• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Do you have audio editing experience and want to help out with the Famiboards Discussion Club Podcast? If so, we're looking for help and would love to have you on the team! Just let us know in the Podcast Thread if you are interested!

Xbox Xbox is failing so horribly, its kind of unbelievable

big lantern ghost said:
This isn’t a rip on Bethesda by any means — I have loved several of their games, nobody quite makes ‘em like they do and I think it looks cool — but what do you feel the odds are that Starfield is a stable, relatively bug-free experience on launch day? Lmao.
Click to expand...

Barely any chance Starfield comes out as this hyper polished game. It's gonna have Bethesda jank but the question is if it's an acceptable amount to still enjoy the game or if it ruins the experience.
 
I have the 3 main consoles and the Series X is by far the least played.
The selection of exclusives is pretty terrible and the big hitters don't appeal to me (Halo, Gears, Forza), however I did the cheap Gamepass trick
so have benefited from that and enjoyed playing stuff like Outer Worlds, Quantum Break, A Plague Tale.
I'm currently dipping in and out of Hi-Fi Rush, which is great.
The hardware itself is great, powerful, very quiet and discrete.
Unlike some others here, I vastly prefer the controller on the other consoles, I stopped playing Wo Long on Series X as it was hurting my fingers too much whereas the PS5 demo was fine.

For me, the PS5 controller is much more comfortable with way better rumble and triggers and the exclusives are far more to my taste, so despite it being huge and ugly, it's by far preferable. I'm hoping the at some point after years of promise, there will soon be exclusives that appeal to me.

My heart is still with Nintendo of course but I'm really over the Switch visuals at this point.
 
big lantern ghost said:
This isn’t a rip on Bethesda by any means — I have loved several of their games, nobody quite makes ‘em like they do and I think it looks cool — but what do you feel the odds are that Starfield is a stable, relatively bug-free experience on launch day? Lmao.
Click to expand...
I’m more interested in whether or not it evolves the typically Bethesda RPG gameplay. It’s one thing if the game is bug free but something like Fallout 4 made like no meaningful improvements to the gameplay style. And it was a bug laden POS on top of that.

The vibes I’m getting from Starfield now is just “the same, but bigger.”
 
Last edited:
In a way, I would be disappointed if Starfield didn’t have any goofy bugs in it. That’s part of what made Skyrim and FO3 so fun.

So long as they aren’t game breaking, of course. But I love me some horse mountain climbing derp.
 
Yeah… they’re in serious trouble now. With the ABK acquisition now blocked, Redfall being a megabomba failure and the entirety of XGS’ output being mothballed until at least 2024-2025 (except for Forza), all of Xbox’s hopes now lie on Starfield.

If Starfield is anything less than a Skyrim level success? The Xbox division might well be totally done. I think Satya Nadella is going to pull the plug completely and cut the Xbox division loose; especially considering the anti-trust damage it has now done to Microsoft as a whole.

Ironically, the CAT’s attempts to block a perceived Xbox monopoly may well have just resulted in a true Playstation monopoly! Good job guys!
 
I feel like my faith in Bethesda, much like my faith in Xbox, has eroded pretty steadily over the years. I definitely want Starfield to be a great game but they haven’t put out one of those in a looooong time
 
Love my Series X, love Game Pass, but Xbox First Party games? Disaster.

I got three years of game pass for $180 back in September 2020. Definitely got my money's worth, with games like Forza Horizon 4 and 5, Psychonauts 2, Pentiment, Flight Simulator, Gears 4 and 5, Age of Empires II HD, Plague Tale 1 & 2 etc. For value it's unbeatable.

But over that time (almost 3 years), what major first party games have come and really "hit"? FH 5, sure, but racing games don't move the reputational needle. I thought Halo Infinite was the best Halo game since Halo 3, but it seems like the consensus was pretty negative.

It felt like the ABK merger was an acknowledgement that they weren't figuring these software development issues out - that they would never be able to compete with Sony by just improving what they had - that they needed something like Call of Duty to get back in the race. That's now unlikely to happen.

