Xbox Series S/X: Thread 05

[Neon Ignition]

I normally wouldn't put stock in it either but after MS's gross incompetence this year... I half expect it now

[Neon Ignition]

Is that real?

Yep

It arrived on Xbox as the systems 23rd most played title too:

https://i.imgur.com/ouqq5KX.png

And 6th as the most played Game Pass title

https://i.imgur.com/Geg1sQq.png

It's Steam tragectory is declining fast also

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3a2377b048b1875087d7558df00b5c8d3a2873512efa98bb6450f103a8a35cf6.png

When the game was revealed there was a bit of a sense of urgency to have something that would showcase games were coming to Xbox and that the new consoles would showcase their worth (something we're still largely waiting on 4 years later) so I can see the thinking of committing to a Game Pass propping visual benchmark AA title that could be made in a reasonable timeframe and carried some brand recognition.

COVID then happening won't have helped at all but Hellblade clearly lost MS's confidence, likely under the recent strategic changes of view at the top. Ninja Theory are perfectly capable and should be kept by MS, but Hellblade is toast and was still a weird title to commit to in the end.

[Lebowski]

So Microsoft trying a steam machine route, didn't work for Valve but will it work for Microsoft, maybe if they market it right, not sure how they will keep the price down while also stuffing them full of powerful upgradeable components.

[fishbowlhead]

So Microsoft trying a steam machine route, didn't work for Valve but will it work for Microsoft, maybe if they market it right, not sure how they will keep the price down while also stuffing them full of powerful upgradeable components.

It will fail miserably, it’s not why console purchasers buy consoles.

If your releasing on console or pc, then that game needs to be tailored to that platform properly, obviously.

[Neon Ignition]

maybe if they market it right

.....

[wakka]

Someone at MS pushed this notification early. So yeah this is happening. If you like a bit of CoD and you have GP this is a nice get.

Strategically it feels like Microsoft are between two worlds at the moment - we all know they're looking to recoup Xbox's enormous acquisition outlays from multiplats, but at the same time they're clearly trying to keep Xbox/GP users on-side too. It feels like they're not really properly committed to one path or the other at the moment.

Although I would add that with the cataclysmically low sales of the Series X, I wonder how much impact giving this game out gratis to GP subs will even have on Black Ops 6's bottom line.

[Neon Ignition]

Now for the next awkward question they'll be asked from this point onward... where are all the other COD's on Game Pass?

[dataDave]

Do you know when you fill an emulation device with a ton of quality games and then give it to a seasoned gamer, who then just flits from one ROM to the next every couple of minutes for a bit before getting bored? That's what Microsoft are doing, but with brand new games that they're spending lots of money on producing.

[wakka]

Now for the next awkward question they'll be asked from this point onward... where are all the other COD's on Game Pass?

To be honest, they should go ahead and get these on there, drop one a week or something. They can't be generating that much revenue on the Xbox store at present and every download is a chance to push DLC.

[Lebowski]

Do you know when you fill an emulation device with a ton of quality games and then give it to a seasoned gamer, who then just flits from one ROM to the next every couple of minutes for a bit before getting bored? That's what Microsoft are doing, but with brand new games that they're spending lots of money on producing.

Yup that about sums up my game pass experience, a game really has to grab me or it gets deleted.

Starfield got about 2 hours before I got bored.

A Plague Tale Requiem very pretty but I'm not really into stealth games that make you play the same bit over and over as once ive been caught i just push my luck and get impatient.

Lies of p I loved It, just forgot I was playing it,

Redfall explored the town wasn't fussed about the story.

Forza Horizon 5 played about ten hours now the map is full of markers that don't seem to do anything and whenever I put it on it feels like I'm making no progress in removing these markers as they don't go away, and I forget what I did last time I played it. I get to spin a wheel every so often and get some sunglasses or a shirt or something for the guy that's in my car that I never see.

Jet Wash Simulator, reached a point where it became a chore as the buildings got to large.

Cocoon Was ok but once I'd seen the central mechanic and knew it would just ask me to go into more and more inception level puzzles that make your brain hurt i lost motivation to play it.

Scorn Every room looked the same which completely derailed any kind of exploration and all the puzzles were far too random.

The Outerwilds lovely looking world to explore puzzles too long-winded and lacked any real ah ha moments as again was very obtuse like an old fashioned point and click adventure where you just use the fish on everything until it works but it still makes no sense when you finally find what to use it with.

Hellbade felt like a budget god of war gave up at run through burning village bit.

[hudson]

dataDave 100 percentoid!

Had same feels from my Super Wild Card back in the neon 90's.

Honestly reckon games like Lies of Pi I would have bought and coz I bought it, do more than sit in my piss with grump face coz a baddies one shot me 5 times in a row. I would have stuck at it. With gp and PS plus, I just flit out like a p****.

Going forward, I am just buying the games I want to play.

[egparadigm]

Nah, not PC's. It's going to be like the 3DO but running Windows.

👆🏻 This was my first thought.

[Neon Ignition]

Xbox canned official Killer Instinct tournaments in 2021 because of worries players might expect a sequel Microsoft | ResetEra
I rarely direct link to another forum but it's just easier than dealing with Twitters naff postings.

You have a well thought of game. You have keen fans eager to promote your title at no real cost. You have long running brand IP good will. You have a small scale endeavor that will foster good community relations.

But.

You're Microsoft.

So naturally you butcher the PR opportunity

[hudson]

Crazy. Didn't MS buy Smash.gg (now Start.gg)? I use that site for viewing fighting game tournament brackets. Locals I join in or big tournaments I watch. Seems like a good place to promote one of your own fighting games! "Shhhh quiet" - MS.

[nonny]

Xbox canned official Killer Instinct tournaments in 2021 because of worries players might expect a sequel Microsoft | ResetEra
I rarely direct link to another forum but it's just easier than dealing with Twitters naff postings.

You have a well thought of game. You have keen fans eager to promote your title at no real cost. You have long running brand IP good will. You have a small scale endeavor that will foster good community relations.

But.

You're Microsoft.

So naturally you butcher the PR opportunity

This is really weird given how they've now essentially resurrected the game and brought it back up to date.

I'd love to see a sequel as KI was pretty great all round.