A LOT of people have been sounding the alarm about Game Pass's blindingly obvious unsustainability for many years. The difference now is that many more people don't believe Xbox leadership's nonsense about GP being profitable and encouraging more spending on their platform. Anyone with a basic grasp of economics and how video games are made knows Phil Spencer's honeyed words about the service and its viability are almost all lies.
And for anyone reading this who is upset that I'm directly calling out Spencer, maybe you should be more upset at him for spoonfeeding you bull**** over the past two generations and fracturing Xbox's console health and culture beyond repair.
I get that the last Forza Motorsport underperformed big time and Horizon has become the new hot brand for Microsoft, but the assumed death of the series is really sad to see from a cultural standpoint. Turn 10 and FM have been Xbox staples for multiple generations.
I'd say a 7. I think it's VERY good. Very close to great in my eyes but not quite there for me. I'd go for an 8 if the main story was a tad shorter and some key scenes didn't land with a thud for me.
I couldn't care less if PlayStation brought all of their recent multiplayer games to Xbox. I'm more curious if Xbox gamers will actually buy this since it's not on Game Pass day one. If there was a time to put their money where their mouths are, this is it.
@UltimateOtaku91 I'm very unfamiliar with the Wasteland series, but I imagine those don't cost anywhere near as much to make compared to most of Xbox's other games. With Clockwork, as great as it looks, I have no idea what it would need to do to be "successful" in Xbox's eyes because their metrics of success seem to frequently change internally.
The Initiative is one of the biggest gaming failures in recent memory. They was supposed to be a super team of industry vets, but it's clear that the project management was absolute ass. It didn't help either that Xbox's own project managers during that time were infamously "hands off" with their management style.
1 million players is pretty bad considering this was available both on Game Pass and PS Plus Extra day one. Also, couldn't anyone just login once, play for an hour and dip, and still be considered a "player"?
It amazes me what acquiring ActiBliz did to the Xbox brand. Sure, it generates huge revenue for them, but the long-term consequences have fundamentally changed what Xbox even is. And being forced to feed the colossal beast that is Game Pass certainly hasn't helped create a healthy ecosystem.
However, it has been amusing to watch the really hardcore loyalist cult of Phil Spencer twist themselves into a pretzel to praise Xbox's trajectory towards total platform agnosticism, despite them crying bucketloads on the inside that the days of true Xbox exclusives are practically dead.
Square Enix could straight-up steal the exact same combat and skill systems from E33 for FF17 and I'd be perfectly fine with that. Hell, use the Rebirth combat system for all I care. Because whatever confused and misguided action tripe they were trying to do with 15 and 16 is not what I want from modern Final Fantasy.
I get what he's saying, but he shouldn't feel like a fraud. He was fantastic and made a significant contribution to the emotional power of Expedition 33.
@AdamNovice If I were a gambling man, I'd bet on the next batch of characters (no doubt including Wolverine) being announced at either San Diego Comic-Con next month or EVO USA in August. It would be nonsensical to miss either of those two opportunities for a big splash with this being a Marvel fighting game.
I'm really curious to see what this looks like because I'm fully onboard with PlayStation embracing different genres using their more popular IPs. Lego Horizon Adventures was a major bust, so hopefully this will work out a lot better.
@Balaam_ Which extensions do you use? Like you, I'm sick to death of looking at so many of these gutter trash grifters being recommended to me by YouTube.
I'm 100% confident this won't get cancelled, but even with a delay, I still don't think Marathon will reach the level of success that PlayStation and Bungie want it to.
Again, what a gigantic waste of nearly $4 billion on Sony's end.
Look, I think Marathon is in deep $**t, but this article is very obvious clickbait. You can write articles about Marathon's woes without having to resort to using poll results on your own website full of people who are not Bungie's target playerbase. I expect better from this site, to be frank.
