Topic: The everything Xbox thread

@NEStalgia I don't remember us talking about that lol.

But no, an exclusive game doesn't make it better (though they tend to be better games, but I won't get into that). But if there's more of them that I'm interested, it will make the purchase more worthwhile. I already own a PS4, so a new third party game coming to both PS4 and Xbox isn't going to create more interest in Xbox One personally. For that I need something I can't play on PS4/Switch. There are a few – what's that cave game called again? The one that's presumably in development hell – but not enough. Recore looks interesting, but it's one of those games you get when you own the system, it's not really a system seller to me. Same with Sunset Overdrive. Those two and a few exclusive indie games are all I want to play, but those are not enough to warrant a purchase.

And no, the decision between PS4 and Xbox wasn't the number of exclusives, I bought a PS4 when they announced The Last Guardian and Horizon among others. Uncharted and Tearaway were already announced, so there were at least a bunch of exclusive games I wanted to play on PS4, alongside stuff like The Witcher and Tomb Raider, which wouldn't see a Wii U release anyway.

@Octane These days I've got to the point that the games you get because you own the system tend to be the better games than the "system sellers" that, BotW aside, tend to be one trick ponies that wear off fast. (Well, except Knack. I'll buy any system for Knack. And I'm only half-sarcastic there...there's truth in it.)

I see your point to a degree. Though it's a point that I think, MS would do well having some sort of "try it before you buy it" program. I once agreed with you, until living with both machines and found just picking a game and getting into it and interacting in general just felt so much nicer on XB. Don't get me wrong, I have a good "pride of ownership" when I use my PS4 too, and I love the soothing background music and blue wave theme. For me, personally, X1 was one of those things I didn't get it even when I first bought it until I just lived side by side with the two and realized I was gravitating more frequently toward XB when I had a choice of either. Using it just felt more seamless. Particularly with a digital library. Of course then I spent half the rest of the year playing on PS...not because I preferred it but each time I would choose to play a game that I happened to have bought on PS first.

I do think, though, if I were still stuck with garbage internet and still doing physical-only I would have the opposite impression. Though honestly BOTH of them have gone so far into needing so much downloaded junk I'd probably just hate both of them and double down on Switch.

@NEStalgia Oh yeah, I mostly get my games physical, it's way cheaper as well over here. So there's that too, I personally don't really care about the online environment or streaming, which I realise has probably been sorted out better on Microsoft's front.

Funny you mention that, because I thought BOTW was kinda ho-hum

Though maybe I should've been more clear. I meant personal system sellers. The games that convince you to buy a system. Don't know what else you call those. I would buy a PS5 for God of War 2 for example, or Ueda's next game, though that won't be a system seller for many. If there's a Days Gone 2, they can keep it I wasn't really impressed; but I know a lot of people liked that game.

Exclusives make a huge difference for me personally. To echo what Octane said this generation there was really only a handful of games only on Xbox that I was interested in. Doesn't mean I have a narrow gaming appetite just not enough there to compel me to keep my One S after playing through them. Thankfully with the services they've brought out I won't even need an actual Xbox moving forward to play those. Though they got trounced in the hardware sales department, Microsoft definitely made up for it in other ways and in terms of value overall.

@Octane Yeah, it's a bit hard to decipher in the current "50GB patches as standard" environment, but back a few years ago, all physical, I did have significanly less interest in XBox (despite also preferring 360 over PS3 last gen after, also getting PS first last gen and ending up disappointed as time went by in terms of 3rd party game performance.) Honestly with publishers as they are, both of them are too dependent on online everything for patches. For physical I do still feel PS is the better ecosystem since it seems to be at least (these days) slightly less online dependent, for, at least, 1st party offerings. I bought into X1 as a "treat to myself" after I finally got real internet, with the specific goal of using it as my digital-only system. It was supposed to be a secondary option to my "preferred" PS4. Somehow it ended up overtaking and replacing it with how enjoyable it was.

OTOH, PS is in the stone age with how it handles data and online. Very Nintendo-ish. In that sense, even on bad internet, MS has advantages. Namely, the ability to back up your installed data. PS lets you MOVE it. Or re-download it to a different drive, but not outright copy it to a backup drive as MS does. That's not insignificant for the bandwidth-strapped.

Of course in the 8k next gen......everyone's hosed without a OC line plugged into their console...

Funny thing is, I have GoW...I played 20 min of it. It's a fantastic game, quite clearly. Yet any time I sort through all my piles of "what should I play next" it never makes my cut. Can't say most MS first parties do either. P5 is probably "soon" on my list, and that's PS only. Though since the enhanced version comes out in March that's probably a "next year" game.

When I think of upgrading, I find myself with a massive digital library for X1 that all gets a boost outo f the box with an upgrade. PS5, it just gives me access to the next iteration of some franchises I happen to also like. A new Persona, I'd buy day 1. A new uncharted, I'll wait for the inevitable cooler running Slim. Knack 3, I'll import from Japan Day 0 from a scalper.

