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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Xbox is becoming the unsung hero of this generation

smroadkill15 on 08 May 2021
JuliusHackebeil said:

I think the "hero-status" of xobox is not unsung at all. As threads like this proof. I see it everywhere, online and with a lot of my friends - everybody seems hyped about xbox right now. But to me, this is soley justified to a certain extent. Like b.c. is super cool to have and game pass is incredible value.
But when it comes to exclusive games, especially first party, i think xbox is almoust the opposite of an unsung hero - they seem to get a free pass with their abysmal output. And I think it is astounding hiw big of a role marketing and announcements play with this.
Sony has their cards close to their chest. We know next to nothing about their releases in 2022 and beyond. Xbox has so many things announced. How many years until all of that is released? Their catalogue is incredible, undeniably so, but all of this is in the future. I really hope they will deliver on all of this, but I want games to play, not to look forward too. This seems like a sentiment a lot of people don't share with me. It seems, as long as people have something to look forward to, all is fine for them.
But what was the launch lineup for series x/s, and what have they released since? Not saying that sony is so much better, but at least there is something here.
When Halo releases, is absolutely great and there is not much noise about it, then I will consider xbox being unsung heros.

I think the criticism of Xbox's current output of games since launch is definitely warranted and it's why I mentioned it when I made the thread. I would say the only reason Xbox has been getting somewhat of a pass is because Game Pass has pretty much alleviated any issues because anyone who has a XSX really isn't complaining about lack of games to play. There have been releases that might not be new games but new to Xbox like Dragon Quest 11, Yakuza collection, Octopath, Dragon Quest builders 2, MLB The show 21, and all have released on Game Pass. Along with EA Play and numerous other titles, it's honestly overwhelming. I think it's hard for those who don't have the system to fully understand because all they look at are, what exclusive games have come out instead of the full package. 



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Ganoncrotch on 08 May 2021
SvennoJ said:
Ganoncrotch said:

While I wouldn't agree with all your points the Xbox making such a push to show that backwards compatibility is a key feature clearly also had ripple effects onto the PS5 having near complete PS4 compatibility so it's great that they pushed for that for gamers on either the MS or Sony machine.

One thing I would add @smroadkill15 is that (and I'm sorry if this was mentioned already by someone here) while the argument of "you can play all the games on the PC too though" is true in ways, it's also not exactly easy or possible to do it at the same graphical fidelity of the XBSSX looking at Steam hardware surveys shows that a huge number of people gaming on the PC are still rocking Graphics cards like the 1060 or even the now woeful 1050ti as their card of choice, and even if a PC user wants to upgrade their gaming rig right now to something that is 4k capable it's near impossible to get a GPU better than a 730 without paying wildly above the RRP due to cryptomining, so yeah while it is possible if you have a decent gaming PC to play Microsofts software offerings, Hardware surveys suggests the majority of players could not reach Xbox's current levels of graphic settings on their setups and that a graphical upgrade is near impossible without looking to scalpers.

It would actually be a great time for MS to try and win some PC gamers over to their system by maybe trying to get more PC gamers to look at it the other way around, instead of "but you can also play those games on the PC" thinking of it as "sod it... I can't get a GPU that will run these at 4k, I can also play these games on the XBSSX I'll get that instead"

4K is overrated imo and MS also conveniently makes all games work well on Series S. You don't need a high end GPU to enjoy all games at 1080p. Sure there are some RT advantages on the X yet so far there is little where it makes a big difference. So with a 1060, you're perfectly fine for now. And those that care about high fps already game at 144 fps.

Those that weren't play at 4K or 144 fps yet, won't care about switching to a series X to play at 4K or 120fps. Plus you need a high end TV as well to make use of 120fps and VRR. On monitors VRR is much more common and also offer the sweet spot of resolution 1440p.

So no, don't think MS can win any PC gamers over with the Series X. To make full advantage of it, you're still out an expensive console and a much more expensive tv while having to now pay for online gaming and lose access to modding.

You can get an xbox SSX and a 49 inch 4k / 120hz LG TV from amazon for around the same cost as a 2014 AMD RX580 and yeah... obviously a Graphics card isn't the only item you need to start PC gaming.

