Xbox Game Studios Stupidity Hate Thread Game Pass Edition

[The Last Stand]

Buffet-style platforms like those always tend to slip in value because everything is subsidized, and content farms are gonna get in on that sweet Game Pass moola, all cranking out soulless shit because they don't need to worry about direct sales. That's my biggest concern with Game Pass.

Sea of Thieves being one such example. Rare released it with the bare minimum content while also releasing it for $60. Game Pass covered the rest of the cost.

With games, though, and how they can take eons to play through, Game Pass isn't really that great of a deal. You do get a huge library, but how many are you realistically going to play?

With movies, you watch it once and twice and done. At least for me. The appeal of Game Pass is having games with replayability and variety.

You are correct; there are many games on GP that I'm not interested in. I suppose value is subjective. I see the complaint with Game Pass and MS's lack of exclusives. I don't think it's exclusive to Game Pass.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

Article: https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/ukraine-xbox-store-accounts-in-development
Archive: https://archive.ph/j7X4b

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Ukraine Xbox Store & Accounts in Development

A Special Situation
A dedicated Ukraine Xbox Store and account system are in development as part of its efforts to deal with the challenges of the Russia-Ukraine War.

The Russia-Ukraine War has impacted life in Ukraine on all levels, and the video game and technology sectors are no exception. We've seen games get delayed, Western companies planning to evacuate employees in the country, and even reports of developers leaving the country entirely. We've also seen some positive steps in the months since Russia further invaded Ukraine earlier this year; now, it seems that Microsoft is working on an interesting plan for Xbox gamers in the country.

Ukraine Xbox Store & Accounts Being Added as New Region
According to Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, a recent meeting with Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith has resulted in a decision that will be a boon for Ukrainian gamers -- a dedicated Ukraine Xbox Store and accounts system will be developed.

"Caught [Brad Smith] in Davos," read a tweet from Vice Prime Minister Fedorov. "Ukraine will cooperate with @Microsoft team on documenting damages & war crimes for UN agencies. Company will participate in rebuild process by leading digital industry. And long-waited news for our gamers: @Xbox will go Ukrainian. [Ukrainian] accounts & store."

Microsoft maintains a list of countries and regions that are supported by its services, Xbox included; it seems that Ukraine will get a dedicated regional section similar to these other countries. Microsoft suspended sales and services in Russia in March 2022.

Aside from his duties as Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Federov is serving as the first Minister of Digital Transformation -- a new role that aims to enhance digital services in Ukraine.

To date, game developers in Ukraine have had issues with payment processing for some services due to Russian banks being used as an intermediary for Ukrainian business in some cases; earlier this year, Valve had temporarily delayed payments to developers in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. This latest move with Microsoft should alleviate some of the challenges that have arisen due to a lack of a dedicated Ukrainian region for the Xbox Store.
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[quaawaa]

You forgot Turn 10 with the next Forza Motorsport. No release date, just a teaser. Meanwhile, Horizon 5 has a dwindling player base.

I'd argue MS's biggest release hit yet was Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Horizon has a dwindling player base because they haven’t even announced the first DLC that people have already paid for, the campaign can be beaten in a week of casual play, and the multiplayer is terrible, full of rammers at low MMR and full of people abusing unrealistic meta tunes at high MMR.

It also took months to get the game in a playable state, and outside of the weekly playlist, the only updates have been useless stuff like adding sign language interpreters to cutscenes.

 

[Road Work Ahead]

adding sign language interpreters to cutscenes.

Is this real? Why would anyone do this? What's wrong with subtitles?

 

[quaawaa]

Is this real? Why would anyone do this? What's wrong with subtitles?

It’s real:

 

[Tom Nook's Gloryhole]

The best thing about Xbox devs fucking up all over the place is that Microsoft are going into peak damage control and snapping up bigger and bigger games for GamePass. I'd have paid full price for Sniper Elite 5, Two Point Campus or Tunic but nope, they're giving them away on day one.

While GamePass in itself is a pretty good deal (especially if you Jew the whole system by getting Turkish or Argentinian GamePass) we probably wouldn't have half the panic deals if Xbox had actually delivered on the games they hyped.

 

[Boom Boss]

The best thing about Xbox devs fucking up all over the place is that Microsoft are going into peak damage control and snapping up bigger and bigger games for GamePass. I'd have paid full price for Sniper Elite 5, Two Point Campus or Tunic but nope, they're giving them away on day one.

While GamePass in itself is a pretty good deal (especially if you Jew the whole system by getting Turkish or Argentinian GamePass) we probably wouldn't have half the panic deals if Xbox had actually delivered on the games they hyped.

I've seen many people say they wouldn't have tried many games if they hadn't been on Game Pass. Myself included. It's also nice to play the old classics.

 

[ZMOT]

I've seen many people say they wouldn't have tried many games if they hadn't been on Game Pass. Myself included. It's also nice to play the old classics.

same as "'I never would've watched all those series and movies if they hadn't been on netflix". look at it now and how it affected series and movies (with a good helping from covid of course, but still).

 

[The Last Stand]

same as "'I never would've watched all those series and movies if they hadn't been on netflix". look at it now and how it affected series and movies (with a good helping from covid of course, but still).

To be fair, a movie you can watch once and be done. A game you can replay.

There's too many indie games on the service.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

same as "'I never would've watched all those series and movies if they hadn't been on netflix". look at it now and how it affected series and movies (with a good helping from covid of course, but still).

