Xbox Series X

[mikegg]

Halo Infinite looks like an Xbox One S game that is being boosted for XSX. Disappointing. It looks terrible.

MS' strategy of forcing first-party studios to support Xbox One S for the next two years is having a negative effect on the graphics of XSX games.

 

[purbeast0]

Yeah I can't believe how generic Halo Infinite looked. The graphics look like current gen and the graphics/sound just looked super generic. I can't believe how far Halo has fallen.

It's sad that not one of these games they have shown looks as good as The Last of Us 2 and it's games that are a generation ahead.

 

[mikegg]

Yeah I can't believe how generic Halo Infinite looked. The graphics look like current gen and the graphics/sound just looked super generic. I can't believe how far Halo has fallen.

It's sad that not one of these games they have shown looks as good as The Last of Us 2 and it's games that are a generation ahead.

The saddest part is that the developers are hamstrung by the Xbox One S, not even the Xbox One X.

You can clearly see textures popping in, which is a sign that they're not utilizing the fast SSD.

WTF was Microsoft thinking when they dreamt up Halo Infinite?

 

[purbeast0]

The saddest part is that the developers are hamstrung by the Xbox One S, not even the Xbox One X.

You can even see textures popping in, which is a sign that they're not utilizing the fast SSD.

WTF was Microsoft thinking when they dreamt up Halo Infinite?

Yeah I can't believe they showed that part in the Halo Infinite trailer where he went to the map then back into the game and you could clearly see texture pop in. Like how did they let that slide through into the world premiere of Halo Infinite gameplay lol.

 

[purbeast0]

This showcase pretty much confirms that I will 100% not be getting this console at launch. This will be the first console I haven't gotten at launch since like PS2 other than the Wii-U.

 

[mikegg]

Look at that terrible smoke effect, terrible texture quality, and low distance draw.

If you told me this was an Xbox 360 game, I would have believed you.

I thought Halo Infinite was an April Fool's joke.

 

[mikegg]

I'm generally impressed with the Xbox Series X hardware and software features. But Microsoft seems to make one bad decision for every two good ones every generation.

Forcing first-party studios to support Xbox One S for XSX games is a terrible decision. The PS5 first-party games shown actually looked next-gen. XSX showcase looks look 50% next-gen and 50% current-gen. So disappointed.

 

[quikah]

I have no idea why MS decided to do that. You could say the same thing about Sony not upping the CU count, I think 45-48 would have been perfect. Guess the compromises made pretty much assures that they are planning a mid cycle upgrade.

Missed this while back...

It is the exact same layout as a PC. You have fast GPU memory and slightly slower CPU memory. Possibly they did this to make games easier to port to PC and back? Will be interesting to see Digital Foundry rip into the next gen comparisons. There are so many weird rumors about PS5 GPU missing features I have been seeing recently.

Back to the showcase...

Same problem with all these shows, too many cinematic trailers.

Halo Infinite just looks like Halo, nothing special. It is a tired genre, will play it eventually, but not super excited for it.

I am interested in State of Decay 3, the gameplay loop was pretty fun in 2 (especially the harder difficulties), but it is limited and the mulitplayer was bad. If they fix those things could be good.

Hellblade 2 looks awesome, but the segment in this show was pointless. Can we see the gameplay?

Stalker 2 and CrossfireX campaign mode looks good.

They didn't really seem to push any next gen things except for Medium. The dual rendering looks interesting. I am curious to see how it works in the gameplay, do you just swap at will?

The games I am most excited for, Fable and Avowed, look like they are VERY far off.

At this point, depending on pricing, I am thinking getting both systems and forgo updating my PC (currently a skylake/1060). ~$1k to get a decent gaming PC, or ~$1k to get both consoles. Seems like there are not any impressive PC exclusives anymore?

 

[jpiniero]

It is the exact same layout as a PC. You have fast GPU memory and slightly slower CPU memory. Possibly they did this to make games easier to port to PC and back? Will be interesting to see Digital Foundry rip into the next gen comparisons. There are so many weird rumors about PS5 GPU missing features I have been seeing recently.

I think it was to save power. It still is GDDR6 it looks, just running at a lower speed. They must be right up against the PSU limit.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Man nothing looked next gen in this show. I wasn't that impressed by the PS5 reveal but this one just looked like a current gen E3 or something.

 

[mikegg]

Man nothing looked next gen in this show. I wasn't that impressed by the PS5 reveal but this one just looked like a current gen E3 or something.

I was thoroughly impressed by Horizon's graphical fidelity. The graphics showcased was the best I've ever seen in a video game. It clearly signaled "next-gen" with multiple "god damn" moments.

This Xbox showcase didn't have any mouth-dropped moment. Most of the games looked like souped-up Xbox One S games.