@Ainu20 100% agree. Tōkon is a step in the right direction of what Sony's live service philosophy should be. As you correctly said, it's all about recognizing genre and niche demands and seeing what you can do to satiate them. A stylish and tag-team Marvel fighting game is absolutely a void that PlayStation has the unique leverage to fill.
Maybe PlayStation executives (including Hulst) hyping themselves up into a delusional frenzy calling generic dreck like Concord "the future of PlayStation" and a "Star Wars like IP" was part of the problem too.
Also, if they have really learned anything, they'll cancel Fairgames and gut Bungie's C-suite ASAP.
@get2sammyb Assuming this project is going to take at bare minimum four years to come out, it's wild to think there will be at least a decade long gap between Days Gone and their next game. And that exceeds the long gap between Golden Abyss and Days Gone all those years ago. It's a miracle Bend is still around at all.
A 30% staff cut for a studio like this is nuts. What makes this worse is that Bend, Oregon is far from a thriving game development scene, so these devs and their families will be in for an even more rough time ahead if they worked on-site. Yet another long-term and potentially devastating consequence of PlayStation's terrible decisions this generation.
@DennisReynolds You mean you didn't enjoy fighting the same copy and paste big dude with an axe by using the same slash-slash-dodge combo over and over and over and over and over and over again?
I thought both PlayStation and Xbox put on their best summer presentations in years. Over these past few days, I've seen an insane number of games I want to play, and there's still a possibility Nintendo will hold a Direct soon.
I wonder if the different eras featured in the story have unique gameplay mechanics and combat styles. The 1915 section resembles the traditional brawler Yakuza gameplay, whereas the 43 section combines detective and investigative elements with the action. Even the choice to spare or kill was intriguing and new for RGG.
@AdamNovice That makes a lot of sense. A smaller-scale God of War Metroidvania sounds like something PlayStation would put on the Switch 2 as an experiment.
@Judal27 PlayStation has unfortunately fostered this part of the audience that demands insanely expensive graphics and a large scope, or they're not interested. It really sucks.
If you've been with PlayStation since the early days and you thought this State of Play was mid or crap, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe it's time you found a new hobby. This was jam-packed with the stuff PlayStation is famous for: weird joints, games that have striking art styles, and a combo of both. Lumines, Pragmata, Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Nioh, Marvel Tokon, new Suda51 insanity, Sword of the Sea, FF Tactics, MORE free Astro Bot DLC, etc. You really want to tell me this sucked? Ooookay, dude.
Comments 3,048
Re: Astro Bot Has Added Its Most Wanted Cameo in Huge PS5 Update
Once I saw 2B, I knew Cloud would be there at some point. Getting Sephiroth after finishing that hard as hell final level was icing on the cake.
Re: Gunslingin' Shooter Call of Juarez Rumoured to Be Revived After Over a Decade
@Kraven GUN is very underrated. I wish we had more western games like it.
Re: 'I Much Prefer PS Plus' Lifecycle Management Strategy': Devs Weigh in on Crippling Xbox Game Pass Impact
A LOT of people have been sounding the alarm about Game Pass's blindingly obvious unsustainability for many years. The difference now is that many more people don't believe Xbox leadership's nonsense about GP being profitable and encouraging more spending on their platform. Anyone with a basic grasp of economics and how video games are made knows Phil Spencer's honeyed words about the service and its viability are almost all lies.
And for anyone reading this who is upset that I'm directly calling out Spencer, maybe you should be more upset at him for spoonfeeding you bull**** over the past two generations and fracturing Xbox's console health and culture beyond repair.
Re: Gran Turismo's Primary Console Competitor May Be No More
I get that the last Forza Motorsport underperformed big time and Horizon has become the new hot brand for Microsoft, but the assumed death of the series is really sad to see from a cultural standpoint. Turn 10 and FM have been Xbox staples for multiple generations.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Death Stranding 2?
I'd say a 7. I think it's VERY good. Very close to great in my eyes but not quite there for me. I'd go for an 8 if the main story was a tad shorter and some key scenes didn't land with a thud for me.
