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[Mownoc]

They just havent delivered content up to scratch with competitors since the 360 days and there is practically zero reason to own an Xbox if you have a gaming PC.

Last year they released nothing, this year they actually released games but everything except hi-fi rush has had negativity surrounding it. Redfall garbage, Forza underdelivered and Starfield disappointing.

Forza is the 2nd worst rated in the Motorsport series on Metacritic and Starfield is the worst rated Bethesda SP RPG. Their major title before Redfall was Halo Infinite and that got shat on at launch for missing coop and forge.

The last time MS launched a big exclusive game that wasn't overshadowed by something and was fairly universally praised was Forza Horizon 5...

Xbox have made some good steps this generation. But releasing quality first party content? They're still firmly in third place.

 

[TheShocker]

I’m happy that the OP is justifying his purchase. I however am not a bum and own and enjoy both consoles greatly.

 

[GHG]

#thanksKlobrille

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Says the person whose top game is a controller demo.

Having played said controller demo vs games like Redfall I can say which I enjoyed the most by far and it came with the console

 

[Riky]

Having played said controller demo vs games like Redfall I can say which I enjoyed the most by far and it came with the console

I'd rather play a proper game.

 

[Topher]

Has the nerve to list Astros Playroom as if it’s a monster fuck-a-doodle-do exclusive IP.

And then Elden Ring.

Walloper thread alert!

I guess he edited out Elden Ring (thankfully), but Astros Playroom is a fantastic game.

I'd rather play a proper game.

Astros Playroom is a proper game.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I'd rather play a proper game.

I don't judge anyone by what they prefer to play and Astros is a "proper game"

Curious have you played it?

 

[Riky]

I don't judge anyone by what they prefer to play and Astros is a "proper game"

Curious have you played it?

Of course, novelty demo I was bored in minutes.

 

[GHG]

I'd rather play a proper game.

"proper games" like the ones that are rated the 17th and 35th worst games of all time on Steam?:

Bottom 100 worst Steam Games

Helping you find good games on Steam: impartial games rankings compiled from Steam gamer reviews.

steam250.com

You're on your own there mate.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

I'd rather play a proper game.

Aren't you a Xbox main?

 

[GustavoLT]

Devs spend too much time playing mobile and switch games!!

 

[X-Wing]

I'd rather play a proper game.

The controller demo:

Astro's Playroom

Astro and his crew lead you on a magical introduction through PS5 in this fun platformer that comes pre-loaded on PS5. Explore four worlds, each based on PS5’s console components. Each area showcases innovative gameplay that taps into the new features of the PS5’s DualSense wireless controller.

www.metacritic.com

Has an MC as high as the one of the 'GaMe Of ThE gEnErAtIoN':

Starfield

Starfield is the first new universe in over 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an...

www.metacritic.com

And far higher than Redfall:

Redfall Reviews

The island town of Redfall, Massachusetts, is under siege by a legion of vampires who have blocked out the sun and cut the citizens off from the outside world. Explore the open world and immerse yourself in a deep story campaign as you unravel the mystery behind the vampires' appearance. Ally...

www.metacritic.com

 

[Mownoc]

Of course, novelty demo I was bored in minutes.

If MS put as much love, care and talent into their exclusive games as that "novelty demo" Astro's Playroom then maybe they would actually be able to sell their hardware instead of their console business tanking into the ground.

 

[Adam_802]

lol nice concern, OP

 

[NeverYouMind]

On PS5 I am playing: God of War, Spiderman Series, , Ratchet and Clank, Ghost of Tsushima, Returnal, The Last of us series, Demon Souls, Astro's playroom, etc. There is a great library of games developed for the PS platform:

On Xbox you have: A pretty good Forza series, A shell of bungie Halo, Gears of War still going?, I know Xbox fanboys are creaming their pants for Starfield but the consensus says it's pretty average, Ori is cool, and Flight Simulator if that is your thing. The Xbox brand has failed to establish IP's that get the masses excited.