 

[purbeast0]

I was thoroughly impressed by Horizon's graphical fidelity. The graphics showcased was the best I've ever seen in a video game. It clearly signaled "next-gen" and it was simply not possible on current-gen.

This Xbox showcase didn't have any mouth-dropped moment. Most of the games looked like souped-up Xbox One S games.

Ratchet and Clank also screamed "next gen" to me. There was just so much stuff going on and the quality of everything from the sound to the graphics to lighting were just incredible.

 

[mikegg]

Ratchet and Clank also screamed "next gen" to me. There was just so much stuff going on and the quality of everything from the sound to the graphics to lighting were just incredible.

Agreed. Rachet and Clank just "looked" next-gen. Games that make you say, "ok, my PS4 can't do that. No way. No how."

I just want to ask Microsoft what they were thinking when they chose their 2-year Xbox One S support strategy. Like what went through their heads?

People who own the original Xbox One or a gaming PC should get a PS5 to enjoy true next-gen games.

Microsoft is literally telling their customers, "Get a PS5 if you want next-gen games. Then maybe come back in two years."

In my humble opinion, Microsoft already lost this generation. They have given their customers no reason to upgrade. They've given Playstation customers no reason to switch. Meanwhile, the PS5 is pretty enticing for Xbox gamers to switch.

 

[mikegg]

Seems like there are not any impressive PC exclusives anymore?

Exclusive PC games like Crysis that push the envelope for graphical fidelity are dead. It's all about F2P games that are accessible to a wide range of PC specs. Quite frankly, it makes zero business sense to make Crysis over some battle royale F2P game in 2020.

The only thing you'll get on PCs is the ability to max out cross-platform games but those games are held back by consoles anyways and don't push the envelope. You can polish a potato but it's still a potato. That's why people get so excited when next-gen consoles come out because that means PC games also get a huge boost in graphics.

 

[jpiniero]

In my humble opinion, Microsoft already lost this generation. They have given their customers no reason to upgrade.

I think that's what they are banking on - that people will just stick with the One and continue to buy new One games.

 

[Saylick]

In my humble opinion, Microsoft already lost this generation. They have given their customers no reason to upgrade. They've given Playstation customers no reason to switch. Meanwhile, the PS5 is pretty enticing for Xbox gamers to switch.

The moment Microsoft doubled down on offering every Xbox game on PC was the moment they gave up on consoles. That decision alone means MS games have to support the lowest common denominator, whether it be the Xbox One S, or a PC that meets the minimum spec for a given game. At this point, what is the purpose of the Series X if not to be a glorified gaming PC with controller support? I haven't seen anything that MS showcased that was exclusive to the Xbox alone, and I suspect we'll start seeing SSDs become part of the system requirements for Xbox Studios PC games, but that doesn't change the fact that the Series X essentially becomes a pre-built box in which Xbox Studios games would automatically meet system requirements but otherwise offers nothing unique to the system. In other words, in the future, a person can probably build a PC with similar specs to the Xbox and pair it with the Xbox controller and get a similar experience to owning a Series X.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Agreed. Rachet and Clank just "looked" next-gen. Games that make you say, "ok, my PS4 can't do that. No way. No how."

I just want to ask Microsoft what they were thinking when they chose their 2-year Xbox One S support strategy. Like what went through their heads?

People who own the original Xbox One or a gaming PC should get a PS5 to enjoy true next-gen games.

Microsoft is literally telling their customers, "Get a PS5 if you want next-gen games. Then maybe come back in two years."

In my humble opinion, Microsoft already lost this generation. They have given their customers no reason to upgrade. They've given Playstation customers no reason to switch. Meanwhile, the PS5 is pretty enticing for Xbox gamers to switch.

I agree with you. It’s like Microsoft isn’t trying. I mean they are giving their games away to game pass subscribers. You can subscribe for $10/mo and get all the games they showcased without putting down $60. That’s good for gamers but terrible for the Xbox brand and hurts the image of it as well IMO because it looks as if MS lacks confidence. Microsoft touts that they have 10 million game pass subscribers but Sony manages to sell 4million titles at full price at launch for their exclusives. That doesn’t say much about Microsoft’s games to me.

I’m definitely getting a ps5 and I own a switch, but I’ll never buy an Xbox console again.

 

[shortylickens]

So, does this mean I get FM6 on Windows?
Or does it mean games after a certain date?

 

[quikah]

I agree with you. It’s like Microsoft isn’t trying. I mean they are giving their games away to game pass subscribers. You can subscribe for $10/mo and get all the games they showcased without putting down $60. That’s good for gamers but terrible for the Xbox brand and hurts the image of it as well IMO because it looks as if MS lacks confidence. Microsoft touts that they have 10 million game pass subscribers but Sony manages to sell 4million titles at full price at launch for their exclusives. That doesn’t say much about Microsoft’s games to me.

