Xbox Series X | S

[Popo]

3 hours ago, MattyP said:

Key is though you don't need to play everything! Just pick something and stick with it! Its great value even at £7.99 if you play one game through a month its great value. The way I use it is to pick a game I like the sound of spend 15mins or so playing if it grabs me finish it off then move on. Many of the titles I've played through would have cost me £15+ to buy anyway. And of course first party AAA titles such as Forza Horizon £40+. Way I see it even if I'd bought FH4 physically played it then sold it / traded it whatever it would have cost more than £7.99 to do this not including the time/hassle. And I still have all the other games to play if I choose too. If I buy a £60 game (that has no demo) I potentially could have wasted some money if I don't like it.

 

Think its a mindset change with Gamepass see it not as collection of games where you feel compelled to download and play everything just choose a select few games that appeal and play. You are not loosing out or paying for something you are not using if you don't play everything! It feels like a Netflix problem but its only a problem if you let it be. Life these days is full of too much choice it's our job to curate, focus and enjoy. Whether that be Netflix, Spotify or GamePass 

I don’t think you suffer from choice paralysis, in the way MattyP describes - and as someone who regularly dances the Netflix shuffle, I know exactly what he means. 

[Isaac]

1 hour ago, Fully Aspel said:

Watched this and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was an absolute car crash of a show.
 

Halo Infinite looked proper shite. Graphically poor, bland, generic, dated and there was pop in and draw in all over the shop. That’s the flagship, system selling game for Xbox? Fuck me!
 

Pretty much all the other games looked that bad they came across as Indie releases too. How the fuck were the graphics and animation worse than current PS4 games? My GF walked in mid show and literally asked that question! That is definitely not a good sign for Microsoft! On this showing Xbox is fucked. It appears they just haven’t got the first party or even third party exclusives, to compete with Sony and the PS5, let alone sell a £500 console.

 

This post is fanboy gold.

[footle]

I particularly like the animation bit, given that 90% of it was CGI and the bits that weren’t were mostly current gen PC (grounded).

[spanx]

Watched back the Halo Infinite demo just now. Must admit that looks bloody great, although very this gen. 

 

I still fee the show wasn’t that interesting, not being a current gen Xbox owner it didn’t do a lot to push me over the edge to get one. If you are though, and have Gamepass I can completely understand being excited.

 

I’m still intrigued about the Series S as a lower cost companion to my PS5, but just want to understand it’s limitations at this point. Hopefully we’ll know more soon

[SweatyTravolta]

7 minutes ago, Isaac said:

 

This post is fanboy gold.

 

I dunno, I find myself in the same boat. Before this show I was firmly into getting a Series X at launch. I mainly game on Xbox, with Sea of Thieves being one of the best games this gen and something I play weekly. My PlayStation 4 only gets turned on for the exclusives. I play it so little that I didn't upgrade to the Pro but have gone from OG Bone to S and then X. After the Sony show it had cemented my idea to go Series X this year, with a cheaper PS5 at some point later.

This show was an utter disaster in terms of selling the Series X, with nothing looking better than anything I'm playing on my X at the moment. That's not to say that it wasn't a good show in terms of games but when these games will most likely all look great on my One X anyway, I may as well go PS5 for next gen and get the exclusives. Whether this leads to me then picking up third party games on PS5 because they'll look better than the X remains to be seen. I imagine I might if there's that big a difference and that's not good for Microsoft.

[CrichStand]

17 minutes ago, Isaac said:

 

This post is fanboy gold.

Funny how you’ve missed out my post about loving the original Halo and of me having fond memories of playing the original Xbox and games like Ninja Gaiden, which by the way was an awesome Xbox exclusive and is one of my fav games. The Xbox 360 is one of my fav consoles ever too!

 

Also funny how you’ve missed my point about AAA exclusives selling expensive consoles. Ya know, AAA exclusives like the original Halo and Ninja Gaiden which along with the Sega exclusives sold me an original Xbox.

 

So yeah, plot twist, you’re the one coming across as a fanboy!