I certainly like my PS4 and the experiences I've had from it, but as a multi-console owner my mindset is kind of: "Do I want to play Nintendo stuff/portably?" If No: Is there a PS specific game I want to play this month? If no: All other games are on the sort of swiss-army gaming system, the XBox (and/or windows.) It's the box i pick up, browse the whole collection of what I have, and decide to get into something. In a way you could say PS/Nintendo is like going to the movies, and XBox is like browsing through cable channels to find something on with the way I use it, if you want to be cynical.

But at the end of the day, I suppose I'm anchored by this huge library now, but my preferred tends to go where the winds take me. The underdog is often the more enjoyable experience. If MS reaches dominance again, they'll certainly end up producing a sucky "because we can, and because you have to" environment again, and PS will be making odes to fun again, and I'll probably drift that way. And Nintendo will just keep Nintendoing.

@redd214 Oh, I hadn't realized you were leaving XBox hardware behind entirely!

@NEStalgia xcloud, don't need the box anymore and can still get my Forza fix

Outside of maybe Horizon: Zero Dawn and Persona, Sony has no system sellers for me. And the next Persona will 100% at least be playable on PS4 at release. Atlus almost always develops for older and more well-supported platforms, even late into a generation.

I would say FFVIIR, but I expect future entries will be hitting PC the same time as PS5.

@Ralizah I find I don't have nearly enough time for the kind of RPG epics I would like to play on playstation. I'll wait for FFVII remake to pop over to XBox, but even then, probably not the best idea

Good on 'em for snagging that niche though.

To clear up any potential confusion, Gears Tactics is launching first on PC (XB1 is coming later). I was wondering why there was no preorder up on the XB1 store after the Game Awards but that's why, April 28th is only for PC.

@Ralizah That's shocking to hear you say! You've been a pretty dedicated PS fan so far.

@NEStalgia Not really.

I owned a 360 and Wii last gen. I love my Vita, but always used my 3DS a lot more. And, as I've said here many, many times, Sony's exclusives are often too Western and "cinematic" for my liking, and I generally wait on games (like DQXI) to see if they'll get a Switch version.

I love the Dualshock 4, and my opinion stands that Sony is well-equipped to dominate the traditional home console space with the PS5, as they've done almost continuously since they first entered the gaming market in the 90's, but I haven't been a dedicated PS fan since 2007 or so.

As a portable gamer and fan of Japanese game design, Nintendo is the only company I've been consistently faithful to for the last decade or so.

@Ralizah Well, I've said a few times, I currently HOPE Sony dominates again. As long as that's status quo MS keeps aiming to provide value

But yeah, i do tend to favor Japanese game design more times than not as well, which keeps me less engaged with anything other than Nintendo than I always expect. These days though it's almost a coin toss with sony and ms.... And strangely Sony seems bent on actively rejecting Japan while MS seems intent on actively courting Japan... At least devs, if not consumers. Interesting times...

Until just this generation I'd have agreed with you. I don't know what clicked, but I've been favouring western games a lot more recently (ie Outer Worlds/Pillars of Eternity/Cuphead/Doom)

Nintendo's been scratching any Japanese Game design itches I've had, but the western world has really been picking up in the "decent games" department.

Super Mario 64 was amazing (personally, a child-favourite) and nobody on Nintendo Life is going to argue that but I know many people that think that Banjo-Kazooie was better, myself included. What I'm trying to say is that I love Western (US, UK, EU) games but also classic Japanese games like older Nintendo games, Final Fantasy (more games available on Xbox than on PS4), Dragon Quest (DS, 3DS and waiting for an Xbox version of XI), Project Zero and Resident Evil. Modern Japanese games? Not so much but there are exceptions: Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Xenoblade Chronicles X... Not all Japanese games appeal to me but some do. It's not black or white.

I honestly believe that Nintendo's modern games are worse than they used to be because the developers and the priorities are not the same. For example, Super Mario Odyssey is a good game but plays it safe and it's flat and boring. Mario Kart 8? I bought it on Wii U (with the DLC) and Switch (paying again ) and still think that it's the most boring Mario Kart game but better than the chaotic Mario Kart Wii. Breath of the Wild? The worst 3D Zelda. Of course, this is just my unpopular opinion (risky to say on NL), however I find many people that agree with me. Nintendo now plays it safe, it's a safe games factory. Why do I say this? Because games are less challenging and less creative (with exceptions). My favourite modern Nintendo games are made by somebody else (Intelligent Systems, Next Level Games, Monolith Soft...). So when it comes to Nintendo, I know I might be disappointed and although I can't let go, I am not as involved as when I was a kid with a Nintendo 64 that gave me what I really couldn't find elsewhere. Yes, I love Nintendo but I used to love it more before. Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 and Breath of the Wild have showed me that Nintendo has changed for the worse. I love Wii U because it gave some unique games and backwards compatibility but all that Switch can give me is a few exclusive games that still are as good as older games and those are not Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 and Breath of the Wild but probably the ones I haven't bought yet: Luigi's Mansion 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 2...

