Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@nessisonett Yeah I really hope this is the win they needed to get back on track. After Halo Infinite which disappointed on the mp part and a pretty empty 2022, except pentiment and the full release of grounded.

I play on both consoles, my wife also has a switch which isn't really my thing, so I want all consoles to do well. And 2023 seems to look like the year Xbox should finally take off and all the acquisitions made in the past years should pay off. It seems to be the Bethesda acquisition which will set it all in motion. Hi-fi Rush, Redfall and Starfield are all from Bethesda. So for Microsoft and Xbox fans it was a great buy.
It sucks for people who only game on Playstation or Nintendo who are Bethesda fans though.

In the end I think it's beneficial for us gamers that all brands are successful. This kinda forces Sony and Microsoft to keep improving things and make things as consumer friendly as possible. A good time to be a fan of gaming

Should be getting my Xbox Series S tomorrow. Really looking forward to playing Hi-Fi Rush and High on Life, among other things. I like that I have the Xbox One’s back catalogue to play too. Been wanting to play ReCore for years! It’s pretty neat that I have to just pay a small amount for Game Pass and I’ll get access to all of Xbox’s first party games.

@nessisonett I think some of the issues over the past couple of years is that a good number of 'Xbox' games released were either not on Xbox Consoles (Age of Empires, Deathloop, Ghostwire) or were 'multi-platform' releases (Psychonauts 2, Minecraft Dungeons/Legends) so 'actual' Console Exclusives, especially AAA, were 'light' on the ground. When people 'discuss' Xbox in 2022, they only tend to only think of Pentiment and even Grounded often gets overlooked as it was in Beta for quite some time before full release. But they did ship Ghostwire and then Deathloop to Xbox later in the year.

If you go 'E3 21 to E3 22, MS shipped quite a few games - just the majority released in the first half of that year, and it looks like E3 22 to E3 23 has a number of big releases too - just the latter half of the Year - over that '2' yr Period, they could release over 10 games. I know Sony had a 'good' 2022 with H:FW, GT7 and GoW:R, but they didn't have anything 'new' (not counting 're-releases' of older games now on PS5) whilst Xbox had games like MSFS, FH5, HI etc - although they did get 'Deathloop' and of course could play Psychonauts 2. They also benefited from Ghostwire in 2022 - another 'Xbox' game, so of course that didn't help the perception but its still another 'release' from an Xbox owned Studio.

I haven't even counted Goldeneye and AoE2, both of which are playable on Xbox consoles this month because both are 'old' games originally built for and released on a different generation hardware. Something 'different' to paying a Studio to keep a game off a 'current' gen console for a set time before releasing. But even though 'Deathloop' released first on PC/PS5, its still a 'brand new' game released by MS in the previous 18months or so.

Since E3 21, not even 2yrs ago, MS has released MSFS (console version), Psychonauts 2, FH5, H:I, Deathloop, Ghostwire, AoE4, Pentiment, Grounded, As Dusk Falls, Hi-Fi Rush (11 games) with at least Minecraft legends and Redfall expected before E3 23 - not counting Goldeneye, AoE 2 etc also released for the 'first' time on Xbox consoles - certainly 'averages' over 1 game per 'quarter' and more like a game every other month on average...

I know that if you 'only' have a Series S/X console, the fact that some games weren't playable and still not playable doesn't help you feel like MS is releasing games and with some on Playstation too, that doesn't make you feel like you are getting a 'traditional' first party game as they are expected to be exclusive...

It was clear from the start that MS's acquisitions would take a 'while' to actually start Producing games Exclusively for Xbox. Most, if not all the Studio's that MS acquired had games in development and had 'promised' to release on PS - if not timed exclusivity (like Deathloop, Ghostwire etc) then at least simultaneous releases like Psychonauts 2, Wastelands 3, Outer Worlds etc. As those studio's had to finish off those projects first, it was always going to take 'time' for those to even start making games 'exclusively'.

Bethesda/zenimax hasn't been a MS owned group of Studio's for 2yrs yet - only officially taking over in March 2021. At that time, the 'next' 2 games expected were timed exclusives to PS5, so obviously wasn't going to make a big difference to MS for a 'few' years at least. It does 'benefit' Game Pass owners of course as they can play Zenimax Studio's back catalogue - Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, Dishhonored, Prey etc - but 'new' releases were always going to take 'time'.

Sony Studio's don't all pump out games every couple of years. Ghost of Tsushima released 6yrs after 2nd Son, Horizon:ZD was nearly 5yrs after Shadowfall and most seem to take at least 4yrs between games, yet somehow expect MS to make games of 'equal' quality/polish in much less time. They only started adding Studio's in 2018. At E3 2018, they announced Compulsion, undead Labs, Playground, Ninja Theory and created the Initiative from scratch - not yet 5yrs ago, then added Obsidian, InXile and Double Fine later that year. Also as some are developing games with UE5, that didn't release until 'relatively' recently so may impact development as the Engine gets updated through its development...

