[Xbox] This is the Old Thread. Go to the Shiny New Thread.

Synthesis

Where the controllers must flow!

In anxious anticipation of Skyrim in Space™, it's the new Xbox on console, PC, and streaming thread for 2023! Here where we talk about backwards compatibility, dev kit software, high-stakes corporate warfare in the arena of billion-dollar acqusitions, the inescapable subscription-dominated future, Xbox Game Streaming still not being on the Switch, how successful games aren't really successful, that political fallout of the United Kingdom's exit from the supranational European Union, how we might not really own anything anywhere, and why we're not allowed to turn our consoles into totally legitimate Nintendo and Sony emulation machines. No, Microsoft, I don't want to restart my console just to boot up Dolphin! I don't care what terms of service are!

Games with Gold

The original unified network for consoles somehow still with us, and still required for any non-free to play multiplayer experience, as on other networks! Nowadays, users with an "Xbox Live Gold" paid membership usually receive two free titles made available for download for a limited time--hit 'F' for Xbox 360 titles, which still available on the marketplace and Game Pass (mentioned below), concluded their role in Games with Gold in September 2022. Going forward, games will presumably belong to Xbox Series and Xbox One generations of releases. Yes, you do need to actually obtain them within the relevant time window. Yes, you can get Xbox Live Gold through a normal subscription fee, buying discounted months of membership through vendors, or abusing Xbox's overly-generous reward program. While original Xbox titles are not playable on original hardware (due to the discontinuation of Xbox Live support for the original 2001 console hardware), all subsequent releases are playable on their original hardware and all subsequent Xbox consoles going forward into the present (i.e. you can play Xbox 360 games when those were available).

Xbox and PC Game Pass or "The Best Value in Gaming!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Zz0Og6UuA

Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's own subscription gaming catalog service ("Netflix for video games") with hundreds of periodically rotating first and third-party titles across four generations of console hardware, making it attractive for digital-only libraries and people who want to try first party new exclusives (which will make the rounds on the service at the time of their launch). Likewise, the renamed PC Game Pass (for Windows 10 and 11) features an overlapping but different library with a number of PC-only titles that can be found through the website, the Windows store app or Xbox app, or in the case of EA titles, their software EA Play. However, both services come with their own separate fees--If you want them both, you may wish to consider the Cadillac of Netflix for Games, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: for less than the combined cost of both services, you can have your Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold subscriptions in a single plan! Because nothing bad ever came from bundling services! Keep in mind, additions of Xbox Live Gold subscription time (via redeemed codes) to an account with Game Pass Ultimate will automatically convert to the later, more-Cadillac experience at a ratio of (approximately) 3:1 (12 months of Xbox Live Gold equal 4 months of Game Pass Ultimate, but 6 months of Xbox Live Gold equals 79 days of Game Pass Ultimate, because Phil Spencer works in mysterious ways).

For first-time subscribers or those with no current subscription time left, extremely generous subscription deals are still available, so make sure you do your research when you're stocking up and keep an eye out for sales. Or just do what Microsoft and other corporations are counting on, and set your subscription to blissful autorenewal. Life is too short to worry about things like monthly fees!

In either service, there is no limit on how many games you can download and install from it, and access is for as long as the subscription holds--permanent purchases made from the catalog are discounted 20%, and DLC by 10%. It still does not require Xbox Live Gold (though that is part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate). Now with a Family Plan option (currently only available in Colombia, Chile, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, and the western hemisphere of Mars).

Xbox Game Streaming

https://youtu.be/J4FF_mHhwqw

Like Nvidia, Sony's Playstation Plus premium tier, and Google in the era of Stadia, Xbox Game Streaming (formerly "Project Xcloud") replaces your grandparents' Xbox game from the ancient era of streaming a console over your home network to the sexy future of piping your game in from The Cloud onto not just your smart phones, but Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, Windows PCs, certain Apple products sometimes and certain models of Samsung television and PC monitors! No longer in free beta, it is now available as a benefit from the Game Pass Ultimate, and has migrated to an Xbox Series X experience from the original Xbox One streaming infrastructure (fortunately). Play console-quality games on mobile! Take advantage of all the normal Xbox Live services! Drain your mobile device battery before you know it! Still probably not coming to your favorite non-Xbox console no matter how hard you ask, consult your doctor before hacking your Switch!

As of mid 2022, Xbox Game Streaming is officially available in the following regions:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

A full list of current Xbox Game Streaming titles is available courtesy of the excellent Windows Central website, alongside a full list of touch-compatible titles which are playable without the prerequisite compatible controller.

