Topic: The everything Xbox thread

@DarthNocturnal I do get where you are coming from but we are talking about a difference in media (and the ability for them to be read in the current system) across all Nintendo platforms. I would expect Sony to meet MS for parity, (since their drives can read all the disc formats required) but it will be next to impossible for Nintendo to do so. How will Nintendo track that you still own the game (because they would have to issue the bc as a digital game for switch instead)? At least with MS you have to stick the Xbox 1(original/ugh I hate MS's Marketing department) game in the Xbone/XboneX to play it.

Personally, I'm expecting an upgrade price just like for the wii to wiiu VC.

I will say that the more I'm reading up on this the more appealing the BC is looking on the Xbone. Not in a this is a system seller sort of way or an incentive for me to get the X, but in a "well its one less box I have to dig out and hook up" sort of way. (I'm not too impressed as a PC gamer with MS's showing so far but I have yet to really read up on the announcements yet.) To be honest though BC may have just pushed me to making my XBone into a "retro box". My GPU in my pc runs 4K (Not that I have a tv for it yet) and its just 40 bucks to get a copy of Windows 10 to run the new games.

@CrazedCavalier XBox has never (ever (ever)) made a profit. It has lost considerable money. Despite their market share they spend more to capture that market share than they earn. They absorbed MAMMOTH debt to launch the OG XBox, and the RROD absorbed substantial profits from the 360.

You are correct that the brand does have potential, however rumors of a sale or scuttle of the brand aren't speculation based on people assuming XBox is doing badly. That has been among the DEMANDS from investors for a number of years now. It's not about if they can "afford to hang onto it", they actively do not wish to. X1 was launched under Ballmer who protected the division as a pet project, but Nadella was always against it, which piqued shareholders interest. The idea that they could either sell it or kill it isn't heresay, it's what MS investors have insisted occur to a new CEO who is very receptive to that idea.

My own speculation is that X1X is a testing grounds for them....if they can turn it around and turn it into a premium brand, they might let them have a go at an X2. They could possibly align the premium product branding along with the Surface product. If the numbers don't improve, I would be really stunned if there was NOT a sale before an X2 launch would happen. That doesn't mean XBox as a brand couldn't continue under new ownership. It likely would, I'm sure someone would buy it for the right price. But it would have to pave its own way without the bottomless money pit that is Microsoft, which would yield a different XBox.

@Peek-a-boo Have to be careful with sony's operating income though. They spent years liquidating assets to get those numbers up, and a lot of their returns have been in the financial services market in Asia where currency valuations have benefited them heavily. That's still far from stable footing for Sony proper. It's a much leaner company now than it was before. On the balance sheet that's great, but they can also absorb a lot less dynamism than before as well. Playstation is one of the 3 bulwarks of the company though, so that's not going anywhere any time soon....other parts of the company leech off it the way XBox leeches off Surface and Android.

They're mirror images. Sony is recovering, but leaner and less stable, but Playstation is one of their deep anchors for success. Microsoft is a mountain of unlimited money, but is getting tired of XBox siphoning the success for nothing. Everyone mocks Nintendo's market share but they're the most static one of the bunch despite their lower value.

@NaviAndMii The year long buildup was definitely weird and is what had me expecting the worst. IMO everything about Scorpio has been weird. It's a product that I'm not sure they themselves knew where they were going with it. The unveiling promised it was just an X1 and not a new platform with new games. But it was so overdone. And the past year of hype indicated it was SO powerful it was a whole new console that changes gaming, it's a whole new generation! And that struck me as a disaster in motion if they did it that way. To build a console that's basically XBox 2....oh screw it, XBox 4...that's what it really is , and release it, and then hamstring it by making games play on X1 neuters it as a new console. If they trotted it out as an ACTUAL new console with new games that can't play (or play well) on 1, they'd have flipped off their existing buyers who have already been riding in the back seat this gen by pulling a WiiU and killing their console in 4 years. But then when they brought out the "REAL" XBox2...4...whatever, in a few years, the oomph would have been drained from it, it would look like a bump from the Scorpio. It would be Sega Saturn all over again.

