Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@Tjuz Phil Spencer was always a f*** muppet. But I assume he started by winning people round with goodies and promises because he was like a cult figure? Kind of like the new Willy Wonka over there now in Asha. I think she has maybe had that kind of ultra rich media training, or at least knows how to pose and look confident - even if their messaging is still baffling (single player for us, multiplayer for all - btw, here's a couple of single player games and we're pulling the one with multiplayer from ps5 last minute 🙃) I feel like they are all just different flavours of grifter, but i'm a cynical c*** 😁

Agree on exclusives, or even just studios putting out top quality games. To spend that much money and not have Elder Scrolls made sooner and also to put out a CoD that people hated, while shuttering some studios and releasing some total flops seems weird. All while Sony was making their studios make... well, let's not go there.

I still pine for the timeline where the released Starfield on PS5 and at least Bethesda would have had the financial success story. Even if it isn't the greatest game ever (none of them are) a space RPG always felt very 'PS5 game' and it would have sold like hotcakes, and public perception might have been better overall with more people likely to like it actually playing it.

Forza is a success though. So SIE need to get cracking on making GT8 even bigger (10 bob says someone suggested it be called GT Infinite)

You know far more about the ins and outs though, as I have no clue who the woman person you referenced was, I'm still just a vibes guy, and honestly, I enjoy gaming more the less gaming news I read 😅

Both companies need to start giving a bit more back to the consumer though, I believe. Ignoring all the c***s who will hate every game ever released (just for something to do) there is definitely scope for signs of good-will to win round some of the more regular folk.

GTA 6 marketing era is going to be nuts, though. It might feel like Xbox doesn't even exist during that period, especially as Halo will already be on PS5 by then.

@Ravix I have to agree that Asha does seems to be pandering the Social media crowd and it is working (for now..) but the flip flopping recently makes me I watching a Magikarp use splash over and over

Fair play to her for actually doing something I guess… but I can’t help but think the horse has already bolted… a while back too. I just think that in the hope for more… and I’m talking about back in 2015/16/17, that they really shot themselves in the foot. When they threw that Gamepass hailmary back in 2017 (and when they started putting the games on PC the previous year), little did they know that they would kill to have their platform back in that situation around a decade later.

And would it be as simple as to just take a mulligan? Withdraw all their first party games, kill off Gamepass, **** over Steam? I think it’s probably too late tbh. Sure they’ll get some growth… it’d be hard not to what with their huge year-on-year declines over the last 5 years or so… but I don’t see how it would be enough. Through trying to corner the market, they’ve groomed their players into not wanting to spend money… the antithesis to running a healthy business. As I say, I bet that they wished that they just stuck with it ten years ago and hoped that the acquisitions to come would grow their user base… a userbase that wants to buy games. But now their last remaining remnant are generally rent a month here, unsubscribe until the next big game drops there and the majority of their former faithful are now balls-deep up Gabe’s nethers never to return.

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

@psmr I just have to comment that I’m impressed at the use of the “Threw a Hail Mary” colloquialism. 😅 I thought that was an Americanism, since as far as I know it’s a metaphorical reference to a famous American Football sequence— that of launching a pass in the waning seconds of the game as a last ditch “prayer” to win the game, which of course is exactly as you used it here perfectly in this setting with the Xbox strategy. Anyway, either I’m mistaken and the expression originated elsewhere (besides in the Church, of course) before it was popularized in the 70’s by Roger Staubach’s famous pass to win a playoff game, or I guess pop culture has just made it ubiquitous at this point. Or perhaps you’re a closet NFL fan?… and if so, join @Ravix and me over on the American Sports thread! 😜

@Th3solution yeah I think it’s just a phrase that has permeated pretty much all of the western world tbh. The popularity of American movies and film has always meant that they penetrate cultures around the globe.

I was aware that it was something that derived from throwing a long and high throw towards the end of a game that could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but didn’t know the specifics of what team/player made it synonymous. I’m not an NFL fan btw… but do love films and shows based on the sport.

@Th3solution thing is, the British, heck, even europeans, tend to understand different languages, sayings, idioms and colloquialisms even if they are from far flung reaches of the globe. We use a combination of listening, reading, learning and understanding the context of words that are used to pick up these variances and add to our own personal databases, as it were. Whereas Americans tend to just say "what the hell are you talking about" and shut their brains down to anything is remotely different to their local understanding of how things are. It is simply how it is and likely always will be 😛

So my guess would be @psmr just knows it is a phrase because it is a phrase. Rather than being a hardcore gridiron fan. (Happy to be proven wrong if he is an avid fan, but it won't help with where i'm going with this post, haha)

It is also why often you see Americans tend to take things quite literally most of the time, and thus simple things can confuse them. Whereas the mighty European brain is trained to take a second to process all possibilities and deduce the meaning for themselves, and, once understood, they often can repeat what they learned when the context suits.

Let me know when Americans finally understand what irony is, and we can continue this discussion.

