no speculation on the handheld as a console? Sarah Bond came from T-mobile and I'm speculating that her connections to the carrier might make the handheld have a persistent data connection via 5G. Most cloud games on gamepass are not touch controlled btw but uses the xbox controller or third party adapters and the phone or tablet is just a streaming display. A hand held xbox would be native as a controller and display device not so different than what the Dreamcast had ith it's memory /display add-on. Also, the controller itself could be internet persistent where latency is minimized which Stadia was trying to do. You can still share games digitally for friends on your xbox account and would be interesting if Xbox offers a marketplace for owned games.
I’d buy a ps pro if there were new games worth playing. Soul games are the only thing I really buy at release these days. Most of what I play is old games mixed with a bit of online pve grind games
Don was doing what boss asked him to do. After years of taking blame he said in interview that task he was given was take over living rooms and to deliver machine which will do it. Basically all in one
@@olearturI mean, wasn't that why Microsoft initially created Xbox? The threat of Sony taking over the living room and Microsoft wanting to do it instead.
@@oleartur Makes sense, Windows already fell off after Windows 7, and nowadays it's a barely functioning mess that people only use because they're required to use the equally terrible and non-functional Microsoft 365 subscription service. Microsoft has always been a software company, so why does none of their software work properly anymore?
For just console owners, yeah definitely. I moved to PC the past couple of years and honestly I've been keeping busy just replaying all the classics I love and finding hidden gems I missed on Steam.
my One X kind of ended up the same... specifically as my 4K Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive machine. Still eyeing up a Series X at some point if the price is right, but having recently got a PS5, there's not really much justification for it.
I got a used series X for my birthday this year and have been loving it for what it is. It plays games great on the couch. If Microsoft remembers Xbox is for games & gamers, we should be okay.
But that’s irrelevant because your average gamer isn’t into emulation or isn’t interested in dev mode on their Xbox. I hate emulation, I buy all my retro games physically. The only good thing about emulation is preservation. Other than that, I never touched it.
@alwhitney1968 You're a joke stop talking emulation is amazing it preserves gaming history and you can play those games on any device. Your old physical games won't last forever 😂 things degrade over time as items get older and older
@Mike-t5r9q physical media over digital any day, games from 50 years ago are still playable physically today. That stuff doesn't just degrade by its self no matter what
Remember when videogames had compelling single player modes that didn't require online and servers? When the full games were on the disk and worked out of the box? When micro transactions weren't force fed and required to win? Ahh the good old days.......
@@dammyoyesanya4656 those are key license software. Much downloading and patching required.... There was a time games had to work out the box... Online update wasn't a thing yet....
@@dammyoyesanya4656 I think Nintendo and Sony are overrated as well. Nintendo has been making the same games for years and Sony just continues making open world titles with different skins that gamers are getting sick of. They’re no better than Xbox other than they have marketable IP that bring gamers in. Other than that their games are pretty ordinary compared to what they used to be.
@@Roach22 Going by your logic God of War is the same game as Uncharted? You mentioned they are all the same skins, I guess Killzone is the same game as Ratchet and Clank. Since they all use the same skins.
@@michael2093he’s literally the reason I and many others skipped the Xbone. Short term gains mean nothing when you lose your long time fan base. This is coming from an og Xbox and 360 owner
I can't believe the 9th generation of consoles are already 4 years old. Has it been that long? I still felt like those hardware were introduced yesterday. Surely, time flies.
I wish Xbox went into a more conservative direction. The Series X should’ve been a complete brand overhaul that echoed the xbox 360 days. Just a great console with great games and none of the BS.
As someone super invested on Xbox due to the humongous library I've been building there for the last 14 years, the most I got out of it this year (apart from the standard backlog cleaning) has been the "finally" ports. Finally we have more square enix titles, finally we have death stranding, etc
Death stranding is a bigger gain than people think. Sony helped fund publish and create the decima engine, I really can't believe they sold the IP tbh.