Re: Reaction: Helldivers 2 on Xbox Signals Another Unexpected But Not Overly Surprising Shift in Strategy from Sony
I couldn't care less if PlayStation brought all of their recent multiplayer games to Xbox. I'm more curious if Xbox gamers will actually buy this since it's not on Game Pass day one. If there was a time to put their money where their mouths are, this is it.
Re: Death Stranding 2 and Rematch Trade Blows in PS Store's Top Selling PS5 Games of June
Finished Death Stranding 2's main story a few days ago. Absolutely deserves the #1 spot.
Re: PlayStation Is Bringing Helldivers 2 to Xbox, Out on 26th August
Reinforcements inbound!
Re: Mass Xbox Layoffs Begin, Everwild and Perfect Dark Both Reportedly Cancelled
@UltimateOtaku91 I'm very unfamiliar with the Wasteland series, but I imagine those don't cost anywhere near as much to make compared to most of Xbox's other games. With Clockwork, as great as it looks, I have no idea what it would need to do to be "successful" in Xbox's eyes because their metrics of success seem to frequently change internally.
Re: Mass Xbox Layoffs Begin, Everwild and Perfect Dark Both Reportedly Cancelled
@UltimateOtaku91 I think InXile will be okay, but I'm stunned we haven't heard anything about Ninja Theory.
Re: Mass Xbox Layoffs Begin, Everwild and Perfect Dark Both Reportedly Cancelled
The Initiative is one of the biggest gaming failures in recent memory. They was supposed to be a super team of industry vets, but it's clear that the project management was absolute ass. It didn't help either that Xbox's own project managers during that time were infamously "hands off" with their management style.
What a disaster all around.
Re: Mass Xbox Layoffs Begin, Rare Game Everwild and Zenimax MMORPG Both Reportedly Cancelled
"Xbox is great. I'm great. Enjoy the unemployment line." - Lord High Commander Diety of all things on this planet Phil Spencer
Re: Remedy 'Super-Motivated' to Improve FBC: Firebreak As It Passes 1 Million Players
1 million players is pretty bad considering this was available both on Game Pass and PS Plus Extra day one. Also, couldn't anyone just login once, play for an hour and dip, and still be considered a "player"?
Stick to what you're good at, Remedy!
Re: 'Employees at Virtually Every Studio Are Worried': Major Layoffs at Xbox Expected Next Week
It amazes me what acquiring ActiBliz did to the Xbox brand. Sure, it generates huge revenue for them, but the long-term consequences have fundamentally changed what Xbox even is. And being forced to feed the colossal beast that is Game Pass certainly hasn't helped create a healthy ecosystem.
However, it has been amusing to watch the really hardcore loyalist cult of Phil Spencer twist themselves into a pretzel to praise Xbox's trajectory towards total platform agnosticism, despite them crying bucketloads on the inside that the days of true Xbox exclusives are practically dead.
Re: Square Enix 'Aware' of Clair Obscur's Success, Ponders Turn-Based RPG Revival
Square Enix could straight-up steal the exact same combat and skill systems from E33 for FF17 and I'd be perfectly fine with that. Hell, use the Rebirth combat system for all I care. Because whatever confused and misguided action tripe they were trying to do with 15 and 16 is not what I want from modern Final Fantasy.
Re: 'I Feel Like a Total Fraud': Actor Charlie Cox Reflects on Expedition 33 Success
I get what he's saying, but he shouldn't feel like a fraud. He was fantastic and made a significant contribution to the emotional power of Expedition 33.
Re: Marvel Tokon and 'Completely New Titles' to Star in Surprise Arc System Works Showcase
@AdamNovice If I were a gambling man, I'd bet on the next batch of characters (no doubt including Wolverine) being announced at either San Diego Comic-Con next month or EVO USA in August. It would be nonsensical to miss either of those two opportunities for a big splash with this being a Marvel fighting game.
