Xbox is becoming the unsung hero of this generation

[Runa216]

I dunno, I really don't like what Microsoft are doing. I've never been a fan of replacing one's collection with a game as a service, but more and more it's clear that's like 90% of what Microsoft is doing. Sure, it's 'good for the consumer' from a strict dollars to title ratio, but it takes a lot of control out of the hands of consumers/gamers. I'd much rather pay more for games I like and control which games I buy than pay a monthly fee for a list of games I don't control. I know there are a LOT of games on the service (Same as PSNow) and there should be plenty of variety to pick and choose, but I've always seen this sort of games-as-a-service model as just another step in them trying to wrest control from their consumers.

They forced online gaming on consoles to be a thing but they demanded payment when their competition wasn't doing so (PC and PS2 and Dreamcast, to an extent), and look at the Industry now. Everyone charges for it. They wanted to force everyone to be always-online for the sake of DRM, but people hated it. They wanted to restrict the use of used games, and people hated it so much that their major competitor made a joke out of it. But this? This is just another way to get the same thing. They're still controlling what you play, beholding you to their online services and making sure EVERYONE pays THEM. Conspiracy theory? maybe (let';s be honest, almost certainly), but it's the same thing in the end. the goal of forcing their customers to be online and to not trade/sell used games was always there, they just found a way to make it palatable to the gaming public and they did so by copying Netflix.

Honestly, I won't participate. I don't think what they're doing is good, long term, but I do know that enough people like it that it doesn't matter what I think. I resist this change, because I think it's bad, just like I won't support games like Anthem, or I won't buy into loot boxes or microtransactions or F2P Wankery. I know that's the direction the industry is going whether I like it or not, but I do not like it and I won't participate. Hell, back with their early Xbone games, weren;'t they one of the leaders in pushing microtransactions and Pay to Win mechanics in their games?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJBlWYqVQbQ

(Obviously, take this with a grain of salt. Jim Stephanie Sterling does tend to go overboard a lot but a lot of what he says here is well-supported and well-argued.)

microsoft are not the heroes people think they are, they're just another corporation trying time and time again to change the industry in ways that take control from gamers and put more control and money in their pockets by eliminating the chance that anyone could game for free or without sending them money. and 'unsung' is hilarious, especially on this forum. Can't go a day without someone extolling the (admittedly impressive) virtues of gamepass and how Microsoft is making the world a better place by...not having exclusives (because then...customers can chose what console they want? it's a weird argument and goes opposed to the whole 'healthy competition' argument I hear).

Oh, and @AngryLittleAlchemist is right. Forza Horizon fucks hard and continues to be a great game but it has been a whole generation since Halo or Gears was in any way influential or significant. Halo 1-3 and Reach are all genuine classics (I still don't like them but I'm not a fool). Halo 4 and 5 are good but not great games. Gears 1-3 are all huge leaps and fantastic games, but 4 and 5 are good but not great. Forza has been crummy most of the Xbox One's generation (though Horizon is great). outside of those franchises, what else has Xbox even got? They really aren't all that culturally relevant anymore. The die-hard fans stick around, brand loyalty is a powerful drug, and the console DOES have more raw power than its competitor, but I can't help but wonder how the hell anyone sees their latest offering as being innovative. It's got the same controller, the same UI, and the same feel of the Xbox One, it's just more powerful and has resume-states. How is that innovative compared to the Switch's console/handheld hybrid or PS5's far superior controller features.

I don't understand how Xbox is a hero of anything. IT's a perfectly fine, competent console that doesn't do a good job selling itself. I don't see how people think that the things its doing are particularly impressive or groundbreaking or in any way revolutionary. I'm just aggressively indifferent to it. It exists, it doesn't have any egregious flaws like the Xbox One had...but by all means it's just a more powerful Xbox One, while its competition bring innovation and games.