Xbox Series X | S

[FiveFootNinja]

23 minutes ago, Boozy The Clown said:

However when it becomes apparent to the hardcore that they'll be expected to rebuy Cyberpunk to get the extra shinies on PS5...

 

In fairness that isn't confirmed either way. CD Projekt Red said they don't expect any of their customers to pay for upgrades to a game they have already purchased on any platform, even EA have mentioned it so I would expect some sort of Smart Delivery type system to turn up on the PS5 in time as well (although Sony have form with the 'paid remaster' approach previously).

 

We'll see though, given the current climate and possible crunch on disposable income looming they will be kneecapping themselves if they expect people to buy two versions of Cyberpunk within 12 months. Phil Spencer's chat about Xbox being a platform that people can be on at various price points and seamlessly move through as their desire/cash flow is a well pitched position. 

 

Sony's game line-up is leagues ahead as it stands though (just like the whole of this gen), although I think we'll start seeing some really nice pieces of work coming out of their massive studio buy up a couple of years in.

 

Ultimately I'll still be buying both I expect.

[HarryBizzle]

I can see Smart Delivery being a thing for me for Cyberpunk and maybe Valhalla and that's pretty much it. I doubt that many older games will be getting PS5 patches.

 

Maybe it's a bigger deal if you're planning to come late to the generation, but I don't see it massively influencing purchasing decisions. And Sony might announce an equivalent. Other than the box and PS4 back compat, they've still announced very little about the whole PS5 experience so far.

[David Kenny]

It's already been mentioned about 50 times in this thread, but Sony had Crossplay between PS3, PS4 and PS Vita years ago. It was up to individual publishers whether to implement it (as it is with the Xbox I assume). I doubt there will be anything stopping publishers doing the same thing on PS5.

[Pob]

3 minutes ago, David Kenny said:

It's already been mentioned about 50 times in this thread, but Sony had Crossplay between PS3, PS4 and PS Vita years ago. It was up to individual publishers whether to implement it (as it is with the Xbox I assume). I doubt there will be anything stopping publishers doing the same thing on PS5.

 

Did that carry your progress across? Or was it just about having a single license to play three different versions of the same game? Progress and cross-gen multiplayer compatibility are important factors these days.

[JPL]

25 minutes ago, David Kenny said:

It's already been mentioned about 50 times in this thread, but Sony had Crossplay between PS3, PS4 and PS Vita years ago. It was up to individual publishers whether to implement it (as it is with the Xbox I assume). I doubt there will be anything stopping publishers doing the same thing on PS5.

It’s be nice if Sony would mention it at some point though, just so we know where we stand.

[David Kenny]

15 minutes ago, Pob said:

 

Did that carry your progress across? Or was it just about having a single license to play three different versions of the same game? Progress and cross-gen multiplayer compatibility are important factors these days.

It was different for each game, some of them let you upload and download your save file between machines, but it had to be implemented by the developer. (I never play any multiplayer games so couldn't tell you about that).

 

But I'm really only talking about the idea that you're going to have to pay twice for the same game on PS4 and PS5. You certainly might need to, but Sony have previous form for allowing licences to move between consoles.

[David Kenny]

1 minute ago, JPL said:

It’s be nice if Sony would mention it at some point though, just so we know where we stand.

I'll be honest, it's not keeping me up at night.

[JPL]

Just now, David Kenny said:

I'll be honest, it's not keeping me up at night.

Me neither and I’m sure they’ll let us know before launch.

[MattyP]

5 hours ago, Eighthours said:

Sony are so far in the lead this gen that even with Game Pass as the trojan horse, 

How so? They have shown a bunch of games that are mostly available on other platforms. Hardly any release dates for anything and started their presentation with a 7 year old game. So not really sure. Suppose it depends if you like Sony's franchises or not  Which is what it comes down to in the end. If you predominantly like playing third party titles though XsX is the most powerful console out of the two so better experience will be on that in terms of pure compute power. The final thing for most people that play online is where your friends are at. Although X-play moves might change that - see games like Fortnite!

 

From my point of view just sitting on the sidelines to see how it all pans out. Like to see what Polyphony do with GT7 however there are so many better (IMHO) PC racers out there these days they will have to pull something special out or the bag. Secretly hoping Sony do a few PC ports over the forthcoming years too. Then I have zero reason to get a PS5 at all. A Gran Turismo might be quite nice on the PC (with VR of course! )

[FiveFootNinja]

17 minutes ago, MattyP said:

Then I have zero reason to get a PS5 at all.