Re: Marvel Tokon and 'Completely New Titles' to Star in Surprise Arc System Works Showcase
I very highly doubt Tōkon will be here. I'm sure PlayStation is eager to save that for EVO or whenever their next State of Play is.
Re: Level-5's Outstanding PS5, PS4 RPG Fantasy Life i Adding Free Roguelike Mode
I've dropped almost 140 hours into this now, and Level-5 seems intent on keeping me hooked.
Re: God of War's Rumoured Metroidvania Now Due in 2026 on PS5
I'm really curious to see what this looks like because I'm fully onboard with PlayStation embracing different genres using their more popular IPs. Lego Horizon Adventures was a major bust, so hopefully this will work out a lot better.
Re: Talking Point: What's Your PS5 Game of the Year for 2025 So Far?
Expedition 33 is my favorite of the year by a gigantic margin.
Fantasy Life i and Blue Prince are great too.
Re: Rumour: Sony Wants Warner Bros' Gaming Assets, Like Mortal Kombat
Please God no.
Re: Bungie Delays Marathon Indefinitely, No New PS5, PC Release Date Given
@Balaam_ Which extensions do you use? Like you, I'm sick to death of looking at so many of these gutter trash grifters being recommended to me by YouTube.
Re: Bungie Delays Marathon Indefinitely, No New PS5, PC Release Date Given
I'm 100% confident this won't get cancelled, but even with a delay, I still don't think Marathon will reach the level of success that PlayStation and Bungie want it to.
Again, what a gigantic waste of nearly $4 billion on Sony's end.
Re: There's a Brutal Lack of Interest in Marathon from Hardcore PS5 Fans
Look, I think Marathon is in deep $**t, but this article is very obvious clickbait. You can write articles about Marathon's woes without having to resort to using poll results on your own website full of people who are not Bungie's target playerbase. I expect better from this site, to be frank.
Re: Borderlands 4 a $70 PS5 Game, Offers $100 and $130 Versions Too
It could be free and I still wouldn't play it
Re: 'We Won't Make the Same Mistakes Again': Sony Reflects on PS5's Catastrophic Concord
@Ainu20 100% agree. Tōkon is a step in the right direction of what Sony's live service philosophy should be. As you correctly said, it's all about recognizing genre and niche demands and seeing what you can do to satiate them. A stylish and tag-team Marvel fighting game is absolutely a void that PlayStation has the unique leverage to fill.
Re: 'We Won't Make the Same Mistakes Again': Sony Reflects on PS5's Catastrophic Concord
Maybe PlayStation executives (including Hulst) hyping themselves up into a delusional frenzy calling generic dreck like Concord "the future of PlayStation" and a "Star Wars like IP" was part of the problem too.
Also, if they have really learned anything, they'll cancel Fairgames and gut Bungie's C-suite ASAP.
Re: Silent Hill 1 Remake Announced, from Bloober Team
Bloober Team already nailed the way more thematically complex and sensitive game in the series, so this should be a walk in the park by comparison.
Re: Days Gone Dev Reportedly Hit with Layoffs, Loses 30% of Staff
@get2sammyb Assuming this project is going to take at bare minimum four years to come out, it's wild to think there will be at least a decade long gap between Days Gone and their next game. And that exceeds the long gap between Golden Abyss and Days Gone all those years ago. It's a miracle Bend is still around at all.
Re: Days Gone Dev Reportedly Hit with Layoffs, Loses 30% of Staff
A 30% staff cut for a studio like this is nuts. What makes this worse is that Bend, Oregon is far from a thriving game development scene, so these devs and their families will be in for an even more rough time ahead if they worked on-site. Yet another long-term and potentially devastating consequence of PlayStation's terrible decisions this generation.
Re: Final Fantasy 16 Is No Longer a PS5 Console Exclusive, Gets Superb Artwork to Celebrate
@DennisReynolds You mean you didn't enjoy fighting the same copy and paste big dude with an axe by using the same slash-slash-dodge combo over and over and over and over and over and over again?
