JPDunks4

1 hour ago, stepee said:

Damn quick resume works even after a restart. V nice.

You can uplug the thing for days and plug it back in and it's still there.  

Also a side note, Microsoft has added Cloud Gaming to the console itself.  So if you are browsing games on Game Pass or have games you own that have Cloud support, you can try them out without downloading and taking up storage space.

@ARZi know just plays quite a few games without ever downloading them now when we talk about co-op games .   So if it's a game you don't necessarily know if you want to download, can go that route as well.

2 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

Didn't even realize there was an exclusivity deal. How fucking dumb is that, make an exclusivity deal artificially bumping up the price to expand storage aka creating an obstacle for players to buy/play more games on the system. DID YOU NOT SEE THE VITA, MS?

If there wasn't a deal in place we would have seen other companies with their own by now.  It's a shitty part of the business and one I would have hoped Microsoft would have moved away from, but evidently not.

It's been on sale before for under $200, but ya it sucks.  I like the external form factor cause I do take it to my parents house at times where I have a Series S, so easy way to bring over my most played games without dealing with updating over there.

Supposedly it was only a limited time exclusivity deal with Seagate and MS to make external drives, so hopefully we see other 3rd parties start making some drives and getting the price down.

22 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

If the Activision deal getting a thumbs up by regulators wasn't a concern, MS would absolutely be on this.  Maybe Sony has more invested in Uncharted these days to want to publish a new Tomb Raider.

 

What if this move is part of a bigger play of Sony acquiring the Japanese arm of Square? 

The less stuff Square Enix owns the better.

Sony went from this last gen

to this 

So I fired up some of the better looking games, more demanding games, and it does fluctuate.  Its def more than 3, but depending on what's being fired up, it seemed to jump between 4 or 5.  So ya just depends on how much memory each game takes up.

But had Forza Hoirzon 5 (this ones a little buggy because it detects controller being unplugged), Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, Flight Sim, Shadow of Tomb Raider, Halo Infinite, and it would keep 4 or 5 active.

4 hours ago, stepee said:

 

Trying to google an answer on that looks like it shouldn’t expand it? From what I read it uses the internal for quick resume even if the game is on the expansion storage. Maybe 3 games is really just an estimate and it only depends on how much memory the games use so more than three less demanding games works? Or maybe JP IS A BIG DUMB PHONY.

If you go to My Games and Apps it shows you a list of all games currently in Quick Resume, and I have 6.  Googling it I saw a few mentions of 6 games can be in Quick Resume.  

I am testing it now though, as I may have just been in opening menu's which didn't require much memory, allowing more to stay open.

Ya just tested, Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, Diablo 2 Resurrection, Flight Sim, Halo Infinite, and Outriders.

All are Xbox Series X versions.

3 hours ago, Spork3245 said:

It’s 3 for current gen games. If you have previous gen games up it’s potentially more.

5/6 are X/S designated games.

I do have one of the External Memory Cards though, so wonder if that doubles it?

Do you have a VRR TV?

1 hour ago, Spork3245 said:

It’s 3.

I currently have 6, so it's more than 3.

Online games are problematic though.

5 hours ago, stepee said:

Ok fuck it I ordered one from Gamestop and paid $55 for the stupid fucking call of duty game. It did not go how I wanted it to and I’m pissed now because it didn’t let me use $125 of it because of some arbitrary gift card limit bullshit but not getting it would just piss me off more so I’m also getting the stupid cod game and $125 of gamestop credit for some other stupid fucking shit I guess.

Just went up for sale on Microsoft.com for straight $500, no bundle.

47 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Warzone is declining too though, as the article says.  Only mobile has held steady.  That suggests CoD’s problems go beyond BR/PVP divides.  I bet a good number of people actually migrated to Halo last year.

Part of that maybe true, but as RC said, the newer map was not well received, and going back to WW2 stuff also wasn't popular.  They seemed to have corrected some since then.  Also rolling over pandemic numbers which saw a lot of these companies putting up record numbers.

I think MW2 numbers this year will be pretty huge again, especially with new Warzone coming alongside it.

3 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Nowadays, there's a bit more gray.  Many of Microsoft's franchises have increased player bases and interest as a result, eventually selling more than previous entries because of the cutural zeitgeist, but might get off to a slower start.  (Gears 5, for example)  You also have Matt Piscatella from NPD saying that games that review poorly get cannibalized, for sure.

 

If you look at it through the lens of CoD, it's hard to imagine that putting that franchise on there wouldn't lead to a deficit of sales.  But you could see more people throwing money at the DLC on the Xbox side.

EDIT: I might have to take that last paragraph back now... woah.

Yes, this was back in 2018, when Game Pass was what, 5-8 million subs?  It was in a very different place then.  I believe Game Pass can help push sales of some lesser known games if they pick up popularity by being on the service.  But I'm not sure I believe it'll outright increase the sales of games as a rule.  Now with Game Pass at 25 million, there is no way sales of Xbox 1st Party is going to be higher than prior to Game Pass for a lot of titles.

