Xbox Series S | X Console Discussion

Glen-i · September 13, 2022

1 minute ago, Cube said:

I can only presume that some strange licensing messed up the release.

No way to know. ResetEra are naturally saying it's all Ninty's fault.

It's not that, because as long as Ninty got Goldeneye 007 on NSO, they wouldn't care what Microsoft did. And again, the Ninty version isn't adding online to it, it's just baked into the emulator. I could have three other people watch me play Banjo-Kazooie online, that doesn't mean it has online features added.

Happenstance · September 13, 2022

The fact that online is being touted as a Switch exclusive does make it sound like it wasn't a choice MS made to leave it out but something else

**Cube** · September 13, 2022

Yeah, doesn't make sense for Nintendo to be dictating these terms. My complete guess would be that it's more something like any significant changes to the game (new graphics, a custom built online - as the Switch is doing online in a different way, it's fine) would count as a new game and need additional licensing.

Perhaps this could even be based on the XBLA version, just with the new graphics removed, because of how it links to Rare Replay and the lack of a PC version.

Hero-of-Time · September 15, 2022

For anyone who's interested, here's the link for the Xbox TGS stream which starts at 10am. The show is scheduled to run for 50 minutes.

Happenstance · September 15, 2022

I'd love to see them announce some jrpgs coming to gamepass. It's sorely lacking in that department.

Hero-of-Time · September 15, 2022

12 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

I'd love to see them announce some jrpgs coming to gamepass. It's sorely lacking in that department.

And farming sims.

Happenstance · September 15, 2022

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

And farming sims.

Oh of course, I just assumed that went without saying.

**Cube** · September 15, 2022

2 hours ago, Happenstance said:

I'd love to see them announce some jrpgs coming to gamepass. It's sorely lacking in that department.

Ni No Kuni Remastered has just been announced. Out on Game Pass today.

And Deathloop is coming to Game Pass on 20th September

drahkon · September 15, 2022

Anybody watch the show?
Anything interesting in it?

Hero-of-Time · September 15, 2022

Just now, drahkon said:

Anybody watch the show?
Anything interesting in it?

Not really. A lot of Japanese titles that have been available elsewhere for a while are hitting the Xbox. Rest of the stuff on show were multiplatform games.

drahkon · September 15, 2022

Thanks

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

A lot of Japanese titles that have been available elsewhere for a while are hitting the Xbox.

Good for XBox gamers

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Rest of the stuff on show were multiplatform games.

Good for all the gamers

Gonna read up on it after work and see if anything tickles my fancy (always very close to typing "fanny", which would be pretty weird :laughing: )

Hero-of-Time · September 16, 2022

More acquisitions on the way?

Quote

CNBC:
It does appear to be an arms race. Everyone's getting incredibly acquisitive at the moment. So, aside from Activision and potentially what happens there, are you still looking to remain acquisitive because you've got Tencent really starting to get involved in the space now. You've got Sony nibbling at the edges. Or is it just about waiting and seeing what happens with Activision and then pressing pause for a little bit in terms of buying up other studios?

Phil Spencer:
Yeah, I mean you mentioned it, you nailed it. This is such a competitive market. I don't think we get to press pause on anything. Uh you know, Tencent is the largest gaming company on the planet today and they continue to heavily invest in gaming content and game creators. Sony is a larger business than we are in gaming today and they continue to invest. When you look at the investments that we've made, it's a highly, highly competitive market. We strive to be a major player here. We want to deliver great content for our players and we're going to remain active. Like I said, whether that's investing in our internal teams that are already building great games that people know and love. Whether it's building new partnerships.

And one of the things I love about coming here to Tokyo is the developers. I get to meet with the new partnerships we have with people like Kojima Productions and going to talk with some of our existing publishing partners and independent creators about games that we want to build. And if it turns into acquisitive M&A work, we're active there too. So the work for us never ends. It's a competitive market and I want to make sure Xbox is at the forefront of innovation and competition.

Console pricing

Quote

CNBC:
We saw Sony upping the prices of their consoles just recently. Is Microsoft categorically able to say that you won't be raising prices on your Series S or X?

