Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@nomither6 Yeah, but it has resurfaced and become a bigger deal again because of the buyouts. It's absurd given how poorly Microsoft ran Xbox for so long, but it's no surprise that (especially the Activision buyout drama) the fanboy division between Xbox and PlayStation owners has gotten a bit more heated over the last several months.

I tend to mostly game on my PS5, but I do own a Switch and a Series X. I do tend to like their games more, and now that I've gotten into playing JRPGs more, another perk is that there are a lot more JRPGs to play on PS4/PS5 than Xbox. The biggest reason why I prefer gaming on one console the most is because of last gen, where I was bouncing between the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X a good amount, causing me to be stupid and buy several games on both consoles. Keeping things on one console for the most part will help keep things from getting out of hand this generation, whether it was mostly my own fault last generation or not.

@KilloWertz of course the deal heated things up , i was just saying that basically - Xbox fanboys never change, they just get worse 😂

“ Keeping things on one console for the most part will help keep things from getting out of hand this generation, ”

i dunno man , i adored 6th and 7th gen for the opposite reason . there was a reason to have all 3 and damn were those reasons justified . PS2/XBOX/Gamecube all amazing . PS3/360/Wii all amazing .

I will be honest I have always been a multi brand gamer, back in the 90s I had both a Nintendo and Genesis, in the 2000s I had a Nintendo and PS. What it comes down to for me is what console has the game I want to play. If I want to play God of War I will get a Playstation, if I want to play say Gears of War I will get an Xbox if I want a Mario game I get Nintendo. I dont get people who cry that this console gets that game and that console has that game. If you want to play that game just buy the console.

I don't get video game fanboys at all no other product to people fight so much then video games. You don't see people calling each names and trolling each other just because they like Pepsi over Coke or McDonalds over Burger King or Dodge over Chevy.

Right now I will admit I am willing to give my money to Xbox and Nintendo then Sony but that's for a few reason. The biggest is I am not going to support Sony till they get rid of Jim Ryan. And the other nothing really interests me on PS5 right now. I am not really into big epic movie like games that Sony is known for. But that's mainly cause I don't have time for a game like that.

But yeah, I just don't get video game fanboys.

@Tasuki i couldn’t agree more 👍👍👍

@Bentleyma I'm playing Vampire Survivors on my tablet. After a couple of days I was struggling to see what all the fuss was about. Then it clicked last night (basically after I unlocked some goodies and enough gold to purchase some upgrades), and damn it is so addictive.

@JohnnyShoulder You know it’s addictive when I’m up playing it at 5:30am before work!

@Bentleyma Every visit to the toilet is a session on the game!

@nomither6 You're not wrong that those two generations were special and you needed multiple consoles then, but like I said, it's partially to keep my own stupidity in check. I'm not afraid to call myself out when it's warranted.

If Microsoft never bought Bethesda, things would be a little different this generation. For non-Nintendo gaming, somebody could have easily gotten by with just a PS5 and not miss out on a whole lot until they bought Bethesda. Outside of PlayStation exclusives and Final Fantasy, a lot of the games are available on both outside of those games being exclusive to Xbox now. Regardless though, even though it would make me appear to be a fanboy when I am not, there is a nice simplicity to mainly gaming on one platform like I am right now.

its far cheaper and easier to own a ps5 and XSS, stack GPU with gold conversion, PSplus on a sale and enjoy everything on offer than worry about spending 70 on a game or missing out

I think it goes both ways in terms of fans hating on a brand. Some people here dislike Xbox and some people over at PureXbox hate PlayStation. It's just how it's always been.

Personally, I dislike Sony as a company and I don't like Jim Ryan as a leader. But I love PlayStation as a brand. On the other hand, I like Microsoft as a company and I like Phil Spencer as a leader. But I don't like the Xbox brand as much as PlayStation. I haven't touched my Series X in months, while I've been using my PS5 every day since I got it almost two weeks ago.

I'm glad though that I finally own all three current-gen consoles now. It's nice to not feel that I'm missing out on anything. Even though I'm not playing much on my Series X now, I'm glad that I have replaced my old base Xbox One that was so outdated and that I can play so many of my old games on it.

