The Xbox Series X, Holiday 2020 (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

Sam - I have Halo 1-4 from previous generations and I don't play online. I'm only missing Halo 5 which didn't sound too great from reviews. If/when I get an Xbox that can play it, I certainly will, but it's not really driving me to want to sink a few hundred into it.

I actually really liked Gears 1-3 and the reviews for the rest are pretty good but, similar to Halo 5, I'm not rushing out to get the box for them.

I am not into racing games so Forza doesn't appeal to me.

So then...what is there on the Series X that's going to be out this year besides Halo Infinite (which looked really disappointing)? I am actually jealous that Xbox will get Hellblade 2 and I look forward to what else Microsoft's new acquisitions can pump out but almost everything in their last show was a good 1-2 years away minimum. Sony has Spider-man and Ratchet & Clank at launch plus Horizon 2 within a year.

I'm not trying to crap all over the Series X and the Xbox brand because I have enjoyed Microsoft's games and platforms in the past. I just see them launching a great piece of hardware with almost nothing in the way of software. The rumors suggest that MS will offer the lower price for the Series X against PS5, plus have the even-cheaper Series S, which makes it a great deal for how powerful it will be. But...what would you play with it once you have it? How many more launch-window surprises does MS have to show?

That said, I fully plan on getting a PS5 and finishing out my PS4 backlog on it, in addition to maybe 2-3 new PS5 games near launch, so I think backward compatibility is a huge selling point for both platforms.

 

[Sam Posten]

Halo Infinite delayed to 2021 (Official) cause it looked like shit (unofficial, my opinion).

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Losing Halo at launch is, frankly, devastating.

Serious question: what Series X launch exclusives are there now?

 

[Dave Upton]

Halo Infinite delayed to 2021 (Official) cause it looked like shit (unofficial, my opinion).

I have to agree, they clearly weren't expecting the level of vitriol they got, but it was well deserved.

If you look at the example of a few AAA titles from CD Projekt Red that have had their graphics downgraded from announcement to release like Cyberpunk 2077, and The Witcher 3, I'm sure that folks have now learned to assume that what they see in the demo will likely be better than, not worse than the final game.

Fans are rightfully upset and it's no surprise to me that they're making noise now versus having to deal with it once the game was already out.

 

[Sam Posten]

I don't give a shit about exclusives and will still get a series X on day 1. /shrug.

 

[Bryan^H]

Started playing Hellblade on Gamepass. I'm getting a series X for the sequel alone. The first game is freaking fantastic Hope the sequel is a launch title.

 

[Bryan^H]

Losing Halo at launch is, frankly, devastating.

Serious question: what Series X launch exclusives are there now?

No one knows yet. Hopefully Hellblade 2.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Bryan - I believe they announced Hellblade 2 is a 2021 title. I am hoping that it somehow goes multiplatform because I really enjoyed the first one.

Sam - just curious, what launch games are you looking to get for Series X?

 

[Sam Posten]

Sam - just curious, what launch games are you looking to get for Series X?

120hz 4K VRR and HDR for my existing collection of 200+ games, to include GTA, Destiny 2, and Cyberpunk.

More games will follow. I don't need specifics to know I will get my money's worth on both XsX and PS5...

 

[Morgan Jolley]

That's fair and the ability to, say, play Spider-man with no loading times or Control without any lag is definitely a huge selling point for the next set of consoles, but buying a $400+ machine to play a game that I already can play on a machine I already own is not enough for me, personally, to buy a machine.

That said, I still have some interest in a Series X because I skipped the One.

I don't believe it's guaranteed that games will be up-rez'd to 4K/120Hz automatically on the next consoles unless they get "Smart Delivery" kinds of updates (which will likely be limited, honestly). I expect better loading times and smoother performance but HDR and some amont of 4K is already a thing on PS4 Pro, One S, and One X.

 

[Sam Posten]

Refresh is much more important than resolution.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Will all games be able to take advantage of it by default? How many have an unlocked framerate?

 

[Bryan^H]

I honestly don't think Microsoft is concerned about selling a trillion units of the series X by years end. I think the days of "console wars" is completely irrelevant. With Game Pass, and Live they can practically print their own money. Unless the X completely flops (Almost positive it will not) they will be golden.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

So long as MS keeps up their output of great games then they will be fine, especially since the profit margin on something like Game Pass or xCloud is bigger than console sales.

But...what is their output right now? What do they have coming from their own studios this year? Next year?

 

[Sam Posten]

They have 15 internal game studios and are on track to buy 5+ more this year.

Xbox Game Studios | Xbox

Our 23 game development studios focus on delivering games for everyone.

www.xbox.com

 

[Morgan Jolley]

And which of those studios is making a game to come out exclusively for the Xbox line of consoles in the next year? The only things announced I can think of are Halo and Hellblade 2, with maybe Forza. Psychonauts 2 is multiplatform and everything else is either not yet announced, has no date, or is past 2021.

I think MS is approaching GamePass like Netflix: a ton of mediocre content that you'll engage with simply because it's on a service that you already have, with a handful of standout games that make the price of admission worth it. This is also PlayStation's strategy with PS Now and Nintendo's strategy with Switch Online. It's a good idea and MS is certainly out in front with it, especially by promising first-party games will be on it at launch. But...when are they launching?

 

[Jeff Cooper]

But...when are they launching?

I'm guessing we don't know yet because Sony and Microsoft are having a pissing contest about who goes first. Neither side wants to go first and be undercut by the other so we get squat in terms of announcements. It's pretty stupid. We're about 3 months away from the rumored release date with no info on price and date yet. Has that ever happened before? At some point the retailers will have to know this info if they want to sell anything.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Jeff - my question was more about the games, not the consoles. Microsoft showed off a bunch of games a couple weeks ago but nearly all of them are 2021 or later. My point was that the GamePass subscription offers a great value for the games they showed, but nobody knows when those games will actually be available so what's the value right now? What does the Series X or xCloud or GamePass get you in the next year?

 

[LeoA]

While there may not be lots of big 1st party exclusives in the opening months, Game Pass offers much more than just Microsoft's own releases.

Not to mention the wide variety of Xbox One content that will still be commercially relevant for some time yet, including games that will be getting Xbox Series X enhancement patches for improved performance and visual fidelity.

But yes, we all recognize I believe that when one is buying a PS5 or XSX this fall, that the purchase is primarily based on future promises like Halo 5 and Gran Turismo 7 and all the hundreds of other games that mostly haven't even been envisioned yet, rather than the launch lineups.

Not too terribly unique of a situation, Morgan, although the lack of a big name AAA exclusive or two at launch is certainly disappointing and a handicap out of the gate. But I don't see it as a major long-term issue and the known PS5 launch lineup isn't much better off at this time with big name exclusives, with just Spider-Man confirmed as a launch game to my knowledge and the rest with a big TBA or 2021 listed.

Launch lineups for both appear likely to be centered around 3rd party multiplatform content.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm not into Gears of War, or Halo, and on the PS4 I only really cared for 2 exclusives over the 7 years I have owned it.

Exclusives mean very little to me, and a lot of other people I'm sure. It comes down to tech, and features for the most part. And to be honest I have a few friends that are system specific fanboys, and they bring up exclusives as if generals of a long lost console war, touting why their side is better, and the other side is not. It is kind of sad. Somewhere along the line they forgot to accept the strengths of all the gaming systems and enjoy what they have to offer. Gaming is a blast.
It isn't a popularity contest.