Phil Spencer:
We're always evaluating our business going forward. So I don't think we can ever say on anything that we will never do something. But when we look at our consoles today, and you talked about it - Series X and Series S, we think value is incredibly important. We love the position of Series S in the market, which is our lower cost console. Over half of our new players that we're finding are coming in through Series S.

And I can definitely say we have no plans today to raise price of our consoles. We think in a time when our customers are more economically challenged and uncertain than ever, we don't think it's the right move for us at this point to be raising prices on our console.

drahkon · September 16, 2022

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

More acquisitions on the way?

Is that a rhetorical question?
Of course there are. Microsoft has near unlimited spending power and they will use it.

It's a shame...I wonder how long it takes for one of the huge spending powers to have the majority of the market in their hands

Dcubed · September 16, 2022

It's a bit cheeky of him to say that they need to continue with M&A in such an aggressive market when they were the ones who instigated The Great Industry Consolidation to begin with.

But yes, water is wet. As soon as the Acti-Blizz purchase is approved and completed, they're gonna go right back to gobbling up the rest of the industry.

**Ike** · November 21, 2022

Series S is £190 today at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-RRS-00007-Series-S/dp/B08GD9MNZB/

Or Smyths, £225 with an extra controller.

https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/video-games-and-tablets/console-bundle-deals/xbox-console-bundle-deals/xbox-series-s-console-and-extra-controller/b/800675

Hero-of-Time · December 6, 2022

Quote

Xbox is preparing to join other major games publishers in raising the prices of its major new first-party titles from $60 to $70.

Beginning in 2023, games built for Xbox Series X|S including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will cost $69.99 USD at launch. While Xbox has noted that regional pricing may differ, it has not yet given specifics for other countries.

"This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles," a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN. "As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch."

As expected, although I imagine a lot of Xbox owners won't be too fussed seeing as they have Game Pass as an option.

Julius · January 9, 2023

There have been a lot of rumours the past few weeks about an upcoming Xbox showcase, and it seems like it might just be around the corner.

Courtesy of Windows Central:

Quote

A new Xbox showcase has been rumored for some time now, and we believe we have some concrete information on it finally.

Our sources suggest the showcase is called Xbox Developer_Direct, and will feature content from Xbox and Bethesda.

Games expected to appear include Redfall, Forza Motorsport, and Minecraft Legends. We believe that Starfield may not be at this show, slated for another marketing beat a little later on.

This will be an intimate look at major games for 2023, as Microsoft seeks to ramp up transparency and frequency on upcoming Xbox games.

[...]

Xbox fans have been waiting for a while for information on this year's slate of Xbox games, set to include games like Redfall and the hotly-anticipated Starfield. It seems that we won't have to wait much longer, if our information is correct.

I heard that there was an Xbox showcase on the horizon back in December, but have since been able to lock the information down with a variety of sources familiar with Microsoft's plans.

It seems the show will be called a Developer_Direct, and may be part of a new initiative from Microsoft and Xbox to offer information on upcoming games more frequently, outside of the major E3 and Game Awards marketing beats.

[...]

From what we understand, the Developer_Direct show is slated for January 25 at 12PM PT on Xbox's official channels on Twitch and YouTube. The show will be hosted by both Xbox and Bethesda, with deep dives into Redfall, Minecraft Legends, Forza Motorsport, and content from ZeniMax Online Studios.

From what we understand, this won't be a full-blown E3-scale kind of show, and will be a more intimate look at some upcoming exclusives. As such, we've heard Starfield may even be skipping this show for a bigger marketing beat later on.

It's about time in my books. I know there was a discussion here not too long ago about PlayStation needing to show off some new first party stuff sooner rather than later, and we're always chomping at the bit for the next Nintendo Direct, but Xbox have - somehow - managed to escape the expectation of frequent news updates and showcases relatively unscathed; heck, I skipped The Game Awards last month so someone tell me if I'm doing, but weren't they AWOL? Which is kind of mental to me when we consider that it still feels like they're playing catch-up (and will be for some time) when put next to the other two platform holders.