A company's downfall begins when their board of directors forces decisions outside of their expertise, The board's bloated egos think that their funding automatically gives them qualifications to make every decision.
as an xbox fan it's sad to see their current situation, I used my series x a lot in the beginning of the gen but yeah today not so much and i pretty much moved to pc and ps5. I only hope they don't do anything stupid regarding digital games like shutting down servers otherwise i will need to rebuy my games on ps5
The current gen is a strange one anyway, both for Sony and Microsoft. We should be approaching the summit of this console generation, yet games wise it feels like we barely got started. Up to this year I had no incentive to upgrade from PS4, especially as I'm not owning a 4K screen. The biggest titles so far were all cross gen, while changing this year with a lot more 9th gen exclusives. Maybe 2025 will be a year where some actual system sellers will go to market. GTA6 will be that game for me. But especially Microsofts strategy I can't understand, there is no way they are ever going to earn back that mountain of money they used to buy Bethesda and Activision. So like you mentioned, the suits step in. Combine that with ever escalating development costs for AAA games and you end up with generations where as a platform holder you just can't come up with a steady supply of exclusives to drive demand. And adding the multiplat and PC support with it, it puts consoles as a concept behind. And tying to finance that through a subscription model sounds near impossible. Sony on the other hand also has a though time. It's quickly sprawling all over the place with multiple bets on everything, but seemingly not fully committing to them. A mediocre support for PSVR2, a very confusing and restricted handheld, a barely interesting streaming service, confusing subscription tiers and a terrible approach in exploiting their legacy with backwards compatibility. Add to that an ever expanding list of extremely expensive accessories (Pro controller, Portal, Pulse Elite audio products, the separate disk drive) and of course the monstrously expensive mid gen PRO console ( Where you at best get 4 years out of ) and they can count themselves lucky their are financially in a good place, as it's certainly not their strategy at the moment that brings them at the top. Besides all that, consoles used to be really plug and play as you'd buy the game, pop it in and start playing. That concept is dead, and console gaming lost its low barrier for entry. With day one patches, regular MASSIVE updates and games releasing is such poor technical conditions you have to jump through a lot of hoops to just get going. And most ridiculously asking the players to choose what compromise to make (quality mode vs performance) It's become no different that PC gaming.
I collected some original Xbox games recently and remembered my enthusiasm for it 20 years ago. Dead or Alive 3, Dino Crisis 3, House of the Dead 3, Jet Set Radio Future, Otogi 2… We got great Japanese exclusives before.
@ Huh? DoA5 and DoA6 came out on PS4. DoA5 did well financially. I think their biggest mistakes were “censoring” the females’ costumes in DoA6 and too much DLC.
Just wanted to say that you putting the mic right by your face. It makes a HUGE difference for me and I can hear you more clearly. I have some auditory processing issues so thank you for having the mic set up this way. Great stuff!
This generation really does not feel like 4 years have passed since XBSX and PS5 launched. I'm gueesing the next one won't be that much different simply because of PS5 PRO and Series X (or X2?) having enough juice to last until the end of the decade
As someone who used to collect, selling all my collection. And sticking with PC and Series X Gamepass is the winner in my eyes. I love it, because its saving me 1000s Australia a year of ultimate gamepass is now $280au Which is still great value. But I use a VPN and get a year for the next 5 years for $136au for the next 5 years. So I'm happy tbh. I'm over buying all my games
Because of the whole licensing issues with digital games I don’t buy games unless they’re on sale and the discount is at least 50%. I agree with you on Game Pass but also because there are games on there that are great that I never would have considered playing outside of Game Pass.
@@Roach22 On my PC I wait for discounts, and the freebies are great. I just bought RE4 Remake because it got cheap enough for me. For context it's the RE game I wanted remade the most. I've had on GC from 3 days after the US launch, I imported a copy because I didn't want to wait for the European launch. Wii, X360 and PC. The X360 and PC ports are dreadful, the whole game doesn't feel right. I thinks it's because it's the stripped down PS2 port. So much patience lol.
I just don’t get how a über rich company like Microsoft mismanages its gaming division this poorly. They have funds, the talent, and resources to make great games… and instead, they go all-in on Gamepass, mishandle the internal studios they already have, and spend billions acquiring others. Even pre-2013 Mattrick era Xbox had more games people wanted, Kinect BS aside. Imagine if they used to money spent to buyout publishers, to improve their internal development studios, give them more resources. Phil Spencer and current Xbox leadership needs to go.
This has been the case for a long time. Phil should have been fired after halo infinite released if not before. His laissez fair approach has never worked, and those two dead years killed their reputation. It’s when I dropped off and went PC. And now there’s no reason to own Xbox hardware if you can get your hands on a PC.