Now that Kingdom Hearts is/will be on Xbox, the only PS exclusive I keep playing is Wipeout Omega Collection but I also downloaded Redout on Xbox on a sale for a few pounds and I like it too (better than Fast and as good as Wipeout). PS exclusives this generation are basically cinematic experiences that are great as films but not so great as games. For example, the Uncharted games have superb voice acting, nice visuals (but not as good as Tomb Raider) and a good script (certainly, better than Tomb Raider) but at the end of the day gameplay is mediocre (action and shooting segments are awful and the camera is so-so) and I believe that the Tomb Raider games are much better overall in spite of the weird script and Lara's monologues. On the other hand, I have had much more fun playing Xbox's exclusive games and the controller and platform are much more enjoyable. Taking into account the fact that more and more games are coming to Xbox, PS importance seem smaller and smaller. Unless Nintendo becomes third party I'll need a Nintendo console but now that every or almost every third-party game looks and plays better on Xbox and Microsoft's exclusive games are more fun and enjoyable than Sony's then it's easy to see that I find myself playing on Xbox One X the most and even sold PS4 games to get the Xbox One version. For me Square Enix and Capcom are very important and so are Nintendo, Rare and other Microsoft's studios and some Western studios.

In conclusion, not everybody likes Sony's exclusives the most even after playing them and owning a PS4 but people keep underestimating Microsoft's exclusives without playing them or keep mentioning stone age failed projects like Scalebound that Platinum was not able to manage as paradigm of what Microsoft is in 2020.

Series 2 Elite Controller is $20 off on Amazon US if you have Prime!

@NEStalgia I don't want Sony to dominate the way they have been. They need competition to keep them humble. All of these companies are the same way.

Anyway, MS won't get anywhere with Japan, aside from the usual big multiplat releases. MS has tried for more than a decade to court the Japanese market, and they're just not having it. Even with Sony's almost active hostility to Japanese developers these days, most of the notable third parties there still worship at Sony's feet. It's very weird.

@XBontendo In fairness, Cuphead's game design is very Eastern insofar as it's deeply inspired by classic Japanese run'n'gun games.

It definitely feels like there has been a large revival of the WRPG format this gen, though, and I'm very happy about that.

@Ralizah I agree on Japanese consumers, so far (we'll see though...if MS fixes their messaging while Sony breaks there's, we'll see which console is the "Western" one in 5 years), but I disagree on developers. We're seeing MS actively courting at least major Japanese developers, and we're seeing, at least major Japanese developers coming over to XBox and PC in droves. Sure there's those PS holdouts usually from smaller very niche developers, but I think that era is fading, and most of those holdouts made most of their fame on Sony handhelds first and foremost. While I don't think those devs are going to move to XBox, I expect they're going to abandon Sony like the plague and become Nintendo-only over the coming years. Barring Falcom for whatever reason. Their market was PS handheld. Now it's Nintendo. And that lets them reach their niche in the west which is increasingly not Playstation's audience.

So the PS vs XBox argument really comes down to big J-devs targeting the west, and the big Western devs. And mostly the marketing. Niche J-stuff inevitably will go to Nintendo next gen. Vita's gone. PS5 wants to be a PC competitor with XBox. Neither PS5 nor XSEX will be terribly appealing for niche Japanese games. Meanwhile, Switch is Vita 2, but people in the West actually buy them and it's manufacturer remembers it exists.

Ouch, shots fired...

@NEStalgia The Xbox versions of a lot of those games might as well not exist in Japan. Their increased presence on Xbox/PC is mostly for the benefit of Western gamers.

I will admit that Japanese support is FAR less lopsided than it was early in the gen, though, with Sega and S-E now doing more to actively support the Xbox platform. Still, while Falcom is more stubborn than most, their attitude isn't exactly rare among Japanese developers. Sony going full bald eagle has really confused the nationalistic tendencies of the Japanese game industry. And, yeah, the consumers are even more of a hurdle.

The funny thing (considering my history in this thread) is that, considering I'll likely be building a Win10 desktop to play AAA games on soon, I'll soon be only one Game Pass subscription and an XSEX controller away from being almost fully invested in their next-gen infrastructure anyway.

If Xbox X still using Online checking to play games, i guarantee it will be DEAD in Indonesia.
Xbox is a DEAD brand in Indonesia.
Almost NO ONE thinking about Xbox stuffs in Indonesia.
Indonesia is still a PlayStation worshipper with Nintendo as the second.