The only issue is that Xbox is severely lacking in new must-play exclusives, unlike PlayStation. 2022 was an absolute disaster for Xbox and the lack of new exclusives contributed to the lack of enjoyment of my new system. I really wanted to play titles like Forza Motorsport, Redfall, Starfield and Stalker 2 last year but all of them got delayed to this year instead. It's also crazy to think that without the Bethesda acquisition, Xbox would have even less exclusives this year. Absolutely mental how long it's taking for the Xbox Game Studios to come out with new games. Once Microsoft starts to actually pump out compelling exclusives though, that's when my Series X will finally get more use.

@JohnnyShoulder 😂

I don't disagree that MS, the 'last' big company to join the Console market and survive and ran it as a Separate side project, certainly made mistakes and under Don Mattrick, probably made the biggest mistakes with XB1 and started that era with just a handful of Studio's - Rare, 343, the Coalition and Turn 10. Certainly weren't releasing games and were practically relying on 3rd Parties to 'boost' their line-up. Ryse, Dead Rising 3, Titanfall etc as well as had timed exclusivity and marketing with CoD - which may of helped them 'compete' but as we know, the PS4 pulled well ahead and never slowed down.

Under Phil Spencer, Xbox was merged into Microsoft instead of being run as a side project. To 'compete', they needed to build up their IP's, their Studio's and their own 'exclusives'. Not just with Sony, but also all the other big Publishers who Compete with their OWN IP's too. It makes sense for a Company to buy those with IP's and Publishing Rights as it immediately starts to recuperate those costs as EVERY game still 'selling' goes to the Publisher, which is now 'owned' by another company. Just buying a Studio takes a LOT longer as they need time to create 'new' IP's and that not only costs time but money too.

Under Phil, Xbox now has 'no' exclusives in theory as all games release day/date on PC and can be played on many devices too - even Valves 'Steam' (another Platform) has Xbox releases. Of course for 'Console ONLY' gamers, that doesn't matter so in that market, MS needs 'IPs' to pull people into Xbox and it 'helps' more if those are more well known IPs or Studios.

I have ALWAYS needed multiple Hardware to play 'every' game I want. Even if I had the best Gaming PC with the 'biggest' Library of games available, I'd still need a PS5 to play Playstation Exclusives day and date. I cannot and never have been able to 'make do' with a Single Platform as I'd miss out. Admittedly, during the last gen, I probably could have 'coped' with just a PS4 as MS 'switched' Management, switched from relying on 3rd Party IP's they had little/no control over, Xbox switched from being 'just' a Console and completely changed strategy to 'compete'. PS5 is still 'dominating' sales, there is still the conversation about Xbox 'needing' Games. They own Minecraft, the biggest selling game ever, but that IP isn't bringing people in to Xbox.

Nearly 5yrs ago, MS added the 'first' 5 Studios - 2 'small' independent Studios (Compulsion and Undead Labs), Playground (who only made Forza Horizon at the time), Ninja Theory (who had just rented out 'most' of their Studio for Hire to help 3rd Parties build their games and bring in 'money' to fund a 'small' team to make Hellblade) and created the Initiative. a few months later added Double Fine, Obsidian and inXile. Most had games in development and promised/contracted to release on Playstation and have released games since MS took over - just not necessarily Exclusives due to contracts/promises.

But in those 5yrs, we have seen We Happy Few (released just before Compulsion joined and haven't seen their 'next' game) and State of Decay 2 (released just after Undead joined), FH4 and FH5 + DLC have released since Playground joined and building Fable from Scratch, Ninja Theory released Bleeding Edge (not exactly successful) and Perfect Dark is in development from Scratch by the Initiative/Crystal Dynamics. Obsidian have released the Outer Worlds, DLC, Pentiment and Grounded, InXile released Wastelands 3 and DLC and Double Fine released Psychonauts.

5yrs is about the time it took Guerrilla to make a Sequel to Horizon:ZD and GoW:R took nearly 5yrs too - Sequels that can use lots of Assets from its 'predecessor', lots of work that can carry over. Ghost of Tsushima took 6yrs to make from Scratch, yet people expect Microsoft to make AAA games of similar Quality and Polish in a 'year' or two - despite the fact that most games are taking 'years'. The new Forza is supposedly built from Scratch too and that's taken nearly 6yrs now so unless you want some 'short' indie scale game they can knock out in a few years or so, AAA games are taking LONG time so I don't understand why people expect MS owned Studios to be any different.