[Clipper]

Now we have seen both launch lineups as well as the service being offered we can happily decide which one we wish to purchase.

 

I for one hope we all enjoy our choices as we pick the platform with the games we want to play on it. Even better if you can afford both at launch.

[Isaac]

I'm not going to get into who did it best or who will 'win' the generation because ultimately I'm an adult who can afford and will buy both consoles anyway, but you both have it wrong - this wasn't to sell the Series X, this presentation was to sell game pass, and it was successful.

 

Everything shown will be on game pass, which means ultimately even as I will be buying both consoles, Microsoft will have more of my time and my money - why on earth would I buy a game on PS5 at full price that I can get as part of my £12.99 a month game pass subscription?

 

That's the play by Microsoft from a commercial standpoint, and it's pretty undeniably smart.

[footle]

2 minutes ago, Clipper said:

Now we have seen both launch lineups as well as the service being offered we can happily decide which one we wish to purchase.

 

I for one hope we all enjoy our choices as we pick the platform with the games we want to play on it. Even better if you can afford both at launch.

yeah. Next up... prices!

[Clipper]

Well that was a very level-headed post I wrote saying that we can now choose whichever console appeals to us most depening on lineups and service on offer... noone could possibly disagree with that sur....

1 minute ago, Isaac said:

but you both have it wrong - this wasn't to sell the Series X, this presentation was to sell game pass, and it was successful.

oh...

 

Hmmm ok so what do we use to decide whether to buy the Series X or the PS5 then? I naively thought that the games showcase would sell people a series X if they liked those games - or, if you prefer, that the games showcase sells gamepass which sells the Series X.

 

Otherwise how do they sell us the Series X?

[SweatyTravolta]

Just now, Isaac said:

- this wasn't to sell the Series X, this presentation was to sell game pass, and it was successful.

 

Well, that's clearly not true based on all the tweets Microsoft put out and are continuing to stress in their press

 

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/07/23/xbox-games-showcase-news-and-announcements/?ocid=Event_soc_omc_xbo_tw_Text_lrn_7.23.

"Below, we’ve summarized everything revealed today, inclusive of 10 world premieres, 22 games being built to launch exclusively on Xbox consoles, projects from nine of our 15 Xbox Game Studios, and several of our partners. The games you saw today also take full advantage of the world’s most powerful console—Xbox Series X—to deliver unprecedented fidelity, performance, precision and immersion."
 

Xbox Twitter posted

"Watch the full #XboxGamesShowcase in beautiful 4K at 60 frames per second, including #HaloInfinite campaign gameplay. Treat your eyeballs. They deserve it: https://xbx.lv/3fZEY0g"

Treat your eyeballs? Are they taking the piss?

[MikeBeaver]

well, I wasn't impressed with either the M$ or Sony shows tbh, but seeing as I've owned all the systems ( and still do ) since maybe the PS2/GC/ Xbox era, I'l no doubt get them all again this time round, but the Xbox WILL be first, I can count the number of hours I have spent playing on a PS4 on one hand, even though there are two sat around the office, recently the only game I've played on Xbox is FF 13 and before that, the latest Ori title, gaming now is almost exclusively on the Switch, but for some reason, I feel compelled to buy the Xbox, I know that if I want to play the latest Forza Horizon, I'll need it, but the only way I'll be getting it at launch is if they have one in SAinsbury's, I've got nearly £600 in Nectar point's that I want using up

[Eighthours]

I’m still planning on getting a Series X at launch, although that’s mainly now because of the value of Gamepass and the promise of shinier upscales to Xbone games like Forza Horizon 4. Oh, and to play Microsoft Flight Simulator (assuming that’s a launch game... was really surprised that wasn’t in yesterday’s show).

[Gambit]

Just now, Eighthours said:

I’m still planning on getting a Series X at launch, although that’s mainly now because of the value of Gamepass and the promise of shinier upscales to Xbone games like Forza Horizon 4. 