As others have said, it feels like this generation relies on Starfield being a Skyrim level success. Otherwise it's very hard to know where they go from here. Even when they have a great game, there are so fewer Xbox gamers than PC, PS and Nintendo ones that the noise on social media dies quickly. When they get a Redfall-esque bomb, all those gamers whoop it up and laugh for days - it's everywhere. It's a negative feedback loop on both ends. Tough scene.
 
0
Dcubed said:
Yeah… they’re in serious trouble now. With the ABK acquisition now blocked, Redfall being a megabomba failure and the entirety of XGS’ output being mothballed until at least 2024-2025 (except for Forza), all of Xbox’s hopes now lie on Starfield.

If Starfield is anything less than a Skyrim level success? The Xbox division might well be totally done. I think Satya Nadella is going to pull the plug completely and cut the Xbox division loose; especially considering the anti-trust damage it has now done to Microsoft as a whole.

Ironically, the CAT’s attempts to block a perceived Xbox monopoly may well have just resulted in a true Playstation monopoly! Good job guys!
Click to expand...
eh I wouldn't go THAT far, as long as Gamepass subs go up they will keep the division around. Though I wonder how much investment they will get
 
0
big lantern ghost said:
I feel like my faith in Bethesda, much like my faith in Xbox, has eroded pretty steadily over the years. I definitely want Starfield to be a great game but they haven’t put out one of those in a looooong time
Click to expand...
If not Starfield, it’s like what else do they even have? I guess I could see Hellblade being really good. Avowed screams good but safe. What even is Everwild?

They need a “this is one of the greatest games of all time” type release. A BotW, TLoU, etc. they haven’t had one in years.
 
I would say Xbox first party output is consistent with Playstation this Gen, and with a better console and controller. It's where I play all my games that aren't on Switch. Gamepass seems to be doing very well and the Activision deal will be huge when it eventually goes through.
 
I wrote in a different thread before that I believe that 360 was a lightning in a bottle. Realistically Xbox Series have everything on their side:
-They have the cheapest next (current) gen console with Series S.
-Gamepass, an insane value for money service.
-They bought so many companies that exclusive games are guaranteed for their future.

Yet PS5 outsells them in such a ridiculous degree is not even funny. Even 7 years old Switch outsells them all the time. Japan once again doesn't care despite some early positive sales.

So what's wrong? I really believe Xbox is not that desirable, simple as that. I don't know why, but apart from 360 when was Xbox really a success?
The original was kinda successful for a first console, but nothing much else. Plus despite the heavy focus on Japanese exclusives that couldn't make xbox a household name in Japan.
360 was successful because online gaming was on the rise.
Xbone was a failure. Sure the launch was rough, but so were PS3 and 3DS launches as well yet they bounced back. Xbone stayed in PS4's shadow for the entirety of the generation.
And Series even with freaking gamepass and they can't even compete with Sony.
 
Brock Reiher said:
I would say Xbox first party output is consistent with Playstation this Gen, and with a better console and controller. It's where I play all my games that aren't on Switch. Gamepass seems to be doing very well and the Activision deal will be huge when it eventually goes through.
Click to expand...
the chances of that now are very small
 
Phil Spencer has definitely dropped the ball big time the last couple of years; his vision has definitely backfired. All these acquisitions but no curation of talent. No substantial releases. No big hit.

Halo's supposed to be their bread and butter and Infinite is just there? I loved it at launch but dropped it hard a few months into 2022. The studio is a mess, as are their others, with leaders leaving left and right.

Every big game announced by them is taking forever. Hellblade 2 was announced nearly 4 years ago. Fable, Everwild, Perfect Dark, Avowed, nowhere to be seen. Game Pass is cool but big games are leaving it constantly if they're not owned by Microsoft. Despite acquisitions, there's still layoffs all throughout Microsoft; it's done nothing for their output and only opened pandora's box of big tech companies pulling this shit. Now everyone's looking to acquire and be acquired. It's the beginning of the AAA industry getting wholesaled.

Enpsty said:
I wrote in a different thread before that I believe that 360 was a lightning in a bottle. Realistically Xbox Series have everything on their side:
-They have the cheapest next (current) gen console with Series S.
-Gamepass, an insane value for money service.
-They bought so many companies that exclusive games are guaranteed for their future.

