Before I even start, this is NOT a hate thread. If anything my frustration comes from love. Really I've just been thinking about this a lot since the showcase last month, and needed to put my thoughts into words. I'm going to put my thoughts into categories starting with the current console.
Xbox One: Gonna make this relatively quick. They fucked up, and fucked up early giving the generation away before it started. The last few years though got me hyped again. They released two great consoles in the Xbox One S and X, and Playground gave up 2 of the best racing games ever made with Horizon 3/4. It gave me hope for the next console, along with the ridiculous value that GamePass holds. They really turned it around bringing me to my next point..
Xbox One was a disaster since pre-launch and they simply never recovered. Forza Horizon 3 and 4 are by far the two best arcade (if not in general) racing games regardless of platform. Gears 4 was great and Gears 5 was excellent. Quantum Break was great. Ryse was good and im sure Ori 2 is excellent but I won't play it until it's updated for Series X as I traded in the Xbox One X after Gears 5. Xbox One X is the generation's best console. Game Pass is insane value. Since Spencer was given full control over Xbox in late 2017, the brand has been trending up ever since and it's going to keep going that way because they see the future and are preparing for it as opposed to being 3-5 years behind.
Series X: I feel let down. The beginning of the marketing was great. That initial reveal trailer got me pretty damn hyped, and the thought of a next gen Halo (one of my favorite franchises) was so enticing despite 4/5/MCC being a letdown personally in many ways (though great in others).
- Their marketing has taken a roll downhill. They seem to contradict themselves left and right making it confusing as to what is actually the truth. They have hyped up showcases only for them to come out and be completely underwhelming. Their ecosystem strategy is on one hand pretty cool, but on the other frustrating. I think it's great for some people that especially in these times may not have the money to shell out for a new console, and they've stated that their first party games will be cross-get for awhile (2 years maybe?). I think it also just removes a lot of the hype for a new console. New consoles should give up new things to be excited about, new things possible by developing specifically for a new console (especially a console without a shit CPU, and slow HDD). But what is true? Multiple games have be shown as Series X exclusive from their 1st party studios so the question is: Are these games simply just so far out that they aren't part of the original statement? Or are you picking and choosing and therefore confusing people?
- Do you want people to buy your new console? Or do you not care? Do console generations matter or not? It's all so unclear from their marketing which is disappointing.
- What games come out at launch outside of Halo? A Series X port of some years old games like Horizon 4 and Gears 5? We are getting a console launch without a NEW flagship racing title, and that seems weird.
I personally have been hyped for Xbox Series X since The Game Awards reveal and am the most interested in the brand and eco-system for the first time in almost a decade. I'm super hyped for Xbox Series X because I know im getting the best gaming console for the upcoming generation with what has already been announced, far better console exclusives than the entire Xbox One generation and having all my multi-platform titles which is like 80%+ of my entire completed gaming list once the generation ends is fucking great because I want the best versions from day one.
I don't see their marketing as confusing at all. First, people only read the headlines and never the actual articles and because of that, they seem dumbfounded and confused but then wonder why. SMH. Second, their marketing and messaging has been very clear for those who actually read and follow it all.
Cross-gen games are for the first year, maybe two at most. So basically between 3 to 5 games. Halo Infinite, Gears Tactics, Forza Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport 8 and Flight Simulator 2020. The two Forza games may not be cross-gen at all. Hellblade 2, Everwild, Fable, Avowed and State of Decay 3 are all games that are 2022 and beyond so it makes sense every way you look at it. Cross-gen overall is normally for the first two years of a generation as developers/publishers slowly shift over.
Look at PlayStation 4, until Ratchet & Clank in April 2016, what was really there that was amazing and worth playing? For me, until then, it was only The Order: 1886 that was worth playing and completing and while it was good, it wasn't great. For Xbox One, the first major exclusive was Halo 5 two years after launch.
The first two years for every console in history especially as technology advances and games take much longer to develop and actually complete is very slow. There's a reason why Super Nintendo still has the best launch year to this day because well, look at their first year. Nothing comes close. That should probably tell everyone something.
I have no issues with what Microsoft is doing in regards to their direction for Xbox. It makes sense for what they want to do as a brand, as an eco-system and as a company. People can either adapt or get left behind. It's that simple. I prefer to adapt but that's just me.
Halo Infinite will simply run at a higher resolution, higher frame rates, have Ray Tracing and much faster load times on Xbox Series X while the Xbox One X will be at a lower resolution, no Ray Tracing, less visual effects and longer load times. I truly don't see what the issue is here.
Microsoft does NOT care where you play their games. They just fucking don't because the industry is changing and moving into a different direction because at the end of the day, it's not about the plastic box, it's about the eco-system. Buying a console actually loses money for Microsoft. Look at their game sales right now on Steam. They have 4 games in the top 6 or some such shit like that. That's far more important than selling a few extra consoles. Microsoft is going all in with game streaming via X-Cloud in addition to having their games on either Windows 10 store or Steam. Plus, they have consoles for those who don't want to spend the money on a top tier PC rig or have any interest in game streaming.
Simply, Microsoft is giving the consumer options as to where YOU want to play YOUR games. It's for YOU. It's for each and every individual. It's not for anyone else.
For me, im a console only gamer. I'm day one for Xbox Series X and that is where I will be playing all those console exclusives I listed earlier as well as all my multi-platform titles. I don't fucking care that those same games will be available to play on PC (via Windows Store or Steam) or via Game Streaming (via X-Cloud). Honestly, why would I when I don't play games that way? I don't care what other people do or play or buy because it has nothing to do with me.
