Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@BAMozzy that's exactly the situation I'm in, I've just picked up the Xbox One X having not being part of the Xbox family since early in the 360 days. I didn't even think I'd be able to access my old account but as Windows has unified everything, my login details were identical to my laptop, however my digital collection amounted to little more than the original Doom and a few Mega drive games.

This meant that game pass was a bit of a god send and one of the factors in my purchase, for Just £8 (well it's free for a 2 week trial) I have access to a lot of games including Gears of War 4 to see what the new console can do and the old Fable games. How useful this will be over time as I build my own collection is yet to be seen but it's a fantastic starting point, especially when considering the cost of PS+/Gold, not to mention PS Now and the games available through them.

As for the console and as a Pro owner since launch, I have to admit this thing is on another level with Halo 5, Gears of War and Forza Horizon 3 all looking phenomenal, the OS seems to be far superior and of course it's topped off with a 4K blu ray player. I also picked up Fallout 4 (So I can play with mods) and Rare Replay for a bit of nostalgia, with Cuphead on my to buy list.

Right as I'm not that familiar with the Xbox catalogue does anyone have any recommendations regarding games? I'm guessing this isn't the place for JRPG's but any suggestions are welcome

@carlos82 Well Gold can cost ~£3 a month and is still needed with Game Pass if you want to get the most out of the console and games. Halo, Forza, Gears etc all have online components that require Game Pass. PSNow is not comparable at all in my opinion.

Checkout out this LIST OF XBOX ENHANCED GAMES as that will give you some idea of the games that will are or are confirmed to be enhanced. Apart from the multi-platform JRPG's like FFxv, I don't think Xbox has any of it's own. Black Desert Online, which is a MMORPG will come to Xbox first and Code Vein will be enhanced on X too. I would suggest looking through the list, maybe checking out youtube to get an idea of what the games are etc. You have a better idea of what games you enjoy than I do. If you have game pass, then you have no excuses not to download and try any of the offerings. I am sure a lot will be familiar to you as they are on both platforms - games like Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break, Halo Wars, Recore, State of Decay, Ori and the Blind Forest, Screamride etc worth looking up as they are exclusives that you may not have heard about - maybe some will appeal to you...

The X is certainly a beast and generally, where the devs have bothered, is on another level to the Pro. The Pro is generally offering around a 2x boost over the PS4 where as the X is delivering around a 2x boost over the Pro with 'extras' like better texture filtering for example. Its more suited to a 4k screen for sure. You get the best console versions of games like the Witcher 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider etc too which I would recommend playing - even if you played them before on the PS4 and especially if you have a 4k HDR TV!

Edit: You will need Xbox Gold if you intend to play Sea of Thieves - I believe its all online and will be needed for State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 if you want to play co-operatively too. A lot of the games are now coming out as cross-platform - meaning that you can play these games across platforms - play with PC friends.

If MS do buy EA as rumoured, I have no doubt that games like Anthem, Battlefield, Fifa etc will be cross-platform between PC and Xbox. I really do think it would make a lot of sense for MS to buy EA or Valve as both offer something MS lack, need and/or could greatly benefit from with their 'direction'. Like buying 'Mixer' to offer Twitch type streaming, buying Valve could help MS with 'steam' type format. EA obviously has studio's that MS could take advantage of, as well as use Frostbite to make Fable or Perfect Dark games. I don't see MS taking Fifa, Star Wars or BF away from Sony and would still publish games on PS4 - like they did with Minecraft - but they could still use BioWare, Dice etc to work on (or at least help with), their own franchises.

If MS did buy EA, its possible that PC/Xbox owners get some minor benefits - like 'early access' or Beta access - maybe even a cosmetic only bonus but I think the 'biggest' bonuses, certainly in the near future, would be Cross Platform gaming. I think MS would lose licenses - like Fifa or Star Wars if they were to make these 'exclusive' to MS platforms. It would also be foolish of MS to cut out that 'revenue' from Sony gamers.

