To be fair he never said it didn't happen for PlayStation games too, but going down the Starfield Metacritic reviews now it does look pretty wild. Only 1 of the 19 outlets that gave a 95+ to GT7 appear to be a PlayStation outlet, while as mentioned 5 out of the 15 95+ reviews for Starfield are Xbox Outlets.

Xbox outlets gave Starfield an average of 94.4, 11.4 above the metascore. PlayStation outlets gave GT7 an average of 91.4, 4.4 above the metascore.

I'd be interested to know if there are major titles from PlayStation/Xbox with bigger discrepancies.

The PC version of Starfield however got 85, and that's with barely any Xbox outlet reviewers. So it's not like the game couldn't get a high score without Xbox reviews, it just depends on the individuals that choose to review it. The console version would certainly have had a lower score without Xbox outlets propping it up but the PC version proves that it was possible to be reviewed well without them. At the end of the day Metacritic has an element of chance to it. The same game can get different scores depending on which outlets choose to review it and which individuals those outlets choose to do the review.

Palworld got patched on Xbox/gamepass now the weekend is over but apparently has caused some pretty big issues.

https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/palworld-update-for-xbox-and-pc-game-pass-released-with-sound-fixes-but-includes-known

Xbox version

The game launches to a static black screen.

Microsoft Store PC version

The game launches to a static black screen.
The control pad is not recognized.
The key guide display is not displayed correctly.
There is no button to quit the game.

What is the certification delays for if not to stop stuff like this?

It was at that moment they realised: Pocket Pair is still a hack developer who got lucky 👀

Ark was fun at times but man it was one of the ugliest and buggiest games I've ever played, Lol.

I also wish it was just a dinosaur title with none of the futuristic nonsense. I've long wanted someone to make an actually good dinosaur title, during the Mesozoic era, playing as a human, with massive jungles making Earth feel truly wild, every dinosaur encounter at the start will feel like a terrifying but amazing experience but developers keep adding stuff like guns, future tech, or the games are just bad, Lol.

I'd take a single-player only title though set in a city taken over by nature with dinosaurs returned, something like The Division but with dinosaurs, Lol. Just imagine walking down the street and you hear a t-rex approaching but don't know from which direction, or you're scavenging a building but velociraptors are inside of it and you're running/fighting them off close quarters, add in a sprinkling of Metro's feel, low ammo, all alone.

The Division + Metro + Dinosaurs.

Isn't Microsoft covering the costs?

Yeah, I saw that, already posted my thoughts.

Feels insulting to Xbox site reviewers, ignores PS site reviewers, ignores the PC Meta having only 1 Xbox fan site and being higher score than the Xbox meta, it ignores that Metacritic weights reviews so Xbox fan sites have less impact on the scores than sites like IGN. Tries to paint a picture that the average is "deceptively high" and tries to spread a narrative that Starfield has weak reviews sitting at an average of 83, 85 and 86, Lol.

Yeah. Sony's full software digital share was 67% as of March 2023, Microsoft's we know is higher based on comments from those in the industry. I'd predict anywhere from 70-80% for Xbox. I think it's the way things are heading (like PC) but Microsoft is ahead of the pack because their consumers are more digital focused than others due to various factors. Both MS and the retailers likely deeming it not worth the costs anymore.

In the UK, it feels like physical game media is rapidly dying, Tesco (a major supermarket chain) decided to stop selling them completely, Game is a rip off which many people hate but they've stopped doing trade-ins and selling pre-owned games now. Best Buy in America announced they will stop selling physical Films and TV in 2024, I would bet in the next 3-5 years that will extend to Games.

I've not used a disc once for my Series X, at this point, I'd be scared about putting a disc into my Series X since it hasn't been used ever, Lmao. I don't think I've purchased a physical disc for either my Xbox or Switch since...At least pre-2020, maybe around 2018 was my last physical purchase. Game Pass pretty much made me go all digital, I thought if I'm not buying 1st party anymore then I might as well go all the way and save space, Lol.

I swear I read that at least one of those issues have always existed (no quit button) so it likely just wasn't something fixed by the latest patch, I'm not sure about the other issues. Technically, the certification wouldn't be a delay on Xbox's part, it's procedure as normal, but procedure as normal is way slower than Steam, Lol.

So now the Xbox version is 0.1.1.0 and the Steam version is 0.1.2.0

Kind of funny how Xbox had no major exclusives for Q1 but then accidentally stumbled on what will be one of the biggest titles of 2024.

It's going to hit 10m easily at this rate. Will creature taming/capturing be the next thing developers chase after? Epic is probably already crunching their employees to add a creature taming mode into Fortnite, Lol.

Counter-Strike 2 Watching Palworld Like

It looks likely to reach a new peak today, JFC.

Lmao.

Yeaaaaah somehow I don’t think valve is even concerned 

https://www.businessinsider.com/counter-strike-1-billion-loot-boxes-gambling-esports-video-games-2024-1?amp

I'm just joking about it beating its peak

Speaking of which, new peak has started, on a Tuesday

If it keeps beating its peak during the week, I'd be not surprised if the weekend is 2m+

Its probably gonna get sold in bulk to a third party.

Kinda like how you can find some random games from a Five Below in the US for like $5.

I remember seeing a stack of 30+ Yo-Kai Watch for 3DS literally a year or so ago at one lol.

Reading that it received controller UI and an exit option from main menu from a recent update (same one or new one?)

Maybe things are moving faster.