Decker

I had missed that before. Yeah, that would be important.
I have been GPU, will still be GPU. Bottom line is I no longer get the free monthly games that they can't yank away from me. If the games were any good, this would be a net negative, but since those games they pick are almost always cheap and ugly and often poorly reviewed, it's probably a wash. That said there is no way that this can be spun as any sort of a positive for GPU subscribers. It just takes something away from subscribers with no decrease in cost or additional benefits.

Decker

I read something that Baldur's Gate 3 will be coming to PC and PS5 next month but no word on Xbox. That isn't because of any sort of exclusivity deal with Sony, it's because they can't get the game to run on the XSS. I wonder if other games are bumping up against that limitation as well. It might make sense if MS removed the requirement that all their XSX games also run on XSS. I wonder if that's part of the reason we hear about so many first-party AAA games getting delayed.

Dan

This launched today.
12 months is $30 or you can get a lifetime pass for $80.

davidh777

I did see that but figured it didn’t do PS5 and am trying to avoid too much clutter. Seems like the best options are in the $200 range.

Dan

Now with Smell-o-vision!

Decker

Games with Gold goes out, if not with a bang, at least with an apparently very solid arcade racer I've had my eye on for a while.

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Rival11

The new consoles have been out for some years now and I find myself mainly playing remakes and very old games from the 360 era (because they were damn good).

The Callisto Protocol would be the first true next gen game I played (that utilized the new consoles features , i.e. instant load) and that's it.

I know we have some huge titles coming within some years to come but even games like the new starfield don't look all that spectacular to me.

I'm just wondering if we'll ever see a huge noticeable difference in new games to come.

Adam Tyner

Michael Corvin

That's because this gen doesn't seem like it's even begun yet. Since both companies have catered to last gen for the first 3 years of this cycle, we've yet to get more than a handfull of true next-gen titles. Even Callisto Protocol which you referenced was last gen compatible. Have there even been a dozen *new* games(not remakes) across SeriesX and PS5 that were next gen only?

Over on the PS5 (referencing them since it's my main console this gen) there's Ratchet, Returnal, Forespoken, Destruction All Stars, Ghostwire Tokyo and Astro's Playroom. and Final Fantasy 16. Six (unless I'm missing something) games in 3 years is pathetic, especially considering 3 of those were launch window games(and one of which is barely a game).

I haven't kept up on the Xbox side of things, has it been just as bleak?

GatorDeb

They need to just take the hit at the beginning and Make Xbox Z and PS6 (and Switch Neo) not backwards compatible and just run with it. If I were XBOX I'd tell Larian to make the game run with whatever modifications they needed and at least release something at the same time as the PS5 and then throw more money at them to keep working on the rest of what doesn't work on the XBOX S so far. What if they can't make it work?

Adam Tyner

There are definitely more. Off the top of my head, there are games like Baldur's Gate III, Flight Simulator, Deathloop, Gotham Knights, and Goat Simulator 3, which you can't play on the XB1 or PS4. Hogwarts Legacy and Midnight Suns were current-gen-only, although ports to older consoles later followed. Doing some quick poking around, it looks like Anno 1800, Redfall, EA Sports PGA Tour, After Us, Company of Heroes 3, Remnant 2, Everspace 2, and Ride 5 are among the titles released this year on XSX/XSS and PS5 that aren't available on the PS4 or XB1. There are the remasters and remakes you’re excluding. By the time we hit the three year mark, there'll also be the likes of Spider-Man 2, Helldivers 2, Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Payday 3, Lords of the Fallen, Alan Wake II, Cities: Skylines II, and Alone in the Dark. Plus there are PSVR2 exclusives like Call of the Mountain.

Games take such a staggering amount of time and money to develop that they're going to be targeted for as wide an audience as possible, and that generally means spanning generations for longer than we’ve seen in the past. You'll get the best possible experience on a newer console. New PC games are generally playable on low-to-modestly-spec'ed PCs; I don't see this as being all that different.

Decker

A snart new update addition:

RichC2

Backwards compatibility isn't the issue there though. The Series X would be able to play Xbox One games regardless.

This is literally forcing devs to make their games for a half-gen system (the Series S) while other platforms (PS5 and PC) are fully next-gen (yeah yeah current gen, but you know what I mean). It's a big hurdle and this is far from the first complaint about it.

The Series S realistically needed to be the same specs as the Series X, just without a drive. As it is now, it shouldn't really exist.

GatorDeb

Once the X comes out, that's it, S plays what it plays and not all new games are compatible. Take and ignore the complaints and just move on to the version that plays everything.

Four months. What if they can't make it work just because the machine just can't do it?

Adam Tyner

I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding, but the Series S and Series X came out at the same time.

GatorDeb

Oh, I thought the X was a mid-season upgrade.

Well, that's stupid

The S should have had the same specs and no drive, or have a disclaimer may not play all games like the Switch standard one does.

RichC2

Yeah, the confusing naming scheme is Microsoft's fault. They did an Xbox One, Xbox One S and an Xbox One X, then released the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X as their next-gen counterparts.

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Decker

And mandated that every XSX game be playable on the XSS. That's why Baldaur's Gate 3 is coming out on the PS5 on Labor Day while the XSX version is MIA. It's a really bad strategy.
I am kinda amazed though that the XSS could run Flight Simulator or Starfield. That in and of itself is pretty amazing (though it probably also explains some of the Starfield delays).

GatorDeb

What if the XBOX Series S just can't do BG3? What then?

Decker

Then it never comes to the console. Or MS decides to lift that XSS requirement, which they've been reluctant to do so far.

RichC2

More info on that: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/...compatibility/

nickdawgy

I prefer Xbox over PS for multiple reasons but I agree the names they come up with for their consoles is ridiculous. I’m glad they didn’t call it the Xbox 720 but still…

Get creative. Or just do what Sony is doing. Xbox One. Xbox Two. Etc.

Michael Corvin

They can't because Sony has a bigger number, that's what started the dumb naming nonsense. They'd be launching a Xbox 5 against a PS6.

They should just go full on phone naming conventions and just go with the year. Xbox Model X28 or whatever year the next one launches.

Spiderbite

Is that the reason why Samsung started numbering their Galaxy phone releases to coincide with the year?

If so, that is a smart idea.

The Questyen

Didn't bother them last generation when it was the Xbox 1 vs the PS4.