Xbox first party titles expected to hit $80 USD this holiday; Game Pass pricing currently unchanged.

  • @[email protected]
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    43 months ago

    Microsoft may as well just cancel their whole Xbox hardware business. Xbox Series is a secondary market for Microsoft games after PlayStation and any console successor they release is going to limp to the starting line. At least the XSX had hype from the Bethesda acquisition and previous Obsidian/Inxile/etc acquisitions

    Really we all need a Steam Deck 2 and a stronger Valve produced Strix Halo mini-PC

    • @[email protected]OP
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      23 months ago

      It’s looking like the Xbox will stick around as a cheap entry point into Game Pass and the games that Microsoft publishes themselves. Yes, I know, it’s not as cheap as it used to be, but still fairly capable for a game machine at that price. The Steam mini PC is likely on its way. A couple of months back, there were leaks of the new Steam controller that leaked on their way to be mass produced after finalizing the design, so they’d probably accompany the living room machine. In the meantime, I have a mini PC running Bazzite that’s been awesome, but with tariffs in the US, you won’t be able to get the same performance per dollar that I got.

  • @[email protected]
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    123 months ago

    A 2TB Xbox Series X now costs more than a PS5 Pro (in the US at least).

    That is mental. Xbox hardware division must be bleeding money hand over fist. I honestly doubt they’ll do another generation, and stick to trying to monetise GamePass through PC and streaming. Maybe you’ll even see GamePass for PS6 since they own so many studios now.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      23 months ago

      They’ll only get Game Pass on PlayStation with Sony’s blessing, which is unlikely. And the next Xbox will just be a PC. I don’t think any of the consoles are in the market of selling units at a loss anymore. Those days are done. So with tariffs and inflation, this is the only way it could go.

      • yeehaw
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        13 months ago

        I think all Xboxes have been PCs…?

        • @[email protected]OP
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          23 months ago

          Yeah, there’s always someone bringing this up, but you can’t just run Steam on it, and that’s what’s about to change. Xbox games still go through cert and need explicit ports above and beyond the PC SKU.

          • yeehaw
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            12 months ago

            Ya for sure, I’m just speaking on a hardware level. Always been x86 as far as I was aware. I remember bypassing the disk encryption fighting every fiber of my being on the Xbox 1 by pulling out the IDE cable as it was booting to gain access to the HDD 😂

      • @[email protected]
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        33 months ago

        EA Play is on PS5.

        Assuming MS exit the console market, I don’t see why Sony wouldn’t allow it (as long as they get their pound of flesh from every sale of it). They’d basically just be another publisher.

        • @[email protected]OP
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          23 months ago

          The breadth of the Game Pass catalog is far larger, and Microsoft isn’t exiting the console market, as much as they don’t care about exclusivity. So personally, I doubt it, but I don’t have a crystal ball.

          • @[email protected]
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            23 months ago

            Yeah, there’s probably a fair bit of overlap between GamePass and PSN Premium games.

            I suspect to try and push their own products, we’ll be entering an age where games are $80, and almost never go on sale, purely to make their own subscription services seem better value. And then they’ll crank the price of those as well.

  • scops
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    63 months ago

    And the amount of money I spend on Xbox consoles, controllers, and games will be unchanged this year.

    • @[email protected]
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      23 months ago

      “Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some cash for our console, it’s called xCloud”

  • @[email protected]
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    143 months ago

    There has always been an inherent value to consoles but if that goes away then I can genuinely see them dying off. Personally I thinks the current gen is a huge disappointment anyway and this news just makes it even more ridiculous.

    • @[email protected]
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      3 months ago

      I’ve always been a console peasant for the convenience of having a dedicated gaming device hooked up to the TV that uses a controller as well as the ability to trade in games when I’m done with them, not to mention consoles are cheaper than comparable PCs. I do have a decent PC, but I find I rarely play through entire games when I have to sit at a desk to do so. With digital games looking like the only game in town in the future and consoles being walled gardens with no other places to buy games for them, that cost advantage will be gone and it will be cheaper in the long run to pay more up front for a PC and get games for less. I got a Steam Deck recently, and it’s been a great showcase for how a PC hooked up to the TV using only a controller can work. I had no idea Steam had such a robust system for remapping controllers and have been able to play games with them that would have been a huge hassle before.

      If Sony does away with physical games like Nintendo is come the PS6, I’m definitely switching to PC gaming.