Microsoft and Xbox are NOW very Service driven businesses with 'Sales' a secondary income source. This is very evident in their Game Pass 'service' and their own Software. The fact that their software is available DAY 1 on Cloud and PC as well as Console, makes Console sales 'redundant'. Of course, they do offer the consumer 'benefits' but they are 'optional'. By also offering games in their 'services' day 1, game sales are 'optional' too.

The 'entry' level into the Xbox Ecosystem is obviously the Cloud. It has the 'lowest' upfront cost of your monthly Sub fee allowing you to play on any supported devices you already have - mobiles, laptops, tablets, TV's etc but its also limited to 1080/60, limited Library and internet dependent.

For a 'small' upfront cost, the Series S is the 'entry' point for those who 'prefer' a bigger Library, not just the games they can stream. Also prefer a 'local' experience, improved Visual quality upto 1440p & improved frame rates up to 120fps.

For a larger upfront cost, the Series X offers the 'Premium' console experiences more comparable to PS5, same Library as Series S but offers a disc drive with improved PQ up to 4k and/or better performance.

The 'largest' upfront cost is the PC which can offer the BEST visuals, Performance and largest game library too.

Point is, Hardware is 'optional' as is buying games on Xbox. Sales are a 'secondary' concern as their service based plan is 'detrimental' to sales. You never need to buy Hardware or Software to play 'day 1'.

Sony, like Nintendo, are 'SALES' based first and foremost with Services as a Secondary income. That's why they have 'software' only available to purchase day 1 so if you want to play, you have no option but to buy, if you want to play you also must own their hardware so no options. A year later, the 'sales' have dropped to a trickle so now they can use them to generate 'service' income and/or PC sales income. If they released on 'other' platforms/services day and date, that would 'negatively' impact their Primary 'Sales' based business model. Won't be the 'best' selling game/hardware of the week/month...

Not saying 1 is 'better/worse' than another - but it is 'different' so you can't compare what Sony says/does with MS. It's not in 'Sony's' interest to put MLB into 'their' PS+ day 1 as it would impact on Sony's business model. They can't say MLB sold 90% more on Playstation, can't get the #1 best selling game of the week/month on Playstation etc.

When Spider-Man 2 releases, it will 'sell' Playstation 5's because you 'need' a PS5 to play, it's not on 'other' platforms. The game will sell at $70+ and likely be the biggest selling game that week/month or even year. When Starfield releases, it may not sell many Xbox Series consoles at all because it could be played on 'hardware' you already own (Mobile, Laptop, PC, TV, last gen Consoles etc). It may not have ANY 'pre-orders' or even sell any copies at all in the first 'year' because of Sub services and MS would be perfectly 'OK' with this because they could see Game Pass Subs jump up and have 25-30m+ people playing in the first week. BOTH companies would consider their games 'successful' but 1 sold 'millions', the other few, if any but BOTH brought in new players to their respective ecosystems and helped contribute to the companies 'growth' and 'success' in their respective business models. Spider-Man 2 could sell 10m copies and be a massive success for Sony and Starfield could struggle to sell 1m, a 'sales' flop, but be played by 3x as many gamers and be a massive success for MS...

Since about 2016, Xbox stopped being a 'Sales' driven Console only ecosystem like Sony and Nintendo. They had to change or could have disappeared altogether. They merged 'Xbox' from its own 'little' side project into MS and Xbox became the gaming 'service' of MS so PC got Day1 releases and Game Pass was created. Cloud enables them to 'reach' gamers who can't afford the 'premium' upfront costs of Console hardware - but also impacts on 'sales'. Sales are 'secondary' to MS so if you don't want to buy 'their' hardware or their software, you don't have to. There maybe 'benefits' to doing so, but it's optional. As Sony are Sales focussed, services are not optional, hardware is not optional - you need to 'buy' to play Day 1 with 'services/other platforms' used later to extract more income once they have 'exhausted' the potential hardware/software sales that title could generate.

To me, I think that is the MOST important part when considering each Platform and what they offer. Its why Sony's strategy with PS+ or PC releases are very different to MS's. It's also why I don't think CoD will suddenly see an 'exodus' away from PS if A/B deal does go through. Yes you may need a 'Series X' to get CoD at the 'same' premium quality as PS5 offers on top of a GP subscription, but would PS5 owners 'Subscribe' to GP on devices they have to play at 1080/60 via streaming because its 'cheaper' than the initial $70 on PS5? Opt to buy a Series S to play at 1440 or 120fps, spend as much as they did on their PS5 to get a Series X to subscribe to GP to get the 'same' quality as they could on PS5 for just $70 (beats paying $500 for hardware upfront and then at least $10, more like $15 a month as you need 'Gold' too of course. Not counting their controller preference, their trophies/friends etc...