?? They should cancel Gamepass and start charging $80 for games to regain respect... I guess you are really impressed by 2k who is charging $70 for PS5/XSX version of their games?

I don't understand this attitude, more games for less $, sounds good to me.

So, does this mean I get FM6 on Windows?
Or does it mean games after a certain date?

FM6? Forza Motosport 6? That was never released on Windows. They have a F2P version on windows now. Or are you talking about a different game?

Generally it is new games, but they sometimes bring older games to gamepass like Halo and Gears.

 

[Saylick]

?? They should cancel Gamepass and start charging $80 for games to regain respect... I guess you are really impressed by 2k who is charging $70 for PS5/XSX version of their games?

I don't understand this attitude, more games for less $, sounds good to me.

Let's be real: not every new game deserves to be $60 at launch. A lot of these year-over-year franchise games should be $30, maybe $40, at best, including most sports games like the ones 2K makes. Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot by including all of their AAA games as part of the GamePass because it limits how much money those studios can afford to spend in developing their games assuming they want to actually make a profit. Microsoft's GamePass is like if Marvel Studios decided to put all of their blockbuster MCU movies immediately on Netflix instead of only being able to watch it in theaters when they premiere. Do you know how unprofitable that would be if they did that? Literally no one would ever go to a movie theater and pay the ticket price if you could watch the latest Avengers movie on Netflix the day it was released. Marvel Studios would lose money and their upcoming movies would have their budgets slashed by more than half if they ever wanted to see a nickel of profit.

So yeah, more games for less $ is good for the consumer... if you want to experience a smorgasbord of mediocre games. When have you ever seen anything high-end that was offered buffet style with discount prices?

 

[purbeast0]

Let's be real: not every new game deserves to be $60 at launch. A lot of these year-over-year franchise games should be $30, maybe $40, at best, including most sports games like the ones 2K makes. Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot by including all of their AAA games as part of the GamePass because it limits how much money those studios can afford to spend in developing their games assuming they want to actually make a profit. Microsoft's GamePass is like if Marvel Studios decided to put all of their blockbuster MCU movies immediately on Netflix instead of only being able to watch it in theaters when they premiere. Do you know how unprofitable that would be if they did that? Literally no one would ever go to a movie theater and pay the ticket price if you could watch the latest Avengers movie on Netflix the day it was released. Marvel Studios would lose money and their upcoming movies would have their budgets slashed by more than half if they ever wanted to see a nickel of profit.

So yeah, more games for less $ is good for the consumer... if you want to experience a smorgasbord of mediocre games. When have you ever seen anything high-end that was offered buffet style with discount prices?

You would have a point if the games didn't sell millions of copies at $60. But they do so your point is kind of moot.

If they didn't deserve the $60 tag, they simply would not sell at that price.

 

[quikah]

So yeah, more games for less $ is good for the consumer... if you want to experience a smorgasbord of mediocre games. When have you ever seen anything high-end that was offered buffet style with discount prices?

I have watched Soprano's, The Wire, Breaking Bad and the first few seasons of Game of Thrones though a "buffet style" subscription.

 

[KentState]

I have watched Soprano's, The Wire, Breaking Bad and the first few seasons of Game of Thrones though a "buffet style" subscription.

How many years after the Soprano's and the Wire were on HBO though? It's not like they dropped on streaming when first released.

I have cut how much I spend on Xbox games considerably since there is no point in buying them anymore. Just get Gamepass Ultimate and play one after another on either the PC or console, even new releases that go for $60. Great for consumers for awhile, but the games are starting to feel like the garbage music that is out today to just fulfill streaming. Very little of it has any long term appeal like ReCore, Crackdown, Gears 5, Gears Tactics, Sea of Thieves. I'm sure Halo Infinite will all have that big name, but no substance feel as well.

 

[quikah]

How many years after the Soprano's and the Wire were on HBO though? It's not like they dropped on streaming when first released.

What does streaming have to do with it? HBO has always been a subscription service.

 

[purbeast0]

I don't find the gamepass useful as I've had 360 and X1 since launch and any game I've wanted to play I already have. It's good for people who get into the consoles late in the lifespan though. I will say though I did get 1 month for $1 when Ori Will of the Wisp came out because they put that on there at launch, and I could pay $1 to play it or $30, and it was kind of a no brainer. I did feel bad that I didn't support the devs with the $30 to purchase it but I'm sure MS gave them a huge pay day to put it on there at launch so I got over that quickly.

But I still don't get how MS is banking on people buying an XSX to play 360 and X1 games on gamepass.

I read last week too that MS quietly stopped selling 1yr Xbox Live subscriptions. The speculation is that they are slowly going to try and get rid of it and make people pay for their subscription service that includes gamepass and live together. I am completely out on this infrastructure personally.