Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

A tweet from Phil Spencer:

Just finishing our final E3 rehearsal here with the team in Redmond. Feel really good about the briefing. Lots to show. We have 14 Xbox Game Studios games in the show this year, more first party games than we've ever had in the show. Fun times

I wonder how many of these will be AAA games... I fully expect Gears 5 and Forza 8 as both are expected this 'holiday' season. It would be very unusual if Forza 8 doesn't release as its a bi-annual game with Forza Horizon every other year. Halo Infinite is probably another although that is not expected this year. The reboot of Fable maybe ready to be revealed too by Playground Games and Battletoads from Rare too. I would be surprised if Mojang have anything 'new' - maybe something new for Minecraft but not a new or different IP.

It will be interesting to see if any of the Studio's that joined MS a year ago - Ninja Theory and the Initiative (the Studio that was newly created), Undead Labs or Compulsion Games - the last 2 wouldn't surprise me if they are working on 'smaller' indie type games. I wouldn't expect Obsidian to have a 'new' Xbox game as they are probably working on the Outer Worlds but maybe we could see something from inXile.

The tweet said Xbox Studio's which to me doesn't include any 3rd Party console exclusives (timed or otherwise) so it will be interesting to see what MS have. Its possible that they are including the other Gears games (Gears: Tactics I think it was called) so I don't know if all '14' will be Console games - especially as I think xCloud will be promoted quite a bit.

Anyway, I thought I would share this tweet for all of you that are interested...

Their probably announcing next gen games, which makes you wonder how far away a lot of these games actually are. And more interestingly what platforms will they be on cos "xbox exclusive" isn't really a thing anymore.

I visit Push Square daily for my PS4 news and review fix.

Wondering if there are any similarly good Xbox sites people here visit daily that you can recommend.

@BAMozzy sounds good although i'm more interested in if any of the event will focus on the next gen, will we see the next xbox?, will we get it's proper name? or will we get a release window?

and i'm also hoping we get to see a bit of Halo Infinite

@FullbringIchigo Of course I too am ready and wanting the next gen consoles sooner rather than later. My Pro has basically been relegated to Playstation exclusives and whilst the X is offering the best current gen gaming for the rest of the games, its still having to compromise to deliver either the visuals or frame rates. Having to pick (when given the choice) between HD and 60fps or [nearly] 4k and 30fps isn't ideal. They are 'mid' gen consoles so you can't expect them to deliver on next gen experiences.

However, Phil Spencer hasn't tweeted about next gen hardware and therefore I didn't include my hopes about hardware. I am sure that a lot of my comments on Push Square have made it clear that I am more than ready for new hardware, that I want to buy games only once and preferably on next gen hardware rather than buy them only for a 'remaster' next gen version arriving in the next 6-12 months.

At the end of the day though, I am more interested in games. I don't care too much about the plastic box of electronics under the TV, what brand is on it, just that it plays the games I want at a level I want - or as close to it as is possible for a 'low' price - they are 'low' compared to a top of the line GPU for a PC let alone the rest of the components and we expect them to compete. Of course I have an interest in the hardware specs and the graphical technology (like Ray Tracing) but I couldn't care less if the box says Sony or MS - its all about the games for me. I will end up with both consoles - just because I want to play the games unique to each. MS's may well be on PC too but I don't have the room to buy a hardcore gaming PC set-up and prefer the consoles. ALL my gaming is done on a sofa and on my 4k TV.

It will be interesting to see what the new studio's are working on. The Initiative intrigues me the most as they are a newly formed studio where as all the others, we have some idea of the games they have made and maybe that gives us some 'expectation', something to judge them by but the Initiative are an unknown right now. Will they be making a new game from an existing Franchise that MS own or will it be a new IP? Will it be competing with Uncharted, H:ZD, God of War or more like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay, Crackdown 3?

MS perhaps have more pressure on them this year than in any previous year. With Sony not in attendance, their struggles this generation and with the new gen just around the corner, all eyes will be on them. They need to banish the criticisms of this generation which have mostly been about 'games' - things like making the Xbox more of a multi-media device rather than a 'game' focused console first, not delivering on quality and quantity of exclusives, not delivering the game performance - lets be honest here, the base XB1 is seriously struggling now - even compared to the base PS4 etc etc. The media too are putting additional pressure, its MS's to lose according to many...

