Xbox Xbox Series X Thread

[X Knight]

I think from next year onwards we will see the AAA big hitters landing regularly. I hope they keep the format of this conference though. Non stop games with no crap interludes and stupid on-stage activities with people pretending to be gamers. This was awesome with 4 very quick talks from the top bods, Todd Howard, Sarah Bond, Phil Hines and the main man himself, Phil Spencer! Aside from that as soon as one game ended the next one started.

I agree. And if they want to do the deeper dives with the devs, they can do that on a 2nd show, like they did with the Thursday event.

With that being said, I did like the deep dives into Forza and Flight Simulator, and I'm hoping they continue to do those with other games, like Halo single-player campaign. And they don't need to wait till E3 or some other event to do these deep dives. They can do them more regularly like how Sony does State of Plays and Nintendo does Nintendo Directs.

It's also a shame that Forza Horizon 5 and Flight Simulator both were not ready as launch games for the Series X last year. Both really are good showcases for the power of the new console, so both would have been perfect as launch titles for your shiny new console.

I do know that if both had already been available to play while I (briefly) owned a Series X, that might have given me more of a reason to keep the console. So, definitely a shame on that part, from my perspective at least.

 

[Iceman]

I agree. And if they want to do the deeper dives with the devs, they can do that on a 2nd show, like they did with the Thursday event.

With that being said, I did like the deep dives into Forza and Flight Simulator, and I'm hoping they continue to do those with other games, like Halo single-player campaign. And they don't need to wait till E3 or some other event to do these deep dives. They can do them more regularly like how Sony does State of Plays and Nintendo does Nintendo Directs.

It's also a shame that Forza Horizon 5 and Flight Simulator both were not ready as launch games for the Series X last year. Both really are good showcases for the power of the new console, so both would have been perfect as launch titles for your shiny new console.

I do know that if both had already been available to play while I (briefly) owned a Series X, that might have given me more of a reason to keep the console. So, definitely a shame on that part, from my perspective at least.

Yeah, exactly. I’ve been reading many other game forums (as this one isn’t very active) and most people feel the same on the format. Also that way people know to expect the dev thing too. It’s best IMO as some people aren’t as interested in that and for them they don’t need to see it, but it’s great for everyone else who does without having to rush it to try and squeeze it in. It allows a very long showtime overall across the 2 shows too.

The main show format is just perfect now. And this is the last show before the AAA first party games will feature much more heavily. You are totally right about branching into Directs/State of Plays outside of E3s too and soon they will have the regular content coming to justify these regularly as well as an even longer E3 main show and big showing at some of the other big gaming events on the calendar. It’s still the calm before the storm but we’re closer to getting to the end of that period!

 

[X Knight]

Yeah, exactly. I’ve been reading many other game forums (as this one isn’t very active) and most people feel the same on the format. Also that way people know to expect the dev thing too. It’s best IMO as some people aren’t as interested in that and for them they don’t need to see it, but it’s great for everyone else who does without having to rush it to try and squeeze it in. It allows a very long showtime overall across the 2 shows too.

The main show format is just perfect now. And this is the last show before the AAA first party games will feature much more heavily. You are totally right about branching into Directs/State of Plays outside of E3s too and soon they will have the regular content coming to justify these regularly as well as an even longer E3 main show and big showing at some of the other big gaming events on the calendar. It’s still the calm before the storm but we’re closer to getting to the end of that period!

The future does indeed look brighter for Xbox! But, until these new games actually start releasing and we can play them, the gaming "drought" for Xbox isn't officially over, despite what some online have claimed. A forecast of rain doesn't end a drought - the rain has to actually fall!

 

[Iceman]

Btw Horizon and Flight Simulator are 2 of the best looking games I’ve ever seen. Stalker 2 also looked decent.

 

[Iceman]

The future does indeed look brighter for Xbox! But, until these new games actually start releasing and we can play them, the gaming "drought" for Xbox isn't officially over, despite what some online have claimed. A forecast of rain doesn't end a drought - the rain has to actually fall!

Yeah, it’s not over just because games are upcoming. Changing the situation with such a tiny number of first party studios and weakness on third party deals a few years ago represents a cruise liner turning around rather than a dolphin lol. It takes an age for it to turn but once it is back on course it will be staying on course.

 

[X Knight]

Yeah, it’s not over just because games are upcoming. Changing the situation with such a tiny number of first party studios and weakness on third party deals a few years ago represents a cruise liner turning around rather than a dolphin lol. It takes an age for it to turn but once it is back on course it will be staying on course.

It's just unfortunate that they found themselves in such deep of a hole and practically had to forfeit the Xbox One gen. And that the timing of the turnaround didn't coincide with the launch of their new console.

