Topic: The everything Xbox thread

@NEStalgia Wait, they aren't making a new Doom and Fallout for launch, or am I missing something?

@NEStalgia The Yakuza games (based on my limited exposure to the series, which is pretty much just 0 and Kiwami) actually are a compelling mix of dark, gritty crime stories with absurd minigames and over-the-top action sequences. The substories tend to get pretty bizarre as well. My favorite one in Yakuza 0 involved trying to teach a demure dominatrix how to overcome her personal limitations and excel at her job.

@BruceCM Kiwami is great. I mean, it's still a PS2 game at heart, but it's so massively upgraded.

The "Majima Everywhere" stuff is hilarious.

Just started it, @Ralizah .... It looks like a game from only a few years ago! Which can't all be down to purely graphical improvements in Steam version

@Octane Eternal's close enough to launch. But yeah, I know, "XBox has no (launch day) games!" (except the several hundred BC games that are all suddenly improved... and all the big new releases.) Makes that PS5 with Sackboy and reselling you the Spiderman games, and reselling you a prettied up PS3 game feel so much better, right?

I kid, you know I'm the One True Fan of Knack. Sackboy makes me giddy. I'll probably preorder it once I know my consoles are shipping, though I may save opening it for Christmas, and play my other tarted up PS4 games first And you know I hate SoulsBourne games with a burning passion, so while I'm intrigued by the GFX there, that doesn't really exist to me.... Honestly the PS games I most want to play are Tsushima, P5R, and the "pretty version" of DQXI. None of which are helped even slightly by getting a PS5, unfortunately. (#RyanOut )

@Ralizah Haha, yeah....this one seems darker than usual though. The "dark" was usually over the top regardless. The trailers for this look more "GTA meets Mafia" than "Saint's Row meets Shenmue" It'll be a must buy for sure, but I'm not sure if it's my full price day one "new console smell" game for XSeX.

Based on your previous comments, I'm guessing you're referring to going digital?

My position is that as long as I also have disc-based PS5 (whenever I decide to buy it in the next couple of years), having a purely digital Xbox won't be that much of a negative. I'll buy big cross-platform AAA games on the PS5. I'll play all Xbox exclusives by paying for gamepass at a single month at a time (i.e not subscribe to it permanently), and then I'll replace my current Xbox game collection digitally over time when those games are on sale (which is incredibly often, I've already bought like 10 of them again digitally for really low prices)

I think that should work quite well overall. It's definitely different to buying a digital PS5, or buying both consoles digitally.

@BruceCM I mean, it's a full remake. But it's also extremely faithful to the original script, with cutscenes, dialogue, NPCs, etc. all being nearly identical with the PS2 version, Majima Everywhere stuff aside.

I love how the new anti-XBox theme is "XBox hasn't shown a single game running on Series X", and "But it's showing tons of X1 games running absolutely amazing on it" the narrative changes to "it hasn't shown a single true next gen game!" Even after DF already pointed out how amazing that performance was considering none of the games were even using the architecture advancements, and Sony's only "next gen games" so far that aren't just a patched PS4 game is Demon's Souls and Astrobot. Mental twister gets so tiring....

Ah, that makes sense, @Ralizah .... Not that it would unduly bother me if it was the original PS2 era game, there were plenty of good ones around back then! I manage to ignore all the anti-xboxers, @NEStalgia! Don't even ask people like that what a 'true next-gen game' actually is, either

@NEStalgia The change of narrative and mental gymnastics every step that Sony takes is obvious (cross-gen bad, cross-gen good) and using a PS3 remake, a patched PS4 spinoff and a PS5 Sony Land (probably worse than Nintendo Land but we'll see) as reasons to put PS5 on top of the podium when everything else seems a mess this far is somewhat ridiculous.

Sony rushed the console (last-minute unstable GPU overclock) and the games (Spider-Man, Sony Land). Demon's Souls remake runs at 1440p60fps but graphics don't matter... don't matter since Xbox One X and until Xbox One held Series X back, then graphics were important again and Series X was doomed. Now, graphics don't matter because, well, PS5 is not just less powerful but has cross-gen games, those cross-gen games that hold a whole generation back and doom a yet-to-launch console. It's not the Sonic loop, it's the Sony loop.