@BAMozzy yeah i'm not expecting them to show it but i would like some info so i can get a general idea of what Next Gen is going to be like, even some games running on the Nextbox so we can get a idea of what they will be like would do

Next Gen is coming so i would like as much info as possible so i can make my choice as to which system i will be getting, this gen there really hasn't been much point in owning both PS4 and XB1, at least for me so for next gen i decided to only get one of them and in order to make a proper informed decision i need to know as much as possible

@FullbringIchigo We have had some information re the PS5 and I would be very surprised if MS don't at least have a similar spec. Both are likely to use AMD with a decent CPU, GPU etc. Regardless of whether 1 system is obviously superior from a 'tech spec' perspective, I personally couldn't go without playing games like Uncharted, Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima or games like Gears of War, Forza (Horizon and/or Motorsport), Halo etc. Regardless of which has the 'best' line-up for the launch and coming year, you have absolutely no idea on the games that both could offer further down the line - MS now do have a more sizeable and comparable list of studio's to Sony but we will see if they can match the quality of Sony's studio's - especially with the budgets they seem to be given. MS allegedly has told the new studio's 'budget' isn't an issue and they will get what they need to make the games they want.

In 2013, Sony had Killzone (and Knack of course) with InFamous and the Order coming and Xbox had Ryse, Forza5, Dead Rising 3 with games like Titanfall, Project Spark and even Halo too was teased. If it was quantity, Xbox had the games but lacked the 'power'. I remember when 'exclusives' didn't matter so much because the multi-platform games looked and ran better on Playstation whilst the Xbox fanboys were retaliating with all the power but no games - funny how things turned round as we near the end of this gen.

I can understand that maybe deciding which to buy 'first' - especially if there is as much of a difference as there was at the start of this. The PS4 was a whole Switch better and that's a 'docked' switch and not the scaled back portable spec - at least with the GPU side of things. The RAM too was probably more effective than the Xbox + the Switch as the Switch RAM doesn't have the bandwidth - but at least the XB1 had the faster CPU... Not that it helped much.

No doubt, who ever starts off the strongest (or at least appear to be the strongest), the other will be doing what they can to catch up. If I was buying on 'games' alone, I would have to pick the PS5 - even if the launch line-up isn't particularly strong and potentially games that are on PS4 anyway. Their studio's have a proven history and whether they are ready to reveal the games they are making for PS5 or not, you can almost guarantee they will be good because they have earned that optimism. MS on the other hand are an unknown quantity. We know 'some' of the games the studio's have in their history but none (apart from Forza - both Motorsport and Horizon) have actually been game of the year contenders, award winners. Gears 4 was great but Halo 5 disappointed but both the Coalition and 343 are under pressure to make an award winning, game of the year contender like Epic and Bungie had done with these IP's. That's the point though isn't it. If its about the games, you have too feel more optimistic with Sony's future than MS's and the pressure is on MS and their studio to compete - both on quantity and quality - maybe more so because Sony has an established community of fans for their IP's, ones that will buy the next H:ZD, GoW etc because of the history. If GG announce H:ZD2 with nothing more than a title or at most a teaser of Aloy, Sony fans will be ecstatic, hyped etc - even before any details about the game, the world, the story, what new robo-dino's we will see etc but MS can't show just a title screen of Fable, Gears 5 or Halo Infinite (not that they did) because people feel like they were let down by G4 & H5. If we do get to see new IP's from MS's new Studio's, they haven't got a fan-base in place and a feeling that MS will let them down because that's the general feeling of games from this gen - they have to build up confidence.

A good example is Hideo Kojima - His loyal fan base were hyped for Death Stranding before Death Stranding was actually announced and lost their mind over a 'bizarre' trailer. Even now when the game is still an unknown, unsure of the moment to moment game-play etc, People will buy it regardless because its Kojima and his reputation.

@BAMozzy in all honesty the only reason i got the PS4 at launch was FINAL FANTASY, at that point it was a given that any future FF games were going to be on PlayStation but there as no guarantee that the xbox would, that has changed over the past few years of course

of course if the FFVII Remake is a cross gen then i'll be getting a PS5 no questions

@FullbringIchigo There is talk that FFvii will come to other Platforms in the future - namely Xbox. If and/or When is unknown but it seems like its a timed exclusive. It could be just a PS4 generation exclusive but the game could release on PS5 and NextBox. Injustice (the DC based fighting game) released on both 360 and PS3 but was a PS4 'exclusive' as far as 'next gen' (at that time) was concerned - Injustice 2 however was released on both XB1 and PS4. Its possible to secure exclusive rights for a specific console rather than just the whole 'brand'.