 

If I do end up getting a Series X it'll be for the same reason. Gamepass is a hell of a deal and makes me wish Sony had something similar.

[Nate Dogg III]

10 minutes ago, Isaac said:

I'm not going to get into who did it best or who will 'win' the generation because ultimately I'm an adult who can afford and will buy both consoles anyway, but you both have it wrong - this wasn't to sell the Series X, this presentation was to sell game pass, and it was successful.

 

Everything shown will be on game pass, which means ultimately even as I will be buying both consoles, Microsoft will have more of my time and my money - why on earth would I buy a game on PS5 at full price that I can get as part of my £12.99 a month game pass subscription?

 

That's the play by Microsoft from a commercial standpoint, and it's pretty undeniably smart.

Not doubting this was the play, but for the second time this summer they’ve trailed a big event as being about something it wasn’t really about. Game Pass being amazing has been the message for a few years now and I get it, I agree, and I’m subbed up for three years like most people here. What I wanted last night was to have my balls blown off by something that felt like a generational leap from what’s already under my TV, and I didn’t get it. 
 

I can’t remember ever being this apathetic about a new console generation. I see no reason to buy either of them at launch. 

[David Kenny]

9 minutes ago, Isaac said:

I'm not going to get into who did it best or who will 'win' the generation because ultimately I'm an adult who can afford and will buy both consoles anyway, but you both have it wrong - this wasn't to sell the Series X, this presentation was to sell game pass, and it was successful.

 

Everything shown will be on game pass, which means ultimately even as I will be buying both consoles, Microsoft will have more of my time and my money - why on earth would I buy a game on PS5 that I can get as part of my £12.99 game pass subscription?

 

That's the play by Microsoft from a commercial standpoint, and it's pretty undeniably smart.

As others have said this doesn't make sense. They don't need to release a new console to sell Gamepass, and they sure as shit aren't releasing a new console just so people don't buy it. I thought their strategy, of removing the primary motivation for buying a new console (playing new games you can't play on your old console) was a mistake, and I haven't seen anything to make me rethink that.

[CrichStand]

3 minutes ago, SweatyTravolta said:

 

I dunno, I find myself in the same boat. Before this show I was firmly into getting a Series X at launch. I mainly game on Xbox, with Sea of Thieves being one of the best games this gen and something I play weekly. My PlayStation 4 only gets turned on for the exclusives. I play it so little that I didn't upgrade to the Pro but have gone from OG Bone to S and then X. After the Sony show it had cemented my idea to go Series X this year, with a cheaper PS5 at some point later.

This show was an utter disaster in terms of selling the Series X, with nothing looking better than anything I'm playing on my X at the moment. That's not to say that it wasn't a good show in terms of games but when these games will most likely all look great on my One X anyway, I may as well go PS5 for next gen and get the exclusives. Whether this leads to me then picking up third party games on PS5 because they'll look better than the X remains to be seen. I imagine I might if there's that big a difference and that's not good for Microsoft.

You’ve hit the nail on the head! So many people don’t seem to have got this! If Microsoft are making their new games compatible across their new/old machines, and the top spec machine is only pushing out stuff on this level, then why does Dave Average need to buy a £500 console, when he already owns a machine that can play the game anyway? 
 

People either want AAA, full on beast mode, blockbuster games with cutting edge graphics........or they want cheap and cheerful fun for all the family. Microsoft seem to be attempting to be jack of all trades and ending up master of none. They’re all over the shop and fucking themselves over just like they did with the Kinect IMO. 

 

Same goes for Gamepass........it’s great if you ALREADY own an Xbox and have paid a pittance for your subscription. However, if you do already own an Xbox and gamepass, then why possibly upgrade if you can just play the games coming out on the console you already have? There needs to be a very sensible, solid, convincing and definitive reason for someone to drop £500 on a new console, especially in the current climate. Sure folk on a gaming forum are going to be well up for new tech........it’ll be waaaaaay harder to convince the general public with such a mixed msg.