Maybe if they have a Series X or PC, they may 'choose' to Sub to GP to play CoD where as before, they 'chose' PS5 because of 'extra/earlier' content, but they still 'bought' the game and it will still be 'sold' on PS5 offering the 'Premium' console experience (like Series X), better than Switch, Cloud, Series S versions that 'cost' around the same to 'OWN'.

I just wish that MORE gamers understood that 'Xbox' is NOT just the Console and that MS has a different Business Strategy to Sony. That makes Sony PS5 vs MS Series Consoles, Game Pass vs PS+ etc very 'different', even if they seem very similar too. Each is doing what suits their business model and unless 'Sony' copies MS and moves more into 'service' driven gaming with Sales as a secondary income or MS reverts back 'Sales' driven, stopping games 'releasing' day/date on anything but Xbox hardware (to sell more units) or Services (to sell more games), they will continue to have these different approaches. Why would Sony put Spider-Man 2 into PS+ and release on PC day 1 - as that would seriously impact their hardware and software SALES.

But hey, that doesn't make for 'Headlines' or 'Clickbate' articles - Sony 'beats' Xbox on Hardware Sales, sells more copies of Plague Tale, MLB etc, has 'more' exclusives or MS beats Sony because X game is 'free' on Xbox but $70 on PS5, gets games day 1 in services etc - 'Surprise, that's their 'business' model...

@nomither6 it’s only 1000,000,000 words or more in this thread bud… I thought you knew! 🫠

Got my Series S. I’m playing High On Life first. I’m enjoying it so far. I really like the amount of chatter between the different characters and shooting aliens is pretty satisfying. I also have Gears 5 and Hi-Fi Rush installed.

@Bentleyma Hopefully you have also bought a time machine so you can play all these games you've got lined up!

@JohnnyShoulder I used to be one of those people that said Xbox has no games, but now I have one it turns out that there are plenty of exclusives I want to play.

@Bentleyma good to see you're enjoying your time on the Xbox. Gamewise it looks to be a good year for Xbox with mine craft legends, redfall starfield and forza coming up. And rumors are that hell blade might even make it this year as well. So hopefully it's the start of the stream of games they promised

@Lavalera Oooh, I didn’t even think of Starfield!

Downloaded "Hi-Fi Rush" to see what all the fuss is about. It's like a lost Dreamcast game - and I mean that in the most positive way. Superb licensed songs, too.

Looks like I got a Series S just in time. Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon are getting removed from the Xbox store. Both those games were one of the reasons I wanted an Xbox, so I just grabbed them before they’re gone.

@Bentleyma Those 2 games are only being removed from the Xbox 360 store.They will still be sold through the Xbox One/ Series store. In total 18 out of the 40 games that will be removed from the Xbox 360 store are not on the Xbox One/Series store and will be removed permanently. On PureXbox there is a post with all the games that are being delisted and can't be bought through the Xbox one/series store:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/02/these-18-games-could-be...

It's kinda confusing since games can be bought on different stores

@Lavalera Really??? So I didn’t need to rush and buy them? 😣

Ah well, I wanted them anyway.

Found my old guides! I miss physical game guides.

does anyone know if xbox store gift cards only work on an xbox account based on the country you bought the card from (like playstation cards) or are they region free?

Decided to give Vampire Survivors a try. At first I wondered what all the fuss was about, but it quickly became addictive. Definitely has that ‘one more go’ quality going for it.

I also started Quantum Break. Didn’t realise Lance Reddick was in it. 😭

it’s crazy how much people that play Xbox hate playstation

just wanted to say that

ha, so true more posts on PureXbox on sony than comments on the good stuff MS has

@nomither6 I hope his doesn't turn into a big argument or anything, but a big reason for that lately is they blame Sony for Xbox's exclusives problem, not Microsoft. Even though Microsoft sat there for over a decade basically doing nothing except relying on a few of their usual franchises (Halo, Gears, and Forza), the situation is not their fault. "They had to buy Bethesda and Activision in order to compete with PlayStation." True in a sense, but not because PlayStation did so many evil things to cause this. While Sony was building their exclusives portfolio by buying smaller studios they had relationships with already and such, Microsoft was sitting there letting their market share nosedive.

I had to get that out as it has been going through my mind the last few days while reading things over at Pure Xbox. Obviously I'm not going to say it over there as I don't want to bother fighting over it, but again, I felt like I finally had to let it out.