@BruceCM True next gen! Because it says it on the website! Like all those true next gen PS4 games with a native PS5 patch.....Next Gen games are made specifically for Next Gen hardware. Unlike all those PC games made for 3090's that are the same exact games coming to all consoles and look waaaay better on the 3090......

@BlueOcean PS is hilarious to read though. The narrative is one thing one day and 60% agrees. Then Sony posts a screenshot of something and the narrative changes to how it was perfect all along! It's hysterical! Everyone just wants to be placated by their favorite manufacturer with some shred of detail that can be cobbled into whatever truth you want. It's like US politics, but almost worse

"I buy consoles for the games, and Series X has shown no games!" I just love that line. you mean other than the several hundred games that you probably don't own yet that it now plays better than any machine but PC? Or you mean the trailers of games that are coming some undated time in the future....kind of like a lot of Sony's games? Or do you mean all the games that were in the Sony showcase video that are also coming to XBox day-and-date with PS5? I'm confused. Or maybe you mean the Sony Next Gen Exclusive Fortnite patch ?

Everything about PS5 and the games launch feels rushed except Demon's Souls. I respect what they're doing with that. I think a remake as a tentpole launch title is questionable, but it's at least a full flat remake and really does push the gfx in the extreme. I won't judge the 1440 until I see what Series X's graphic showpieces and 3rd party showpieces do. That might be common that gen, especially since DF has been singing the praises of not going for unique pixel 4k and instead putting the power into more details and scaling. But I'm also not impressed by the graphics grunt of a machine that still has "graphice mode" and "performance mode" in games when this gen was supposed to be about getting solid 60fps in graphics mode....

But the fan twister...it's really embarrassing. It's ok to be a fan of a product and say "they're really screwing me over right now." There's something wrong when people feel the need to find a way to justify how getting screwed over is actually being rewarded. And the fact that so many people have that mindset really troubles me....it explains so much about why everything in the world, not just video games, is the way it is.....like a collective species-based mental illness that affects nearly half the total population.

It was nice actually seeing Series X gameplay, you can always count on Digital Foundry. Monster Hunter World 60fps is a big deal.

@NEStalgia I personally don't see anything wrong with that reasoning. I've pre-ordered the PS5 myself because if next gen is a repeat of this gen, I'm likely going to be more interested in PS exclusives than Xbox exclusives. There's a handful of titles I'd like to play, but not enough to warrant a purchase yet. With PS5 I'm willing to take gamble, just like I did with the Switch. I don't have the means to get both at the same time, but if there are enough Xbox titles announced that I'm interested in, I will definitely consider it. They have the studios now. Everwild looks interesting, but only visually, as I have no idea what the game is about. I'm not really into the GAAS type games, so if it's like Sea of Thieves it'll be a pass, but if it's a single player thing, count me in.

@Octane The problem with the reasoning is comparing two consoles based on "the games" as though it's N64 with 2 dozen total games are silly. The XBox plays hundred (thousands?) of games. So does the PS5. Having a console war over a half dozen exclusives that do or don't match one's pesonal taste or based on their launch dates just makes no sense, especially when the narrative keeps changing for what exactly makes one "better" or "worse. We're down to comparing "I like the 3 launch games on console A even though I haven't seen much of anything about the console; meanwhile I've seen a dozen heavy hitters running on the other console but they're not the NEW games therefore we haven't see the GAMES!" just doesn't make sense. If you were going to buy ONE console I'd want to buy the console that runs the most games that I might want to play the best. Narrowing it only to "games made by one publisher" misses most of the reasons to buy the hardware.

My personal preference for exclusives is kind of a toss. That might be changing with the MS buyouts since they've bought some of my favorite studios though.

For me, for what we know on PS:
Souls: Hate it
Bloodborne: Hate it
TLoU: Hate it
Spiderman: Can live with or without it
GoW: Strong interest
HzD: Strong interest
Uncharted: Hesitant post Nolan
R&C: Must own
Deathloop: Trololololol
Sackboy: Must own
Nioh: Can live with or without
Days Gone: Hate it
Persona (kinda Sony?): Must own
Death Stranding: Hate it
inFamous: Must own

They've been going down a weird "Souls+Horror+handfuls of other things") path where only half at best that interests me, really. I'm buying a PS5 for them, but we'll see how strong that interest lasts by PS6, and how many interesting things they drop that I love. They will no doubt have more things that interest me over these years, though.