[SeanR]

I can still hear a voice saying “if you want to play your old games there’s a console for that”

 

that the old console can play these new games is a double edged sword, and it’s the reason why they didn’t want to give us backwards compatibility first time around.

 

we “need” seriesXclusives that can’t be played on other systems

 

weird how that’s turned out...

[Majora]

On one hand I understand and respect Microsoft's cross-gen stance but I do think it's a pretty tough sell actually. And the thing is, I'm not convinced it is solving a problem many gamers actually have. The social media and YouTube metrics for PS5 videos and content have been excellent. It seems like people are hungry for the machine and I'd argue that most gamers actually like the idea that their money will buy them experiences that weren't theoretically possible on their old machines. It's part of the excitement of upgrading. Upgrading simply to get higher res and framerate on a game you can also play on 7 year old hardware just isn't the same.

 

Microsoft's cross-gen approach, while ostensibly laudable, feels like a solution for a problem most people don't actually have and really seems more like a messaging hindrance in these early stages of the new gen. 

[Steven]

40 minutes ago, Clipper said:

Now we have seen both launch lineups as well as the service being offered we can happily decide which one we wish to purchase.

 

I for one hope we all enjoy our choices as we pick the platform with the games we want to play on it. Even better if you can afford both at launch.

 

I don't think Sony have said what will be available at launch yet, I've heard they've held a few games back to show before that and I'm hoping that is when they'll announce what's coming this year. Based on the showing yesterday, my One X can stay for now and unless something I really want is headed to PS5 before Christmas, so can the Pro.

[ucci]

I had to go back to this to shake off the tone

 

 

[SweatyTravolta]

If you did one of those awful vox pops and asked the question "which one of these is running on a tablet and which one is running on a machine four times as powerful as the Xbox One X?" then I reckon you'd get an even split, if not more in favour of Luigi. Now, I know they're very different games, using different art styles etc etc and Halo is an open world game (it still looks worse than likes of Red Dead 2 and Ghost of Tsushima anyway) but the final product still looks worse.

 

A Tablet

 

 

 

A machine more powerful than God
 

[Isaac]

14 minutes ago, Clipper said:

Well that was a very level-headed post I wrote saying that we can now choose whichever console appeals to us most depening on lineups and service on offer... noone could possibly disagree with that sur....

oh...

 

 

 

Apologies, I was replying to @Fully Aspel and @SweatyTravolta, your post just appeared in the middle.

 

10 minutes ago, Nate Dogg III said:

Not doubting this was the play, but for the second time this summer they’ve trailed a big event as being about something it wasn’t really about. Game Pass being amazing has been the message for a few years now and I get it, I agree, and I’m subbed up for three years like most people here. What I wanted last night was to have my balls blown off by something that felt like a generational leap from what’s already under my TV, and I didn’t get it. 
 

I can’t remember ever being this apathetic about a new console generation. I see no reason to buy either of them at launch. 

 

This is the point though - neither console is really ready. Covid has exacerbated the issue, but it's clear that the games just aren't there. This is nothing new though - remember the launch line up for the PS2? Tekken Tag was pretty rubbish.

 

 Neither console should be out this year, but both have been rushed to market so that the competitor doesn't beat them to it.

 

10 minutes ago, David Kenny said:

As others have said this doesn't make sense. They don't need to release a new console to sell Gamepass, and they sure as shit aren't releasing a new console just so people don't buy it. I thought their strategy, of removing the primary motivation for buying a new console (playing new games you can't play on your old console) was a mistake, and I haven't seen anything to make me rethink that.

 

I disagree in part. Microsoft is selling a service, not a box - which is partly why all their first party games are coming to PC too. Ultimately they're pitching to be the Netflix of games. They don't care what you play on, but to go to my earlier point, they have actually acknowledged that this console isn't really ready. It doesn't have the lineup to sell at launch if you're only able to play Series X exclusive games on it.

 

Sony are betting that people will buy the box at launch based on what they hope to happen in future (they certainly don't have anything compelling at launch), and perhaps that is the right call - time will tell.

