Memorabilia
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It should come as no surprise that this turned into a long "Xbox is DOOOOOOOOMED!" thread where every 5th post in the first 10 pages was trying to convince everyone else that MS is, yet again, abandoning the video-game hardware market. *sigh*
Microsoft certainly earned their distant second place with the now infamous cluster-fuck that was the Xbone launch. Yeah, they need to get their ass in gear when it comes to exclusives (the Gamescom presentation was lackluster...superfluous after E3...without many to talk about). And, yeah, the X1X is priced $100 too high to make a serious dent in the PS4's sales lead.
That said...all the hair on fire, shit-posting is ridiculous...at this price point the X1X is obviously not meant to change the market landscape...it's all about catering to a niche gamer who wants the best *console* gaming experience and has enough disposable income that price isn't a consideration. And that's OK. If the Xbox division was truly on its last legs, higher ups could have easily told Phil to ride the Xbone S into the sunset. Instead, they released a fire-breather to make the existing Xbox core gamers happy in a move that really isn't too much more complicated than a polygonal dick measuring contest. And that's OK.
My own sentiments towards the Xbox have vacillated all over the place since the disastrous Xbone launch. I was firmly onboard Sony's band-wagon, picking up two PS4s at launch...and only half-heartedly picked up a couple Day One Xbones. But...MS really did an about face in 2014-17, gradually improving the UI and ecosystem, providing a vastly superior elite controller, and dropping in kick-ass backwards compatibility to eventually win me back. Through no real fault of Sony's I eventually dropped PS+ and for the most part only use my lone remaining PS4 for offline/SP exclusives (granted, it's a really cool Darth Vader edition I upgraded to after trading in my launch PS4s). Meanwhile, I have 483 games on my primary Xbone Elite.
I have every gaming option under the sun - including a nice gaming PC - and yet the X1X appeals to me enough that I placed a pre-order for the Scorpio edition, whereas the PS4 Pro didn't convince me (I'll eventually pick one up if/when I can get it for, say, $299 on some kind of deal). I know my gaming budget puts me in an atypical demographic. But...I dont think it's so uncommon that a lot of people simply want the best available console option (without the complication/expense of PC gaming). And, while it may be anecdotal, I know a couple people who haven't bought in to this gen yet...but fully intend to pick up a X1X on Black Friday. For me, I'll get to play a ton of my backlogged games for the first time at the best possible IQ. For them, they're jumping in because the X1X "wows" 'em. I don't expect this thing to sell gang-busters...but, as noted earlier, it doesn't need to...and that isn't its stated intent.
One thing I know for sure is I'm really excited to play a ton of multiplats and BC games and receive the benefit of the automatic uptick in IQ/FPS. That's easily enough to justify my purchase, regardless of what happens with the first party exclusive situation (which, I agree, needs improvement).
Microsoft certainly earned their distant second place with the now infamous cluster-fuck that was the Xbone launch. Yeah, they need to get their ass in gear when it comes to exclusives (the Gamescom presentation was lackluster...superfluous after E3...without many to talk about). And, yeah, the X1X is priced $100 too high to make a serious dent in the PS4's sales lead.
That said...all the hair on fire, shit-posting is ridiculous...at this price point the X1X is obviously not meant to change the market landscape...it's all about catering to a niche gamer who wants the best *console* gaming experience and has enough disposable income that price isn't a consideration. And that's OK. If the Xbox division was truly on its last legs, higher ups could have easily told Phil to ride the Xbone S into the sunset. Instead, they released a fire-breather to make the existing Xbox core gamers happy in a move that really isn't too much more complicated than a polygonal dick measuring contest. And that's OK.
My own sentiments towards the Xbox have vacillated all over the place since the disastrous Xbone launch. I was firmly onboard Sony's band-wagon, picking up two PS4s at launch...and only half-heartedly picked up a couple Day One Xbones. But...MS really did an about face in 2014-17, gradually improving the UI and ecosystem, providing a vastly superior elite controller, and dropping in kick-ass backwards compatibility to eventually win me back. Through no real fault of Sony's I eventually dropped PS+ and for the most part only use my lone remaining PS4 for offline/SP exclusives (granted, it's a really cool Darth Vader edition I upgraded to after trading in my launch PS4s). Meanwhile, I have 483 games on my primary Xbone Elite.
I have every gaming option under the sun - including a nice gaming PC - and yet the X1X appeals to me enough that I placed a pre-order for the Scorpio edition, whereas the PS4 Pro didn't convince me (I'll eventually pick one up if/when I can get it for, say, $299 on some kind of deal). I know my gaming budget puts me in an atypical demographic. But...I dont think it's so uncommon that a lot of people simply want the best available console option (without the complication/expense of PC gaming). And, while it may be anecdotal, I know a couple people who haven't bought in to this gen yet...but fully intend to pick up a X1X on Black Friday. For me, I'll get to play a ton of my backlogged games for the first time at the best possible IQ. For them, they're jumping in because the X1X "wows" 'em. I don't expect this thing to sell gang-busters...but, as noted earlier, it doesn't need to...and that isn't its stated intent.
One thing I know for sure is I'm really excited to play a ton of multiplats and BC games and receive the benefit of the automatic uptick in IQ/FPS. That's easily enough to justify my purchase, regardless of what happens with the first party exclusive situation (which, I agree, needs improvement).