MS....I've never really cared specifically about the exclusives so much as everything else, but I'll give it. It's a box that plays everything except those Sony and Nintendo games best:
Halo: Strong interest - kinda must own but mostly because the coop is uniquely fun.
Gears: Can live with or without
Fable: Must own
TES: MUST OWN!
Doom: Can live with or without
Fallout: IF Obsidian/inExile gets involved MUST OWN. If it's just more Todd....meh.
Avowed: Strong interest.
Forza Motorsport: Meh
Forza Horizon: It's really hooked me as even a non-racing fan
SoT: I still don't "get it"
Recore: I loved that...I would love to see more.
Starfield: Looks very promising.
State of Decay: Hate
Crackdown: I'm crying cause I'm happy, honest! The pain feels so good.
Ori: Love, but love it more on Switch
Minecraft: Kill it with fire.

I dunno. I'm an RPG guy. I love action adventure and RPG. Sony used to be the king...now MS owns WRPG and Sony still has the action adventure but they seem to be shifting ever more into subgenres of that, like horror, that I really won't touch with a 100ft pole.

I'm still buying PS5 for the exclusives, but if I weren't buying it for some Sony exclusives there would be no real reason to buy it.

And also, I want to effing punch Zuckerberg-in-Tights so freaking hard......if that's the face of Playstation, I'm buying Stadia.

@NEStalgia To be honest. I'm not buying a new console to play old games, I can play current gen on current gen systems. Though, I'll admit that the faster load times will definitely make me buy the next gen versions of Horizon for example. Because I can. But I don't really care if a game runs at 1440 or 4K, or whatever. If I did, I would've bought a PS4 Pro mid gen, apparently I didn't care enough. The differences between Series X and PS5 are going to be small. I'm interested in the DF comparison videos so we can finally put this bickering to rest. But if the relative differences in computing power between the two is less than it was between PS4 and Xbox One, and with the knowledge that everything is affected by diminishing returns, I don't expect to be able to tell them apart, unless you take screenshots, zoom and look carefully. If I cared that much I'd be playing Cyberpunk 2077 on PC. But I'm fine with the game on consoles.

The thing is, for me GOW is going to be a must buy, so is Horizon. I've seen enough to convince me to invest in that eco system. I'll get R&C because it looks great. I'll get GT7 because I like at least one racing game per generation. Sackboy and Miles Morales are too expensive for my liking, but I expect they will drop in price soon. Little Devil Inside is probably my most anticipated indie game at the moment, and that's 2021 as well. I'll probably get Bugsnax, and Kena looks good as well. There's enough I'm interested in at the moment that's slated for this year and upcoming year. The launch is definitely a lot better than the PS4's launch, and that system only got better after launch. So the fact that they're off to start with a good launch line up is promising IMO.

Everwild, Fable, Avowed sound promising, but I have to see more. They may be 2022 games, so there's no hurry. I personally don't think the Bethesda games are going to be Series X exclusive, at least, that's what they hinted at. But then again, I can't even remember the last time I played a Bethesda game, so I don't really care either way. Recore looks alright, the mixed reviews kinda turned me off, but I'm hoping for a sequel, because it showed quite a lot of potential. I can play Ori on Switch, so thanks for that Microsoft. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot that interests me at the moment. I guess I'd try Halo.

Thus far, Bloober Team's The Medium is the only full next-gen exclusive that strikes me as a must-buy.

Horizon Forbidden West DID... until we found out it's just an upgraded PS4 game. I can deal with 900p30 instead of 4K60 if it saves me $500 in the process.

I don't care about timed exclusives. I don't buy most games at release anyway.

@Octane "I'm not buying a new console to play old games"

• Tons of Sony fans

"Ohhhh a PS3 game with new paint at full price and an upcharge to add raytracing to my 2 year old game!"
-Also tons of Sony fans.

I can't get my head around that thinking. Maybe it's from having spent a decade as a PC gamer. Of COURSE you buy a console to play "old" games. Games aren't "old" they're either good games or bad games. You're hanging out in the Mario All Stars thread....REALLY old games, being played on a new machine. Because they're good games. And because they look and run better on the new machine. Why wouldn't you want to play old, good games that run better on new hardware?