People who don't understand license agreements. Think about the way you purchase Microsoft Windows. You're not purchasing the disc. You're purchasing the product key. Microsoft is just gracious enough to provide an install disc with your purchase
Hate to say it, but the Kinect for Xbox 1 was ahead of its time! It let you ditch the controller and use your body and voice. It could track your moves, recognise your face, and made games like “Rise of Nightmares” feel immersive.
Thank you for mentioning that digital purchases are not ownership. I spent so much money on the PS3 storefront when I was a late teen/young adult thinking the purchases were going to transfer over to the PS4 and how wrong I was. I Think I have like $2000 worth of games saved on my system that is gone forever when that system will break one day. It was the slim model so they're almost as durable as a damn N64 but one day it will be gone. I am not completely against buying digital games but I always get them discounted and games I truly love I will get a physical copy to keep it. Don't buy digital consoles because there is literally no point to their existence other than to drive a market that only takes away ownership to consumers.
I did the same with my ps3. I skipped the ps4 ( i know, big mistake) and sold my ps3 in preperation for the ps5. Imagine my surprise when i found out my games were not available. But, i bought another ps3 and my account can still download the games i bought.
Social media’s continued rise has, quite possibly, also been a continued thorn in the side of XBOX. As Adam has insinuated multiple times, the console wars are still a thing. People really seem to care more about buying a plastic box that has games one can’t play on another plastic box. XBOX has been doing better for physical games; especially from Limited Run Games, but Microsoft isn’t interested in exclusivity either. They’re interested in XBOX as a service. By investing in these larger publishers and Gamepass, the brand is profitable and likely isn’t going anywhere, however, the console may sadly do so. Sucks since the Series X is a very well- built console with more content then people would likely credit it for. Their investment in backwards compatibility is nothing to scoff at.
That last part baffles me so much people love to argue games, then sell back compat so short. In a generation where most titles have PC releases and are old game remasters. And the much better back compat doesn't just give the Xbox over 600 games, most of which aren't on PS4 and enhancements to them too... just like the remasters do 😭 what are we arguing about
@AlphaladZXA The issue isn’t an argument for enjoying an XBOX console; it’s that people don’t trust and require XBOX. I enjoy my XBOX hardware, but I cannot stand their business model. P.C.’s can already run most backward compatible games either through emulation or a native version. Microsoft is stupid enough to port all their games to their competitors’ platforms. Competition that doesn’t care to show the same grace in return. After the ‘This is An XBOX’ commercial today, many people, including myself are regretting purchasing a Series console. If *every* single, first- party game comes to other platforms and those platforms won’t play ball with Microsoft, no one should invest in their consoles. We were lied to at the beginning of this generation by Microsoft. We’ve invested money on a abandoned platform. Not that Sony or Nintendo are the “good guys” either, but people appreciate it when companies respect these investments… Not lie to their customers… *Again and again.* Preserve your library, friend.
The economics of cloud gaming will never make sense to me. You cant go faster than the speed of light, so they'd need to build data centers in every town to get latency to a (still worse than local) playable state. So I cant see how having multiple data centers with thousands of Xbox's worth of hardware in each of them is better than selling one Xbox per house and having them pay for the electricity. Also, bandwidth isn't free. A high quality Netflix stream uses like 5-10GB an hour and they're just doing 24fps or 30fps video content. A 60-120fps 1080p game stream would need at least double that to not look all crunched with artifacts. Compare 10-20GB an hour to stream a game, to simply downloading the game locally or selling it on a disc. So yeah, the economics of game streaming wouldn't be able to support a mass market unless they're just targeting the smartphone gamer crowd that are used to not having high quality gaming experiences.
As someone who has been using Xcloud for several years now, the service itself gets better and better with time. Little known fact, Google Stadia had an EXCELLENT level of okay quality. The lag was practically non existent..... and this was several years ago. Xcloud has caught up quite well and I've been able to play a lot of fast twitch (1st person shooters and fighting games) with very limited hiccups. The biggest difference I've seen has not only been the connection quality but the quality of the device being used to interface. A high end cell phone (Samsung S22 and above) and/or a laptop with a good gpu built in gives the best results. So I see what the Xbox brand is doing and ummmmm, it's actually working quite well.