They alleviated all that trouble by just brushing it off and saying "just like we told you last year, it's just a souped up X1 to turbo charge the graphics of select games!" The existing customers aren't flipped off, and they didn't drain the thunder of the next actual platform. That was a really good save for something that I think could have really hurt them if they overplayed it.

So now they get to wear the mantle of "most powerful" after Sony humiliated them, without having to break their cycle. I doubt 1X will sell much at all....it's a $500 console to Sony's $400 (or $350 by November?) souped up console.....the Scorpio is certainly the more powerful of the two (Pro is kind of a joke, really.) but neither company REALLY expects to sell a lot of these...they're halo products that make the $250 basic models look more desirable.

Despite the build-up though, MS was actually LESS pretentious about 1X than Sony is with Pro, despite Sony forgetting to actually tell anyone they released it

@DarthNocturnal Right. That was what I responded to. MS can do bc the way they are because the xbone can read their entire catalog since it is some form of disc format. Which is why I suggested sony could have parity if they wanted. They won't of course.

My point was it will be impossible or at least harder than they are willing to put in the effort for Nintendo to do anything similar. At best we will get upgrade fees I'm guessing for anything that went to wiiu and possibly wiii (hmm I wonder if they plan on pulling from 3ds VC as well). Sorry if I was unclear.

I have to say, I wasn't too impressed with most of what MS showed (what I did like was mostly multiplat), but I'll give them props for focusing on games, games, and more games. B+

This isn't aimed at MS in particular, but I actually don't care for the simplistic, polygonal, textureless look that many of the western non-realistic games tend to go for (that Space Dwarf thing, Ashen, and Sea of Thiefs, from the top of my mind, though the first one is most guilty).

If there's one thing I didn't miss about these E3 discussions, it's the console wars-esque discussion.

...Although, it can be fun to watch, from time to time. I'm just not tech savy enough to understand the technical side if it all, and I'm too jaded to want to side with a company in terms of their output. Microsoft being in its current position at best means they have to try harder to earn our attention and money, so...I think we're already witnessing the results of their squirming. I saw we should just enjoy it.

Honestly, most of the games Microsoft showed off sound like they'll be timed exclusives. I think if I wait enough, I could get games like The Last Night on the PS4.

So Microsoft announced a Flood themed new expansion for Halo Wars 2.

If the Flood campaign is still set after Halo 5 (like the main campaign) then we may be seeing it return in Halo 6!

Aw man, but I hated the Flood...

@DarthNocturnal We are still getting story DLC. If you think about the ending of the campaign, the prometheans are the likely focus of the story DLC that you get with the season pass.

Oh good, now I have every excuse to avoid it! Thanks Microsoft. _{Seriously, thanks, I really do hate the Flood and I wouldn't bother playing as them even if I was given the option. Not that it would make the least bit of sense if you could...}

I recall the Flood being largely unintelligent? But I'm a few games behind, and it's been ages since I've played a Halo game. The Zerg are a hive-mind, and despite their appearance, are shown in the story of Starcraft to act deliberately and purposefully. I recall the Flood just...basically being brainless Zombies that spread through some sort of desease or whatever. I kind of imagine using them would just be...making the units and then they act of their own will, because that's how it seemed to work in the other games I played.

I stopped partway through ODST. Did the Flood have anything resembling an intelligence?

EDIT: Oh. I guess there was. Musta blanked that one out, since, well...I hate the Flood.

They're like if you gave the fast Zombies from Half-Life 2 shotguns and assault rifles. Yes, I hate fighting them.

Played the remake of the first Halo, and while I didn't hate the Flood, I didn't care for (how late in the game) they just constantly respawned.

It was especially jarring since I don't recall the Covenant ever respawning, so I adopted a more cautious, strategic style when clearing them from a room, then the Flood come and force a more run n' gun style, IMO (I actually came to enjoy it once I acclimated, but again, didn't care for the respawning in late missions).

Halo 1's flood is universally considered to be the worst part of that game.

I gave up on Halo when I found Halo 3's campaign to just not be as fun as the previous two games. Which is a shame as I did genuinely love the first 2 games, but at this point it seems like a series that mostly exists because it's popular rather than living up to high standards.