In 2021 - just 2yrs ago now - MS acquired Zenimax and their Studios but also had contracts to honour for the next two releases - both honoured now - so now we can start to see Exclusives coming from that purchase as Studios. That is helped by the fact that some Studios had games in development not contracted/promised to Playstation so they could 'cancel' any further PS development and therefore not have to wait 5yrs+ for them to make AAA games from scratch after acquiring them to bring 'exclusives' to Xbox.

Whether MS will 'compete' with PS5 on Sales with their line-up, I don't know and wouldn't think so. Even when the A/B deal goes through in a few months, that won't change the narrative of Xbox and Playstation has a 'proven' track record. People are still thinking that MS has no games and all those 'in development' are unknown, not yet a 'must have' to compete against Award Winning IP's, Critical and/or commercial successes. God of War (both), Horizon (both) will entice gamers more than Hellblade 2 or Starfield because they are 'known' Award winning games compared to 'unknowns' that may/may not be 'good' so less certainty.

I think that you need to look to the 'next' gen - will you choose Playstation with their IP's - Spider-Man, Wolverine, GoW, Horizon, Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Last of Us, R&C, Returnal, Ghost of Tsushima, Factions etc etc or will you choose Xbox with their IP's - Starfield, Redfall, Forza, Gears, Halo, Elder Scrolls, Perfect Dark, Fable, Avowed, State of Decay etc and it will depend on Public perception at that time. Obviously CoD will unlikely be an IP you'll consider as it will likely remain Multi-plat - perhaps like Minecraft or Destiny from Sony but MS still needs to 'prove' they can 'compete' on Quality, not just Quantity so we will see if their 'exclusives' compete for Awards and/or critically successful.

I know that I'll probably 'need' a Playstation 6, but I don't know if I'll want or buy a new Xbox though as I could invest in a decent PC set-up and use that for 'everything' and keep the PS6 for any ONLY on Playstation games. I am more concerned about Amazon owning Tomb Raider than 'Sony' or 'MS' buying up Studio's, IP's etcs they may use TR to get people into their Gaming ecosystem...

I have always needed multiple devices and if there are at least 2 'very' strong platforms competing with each other, we as Consumers 'benefit'. Yes you may 'want' a Single Platform to cater to your gaming needs as its easier but competition keeps prices competitive, keeps innovation and pushing each other to be 'better' to attract 'more' consumers.I doubt you'd have Back Compat on Playstation if it wasn't for Xbox last gen or aking PS+/PSNow more 'compelling' without Game Pass, wouldn't have Trophies etc so competition is important.

@Bentleyma It's a little absurd. I have a GPU sub, full of decent premium games, and I've spent the last month being utterly addicted to Vampire Survivors. A game that currently costs... what, $5? I think I've largely finished it now, but I keep playing because another thing it's good for is achievement harvesting, which is important for some Microsoft Rewards.

@KilloWertz true , the excessive clutter and cost can be an issue; wouldn’t call it stupidity , i can relate. i still get excited seeing multiple different retro consoles at stores and from peoples collections , it’s like i want them all and want to play them at once . it just comes with being a gamer 😃

i agree that it’s also nice to keep things at a minimum . i have my PS5, switch, and PC all in one area and it still feels like too much haha .

@Ralizah If I turn my Xbox Series S on I’ll play a few rounds before I play anything else. I also downloaded it on my phone to play at work!

@Bentleyma When I went on vacation recently, I played it via Xbox game streaming to maintain my daily Game Pass login achievement. The quality and lag were usually awful, of course, because I never have luck with game streaming no matter where I go or what I play on, unfortunately.

Thankfully, once you know the upgrades to grab, bad lag and video quality largely won't interfere with the success of a run.

Hi, wasn’t sure where to post this.

I am thinking if trading in my Series X but was after some advice. I have its box, it’s good condition, it has the original controller, rechargeable battery and the 1 terabyte storage card.
I’ll be including some games too and all its cables.

Now, my dilemma, if I do this I’ll be getting a PS5. So my questions:

I can get a discount of £50 of a PS5 from John Lewis, however, would that be worth it if I trade my console in at Game? Would the value Game would give me if I got a PS5 from them be more then taking cash from them and getting a £50 discount?

And secondly, is a new PS5 round the corner? I’ve seen lots of rumours of a PS5 Gen 2 or something coming in September?

I appreciate this is a bit hypothetical and I’ll need to visit Game to find out any true value. Just after some opinions. I haven’t got space for both consoles and to be honest, I’m tired of waiting for the games ‘I’ want in the platform. I’ll probably just stream the ones I want in the future as I’m getting fibre broadband this year.

