Xbox - Series S/X: Thread 01

[Team Andromeda]

May doesn't really matter as MS would have likely shown off the same thing as part of their existing June E3 show. Digital Foundry made the exact same point about E3 2013 and that gameplay has been shown at this point in the cycle before.

And no they can't pick third party content which is why their decision to hype this up as the big unveiling of their next-gen was a mistake.

I very much doubt MS would have shown off any significant gameplay before E3 in June ..When MS 1showed off the One In it's Campus , it was flashes of gameplay and even then people said the games weren't a jump ECT.

[Team Andromeda]

Console launches need incredible looking games though. Kill zone on PS4 is a crap game but it looked amazing. I’m not sure what my point is here. Perhaps it’s do you want to be disappointed before or after you buy your new console?

Wouldnt call the PS2 launch software for the P2 in Japan incredible looking .The Mega Drive launch software in Japan was poor too and other than PGR 3 the 360, I wouldn't say it had increabile looking games.

They were jumps and half decent games and that's good enough for me

[Digfox]

I very much doubt MS would have shown off any significant gameplay before E3 in June ..When MS 1showed off the One In it's Campus , it was flashes of gameplay and even then people said the games weren't a jump ECT.

We'll just have to disagree. MS wouldn't have pulled together whole new material when E3 was cancelled, although obviously they would have had a big show in June and shown nothing in May. What they have shown (on May 7th) and will show in July would have been shown at their E3 show. With some changes due to Covid19 obviously. Similar story for Sony, where Cerney's talk was their planned GDC showing and their June show is material planned for E3 originally.

The fact it's May, June or July doesn't really matter in the criticism MS have received. Beyond that they have given themselves slightly more breathing room for first-party showings, or timings better for themselves (i.e. July versus having to meet a June deadline). Indeed given MS and Ubisoft have 'apologised' for their messaging, it seems odd to make excuses for MS (and Ubisoft) by saying we don't see gameplay in May.

Personally I think the Ubisoft AC trailer was a massive dud, and secondly the messaging and hype was handled very badly. That's fair criticism imo.

[wakka]

Seems to me that Valhalla has been primarily developed as a PS4 game, with Bone as a secondary platform, and Series X bringing up the rear. They have probably devoted the fewest resources of all to it.

Pretty crap but also pretty much what you can expect in the first year or two from most third parties I'd guess. They're going to be prioritising that giant install base available across the base PS4 and Bone above all else.

I do keep reading about people saying that they hope the next gen will be all 4K/60. I really think those people are setting themselves up for disappointment. 60fps is, as I understand it, always a very deliberate choice at an early stage of a game's development, and in practice it's rarely a priority over graphical effects.

4K/30 I think will be the norm for the vast majority of games, with the exception of CoD, Mario, some racing titles, or less graphically intensive titles. I'd be interested if anyone more knowledgeable than myself about game development could weigh in on the matter though.

[Brad]

That's Ubisoft's thing. Don;t they usually saturate new console launches, cashing in on lack of software to peddle their garbage *looks at red steel*. Mind you, ZombiU was good.

[Neon Ignition]

The 60fps thing is always a pipe dream unless sacrifices are being made elsewhere. PS6 and XB5 won't deliver 60fps across the board either.

[Digfox]

I remember there being a similar reaction to AC4: Black Flag being 900-1080@30 during the XBO/PS4 launch. I personally don't mind too much although 60+fps is always better.

What concerns me more with AC:Valhalla is the business model. Ubisoft recent track record on monitisation isn't great and I don't personally want any MTX in a single player game. We know it's going to happen, although hopefully no XP/money boosters this time.

[wakka]

The 60fps thing is always a pipe dream unless sacrifices are being made elsewhere. PS6 and XB5 won't deliver 60fps across the board either.

Yeah, that's always been my understanding.

Maybe if we see a boosted mid-gen machine that might more readily offer 60fps as it basically just acts as a version of the base machine with a load more headroom.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, for anything that later gets patch support presumably it'll be a steady 2-3yr progression of designs for Xbox with Series X2 aiming for 4K/60fps-8K/30fps then Series X3 aiming for next-next gen 8K/30fps bells and whistles against PS6. Sony, I'm partially expecting a PS5 Pro at some point but at the same time neither Pro or Xbox One X paid off for Sony and Microsoft much so I assume Sony will make the decision at some point as to what will sell more units between a PS5 Pro and a PS5 Super Slim followed by a PS6 that appears to bring a bigger jump compared to following a pro release.

[wakka]

If they do release mid-gen refreshes this time, there's no way I'm sleeping on them again. I was really sceptical that they'd be a worthwhile investment, but in the end I was wrong and I should've just jumped in when they first came out. I left it late and it didn't really feel worth it in the end with the new machines on the horizon - particularly as the Pro in particular barely dropped in price.

[Team Andromeda]

We'll just have to disagree. MS wouldn't have pulled together whole new material when E3 was cancelled, although obviously they would have had a big show in June and shown nothing in May. What they have shown (on May 7th) and will show in July would have been shown at their E3 show. With some changes due to Covid19 obviously. Similar story for Sony, where Cerney's talk was their planned GDC showing and their June show is material planned for E3 originally.
.

We haven't seen that part of the show, that's is coming in July . So I'll judge it then myself , when we see what MS studios have been up too and even then it nots quite the same as before .

You can't go to the studios , you can't rehearse the presentation like before the lock down .

I now people love to slag off E3 and say we just stick to streams .I miss E3 because after the briefings we got see People/pres play the games during the week .

[Team Andromeda]

That's Ubisoft's thing. Don;t they usually saturate new console launches, cashing in on lack of software to peddle their garbage *looks at red steel*. Mind you, ZombiU was good.

Hardly . I suspect this is a flame bait post but Ubisoft to me always put good stuff on consoles, even early in and even if it's cross gen .
Rayman II looked incredible on the DC , Ghost Reckon on the 360 was incredible as was Rainbow 6 Vegas and I enjoyed AC black and Unity.

[Digfox]

You can't go to the studios , you can't rehearse the presentation like before the lock down .

Indeed, but then that's comes back to what Aaron Greenberg acknowledged; they (MS Xbox) mucked up their messaging. July will be better, and that's what they should hype up as the time we see the next-generation. This should have been pitched as a quick look at games on Xbox Series X in the first 12-months.

[fishbowlhead]

Or just don’t got for native 4k. Total waste of resources when all the upscaling techniques produce an imperceptible difference in native vs upscaled.

Free up the resources needed for 60fps.

[Brad]

Yep the overall appearance of video games is still not as good as a standard def movie. There are more pixels and lighting effects with each generation but other than car games they look nowhere near realistic, even when that’s the look they’re going for. Do not need native 4K, aiming for 30fps!