Xbox The Xbox One - - Part 14

[Iceman]

it would be nice if MS could figure out how to build in full BC into Scarlett, so that it can play ALL X1, 360, and OG Xbox games.

of course, if PS5 can do FULL BC with ALL PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4 games, that would be huge as well.

still, though, I think I'm only going to stick with one console next gen. And I'm not sure if I will buy one right away at launch.

If next Xbox continues to support Game Pass, offers ample multi-media functionality like the X1 (which I like), and gets backed up with awesome exclusives, then I'll prob stick next Xbox.

They're going all in with gamepass so that is sure to continue. It will obviously not be $1 forever though but is still a good deal at full price. Lets hope we start hearing about what new exclusives are planned over the next few E3s.

 

[X Knight]

They're going all in with gamepass so that is sure to continue. It will obviously not be $1 forever though but is still a good deal at full price. Lets hope we start hearing about what new exclusives are planned over the next few E3s.

yeah, even at full price, Game Pass is still an awesome value. For the price of 3 full-priced games in a year, you get so much more. Especially if you're more of a "casual" gamer like I've become.

In fact, that was a major factor that led me back to Xbox. With Game Pass, I get access to all 1st party exclusives Day 1, with no need to go down to the store to buy them. So, unless there's a must-have preorder bonus or collector's edition, I can wait until 1st party titles go on sale later on if I still want a physical copy for my collection.

Same with 3rd party titles. Unless it's a must-have day 1 purchase, I can wait until the title either gets added to Game Pass or until it goes on sale.

Plus, Game Pass acts as sort of a rental service, meaning I can try out these games before I decide to buy them outright. And it lets me try out games I wouldn't normally play.

So, it's really a good deal for someone like me who isn't playing as many games and who is looking to spend less money on games.

 

[Iceman]

yeah, even at full price, Game Pass is still an awesome value. For the price of 3 full-priced games in a year, you get so much more. Especially if you're more of a "casual" gamer like I've become.

In fact, that was a major factor that led me back to Xbox. With Game Pass, I get access to all 1st party exclusives Day 1, with no need to go down to the store to buy them. So, unless there's a must-have preorder bonus or collector's edition, I can wait until 1st party titles go on sale later on if I still want a physical copy for my collection.

Same with 3rd party titles. Unless it's a must-have day 1 purchase, I can wait until the title either gets added to Game Pass or until it goes on sale.

Plus, Game Pass acts as sort of a rental service, meaning I can try out these games before I decide to buy them outright. And it lets me try out games I wouldn't normally play.

So, it's really a good deal for someone like me who isn't playing as many games and who is looking to spend less money on games.

It's great for me as I rarely buy physical any more. The only downside is my huge physical backlog of hundreds of games. I would love to have finished all of those and then just get the ultimate value from gamepass by focusing totally on whatever games it is bringing out.

 

[X Knight]

It's great for me as I rarely buy physical any more. The only downside is my huge physical backlog of hundreds of games. I would love to have finished all of those and then just get the ultimate value from gamepass by focusing totally on whatever games it is bringing out.

I still like physical games, but even I admit that digital games have become increasingly more convenient for me, especially as I've become busier in other areas of my life. Switching to higher speed internet with no data caps was also a factor.

speaking of digital, my latest Xbox bundle came with a digital code for Division 2! I haven't installed it yet, but I know that's a game you were playing.

 

[X Knight]

1st 20 minutes of The Outer Worlds. Spoilers obviously.



Looks good. Definitely downloading this from Game Pass when it releases next Friday, and going to pick up physical copy when it goes on sale.

It's like Fallout in Space with Bioshock/Borderlands vibes.

Hope the actual game is good and it becomes a successful series. And now that MS owns Obsidian, hope that future Outer World games stay Xbox exclusive. This would be a nice exclusive franchise to have.

 

[Iceman]

I still like physical games, but even I admit that digital games have become increasingly more convenient for me, especially as I've become busier in other areas of my life. Switching to higher speed internet with no data caps was also a factor.

speaking of digital, my latest Xbox bundle came with a digital code for Division 2! I haven't installed it yet, but I know that's a game you were playing.

Div 2 yeah, a new DLC dropped for it I believe.

Digital is super convenient for me as I have Xboxes all over the place and can access my entire collection from any of them without having to carry them around.

 

[X Knight]

Div 2 yeah, a new DLC dropped for it I believe.