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Tell me, what exactly was wrong with physical media in the first place? Answer: Nothing. DVD/Blu-Ray were and still are great things that you can collect and own to play whenever the fuck you wanted and nobody was up your ass about what you could do with said discs.

Companies like Netflix have been trying to kill people's property rights when it comes to things like movies/tv shows and vidya for quite a while, especially with adding DRM to the video files. With the amount of streaming services out there, it's like you're better off just paying for cable/satelite again, which a lot of people have been trying to get away from in the first place. Episodes that were once left alone are now altered and "censored" because it offends people, chunks of series are just outright removed or not added. Companies taking political stances when they are SUPPOSED to be apolitcal. It's a fucking nightmare, and people hate it and are getting sick and tired of it.

Vidya suffers the same shit, except to an even more extreme case because companies can't even be fucked to finish their games. They are basically betas/alphas where you're doing the QA work for them for free so they can release an "updated" version with all the bells and whistles it was supposed to have in the first place.

People, especially now-a-days with the economy, are more conscious about their purchases, so between that and the points i mentioned earlier, I don't blame people for making remarks like that.Go ahead, stay away from all of those things until either it's not attached to a subscription service, it's at a reasonable price, or it becomes available for pirates. If anything people would be smart for doing that.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Is this real? Why would anyone do this? What's wrong with subtitles?

ASL supremacists that hates written language because it is a translation of spoken language, so it is not native to them and they reject it. Identity politics everyone!

I bet they don't even do sign language for different regions.

edit: they also put a new Lumines version on Gamepass. Nice.

 

[Sparky Lurker]

In homage to the pride month I will have to complain about the Xbox pride logo that gets worse and more schizophrenic each year that passes:

Bethesda one looks like an anus, so congrats:

 

[DeadwastePrime]

holy shit schizos take your meds

 

[Pickle Dick]

In homage to the pride month I will have to complain about the Xbox pride logo that gets worse and more schizophrenic each year that passes:

I'll review each one for you because why not.

In homage to the pride month I will have to complain about the Xbox pride logo that gets worse and more schizophrenic each year that passes:
View attachment 3342547

That one's fine, nothing too crazy about that pride logo

View attachment 3342549

Was this one made in MS Paint?

View attachment 3342551

I don't mind this one tbh; its excessive, and all those flags are completely unnecessary, but I think its kinda cool, not the worst design...

View attachment 3342553

Christ, I can barely tell what flag is what in this one. It's cleaner than the last logo, but it's way worse for being incredibly cluttered

And as for the Bethesda pride logo...

Bethesda one looks like an anus, so congrats:
View attachment 3342554

This is just schizophrenic. It's like a mish-mash of colors hovering around a black void

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Minecraft announced that on the next update they will give away Bedrock to all Java owners:

https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/java---bedrock-edition-pc-out-june-7

This comes right around when they decide to double down on the marketplace crap:

The ground is already being prepared, the shitshow when the controversial decision to pull Java's plug finally happens in a few years will be inevitable:

 

[Marissa Moira]

In homage to the pride month I will have to complain about the Xbox pride logo that gets worse and more schizophrenic each year that passes:
View attachment 3342547View attachment 3342549View attachment 3342551View attachment 3342553
Bethesda one looks like an anus, so congrats:
View attachment 3342554

They all remind me of this

Bethesda one especially.

 

[Pissmaster]

Interesting video from MVG today about Xbox Series X physical media:

tl;dw:

• Most Xbox games coming out right now are "Smart Delivery" discs.
• Smart Delivery is their branded term for games where you can play both the Xbox One and Series X versions from the same disc, provided you have an internet connection. It's the same as those PS4 games where you're entitled to a download of the PS5 version, with the PS4 disc acting as your access key. Unlike the PS5, however, almost no games from this transitional period were released for XB1 and XBSX separately.
• Smart Delivery discs are vague as to what's actually on the disc, so MVG took his XBSX offline, and installed a number of Xbox One & Series X games. Results:
  • Smart Delivery discs usually, but not always, come with the Xbox One version.
  • The XBSX installs those games, but lists them under XB1 titles, and then refuses to launch them without an update. You can't just play the lower-quality XB1 version on an XBSX.
  • However, Balan Wonderworld, also a Smart Delivery disc, works.
  • XBSX-only discs (or at least GTA5) work.
  • Original Xbox One games (or at least Crackdown 3) work, too.

What a mess. A mess big enough to call for a gigantic community spreadsheet that lists every game on the console, and its offline playability.

 

[whatever I feel like]

Fable Legends at the end is even funnier. Game never came out but the art book sure did

Worse, it was pretty much done but got cancelled because play test scores were two or three points too low. Oh well, it was proto-live service bullshit anyway.

But speaking of which, where the hell is Fable 4, they announced it two or three years ago and we've heard nothing since.

 

[Cod of War]

Worse, it was pretty much done but got cancelled because play test scores were two or three points too low. Oh well, it was proto-live service bullshit anyway.

But speaking of which, where the hell is Fable 4, they announced it two or three years ago and we've heard nothing since.

PGG is having trouble with Horizon 5, so that's probably hurting Fable 4.

 

[The Last Stand]

PGG is having trouble with Horizon 5, so that's probably hurting Fable 4.

But Forza Horizon 5 had 10 MILLION PLAYERS!

Now, watch it fall by 75%.



Uh, vroom?