Cube Posted November 23, 2021 Posted November 23, 2021 Apparently my most played game last year is one I played for 3 minutes, which consisted of the Xbox app for Windows failing to launch it. I wonder why it ignored all the other PC games played through the Xbox app on Windows.
Dufniall Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 21 hours ago, Mandalore said: Microsoft have created a digital museum for the 20th anniversary. It's interesting wondering around your own profile in it. Apparently I really liked Mass Effect, and I mysteriously stopped playing Xbox consoles in 2014. The museum also has a copy of a letter regarding Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Nintendo: 1 1
Julius Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 1 minute ago, Vileplume2000 said: The museum also has a copy of a letter regarding Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Nintendo: The gaming world would be a very different place if Rick Thompson's PA didn't type everything in all caps 1
Ronnie Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 (edited) Pretty crazy that they included that tbf, though I guess it's probably just a fake letter typed up for this purpose. The spelling mistake on sentence one suggests as much lol. Edited November 24, 2021 by Ronnie
Dcubed Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 (edited) Finally had a chance to check the site out, super friggin' cool! I love how candid it is, they certainly aren't afraid to highlight their own mistakes and foibles along the way... No lies detected Bit odd that they don't highlight the Rare aquisition though; they make a point out of the purchase (and quick demise!) of Beam/Mixer, but they don't highlight the purchase of Rare!? Bit odd. Love all the prototype stuff they show off too! (Mostly of the original Xbox and just a little bit of the 360; would be nice to see more of that stuff from their later consoles too). Makes me pretty excited for the upcoming Xbox documentary series God I wish we could get just a little bit of this level of candidness from Nintendo & Sony... would kill to be able to see behind the curtain like we're getting from Xbox here. Xbox is killing it with their anniversary celebration here! Edited November 24, 2021 by Dcubed 2
Dcubed Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 Ed Fries is also posting behind-the-scenes memorabilia and cool bits... Apparantly Microsoft tried to buy Blizzard back in the early 2000s... Twice!
Julius Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 43 minutes ago, Dcubed said: God I wish we could get just a little bit of this level of candidness from Nintendo & Sony... would kill to be able to see behind the curtain like we're getting from Xbox here. Xbox is killing it with their anniversary celebration here! I feel like part of it is probably a cultural thing, both in terms of company culture and national culture. Phil Spencer has been pretty bang-on when being honest about Xbox's failures since he took the role at the top. There was that GDC Xbox party with women dressed as schoolgirls, obviously the botched launched of the Xbox One which he's talked about a fair bit in retrospect, and so on. Compare that to Nintendo, who are essentially gaming's Disney. They are ubiquitous with the medium, known by all, and own up to very, very little. Joy-Con drift is an issue they've dodged a lot, and the Wii U is something they - perhaps quite rightly, in a lot of.l opinions I've seen and heard over the years - seem to be trying to erase our memories of. Obviously I haven't worked in Japan, so I could be way off and it is probably a generalisation (it probably is down to individuals defining work culture from the top), but dwelling on past mistakes in terms of company image just doesn't seem to be something they take head on, and when that has happened, it's been down to individuals (such as Iwata, or for example Yoshi-P with XIV's crazy turnaround). And, honestly, I'm just not sure with PlayStation these days. Most of my gaming is there, but since the restructure and seeing a lot of people I liked as an onlooker leave the company (Boyes, Layden, etc.) and having Shuhei relegated to a Lucius Fox role has just been very bizarre to watch. It's been said before, but there really isn't an individual to really latch onto that represents the brand, and it's definitely not Jim Ryan. Despite the company being globalised over the last few years and moving out of Japan, shuttering studios and moving HQ, I can see why the folks over at Sony Japan would have wanted him, he just seems to be business first...for better and for worse. And that means not really dwelling on the past. Case in point, the PS3's 15th anniversary was a couple of weeks ago and I don't remember seeing anything about it on any of PlayStation's English communication channels. I don't see anyone over there right now who would talk about 2006 and the botched E3 reveal - perhaps they just haven't been there that long or wouldn't be in a great position to speak, though - or to bring it closer to the present, the PSN issues over the years. I don't know, I've probably veered way off topic, but yeah, I appreciate Xbox being candid in their reflections on past failures too. I do think it's a culture that spreads from the top with Phil Spencer, and I'm very curious to see Xbox's growth over the next few years; this isn't to say they don't have their issues right now, I'm sure they do, but they're doing a pretty good job of managing them. The raving reviews and impressions for Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite's multiplayer nearly made me pull the trigger on a Series X the other day (I'm trying to exercise patience and be aware that outside of those the only thing on the horizon really tickling my fancy is Starfield), which brings me onto the "problem" Xbox probably needs to take aim at next: I personally have no friends I would play multiplayer games with that has an Xbox, and none of my friends really play on PC, so it's bridging that gap I guess. Which xCloud should do I guess? So it's just waiting for that rollout to continue over the next few months/year. 1 1
Ashley Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 35 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Aparantly Microsoft tried to buy Blizzard back in the early 2000s... Twice! Shame they gave him the cold shoulder 2
Julius Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 9 minutes ago, Ashley said: Shame they gave him the cold shoulder
Glen-i Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 2 hours ago, Julius said: Joy-Con drift is an issue they've dodged a lot, and the Wii U is something they - perhaps quite rightly, in a lot of opinions I've seen and heard over the years - seem to be trying to erase our memories of. I have to wonder if that's the case. It certainly didn't stop them from poking fun at the WiiU in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Not to mention that they love mentioning the Virtual Boy every now and then.