As you said, they're the cruise ship still in the process of making that turn. Which means we still have to play the waiting game which is frustrating. Yes, we are getting a trickle of rain this year and next, including new IPs like Redfall and Starfield. But realistically, I still feel like we have to wait until 2023 and beyond before the 1st party games really start to drop. Assuming of course there are no major delays, which would just push back things further.

 

[Iceman]

It's just unfortunate that they found themselves in such deep of a hole and practically had to forfeit the Xbox One gen. And that the timing of the turnaround didn't coincide with the launch of their new console.

As you said, they're the cruise ship still in the process of making that turn. Which means we still have to play the waiting game which is frustrating. Yes, we are getting a trickle of rain this year and next, including new IPs like Redfall and Starfield. But realistically, I still feel like we have to wait until 2023 and beyond before the 1st party games really start to drop. Assuming of course there are no major delays, which would just push back things further.

It’s a long wait but they have been laying seeds for the long term future. Once it’s on course that sorts them out for the next 20 years/life! The Microsoft CEO in a Halo hoodie constantly talking of expanding further by investing a lot more too. They have a massive cash pile (investors hate cash lying idle) and have to spend it soon to avoid taxes, so their studios will have plenty of funds for whatever they want to put out, for boosting numbers of quality staff, new teams, new studios etc.

There is unfortunately no shortcut to turning around a large ship. People might be understandably unhappy that it isn’t happening more quickly but there really is no way to change a first party situation quickly. Only need to look at Stadia’s attempts to see that lol.

 

[X Knight]

It’s a long wait but they have been laying seeds for the long term future. Once it’s on course that sorts them out for the next 20 years/life! The Microsoft CEO in a Halo hoodie constantly talking of expanding further by investing a lot more too. They have a massive cash pile (investors hate cash lying idle) and have to spend it soon to avoid taxes, so their studios will have plenty of funds for whatever they want to put out, for boosting numbers of quality staff, new teams, new studios etc.

There is unfortunately no shortcut to turning around a large ship. People might be understandably unhappy that it isn’t happening more quickly but there really is no way to change a first party situation quickly. Only need to look at Stadia’s attempts to see that lol.

They are definitely playing the long game.

I guess I just ran out of patience and sort of lost interest these past few years. I'm also not entirely keen on their heavy focus on FPS games, both traditional shooters and even their RPGs. That's due to the nature of the studios under their belt, but that's not the most appealing to me.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see what they produce over the next several years. Maybe I'll see something that will entice me to jump back on the Xbox train. But, we'll see.

I just hope that for those of you who have stuck with Xbox through all this time will be rewarded in the end.

 

[Iceman]

They are definitely playing the long game.

I guess I just ran out of patience and sort of lost interest these past few years. I'm also not entirely keen on their heavy focus on FPS games, both traditional shooters and even their RPGs. That's due to the nature of the studios under their belt, but that's not the most appealing to me.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see what they produce over the next several years. Maybe I'll see something that will entice me to jump back on the Xbox train. But, we'll see.

I just hope that for those of you who have stuck with Xbox through all this time will be rewarded in the end.

There isn’t an intentional focus on those genres, but certainly 2 areas that got massively concentrated after the Bethesda acquisition on top of a bunch of their existing studios already having that focus. Gamepass is driving everything now so they are trying to eventually cover all genres. That’s much more of a requirement for an ongoing subscription service than it is for a platform holder. Also there aren't even all that many realistic WRPGs and FPS to go after left. Phil Spencer has mentioned E-rated content and Japanese games for example. They could do with more 3rd person action/narrative games. They are looking for someone to revive Killer Instinct and maybe going after someone like Netherrealm could help them get a foothold in fighting games.

 

[X Knight]

There isn’t an intentional focus on those genres, but certainly 2 areas that got massively concentrated after the Bethesda acquisition on top of a bunch of their existing studios already having that focus. Gamepass is driving everything now so they are trying to eventually cover all genres. That’s much more of a requirement for an ongoing subscription service than it is for a platform holder. Also there aren't even all that many realistic WRPGs and FPS to go after left. Phil Spencer has mentioned E-rated content and Japanese games for example. They could do with more 3rd person action/narrative games. They are looking for someone to revive Killer Instinct and maybe going after someone like Netherrealm could help them get a foothold in fighting games.

Yeah. They really need to bolster their fighting game presence. I really hope they make a new Killer Instinct. And if they can snap up Netherrealm for MK and Injustice, that would be huge!

They also can't afford to let a big title like Street Fighter be PS exclusive again!