I know what you mean. ODST tried to be different by forcing more of that cautious approach RR529 talked about, but once Reach was out and eveyone was moving on from Halo 3's multiplayer, I kinda decided I had my fill of the series. The campaigns after 2 just weren't that fun, and while I think I might've appreciated Reach's story, I wasn't sold on the gameplay from the Beta and gameplay footage I saw...it just looked like a Me-Too shooter, which is a shame, since, Ironically, the earlier games seem so refreshing compared to most of the COD-Clones of last gen...

Xbox One X looks fantastic but the steep price and weak first party support are going to hold it back. Super Lucky's Tale looks great. Btw according to XOX's MS Store page each XOX comes with a free month of Game Pass.

Well the respawning is to do with the infection flood enemies (the small ones). A marine/elite/brute gets infected, you kill the infected marine/elite/brute and then another infection flood enemy reinfects the marine/elite/brute causing it to respawn. If I recall correctly, infected enemies can only respawn once.

I went out for a few drinks with my friend yesterday evening, and since he is the only person I know who has an Xbox One (the original VHS-alike model), I asked what he makes of the Xbox One X.

He is actually considering to give his Xbox One to a children's hospice, just like I did when I originally gave away both my Wii and Xbox 360 about three or four years ago, and he's thinking about buying an Xbox One S when Forza Motorsport 7 comes out in September, as he likes his racing games and is always playing on the trio of DiRT Rally, Forza Horizon 3 and Project CARS.

He earns a decent wage, which further surprises me to hear that the Xbox One X doesn't do anything for him!

I guess I am pondering if anybody on here is considering to buy an Xbox One X in five months time?

It is $499 in the US, $599 in Canada, $649 in Australia, €499 in Europe and £449 in the UK. This is without any game(s) bundled inside the box too...

p.s. I only caught bits and bobs of the Microsoft presser on Sunday however, did anybody see/read anything on the game 'Below'? It was first shown in 2013, and I haven't heard a peep out of Below for what seems like years.

@Peek-a-boo Well, the numbers for PS4 Pro aren't ''amazing'' either. They're not taking over the regular PS4 sales. I believe around 25% of PS4 sales are PS4 Pro, and the PS4 Pro was a system that launched at €399. I suspect the Xbox One X will have even less impact on the Xbox One sales given that it's priced at €499. In the end, it's the games that matter, so I don't think the X will change anything in the gaming landscape at all.

This was from earlier this year:

''But Capy rose to prominence in later years by winning acclaim on the indie circuit. It built up an audience with games like Might and Magic and Super Time Force, and the company’s Below remains a greatly anticipated title. The developer announced that it would be “going dark” to work on the Windows PC and Xbox One project last summer, however, announcing that Below would be indefinitely delayed in the process.''

https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/9/14871652/capy-games-ok-ko-le...

@Octane Aw, I was hoping that I had missed new information on Below in between announcements that I didn't pay much attention to. It has been a shy over four years since Capy first revealed it... what's going on?

I also found out that Ashen is no longer exclusive to Xbox One either, given that it was labelled as 'console launch exclusive' or whatever exclusive-related buzzword that was used one too many times during their E3 show. Quite pleased to know that I can play this one, given the Dark Souls-esque influence the game carries.

Tacoma (from the creators of Gone Home) also carried the 'console launch exclusive' label, hooray!

I'm now beginning to wonder just how many of those 22 'exclusive' games are truly exclusive to Xbox One.

2017:
Halo Wars 2 - 21st of February
Cuphead - 27th of September
Forza Motorsport 7 - 3rd of October
Crackdown 3 - 7th of November

Just four exclusive games in a single year, with nearly an eight months wait between Halo Wars and Forza Motorsport (!)

2018:
Ori and the Will of the Wisps - a vague '2018' release date
Sea of Thieves - 'Early 2018'
State of Decay 2 - 'Spring 2018'

And probably the usual Forza Horizon 4 and Halo 6 in September and October respectively.

I am sure Xbox fans will lap up those games however, they are no longer my kind of thing anymore.