Even a 1060 is hard to get right now, looking to ebay there's auctions on there of them going as far as €500 for single fan versions of the card. But yeah... neither of those cards will really be able to put out games at 4k without major impact on the visual quality / frame rate.

Obviously it's possible to say that "well someone might well have a PC which is just missing only the good GPU but still... then you can't really go down the path of saying that "someone buying a Xbox Series X will need to buy a TV" or has the PCMR resigned to 1080p while consoles will be the 4k pushers now?



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mjk45 on 08 May 2021
AsGryffynn said:

It sucks that I have essentially added them to the "same as Sony, Nintendo, Steam, GOG, Ubisoft, Actiblizzard, Origin/EA" pile. They are doing genuinely good stuff... that I can no longer enjoy: not only that, but I'm officially "deplatformed" when it comes to standard issue gaming. EGS is the only thing remaining on the platter...

It sucks, at least for me. I wish they had done all this back in 2017... back when I could still enjoy the system and they were the real hero for supporting mods in a freaking console. Urgh. I really feel bad now.

Personal choices are fine but should never become so rigid that they effectively lock up your right to respond to change and so become a prison. break free my man .

Last edited by mjk45 - on 08 May 2021

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SvennoJ on 09 May 2021
Ganoncrotch said:

You can get an xbox SSX and a 49 inch 4k / 120hz LG TV from amazon for around the same cost as a 2014 AMD RX580 and yeah... obviously a Graphics card isn't the only item you need to start PC gaming.

Even a 1060 is hard to get right now, looking to ebay there's auctions on there of them going as far as €500 for single fan versions of the card. But yeah... neither of those cards will really be able to put out games at 4k without major impact on the visual quality / frame rate.

Obviously it's possible to say that "well someone might well have a PC which is just missing only the good GPU but still... then you can't really go down the path of saying that "someone buying a Xbox Series X will need to buy a TV" or has the PCMR resigned to 1080p while consoles will be the 4k pushers now?

I play on a gaming laptop with a 1060, FS 2020, which will surely run better on a Series X connected to my 4K HDR tv. However, losing the flexibility of playing the PC version simply rules that option out (for me). I rather buy a new laptop with a newer CPU and GPU even though that costs a lot more.



mjk45 on 09 May 2021
BraLoD said:

I haven't felt less compelled to get an XBOX than I'm now.
Honestly it has zero appeal whatsoever to me.

NEWSFLASH Phil Spencer had reassembled the team that made LoD and kidnapped bought in Shuey to produce both a remake and LoD2 for series X , but is now saddened to announce that on learning that BraLoD won't be onboard he has cancelled all plans, talking to the media he explained that without BraLoD it had become a financial nightmare since they needed to sell at least 1 copy of each to make a profit and the remake was only being made to cover the $5.00 to buy the IP.

meanwhile Sony while denying the quote "give the bloody millstone away", stated that selling LoD made them business gods and the $5.00 price paid only showed that Sony did not need the money and was in fact them helping prop up MS since it was all MS had left in the bank after buying much lesser brands and nothing more, also in no way was any of this related to the despicable rumour that the production costs were to be met by millions paid to MS to take Shuey off their hands.

Late breaking news .. a handcuffed and blindfolded Shuey has just been found dumped on a Brazilian street corner .  



Research shows Video games  help make you smarter, so why am I an idiot

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OdinHades on 09 May 2021
Ganoncrotch said:
SvennoJ said:

4K is overrated imo and MS also conveniently makes all games work well on Series S. You don't need a high end GPU to enjoy all games at 1080p. Sure there are some RT advantages on the X yet so far there is little where it makes a big difference. So with a 1060, you're perfectly fine for now. And those that care about high fps already game at 144 fps.

Those that weren't play at 4K or 144 fps yet, won't care about switching to a series X to play at 4K or 120fps. Plus you need a high end TV as well to make use of 120fps and VRR. On monitors VRR is much more common and also offer the sweet spot of resolution 1440p.

So no, don't think MS can win any PC gamers over with the Series X. To make full advantage of it, you're still out an expensive console and a much more expensive tv while having to now pay for online gaming and lose access to modding.