Julius · January 11, 2023

And right on cue, here's the announcement of Xbox's Developer_Direct, which takes place on 25th January at 20:00 GMT:

Quote

Xbox and Bethesda will present a Developer_Direct on Wednesday, January 25, providing fans with an inside look at some of the games coming to Xbox, PC and Game Pass over the next few months.

Presented by the game creators themselves from studios including Arkane Austin, Mojang Studios, Turn 10 Studios, and ZeniMax Online Studios, the Developer_Direct will focus on big features, extended gameplay showcases, and the latest info for Xbox games launching in the next few months, including The Elder Scrolls Online, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and Redfall.

And a standalone showing has been confirmed by Bethesda to be in the works for Starfield:

First major event/presentation of the year being by Xbox for a change, looking forward to seeing what sort of tempo they can set themselves for the year ahead!

Dcubed · January 20, 2023

Oh dear…

So according to this French report doing the rounds (apparently from a reliable source that has delivered accurate information in the past), 343 Industries has effectively been shut down as a primary game development studio outside of ongoing support for Halo Infinite!

Translation shamelessly stolen from Resetera…

Quote

Summary:

343 seems to have lost around 1/3 of its workforce (internal + contractors)

2023 plans seem unchanged by this major reshape: focus was and still is on MP for this year (Forge MM, new Seasons/BP, New maps and probably Tatanka)

Before Bonnie Ross quitting, Joseph Staten with a small team was preparing to ship multiple contained Campaign DLC to expand its narrative over the months or even years. This plan was stopped when Pierre Hintze and the new key roles came in after Ross as they've seen too much complexity in creating new contents for Campaign + was not enough profitable for them to sustain, so they decided to completely halt them in favor on focusing on MP only for the time being (this may have led to Staten deciding to leave too)

Halo Infinite largely missed its financial and overall goals and led to Microsoft decision to halt 343 "active development" transforming (or regress?) them into "franchise coordinators"

This means that other than supporting Halo Infinite MP (which is already largely externalized to Certain Affinity, Spearsoft and others), their role will be limited to make sure different external studios will create further Halo projects (direct sequels to Infinite story or spin-offs of different genre) respecting all the established lore and fundamentals for the IP

Slipspace Engine is still in place along with its internal engineers, but it will be opened up to learn and use also to all external studios working with the IP (if they want)

In this sense, 343 together with Microsoft Game Publishing started contacting (and contracting) with external studios to create "future Halo experiences" together since 2020, also with the aim to reduce/optimize costs/budget

So 343 Industries is now a support studio and future Halo productions will now be outsourced? Fucking hell! What a disaster!

Xbox Game Studios is kind of a total mess… 5+ years of constant acquisitions and nothing to show for it outside of Bethesda (which is only just now becoming Xbox exclusive).

V. Amoleo · February 7, 2023

I think this is the most suitable place for this. You have less than 24 hours to pick up these games from the Xbox 360 Marketplace before they're gone.

Edited February 7, 2023 by V. Amoleo

Julius · March 1, 2023

While PlayStation is getting a LeBron collab for some strange reason, here are some Mando-themed Series X|S:

That Series X especially looks awesome :cry:

Ronnie · March 1, 2023

Not normally into custom console designs, but those are awesome, love the colours

Julius · April 14, 2023

Just stumbled across The Explorator which was shown off last week, and it looks like a very unique and fun time!

The scream caught me off guard :laughing:

Dcubed · May 3, 2023

Man, Redfall is getting utterly savaged critically.

Xbox is in a real bad position now. With the ABK purchase going south now... if Starfield is anything less than an absolute blockbuster success? The division might well just be totally done.

Sheikah · May 3, 2023

Man, Redfall is getting utterly savaged critically.
Xbox is in a real bad position now. With the ABK purchase going south now... if Starfield is anything less than an absolute blockbuster success? The division might well just be totally done.

It's crazy isn't it, the Microsoft kiss of death again (yeah, ultimately this released on their watch). You can see why Microsoft were desperate to get hold of COD now.

Xbox Series S | X Console Discussion

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