Xbox Backwards Compatibility Library

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oe1LUJyCCs

Say hello to the most extensive backwards compatibility library since Sony left the Playstation 3 unconscious in a bathtub full of ice! Since early in the Project Scarlett reveal, Xbox has committed to bringing the whole of the Xbox One library forward to the Xbox Series consoles, alongside the existing Xbox One-era software backwards compatibility libraries on all previous Xbox consoles since 2001 excluding Kinect-hardware requiring titles on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Yes, we are as shocked as you. After capping the 20th Anniversary Showcase with more than seventy additions from the original Xbox and Xbox 360, the powers that be have sadly turned the page on further additions from 2012 and earlier (at least for now), though all new Xbox One releases are playable. In the meantime, pour one out for those games who couldn't be here with us.

Curious if your favorite Xbox 360 or original Xbox game is playable? Check it out!

2024 Developer Direct

Releases set for...2024!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFSdlFmDNI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htGnW6YNPjs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nLqOW_UaA

2023 Summer Showcase + Starfield Direct

Because it's a very big deal!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGtYn7DCIYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEQRwpMYPaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Z-8Y8r5ss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTcvtSfDkCM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-K3N71WIog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIZGW3mty8I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIIPXA2A6cM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULsF7B6bFuU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGtYn7DCIYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOWILvQGVz4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xp-SnZDoY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q1HRYrO1Gw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reXtWtd2zQo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PekONLKFGU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em4gv1Ietko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ec53OT5ybY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iPrNxNdmhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfsNMOMLZoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GFUCpvNnrA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7-3NsH82HA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vO3yJGATP4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZW39Yml3a8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btHGCpUPjPk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RhVFeNIBi0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDFuhaYxeMU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OAr4Z0aiVs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaFTDntBiSY

Lots of other Trailers!

Watch ol' Phil Spencer stumble awkwardly though Japanese! How cosmopolitan!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPwwMbvVEKk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFGrrnkGzn8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI59H-1VMkE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rf_7LQrbGY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPwwMbvVEKk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzd7L7DFQMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC7kvgjz6VE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz1PSDKEaKk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxeVxEvvHc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPDI4ehuA38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8yRkZxpP6k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HBaLeuUusQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8krCALDMCs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDWBL-lXE40

Xbox 20th Anniversary Showcase

This wasn't even that recent! Oh, god, we're all so old!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_a0ijMQex4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJYsA1jXf60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT_i6hXf9WU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yappZvmxcP8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC65DNzxyxU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d6IMBS8oY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1h--43R8Oo

Penny Arcade Forums' Game Clubs

Pax Arcadia
Arcade Squad (Gears of War series)
The Bees Knees (Halo series)

Additionally, you can find the forums Xbox Live gamertag list here, and the form to sign up here.

LBD_Nytetrayn

I feel like this is a good fit for a new thread here:

https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1661489113814679553

Archsorcerer

Are bingo cards ready for the June showcase? :P

I didn't notice Marathon is coming Xbox.

Elki

Oddball publisher Square is back with a game on Xbox, which means the next game in this series is 100% guaranteed to skip the platform; those are the rules. Also with a weird price-point. Have we seen a $65 game before?

https://twitter.com/xbox/status/1662490075094216705

Peen

In the grimy darkness of the future there is only war powerwashing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVqZ6FSOv0

Santa Claustrophobia

Sold.

Elki

Dordogne turns out to be a GP game, that’s convenient.



https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/05/30/game-pass-june-2023-wave-1-announce/

chamberlain

I am pleased that the new Amnesia is on there. Not sure if I trust that team after Amendia Rebirth being, well, bad.

Elki

https://twitter.com/XboxWire/status/1663545964685328385

Crippl3

well at least they're interesting games
Adios is cool, and The Vale is an audio-only experience which could be really neat

Local H Jay

Unsure where to stick this but here feels fine as it does relate to the Activision buyout; Kotick gives his first interview in over a decade and speaks on the companies' issues. Within just a few paragraphs he is disparaging the sexual harassment suit against Activision Blizzard as "a labor movement working hard to destabilize the company"
https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/activision-blizzard-ceo-addresses-toxic-workforce-claims-microsoft-deal-1235628361/

Local H Jay

Holy shit lol that article references Michael Pachter, my god I feel so old hearing that

Aegeri

Absolute faffing horse shit of an article.

Undead Scottsman

A woman is dead you colossal piece of shit.

Jazz

Elki

This is the magazine’s cover story? Yuck. Everting is the CWA’s fault, apparently.

As Activision has grown, Kotick has become a handy villain, depicted as the rich suit who lives off the money that gamers shell out on their favorite pastime. The slogging on video game-centric social media platform has taken its toll on Kotick, and his family.

“The hatred has turned into a lot of antisemitism,” Kotick says. “When you look at images of me are on the internet, there are these antisemitic undertones. My kids have gotten death threats.”