      • @[email protected]
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        53 months ago

        To be fair PC gaming is a whole different monster to deal with because of the extortionate prices of new hardware and extreme consumerism.

        I just want to play games and not be a target for all these companies :/

        • @[email protected]
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          3 months ago

          Considering consoles no longer go down in price and are even getting price hikes, not to mention mid-gen refreshes like the PS4 and PS5 Pro, I’d argue they’re no less susceptible to “extreme consumerism.” PCs do require more effort and research to get what you want at a price that makes sense, that’s true, but you don’t have to have the latest bleeding edge tech for everything, especially if you’re okay with running games at 1080p and 60fps like I am.

          The lack of alternative places to buy games for consoles used to be mitigated by the second hand market. Without it, console games are just going to be too damn expensive for me, especially considering they’re nothing more than data. There is no reason they should cost this much other than pure greed.

  • @[email protected]
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    143 months ago

    I still use my Xbox One to play some Battlefield games. But I’m never buying a new console ever again. Fuck Microsfot. Fuck Sony. And you know what Nintendo fuck you too. Price gouging, greedy fucks the lot of them. PC+emulators is now the way to go, fuck all these greedy companies.

  • @[email protected]
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    143 months ago

    As we are all switching from Windows to Linux, I’m actually surprised Microsoft is doing this. I guess they really don’t want to be competitive in the consumer market anymore. I guess they are making enough money through military contracts now that they don’t need to cater to us.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      143 months ago

      We all? I mean, I have, but we represent single digit percentages of the market, which is why they keep shoving more bullshit into Windows that no one wants, because hardly anyone leaves Windows. The most that this affects Linux gamers is if you like their controllers or individual games that they publish, but that would be the same as on Windows as well.

      • AnimalsDream
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        53 months ago

        We all, all of me. I don’t have to care about what others are buying, because Steam and Linux is an amazing gaming experience and they’re the ones missing out. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

        • @[email protected]
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          53 months ago

          But your entire point was based on the idea that people are switching to Linux in droves…

          • AnimalsDream
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            33 months ago

            That was somebody else’s point. I just chimed in with my own take. :D

            • @[email protected]
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              33 months ago

              Haha my bad! I’m usually good at looking for usernames, but I definitely didn’t look this time. Carry on, my bad

        • @[email protected]
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          13 months ago

          Truth. I swapped my laptop to linux a couple weeks ago, and then my ROG Ally, and next I’m putting linux on my gaming desktop. Just trying to decide on a distro for that one.

          • AnimalsDream
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            13 months ago

            On my laptop I switched from Debian to Fedora and that had a distinct impact on gaming performance, though I think it had more to do with how I had it set up previously. For instance I used full disk encryption for Debian, but skipped that on Fedora, because it does seem to impact games noticeably.

            But it also might be because Fedora is more bleeding edge, so the OS itself might actually play a role here.

            On my desktop I’ve been running Bazzite and that’s been pretty great so far.

            • @[email protected]
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              13 months ago

              I have fedora on my laptop, and it seems to game fine. I do have full disk encryption on. Maybe if I turn that off I’ll get even better performance? I have Bazzite on the ROG ally and that is doing really good. I’m thinking about putting fedora on the desktop

    • @[email protected]
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      83 months ago

      I didnt know Linux manufactured solid controllers. Can you link me one? /s

      Like for real: Xbox Controllers are actually good.

        • @[email protected]
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          33 months ago

          Said features are mostly gimmicks, and quite frankly the symmetrical stick placement is uncomfortable and outdated by nearly 20 years. Even my $40 8bitdo controller I use for my Switch feels more premium than a $80 PS5 controller. In every other case be it PC, android, or Xbox I am going with the Xbox controller.

          • AnimalsDream
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            33 months ago

            I prefer the symmetrical sticks, calling it outdated is just cult of inevitable progress vibes. Also the touchpad is hardly a gimmick when we’re talking about PC as a gaming platform. If anything a touchpad should become standard on all controllers.

            My biggest complaints with the dualsense controller is that the shape of it starts to feel uncomfortable after long game sessions, the ds4 was better. Also the dpad sucks.