Yet PS5 outsells them in such a ridiculous degree is not even funny. Even 7 years old Switch outsells them all the time. Japan once again doesn't care despite some early positive sales.

So what's wrong? I really believe Xbox is not that desirable, simple as that. I don't know why, but apart from 360 when was Xbox really a success?
The original was kinda successful for a first console, but nothing much else. Plus despite the heavy focus on Japanese exclusives that couldn't make xbox a household name in Japan.
360 was successful because online gaming was on the rise.
Xbone was a failure. Sure the launch was rough, but so were PS3 and 3DS launches as well yet they bounced back. Xbone stayed in PS4's shadow for the entirety of the generation.
And Series even with freaking gamepass and they can't even compete with Sony.
Click to expand...
Because as much as people don't want to face it, a quality first party output is incredibly important to get people to adopt your ecosystem. Halo is supposed to lure people in to play Fortnite on Xbox, not the other way around. That's how it's always been. Not sure why people thought it changed.

Microsoft's overall footprint was once really large with all of these acquisitions and Game Pass but it's been slowly dissipating year over year.
 
The first party output for Xbox has definitely been more misses than hits, even if I do appreciate their studios experimenting with stuff like Pentiment and HiFi Rush. Unfortunately, it's gonna take some time before they figure out to make the megahits.

I think it's too early to write Game Pass off, even if it is admittedly performing just alright instead of taking off. Their GP revenue has been increasing steadily. It was also always going to be a very long-term strategy. But it is true that I don't see Game Pass becoming more mainstream until MS gets a steady stream of crowd pleasers flowing from their dev pipeline.
 
meatbag said:
The first party output for Xbox has definitely been more misses than hits, even if I do appreciate their studios experimenting with stuff like Pentiment and HiFi Rush. Unfortunately, it's gonna take some time before they figure out to make the megahits.

I think it's too early to write Game Pass off, even if it is admittedly performing just alright instead of taking off. Their GP revenue has been increasing steadily. It was also always going to be a very long-term strategy. But it is true that I don't see Game Pass becoming more mainstream until MS gets a steady stream of crowd pleasers flowing from their dev pipeline.
Click to expand...
the problem is sub services have become VERY volatile recently
 
0
I will also add PS5 under the same category, I own a PS5 since launch day, and all their big releases are cross platform. I just don't find justification to buy a SONY system.

For MS, you could argue the same, but at least I hear their online offering are way better, with full BC with ehancements, gamepass, emulation through developer mode, and so many things that SONY just does not offer.

Between sony, and MS. I think there is good parity from 3rd party developers (at least thats my impression).

I know its your opinion OT, but I also think SONY fails to deliver a reason to purchase a PS5.
 
0
Brock Reiher said:
I would say Xbox first party output is consistent with Playstation this Gen, and with a better console and controller. It's where I play all my games that aren't on Switch. Gamepass seems to be doing very well and the Activision deal will be huge when it eventually goes through.
Click to expand...
Lol
Jencks said:
If not Starfield, it’s like what else do they even have? I guess I could see Hellblade being really good. Avowed screams good but safe. What even is Everwild?

They need a “this is one of the greatest games of all time” type release. A BotW, TLoU, etc. they haven’t had one in years.
Click to expand...
Genuinely can't remember the last one. Halo Reach? Gears of War 3?
 
I don't really think there are a lot of good exclusives on either Xbox or Playstation lately. Nothing I want to play at least. The backwards compatible stuff on Xbox is really nice though, I like that I still have access to all those old games, a lot of them have solid improvements too like 60FPS ^^
 
0
the thing that Xbox is missing is a strong first party game flow, it takes time to develop a common and culture and a steady development flow, and personally I see a general management problem. A game so messy like Redfall shouldn't be greenlit, or the other way around should be revealed only when it's ready, not put under the lights of E3 with a clearly utopistic release date.

the talent is there, plenty of enlighted designer and artist, they just need a common direction and a clear management route.
 