 

[Iceman]

Yeah. They really need to bolster their fighting game presence. I really hope they make a new Killer Instinct. And if they can snap up Netherrealm for MK and Injustice, that would be huge!

They also can't afford to let a big title like Street Fighter be PS exclusive again!

As gamepass keeps growing there will be less titles that skip Xbox as happened a lot in the X1 generation. Even paid exclusives will be harder or more expensive for other platforms to secure when the audience being missed out on is that much larger. There are rumours of rekindled talks for some of the WB studios although I don't know if that would include licenses for things like Injustice. SFV not coming to Xbox at all was a big blow to me.

 

[Iceman]

Forza Horizon and Flight Simulator look so awesome. If Microsoft were to apply these graphical standards to Sea of Thieves they would be dominating the skies, the seas and on land.

 

[Iceman]

I hope everyone is saving up for this.

 

[Gee]

Introducing New Designed for Xbox Monitors Unlocking the True Power of HDMI 2.1 on Xbox Series X|S - Xbox Wire

Oof, those prices... But hey, it's all about branding/marketing.

 

[Dave McFly]

I am hoping I get my Series X before Forza Horizon 5 comes out in Nov

 

[Iceman]

I am hoping I get my Series X before Forza Horizon 5 comes out in Nov

Good luck. That game looks properly next gen so it will be a great place to start.

 

[Iceman]

Phil Spencer says Xbox ‘wants to continue’ with Killer Instinct | VGC

 

[Gee]

xCloud games are finally getting an Xbox Series X-powered upgrade

 

[Iceman]

xCloud games are finally getting an Xbox Series X-powered upgrade

Great news. I will always have pc and the latest Xbox, but for everything else I'll use cloud. Glad to see it get this upgrade.

 

[Iceman]

 

[X Knight]

I am hoping I get my Series X before Forza Horizon 5 comes out in Nov

FH5 looks amazing, as does Flight Simulator! I hear they're going to do another FH5 showcase this week, so I'm looking forward to that. And I've been watching youtubers play Flight Simulator and that's been making me want to try that game even more.

From my experience, if you're in the USA, Target seems to offer the best bet for ordering a Series X. From what I understand, they are now making the console available whenever a store has stock. So, check often and check early in the morning. You might see a few consoles left in stock at your local store or at a store in a nearby city. Usually, it's only 3 consoles per stock (from what I've seen) and they tend to go fast.

In fact, that's how I snagged a Series X at my local Target this morning. Checked at 6:00AM, saw 2 left in stock, and pounced! A few minutes later, all gone. So you have to act fast if you see it available!

Good luck! Hope you're able to snag a Series X in time for FH5!

 

[Iceman]

FH5 looks amazing, as does Flight Simulator! I hear they're going to do another FH5 showcase this week, so I'm looking forward to that. And I've been watching youtubers play Flight Simulator and that's been making me want to try that game even more.

From my experience, if you're in the USA, Target seems to offer the best bet for ordering a Series X. From what I understand, they are now making the console available whenever a store has stock. So, check often and check early in the morning. You might see a few consoles left in stock at your local store or at a store in a nearby city. Usually, it's only 3 consoles per stock (from what I've seen) and they tend to go fast.

In fact, that's how I snagged a Series X at my local Target this morning. Checked at 6:00AM, saw 2 left in stock, and pounced! A few minutes later, all gone. So you have to act fast if you see it available!

Good luck! Hope you're able to snag a Series X in time for FH5!

Haha, congrats on Xbox no. 47. May she last longer than the last 46.

 

[X Knight]

Haha, congrats on Xbox no. 47. May she last longer than the last 46.

Fingers Crossed!!

But now I'm ready to take off when Flight Simulator drops in a month! Until we get a proper Superman game (I'm not buying the latest rumors yet), this will be the closest I get to soaring through the skies!

 

[Iceman]

Fingers Crossed!!

But now I'm ready to take off when Flight Simulator drops in a month! Until we get a proper Superman game (I'm not buying the latest rumors yet), this will be the closest I get to soaring through the skies!

Haha. That is a game that I think I will play and go back to many times over years. FS and FH5 are my 2 favourite looking upcoming games. It’s nice playing games that are very different to the common shooters sometimes.

 

[X Knight]

Haha. That is a game that I think I will play and go back to many times over years. FS and FH5 are my 2 favourite looking upcoming games. It’s nice playing games that are very different to the common shooters sometimes.

FS is also the perfect game for Gamepass. It's the type of game that I'm unsure about but can try out on Gamepass before deciding to buy the full game if I want to own it.

I just hope it's not too technical and that it can be enjoyed casually. Hopefully the console version will make it easier for a casual player like myself to just pick up and fly around.