Microsoft Xbox news and discussion thread

[Flabyo]

It's almost as fun as when I changed the core email address on my account and had to redownload everything digital and reinstall all the disc installs. And then pull all my cloud saves down again.

[countstex]

Thankfully this is all a lot more smooth on the One since it, like the PS4, has the 'Home System' concept. Saves my wife and I a fortune on games!!

[Joshihatsumitsu]

After giving a bit of thought, two things that would get me on board with the Xbone:

1. Do away with the region-locking. Sony stopped doing it from the PS3 onwards, and Nintendo, a company renowned for stubbornness and puzzling business decisions, made the Switch region-free. It's an antiquated thing that Microsoft hang onto for some reason.

2. There's one very particular reason my 360 is still plugged in, and that reason is Cave Interactive. Again, personal taste, but if that particular library of games were made available digitally on Xbone, it would swing me in their favour.

The upside for me with the Scorpio is, because I haven't bought an Xbone yet, it would be a pretty good place to jump in. Microsoft just need to get it together in a few areas. Its still a few degrees being off necessary for me.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

The Phantom Dust remaster is launching today, and is completely free to all Xbox and PC gamers.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017- ... windows-10

Nice touch by Microsoft.

I never played this back in the day on the original Xbox, so keen to give a go. It is from Yukio Futatsugi after all.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

So has anyone bitten and preordered the Xbox One X?

I have, although I'm not 100% sure why. I was the same the PS4 Pro. Eventually it just felt like I might as well get one given that I've got a 4K TV and love my gaming, so why not have the best quality kit I can get.

If nothing else it'll be nice to have a smaller, sleeker box under the telly (I currently have a Day One Xbox One). The form factor of the X really is a marvel in and of itself...

[kintaris]

So has anyone bitten and preordered the Xbox One X?

I have, although I'm not 100% sure why. I was the same the PS4 Pro. Eventually it just felt like I might as well get one given that I've got a 4K TV and love my gaming, so why not have the best quality kit I can get.

If nothing else it'll be nice to have a smaller, sleeker box under the telly (I currently have a Day One Xbox One). The form factor of the X really is a marvel in and of itself...

I've been an Xbox gamer almost exclusively for 10 years (not a fanboy, just preferred the controller and infrastructure) but the X reveal has pushed me in the opposite direction.

I've never been concerned about having the latest and greatest tech, so I thought I'd use the money an X would cost as an investment towards a new laptop, a PS4 and a new 3DS - maybe a Switch next year too.

I can see why people might want it if they're Xbox-mad or they get a lot of enjoyment out of being a day-one owner, but for me a console purchase is purely a means to access new games, which the X doesn't provide.

[James]

I've one pre-ordered, as does Tony (I don't think he'll mind me saying so.)

In terms of access to games (the primary driver for my hardware purchases too), you're absolutely right, kintaris. I too would opt for a new platform over an upgrade like PS4 Pro or Xbox One X.

For me, this is cheaper than a PC upgrade, and allows me to make best use of our 4K TV. Any way I care to cut it, this is a ridiculous luxury though - something I think Microsoft and Sony have, thankfully, been upfront about.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

The 'cheaper than a PC upgrade' angle is an interesting one. There was a really good article on Eurogamer/Digital Foundry about how it costs quite a bit more to build a PC with the same power as the X (which annoyingly I can't find now) so that could be a big selling point for them in the short to medium term until PC kit drops in price.

You're right what you say James in that this is being pitched as a luxury, premium product. Phil Spencer has said they certainly expect to sell far more 'S's than they do 'X's. With that in mind I don't see why anyone should be turned off Xbox as a platform by the X. If it's not for you for whatever reason, then the S is a great machine at a much lower price point. This new console is by no means essential, but we all spend our lives buying premium products that we don't need from cars to coffee and everything in between, so the existence and desire for a premium console is no different in my eyes.

I for one am really looking forward to it, particularly now that I've heard of all the upgrades coming to Rise Of The Tomb Raider! It's been sat in my backlog for ages and was going to start it this week, but native 4K and HDR support seems like a good reason to hold off another couple of months!

[KSubzero1000]

There was a really good article on Eurogamer/Digital Foundry about how it costs quite a bit more to build a PC with the same power as the X (which annoyingly I can't find now)

I found this one:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... soles-cost

Which also links directly to that one:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3200767/ ... build.html

Is this what you had in mind?

[James]

Yeah, PC has been my go-to for multi-platform games since 2011. At this point, though, I'd really have to look at building a new PC to reach 4K/HDR standards, plus I don't have a suitable monitor - it really is no contest as to what the cheaper option is.

The list of Enhanced games is currently 118 long, and Rise Of The Tomb Raider isn't on there yet. That gives me hope that there's willingness on the part of third-party developers to support the Xbox One X, and, hopefully therefore, the PS4 Pro a bit more too.

It's still an unnecessary upgrade, obviously. No denying that.