Brock Reiher said:
I would say Xbox first party output is consistent with Playstation this Gen, and with a better console and controller. It's where I play all my games that aren't on Switch. Gamepass seems to be doing very well and the Activision deal will be huge when it eventually goes through.
Click to expand...

This is not true. GamePass is amazing for indies, and since I don't really care for Sony's AAA type of games, I don't feel like I miss out that much. However, Sony's output has been far superior, its games sell more and are better received critically, and it has a lot of the Japanese exclusives (in spite of MS showering japanese 3rd parties in money 's best efforts). It will dominate the gen because it has a more recognisable brand, more games and better first party support, and it fucks up a lot less than Microsoft.
Enpsty said:
I wrote in a different thread before that I believe that 360 was a lightning in a bottle. Realistically Xbox Series have everything on their side:
-They have the cheapest next (current) gen console with Series S.
-Gamepass, an insane value for money service.
-They bought so many companies that exclusive games are guaranteed for their future.

Yet PS5 outsells them in such a ridiculous degree is not even funny. Even 7 years old Switch outsells them all the time. Japan once again doesn't care despite some early positive sales.

So what's wrong? I really believe Xbox is not that desirable, simple as that. I don't know why, but apart from 360 when was Xbox really a success?
The original was kinda successful for a first console, but nothing much else. Plus despite the heavy focus on Japanese exclusives that couldn't make xbox a household name in Japan.
360 was successful because online gaming was on the rise.
Xbone was a failure. Sure the launch was rough, but so were PS3 and 3DS launches as well yet they bounced back. Xbone stayed in PS4's shadow for the entirety of the generation.
And Series even with freaking gamepass and they can't even compete with Sony.
Click to expand...

360 was successful because Microsoft put all of its gaming eggs in that basket. It released a year before the PS3, its entry level model was far more affordable, it had a smash hit that introduced a lot of people into HD early into the gen with Gears of War, and by 2008 it had Gears, Halo, Forza, the best version of (many) multiplatform games despite being underpowered, and the superior online infrastructure. It only started floundering at the end of the gen because it lost focus on what was important.

Xbox series X is, on paper, a stronger console but the landscape has changed. The PS5 is the go-to console now because Sony isn't messing up and hasn't since it launched the PS4. Microsoft is hyper-focused on getting gamepass everywhere, to the point where it isn't as important for people to buy into the Xbox ecosystem. It's not desirable because you don't even need it if you want to play Halo -not that you'd necessarily want to, but hey. it's on PC now day-and-date with the Xbox. In getting its games everywhere, Microsoft is telling people that you don't really need a 500€ piece of plastic. So why would anyone buy it?
 
Am I the only one who finds it weird that people talk about the original Xbox as a massive sucess and the gamecube as a failure when the actual sales numbers between the two are very close?
 
Lugia667 said:
uhhhhhh Halo 3?
Click to expand...
Halo 3 was before those
Lugia667 said:
Am I the only one who finds it weird that people talk about the original Xbox as a massive sucess and the gamecube as a failure when the actual sales numbers between the two are very close?
Click to expand...
Think it might have to do with Xbox being a newcomer, and GameCube being from an established company, along with third party games selling better on Xbox than GameCube
 
Ozeiyo said:
This is not true. GamePass is amazing for indies, and since I don't really care for Sony's AAA type of games, I don't feel like I miss out that much. However, Sony's output has been far superior, its games sell more and are better received critically, and it has a lot of the Japanese exclusives (in spite of MS showering japanese 3rd parties in money 's best efforts). It will dominate the gen because it has a more recognisable brand, more games and better first party support, and it fucks up a lot less than Microsoft.
Click to expand...
I would rather play High on Life than any of the NuSony first party games. Sony lost the Japanese exclusives for the most part, likely because they can't afford to pay for exclusivity anymore. The few remaining holdouts started production in the last gen.
 
0
MusicProposition said:
Xbox and PlayStation were never just about 1st party content, especially in prior generations.
Click to expand...

Playstation is all about 1st party content now. Over the last 10 years, they’ve really transformed themselves into a first party powerhouse that can rival even Nintendo when it comes to critical and commercial success.