On PS5 you are playing PS4 era games with the exception of Returnal, Spider-Man 2 and Demon Souls. On Xbox I am playing Xbox One era games with the exception of Hi-Fi Rush, Forza Horizon 5, Starfield, and Grounded. It is not much different, except Xbox has more announced games in its 2024 pipeline.

 

[simpatico]

Using "Grounded" in the Obsidian column really shows the state of the world we're living in.

 

[BigLee74]

I’m guessing folk don’t understand some people just like the Xbox exclusives/IPs and prefer them over Sony’s offerings? Id rather play ANY Halo than ANY game in that Sony list. Seriously.

I’m all about the MP, whether that be Forza, Halo, Gears, Sea of Thieves, COD (I guess it’s MS’s baby going forward). Sony doesn’t have anything that touches them for me. There isn’t one Sony exclusive I have ever genuinely wanted to play other than the Uncharted series (and one day I will).

Spider-Man? Been there with Batman Arkham Asylum 15 years ago - didn’t even touch the Batman sequels as I’d had my fill. Ratchet and Clank? Pass. Left baby stuff like that behind when i stopped sucking my thumb.

And folk can say what they want about the quality/success of Microsoft’s recent offerings - hi fi rush, redfall and starfield. They have so many studios that will be churning out so many games, there is bound to be something for everyone going forward. Some of that stuff will stick.

I think MS are in a good place software wise. Definitely too late to turn the hardware tide (folk are locked into their ecosystems now), but they will recover somewhat and always be a major player.

No hard feelings, we all like what we like.

 

[Mownoc]

On PS5 you are playing PS4 era games with the exception of Spider-Man 2 and Demon Souls. On Xbox I am playing Xbox One era games with the exception of Hi-Fi Rush, Forza Horizon 5, Starfield, and Grounded. It is not much different, except Xbox has more games in its 2024 pipeline.

Forza Horizon 5 and Grounded are on Xbox one...

Also Ratchet Rift Apart and Returnal are not PS4 era games.

 

[Dcr1d3r]

It’s just uncool. It went from weird upstart, hardcore, Sega-influenced, pc-bridging, cutting edge, community-driven…

…to just lame corporate vibes.

Yep...totally agree.
Xbox as a brand, has completey lost "its" way and despite all of the recent acquisitions, I'm not quite sure how "it'll" get back on track?

 

[NeverYouMind]

Forza Horizon 5 and Grounded are on Xbox one...

Also Ratchet Rift Apart and Returnal are not PS4 era games.

They are cross-gen but were built to make use of Series features from the get go. At release, Forza Horizon 5 even had Series bundles. Never heard of Returnal and did not know Ratchet and Clank had a new entry exclusively on PS5 as the series peaked on PS2 for me. Doesn't really change my point that both have similar first party support this gen...

 

[ReBurn]

there is absolutely no reason to get an Xbox these days if you have a gaming PC. It was widely said 3-4 years ago and nothing MS has done since has proven otherwise.

And, you know, I hope Sony is watching this unfold closely.

The whole point of MS strategy is that if you have a gaming PC you don't need to buy an Xbox. MS hasn't done anything about it in the last few years because that's the way they want it. They already knew they weren't going to sell the most consoles so they opened up games to the PC install base day 1. Consoles are pretty much just a less expensive option for people who don't have, don't want, or can't afford a gaming PC to be able to play their games.

 

[Hudo]

Microsoft have done a good job resurrecting Age of Empires and Flight Simulator. Meanwhile, Sony let Motorstorm and Wipeout die. So Microsoft are alright in my book.

 

[SHA]

You know hot movies are just hot on their openings, you know there is stuff people tend to keep talking about for years but certainly not the ones mentioned earlier.

 

[Danjin44]

For my taste this gen I find Sony first party selections as dull as Xbox, the only reason I keep my PS5 around mostly because of 3rd party games.