As for launch titles, that's still be finalized but im expecting Halo Infinite, Gears Tactics (console) and Flight Simulator 2020 (console). How many games do you truly need at launch? You can't play them all at the same time so why would you want it to be over-saturated which would only hurt the lesser games? Add in third party multi-platform games and launch is literally stacked.
Game showcases: Some great games have been shown in these but overall were pretty underwhelming. I remember liking some games but outside of The Medium I can't actually pick out a single game that I'm like oh fuck yeah lets go. First one was a "Gameplay Showcase" almost completely void of gameplay. Then they hyped up a First Party showcase which let a lot of people down. You have Rare's game that they don't even know what it is yet. Then you have Fable which was a short teaser and completely CGI. It's like that ESVI teaser. Just why? If it's so far out that you can't show us anything more then CGI teaser then why show us anything at all? And then ...
Halo: I love Halo despite getting a late start on it. I've read the books, I've spent hundreds of hours playing, hundreds of hours reading lore and watching lore videos. The world of Halo is just so rich.
- I don't want to focus on graphics as if the game is "open world" then it is harder to push fidelity then something like 4/5. Outside of 3/Reach Halo has never been a graphical showcase IMO but a flagship next gen title SHOULD look better then upscaled Halo Reach from 2010. BUT my problem is they kept this under wraps for soooo long which built up hype so so high despite 343i's other games being looked down on by many (I have my problems with those but that's not the point of the thread).
- We are 3-4 months out from the launch of the consoles, they are on bug fix duty at this point. This won't be fixed by launch, and it reminds me of MCC which has the worst launch of any game I can think of. You can't delay Halo without delaying Series X and it's too late to delay the console. If they had shown us that in like March or April it wouldn't have been nearly as big of a disappointment to see a game that looks much worse then Halo 5 on XBO X. Gameplay looks pretty good but animations and effects just quit and disappear immediately. It's just obvious it's not ready for release. But then 343i tells us they are aware of the criticisms but remind us that it's pushing a new audio engine? What?
- The announcement of F2P Multiplayer (and 120fps as well on Series X) got me hyped initially but then I remembered what goes hand in hand with F2P games...microtransactions. You could point to Warzone as a way to not ruin a F2P game with them but COD has never really been about deep customization. Halo has been and I can see them ruining it with micro transactions. You want this cool shoulder armor? Well pay for it. This visor? Pay for it. Does it affect the gameplay? No but it is integral in what makes Halo MP customizable without attachments and weapons like in COD.
The May Xbox showcase was a good 7.0/10 for me. Bright Memory Infinite along with The Medium stole the show for me. I'm day one for both games. Plus, im day one for Second Extinction and The Ascent so overall, I got 4 games out of the 13 game showcase. As for the July showcase, it was a great 8.0/10 for me. I added 5 games - Fable, Avowed, State of Decay 3, Stalker 2 and Crossfire X story campaign. Already had Halo Infinite, Hellblade 2, The Medium and Everwild on my list.
Granted, there was minimal at best gameplay shown but Sony's June showcase had less gameplay shown so anyone who bashes the Xbox showcases should also bash the Sony showcase for the same reason. Sony's June showcase was the same for me as Xbox July showcase - an 8.0/10 with me having the same complaints - not enough gameplay and too much filler in the middle of the showcase.
Fable was already known by vast majority and needed to be officially announced and confirmed. I'll give you Everwild as that shouldn't have been revealed at all yet but it is what it is. Spider Man was mostly CGI with a few snippets of in-engine gameplay. Horizon 2 was all CGI. Demon's Souls Remake all CGI. If it wasn't for Ratchet, Returnal and parts of Gran Turismo 7 with a bunch of issues, none of their major games had any gameplay. So again, if you're going to bash one, the other needs to be bashed as well because otherwise, why even waste your time with the brand that you're only going to bash.
As for Halo Infinite, I have watched the gameplay trailer at least 5 times. It's not the graphical showcase that majority were expecting but for me, it looks to play and run very smooth at a locked 60FPS. The gunplay, combat and overall gameplay looks great. I'm all in as long as the single player story campaign is good which im expecting it to be. Plus, it will be the first Halo game I ever play so I can't compare it to any of the previous titles. Considering that 343 dropped Unreal Engine and built their own game engine in SlipSpace plus Covid, I believe people are expecting way too much.
As long as the overall gameplay, story campaign and online multi-player all hit, the visuals being "underwhelming" at worst is perfectly fine and acceptable at least for me. Launch is very important for Halo Infinite and I believe that it will have a far better stable launch than MCC did. As for the free online multi-player, I can't comment since I don't play online but I would expect them to have a lot of cosmetic items.
I want Xbox to wow me so badly. I want to go out and buy a Series X and play an epic mind blowing Halo game. I want to play a gorgeous 60/120fps racing title. I want competition back. I want Xbox to do something great, and make Sony do better as well. Now I have issues with PS5 as well, and honestly neither of the new consoles are really making it known why I should buy them this fall.
I am frustrated because I love Xbox as a brand. I don't want this to turn into console war bullshit, but I just felt like I needed to put my thoughts into words.
Honestly, NOTHING has wowed me at all thus far for next generation. I'm in for Halo Infinite and a bunch of other console exclusives but im not expecting to be wowed until maybe 2022, if that. Xbox is about the eco-system and some live service games. Both Microsoft and Sony are going in different directions.
For me, Xbox Series X is going to be my primary gaming console because it's 1) overall the better console including the controller (fucking hate the PS4/PS5 touchpad), 2) multi-platform titles and 3) Game Pass. Exclusives would be 4th but majority of them are 2022 and beyond so got some time.
Both consoles will be amazing but it simply comes down to which direction you prefer. If you're not happy with either, there's nothing wrong with waiting months or years to jump into next generation.