Xbox however? They still haven’t recovered from the complete gutting of their internal studios under Don Mattrick’s tenure. Phil Spencer has tried to rebuild Xbox for roughly 10 years now and they still can’t get anything consistent out of XGS outside of Forza. At some point, you have to just concede that the division is fundamentally rotten at the core.

Enpsty said:
I wrote in a different thread before that I believe that 360 was a lightning in a bottle. Realistically Xbox Series have everything on their side:
-They have the cheapest next (current) gen console with Series S.
-Gamepass, an insane value for money service.
-They bought so many companies that exclusive games are guaranteed for their future.

Yet PS5 outsells them in such a ridiculous degree is not even funny. Even 7 years old Switch outsells them all the time. Japan once again doesn't care despite some early positive sales.

So what's wrong? I really believe Xbox is not that desirable, simple as that. I don't know why, but apart from 360 when was Xbox really a success?
The original was kinda successful for a first console, but nothing much else. Plus despite the heavy focus on Japanese exclusives that couldn't make xbox a household name in Japan.
360 was successful because online gaming was on the rise.
Xbone was a failure. Sure the launch was rough, but so were PS3 and 3DS launches as well yet they bounced back. Xbone stayed in PS4's shadow for the entirety of the generation.
And Series even with freaking gamepass and they can't even compete with Sony.
Click to expand...

Xbox Series is struggling now because it has inherited the sins of the Xbone. Ignoring the removal of the power & price differential of the console, Xbox’s AAA exclusive lineup still essentially consists of the same trio of Halo/Gears/Forza that defined the Xbone and the rest of XGS & Bethesda’s output is either multiplatform, a minor release that has no potential to move the needle (HiFi Rush), or stuck in endless development hell.

Starfield is the first major AAA exclusive for Xbox Series and it’s coming almost 3 years into the generation. That is why the Xbox division is still floundering.
 
Last edited:
I think Game Pass is yet another element tied to their dev issues. I do think GP is a good service and they get some interesting stuff on there Day 1, but a huge part of the pitch for it back when was that all first party games would be on GP Day 1. They have stuck to that…they just haven’t been putting out any games lol.

It’s crazy to think that before Redfall the last big Xbox game was…Halo Infinite in 2021? I think? A game that was pretty much a big letdown.

Again, Forza + Horizon is pretty much steering clear of all this trouble and Turn 10 is putting out great games on a reasonable schedule. But as many are saying here, they’re gonna need a lot more than that.

I really wish I could find some positivity in their situation — I really do prefer to be positive! — but I don’t think there’s any there at the moment. If June comes and goes with no significant Xbox news I will be full on doom & gloom
 
While Phil Spencer certainly turned around the blunders of Mattrick during the XBOX One era, it seems he just can't motivate the endless amount of studios he has under his wing to put out some killer titles. People used to joke that XBOX was just "Halo, Gears & Forza", and while that was true, those were some killer titles. We're not even getting that output anymore. We got a Halo game that 343 apologizes for every month, Gears is MIA, and while Forza Horizon 5 was great, people really only get truly hyped for the mainline games, of which we have been given a release year of 2023, and, well, we're five months into said year!
 
The one-two punch of Redfall and the Activision deal indeed made this thread title age well (and everything with Halo right around or before it?)

at the same time, HI-FI Rush was a delight and the Activision deal itself was... complicated.

As an Xbox (Series S) owner I still am happy with my purchase thanks to Game Pass, as it was my foot in the door to return to PC gaming and now I get the best of both worlds through Steam (including a taste of Sony) and my Game Pass subscription... but their individual output for sure has left a lot to be desired. Here's hoping they can turn the ship around... though I'm admittedly getting tired of saying that.
 
Because they don't release games.

It's one thing to release bad games like Redfall and crackdown 3, but it's another thing to have those games release when there's a huge drought of software followed up by another drought of software.

I'm a huge Xbox fan and I let my gamepass sub lapse for the first time since it was announced first party games would launch day and date in it. My sub was up yesterday. I tried Redfall Monday night and I hated it and I felt the best way to react to my disappointment as an Xbox fan was to not resubscribe. That's the best message to send.