It really does seem that MS are trying to merge the PC and Xbox gaming into one larger community. The Xbox basically becoming more of a gaming PC in a 'console' form - not that it ever wasn't - but more 'unified' than previous. They don't care if you buy a Surface Pro or HP, Acer etc equivalent - as long as it has Windows and you can buy apps from the MS store. Its getting like that with the Xbox - they don't care too much if you buy the Xbox or gaming PC as long as you buy software from the MS store. I bet hardware has very little profit - especially over a 3-4yr (maybe longer) period. Buying an Xbox may give MS a small profit (if any) but the software you buy gives them more. As long as you buy an MS product (PC with Windows or Xbox console) to play games on, they will be happy. People may say that making games for both PC and Xbox hurts the console but from MS's perspective, the loss of console sales and potential 'profit' from that is more than made up by the increased software sales from PC gamers. Those that say its better to have a PC and PS4/Switch for gaming are still playing into MS's hands - they are still buying into MS.

@BAMozzy thanks for that I've got plenty of games to be getting on with for some time. I didn't realise you needed Gold to have the game pass as I had a free trial for both, I'll be getting Gold anyway and the discount I received from it on Forza Horizon 3 will pay for my Game pass for the next month.

I'm hugely impressed with the console, with Gears of War in particular looking amazing using upgraded textures. Halo 5 and Forza 3 are also stunning and it's quite amazing the difference true 4K can make over the varying quality of checkerboard rendering seen on Pro. Also nice to see how it handles unpatched with it's enforced 16x anisotropic filtering and access to the new cpu speed and around half of the new gpu, it's a bit of a shock playing Doom on it after playing on the Switch 😉

As for multiplatform games this will now be my go to console.

well that makes sense but wouldn't that also run a risk of one of the platforms becoming redundant after all if you have a P.C for example that plays anything on the XBOX then what reason is there to also have an XBOX or vice versa

lets say most decided to get a P.C because it also has other uses over the next XBOX because either will share all games wouldn't that make the XBOX system will look to MS to not be worth it, they could then decide to drop the XBOX system altogether and just move completely to the P.C and any of the current 3 dropping out the console market would be bad after all it's their race with each other that helps drive it forward

@FullbringIchigo I think even as a unified platform there is room for both a console and PC platform to exist, you could have used that argument for the past 10 years as so many console games are on PC. The reality is people like the plug and play nature of consoles and this aspect is perhaps the single biggest draw of consoles or indeed the intial cost difference between them, we should also take into account that most PC's out there won't play high end games.

I do believe MS ultimately see the Xbox brand as a gaming platform that runs across many devices, with these rumours and Game pass pointing in that direction. I still think they will continue to make consoles, especially as they have been so active in doing so for some time and seem to be quite good at it and the Xbox One sells much better then parts of the internet would have us believe.

@carlos82 You don't 'need' gold with Game Pass but you need Gold for online games/gaming. Without Gold, you can still download and play games but only offline content. Sea of Thieves is an online game and games like Forza, Halo and Gears of War all have online components too that would not be available without Gold. Its no different to games you buy - either on PS4 or Xbox One - in that you need PS+/Gold for online gaming. Game Pass games are not exempt from the same requirements with regards to online gaming.

I personally think 4k in games is a much bigger impact than 4k in movies. The majority of games though use more sharp edges etc and why 4k makes more difference with games. I do think some PS4 games hold up very well on a 4k TV and Chequerboard rendering is a fantastic tool to deliver higher resolution quality visuals with minimal impact. I would much prefer CB 1800-2160p to native 1440p. Granted its not always as 'perfect' as native 1800-2160p but its very close and I prefer that to seeing the 'upscale' blur/softness that occurs with lower res. I know that 'resolution' isn't the most important aspect of a game - performance is higher in my opinion but resolution does make a difference. Anyone who says it doesn't are lying - I can't see anyone preferring a game at 720-900p (XB1), 900-1080p (PS4) or even 1440p (PS4 Pro) when they could play at 2160p. I know that maybe people may settle for the lower visual quality for other reasons - like financial (not able to justify upgrading console, TV or both), or preference (won't buy an MS console or don't see enough reason to justify the cost) but I bet if Money was no object and Sony had a 4k console, they wouldn't buy the 'weaker/est' visual quality version.

