton of variety to try
Giving me an avenue to o play these games wherever
Making some great games to play (Halo, Gears, Avowed, Fable)
The ecosystem they’ve created. I love that upgrading to a Series X is going to be seamless. I get why some people may be disappointed we’re not getting the “clean break” into a new generation that we’re used to, but beyond the initial excitement, the “generationless” approach is so much more appealing to me. Being able to plug in my external drives and have games all the way back from the original Xbox not only work, but play and look better at no additional cost is such an incredible feature. Not having to drop $200+ to have another full set of controllers is huge too.
Their first party lineup is incredibly exciting. 2007 is by far my favourite year in gaming, and a large part of that is because of Microsoft’s output. Halo 3 and Mass Effect 1 are two of my favourite games of all time. Microsoft released those back to back. Add in other incredible games like PGR4 and Crackdown, and you have a hell of a lineup. The new acquisitions and announced games tell me Microsoft is committed to releasing amazing games like those. Three WRPG studios, a Halo game at launch, unique experiences from studios like Rare and Double Fine… All coming to Game Pass. Its an incredibly exciting time
Despite some of the most recent news and rumors, I’m feeling excited for the future of Xbox.
The ecosystem is unmatched. I greatly prefer the controller. GamePass is the best value in gaming, and I think Xbox has the potential to be a WRPG powerhouse next gen. Love the efforts made for accessibility as well, and the emphasis on BC lets me invest in digital without worry.
Was pumped for xCloud but my reliance on my iPhone threw some cold water onto that prospect.
Still, I strongly believe that Phil’s vision will pay dividends down the line. It’s definitely a long game approach, but I prefer it to Sony’s walled garden stance.