Re: The Outer Worlds 2 Is an $80 Game on PS5, as Xbox Continues to Push Game Pass
There are absolutely some games I'm willing to spend $80 on.
Outer Worlds 2 ain't one of them.
Re: Round Up: What Was Announced for PS5 at Xbox Games Showcase?
I thought both PlayStation and Xbox put on their best summer presentations in years. Over these past few days, I've seen an insane number of games I want to play, and there's still a possibility Nintendo will hold a Direct soon.
Re: Xbox Teases More Forza for 2026, and the 'Return of a Classic'
Blinx the Time Sweeper 3 confirmed, son!
Re: Invincible VS Is Another Tag Team Fighter to Anticipate on PS5
This looks sick. I'm glad Mortal Kombat is finally getting some competition with a super gory fighter.
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Confirmed in Teaser Trailer, Coming to PS5, PS4
This was maybe the worst "one more thing" I've ever seen in a games showcase...
Re: Everyone's Talking About Body Horror Game ILL for PS5, Apparently
This trailer screamed "too good to be true" for me. The animation, physics, and visuals look so smooth and good that I don't believe it.
Re: Yakuza Dev's Project Century Now Called Stranger Than Heaven, Looks Nuts in New PS5 Reveal
I wonder if the different eras featured in the story have unique gameplay mechanics and combat styles. The 1915 section resembles the traditional brawler Yakuza gameplay, whereas the 43 section combines detective and investigative elements with the action. Even the choice to spare or kill was intriguing and new for RGG.
Re: Resident Evil Requiem Revealed, Out on 27th February 2026
That was a masterclass in trolling from Capcom during the presentation.
Re: Poll: How Would You Rate Summer Game Fest 2025?
The one-two punch at the end of Stranger than Heaven and Resident Evil Requiem saved this from a "very poor" score from me.
Re: This Is the Real-Life Japanese Actress Playing Hinako Shimizu in Silent Hill F
After checking out the When They Cry series, I have complete faith in Ryukishi07 delivering a killer story.
Re: Reaction: Sony Finally Understands the Assignment with One of the Best State of Plays of the PS5 Era
@AdamNovice That makes a lot of sense. A smaller-scale God of War Metroidvania sounds like something PlayStation would put on the Switch 2 as an experiment.
Re: Reaction: Sony Finally Understands the Assignment with One of the Best State of Plays of the PS5 Era
@Judal27 PlayStation has unfortunately fostered this part of the audience that demands insanely expensive graphics and a large scope, or they're not interested. It really sucks.
Re: Reaction: Sony Finally Understands the Assignment with One of the Best State of Plays of the PS5 Era
If you've been with PlayStation since the early days and you thought this State of Play was mid or crap, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe it's time you found a new hobby. This was jam-packed with the stuff PlayStation is famous for: weird joints, games that have striking art styles, and a combo of both. Lumines, Pragmata, Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Nioh, Marvel Tokon, new Suda51 insanity, Sword of the Sea, FF Tactics, MORE free Astro Bot DLC, etc. You really want to tell me this sucked? Ooookay, dude.
Re: Gorgeous Journey-Like Sword of the Sea Lands on PS Plus Day One
I have been waiting for over two years to see more of this, and I was not disappointed.
Re: Ghost of Yotei PS5 Gameplay Showcase Confirmed for July
@Oram77 Nah Lumines from the Tetris Effect team is dope
Re: Ghost of Yotei PS5 Gameplay Showcase Confirmed for July
This was one of the few missteps in the State of Play. Not even including the exact date was ridiculous.
Re: Sword of the Sea Looks Like a True Journey Successor, Surfs to PS5 in August
Looks GORGEOUS wowowowowow
Re: Astro Bot Is Getting Even More Free DLC Challenge Levels Next Month on PS5
My lord and savior Astro Bot has returned!