@BAMozzy i heard that it could possibly come to P.C but no others have been mentioned and that wouldn't matter as it's still a timed exclusive on PlayStation and if it is also on PS5 then i'm not willing to wait to play it when there is an option right there ready to go

plus and this is speculation but it is Play it first on PS4 but that's all that was said, people are speculating that means it's coming to XBOX and/or P.C but it could just mean that it's also coming to PS5 when the console releases but still a PlayStation exclusive

so until Square says anything different then i'm just going to assume it's ONLY going to be on PlayStation 4

@FullbringIchigo That's up to you. All I was saying is that its likely to come to Xbox too and has been listed. I don't personally care and it may of been a mistake by Gamestop to list it but I don't care either way as its not on my wanted list.

I am however, considering holding back on purchasing games releasing at the back end of this year and will just play the numerous games I have already as I can wait for the 'next-gen' versions. It annoyed me that numerous games I bought on 360/PS3 were then released in the first few months on PS4/XB1. I can wait for single player experiences as they aren't 'time sensitive' like Online games are. Online games can drop off and just leave the fans, the ones that are high level and know 'everything' - inc the best weapons, the maps etc that can be difficult for late adopters to compete. A single player can be played any time and give the same experience, same story etc - maybe even better an experience with patches, better visuals and performance being on a more powerful system.

This is how I feel right now but maybe will feel different when the games come out, get caught up in the hype and can't wait. Its not as if I have countless games - excluding the 100's of free games I have added to my account on both PS4 and XB1 - certainly enough to keep playing well into next year and maybe beyond.

I would have thought that if FFvii is episodic, wouldn't it be better to buy on the hardware that the final episodes could be on? BC of course maybe an option too but may be locked to PS4 levels. Until we get more info, I am not committing to buying any game on any format until I know more about the next gen hardware, how BC will work (It would be good if you buy on current gen and then its 'patched' to next gen specs - the same spec as if you bought the next gen version.

SO who's going to be watching the XBOX E3 event this Sunday?

@FullbringIchigo will definitely be tuning in. Main thing I want personally is more info about xCloud and how that's all going to work mainly just for Forza games. I'm sure they'll be a bunch of multiplatform games in there as well along with some next gen teasers. I think they're going to have a great show!

@redd214 well lets be honest without Sony there they don't really have any competition this year, as such most 3rd party publishers will be using their event to show their upcoming games so it should be good

if it isn't then it's solely down to them

although it's a bit later than normal, the last few years it's been on around 6pm UK time but it's 9pm this year, i wonder why?

@FullbringIchigo If course I will be tuning in. The only thing I do know, I have already shared - that MS will be showing off 14 games from their studios.

xCloud though is another big example of MS making Xbox bigger than 'just' the console. For years its been console vs console, Xbox vs Playstation but xCloud puts Xbox on any device, whether that's a MS built console, a PC, a mobile/tablet - literally anywhere they can and want to. As long as you have a Microsoft account, you can sign in and play your Xbox library anywhere - its no longer 'fixed' to just the box of hardware that sits under your TV.

I know that some will still be Playstation vs the Xbox Console and that the console still has no games because they can be played anywhere and on other devices - therefore not 'exclusive' - not that it bothers me that others can get to enjoy the same games I can but you know some are very precious about it - just look at the threads about Playstation games that were released or expected to release on other platforms, how many are so angry that they may even 'not' buy the game they were looking to enjoying, being amongst the first to play. How many people were boycotting Tomb Raider after enjoying the first just because MS had a timed exclusivity deal...

As a gamer first and foremost, I am looking forward to every Press Conference. For me its all about the future of gaming - what games we can expect to see. Any hardware is nothing more than the device that will enable me to play the games I want at an 'acceptable' level for the cost. Whether I know the exact specs or not won't make too much of a difference as any new hardware will be necessary to boost my gaming experience - again coming back primarily to the games. Hardware is irrelevant to me in the 'bigger' picture because if the devs can't access or utilise it well, its nothing but a box of electronics. As I have said countless times, I only care about what games I can play and how well they play first and foremost - I don't care if it says Xbox or PS, don't care if it has MS or Sony etc etc I just care about the games I can play. I would prefer it if ALL gamers got to enjoy ALL games too rather than be segregated off and people being 'butthurt' because 1 group of gamers get to enjoy the same games first, last, at all...