Digital is super convenient for me as I have Xboxes all over the place and can access my entire collection from any of them without having to carry them around.

agreed.

since I've upped my internet speed and removed the data cap, I've also been using more streaming services like Netflix and DC Universe. And yeah, it is more convenient than lugging around multiple DVDs. Of course, the only downside is that if the internet goes down, which happened to me last week for a few days, if you depend solely on streaming then you are screwed in that situation. haha.

 

[Iceman]

agreed.

since I've upped my internet speed and removed the data cap, I've also been using more streaming services like Netflix and DC Universe. And yeah, it is more convenient than lugging around multiple DVDs. Of course, the only downside is that if the internet goes down, which happened to me last week for a few days, if you depend solely on streaming then you are screwed in that situation. haha.

Games like Division 2 need the internet anyway even if you have the physical version. That’s one unfortunate part of modern gaming for this type of game.

 

[X Knight]

Games like Division 2 need the internet anyway even if you have the physical version. That’s one unfortunate part of modern gaming for this type of game.

yeah.

and it's kind of ironic that when MS unveiled the Xbox One, the "always online DRM check" was one of the issues they got ******* on. But, that's kind of the direction the industry went in anyways.

even if games aren't technically "always online" like Div 2 or Anthem, with all of the updates, patches, DLC, etc., you pretty much have to be always online anyways to play modern games.

 

[Iceman]

yeah.

and it's kind of ironic that when MS unveiled the Xbox One, the "always online DRM check" was one of the issues they got ******* on. But, that's kind of the direction the industry went in anyways.

even if games aren't technically "always online" like Div 2 or Anthem, with all of the updates, patches, DLC, etc., you pretty much have to be always online anyways to play modern games.

MS were too early and they took away choice. It made people feel comfortable even if they were destined to go that route later anyway. It’s like something nostalgic you have that takes up a tonne of room like a CD collection. You might know that you want to throw it out some day but you’re not going to be ok with someone else just chucking it suddenly.

 

[X Knight]

MS were too early and they took away choice. It made people feel comfortable even if they were destined to go that route later anyway. It’s like something nostalgic you have that takes up a tonne of room like a CD collection. You might know that you want to throw it out some day but you’re not going to be ok with someone else just chucking it suddenly.

well, hopefully MS will have a better reveal with Scarlett than they did with the X1.

guess we'll find out in short order now. Man, it just feels like yesterday when the X1 and PS4 were revealed. This gen went by really fast, didn't it?

 

[Iceman]

well, hopefully MS will have a better reveal with Scarlett than they did with the X1.

guess we'll find out in short order now. Man, it just feels like yesterday when the X1 and PS4 were revealed. This gen went by really fast, didn't it?

I can guarantee you that it will be better, even if it’s terrible.

This gen was like the blink of an eye. Partly because I was so busy for a large part of it. The PS3/360 gen felt many times longer to me.

 

[X Knight]

I can guarantee you that it will be better, even if it’s terrible.

This gen was like the blink of an eye. Partly because I was so busy for a large part of it. The PS3/360 gen felt many times longer to me.

haha. yeah, the last reveal set a pretty low bar.

I think all the 4K tech in part accelerated the end of this gen. That's why both had to produce the mid-gen upgrades, but neither the X nor the Pro were "built" for 4K from the ground up.

now, the next gen consoles will be, plus whatever new tech they've thought up.

but on the games level, I don't think this gen really felt as revolutionary or groundbreaking as past gens. A lot of the games that came out this gen were part of existing series or remasters of older titles. Not to mention, all the microtransaction bull**** that has permeated most games these days.

IDK, to me, the games this gen didn't really feel "special." y'know?

But that could also be because I'm getting older so I'm less "wowed" by these games. And, in the past few years, I've been through some really tough personal stuff. so maybe that's why I'm just not as into the games this gen.

 

[Iceman]

haha. yeah, the last reveal set a pretty low bar.

I think all the 4K tech in part accelerated the end of this gen. That's why both had to produce the mid-gen upgrades, but neither the X nor the Pro were "built" for 4K from the ground up.

now, the next gen consoles will be, plus whatever new tech they've thought up.

but on the games level, I don't think this gen really felt as revolutionary or groundbreaking as past gens. A lot of the games that came out this gen were part of existing series or remasters of older titles. Not to mention, all the microtransaction bull**** that has permeated most games these days.

IDK, to me, the games this gen didn't really feel "special." y'know?

But that could also be because I'm getting older so I'm less "wowed" by these games. And, in the past few years, I've been through some really tough personal stuff. so maybe that's why I'm just not as into the games this gen.

