The Xbox Series X, Holiday 2020 (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

Coming to Gamepass tomorrow:

• Dishonored
• Dishonored 2
• Doom
• Doom 2
• Doom 64
• Doom 3
• Doom Eternal
• Fallout New Vegas
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Prey
• Rage 2
• The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• The Evil Within
• Wolfenstein: The New Order
• Wolfenstein The Old Blood
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood

 

[Morgan Jolley]

That's a pretty significant list for MS to toss out all in one day. As someone who isn't a big Bethesda or Microsoft/Xbox fan, there are a bunch of great games in that list.

 

[Carlo_M]

I grew up in the wrong era. As I get older I only have time for one game (destiny is kind of a “lifestyle” game in that it never ends) but if I was a kid today oh man I’d love the Gamepass model.

 

[Bryan^H]

I grew up in the wrong era. As I get older I only have time for one game (destiny is kind of a “lifestyle” game in that it never ends) but if I was a kid today oh man I’d love the Gamepass model.

Yeah it is great but also terrible for people with a short attention span.

 

[Mike2001]

I wasn’t sure if I’d get vaccinated or get an Xbox Series X first. Turns out vaccination came first. Do we need Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act to get Xboxes on shelves?

 

[Carlo_M]

LOL I got lucky on my Series X. A few days before Christmas someone mentioned that Target tended to restock right around when they opened (7am). So on my phone I signed in to my Target account and kept a Safari tab on the Series X product page. The page always said "out of stock". I just set my alarm clock to 6:45am and for about six days it remained out of stock. Then one day it changed to "Add to Cart". Since I had pre-logged in to my account, the stores closest to me were the only options for pickup. Check out was relatively fast, but fulfillment took a while (scared me that maybe they overpromised), but about six hours later I got the "your item is ready for pickup" email.

I have to think the global run on graphics chips (I think both PS5 and XSX both use AMD solutions) is the main reason for the slow trickle of console availability...oh and the pandemic.

 

[Mike2001]

Thanks Carlo, I’ll have to give that a shot. On the stock reference pages, it says stock generally depletes in about 5 minutes now, which is better than the seconds of a couple of months ago.

 

[Carlo_M]

Hope that strat still works. This was late December.

 

[Timothy E]

Available now on Walmart.com if you are willing to pay a ridiculous markup over retail price.

 

[Carlo_M]

That’s gotta be a third party seller right? I can’t imagine Walmart would exceed MSRP like that.

 

[Steve Y]

That’s gotta be a third party seller right? I can’t imagine Walmart would exceed MSRP like that.

Yeah: it's 3p. The seller is marked as "Nationwide Distributor" and it's just the base console for double the MSRP, despite the word "bundle."

Despite the terrible price, I'm honestly surprised they're still in stock.

 

[Edwin-S]

I'm not. Winter is over. Even with restrictions, more people are going to want to get.out of the house, so I can see these overpriced boxes taking longer to sell.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

So Microsoft had their E3 event two days ago. Any thoughts?

I think it's great that MS finally has a bunch of exclusives coming and having all of them launch right onto Game Pass is a boon for gamers, especially since streaming is going to be on basically everything soon. But they only have...3 exclusives coming in 2021? Some of the big games they announced aren't coming until next year (some coming LATE next year) and the ones coming sooner are an online FPS game, Forza, and Halo (which still doesn't look like it's in the condition you would expect).

I skipped the Xbox One generation so I'm actually interested in getting a Series X to catch up (especially since everything MS has done is on Game Pass). But I want to see MS have more stuff coming short-term.

 

[Sam Posten]

They are crushing it but Halo still looks terrible to me

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I mean, what about them is "crushing it?" I'm not just trying to be anti-Microsoft/Xbox, but I do think that the slightest hint of them making a good exclusive game is seen as this amazing triumph but only because it's kind of viewed in a vacuum. Sony already has 2 solid PS exclusives, the Switch is overflowing with excellent Nintendo games, but the Xbox Series X has...umm...does the Series S/X have any exclusives? I know MS (and Sony) wants a lot of their releases to be cross-gen for now but they don't even have any third-party next-gen-only games, do they?

 

[Edwin-S]

I've been trying.to decide if the all access deal through EB Games is worth it? Basically, you sign up for a two year deal that included all access plus either an XBOX series X or S depending on which one a person wants. Total cost is approx C$995.

I've toyed with the idea but signing a two year monthly deal seems like a lot for a game system.

 

[Sam Posten]

@Morgan Jolley gamepass is crushing it.

I don’t give a shit about exclusives personally. that’s not part of my calculus. I get that I am in the minority on that one

 

[Sam Posten]

Smert.

You’ll soon be able to try Xbox games before downloading them

xCloud on consoles will speed up jumping into games.

www.theverge.com

 

[Edwin-S]

@Morgan Jolley gamepass is crushing it.

I don’t give a shit about exclusives personally. that’s not part of my calculus. I get that I am in the minority on that one

Why would.you If you have both systems? Exclusives don't matter in that kind of environment.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If you have both consoles then sure, exclusives don't matter. But it's...let's say extremely rare to find many people with a PS5 AND Xbox Series S/X right now.

I get that we're talking about an expensive hobby funded with excess disposable income, but it's still a big thing to ask someone to shell out $500 for a box (Series X) that plays things your old box (any version of Xbox One) will play or that the other $500 box (PS5) will also play except with a bunch of extra exclusives. Microsoft's strategy is kind of interesting in that they're turning games into a broad commodity that can be on anything while simultaneously sort of devaluing the boxes they sell.

As for GamePass, I think Microsoft and Sony have two different strategies and I'm curious which one wins out. Sony charges a much lower fee ($60/yr versus Game Pass at $10-15 per month) and has way more games (like 700 versus 300) but there is a ton of crap whereas Game Pass has a bunch of real classics. But I have no interest in either service because it's either way too many games for me to actually play or would end up becoming more money spent without using the service enough to justify the cost.

Once Microsoft turns Game Pass and xCloud into a truly console-less platform and beats Stadia at it's own game, I wouldn't be surprised if they try to just move beyond consoles entirely. Maybe they'll integrate PC games and work with Valve to get Game Pass to work with Steam. Maybe they'll allow you to connect through the PlayStation 4/5 browser. Maybe the next generation of Xbox consoles are literally just HTPCs. But I really don't think they've shown anything that's going to turn the tide in their favor against Sony.