You can get an xbox SSX and a 49 inch 4k / 120hz LG TV from amazon for around the same cost as a 2014 AMD RX580 and yeah... obviously a Graphics card isn't the only item you need to start PC gaming.

Even a 1060 is hard to get right now, looking to ebay there's auctions on there of them going as far as €500 for single fan versions of the card. But yeah... neither of those cards will really be able to put out games at 4k without major impact on the visual quality / frame rate.

Obviously it's possible to say that "well someone might well have a PC which is just missing only the good GPU but still... then you can't really go down the path of saying that "someone buying a Xbox Series X will need to buy a TV" or has the PCMR resigned to 1080p while consoles will be the 4k pushers now?

It's not exactly easy to get an Xbox SX right now, is it? I'd reckon it is even easier to get a beefy GPU, if you are willing to pay the price. I mean, at least GPUs are somewhat available while it is damn near impossible to find an Xbox SX at stores.

With some looking around, I was able to snatch a RTX 3070 for 800 € a week or two ago. Not exactly cheap, but eh. I sure enjoy dem 20 TF and I can now confirm that DLSS is a great thing.

But anyway, what I am trying to say is that you can't really compare the inflated prices of GPUs to MSRP of consoles right now. Both items are out of stock everywhere and they most likely will continue to do so for the remainder of the year.



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LudicrousSpeed on 09 May 2021
JuliusHackebeil said:

I think the "hero-status" of xobox is not unsung at all. As threads like this proof. I see it everywhere, online and with a lot of my friends - everybody seems hyped about xbox right now. But to me, this is soley justified to a certain extent. Like b.c. is super cool to have and game pass is incredible value.
But when it comes to exclusive games, especially first party, i think xbox is almoust the opposite of an unsung hero - they seem to get a free pass with their abysmal output. And I think it is astounding hiw big of a role marketing and announcements play with this.
Sony has their cards close to their chest. We know next to nothing about their releases in 2022 and beyond. Xbox has so many things announced. How many years until all of that is released? Their catalogue is incredible, undeniably so, but all of this is in the future. I really hope they will deliver on all of this, but I want games to play, not to look forward too. This seems like a sentiment a lot of people don't share with me. It seems, as long as people have something to look forward to, all is fine for them.
But what was the launch lineup for series x/s, and what have they released since? Not saying that sony is so much better, but at least there is something here.
When Halo releases, is absolutely great and there is not much noise about it, then I will consider xbox being unsung heros.

It's only a "free pass" if people agree with your criticism. Different strokes for different folks. Their "abysmal" output has been pretty overblown, mostly because the first party studios they recently added, all had prior commitments that needed to be honored. But in the last two years I've gotten Wasteland 3, Gears Tactics, Outer Worlds, Battletoads, Flight Simulator, multiple Age of Empires remasters, Grounded, Bleeding Edge, Minecraft Dungeons, and more for free*. Not to mention the big third party games they put onto GamePass that basically feel like first party releases, like Dirt 5, MLB 21, Outriders, Doom Eternal, etc. Lots of Xbox fans don't bitch a lot about the output because we are literally drowning in quality games to play.

And of course, we understand that with 23 studios slowed by prior commitments and COVID, the release of the beast is just a matter of time :)

* - By "free" I mean for like.. $1 more a month than I would normally be paying for Gold 



JuliusHackebeil on 09 May 2021
LudicrousSpeed said

It's only a "free pass" if people agree with your criticism. Different strokes for different folks. Their "abysmal" output has been pretty overblown, mostly because the first party studios they recently added, all had prior commitments that needed to be honored. But in the last two years I've gotten Wasteland 3, Gears Tactics, Outer Worlds, Battletoads, Flight Simulator, multiple Age of Empires remasters, Grounded, Bleeding Edge, Minecraft Dungeons, and more for free*. Not to mention the big third party games they put onto GamePass that basically feel like first party releases, like Dirt 5, MLB 21, Outriders, Doom Eternal, etc. Lots of Xbox fans don't bitch a lot about the output because we are literally drowning in quality games to play.