 

8 minutes ago, Fully Aspel said:

You’ve hit the nail on the head! So many people don’t seem to have got this! If Microsoft are making their new games compatible across their new/old machines, and the top spec machine is only pushing out stuff on this level, then why does Dave Average need to buy a £500 console, when he already owns a machine that can play the game anyway? 

 

From 2021 Series X exclusive games will be coming out - at that point you make your decision. Microsoft isn't going for loads of people upgrading at launch. Given Covid, I'd be surprised if either manufacturer even has enough stock in the channel to have a huge launch. 

 

You're all ignoring perhaps the most significant move Microsoft has done in the past two weeks too - and that is bundling xCloud in with Game Pass. This is a huge deal. 

 

Ultimately, if Microsoft is angling to be the Netflix of games the one real hurdle is that it's currently Netflix but with a several hundred pound upfront fee to jump in. This announcement totally removes the fee, and now anybody can get a free trial of game pass and play Xbox games on literally any device. 

 

Yes, the tech may not be totally there yet, but it soon will be. They are (correctly) acknowledging that there will still be a market of gaming fans who want a box under the TV to get the best fidelity and performance, but this xCloud announcement is absolutely huge, in terms of positioning for the future. It removes the upfront fee to join their ecosystem, which could be transformative, particularly in emerging markets.

 

Time will tell I guess.

[Down by Law]

"This wasn't a Series X show, it was a presentation to sell Game Pass!"

"What's the name of the presentation?"

 

"The Xbox Series X Showcase!"

 

[rafaqat]

2 hours ago, Sarlaccfood said:

Yeah but as of right now they need to shift more Xbox’s to sell more gamepass. So they need to be convincing people to buy one. You can’t really separate the two just yet. 

 

In 2 months xCloud becomes part of GamePass. I think the beta is on android already.  I don't think we're THAT far away from not needing an xbox to play xbox games.

[Clipper]

10 minutes ago, Isaac said:

 

Apologies, I was replying to @Fully Aspel and @SweatyTravolta, your post just appeared in the middle.

 

 

 

phew

 

6 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

"This wasn't a Series X show, it was a presentation to sell Game Pass!"

"What's the name of the presentation?"

 

"The Xbox Series X Showcase!"

 

Youtube XBOX official channel says it was called the Xbox Games Showcase. And other artices by Eurogamer etc back that up.

 

Not that I don't agree that people would use that presentation to inform their buying decision on nextgen.

[rafaqat]

28 minutes ago, Eighthours said:

I’m still planning on getting a Series X at launch, although that’s mainly now because of the value of Gamepass and the promise of shinier upscales to Xbone games like Forza Horizon 4. Oh, and to play Microsoft Flight Simulator (assuming that’s a launch game... was really surprised that wasn’t in yesterday’s show).

 

I think somewhere in the conference they said they'd shown output from half their studios in that presentation.  I guess we'll see more as we get closer to xmas.

[Revival]

4 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

"This wasn't a Series X show, it was a presentation to sell Game Pass!"

"What's the name of the presentation?"

 

"The Xbox Series X Showcase!"

 

 

It was actually called: The Xbox Games Showcase.

 

 

[Isaac]

To be honest, one of the things selling me on the Series X is (hopefully) 120fps SSX3, so perhaps I'm an edge case. 

[Down by Law]

8 minutes ago, Clipper said:

phew

 

Youtube XBOX official channel says it was called the Xbox Games Showcase. And other artices by Eurogamer etc back that up.

 

Not that I don't agree that people would use that presentation to inform their buying decision on nextgen.

 

https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/23/21331849/xbox-series-x-games-event-trailers-gameplay-announcements-microsoft

 

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-series-x-showcase-event-all-games-and-announc/1100-6479333/

 

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/xbox-series-x-games-reveal-live-blog

 

https://screenrant.com/all-xbox-series-x-game-showcase-reveals-halo/

 

I could go on, but I wont. We all agreed the naming convention was not confusing is the slightest.