Its better for gamers to be united under 1 umbrella rather than divided up into groups where each group have the majority of the same games as other groups but a handful of games only they get to play - at least first over the others.If every gamer that enjoyed CoD, Fifa, Battlefront or Battlefield, got to play with everyone else who enjoys that game, where is the harm in that? Wouldn't it be better too if Sony can Publish games on other Platforms, sell millions more to make millions more more to invest millions more into games? Sony 'could' reward those on Sony hardware with some Sony based cosmetic bonuses for buying and playing on a Sony platform - and MS could do the same for those on 'Xbox' who bought an MS published game. All those Sony fans wouldn't have to buy an Xbox just to play the odd game or two that intrigued them - games like Cuphead, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon, Ori etc.

Maybe Consoles won't ever sell 100m+ if you can buy just 1 Console and play every game - but consoles aren't always Profitable and the bulk of the Profit comes from software so why not sell software to a much larger base of people - that being ALL gamers. How much more copies of games like GoW, H:ZD, Spider-Man etc could have been sold, how much more profit would Sony of got - enough to offset the drop in console sales? People will still buy Sony consoles because they prefer the controller, prefer the brand maybe, like I mentioned above, would prefer the Sony 'bonuses' for playing Sony published games on a Sony platform.

That is my 'dream' but I doubt we will see that in the near future. It would be great to have one 'Console' under the TV like owning 1 Bluray player that plays all blurays and 1 TV to watch all the content on - not having to buy a Sony Bluray Player to watch Sony Pictures on and a Sony TV to work with the Bluray player...

@BAMozzy isn't xCloud what Sony and MS have teamed up to use for future streaming services?

@FullbringIchigo no xCloud is essentially MS version of PS Now but with much more flexibility it seems. Don't think we quite no the exact reason for them teaming up quite yet.

@redd214 didn't they say the team up was for game streaming services, i can't remember

Yes they did recently but it is still unclear the precise nature of the cooperation as far as I know outside of the ambiguous "game streaming" line.

xCloud, to me, seems to be the 'virtual' Xbox that will allow you to play Xbox games anywhere. Its the streaming based 'Xbox' as far as I am aware - you sign into your Xbox and play your Xbox games that are running in 'xCloud' so you don't need a fixed/portable console, something with enough processing power to play your Xbox games where you want.

As far as I am aware, the deal between Sony and MS was more about utilising the Cloud (Azure) for gaming. I am not sure (as I haven't really researched this yet to find out more) if xCloud is more of a 'service', a name given to just the Xbox based cloud gaming service or whether that encompasses more. All the info and video's I have seen and read - inc MS's own trailer seems to be focussed on Xbox - from the very first images of 4 XB1s being stripped down to the motherboard, being placed in new housing and then seeing lots of these in racks of servers then cutting to an Xbox controller with a mobile phone 'holder' connected to it and the person playing Forza using that phone as the screen. That to me seems like xCloud is the name for the Xbox cloud streaming 'service' but whether Sony will be able to utilise these, whether they have their own 'named' service for streaming PS games to other devices or its more for using Azure for online multi-platform cross-play, I really don't know.

Microsoft lead the way right now with Cloud computing and it makes sense that Sony turn to MS for 'assistance'. What we don't know is whether that is beneficial primarily for Sony, for the benefit of multi-platform cross-play or more. It could mean, for example, that Sony gamers can play Xbox games streamed to their Console via xCloud by signing into your MS profile - much like you sign into your Netflix or Amazon account - maybe have to have Game Pass though. Maybe Sony can add their 'equivalent' - a PSNow (or a 'new' thing like PS Game Pass) that people on Xbox can subscribe to and play PS games streamed to their Console. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if the deal between MS and Sony is to allow each others 'app' on each others device(s) and with a 'subscription' based access just like Netflix but for Xbox/PS on each others - as well as cross-play for those multi-platform releases like the new CoD rather than just the odd indy....

Time will tell and maybe I will try and investigate deeper but in truth, I haven't done any research yet. Therefore everything I have said so far is my own speculation based on what little I have seen. Its not as if Sony don't have games owned by Microsoft - games like Minecraft for example and the fact that MS are looking at bringing Game Pass as well as Streaming Xbox to multiple devices, I maybe adding 2+2 and getting 6 but it seems logical that MS could have an App on PS5 and Sony could well do the same on Xbox - both offering a Subscription services (like Game Pass) to play their Sony/MS games on Xbox/PS.

It may mean that Sony exclusives can be played in the cloud (rather than 'locally') on the nextbox if you own something like Game Pass