And of course, we understand that with 23 studios slowed by prior commitments and COVID, the release of the beast is just a matter of time :)

* - By "free" I mean for like.. $1 more a month than I would normally be paying for Gold 

To be fair, I have to clarify that my criticism came from a place of huge bias. I usually don't like xbox games and I never owned an xbox. So it is no surprise that all the games you listed for the last two years of first party output (and I understand it is an incomplete list) do not interest me at all.

Having said that, the leaked internal review from TLoU2 from the xbox guys, that stated something along the lines of "this is the new benchmark we hope to achieve at some point" is very telling. I absolutely hated TLoU2, but its quality is undeniable. The release of such a game is an event. None of the games you listed feel anywhere nearly as big as this.

Than again, not all games have to be big AAA action adventure story heavy games Sony seems to bet on. Variety is good and there seems to be quite some coming from xbox first party as of late.

I guess what I'm saying is this: Microsoft has nigh infinite money. And it is obvious that they are willing to invest heavily in xbox. With this as a premise, I really would have liked to see 2, or 3 more really big heavy hitters coming from their first party in the last 2 years.

Additionally, I don't think it is right to celebrate a company for announcing a game. Sure, be glad that they work on something, but they do not provide me with any tangible value before I can actually play those games. So in congruence no sort, or amount of value should be added to them (like good will, brand loyalty, actually ordering their box, etc.)

In short: talk is cheap. So here is to hoping that fable, halo, perfect dark, avowed, etc. are going to release as soon as possible and be even better than everybody is hoping for.



AsGryffynn on 09 May 2021
mjk45 said:
AsGryffynn said:

It sucks that I have essentially added them to the "same as Sony, Nintendo, Steam, GOG, Ubisoft, Actiblizzard, Origin/EA" pile. They are doing genuinely good stuff... that I can no longer enjoy: not only that, but I'm officially "deplatformed" when it comes to standard issue gaming. EGS is the only thing remaining on the platter...

It sucks, at least for me. I wish they had done all this back in 2017... back when I could still enjoy the system and they were the real hero for supporting mods in a freaking console. Urgh. I really feel bad now.

Personal choices are fine but should never become so rigid that they effectively lock up your right to respond to change and so become a prison. break free my man .

They also represent a boycott of sorts. No supporting X until we get what we want is an approach as old as... history? 

My way or the high way. It's always been my maxim and in the end never let me down. 



Skeeuk on 09 May 2021
smroadkill15 said:

While Sony and Nintendo continue to be the top selling consoles(for good reason of course), Xbox continues to fly under the radar of most consumers. It doesn't help that the Xbox One was a lackluster system overall. Way too much controversy during the beginning of the generation and lack of heavy hitter exclusives made the Xbox One a system most consumers overlooked last gen. 
Fast forward to current generation, Xbox has been making all the right moves. I think it's safe to assume Xbox has become the most consumer friendly between the 3 console manufactures. Several examples include:

Xbox has the widest range of BC games of any system reach back to the 6th gen, and they are committed to adding more BC titles in the future.
Have been adding FPS boost to select titles, and as of today have 97 titles that enable that feature. 
Game Pass continues to grow, and offers the ability to play hundreds of games on it's platform. Many of which are newer titles, and 1st party games get added day 1. It's the best value in gaming. 
Offer cloud saves without any kind of paywall. 
Offer multiple ways of playing games via Cloud, PC, and Console, and accessing your save progress on any device is seamless. 

What about the 1st party games? Well, there is still work to be done. With Xbox now having 22 1st party studios(23 if you count XGP), they out number any other console maker by a wide margin, but it hasn't shown yet. With Halo Infinite delayed, Gears Tactics was the only 1st party game to play at launch, and there hasn't been much since then except for a few 3rd party exclusives. But for those who have a Series X|S, most will agree Game Pass has filled that void for now. With that said, It's only a matter of time before the games start dropping, and once they do, it's going to be hard for consumers to overlook.  

even with all the merits you mention it looks like people simply are not bothered outside of web forums. Again you mention back compat back compat has never been mentioned before but because theres nothing much else on xbox its hailed left and right. imo once production is steady ps5 will pull so far ahead all these points wont mean anything as gamers just want great new games to play.



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