@S1ayeR74 Difficult to know exactly what is the 'best' route as Game will often give you less money unless they take it as part of a trade-in deal. Overall, they could offer more than £50 difference across the Hardware and Software to make it the better option but until you find out, even speaking to them and say you'd rather have the 'money' because you can get £50 off at JL may help you get a 'better' deal at game too.

As for a 'new' PS5 round the corner, its entirely possible - whether its a Slim design without a Disc Drive (but an optical port to add one) but still a 'regular' PS5 in terms of Specs or a PS5 'Pro' with upgraded specs, again you'll never know for certain. You could be waiting another year to get something 'new' but also could 'buy' a PS5 and get home to find out a 'new' design is coming later.

Anything I can say would be purely speculating - speculating that Game won't offer £50 difference between trade in against a PS5 (or Store Credit) versus giving you the 'Cash' to spend elsewhere, speculating on the likelihood of Sony making a 'new' PS5 etc. The best way to get money for your Series X and bundle of accessories, games etc is to sell it privately as you'll get closer to the full value of your gear. Game can't/won't offer anywhere near 'full' value - you'll get between 50% and maybe 75% of what its worth because they need to make money on it and can't sell it for 'more' than its worth so have to offer a less - but if you trade with Game, they can probably 'reduce' the Cost of PS5 and offer a 'bit more' in trade in value because overall they get the trade which gives them profits from sales of the hardware to you and not seeing 'money' going out on 'used' gear that may not sell immediately to bring in 'revenue'.

If you aren't in any particular Hurry, you could put it on Ebay as a 'buy it now' bundle (maybe even accept offers too) around its 'true' used value as a bundle and if it doesn't sell in the next couple of weeks, then consider your other options - like Game for example. Maybe waiting will also give you more 'information' regarding a potential 'new' PS5 too - if its coming Sept/Oct time this year, you'd expect to hear something within the next month or two. With the Summer Game Festival season coming, its more likely to be 'confirmed' around then if its coming at all...

@BAMozzy Thanks, makes sense. I’ll have a think. Not sure what it’s value is really? I’ll have a look on eBay and see what they go for. I don’t want a Pro model as it’ll cost more. But from what you say I guess selling in eBay and a discount at JL could be the best value route to go. In two minds at the moment. But no Gears seems to be coming soon and State Of Decay 3 is MIA still, and they will be in Xcloud anyway.

@S1ayeR74 Selling yourself is always going to be the 'best' way to go as you'll get much closer to its full value as opposed to selling it to a store who also have to make money and therefore will never offer true value. It's often a trade between getting rid of everything as quickly as possible to get something quickly in return (some cash or another product) instead of maybe having to wait until it sells privately and therefore not being able to get your 'alternative' as quickly.

As for Xbox games, you don't 'need' a Series X unless it offers the level of performance/visual quality you want to play those games at and/or can't afford anything 'better'. Its not like Playstation where you need a PS5 to play their First Party games day/date and that is the 'ONLY' level at which you can play.

The Cloud may well offer you the opportunity to play SoD3, Gears, Redfall, Forza, Starfield, Perfect Dark, Fable, Avowed, Hellblade 2 etc etc, if you can only 'stream' them, you are basically playing at a 'entry' tier - at best 1080p (720p on mobile networks) and 60fps at best with increased Latency/Lag (even if its less than 10ms) and Streaming Compression artefacts (blocky looking shadows or gradients are common examples). So compared to playing Games on a PS5 (or Series X as its 'equivalent'), it's like going back a generation and not the 'best' way to play.

Of course, if you have a decent PC/Laptop for example, then you can use these to 'run' the games natively anyway. You don't 'need' an Xbox Console - it just depends on whether or not they offer the best bang for buck for what you will use them for. A Series S is perfectly good enough if you don't want/need more than 1080p res and can be found 'cheap' used too if you just want 'something' to play Xbox exclusives on and has a much bigger Library of games than 'Cloud' as well as access to all 'digital' games you may own inc GwG games that may not be 'streamable' - its the entry hardware tier, but does offer advantages over Cloud....

But ultimately, if you want to switch to PS5, its better to sell everything yourself as you'll get the most money back that way. If JL can sell them £50 less, chances are Game may well be able to Price Match too - especially if you are trading in something they could potentially make that money back on (or more) but you won't know until you 'try'...