Dcubed Posted November 24, 2021 Posted November 24, 2021 30 minutes ago, Glen-i said: I have to wonder if that's the case. It certainly didn't stop them from poking fun at the WiiU in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Not to mention that they love mentioning the Virtual Boy every now and then.
Dcubed Posted December 1, 2021 Posted December 1, 2021 (edited) Sucks to be you @Glen-i... Edited December 1, 2021 by Dcubed 1
Julius Posted December 13, 2021 Posted December 13, 2021 (edited) The six episode look back at Xbox's history, Power On: The Story of Xbox, is now up on their YouTube channel. Quote A small team of upstarts sets out to convince Microsoft that it's time to enter the console business. Quote The battle to own the living room is on–but not without significant cost and risk Quote Public doubt intensifies as issues threaten to spoil the 2001 launch for Xbox. Quote A console is only as good as its games… and Xbox needs a gamechanger to survive. Enter Halo. Quote The demand for Xbox 360 is at fever pitch, but a critical malfunction threatens its success. Quote Xbox loses its way. Can a former intern get the team back on track? Edited December 13, 2021 by Julius 1
Dcubed Posted December 13, 2021 Posted December 13, 2021 Ahh! They're all out now!? Nice! I know what I'm watching when I get home
Dcubed Posted December 16, 2021 Posted December 16, 2021 Just got round to watching the Story of Xbox documentary series the other day. Really good! Thoroughly enjoyable watch! Had no idea about the big fight between the Direct-X and Windows CE departments over who should be controlling the design of the Xbox! And Microsoft turning down GTA3 as an Xbox exclusive!? WOOF! Now THAT is a career regret if I have ever seen one! I was amazed that they actually got Jack Tretton from SCEA in on this documentary; he was surprisingly candid about Sony's mistakes with the PS3! (Actually, the whole series is surprisingly candid, they don't pull any punches to make themselves look good here. Great stuff! ) I do wish that they would've spent more time going over the creation of the Xbox 360 though; they spend a lot of time on the RROD, but not much time over how the hardware was designed, envisioned & built. Would've been great to see the 360 get the same treatment as the OG Xbox here (speaking of which, the proposed names for the Xbox were absolutely WILD! "Fire Plug"!?! LMAO!!). Also would've been nice to see some more details about the various deals that they made over the years (the fact that Rare isn't mentioned whatsoever throughout this series is absolutely criminal! It was THE big power play move of the original Xbox generation! How could they not mention it!?), and how they managed to get developers over to their side (Final Fantasy 13 hitting Xbox was a big watershed moment for the platform, as was GTA4 DLC exclusivity; would've liked to see how they managed to secure these deals). Still. When you're biggest complaint is that you want more of where that came from? It's a good problem to have I suppose. Highly recommend a watch for anyone with even a passing interest in Xbox history! There are some great stories here that are very well told
WackerJr Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 It couldn’t, could it? Is a Goldeneye port really coming….? Well 2022 enters with a bang with this huge rumour showing Goldeneye achievements on XBox! I’m so conflicted by this find, as this appears to based on a port of the original it seems and not the remaster that was leaked fairly recently. If (and that’s a big IF) this turns out to be true, I’m conflicted as the original hasn’t really aged too well, whereas as least the remaster made it look and run a whole heap better for the modern day. Still, it surely opens up the possibility of a Nintendo port too. 1
Cube Posted January 2, 2022 Posted January 2, 2022 A port of the original would be immensely disappointing as we know the remaster exists, I'd probably just continue playing that version (especially with modders fixing issues).
Dcubed Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 (edited) https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/6swN56EyVYT97D6r1sFwZE Ubisoft + is coming to Xbox and the upcoming Rainbow Six Extraction is getting added to Xbox Game Pass day 1 of release! Pretty big news. Is this the first AAA western published retail game to debut on Xbox Game Pass on day 1 of release? I know that there was Outriders, but that was publshed by S-E; I believe that this is the first one to come from a western publisher? Also, how long until Ubisoft + gets rolled into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate? (ALA EA Play) Edited January 5, 2022 by Dcubed
Julius Posted March 22, 2022 Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) These have to be some of the most awful controllers I've ever laid my eyes upon. Is this the price Phil agreed to pay for the success of Game Pass? At what cost?! EDIT: sweet mother of Master Chief there's a console too. The gold ring is passable? But the promo images from the film look really tacky, they should've used the old Sonic & Knuckles logo if they wanted a console that actually looked good (which I guess they didn't). And just to be unpleasant here's a photo of people holding the controller's: Man I don't like to be hyperbolic but I've never imagined holding a controller in my hands before and feeling physically sick. Simultaneously slipping in your hands, sweat and dirt getting caught up in it... Edited March 22, 2022 by Julius 2
Ronnie Posted March 22, 2022 Posted March 22, 2022 The console design is the tackiest thing I've seen in a while, must have taken them about three minutes to put together. The furry controllers though... I quite like them as a novelty thing obviously
Sheikah Posted March 22, 2022 Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) Christ, that's such a tacky superimposed image on the side of the console, looks like those airbrushed pictures you see at carnivals. Or a 5-minute photoshop job! Honestly though, those controllers, can you imagine how hot your hands will be after a long session? Or how smelly and dirt ridden they'll be before long? Bad from a functional point of view, but I guess they stick in your mind and kind of work as a novelty concept. Pikachu N64, anyone? Edited March 22, 2022 by Sheikah
Cube Posted March 22, 2022 Posted March 22, 2022 I want those controllers just because they're so amazingly stupid.
Dcubed Posted March 23, 2022 Posted March 23, 2022 The crazy thing is that this is far from the worst Xbox console special edition design I've ever seen... It can get a LOT worse...
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