And you know this is just banter, Sol, and you are a far better linguist than me (despite your USA handicap 😛)

Did you ever play Thank Goodness You're Here, by the way? That would be a good tester to see if you are up-to-scratch on British culture and language. 'Up-to-scratch' being a good example of an idiom, but I assume you know that one? And, no! it doesn't mean standing up to scratch your ass, America! Typical yanks and their stupid literal... trails off grumbling.

Some would argue that is why Xbox is in such a state, too. They just can't help being so isolated and american, and ironically (actually genuine irony) the Japanese company avoids being insular by understanding the strength of the European and global markets in gaming.

This comment was brought to you by tongue-in-cheek (idiom) faux-xenophobic humour.

@Ravix I’m very interested in etymology and origins of phraseology, but you’re right about American blindness and disregard for foreign concepts, especially language. I think I’m just weird this way and one of my favorite things about Push Square is how I get a small taste of different parts of the world from all of you. I do think the U.S. has become a lot more open-minded in recent decades (as it relates to language and culture), largely depending upon what part of the States you’re in, but it takes a while for ideas and sayings to penetrate and permeate the everyday American lexicon.

Of course there lots of old world and ancient sayings that are used freely here, like phrases out of Shakespeare and such, but foreign slang or turns of phrase that are more modern (like “throwing a Hail Mary”) are probably limited. I’m trying to think of a British saying we use that is very specific to British culture and is less than 50 years old… coming up blank right now though. Is there a popular phrase from Snooker that you folks use? I’ll try to popularize it over here! 😅

@psmr So the phrase was popularized by Staubach, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback who launched a last second pass from 50 yards out to Drew Pearson in a playoff game in the 70’s. Pearson caught the pass and they won the game in dramatic fashion. When interviewed after the game Staubach told the press “I just threw the pass and then said a Hail Mary” (or something to that effect).

Apparently the Hail Mary term had been used in football before at Notre Dame University, where the had a lot of religious crossover with their famous football program back in the early 1900’s. But it was really Staubach who made the term popular

@Th3solution ooh, yes... "i'm touching cloth" is a phrase born in the snooker halls of the United Kingdom (probably Wales) You should try that one out for size in casual conversation over yonder. It is kind of like when you are ready for the task at hand, so it is one you can declare proudly! "Hey guys, I'm touching cloth. Are you?" It breaks down as: your hand is on the table because you are ready to take your shot i.e you are touching the cloth of the table. I.e Ready for action 🫡

I'll let you know if I think of any others. Maybe @psmr can help find you another snooker related phrase we use. Though he might baulk at the chance. (Homophone word replacement and snooker based pun all in one) by the way, why Snooker, Sol?

And yeah, a Hail Mary is what catholic people say when they've been a bit naughty, or in times of great desperation. So kind of using it instead of 'said a prayer' makes sense for a desperation fling of a ball, so it is easy to understand regardless of it becoming more football based, it is quite common to know a Hail Mary being akin to a last chance so the meaning is pretty built-in.

This is far more interesting than Xbox anyway 😁 when I next play more of Thank Goodness You're Here i'll hit you with some obscure yorkshire stuff if there's more. It is a funny old game

@Ravix “I’m touching cloth” Nice, I like it. I’ll throw it out and see how it lands.
Snooker came to mind only because it’s a game that I see brought up around here and I have no clue what it even is and I assume it’s quite regionally locked to the UK. In my mind it seems so uniquely British. I don’t know though. Maybe they play it in Asia too for all I know.

And I know despite the NFL being very American, there’s been increasing interest in UK, Europe, and South America but back when Staubach was playing, nobody outside our borders gave a hoot about it. I think it’s only become more international the last 20 years. Heck, Madden may have a lot to do with the increased global relevance. Snooker, on the other hand, does not have a compelling video game that tops the charts, or a professional league (is there even professional Snooker? Ha, ha, I have no idea) that takes the game abroad to expand marketing.

Oh, that reminds me— we do like Monty Python and some of those quotes have become commonplace and have spread through our culture. However I do think there’s some generational indifference settling in with the Gen Alpha kids where a lot of them don’t understand the references.

————

To bring it back to Xbox [ahem..] yeah, the Hail Mary… what were we talking about?… oh, right, Xbox’s business strategy. The whole “The plan is the plan until it’s not the plan”, or whatever. I’ve not been particularly enamored with any of Xbox’s first party output for a long time. Fable could change all that. If they made Fable exclusive would I buy an Xbox for it? Probably not. Even if it garnered 10/10’s. They’d have to get 3-4 must have games on the system for me to even consider jumping in. And some of that is because PlayStation still has me overloaded with content. If the PS content dried up and XB started to have several exclusives that appealed to me, then maybe I could justify having two systems. But for now I have my hands full.

@Th3solution i've split my post to separate threads now (I will probably paste and post the sports talk tomorrow if I can be bothered) as I did want to talk about Fable here.

