Xbox - Series S/X: Thread 01

[Neon Ignition]

That's why I find it curious. If there's 10m Game Pass users and half use the game then that figure is good for the service but not so hot for the game. To be honest, putting aside the obvious consumer benefits that make Game Pass so great I feel no clearer on it after all this time in terms of it making much sense to co-exist with Xbox. If it is successful then it needs to leave Xbox behind, if not then it really risks cannibalising sales Xbox needs. It's still a curious consideration also that MS is keen to push it's success yet there's so little thirst to replicate it by rivals.

I'm somewhat suspicious that the reality is that Game Pass will have proven to be incredibly useful at monetising old games and first party games that would have had more limited money making potential due to how severely stagnant the Xbox One is but that the service could prove to be a form of millstone around the Series S/X if it is much more popular by cutting into software sales deeply. Basically, that Sony hasn't tried copying it because it would cripple their games profitability where by comparison they have no shortage of people willing to pay full price per individual title plus extras.

[Digfox]

Game Pass is a service and not just Xbox One games. Again Microsoft's first-party output are games that are much closer to the 'freemium' business model with a higher priority on recursive spending; cosmetics in Sea of Thieves, consumable premium currency in Gears 4/5, REQ packs in Halo 5 etc. There is a synergy with Game Pass and MS publishing more widely (i.e. Steam on PC, Xbox games on Switch) which will increase active players. This means the individual software sales matter less and fits their overall corporate strategy.

[nonny]

To me Master Chief is a lame mascot and I don't thing the Halo games are all that either. I love my 360 and One X but have never thought much of Halo on either of the consoles. I like FPS games too.

As a mascot, yes... Not exactly an adorable bundle of fluff is he.

As for the games... We I couldn't disagree more. All of them have had something. Whilst I have my favourites in the series so far in this day and age the amount of content you get in a Halo game as standard is amazing.

When FPS games are becoming split into their various functional pieces Halo is one of the only franchises left that has a decent campaign, co-op, multiplayer in tight matches and in open large scale maps, a full on complex map editor, ability to modify rules and game logic, video recording... And all of it is well above the standard curve most other games struggle to reach with just one of those features.

So yeah I love the series. It is a compendium of FPS goodness.

[randombs]

Halo is insanely good, and Master Chief is cool as heck. He's the perfect mascot if you want your console to look genuinely cool. And his double act with Cortana has brought so many unforgettable moments which I can't remember right now.

Halo's the only series whose trailers still give me tingles even though I haven't owned an Xbox in nearly ten years(Reach is the last Halo I played). It's the only game I truly regretted missing after switching to PS3/PS4.

I'm reliving them now with MCC on the PC and they haven't aged a day.

[teddymeow]

And his double act with Cortana has brought so many unforgettable moments which I can't remember right now.

So unforgettable that you've, well, forgotten them?

[Ouenben]

As a mascot, yes... Not exactly an adorable bundle of fluff is he.

As for the games... We I couldn't disagree more. All of them have had something. Whilst I have my favourites in the series so far in this day and age the amount of content you get in a Halo game as standard is amazing.

When FPS games are becoming split into their various functional pieces Halo is one of the only franchises left that has a decent campaign,

I love the Halo series but Halo 5 did not have a decent campaign. Multiplayer was good though.

[Leon Retro]

I think BlueDragoon killed them. Most probs expanded too quickly and didn't have enough projects coming in after their amazing work on the game.

All I know about Blue Dragon -- is my brother loved it and said it was really well made. It did look good from what I saw of it. The closest I got to liking a Adventure/RPG sort of game on the OG Xbox was Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance. I thought it looked really impressive back then.

[nonny]

I love the Halo series but Halo 5 did not have a decent campaign. Multiplayer was good though.

I completely agree. Think I said as much a few pages back... But even then graphically it was good and the multiplayer was great.

I loved the new multiplayer modes and controls. Still felt like the old Halo but with fresh movement and traversal options.

Really interested to see what they bring in Infinite to be honest. It needs a return to form in the campaign... Solid AI, set pieces and emergent sandbox gameplay.

When the multiplayer I'd love a return to big team battles but on an even larger scale than we've seen in the series so far.

[Team Andromeda]

All I know about Blue Dragon -- is my brother loved it and said it was really well made. It did look good from what I saw of it. The closest I got to liking a Adventure/RPG sort of game on the OG Xbox was Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance. I thought it looked really impressive back then.

The lighting effects on the Water were amazing at the time. It was a nice RPG, but just got too difficult early in. Such a shame MS looked to waste millions on Kinect rather than sequels to the likes of Blue Dragon, LO, Alan Wake Ect.

[Team Andromeda]

I love the Halo series but Halo 5 did not have a decent campaign. Multiplayer was good though.

It did have a decent campaign, just not enough of it. The game was great when you the Master Chief with some amazing firefights and some of the best AI since the 1st game. Top quality music and sound effects too, just a shame 343 felt we had to game changing between 2 different teams all through the game.

Have to say though the game looks stunning on the One X which hopfully bolds well for the new game. Just hope you play as the Master Chief for 99% of the time, in the new game

[fishbowlhead]

It did have a decent campaign, just not enough of it. The game was great when you the Master Chief with some amazing firefights and some of the best AI since the 1st game. Top quality music and sound effects too, just a shame 343 felt we had to game changing between 2 different teams all through the game.

Have to say though the game looks stunning on the One X which hopfully bolds well for the new game. Just hope you play as the Master Chief for 99% of the time, in the new game

I just completed this. People act like Halo5 killed their first born, when in reality its a good game overall. My impressions in the recently completed thread.

[Team Andromeda]

I just completed this. People act like Halo5 killed their first born, when in reality its a good game overall. My impressions in the recently completed thread.

The campaign is much better than Halo 2's which was just so poor. I disliked the constant switching between the 2 teams and hated the forced 4 player mode in the campaign, really bad design choices IMO. Also, Halo games have always looked to push some graphical effects, but 343 focus on 60 fps held back what the team could do, on an already underpowered GPU and I think that hurt the game too.

I've enjoyed playing through the Master Cheif sections on the One X and the 4K patch makes a world of difference to how the game looks

[Digfox]

Microsoft confirms Xbox Series X games reveal date

Microsoft has confirmed the much-rumoured date it will show Xbox Series X games from its own studios.

Halo Infinite and more will star in a livestream due in two weeks, on Thursday 23rd July at 5pm UK time (midday Eastern, 9am Pacific).

[Neon Ignition]

Hopefully they blow the doors off, I think this will be the last big chance to dent Sony pre-launch

[EvilBoris]

All I know about Blue Dragon -- is my brother loved it and said it was really well made. It did look good from what I saw of it. The closest I got to liking a Adventure/RPG sort of game on the OG Xbox was Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance. I thought it looked really impressive back then.

Blue Dragon was really pretty but super basic.