https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/15/four-xbo ... aic_gaming

so it seems all the speculation the past week was all a big fuss over not very much. Just shows how these rumours can get quickly out of control.

I'm not sure it's a big fuss over nothing - first party games going to a rival console (with more likely to come) feels like the thin end of the wedge for MS as a hardware supplier.

If Xbox exclusives are going to end up on PS/Switch eventually what reason is there beyond Gamepass (which they also want on rival machines) to plump for an Xbox going forward?

Rhaegyr wrote: ↑February 16th, 2024, 10:44 am I'm not sure it's a big fuss over nothing - first party games going to a rival console (with more likely to come) feels like the thin end of the wedge for MS as a hardware supplier.

If Xbox exclusives are going to end up on PS/Switch eventually what reason is there beyond Gamepass (which they also want on rival machines) to plump for an Xbox going forward?

They did say Gamepass is staying on Xbox and PC, plus the games coming to other consoles are smaller projects over a year old, I'd guess Sea of Theives, Pentiment, Grounded, and HiFi Rush.

Exclusives are becoming less common, Nintendo is the only console manufacturer with a lot of Exclusives you can only get on their current platform. There's only a few actual PS5 exclusives that can't be played anywhere else, most of them get ported to PC after a year or two.

Rhaegyr wrote: ↑February 16th, 2024, 10:44 am I'm not sure it's a big fuss over nothing - first party games going to a rival console (with more likely to come) feels like the thin end of the wedge for MS as a hardware supplier.

If Xbox exclusives are going to end up on PS/Switch eventually what reason is there beyond Gamepass (which they also want on rival machines) to plump for an Xbox going forward?

I was meaning more in the short term. There was some speculation that they were going to put all their exclusives on other platforms or even just some of their big franchises like Starfield and Gears. With it being these old games, unless they get released on these other platforms and sell gangbusters, I don't see them changing their approach of keeping their bigger games, especially their big single player only games, exclusive to Xbox/PC.

I'd be well up for Sea Of Thieves on Switch. Seems like it'd be a perfect fit for 30 minute sessions running short quests.

We got a lot of cool news today. Hi-Fi Rush is coming to PS5, Pentiment and Grounded are coming to Switch, Penny's Big Breakaway dropped on everything, and we got a release date for Shadows of the Erdtree.

What about the biggest news of the day?

WORLD OF GOO 2!!

No idea this was even being made so what a great surprise!

Enjoyed the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer. Nice that I didn't have to wait until gone 10pm to watch it! The long gap has been good for me, I miss the game more now than if it had released late 2022. Love seeing all the reactions and the lore theory machine spinning up again. There's a good interview in IGN that gives more concrete details for the DLC. Nothing too spoilery but I'll link it here and won't say anything in case anyone wants zero information. I just appreciated it because there's a lot of wild speculation getting thrown around.

https://www.ign.com/articles/hidetaka-m ... -interview

I hate to say something as cliche as Pentiment is one of the best games I've played in the past five years and you absolutely should all buy it if you haven't played it on Xbox, but Pentiment is one of the best games I've played in the past five years and if you absolutely should all buy it if you haven't played it on Xbox.

DeadpoolNegative wrote: ↑February 26th, 2024, 4:50 am I hate to say something as cliche as Pentiment is one of the best games I've played in the past five years and you absolutely should all buy it if you haven't played it on Xbox, but Pentiment is one of the best games I've played in the past five years and if you absolutely should all buy it if you haven't played it on Xbox.

Same here. It was comfortably my GOTY when it came out. Absolutely loved it.

With the Wii-U servers being turned off, players have been trying to clear every single user created Super Mario Maker level. It's been interesting to watch the progress and there are now only five levels still remaining. As you can imagine, they are almost impossible.

Story: https://www.gamesradar.com/super-mario- ... ever-made/

Website tracking completion: https://www.issmmbeatenyet.com/

Love this crazy sort of thing.

Alex79 wrote: ↑March 13th, 2024, 4:16 pm With the Wii-U servers being turned off, players have been trying to clear every single user created Super Mario Maker level. It's been interesting to watch the progress and there are now only five levels still remaining. As you can imagine, they are almost impossible.

Story: https://www.gamesradar.com/super-mario- ... ever-made/

Website tracking completion: https://www.issmmbeatenyet.com/

Love this crazy sort of thing.

It's finished! A twist in the tale revealed the very final level to have been uploaded against the rules by using a tool assisted run, meaning every level in SMM on the Wii-U is complete.

https://www.gamesradar.com/after-280000 ... -week-ago/

https://metro.co.uk/2024/04/11/baldurs- ... aic_gaming

pleased to see Hi-Fi Rush and Venba win something

Really disheartening to see more studio closures announced yesterday - feels never-ending at this point.

Tango being shut down in particular feels like an especially galling move. Not just because of their recent success with Hi-Fi Rush, but they could have had the potential to give Microsoft an in-house Resident Evil or something like that. They were clearly a capable AAA studio that had more to give.

I can see why Arkane Austin got the axe, seeing as how Redfall flopped so hard. But it's still a huge shame to lose the team that gave us Prey. While it sounds like the damage Redfall did to the studio meant it was already heading in a downwards trajectory, it sucks for the im-sim genre to take a hit like that.

It also makes a lot of MS's recent purchases suddenly look a lot less safe now. It's got me worried about the future of Double Fine. I'm sure there are others looking over their shoulder right now too.

Honestly, don't know what MS are even doing these days. Lost the plot.