I saw a video today (that I swear they already showed like a year ago) of the life-sim part of the game, and it looks so chill. It will probably be the only Xbox game I buy for PS5 as everything else they release feels game pass level, which is an issue they created themselves. Games I won't finish and don't really need to own so they get partially played on game pass 🤷‍♂️ at least on PS I buy the games that I might not finish that i'm at least mildly interested in 😅

But again you came to mind with the Fable video, it feels like it is a game we should like. They rarely show combat, so it is probably a pretty weak element, but hopefully it is still fun enough. They showed some abilities that, although janky to observe, may be feel quite unique while actually playing. Make people float by stamping your foot looks jank, but being able to crowd control and then damage foes in the air is also probably really useful. It reminds me a lot of Hogwarts Legacy still, and although that game isn't perfect, it is still a really nice game. And life-sim tacked on to that where you can mess with NPC's lives, or be kind of normal outside of quests has me hopeful I will really enjoy it beyond the jank.

I mean, it just looks super chill. And i'm properly bored of them pushing it back for the last 1.5 years 😭😂 give me my jank and let me enjoy it for what it is 😅

I don't even know what the quests will be like. I think I played the intro to all 3 Fables (is there 3?) On game pass when this was announced, and they all seemed unique and fun, and reminiscent of what they have shown. But being pretty old games I never really picked one to carry on with, I just really wanted to see what a similar type of game would be like if released today with more console power and graphical fidelity without potentially ruining the new one by playing too much of the old.

So, will you be a Day One for Fable? I'm hoping a few of us here do get into it. The unique storylines we can craft ourselves via the systems will be a huge part of the fun, and sharing how we ruined various NPC'S lives because they looked at us funny feels like it will be perfect for the forum game chatter 😁

Oh, and I'm pleased that you like touching cloth. I hope i've done my part for international relations with that one.

Another tangent... but Fable related, as it will be heavily inspired by Brit humour. Are there any particular shows you tend to watch that are in that kind of sphere. I know the classics like Python you know and have referenced. But how about the obscure stuff? Any random favourites? Because Natasha Demitriou and Richard Ayoade are in Fable simply listing The I.T Crowd, Stath Lets Flats, What We Do in the Shadows and Garth Merenghis Dark Place are good places to start to get a feel of various brit humour. And of course, you could always watch A Touch of Cloth if you enjoy parody, which would be a weird place to start a random Charlie Brooker rabbit-hole (pretty sure you have talked about Black Mirror before though) and it fits due to title, obviously 😁 and with it being far more camp and silly, which I get the feeling Fable will be, at times. We may have to branch out into the tv thread if we go any deeper, but for now it is semi-fable related. But I think we should probably have a Push Square brit-humour international love-in at some point.

So the recent Xbox celebratory circle-jerk has lasted even less time than I’d have guessed… but those bots really partied if it were 1999 though didn’t they? Well parties over drones, welcome to the desert of the real 😬:

@psmr who is this guy and why does it look like he's been crying?

Your first introduction to Destin Legarie eh… long time Xbox shill. He was with IGN for years but spun off on his own to do more “objective” gaming news (honestly the balls on the guy 🤣). He probably has been crying tbh… it’s the ones you don’t see coming that hit the hardest. I’d imagine a fair few of the pure Xbox guys who’ve suddenly been feeling their nuts lately will take it in much the same way.

It beggars belief, but at least it isn't dull.

@psmr
Ha ha I do enjoy a good dose of schadenfreude watching Destin holding back the tears. 😂

@CaptD well… we serve it cold around here mate - schadenfreude-on-ice as it were 😉

@Ravix Man, Fable is looking really good to me. It does seem to have a nice dose of humor there, but the depth of an interactive world with unique NPC’s living their lives and the sheer breadth of possibilities is what really seems to set it apart for me. I’m not for sure yet if I will quite be on it day 1, but the more I see, the more I’m becoming convinced. I have never played a single minute of any of the previous games, and have only heard things about them. I think there’s been up-and-down reception for them, but it’s always been the series from Xbox that I’ve coveted.

As for the Brit humor (that Fable will hopefully bring strong), I looked over those shows and the only one I know of is The IT Crowd, but I looked up and watched some promos for the others you listed and I have to say I did laugh out loud a couple times, even at just the short segments that I watched. Unfortunately some of them are unavailable to me. I think 3 of the 5 I can access though. I have watched almost no TV that wasn’t sports in the last 3 months, but maybe I need to chill with one of these shows one night.

@Ravix @Th3solution Garth Merenghi's Dark Place is an excellent shout. I would add Nathan Barley, The Day Today, Brass Eye, The Mighty Boosh, The League of Gentlemen and The Thick of It to the pool of reference.

As an aside, "touching cloth" can also mean you are imminently about to defecate in your trousers. 😃

@AgentCooper
Yeah that is the only meaning to “touching cloth” that I recognise but then I’ve read the Roger Mellie Profanisaurus from cover to cover.
Brass Eye and the Day Today were so funny and are available on YouTube , the complete series of (I think) The Day Today appeared in my suggestion feed the other day.

That reminds me, remember kids stay away from Cake.