Different strokes and all, but last night chatting with some mates we were talking in a similar but totally opposite vein of buying a gaming PC instead of the Xbox Series X - as most of the games will be on both and cross-playable from that side of things going forwards (and it could do decent VR) - and then buying the PS5 for access to their exclusives.

[cultofweaver]

1 hour ago, FiveFootNinja said:

I would expect some sort of Smart Delivery type system to turn up on the PS5 in time as well (although Sony have form with the 'paid remaster' approach previously).

 

I think the fact that Sony's big console reveal began with a remastered game, the big game (so far only 1st party game of note) is a gussied up PS4 game and Demon's Souls was one of the premier announcements should cast less certainty about that.

 

I think it is also interesting that days after Sony announce multiple remastered games and expansions without mentioning any cross support Microsoft do a big press release trumpeting Smart Delivery. Certainly has the feel of a company knowing that they have an advantage and pushing it.

[rafaqat]

4 minutes ago, FiveFootNinja said:

Different strokes and all, but last night chatting with some mates we were talking in a similar but totally opposite vein of buying a gaming PC instead of the Xbox Series X - as most of the games will be on both and cross-playable from that side of things going forwards (and it could do decent VR) - and then buying the PS5 for access to their exclusives.

 

I think sometimes that might be a decent solution but then I think there's no real Xbox Live chat equivalent on the PC.   Or is there?     Single player games wise that would be a good bet. Especially if you had your PC connected to the main TV.  

 

 

[Flanders]

I actually think Microsoft’s overall business plan still looks confused and caught between two different approaches.

 

Game Pass is a great idea. And it’s necessary because it’s Microsoft have been in the console business for 20 years now and they’re still the number three player in it behind Nintendo and Sony.
 

The only generation they were remotely competitive for market leadership was when Sony went insane and even then they couldn’t get near Nintendo and the 360 ended up selling almost on parity with the PS3 by the end.

 

So for whatever reason, Microsoft can’t win when they’re playing either of the other two at their own game. That means the need to change the game, and Game Pass - becoming a service rather than hardware - is the best way to do that.

 

With that in mind, it’s the Series X or whatever this Lockhart is that I can’t see the point of right now. Instead of going head to head with Sony via another expensive box, just drop the existing One S to £99, One X to £149 and get people hooked on Game Pass that way. 
 

Microsoft aren’t going to have any actual ‘next-gen’ games ready until 2022 anyway - why not just step away from the bunfight and go all in on the subscription vision? If they introduced a Series X console at a later date then they could price lower and they would be selling it to millions more Game Pass subscribers - and at that point the whole smart delivery upgrade thing becomes much more impressive. 
 

Tl, Dr - Game Pass is the killer app, MS should use consoles to sell Game Pass, at the moment it still seems like they’re using Game Pass to sell consoles.

[FiveFootNinja]

12 minutes ago, cultofweaver said:

I think it is also interesting that days after Sony announce multiple remastered games and expansions without mentioning any cross support Microsoft do a big press release trumpeting Smart Delivery. Certainly has the feel of a company knowing that they have an advantage and pushing it.

 

Respectfully I disagree, that is just standard PR practice of spotting an opportunity to plump up a USP regardless of any actual real world advantage.

 

I'm not disagreeing that Xbox seems like it has the slicker and more integrated solution for it though (specifically pulling saves through, etc...). Sony have a habit of making simple things at least a few levels harder than they need to be. My point is I just can't see Sony asking customers to, for example, go and buy another copy of Cyberpunk when everyone knows the Xbox players don't have to. That would be PR suicide.

[MattyP]

54 minutes ago, FiveFootNinja said:

Different strokes and all, but last night chatting with some mates we were talking in a similar but totally opposite vein of buying a gaming PC instead of the Xbox Series X - as most of the games will be on both and cross-playable from that side of things going forwards (and it could do decent VR) - and then buying the PS5 for access to their exclusives.

 

Yep all about exclusives in the end! Although to be fair most of my gaming time this gen has been on third party titles anyway. Which is why I will probably spend any money I set aside for gaming hardware on the best graphics card I can get for my PC next year. Only want a Nintendo console and one main platform going forward and need a decent PC for home anyway. Cannot be bothered with have all these boxes around anymore. Clutters the place up!  What I love about the Switch just hides away descretely and everything just works so smoothly and fast on it. 

 

But so much choice now there is something for everyone out there!

[Revival]

18 minutes ago, Flanders said:

Microsoft aren’t going to have any actual ‘next-gen’ games ready until 2022 anyway - why not just step away from the bunfight and go all in on the subscription vision? If they introduced a Series X console at a later date then they could price lower and they would be selling it to millions more Game Pass subscribers - and at that point the whole smart delivery upgrade thing becomes much more impressive. 
 