They painted themselves in a corner. They spent too much money and effort on trying to buy ABK that they let more immediately pressing issues get past them. They literally fell asleep at the wheel and everything is culminating now.
 
I agree with the OP.

Xbox is the least interesting ecosystem out of the three to me. People say exclusives aren’t, but as someone who usually only buys two consoles (Nintendo + Another), I’m definitely looking at exclusives when the bulk of the libraries are the same between Sony and Microsoft. Since PS4 though, Sony’s consoles have more for me than Microsoft’s.

I’m also someone who doesn’t care about Game Pass. I don’t finish games fast enough for it to be worth it, I’d rather buy a game outright and spend my time with it, and I tend to avoid subscriptions wherever I can. That said, I appreciate Microsoft trying to do something different in the market, while also providing options to players with Game Pass — it just isn’t for me. I also don’t like the idea that Game Pass enables developers to release titles half finished (Redfall, Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3 etc) and to then just fix it later because it’s on a subscription service.

Microsoft during the first half of the Xbox 360 era was probably them at their best in gaming. I remember the Gears of War 2 and Halo 3 launches vividly. It’s wild that Halo isn’t a top premier franchise in gaming anymore, Microsoft really fumbled it hard since Bungie left. Gears 4 and 5 are pretty much re-treads of their Xbox 360 era titles and didn’t do anything ground breaking, I guess I can appreciate Gears 5‘s effort of trying to be more open.

I actually thought Microsoft would’ve learned from their mistakes from late Xbox 360 and Xbox One generations by having stronger first party output, but it’s been 10 years of mediocrity from Microsoft in terms of first party software, and it doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon.
 
Another thing I'll say is, let's assume the Activision deal does indeed go through. Suddenly Microsoft will have even more game studios, and if their overall output doesn't increase dramatically, you'd just have to wonder what in the hell is going on. Only putting out a Call Of Duty every year isn't going to cut it. Especially if we take them at their word that it's going to remain multiplatform. Why get an XBOX? Maybe they're gonna pull a SEGA and get out of the console business and just be a developer.
 
The cruel irony of this is that the Series X is one of the best pieces of hardware I've ever owned. It's a lovely machine that doesn't look like I'm staging a Space X launch on my entertainment center.
 
I still love my S and Gamepass is still ridiculous, but it's definitely become a back catalog machine, while my Switch and my friends' PS are how I'm keeping up with the cutting-edge. That being said, I'm still holding out hope for Microsoft to find a solid 1st party identity once they're done with all the studio building they've been doing
 
I agree with pretty much everything said here.
The Bethesda adquisition made me buy an Xbox for the first time in my life, plus Gamepass, which I already had it for PC. It's definitely a great system and Gamepass can deliver a good amount of fun hours, but I honestly think that's just not enough.
It feels Hi-Fi Rush is a miracle, not the norm.

Xbox needs games. Lots of new big, medium and small budget games, even if they are not on Gamepass. (And honestly, we could discuss if Gamepass is actually helping or hurting the Xbox brand. If a rent suscription is the ONLY selling point of a system, that's a huge problem)
It seems buying all those studios did not help them. We've been hearing the same promises of future games since Xbox One, but a this point it's too late, Xbox needs the games now.

I have a lot to say about PS5, because is far from a perfect system and the hardware is a lot worse than Series X, but at the end of the day we all know that PS is going to be fine even if they don't improve things. I don't think the same can be said about Xbox, and it's a bit worrying.
 
Lugia667 said:
Am I the only one who finds it weird that people talk about the original Xbox as a massive sucess and the gamecube as a failure when the actual sales numbers between the two are very close?
Click to expand...
You have to consider the different context those consoles entered the market with. Nintendo was an established entity, Microsoft was not. Microsoft hanging around and beating a long-standing publisher was a pretty big achievement.
 
Lugia667 said:
Am I the only one who finds it weird that people talk about the original Xbox as a massive sucess and the gamecube as a failure when the actual sales numbers between the two are very close?
Click to expand...