@@tdtellem Having a few beta testers is a far cry from trying to have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people using the service at the same time. Also remember that nothing can go faster than the speed of light. If you really like twitch shooters, you'll always be at a disadvantage compared to the guys that could simply afford to buy the $300-500 box once every 6-8 years.
It is about is it good enough for some people. And it seems it is. I use xCloud to test and sometimes play some games when I’m traveling and have my steam deck with me. Is it as good as playing on a dedicated hardware. No. Is is good enough for some games. Yes. But for me even a low end hardware to play the games natively will be better than could gaming.
@@mravg79 The main thing I'm thinking about is the cost to Microsoft, not even if the services is good or not. Right now the cost is manageable because it's still basically in a beta test phase with not many users, but if they wanted to move all ~20 million remaining Xbox gamers over to cloud...... Ongoing bandwidth costs would be insane, building data centers everywhere would be insane, electrical costs would be insane (when the Xbox is in your house, you're the one paying the power bill). I guess Microsoft could charge you like, $50 to $100 a month, but the service would still be offering lower quality game play and visuals compared to just having a cheap $500 box sitting under the TV
Xbox is basically doing what Disney did in the 2010s. Buy up the competition, do little to nothing with it, realize they can't afford to maintain all the new IPs, and let them fail. I knew Bethesda would start to decline as soon as Xbox bought it. At least when Sony buys an IP, they have to do something with it, because like you said in the PlayStation 5 videos, at least half of Sony's revenue comes from the PlayStation brand. Sony can't afford to lose, Microsoft can
I switched from PS5 to Series X mostly due to Game Pass (a friend gave me a year for free) Exclusives are easily the best thing about the PS5 but unfortunately it felt like this year Sony really slowed down on them and overall, there wasn’t any good games worth playing that I couldn’t play on Xbox. The Series X, in contrast, is a fantastic piece of hardware that provides backwards compatibility on X360 games and some OG Xbox games, in addition to the previous generation. This alone to me is a huge advantage over Sony as a console gamer, and is by far the strongest reason to own one. Sony has gone the nickel and dime way by charging a bunch of money for remasters, territory restrictions everywhere and attempts to get as much profit as possible from everything they possibly can. Also, they completely screwed PS3 digital libraries everywhere. MS should focus on Xbox and double down on their BC strategy, have stronger exclusives and position themselves as a complete piece of hardware that offers the best value among all the consoles.
It's ironic how Microsoft so desperately tried to save PC only for people to not want Windows anymore and switch over to Linux. Windows 11 is a total disaster on most fronts.
This console generation is a disappointment. The Nintendo switch is the only hardware worth buying, all you need is a PC and a switch and you’re good for this generation.
I've had my Series X for almost 2 years now, I made the upgrade from the One S and just wanted a device where I could get the best from the Xbox titles plus backwards compatability for some 360 and OG titles. I've not used it as much this year due to picking up a PS5 last Christmas, but there's a few titles I've gotten for the system new this year. It tends to be the one I get most of the Sonic the Hedgehog games for, and I did grab Persona 3 Reload and Metaphor Refantazio for it. There's plenty of Series/One titles I've yet to grab as well. This is the first time since the 6th gen that I've had all of the current consoles, and if I hadn't started playing FFXIV on my PS5 I'd likely have put more time into the Series X.
I just got the Series X last month after having a Series S for the last 2 years and Xbox One S 4 1/2years before that. Having a disc drive really does make a difference since I have a bunch of games in my backlog that aren't on game pass.
OH god its four years old. I"m currently working on a personal story video tied to the original xbox. I"m dealing with the fact i'm a crusty old man with Xbox, then 360, now the series x. God.
Although I think the ps5 and series x hardware are fine, I’ve been underwhelmed with the games so far. If I would have know what the console landscape would be at this point, I would have just stuck with last gen and doubled down on pc.
This video showed up on my recommendations and you made a good video man. I liked hearing and was fascinated by the history leading up to this console. I’m a lifelong Nintendo and PlayStation user, so I didn’t know it.
Honestly, the kind of points raised in your video are kind of why I went with the Steam Deck over the Series S. If things are going mainly digital, and licensing will only last so long , then I'd be a fool to pay full price for them when I can get all the games these platforms have at a ridiculously low price via one of their flash sales if I'm patient enough.