There were times when Playstation's first party games used to be diverse and quirky and really fun but those times are loooooooong over.

 

[Dorfdad]

I currently do not own an xbox but loved the original OG Xbox and Xbox 360. It is not a complicated formula on why the Xbox brand has been failing. At the end of the day, what really matters are the games. The PS5 has so many more exclusive games it wipes it's ass with the Xbox brand.

On PS5 I am playing: God of War, Spiderman Series, , Ratchet and Clank, Ghost of Tsushima, Returnal, The Last of us series, Demon Souls, Astro's playroom, etc. There is a great library of games developed for the PS platform:

On Xbox you have: A pretty good Forza series, A shell of bungie Halo, Gears of War still going?, I know Xbox fanboys are creaming their pants for Starfield but the consensus says it's pretty average, Ori is cool, and Flight Simulator if that is your thing. The Xbox brand has failed to establish IP's that get the masses excited.

It's simple, GAMES MATTER!

If microsoft stays in this console race and flexes their muscles using their new Developer acquisitions to keep games exclusively on xbox it could become interesting down the road. I admit that I am rooting for Xbox and sad to see it's much worse than I thought at this point in time. Bottom line is the games I can play on said platform matter much more than Teraflops or marketing. You have to be a complete blind fool to not admit thate Sony has many more exclusive better games than the Xbox brand right now. That could change but time will tell.

This is why Nintendo can release sub powered systems and outsell modern consoles. It’s always been about IP’s this is why Microsoft has been acquiring game studios.

Next gen I expect Microsoft to be the biggest console in the US, and European markets with all their IP’s coming into play. If they can’t become #1 next gen they will probably just become a publisher in exit the hardware business.

 

[Crayon]

It's good enough for the fans. Just leave it.

 

[DForce]

It was always games.

For the longest time, the Xbox community tried to convince people that exclusives didn't matter or they weren't that important because people bought consoles for Fortnite, Call of Duty, NBA, FIifa, and Madden.

What they fail to realize is that these games are on both Xbox and PlayStation, so that's when exclusives become important. Gamers will likely pick God of War, Spider-Man, The Last of Us over Halo, Gears, and Forza.

Now Microsoft has Zenimax and ABK, but there's a problem.

Redfall, Starfield, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Deathloop have already been released. Most of these games didn't perform that well at all. Their biggest game Starfield didn't live up to the hype and it wasn't the console seller/subscription driver as they had hoped because it's a decline from previous Bethesda titles. They still have future projects down the line and it still remains to be seen how well they perform.

ABK is a huge deal, but their biggest game in Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation for at least another 10 years. Blizzard Entertainment is not the same since the early 2000s. They really need to show what they can do because they have been on the decline for years. No doubt they have a lot of IPs, but how will they manage them when most of their Activision devs work on Call of Duty is the question.

It's really too late to turn anything around this generation, and we might see similar results during the next generation.

 

[nial]

I'd rather play a proper game.

Ugh, this. Tell 'em sis!!!!!!! We only play PROPER games like Halo Infinite and Starfield, none of that jap techy garbage.

 

[Riky]

Ugh, this. Tell 'em sis!!!!!!! We only play PROPER games like Halo Infinite and Starfield, none of that jap techy garbage.

 

[nial]

Probably their only exclusive with actual passion behind it, in all fairness.

 

[Bridges]

I love my Series X. It's a great console, Game Pass is tremendous. Their 1st party releases are too sporadic but that will change soon. I prefer the variety of their lineup to something like Sony's (aside from the GOAT Death Stranding) which has higher production values but they feel similar to each other (though Nintendo blows them both away as far as 1st party and likely always will). I enjoyed a lot of games that ended up with shitty reputations like Crackdown 3 and Starfield. I really don't regret it at all.