And the statement a few years ago where thye said Game Pass Subs spend more on gaming overall, I just took as Game Pass Subs are probably the more hardcore invested gamers that were just naturally spending more prior to being subs, and continue to spend more now.

Xbox says Game Pass subscribers ‘spend 20% more overall’ | VGC

WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM

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Exec says users continue to spend via in-game transactions and additional content…

4 hours ago, HardAct said:

   Played my first 3 hours late into the night and I got too say this is a pretty great game. So "New" feeling! I thought my PS5 controller was broken seriously when the left trigger mid pull stop activated...lol It sounds like the controller is broken if you just pull it past the stop. That's all I can think of to call it, very unexpected. There's a few minutes between where the controller action is activated and you find the rifle and the game then tells you about the mid pull action. I was worried, but I went back to the PS5 home screen and it's gone, back in game and it's back so I figured it out

 

I'm just about to be buried in the first wave of PS5 games I bought off eBay today and Tomorrow, this is going to be fun!

I shut off the Trigger thing immediately when I started playing.  Put the Alt Fire on R1 I think, and left L2 just for scoping in.  I haven't played many games that use the adaptive triggers but I dislike them.  Made L1 Dash.

2 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Activision Blizzard sales and engagement tumble

WWW.GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ

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Modest revenue growth at King offset by 49% drop from Activision, 43% decline from Blizzard as MAUs hit new lows

 

Only CoD mobile held static.  You'd think the scandals factored in, but it could just be waning interest in CoD generally.

Warzone is all a lot of CoD players need now, so unless you care enough to be able to level guns quickly, there was no need to buy Vanguard.

I saw this coming as soon as Warzone launched.  Traditional PvP modes are nowhere near as popular as BR's and CS:GO/Valorant game types.  If people can play Warzone they don't need to buy regular CoD PvP.  Going forward I'd guarantee they find more ways to link buying CoD to more Warzone benefits, like unique skins you can only get if you own the yearly CoD, discounts on skins, ect.

It's why I thought Halo needed a BR at launch.  Old school respawn PvP just isn't what a lot of gamers are looking for long term anymore.

1 hour ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I thought the argument was that Game Pass caused people to spend more on video games?

I believe the statement was Game Pass Subs spend more on gaming than non subs.  Could be wrong but that's a very different statement, and made awhile ago I think.

High Inflation -> Less Disposable Income -> Game Pass looking more and more appealing.

I assumed it was a spoof of Animal Crossings Turnip economy?

Certain Affinty is working on a seperate game mode, possibly a BR, or some new type of larger grander War Zone.  Supposedly they are also working on a Monster Hunter type game for Xbox as well, wonder if they are related?

3 hours ago, BloodyHell said:

It didn't reflect damage, Radahn hit the water and died. It's a new boss cheese mechanic someone found. 

Well that was the cliff of the water.  He fell off the edge and fell to his death.

50 minutes ago, stepee said:

Please for goodness sake do not talk From into implementing level scaling for the expansion/sequel/spiritual sequel whatever.

Hey, I said OPTIONAL scaling.

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/season-1-outcomes-report-live

Some highlights - 

Working to make Armor Coatings and Visors usable on all Armor Coatings

Working to make all customizable items across all armor coatings but can't guarantee all will work.

Quote

 In short, our goal is that we will be incrementally moving to a model that has coatings and visors working across all cores; with helmets and chest gear working across canon cores as our first focused changes to make in the system.

The Kits, like the Noble Team Skins, and the E-Sport Team skins, will be able to be  used as interchangeable parts.

Quote

In a future update, we’ll be changing the Kit system so that it will allow players to sport individual items from their Kits to use on their own personal Spartans.

Acknowledge players are asking for the ability to use multiple vehicle, weapon, and armor customization options at once.  Said its not a top priority right now as they are focused on the Armor Core stuff, but will look into it.

Quote

A Career Progression system is in the design phase right now. We want to nail it out of the gate and that’s going to take some time. 

 

Additionally, we know there’s a desire for per-match, which also leverages performance, to plug into this system as well as the Battle Pass. Per-match XP is on the way and will land this year. 

- Improved Season 2 Battle Pass Rewards, 1000 Credits, better Event and Weekly Ultimate Rewards.

Quote

 

First 5 Weeks of Ultimate Rewards

 

Week 1: Sentry Stance 
Week 2: Battleship Haze MA40 AR Coating  
Week 3: Alabaster Cognac Razorback Coating  
Week 4: Amber Yesterday Visor 
Week 5: Spring Mountain Stance 

 

Some other stuff but thats some of the big stuff, a lot of positive changes.  I don't play all that much anymore cause I finished the Battle Pass, I do get on to do some Weekly Challenges.  I still love the gameplay but too much backlog to tackle so taking a break until they address more stuff and get more content.  Can't wait to see whats to come though as I love the core gameplay a lot.