Tl, Dr - Game Pass is the killer app, MS should use consoles to sell Game Pass, at the moment it still seems like they’re using Game Pass to sell consoles.

 

There will be next-gen games there at launch, The only difference is MS is following the PC route of leaving no one behind and scaling development whereas Sony is putting up an artifical wall and starting again.

 

A lot of people think Xbox will start to phase out One S and One X this year so in the retail sector the only available options will be the Series X and whatever Project lockhart ends up being.

[Revival]

Looks like Planet Coaster is going to be a Series X/PS5 lauch title:

 

 

[Flanders]

10 minutes ago, Revival said:

A lot of people think Xbox will start to phase out One S and One X this year so in the retail sector the only available options will be the Series X and whatever Project lockhart ends up being.

But do you not think that’s mental? Game Pass is supposed to be the Netflix of games, it’s all about easy access and expanding the potential customer base. How does that match up with removing your lower-cost hardware from the market?

 

How can you switch to a subscription service focus and then never have a console available at less than £200? The Netflix model works because Netflix runs on everything. 
 

Xcloud is the obvious answer here but I still reckon that’s a few years away - and even more so in the new developing markets that Microsoft wants to target. 

[Transient Curse]

1 hour ago, Flanders said:

Microsoft can’t win when they’re playing either of the other two at their own game. That means the need to change the game

Does it? I assume that games still make Microsoft money, and enough that even after the  launch debacle of the xbox one that they still went ahead and redesigned the system and put out 3 new hardware versions, and then spent money on developing new hardware and bought a number of development studios to do it all over again.

 

I assume that being first would be preferable  for them but that not being first doesn't mean they must go out of business. 

[ulala]

5 hours ago, Mr Tony said:

 

Just post this:

 

 

this chart is a complete mess

[Transient Curse]

1 hour ago, Flanders said:

Microsoft aren’t going to have any actual ‘next-gen’ games ready until 2022 anyway

Dispute this too, if the definition of "next gen" is limited to games that  would be completely  impossible on previous hardware, then the list will be vanishingly small. 

 

Next gen as a shortcut  for shinier  is probably more appropriate  than an expectation of gameplay  that couldn't be done before.

[rafaqat]

2 minutes ago, ulala said:

 

this chart is a complete mess

 

Post a better one.

[T Pot]

3 minutes ago, ulala said:

 

this chart is a complete mess

 

It was the first one I saw with 720, 1080, 1440, 4k & 8k from a quick google search. It isn't perfect by far, but it better explains than 3 or 4 lines of text.

[Vemsie]

So what are people most interested in seeing next month? Halo, apparently going all-out with a monster budget, a lengthy development time and a new engine? Fable, made by arguably their best studio of the current gen? Or the so called AAAA game (Perfect Dark?) from The Initiative, a studio built from the ground up with Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica alumni (as well as talent from Rockstar and Respawn)? Or something else entirely?

[Pug]

[JPL]

17 minutes ago, Vemsie said:

So what are people most interested in seeing next month? Halo, apparently going all-out with a monster budget, a lengthy development time and a new engine? Fable, made by arguably their best studio of the current gen? Or the so called AAAA game (Perfect Dark?) from The Initiative, a studio built from the ground up with Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica alumni (as well as talent from Rockstar and Respawn)? Or something else entirely?

I’m looking forward to seeing what Halo: Infinite actually is, so I hope they give us a good segment on that. I really hope they’ve ditched their current storyline, or at least pushed it out of the way, and we get back to basics with Chief and Cortana against the Covenant on a new Halo. Have they said where it sits in regard to the story they were telling in 4 and 5?
 

I’m also interested in seeing everything else they’ve got cooking. A few surprises would be great.

[teddymeow]

I hope Halo: Infinite has a decent single player campaign.

 

With a title like "Infinite" I worry that it's going to be very multiplayer heavy. I know Halo is famous for it's MP modes but a good SP FPS that isn't Call of Duty would be good.

[HarryBizzle]

Xbox 20/20 was supposed to be monthly. I suspect they might have decided to take June off to have a better show in July after the roasting they got in May. 

[Uzi]

I'm genuinely insanely excited for a new Fable - haven't seen a big budget whimsical western RPG in a good while so pretty stoked to enjoy that type of world again. Fable 2 was so damn good. 

[JPL]

12 minutes ago, teddymeow said:

I hope Halo: Infinite has a decent single player campaign.

 

With a title like "Infinite" I worry that it's going to be very multiplayer heavy. I know Halo is famous for it's MP modes but a good SP FPS that isn't Call of Duty would be good.

I thought the Infinite tag referred to it being open world. I could be wrong though.