I think it's a perception issue. They don't know how to market their games well. Xbox is often seen as a lamer counterpart to PlayStation. A lot of really cool 3rd party releases end up skipping Xbox. That's gotten way better the last few years, but almost the entire XB1 gen it felt like being a second class citizen. Games like Final Fantasy and Stray can't be coming out so much later on Xbox. We also don't have the cool 3rd party offerings of the 360 days. Stuff like Blue Dragon, Mass Effect, BioShock. First or only on Xbox, it gave it a stronger identity.

It's been a slow journey but I think all of these problems are starting to fade away. There is still work to do, but more games are coming day and date, there are 3rd party deals in the pipeline like with IOI and People Can Fly, and there will be a strong 1st party cadence to look forward to. The question is if it will be too late. After what feels like a decade of being asked to wait, how many people wouldn't have just committed to a competitor at this point

there is absolutely no reason to get an Xbox these days if you have a gaming PC. It was widely said 3-4 years ago and nothing MS has done since has proven otherwise.

And, you know, I hope Sony is watching this unfold closely.

I think this is a really good point too. Every improvement that MS makes to the Xbox side includes PC, you can play all their games and get access to Game Pass and oftentimes actually have a better experience than if you had one for their consoles. I suppose backwards compatibility can be a big draw for the games that aren't on PC. And sometimes console game pass gets games the PC side doesn't, but there isn't much else.

Me personally, I work at a computer for 9 hours a day. When I come home, I don't want to be behind a computer, I want to be on my couch. I've spent too many years tinkering with computers for clients to want to do that shit at home. Give me a box where everything just works and I'm happy. I'll use my gaming PC for strategy games and PC exclusives but not much else. I know Big Picture mode helps with stuff like this but it's not quite as seemless. For most core gaming enthusiasts, that's probably not a problem, so unless they want to be lazy like me it's hard to recommend an Xbox over a PC.

But hey, almost everything is crossplay now anyway. I don't really care where anyone else is playing if we can all get on Discord and hop into a lobby together and I get to be on my preferred device.

 

[Badlucktroll]

 

[Roberts]

Using "Grounded" in the Obsidian column really shows the state of the world we're living in.

I've been playing Grounded with a friend for more than a year now and we are nowhere near getting tired of it. Has tons and tons of fans and keep getting updated with wonderful updates. It is basically one of the most inventive, most fun and awesome games ever made.

 

[simpatico]

I've been playing Grounded with a friend for more than a year now and e are nowhere near getting tired of it. It is basically one of the most inventive, most fun and awesome games ever made.

I didn’t hate it, just not what I’d think of if I was extolling the value of Obsidian in a graphic like that.

 

[Roberts]

I didn’t hate it, just not what I’d think of if I was extolling the value of Obsidian in a graphic like that.

Oh, OK. I guess it is their most important recent game at the moment and the one that has more Obsidian DNA than Pentiment.

 

[simpatico]

Oh, OK. I guess it is their most important recent game at the moment and the one that has more Obsidian DNA than Pentiment.

Ya know, Microsoft owns Bethesda and Obsidian right now… now reason they couldn’t have put the Legate in that pic. (And plz make Fallout: Arizona)

 

[jroc74]

Starfield just came out.

The whiplash to before it launched to now is enough to break necks.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

For my taste this gen I find Sony first party selections as dull as Xbox,

There were times when Playstation's first party games used to be diverse and quirky and really fun but those times are loooooooong over.

Quirky and fun...

Xbox is making those.

Yet you say their games are dull.

You seem behind times.

 

[Beechos]

More than enough games to play on either platform even without exclusives. People act like they buy every single one of sony exclusives when they come out and they will forever until the end of time keep churning out classics. They way dev times are nowdays sony will only pump out 2-3 of these games a year.
Only nintendo people need to worry about exclusives since 3rd party support is trash on the switch.

 

[Danjin44]

Quirky and fun...

Xbox is making those.

Yet you say their games are dull.

You seem behind times.