[DomsBeard]

So has anyone bitten and preordered the Xbox One X?

I have, although I'm not 100% sure why. I was the same the PS4 Pro. Eventually it just felt like I might as well get one given that I've got a 4K TV and love my gaming, so why not have the best quality kit I can get.

If nothing else it'll be nice to have a smaller, sleeker box under the telly (I currently have a Day One Xbox One). The form factor of the X really is a marvel in and of itself...

The price is the only thing stopping me preordering. Launching £100 above the pro seems a bit mental to me, especially as currently (in my opinion) they have a weaker set of exclusives.

I have an original xbox one and it is chugging now but I'm more likely to stick with it and get a switch as my PS4 Pro with PSVR is my main console now.

[ratsoalbion]

The price is the only thing stopping me preordering. Launching £100 above the pro seems a bit mental to me, especially as currently (in my opinion) they have a weaker set of exclusives.

Yeah, I mean looking at the specs there is definitely at least £100 worth more of raw power in hardware terms there, but if there's not much going to demonstrate that then it's a tough ask for many I should think.

If I hadn't already got a One S it would be a no-brainer because I find the form factor such a massive improvement on the launch Xbox One, but as it stands without a 4K/HDR TV I'm going to save my pennies for a nice new gaming screen first before I go for a XOX.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

The list of Enhanced games is currently 118 long, and Rise Of The Tomb Raider isn't on there yet. That gives me hope that there's willingness on the part of third-party developers to support the Xbox One X, and, hopefully therefore, the PS4 Pro a bit more too.

It's interesting how they're implementing the Tomb Raider upgrades actually, giving you a few different modes depending on what you feel is most important eg. native 4k, 60 fps and so on. Plus you can switch between them on the fly to decide which you prefer.

5 min piece from Gamescom about it here: https://youtu.be/w7xvnEgUh3E

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

If I hadn't already got a One S it would be a no-brainer because I find the form factor such a massive improvement on the launch Xbox One, but as it stands without a 4K/HDR TV I'm going to save my pennies for a nice new gaming screen first before I go for a XOX.

If I had an S I'd certainly be thinking twice. My launch console has been rock solid since day one but it'll give up at some point so might as well cash in while it's fit and healthy! Plus the new one is soooo much smaller it'll make for a far less imposing lump in my living room!

[Stanshall]

Same here, Leon. I think a significant telly upgrade will be my next step before another console.

I skipped on the Pro having tried it at my mate's and felt it was no upgrade over the standard PS4. I ended up getting a One S a couple of months back, basically to play Dark Souls on backwards compatibility, and I've really enjoyed it, though there are even fewer exclusives than I'd expected! It's now basically a backwards compatibility machine, plus Forza, and so I don't feel any pull from the One X. I'm not really playing anything which will see the benefits. Obviously, I'd like one but I can't possibly justify it, especially as a 4K TV would probably make a bigger difference in the first instance with my regular One S. It will probably be my next console though, in the next couple of years, unless they bring out a revised Switch.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... escom-2017

Some really positive first hand impressions from Digital Foundry on the XOX's performance across a range of first and third party titles. Seems to be hitting native 4K and solid performance on many games, and is outstripping the Pro to be more approaching high end PC performance. Looking good!

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Agreed. Now all the Xbox One needs now is games!

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

1,312 at the last count

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_One_games

[countstex]

Thought I'd pipe in to say I'm onboard with a pre-order too.

My thoughts are that my PC is ageing and obtaining a 10-bit screen for PC is WAY more difficult than a 10-bit TV. So the pre-order is in and currently sizing up 4K HDR TVs. The current forerunner being a Panasonic TX58EX780 (That's a Danish number, I believe the UK equivalent is an EX750B)

Frankly the biggest draw for me, as I may have said before in this thread, is with the number of Backwards compatible titles available the XBOX platform is becoming a home away from home for a long term Steam user like myself. And having heard that the X will run some very nice superscaling on older titles makes it a very attractive prospect.

In the end, as always with these things it comes down to aligned visions, and Microsofts is just way more inline with my own. I still have my PS4 for when i want to play NMS or Uncharted, but for most of my gaming, and my movie watching be that on Netflix, BlueRay or UHD I'll be turning to my X. I can only hope HBO Nordic finally get around to releasing an XBOX app!

(Actually just being able to watch the opening credits to Daredevil without the horrendous colour-banding will be a blessed relief!)

[Alex79]

Just seen an advert on the telly for a 500gb XB-ONE with FIFA 18 and the new Forza with all the Hot Wheels DLC. Seemed like a very attractive price point to be jumping on at. It's still a little much for me given the handful of exclusives I want it for (Forza, Cuphead....surely a couple of others too but I can't think of them right now!) but if I had the spare cash I'd snap that up.

EDIT: Sea Of Thieves!

EDIT 2: Including the price in this post probably would have helped! It's was £230.