I laughed at the first paragraph then learned from the second that Bobby is Jewish, and it changes nothing. He is a rich CEO living off our money, because that’s literally every single CEO of a major corporation.

“Playing games is such a visceral experience,” Kotick explains. “We’re getting to the point that the game itself is able to create its own content in real time. That will be exquisite.”

It’s stupid fantasy but also makes sense that the ultimate dream of suits who blame labor for everything is owning a perpetual money machine that maintains itself and requires no pesky minions who want their cut.

TexiKen

They didn't bring up the bullshit of the Overwatch 2 lie, what fucking cowards.

In other news, ordered the Hori fight pad octa in anticipation for UwU Fighter 6, really sad that no one made any new fightpads in anticipation for the SF6 launch or even Tekken 8. Fightsticks are like keyboards and mice, for losers this post was made by controller gang.

Synthesis

"Blame the union!" Well sure, it's served the country very well for the last let me check half century.

Elki

There was a Summer Game Fest tile on the home page, but it wasn’t a sponsored tile, instead it had the Game Pass tag. I guess they’ll show some stuff early at Keighley’s thing, or maybe just Game Pass additions.

LBD_Nytetrayn

TIL Kotick is Jewish.



Any/all support I have for the acquisition is in the hopes that he and his flunkies will soon be far, far away from the people at Activision Blizzard who deserve better, and we'll never have to hear about them again except in the footnotes of gaming history.

Wait, no, I take that back. Keep his name fresh and a spotlight on it for how terrible he is and how not to do things. Serve as an example to others. I have a spare pike, if it would help.

Prohass

Is street fighter 6 coming to gamepass at some point or did I make that up in my head?

shoeboxjeddy

Prohass wrote: »

Is street fighter 6 coming to gamepass at some point or did I make that up in my head?

No announcements yet, I would not count on it. Exoprimal is coming in July.

BRIAN BLESSED

I absolutely loathe Kotick with every vibrating particle in my body, that dude is straight up trying to launder his image Elizabeth Holmes-style while his employees toil and suffer
Playing the race card is just icing on this manure cake. He can't fuck off soon enough

Santa Claustrophobia

I still like the moment when he was hyping Band Hero as the first full-band rhythm game and he was fact-checked live with 'You mean Rock Band?'

rahkeesh2000

Paywalled Bloomberg Article by Jason Shcreir about how the development of Redfall went. What I've been able to glean:

• Started under Bethesda looking for MTX-type live services. Arkane Austin pitched Redfall to fill that void
• Huge portion of staff did not want to be working on a multiplayer game. 70% of the staff that shipped Prey ended up quitting through Redfall development.
• Some staff were hoping Microsoft buyout would allow a reboot or rescoping into single player. Disappointed when nothing changed aside from losing the MTX.

Basically Bethesda and Arkane leadership trying to force a round peg immersive sim dev into a square live service hole after Prey failed to take off, and then Microsoft failing to correct course.

shoeboxjeddy

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1664262385991921664?t=XYDnx_93yqez_y4g99uRCw&s=19

Article is no longer paywalled, read away.

urahonky

Yep you can certainly feel it while you play it. Shame. I bet if it was refocused as a single player experience more people would have been able to enjoy it.

Undead Scottsman

Between this and the Mick Gordon stuff, I'm pretty done with Zenimax. Also between all that, the managerial issues at 343, and the allegations at Undead Labs, I have zero doubt Microsoft would do shit all with Activision's horseshit, except maybe give Kotick a fat check and early retirement... and I'm not even sure that would happen.

M-Vickers

rahkeesh2000 wrote: »

Paywalled Bloomberg Article by Jason Shcreir about how the development of Redfall went. What I've been able to glean:

• Started under Bethesda looking for MTX-type live services. Arkane Austin pitched Redfall to fill that void
• Huge portion of staff did not want to be working on a multiplayer game. 70% of the staff that shipped Prey ended up quitting through Redfall development.
• Some staff were hoping Microsoft buyout would allow a reboot or rescoping into single player. Disappointed when nothing changed aside from losing the MTX.

Basically Bethesda and Arkane leadership trying to force a round peg immersive sim dev into a square live service hole after Prey failed to take off, and then Microsoft failing to correct course.

I'm replaying Prey at the moment, and it's still awesome. A vampire hunting version, fantasy rather than sci-fi, set in a small seaside town, would have been great.

Elki

Front Mission remake coming to Xbox.

https://www.gematsu.com/2023/06/front-mission-1st-remake-coming-to-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-and-pc-on-june-30

Aegeri

I bet implementing and removing GaaS elements cost them an enormous amount of dev time on Redfall.

Edit: I think a lot of reviews hit the nail on the head that Redfall felt dull, lifeless and soulless. It's easy to see why, nobody wanted to work on it! When you're hoping the new boss cancels the project, Jesus. No wonder.