I truly believe Microsoft is done with the traditional console after the Series X. I know for a while, a generic prediction for Sony and Microsoft is the idea that they're going to simply make "Roku stick" likes that just plug into a TV and offer a bare bones, streamed, gaming experience, but I truly believe that's the direction Microsoft is headed. An "Xbox stick" of sorts, with native releases on PS5/PC. That to me is very clearly the message they're giving to me as a consumer.
They're pretty much heading there full speed for the last few years No home system, a handheld with online functionality, becoming the biggest publisher in the industry, pushing GamePass In fact I wouldn't be surprised to wake up one day and see the headline saying "Microsoft and Sony to secure a historical deal - GamePass available on PlayStation starting X Month YY Year"
I think they're also going to focus on selling controllers and accessories. The numbers show tons of people use the Xbox controller on PC, much more than people use PlayStation. Most can agree the Xbox controller is awesome, aside from it being prone to stick drift.
4 years and still no exclusive games that take advantage of the new-gen hw. What was the point of this generation? I mean, even the One X runs some games better than the Series S. Worst console generation EVER.
What do you mean? Flight Sim takes full advantage of the hardware, especially for SX, Hellblade 2, Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport with the SX capable of RT at 60fps with 4K being common during gameplay, Starfield, and were soon going to have Stalker 2 in a couple weeks, and Indiana Jones, both of which will run at 60fps on the Series X. Tha may not be an * exorbitant* amount of games, but to say there are “none”, is a bit hyperbolic.
The OneX can have a better resolution output than the SeriesS but it doesn’t match the SeriesS on performance. Cyberpunk runs at twice the frame rate on the SeriesS for example
Xbox was born because MS didn't want Sony to control the living room. The PC wasn't widely adopted by core gamers before the '90s because there were many better gaming platforms available in the '80s, like the C64, the Amiga, the PC Engine and the NES.
I just bought a One S. Didn’t have money for a Series X/S right now. But I’m happy with it. I’m mainly a PlayStation and Nintendo person but do like Xbox exclusives and catch up on the years later. I do like the One S so far and could actually see myself switching over to Xbox if they had better exclusives….
To be honest, I never was an Xbox until I saw the series X. They nailed the design look, I have zero regrets buying it on day one. The heavy hitter games needs to come out more consistently. Can they lower the price on the ssd card, that would help a lot.
I used to think this whole console generation was dull and sad. But now that PS5 games are getting cheap, I find myself quickly building a large collection for it. Meanwhile I bought 1 Series X game this year, and it was a LRG release. There are some games I would have bought on Xbox because I had historically played them on Xbox, but most are either Smart Delivery (aka Xbox One on disc), digital only, or now in the case of Alan Wake 2, only partly on disc because Xbox Blurays are lower capacity. In previous generations the Xbox brand really was a 3 platform. Now it's like a bad knock off.
I’m one of the few that absolutely loves the Series X the most this gen: current games, lots of backwards compatible games, Gamepass, being able to play Spotify over every game, quick resume and emulation (I own the games and have a cartridge/save transfer so I’m actually playing them legally). They wanted a PC for TVs and I feel that’s what I’m getting without spending a lot on a new PC. I’m happy with it but to each their own
I recently purchased a brand new Series X for around $15 due to a trade in, and it sits alongside my gaming rig that acts as my main platform. The Series X is a fantastic machine, and is genuinely one of the most well engineered pieces of tech I’ve owned. The fact that I cannot hear it while pushing it hard, even if I literally put my ear up to it, is very impressive. Quick Resume feels like some black magic witch craft, and the console overall is incredibly fast, efficient, and still very performant 4 years on into its lifecycle. Shame that sales have tanked for it, as MS really did create a fantastic beast of a machine here, with great software enhancements for games as well, enhancements that were often times automatic for older titles like auto HDR, and giving 360 and OG Xbox games 60fps support. Although my PC is still my main platform, and that will never change, the SX is fun as hell to play on, and so far, doesn’t feel redundant for my lifestyle.
