Xbox/Bethesda released one of the most highly rated AAA games this year though.
Yeah, Hi-Fi Rush is AAA especially with all the licensed music.
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Nope. No tricks for Redfall play early.
I was misunderstood. I’m talking about the perception that users have on Xbox that sees Redfall as the first big exclusive since Halo Infinite, I’m not belittling games like Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment or Grounded or other games that came before them. Many see Redfall as the first big (and I repeat big) title coming in almost 18 months and obviously hope it has a high rating
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I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot of use out of this tweet.
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Not really, it’s not like I’m running at them, usually whenever cover is available if there isn’t a barrier that can stop me from running around out of their sight. Or I have back up to draw their fire, I usually end up next to them taking them down as they are deciding to peel out of cover or just firing at my previous location. While I didn’t play RDR2 for long that was something that I remember happening in the first couple of gun fights.
That’s a scenario that happens often in games were enemies take cover, including Fallout 4 where they actually take cover often unless they’re a melee character who doesn’t carry a gun. They also tend to pick up the best gun in the ground, equip it and try to take me down with it. I think the only thing that makes those fights last longer in Fallout is health, armor rating and how much damage reduction the difficulty gives enemies.
Edit: generally I find that the only enemies that don’t take cover in Fallout 4 at all at are instatute Synths, robots, power armor wearer’s and Super mutants. They’re the rush you til you’re dead type, raiders, settlers, Minutemen, BoS, Gunners and other factions take cover.
Gotcha, I hear you on that because 2022 shouldn’t happen ever again. However, I think if this gets a score of 80+ then that would silence some. I am in the camp of waiting for patch, but we can’t count out Arkane in delivering since they usually give us games that are 80+ on MC
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If Xbox loses ABK, it’s status quo. Simple as that.
While I want a few AAA third person action adventure games from Microsoft, they are coming (Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Gears of War 6 and probably others) but the main issue is one thing - consistency.
When Microsoft released Flight Simulator, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite in the second half of 2021, we all believed or at least thought that okay, here we go. The consistency will finally be here but then boom, Redfall and Starfield delayed to 2023 followed by a near empty 2022.
While Hi Fi Rush is an AA title to me, it’s still a release followed by Ghostwire Tokyo and Minecraft Legends. In a few days, it’s Redfall. Thus far, Microsoft has finally started to be consistent and they just need to continue that. Release games consistently and at a good quality level and that’s where people will shut the hell up about this or that.
So if Microsoft can then get Starfield and Forza Motorsport out in the Fall, then they’ll finally have a consistent year of game releases. If they can announce Avowed or something else for early 2024 (February/March) and hit it, then well here we go. They’ll finally be consistent and just need to stay that way.
We’ll see what happens. Thus far, they’ve released four first party games for Xbox Series including Redfall with at least two more to come.
Consistency and game development don’t really go together. And even when Xbox is releasing games, many still complain.
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And the media outlets should have the same energy towards Playstation releasing only one AAA game for the next fiscal year (ending March 2024)… right? 
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Damn it. Well, I hope reviews entertain me on Monday then.
I think what happens is Sony smartly leverages third party to fill the gap. So, it doesn’t look bad when they have a 10 month gap between Ragnarok to Spiderman 2. They filled gap by having hogwarts marketing, Forspoken, FF16, and other games they get marketing or timed exclusive deals for.
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Forspoken didn’t do much for them. They had a marketing deal for Suicide Squad and got the game delayed to February 2024.
And I meant to say no ‘1P’ AAA game from Sony.
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Yup, that’s what I meant. When there’s a gap as large as the one I stated then media won’t say much about first party output due to third party deals they sandwich between gaps.
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This and marketing deals alone makes the majority believe that the game is exclusive (like Hogwarts) when in reality it isn’t. Microsoft really needs to get marketing deals and stop concentrating on ONLY Game Pass and that’s it.
In general, I agree. PlayStation wise, I played and completed GOWR but will have FF XVI in June to fill out the gap while waiting for Spider Man 2. And I have the HFW expansion.
I hate timed exclusives but fuck it, if a regulator is telling you that it’s perfectly fine to do it then go fucking do it. If gaming media or PlayStation fans get pissed off, oh well, too bad.
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At this point Microsoft just needs to take the focus off the ABK merger and start marketing the console and games. We are nearly 3 years into this console cycle and have no clue what of most of the 23 plus studios are working on. It’s time to blow the lid off - doesn’t matter how far off these games are. Just have an event where everything is finally shown to the world. Hell, there were 3 or 4 E3s where Sony consecutively showed the same games and no one gave them shit for it. Why amass such a large portfolio of studios when all you do is drop vague tidbits here and there about their projects? That strategy is not going to sell the xbox brand and certainly not going to win any favor with a gaming press that feasts of off xbox negativity
When the Series X was unveiled, it finally seemed like team xbox was getting its act together, but they are constantly shooting themselves in the foot by being so complacent. The PS5 is everywhere - tv, billboards, magazines, youtube ads etc. Unless you are online or go into a retailer, you wouldn’t know the series x exists
Microsoft just needs to go scorched earth at this point. When the showcase ends on June 11th, they need to market the hell out of Startfield all summer until its release. It is shaping up to be a pivotal game for this generation and it’s only on Xbox, so make it fucking known. There are already a bunch of Sony loving gaming journalists that are itching to crap on Starfield simply because it’s exclusive. Get ahead of all the negativity and compete. Remember this is a game that Sony tried to lock for a year.
Sony’s strategy at its core has always been to relentllessly expose and exploit the weaknesses of its competitors. At this point, the ps5 will never get a game like Starfield. Rub it in their smug faces any which way you can
Spiderman 2 is releasing a few weeks after Starfield, and Sony will make sure to take the spotlight away.
Unfortunately knowing what the marketing team has done so far, we’ll probably only see Starfield advertisements on fast-food wrappers, snacks and energy drinks
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When people say take the spotlight away from ABK are they themselves ignoring the Developer Direct, the games Xbox has released this year, and the upcoming games including the one launching next week? Do you not realize that MS’s lawyers are the ones involved with the deal and not game developers? Are you more concerned about Sony console warriors “getting the better of you” than the actual reality of Xbox actually focusing on it’s gaming business?
And we definitely know what most of Xbox’s 23 studios are working on lmao
And I’m going to post this again:
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I dont think thats true, I just think Xbox needs consistent well scoring AAA games. A whole year without that put a dent in the brand, that was otherwise doing well aka 2021.
Im going to be immensely bummed if Redfall doesn’t hit 80 OC. If it does it could be a real PR upswing, if it doesnt, it will continue the Xbox death spiral PR train that we are currently on. IMO 70’s isnt good enough for a first-party game for Xbox, 80 minimum.
Thank you, and this is what I have been asking Xbox to do. Something they did in the 360 days, but I get shunned for it lmao.
PlayStation have third party AAA exclusives to cover any droughts. The fact that Xbox is unwilling to do that, even with their market share is crazy to me.
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I am not trying to make this a console warrior argument so I apologize if it came off that way. Microsoft needs to work harder to maintain relevancy in the console space. I am just suggesting they take a page out of Sony’s book. Microsoft’s hardware team built an amazing console that should be flourishing at this point, and its inexplicable for the brand to be stumbling the way it has been over the past year
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