          • @[email protected]
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            12 months ago

            and quite frankly the symmetrical stick placement is uncomfortable and outdated by nearly 20 years

            sorry but I have to disagree, it’s so much more comfortable than the mismatched sticks other controllers have

            fuck Sony BTW, they patented said symmetrical stick placement and the world is worse off because of this

          • @[email protected]
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            33 months ago

            Idk, gyro aiming is pretty sweet.

            I’m also not a fan of the symmetrical sticks, but it doesn’t bother me a ton, and having gyro aiming as an option is a big value add. I definitely don’t pay full price though, I’ll only pick it up on sale.

      • @[email protected]
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        43 months ago

        Wish I could agree, but the consistently broken bumpers really irritate me.

        I have gone through probably 20ish Xbox controllers, the 360 controllers were the most durable (except the stick rubber bit) whereas the core and series controllers and even my elite 2 controllers have all had the bumpers break or otherwise stop functioning.

        I replaces the bumpers several times manually, then with the elite 2 they changed the design but now it breaks at the actual button instead of the flimsy plastic piece like on the core/series controllers.

        Luckily putting some ISO on the button and throughly cleaning it along with sticking a small piece of paper near the actuator seems to have fixed it for several months.

        I would love a solid controller with Xbox style layout (particularly the thumbsticks) replaceable sticks and 4 back paddles. I think the Playstation TouchPad would also be a welcome addition for PC navigation or steam input mapping.

        • @[email protected]
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          33 months ago

          20 controllers bro you have a problem and it’s not the controllers. My original Xbox 360 controllers from 2006 still work. My original Xbox one controller still works. My series x launch controller from 2020 still works. And I play dark souls. You have some other issues to sort out.

          • @[email protected]
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            3 months ago

            I blame Skyrim/Fallout and Dark Souls/ER, so much bumper pressing in those games.

            I also use them A LOT, even being a PC gamer lol if it supports controller, that’s how I’m playing it.

            I do think where I comfortably press it probably has to do with it.

            If you think I’m like throwing them around or doing crazy stuff like that, I don’t haha.

            Edit: If you look online, it’s very common for the bumpers to fail

            • @[email protected]
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              13 months ago

              You’ve probably tried this but in case you haven’t: try putting isopropyl alcohol in the gaps around the bumpers, it can clean the contacts and make the bumpers work again.

              But yeah I’ve also has a ton of first party xbox controllers fail on me, although usually its the left stick or right trigger (I mostly play rocket league which abuses both) and was mostly the xbox one controllers so I’ve switched to more durable 3rd party controllers.

              • @[email protected]
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                13 months ago

                Ha yeah, that’s how I got the elites functional again, took it apart and did it directly at the button, so far so good after several months.

                The Xbox one/core controllers though it was usually part of the thin plastic bit that connects the bumpers (it’s all one piece for some reason…)

  • unknown1234_5
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    413 months ago

    if anyone was looking for a good time to switch to PC, it’s now. some stuff will be harder but you’ll have steam sales and control over your own device (more than a console anyway, if your running windows you’ll still have to put up with Microsoft).

    • @[email protected]
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      23 months ago

      I have Win11 at work and its frustrating as hell. Definitely switching over to linux when I decide to buy a new pc

    • @[email protected]
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      213 months ago

      if your running windows you’ll still have to put up with Microsoft

      Luckily, there is another choice. Linux runs pretty smooth and has gotten much simpler to use over the years.

    • PaleRider
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      33 months ago

      Yeah, I’ve been an xnbox user since 360 but I don’t think I’ll stick with another console.

      I’ve been looking at handheld PC`s…

      • unknown1234_5
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        13 months ago

        personally I prefer a laptop over a handheld but those should work decent too

    • @[email protected]
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      13 months ago

      I mean, barring Nintendo, they still are and will continue to be as long as you don’t need to have games on day one. I very rarely spend more than $20 on Xbox games. Most AAA games go on sale within the first few months. $70 Ubisoft titles will literally be $15 a month after release, not that Ubisoft makes much worth buying these days but it was just an example. The digital storefronts (again, not Nintendo) have sales constantly, you just need a little impulse control.

    • @[email protected]
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      73 months ago

      They were until an orange bitch started a trade war. Now everything is going to be too expensive, consoles and PCs alike.

      • @[email protected]
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        3 months ago

        To be fair, the trade war was going on long before trump enacted tariffs.

        If you ever saw someone spreading FUD about Huawei or Tiktok, it’s because they’re peddling rhetoric put there by our rulers to stoke the fires.