I know people criticise MS for a 'lack' of exclusives but MS have around 20 exclusives of the 100+ enhanced games and since E32017 has released Forza 7 (won several awards), Cuphead (another game that has won a lot of awards), PUBG (maybe timed but still one of the biggest games of 2017) as well as Super Lucky's Tale, Tacoma, Fable Fortune, Slime Rancher, Recore Definitive (OK - the game was released a year ago but this is the definitive edition), Hello Neighbor (maybe timed but still exclusive at this point in time) etc with games like Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Ori and the Will o' the Wisp (follow up to the award winning Ori and the blind forest), the Last Night (the Pixel art side scrolling Bladerunner inspired game that wowed at E3), Ashen, Below, Black Desert (Timed MMO exclusive), Deep Rock Galactic, Starpoint Gemini Warlords, The Artful Escape, the Darwin Project etc as well as Forza Horizon 4 which should be announced at E3 and release in Sept as these games come as regularly as clockwork. Its been nearly 3yrs since Halo 5 too so 6 should be announced soon. I know not all are AAA exclusives but that's still not bad for a console with 'no' games - let alone all the multi-platform releases that look and/or play better. There are rumours of a new Fable and Perfect Dark too.

The PS4 Pro was my 'multi-platform' console of choice until the Project Scorpio released. I see no reason to buy multi-platform games on the Pro and the Project Scorpio will definitely be my lead console until Sony release the PS5 as I see that happening before MS make a better console. At least the Pro won't gather dust with some good exclusives coming out...

@FullbringIchigo That's a lot of ifs and buts. I think there will always be a market for the Xbox console - even if it doesn't hit 30m+ in sales. There will always be a group that prefer the simplicity and ease of just plugging in a console to a TV and gaming from the comfort of their sofa. I know PC's can offer that and more but I still think people will want the console and everything that modern consoles offer. MS won't necessarily care whether you are buying and playing games on their platforms - whether that's a physical Xbox or their more virtual PC Xbox. They will be looking at player engagement and users, looking at having the biggest share of gamers on Microsoft powered devices. I know for a lot of people, consoles are just for gaming, but then there are a lot who use their console for watching Netflix or Blurays and the console is designed to sit under the TV too. They are also used by 'kids' in their bedrooms - and often cheaper than buying them a gaming PC - especially if you have a family. My kids had their own console in their bedroom. Point is, there are many people who want, prefer or can only afford or fit a console into their situation. Some don't want to spend all-day at a PC at work and then come home and sit at a PC all evening gaming. PC's are also 'generally' less 'social' - I don't mean online social but family social.

Maybe if 'consoles' were to disappear in favour of PC's, MS also has a 'trump' card in that maybe all the 'Xbox' games you own could be transferred to your PC and you keep your library. However I can't see that happening for a long time. The 'Xbox console' may well become 'more' of a PC. Like you can buy Microsoft Surface or Acer, HP etc equivalent to do all the same thing, buy apps from MS store, buy MS software etc, the Xbox Console could just be MS built fixed spec gaming 'PC' with more media focus (4k HDR bluray etc) and 'console' form for fitting under a TV with ALL PC/Xbox games running (no PC or Xbox exclusives) and all in one massive MS ecosystem. It could even retain the Xbox 'branding' for the console form hardware and MS studio games but third party devs could release a game as PC and it would still play on the 'console' form - no Xbox or PC split with MP - all play in one big unified market. It won't be Playstation vs Xbox any more but more Sony vs MS - although some will still make out that is Playstation vs Xbox and quote 'console' sales are more than the 'console/PC' hybrid.