I felt the same. This felt like a consolidation gen and there isn’t all that much to show for 7 odd years compared to many previous gens.

On the tech side, the 2 new consoles are said to support up to 8K and 120FPS (I guess not at the same time). 4K and 60FPS I would hope then is standard across all titles as a minimum at all times. The SSD sounds really exciting too.

 

[X Knight]

I felt the same. This felt like a consolidation gen and there isn’t all that much to show for 7 odd years compared to many previous gens.

On the tech side, the 2 new consoles are said to support up to 8K and 120FPS (I guess not at the same time). 4K and 60FPS I would hope then is standard across all titles as a minimum at all times. The SSD sounds really exciting too.

and all the ray tracing stuff. which I don't really get. they're going to have to show this stuff off at some point.

The thing I worry about the SSD is how that will affect storage space, since SSDs are typically more expensive than standard hds. And default storage really can't go below 1TB next gen. 2TB is actually the real min, but how much will a 2TB SSD cost??!!

it will be interesting to see how the 2 compete with each other, how much of a power difference there will be, etc.

Xbox really can't afford to lose the power debate this time round, even with rumors that PS5 will be more powerful than Scarlett.

honestly, they just need to be fairly close to each other. then it will come down to the games, and that's where MS really needs to step up.

They've got all these studios, now it's time for those studios to start showcasing what they are working on. And there's lots of exciting potential there.

 

[Iceman]

and all the ray tracing stuff. which I don't really get. they're going to have to show this stuff off at some point.

The thing I worry about the SSD is how that will affect storage space, since SSDs are typically more expensive than standard hds. And default storage really can't go below 1TB next gen. 2TB is actually the real min, but how much will a 2TB SSD cost??!!

it will be interesting to see how the 2 compete with each other, how much of a power difference there will be, etc.

Xbox really can't afford to lose the power debate this time round, even with rumors that PS5 will be more powerful than Scarlett.

honestly, they just need to be fairly close to each other. then it will come down to the games, and that's where MS really needs to step up.

They've got all these studios, now it's time for those studios to start showcasing what they are working on.

I love the sound of tech like that.

Yeah, they need to come up with a way of having mass storage as well as fast-access storage.

I'm not expecting a significant power difference. I think they should both have brought out 2 versions - a basic one competing on price and a high end version competing on power.

Over the next few E3s, there will have been enough time for these studios to have got to a certain stage to show what they are doing, and it needs to be impressive.

 

[X Knight]

I love the sound of tech like that.

Yeah, they need to come up with a way of having mass storage as well as fast-access storage.

I'm not expecting a significant power difference. I think they should both have brought out 2 versions - a basic one competing on price and a high end version competing on power.

Over the next few E3s, there will have been enough time for these studios to have got to a certain stage to show what they are doing, and it needs to be impressive.

for storage, I wonder if they will do some hybrid solution of standard hdd and SSD. Also, a smaller default drive wouldn't be so bad if they at least let us upgrade the internal drive. That's one thing I like about PS4 over the X1 - you can easily upgrade the internal drive. Hope next Xbox allows you to upgrade the internal drive.

Either that, or shrink/compress the file sizes of the games. When games are 30gb, 40gb, even 100gb, that's what eats up all the space on your drive. Based on some of the tech talk, it seems more "intelligent" install solutions are in the works for next gen, so we'll see.

even so, external drive support is still a must. It is super convenient to just plug in your external and have the new machine recognize all your games and apps from the get go. Makes switching or upgrading consoles a breeze.

speaking of which, I'm hoping next Xbox will support our current external drives with all our games and apps. Hope we won't have to "reformat" our drives and thus lose all our stuff. I want to be able to plug my external drive into next Xbox and be able to carry forward all of my games and apps no problem.

 

[X Knight]

And I'm not sure how I feel about a 2 tier console approach. I can see how a cheaper, less powerful console can appeal to the ultra casual crowd - which means more console sales overall. So it makes sense from a business sense, I guess.

but even I as a more casual player will still opt for the more powerful version. Once you see and feel the difference, it's hard to go back to the less powerful version. And, I try to "future proof" my tech purchases as much as possible.

A few months ago, when I get back into Xbox, I first tried to go with a cheap, used X1S. thinking I was going to mainly use it as a DVD player and media machine that plays games. I figured it would be sufficient. But man, once I fired up the games, I could tell a difference in quality compared to what I had experienced with the X before. Plus, the fan on the X1S was noisier.