The only one I personally find fun is Hi-Fi Rush....like I said in my post you quoted, it just based on my taste.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

yes, they're incapable of doing it

let alone being capable, they also somehow manage to shoo away developers that can do great games (ori devs, sunset overdrive devs).

and the first cod game under the banner of microsoft probably will kill the cod brand for good (whether the game is released like this under the influence of upcoming microsoft acquisition or not is up to debate. I tend to think it is).

I’d love to see a detailed breakdown of why you think MWIII’s release and/or content was influenced by the MS acquisition, considering the content would have been done long before MS completed it.

Also LOL @ it killing the brand. We’ve been reading the same stuff for over ten years.

 

[GHG]

The only one I personally find fun is Hi-Fi Rush....like I said in my post you quoted, it just based on my taste.

Prepare your arse for the sales pitches.

It is basically one of the most inventive, most fun and awesome games ever made.

It's a survival/craft game game in a honey I shrunk the kids skin.

Give it a rest.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

The only one I personally find fun is Hi-Fi Rush....like I said in my post you quoted, it just based on my taste.

You used the word dull. That's why I asked.

Take a look at Grounded. Does it look dull to you?

I get it might not be the genre for you. That's fine.

 

[adamsapple]

yes, they're incapable of doing it

let alone being capable, they also somehow manage to shoo away developers that can do great games (ori devs, sunset overdrive devs).

and the first cod game under the banner of microsoft probably will kill the cod brand for good (whether the game is released like this under the influence of upcoming microsoft acquisition or not is up to debate. I tend to think it is).

I love posts like these, the acquisition that closed less than 2 months ago is now directly correlated to 'killing the cod brand', which in itself is a statement as old as time itself

Look at this carcass ...

 

[Danjin44]

You used the word dull. That's why I asked.

Take a look at Grounded. Does it look dull to you?

I get it might not be the genre for you. That's fine.

For my "taste" yes they do look dull, yes I know they are not for me thats why my post was nothing more than subjective opinion....thats all.

 

[ungalo]

More than enough games to play on either platform even without exclusives. People act like they buy every single one of sony exclusives when they come out and they will forever until the end of time keep churning out classics. They way dev times are nowdays sony will only pump out 2-3 of these games a year.
Only nintendo people need to worry about exclusives since 3rd party support is trash on the switch.

Between Playstation and Xbox the hardware is even more similar. On a rational basis it's the software that's going to be the main factor for your purchase.

And yes in proportion what you're saying is true. It's a few games but not just any games. First party games have never been more impactful than today, when most third party games are trying to milk you as much as possible, the only thing that remains is killer app, the games that exist to grow the number of users.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I'd rather play a proper game.

3-5 hours of pure joy in the most charming platformer imaginable is worth more than the hundreds of hours of loading screen misery and jank many people put themselves through.

 

[TheTony316]

The bigger issue is that the brand is irrelevant in Europe and pretty much dead in Asia. I'm from Europe and i haven't seen an Xbox commercial since like 2010.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

For my "taste" yes they do look dull, yes I know they are not for me thats why my post was nothing more than subjective opinion....thats all.

Whatever man.

I never look at Japanese games and call them dull. They full of color and vibrant. Just like Grounded.

Even if most of them are not for me.

 

[Punished Miku]

I'm pretty sure Xbox Series might be my favorite console / ecosystem of all time at this point. The combination of hardware, software, features, and sub quality is just such a huge improvement in multiple ways.

As long as they're profitable that's enough for me. It took me a few years to realize it, but I actually hope they stay in 3rd place just barely above profitable. That's the sweet spot. Xbox library can remain tastefully underground, and my older brother can talk about Spider Man 2 on Thanksgiving while I silently sip an obscure craft beer and mentally revisit the sophisticated, non-mainstream gaming of Hi-Fi Rush, Starfield, Jusant, Cocoon.

I don't think making something that appeals to the majority of gamers is even a goal I share at this point. The more I look back, some of my other favorite systems were the Wii U, and the Dreamcast.