Its 'almost' like that now - although there are still a lot of games that are on PC only but with MS merging their own games into one unified group with Cross-platform play, its only a matter of time before the merge is more complete. Its not that different in essence from MS selling Surface as their laptop/tablet range but with the Xbox becoming the name of MS's gaming PC's - like HP have 'Omen' as their 'gaming' PC. MS won't care if you buy their Hardware so much (I bet the profit isn't that high on each console sold) when they can make much more by selling you the software - especially through their store. Like I said it won't be PS vs Xbox but more Sony vs MS but with MS, the hardware won't necessarily have to be built and supplied by MS - much like you don't have to buy MS built Laptop/tablet to get all the MS PC software. Whether you buy an Xbox or PC, MS are still getting revenue. Its still their OS you have bought, still required for a LOT of games and still getting money as its their 'branding' (Windows logo) on the (virtual or physical) 'box'. All those PS gamers that say they won't buy an Xbox because its Microsoft but game on a PC are still helping MS's revenue to grow...

For some bizzare reason the xbox one x price has rised from 500 to 530 euros without any games here! It seems to affect some european countries...

Can't wait for Wave 2 of the OG Xbox games. Psychonauts on Xbox blew the PS4 version away.

@KratosMD Since you already have a PS4, Switch is an absolute no brainer over a XB1 in my opinion. If you have a 4K TV then the XB1X makes sense to play the multiplats in the best possible way, but that's about it. As you say, it has very little on the horizon as far as exclusives go.

@KratosMD i'm in the same predicament, i find that this gen i don't need both a PS4 and a XB1 and as most of the games i want to play are PlayStation exclusives and Final Fantasy (and some of them are even PS exclusive) i feel getting rid of my XB1 would be the best thing and getting a Switch because i LOVE me some Zelda and Mario BUT my main problem is that my XB1 was a gift from my brother so do i sell it as it really is just collecting dust right now and explain to my brother why and hope it doesn't offend him or just leave it and save for a Switch?

@KratosMD Yup, like I say - no brainer. There are already some great games out on Switch and it's in its infancy. Plus, as an experience, it compliments the PS4 perfectly. XB1 on the other hand looks like it's just treading water as it attempts to offer the same experience as the far superior PS4. Like I say, the only really attractive feature is the true 4K support and other bells and whistles offered by the XB1X, if you have the rest of the hardware to support it. But if none of the XB1 exclusives on the horizon are of interest to you it might be worth a trade in against a new Switch.

I get the predicament. I kind of want an XB1 (probably an S model) but only to play with a close friend online (who can't get a PS4) and for backwards compatibility with a bunch of my 360 games. Other than that, I really wouldn't use it since there isn't much I'd play on it that I couldn't play on PS4 so it is hard for me to justfiy just for those reasons. I was close to getting one during black friday as it dropped to like £170 or something and I thought I could sell my 360 for a few quid.

@KratosMD Dunno that's your call. I tend not to worry about waiting for unannounced revised hardware myself. I mean, worst case scenario and a new model gets announced and you really like the new features so you can trade in your old Switch for the new one. Yeah you'll lose a bit on it but that's life. Better than holding out for something that might not ever come in my opinion.

@KratosMD I have thought several times this gen on buying an Xbox One but what has always stopped me is the thought of what does Xbox One have that PS4 doesn't? Unless you are a Halo fan, or Gears fan not much really. There's a few exclusives like Sunset Overdrive that I wouldn't mind checking out but it's not worth buying a system to me.

I eventually went with a Switch for my "other" system this gen mainly cause it has more exclusives then the Xbox One that I want(ed) to play (Mario Odyssey, Bayonetta Series, Arms, etc).

Not to mention the portability factor is well worth it IMO. Now I am not sure your living condition but for me it's come really handy having it become portable. When my son wants to play something on the PS4, or use the tv in general I can still play something on the Switch. I can also see it being handy if you travel alot too.

Those two reasons I find it better for a PS4 owner to skip the Xbox One this gen unless of course as mentioned before, you are a Halo or Gears fan or want the best picture possible for multiplatform games.

@KratosMD sure. Do remember that mean while your XB1 is losing value. So if you were going to trade it in against a Switch now, then trade that Switch in for a (theoretical) new model Switch in the future you might still be better off than waiting another year or two before trading the XB1 in for a (theoretical) new model Switch.