Only Playstation fans don't seem to think so. Except Nintendo charges you again. Sony does sometimes, like Spiderman. A great game can remain a great game, and improving the hardware it runs on can keep improving that great game. That's like saying "Oh, I saw Star Wars in the 70's, don't need to watch it again, it's so dated."

I supposed that's the fundamental difference between XBox and other platforms right now, but I can't understand at all why that difference in thinking exists. If Hitman 2 was amazing last gen, and it can run even better now, why wouldn't I want to play it? If MHW was amazing before but not as good as it could be because hardware held it back, why wouldn't I want to play it better? PC fans have been building better engines to run Quake in for decades....it never gets old. So XBox speaks to me in that regard. Play you old games, better than ever, unchained with various visual improvements every generation until it's maxed out - just like PC. Cool! The closed PS thinking of "leave last gens game on last gens hardware and move on to new 15fps graphical showcases this gen!" just baffles me.

I'm not knocking the "1440k" - but I supposed I do care enough about gfx and performance. I bought a Pro, I bought an X1...and you'd have to drag me in chains to play most multiplats on Pro. It looks worse, it runs worse.....why bother? Nier Automata is amazing....it runs like garbage and looks blurry on 4 Pro. Sharp and smooth on 1X. I rebought the game for that reason. I'd rather not rebuy games again but I'd rather have the best hardware to run a game on for less than the price of a gaming PC. For GoW that's a PS5. For most everything else that's SeX. But more importantly I'd rather buy it on the platform that in 7 years says "remember the games you bought over the past 7 years? You can play them even better now on the new hardware" versus the one that says "toss thos old games and rebuy them if you want any improvements."

That's not to say that someone shouldn't buy PS and not XB if they want one console, like you. Or that you can't choose it if you really want their games, of course, but the "I buy for the games and the other brand has no games....nevermind I mean has no next gen games....nevermind I mean has no next gen games with a release date in the next 60 days" is a silly argument.

I also want GoW2 and Horizon 2 and R&C. That's why I bought a PS5. But those games didn't convince me to play other games I want on a worse machine, or that the other machine doesn't also have games I want. It just convinced me to buy the hardware necessary for those games. It's a choice: You buy one console that plays a few games you want but does worse with other games because those games are so important. I get it. I buy Nintendo for that reason. But I don't think that Switch is the best place to play Witcher.

Agreed Kena looks decent. And agreed PS5 launch is better than PS4's dismal launch (Knack though....hard call...everyone else is laughing, I'm not.) Shadowfall was an embarrassment.

Mostly I think the camp tends to divide around "I buy only manufacturer exclusive games" versus "I play everything." But I also don't understand why anyone would ignore so many fantastic games in the industry and focus only on what the manufacturers own publisher is doing so narrowly as to define their console only by that. I get you have to buy the console to get the access....but..the argument is always framed wrong.

Right now from where I stand, Nintendo is the best portable and the best place to play Nintendo games. PS5 is the best place to play Sony games and a few loyal/bought devs. And XBox is the best place for everything else. The consoles are expensive, but the games are more expensive, all added up. The one that respects that library and keeps it not as "gen 2 library, gen 3 library, and gen 4 library" but as "the total games library" to me is the logical "Better" option. I expected Sony was going to do that too, it's kind of saddening they didn't. Not enough to dissuade me from buying their machine eagerly - this time. But the next 7 years determine what I do next time.

We believe in generations.

2-year-old game remastered for the next-gen PlayStation (spoiler: not free!):

@Ralizah The Medium is a timed exclusive. The game looks pretty good though.

If I was thinking of getting either next gen console, it would be primarily about the games only available on that As it happens, there's only 1 or 2 games that might be actually PS5 exclusive for that side...
It's only after that I'd start thinking about other advantages, like if I can still being able to play the games I have now on there as well

@NEStalgia But the game is still the same. Even if most PS4 games get a ''PS5 patch'', I doubt I'll be playing them again. I can barely play 5 or 6 new releases every year, in addition to a bunch of indie stuff, so I doubt I'll be going to back to current gen stuff anytime soon. I played through TLOU before part 2 came out, but that was a relatively short game. I don't see myself playing HZD before Horizon 2 for example.

And yes, I did buy Mario All-Stars, but then we're talking about my favourite game of all time, and at €20 a game, it was alright for Nintendo's standards. I haven't bought any of their Wii U ports, cause I own all of them already. Even if they run slightly better, or have some bonus content. It's not worth it.