Elki

I started Maneater thinking it was an open sandbox like Goat Simulator but to my surprise it’s a fully fledged game, albeit a somewhat repetitive one. Is it weird that I have a Destiny-style gear evolution menu with white to yellow rarity, where you can see my common fin, epic teeth, and legendary organs? Yes, also kinda funny but it works on me. Went fully down the amphibian tree to maximize the time I can outside the water tearing up beachgoers. Played enough to go from a pup, to a teen a shark, adult, and now an elder shark. What’s next? You might be able to guess.

The story is the real surprise of the show. I’m fully now invested in my boneless fish’s revenge tale with Chris Parnell doing the voice over and Carlo Mestroni doing a lot of
the heavy lifting with a thick Georgia drawl to elevate the narrative.

Hopefully it does it drag much toward the end.

Aegeri

I do wonder if this means Redfall is completely dead, because it certainly did fail commercially by a long way - probably even worse than Forspoken - or if they will just fulfill the obligations they have from the bite back edition and call themselves completely done. Given the absolute lack of enthusiasm for the project at Arkane, I don't see it having a No Man's Sky return to grace that some were hoping for.

Santa Claustrophobia

urahonky wrote: »

Yep you can certainly feel it while you play it. Shame. I bet if it was refocused as a single player experience more people would have been able to enjoy it.

The irony of this statement is why it happened the way it did.

tastydonuts

Elki wrote: »

I started Maneater thinking it was an open sandbox like Goat Simulator but to my surprise it’s a fully fledged game, albeit a somewhat repetitive one. Is it weird that I have a Destiny-style gear evolution menu with white to yellow rarity, where you can see my common fin, epic teeth, and legendary organs? Yes, also kinda funny but it works on me. Went fully down the amphibian tree to maximize the time I can outside the water tearing up beachgoers. Played enough to go from a pup, to a teen a shark, adult, and now an elder shark. What’s next? You might be able to guess.

The story is the real surprise of the show. I’m fully now invested in my boneless fish’s revenge tale with Chris Parnell doing the voice over and Carlo Mestroni doing a lot of
the heavy lifting with a thick Georgia drawl to elevate the narrative.

Hopefully it does it drag much toward the end.

Yeah, I loved Maneater. It was great that it got picked up on Gamepass too because I think a lot of people thought that. Or it was just a wonky indy thing... but yeah. good stuff.

The best thing about it is how it keeps its sense of scale and growth. I need to go and do that truth DLC at some point.

Elki

<:Rad_Sign:703209992467120158> **ENG**

Hello everyone,

We have some important information to share. Our team has identified a vulnerability exploited by a group of Russian hackers attacking the company for almost a year and a half. Unfortunately, they were able to access and compromise some of our leaked information intended for internal testing of various game aspects.

As for now, we kindly ask stalkers and those who want to join the Zone in the future not to look at or share any leaked materials from the game. Although these materials are only used for testing purposes and are not release-ready, these leaks may ruin your experience of exploring the Zone by yourself.

Rest assured, our team remains dedicated to delivering an exceptional gaming experience. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the game we dedicate our hearts and souls to. Despite the issue, we will continue to ensure that the game will satisfy your expectations, as we hope.

We appreciate your continued support and understanding during these challenging times!

Sincere thanks,
GSC Game World Team

https://twitter.com/stalker_thegame/status/1664315994683195412

Assholes.

Preacher

I swear this isn't even the first time.

Shitty week for russia and gaming, Valve also shut down a cs go map that was letting people cut through the propaganda in russia. Must remain neutral by supporting Russia I guess.

Elki

People on the Stalker discord are saying to not search for Stalker 2 on Twitter because spoilers are prominent in search results and I’ll take their word for it and not test that for myself.

BRIAN BLESSED

Preacher wrote: »

I swear this isn't even the first time.

Shitty week for russia and gaming, Valve also shut down a cs go map that was letting people cut through the propaganda in russia. Must remain neutral by supporting Russia I guess.

I'm very certain they've reported a similar thing happening last year as well

TexiKen

Played one game of SF6 this morning before work just to check it downloaded, gotta be careful fam, they are forcing that modern control scheme on you something fierce I reckon, make sure you turn it to classic for every mode and controller. They even tried to say "hey buddy, we can transfer the controls from the demo over, k?" and then just didn't carry over anything. Liars!

But we are getting classic costumes you can unlock, and that....that just makes me smile. Can't spell classic without class(y)!

Snake Gandhi

See, I like the Modern controls. But then again I've been trying and failing to do dragon punches for nigh on 30 years now.

So far I've played enough SF6 to make my Avatar but it feels real good to be playing Street Fighter on an Xbox again.