@KratosMD There is no right or wrong answer to that question. What's right for one is not right for all and you have to do what's right for you. The way Xbox is position itself at the moment appears to be looking at keeping your existing library with you as long as you stay with Xbox. Any games you have, dating back to the OG Xbox in some cases will continue to be with you in the future too. That also includes any games you may have acquired via Games with Gold and all those 360 games are yours permanently regardless (you don't need Gold or to be online to play).

Its no secret that MS don't 'appear' to have much in the way of upcoming exclusives BUT Phil Spencer has taken the decision to only reveal the 'near future' - generally the 'next year' of games only. Since games have been delayed, cancelled and brought out year after year, Phil has had to deal with the fallout from this - we see Sony also handling announcements differently too with games being announced with at best a vague release window - often with none at all because they have had to deal with the fallout from delays. This is why we have little idea what's lined up beyond E3 2018 from MS. Regular as clockwork though, you can expect another Forza Horizon in September and no doubt Halo 6 and Gears 5 to follow at some-point. There was a leak that seemed to indicate a new Fable, new Perfect Dark, New mech game, Age of Empires to come to console in the future etc. Whether these appeal or not, I don't know but Sony don't offer anything like Forza Horizon and can't think of any RTS games like Halo Wars for example. Games like Ori, Cuphead etc don't tend to get the credit they are due because they are 'indies' but they are award winning games. I must admit Sea of Thieves doesn't appeal, State of Decay won't be a day 1 (if I buy it) and Crackdown hasn't grabbed my attention like the first did.

Anyway, I can totally understand that if you have the base XB1, its not exactly the best for multi-plats and if the exclusives, solid as they are even if they aren't all GotY contenders don't appeal, then that's the decision you need to make. I had an Xbox and 360 so I have way to many games on my XB1 that would be lost if I sold. I have around 100 games ready to install right now so it wouldn't make sense in my situation but as I said, each person is different.

You could wait to see what happens between now and E3. I don't think you will get a lot for an OG XB1 - not enough to buy a Switch anyway so you could save some money between now and E3 to see what the state of play is then. Maybe by then, the Switch will have dropped in price too. Then again,buying a new Xbox S could be an option later if you do decide to get an Xbox in the future - they aren't expensive either...

@KratosMD Who even said that a new model Switch is even going to be coming? Unless you happen to know an uncle's college roommate's sister's boyfriend's cousin's dad who works for Nintendo you can't even be sure a new version of the Switch is coming.

And before you say Xbox One X and PS4 Pro keep in mind Nintendo has never done that in the past the Wii U never got an upgrade nor did the Wii.

@KratosMD Weirdly I've kind of gone the other way, I don't play my Switch at all at the moment having finished with Mario and Zelda and have just bought the Xbox One X. I've been out of the Xbox loop for quite some time so im not really short of games to play on it added to the fact that it's now the home for my multiplatform stuff (sorry guys it's just better than the Pro). Halo 5, Gears 4 and Forza Horizon 3 are easily as good as anything on PS4 whilst Cuphead is one of the best games I've ever played. Upcoming games seem a bit slim at the moment (though I like the look of Sea of Thieves) yet there are still rumours of Perfect Dark and Fable and maybe there'll be surprises at E3. I can see that having been with it since day one you'll have slim pickings, particularly as you'd likely use PS4 for multiplatform games.

As for Switch it's a great system which has some amazing games already and as @kyleforrester87 says better compliments the PS4 but I wouldn't wait for a hardware revision for the next couple of years at least. All I would say is that it could be worth waiting until E3 as last year was all about the X so maybe we'll get some surprises on the gaming front this time.

@KratosMD Yeah to be honest, I only have a handful of titles on the 360 I would want to keep and probably not worth keeping the 360 for it I did get an XB1. Thanks for the advice though. I've played a few BC titles with a friend on his XB1S when I last visited and the downloading was a pain the backside when we started flitting between titles. To be honest though, if I got another console and didn't sacrifice the 360, my wife would probably have my knackers.