 

[Iceman]

And I'm not sure how I feel about a 2 tier console approach. I can see how a cheaper, less powerful console can appeal to the ultra casual crowd - which means more console sales overall. So it makes sense from a business sense, I guess.

but even I as a more casual player will still opt for the more powerful version. Once you see and feel the difference, it's hard to go back to the less powerful version. And, I try to "future proof" my tech purchases as much as possible.

A few months ago, when I get back into Xbox, I first tried to go with a cheap, used X1S. thinking I was going to mainly use it as a DVD player and media machine that plays games. I figured it would be sufficient. But man, once I fired up the games, I could tell a difference in quality compared to what I had experienced with the X before. Plus, the fan on the X1S was noisier.

I think the fact that you talk about games a lot means you’re not quite the ultimate casual that they’re thinking of. You’re more like a consistent gamer who is only not playing more due to time constraints, rather than someone who only plays CoD and FIFA/Madden when their group of real life mates is playing and never games any other time. Some one like you is therefore at least in the market for the higher end console if the price is right, whereas the other guys don’t spare a second thought for this stuff.

 

[Iceman]

for storage, I wonder if they will do some hybrid solution of standard hdd and SSD. Also, a smaller default drive wouldn't be so bad if they at least let us upgrade the internal drive. That's one thing I like about PS4 over the X1 - you can easily upgrade the internal drive. Hope next Xbox allows you to upgrade the internal drive.

Either that, or shrink/compress the file sizes of the games. When games are 30gb, 40gb, even 100gb, that's what eats up all the space on your drive. Based on some of the tech talk, it seems more "intelligent" install solutions are in the works for next gen, so we'll see.

even so, external drive support is still a must. It is super convenient to just plug in your external and have the new machine recognize all your games and apps from the get go. Makes switching or upgrading consoles a breeze.

speaking of which, I'm hoping next Xbox will support our current external drives with all our games and apps. Hope we won't have to "reformat" our drives and thus lose all our stuff. I want to be able to plug my external drive into next Xbox and be able to carry forward all of my games and apps no problem.

They’ve said stuff like controllers will carry over so I’d assume the same for hard drives, especially as many aren’t Microsoft-made so they don’t benefit from making them incompatible. Also it’s just a USB link so should be simple.

As for how the large externalS will combine alongside a smaller SSD, I don’t quite know how this stuff works. Ideally you want your whole collection available on your external with the SSD able to use only what you’re playing right now, but that might not be possible. At least download speeds will be faster so you can switch something to SSD as needed.

 

[X Knight]

I think the fact that you talk about games a lot means you’re not quite the ultimate casual that they’re thinking of. You’re more like a consistent gamer who is only not playing more due to time constraints, rather than someone who only plays CoD and FIFA/Madden when their group of real life mates is playing and never games any other time. Some one like you is therefore at least in the market for the higher end console if the price is right, whereas the other guys don’t spare a second thought for this stuff.

yeah, I guess I'm not a casual in the truest sense of the term. I'm kind of in the middle of casual and hardcore gamer.

They’ve said stuff like controllers will carry over so I’d assume the same for hard drives, especially as many aren’t Microsoft-made so they don’t benefit from making them incompatible. Also it’s just a USB link so should be simple.

As for how the large externalS will combine alongside a smaller SSD, I don’t quite know how this stuff works. Ideally you want your whole collection available on your external with the SSD able to use only what you’re playing right now, but that might not be possible. At least download speeds will be faster so you can switch something to SSD as needed.

yeah, the new hard drive tech will be interesting to watch on both next gen consoles.

 

[Iceman]

This sounds like an amazing deal:

Xbox All Access Console Deal Offers Upgrade to Scarlett, 24 Months of Game Pass Ultimate

 

[X Knight]

This sounds like an amazing deal:

Xbox All Access Console Deal Offers Upgrade to Scarlett, 24 Months of Game Pass Ultimate

I'm always a bit worried about these financing or monthly payment or lease type deals. Usually, if you do the math, you'll end up paying more over the financing period than if you just bought the products outright. Not saying that's the case with this deal, but you always have to be wary about that.

 

[X Knight]

anyone here picking up the Elite 2 controller? Do these elite controllers ever go on sale?

I was hoping for some kind of BF sale, but it might be too soon for this new controller.

 

[Travesty]

The Elite 2 releases today, so you wont see a sale on them for quite awhile, but you may see a bunch of sales for the Elite1s. I have the first model, so I don't need the new model, but if mine breaks, I'll probably pick up a new one. I really like the new stick resistance feature.

But the Elite 1 is still great. I love that controller.