The Xbox was Microsoft’s first home console, GameCube was Nintendo‘s 4th.

That’s the difference.
 
I just can't get over how hard Halo and Gears fell off in the last decade. They were among the top franchises in the industry, but now both have declined over the years to where they no longer feel relevant in the gaming landscape.

Imagine if this happened to Mario and Zelda. Everyone would be calling for the heads of Nintendo's leadership and saying their video game business is finished.
 
Gartooth said:
I just can't get over how hard Halo and Gears fell off in the last decade. They were among the top franchises in the industry, but now both have declined over the years to where they no longer feel relevant in the gaming landscape.

Imagine if this happened to Mario and Zelda. Everyone would be calling for the heads of Nintendo's leadership and saying their video game business is finished.
Click to expand...
the biggest issue was that while the franchises themselves are owned by Microsoft, the devs werent. It's like if both Mario and Zelda games were made by rare too. It puts MS in a very awkward spot with those franchises
 
Gartooth said:
I just can't get over how hard Halo and Gears fell off in the last decade. They were among the top franchises in the industry, but now both have declined over the years to where they no longer feel relevant in the gaming landscape.

Imagine if this happened to Mario and Zelda. Everyone would be calling for the heads of Nintendo's leadership and saying their video game business is finished.
Click to expand...

I kinf of feel that this happened. The end of Wii / Wii U era was excruciating. Skyward Sword is the Halo 4 of Zelda series (or something)
 
Gartooth said:
I just can't get over how hard Halo and Gears fell off in the last decade. They were among the top franchises in the industry, but now both have declined over the years to where they no longer feel relevant in the gaming landscape.

Imagine if this happened to Mario and Zelda. Everyone would be calling for the heads of Nintendo's leadership and saying their video game business is finished.
Click to expand...
the problem comparing Zelda and Mario to Gears and halo is that Mario and Zelda are the same at the core but are incredibly flexible in what you can do with them, halo and gears are not as flexible and if you bend them too much they break
 
stodesign12 said:
Xbox needs games. Lots of new big, medium and small budget games, even if they are not on Gamepass. (And honestly, we could discuss if Gamepass is actually helping or hurting the Xbox brand. If a rent suscription is the ONLY selling point of a system, that's a huge problem)
It seems buying all those studios did not help them. We've been hearing the same promises of future games since Xbox One, but a this point it's too late, Xbox needs the games now.
Click to expand...
I think this is a really important point, Gamepass has allowed me to play a lot of really cool stuff that would have slipped under my radar, but Xbox is a pretty expensive brick to just use for hidden gem indies and the occasional 7/10 big budget game. AAA is the lifeblood of big platforms, even Nintendo understands this in their own way, but it feels like MS has been using the service as a compromise for their inability to consistantly provide that.
 
Stairouais said:
I kinf of feel that this happened. The end of Wii / Wii U era was excruciating. Skyward Sword is the Halo 4 of Zelda series (or something)
Click to expand...
even then I struggle to think of a MS title that matched 3D world's quality for example
 
0
Stairouais said:
I kinf of feel that this happened. The end of Wii / Wii U era was excruciating. Skyward Sword is the Halo 4 of Zelda series (or something)
Click to expand...

Yeah this kinda happened around 2011 to 2016ish particularly with the late Wii into Wii U era. Most people recognize that 3D World and Skyward Sword are great games but they weren't what the audience wanted and were less popular than their predecessors and follow-ups. (even then I'd put 3DW and SS way above the Halo and Gears games post Bungie/Epic)

To me the thing is that Nintendo bounced back very quickly. For Xbox we have to go back to the 360, and even then there's not exactly a lot of hope for a comeback in the short term future.
 
touchfuzzy said:
Eh, Microsoft is a blight on console gaming in general and I'd be glad if they went away permanently. If they had it their way, they would own everybody, and you would own nothing, only paying endless subscription and microtransaction fees to keep playing the same boring designed soulless money-sucking games.

That's the goal of Microsoft and has been since the start of the Xbox One era.
Click to expand...
That is literally every single console manufacturer and AAA Publisher. Come the fuck on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom