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Massive FTC Leak: Mid Gen Xbox Hardware, Series S/X Refreshes, New Controller, and Game Plans!

DirtyBast8rd

DirtyBast8rd

Member
YOU PC BRO?! said:
Reading through the thread, it’s surprising how many people are on-board with the concept of an all-digital future.

You do understand that there is no existing digital equivalent to owning a physical copy right? Are you really happy with having no way to trade in your software licence? Having no way to sell your software licence? Having no way to gift your software licence? Being locked into a single marketplace for purchases? Retailers have an incentive to lower prices as a means of competition. Are you really telling me you wanna be stuck with that $70 bug ridden flop game with no way to recoup any of your costs?

How about the broken promises of digital? Weren’t we told that digital would be cheaper as there were no associated manufacturing or distribution costs? What about the promises surrounding game preservation? Or the inclusion of DRM free offline experiences? These things would become completely unfeasible and impossible to attain if solely relying on bottom-line focused platform holders.

For many savvy consumers that have navigated the physical game space for decades, that have enjoyed a means to play the latest games at the cheapest cost, this is a sobering prospect indeed. We are talking about doubling or even tripling the overall cost of this hobby. An all digital future would effectively ‘Blockbuster’ the remaining physical game stores. Are people really ok with that?

Personally, with the end of the collector, the end of physical game stores and the loss of basic ownership rights, it would amount to nothing short of a catastrophe. A betrayal of the highest order, perpetrated by a Microsoft that for years led the way in backwards compatibility. Hell, you can still insert original Xbox game discs into the latest generation of devices and play. Why are people in such a hurry to give that up?
Click to expand...
Stop talking sense.
 
YOU PC BRO?!

YOU PC BRO?!

Member
clarky said:
Been all digital for donkeys on the PC and since the start of last gen on all 3 consoles. No regrets. Library at my finger tips, can download and game in 10 mins or less. Not got heaps of plastic lying about.

Not for everyone but suits me just fine.
Click to expand...

Awesome, but you know what would be even better? If you actually owned the software licences to those games. If those licences were accessible to you. If you could do whatever you wanted with them i.e. trade, sell and transfer them. I’m sure that would suit you even better.

In an effort to appease, Microsoft could release an external usb c disc drive for the Xbox. That would allow owners of large game collections a means to play their libraries on future digital only Xbox devices.

Hell, Microsoft could offer a new medium. How about a cheap usb c mini drive, small capacity (4 MB), designed to hold an encrypted game licence key, not the entire game install. Replaces current disc based medium. Keeps physical alive and allows for the removal of the traditional disc drive. Problem solved.
 
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ZehDon

ZehDon

Member
Holy smokes, I cannot keep up with all the news coming out of this!

giphy.gif
 
O

onQ123

Member
I'm just happy about the controller because now the industry can move forward

www.neogaf.com

At this point Microsoft next controller should have a IMU just to keep up with the standard even if they don't have big plans for it.

Phones , Tablets , Wii , Wii U , PS3 , Vita , 3DS , PS4 , Switch all have IMUs for some type of motion controls. PlayStation is about to go into their 3rd generation of standard controllers with IMUs & it will be the 5th if you include Vita & the PS Move controllers there is no reason why...
www.neogaf.com www.neogaf.com
 
Jemm

Jemm

Member
If that's the final plan for the console, it's more like a mid mid-gen -refresh, but reminds me of those from the Xbox 360 -times with incremental upgrades. I'll wait for the official announcement to see, if I'll like it enough.

I wouldn't worry about the missing disc drive, as they could be planning for an external one - like with Playstation.
 
rofif

rofif

Banned
Celcius said:
It feels like Microsoft is giving up.

No Pro console while Sony is going to have the PS5 Pro and the Switch 2 is coming.
Gamepass not growing.
Refreshed consoles not cheaper and no disk drive.
Xbox having nearly NO exclusives worth buying anymore.
Etc...
Click to expand...
Nearly no exclusives worth buying?
Well…
 
Zuzu

Zuzu

Member
onQ123 said:
I'm just happy about the controller because now the industry can move forward

www.neogaf.com

At this point Microsoft next controller should have a IMU just to keep up with the standard even if they don't have big plans for it.

Phones , Tablets , Wii , Wii U , PS3 , Vita , 3DS , PS4 , Switch all have IMUs for some type of motion controls. PlayStation is about to go into their 3rd generation of standard controllers with IMUs & it will be the 5th if you include Vita & the PS Move controllers there is no reason why...
www.neogaf.com www.neogaf.com
Click to expand...

I would like it if it had impulse triggers as well so that also becomes standardised. But it’s great that gyro will be on everything soon. The controller looks really promising tbh.
 
Hero of Spielberg

Hero of Spielberg

Member
YOU PC BRO?! said:
Reading through the thread, it’s surprising how many people are on-board with the concept of an all-digital future.

You do understand that there is no existing digital equivalent to owning a physical copy right? Are you really happy with having no way to trade in your software licence? Having no way to sell your software licence? Having no way to gift your software licence? Being locked into a single marketplace for purchases? Retailers have an incentive to lower prices as a means of competition. Are you really telling me you wanna be stuck with that $70 bug ridden flop game with no way to recoup any of your costs?

How about the broken promises of digital? Weren’t we told that digital would be cheaper as there were no associated manufacturing or distribution costs? What about the promises surrounding game preservation? Or the inclusion of DRM free offline experiences? These things would become completely unfeasible and impossible to attain if solely relying on bottom-line focused platform holders.

For many savvy consumers that have navigated the physical game space for decades, that have enjoyed a means to play the latest games at the cheapest cost, this is a sobering prospect indeed. We are talking about doubling or even tripling the overall cost of this hobby. An all digital future would effectively ‘Blockbuster’ the remaining physical game stores. Are people really ok with that?

Personally, with the end of the collector, the end of physical game stores and the loss of basic ownership rights, it would amount to nothing short of a catastrophe. A betrayal of the highest order, perpetrated by a Microsoft that for years led the way in backwards compatibility. Hell, you can still insert original Xbox game discs into the latest generation of devices and play. Why are people in such a hurry to give that up?
Click to expand...
I mean, PC gaming has been mostly digital for years and you can still find cheaper keys on release.

Perhaps regulators can assist with allowing consumers to swap / trade-in keys as well as making sure game keys are available for sale through online / brick and mortar retailers as well as through PSN, Xbox store?
 
RavenSan

RavenSan

Off-Site Inflammatory Member
I feel like I may be one of the only people who doesn't think these leaks are 'omg the end of xbox' or even particularly harmful. I also don't think this gen needs a 'pro' refresh akin to the One X / PS4 Pro. Those made sense as it was the jump to 4k. What's the 'pro' gonna do? 8k? Hardly anyone has an 8k TV. The new Xbox (provided it doesn't totally replace the normal Series X) is fine. You get an extra TB of space, without a disc drive. If they offer a disc drive as an accessory, even better.

Am I being an idiot? What's with the doom & gloom around these leaks?
 
Hero of Spielberg

Hero of Spielberg

Member
RavenSan said:
I feel like I may be one of the only people who doesn't think these leaks are 'omg the end of xbox' or even particularly harmful. I also don't think this gen needs a 'pro' refresh akin to the One X / PS4 Pro. Those made sense as it was the jump to 4k. What's the 'pro' gonna do? 8k? Hardly anyone has an 8k TV. The new Xbox (provided it doesn't totally replace the normal Series X) is fine. You get an extra TB of space, without a disc drive. If they offer a disc drive as an accessory, even better.

Am I being an idiot? What's with the doom & gloom around these leaks?
Click to expand...
I mean it’s somewhat embarrassing to have all this information become public in n a way they wouldn’t have liked, but I agree, hardly end of the world stuff,
 
THE DUCK

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
systemr123 said:
I for one am happy that MS doesn’t give me a disc drive with their refresh, because it saves me from cluttering my room, and that’s totally worth the price increase of the games with no discounts anymore to combat the physical store prices. /s
Click to expand...

Right, exactly, because buying games digitally is so much more. I mean digital store games never go on sale. And the exact second everyone goes all digital, all online game store discounts will end! Just ask valve and steam! Its all over! /s
 
RavenSan

RavenSan

Off-Site Inflammatory Member
Hero of Spielberg said:
I mean it’s somewhat embarrassing to have all this information become public in n a way they wouldn’t have liked, but I agree, hardly end of the world stuff,
Click to expand...
I can understand that -- it's certainly not a good position to be in to have all these leaks (even if they are a few years old) -- but it just seems like it's getting a bit overblown.

Company makes business based decisions on things, and has internal comms that may be more aggressive/candid than their public facing. In other news, water, how wet is it?
 
{insert code here}

{insert code here}

Member
That game lineup is all Bethesda. What happened to the rest of their 1P? So, had they not bought that them out, they would've released zero games during 23/24? That is so insane it can't be right.
 
O

Ozzie666

Member
It must be so frustrating for Phil, Xbox and Microsoft. To have all these resources, studios, IPS and cash - and not be able to win or get what they want quick enough. It must drive them nuts to be beaten and outclassed by 2 smaller Japanese companies, contiune to fail with releasing big titles, be so out of touch, kill Master Chief and then have their entire master plan revealed. They are the Mickey Mouse New Jersey Devils right now. I wonder who the scapegoat will be for uploading these documents, unless it wasn't their fault.
 
Rhazer Fusion

Rhazer Fusion

Member
If this is legitimate, the death of physical media on your flagship console imo could severely damage the XBOX Series X especially when the PS5 will have that particular advantage over them at the same price point. PlayStation is already beating them significantly worldwide and taking away physical media capabilities will probably make things even worst. Not to mention it’s still $500 apparently while missing an important feature to some gamers. This could have even replaced the Series S while being $350 or realistically $400.
 
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{insert code here}

{insert code here}

Member
Ozzie666 said:
It must be so frustrating for Phil, Xbox and Microsoft. To have all these resources, studios, IPS and cash - and not be able to win or get what they want quick enough. It must drive them nuts to be beaten and outclassed by 2 smaller Japanese companies, contiune to fail with releasing big titles, be so out of touch, kill Master Chief and then have their entire master plan revealed. They are the Mickey Mouse New Jersey Devils right now. I wonder who the scapegoat will be for uploading these documents, unless it wasn't their fault.
Click to expand...
MS has all the money but you still gotta convince people to buy your product. This isn't the PC market where you only need to convince/sell to a small handful of companies/manufacturers to get your software into a couple billion homes. This is direct to the user and they have always struggled in this area.
 
S

systemr123

Member
THE DUCK said:
Right, exactly, because buying games digitally is so much more. I mean digital store games never go on sale. And the exact second everyone goes all digital, all online game store discounts will end! Just ask valve and steam! Its all over! /s
Click to expand...
Valve and steam is different because it’s a store on an open platform with competing stores. Sony and MS and Apple have a closed ecosystem giving them all the power and 0 competition (although in apples case it’ll change within the next 6 months in EU).

But that’s too hard to think about I guess.
 
Hero of Spielberg

Hero of Spielberg

Member
systemr123 said:
Valve and steam is different because it’s a store on an open platform with competing stores. Sony and MS and Apple have a closed ecosystem giving them all the power and 0 competition (although in apples case it’ll change within the next 6 months in EU).

But that’s too hard to think about I guess.
Click to expand...
Be great if regulators in other places could force MS, Sony etc to make keys available for purchase through other retailers…
 
skit_data

skit_data

Member
I'd really like to see the internals of that all digital Series X. It's of course possible it's just the external case that's cylinder shaped.
 
Hero of Spielberg

Hero of Spielberg

Member
systemr123 said:
Absolutely, 100% agree with you there. The whole point of course of the big companies is to make this completely impossible.
Click to expand...
I hope now with gaming now being more on regulatory radar we can get some good consumer outcomes to reverse some of the move to closed digital stores. Pretty sure car manufacturers have to sell through dealerships in sone places
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Member
TrebleShot said:
Where’s the email about Phil Spencer wanting to buy Valve AND Nintendo? Pretty huge they have the cash and ability and could absolutely do it.

The Valve one is more realistic than Nintendo.

Time to get Salty GPU friends.
Click to expand...

Buying Valve would run into the same regulatory hurdles they faced when trying to buy Activision. Possible even greater hurdles.

They'd own the Operating System and the storefront... What's to stop them from saying Steam will now only work on Windows for Gaming, which costs 100 dollars per year?
 
O

onQ123

Member
Zuzu said:
I would like it if it had impulse triggers as well so that also becomes standardised. But it’s great that gyro will be on everything soon. The controller looks really promising tbh.
Click to expand...
Wait what? I didn't see anything about them removing Impulse Triggers
 
scarlet0pimp

scarlet0pimp

Member
i'd be interested in the diskless series x the wifi upgrade alone i'd be happy with but if the design is physically smaller too then i'd probably replace the series s with it.
The lack of pro console i'm not too bothered about. This generation has barley produced any next get games that includes Sony. I feel like a pro console from Sony is actually a bit of a piss take when they still have yet to show a true next gen game, HFW looks very nice but nothing next gen about it in truth. I don't believe a PS5 pro will come out, though I would buy one if it did come out simply because i'm like that and like to have the latest gadget. Same as i would get a switch 2 even though i barley play the switch 1 currently.
 
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