Microsoft's strategy is bizzare...all they needed to do was make a console that didn't red ring & burst into flames alongside some compelling exclusive software not on PC with a good marketing campaign....but nah the cloud will save em 🥴
Bought an Series X in Christmas 2022, it was on a promotion and I took it as an opportunity to enter the Xbox console environment as this was my first Xbox ever. Is a nice little machine that I can take with me on a travel, and I took the opportunity to play older Xbox games (Gears saga as an example), or Red Dead Redemption 1. But I love Forza Horizon, I have 4 and 5, as the older ones are already delisted, last year I bought a second hand Xbox One X, cleaned it, painted, attached an older external SSD so the games have faster loading, and bought the physical version of Forza Horizon 1, 2 and 3, and also Ace Combat 6. I already have a nice PC. In the end, I have a great use for the Xbox One X for older and delisted games, and the Series S I take with me if I'm going to travel. As the newer games are also available on the PC, I don't see the reason for the Series X nowadays as this console don't have exclusives, as only just be that you want a living room experience and easier setup for games. Is really sad because this console have good hardware. It reminds me when I had Sony PSP, that little console was so good, and the only thing I felt that was abandoned by Sony.
Having a PC made ever getting an Xbox irrelevant, at least in my situation. Sadly I just haven't cared too much for the Xbox brand since like 2013-2014.
I think the strategy for Xbox consoles needs to be better integration with pc, so more dual license digital purchases. And also, there has to be at least a few consoles exclusives if PlayStation and Nintendo still have exclusives. Add to it, they need to keep doing what they can to get more third party support on Xbox. If they can do these three things there is at least a possibility of growth but at least they won’t lose their existing customers when the next gen comes out.
My Series X is still the console I use most right now, but as soon as my Analogue 3D shows up next year, I'll be playing through all of my N64 games again. I dont have much hope for future console generations, but the Switch successor may be good. I'll buy a used one, though.
I still greatly enjoy mine. Even the concept of gamepass is very enjoyable in my book as it has gotten me into games that I normally would not have looked at such as subnautica.
I still think the xbox could work as a console if they just offered more exclusive content. It frustrating to see them try to offer games exclusively through online distribution when most consumers want and still prefer physical/tangable experiences. Streaming your games that you own to your phone or laptop when you are away is a great idea though but banking on it to save the business isn't a very good idea in my opinion. If Microsoft could put in more effort to secure more console exclusive experiences or do what sony does and try to make deals for third party exclusivity then I think the brand could come back.
You bring this up around xbox fanatics and they go crazy, I think it's a cope. Sony and Nintendo have never forgotten this basic aspect of console gaming and oh look, they're doing much better than xbox. Jeez, let's just jeep pretending exclusives don't matter. I believe this was the xbox biggest mistake and it broke the trust of a lot of people. If your console has no exclusives then it will not succeed, simple as that.
Console exclusivity is starting to become a thing of the past as every platform besides Nintendo is going multiplatform. I don't know why people obsess over it so much especially since it's anti-consumer. Besides, Xbox still has exclusives like Halo, Gears, Forza and other games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 coming this month, and Avowed, Fable and South of Midnight next year.
For sure. I hope the idea hits MS them like a brick thru the windshield of one of their fancy Forza Horizon cars. They should always get the best games as exclusives. Best ammo to stay in the fight.
@@thelastofus2872 nope, Sony is also going multiplatform as they're now releasing on PC too. Microsoft's current situation is selling over half a billion copies of Black Ops 6 thanks to them going multiplatform, while Sony lost hundreds of millions on Concord, so who's really laughing all the way to the bank? You have no idea what you're talking about.
This is the year that I gave up on the Xbox ecosystem completely. I bought a One X a few years back to play some 8th gen games in 4k. After seeing all of the issues that came out of Xbox, I got a PS4 pro to pick back up with the PS4. In doing so, I realized that by getting an Xbox as my console of choice, I slightly alienated myself from some friends who mainly play on Playstation. It's not that serious, but man, those are some real-world consequences for putting my money on team green. And what did I get for it? Nothing I couldn't have gotten if I'd just bought a PS4 pro in the first place. Goodbye, big green fart.
The Xbox One S was my first Xbox, I want the Series X but I really haven't gotten much of a reason to upgrade yet personally. With all the IP they own now there's no excuse as to why Xbox isn't rivaling Nintendo like Sega did back in the 90s. They have Crash, Spyro, Banjo and the rest of Rare and a ton of other iconic franchises. They should start reviving them and start giving people a reason to buy their hardware, just make great games.
Adam heard of the cord loosening at the power port in back? Mine is not snug, tried unplugging to recycle the power supply because signup gave me fits months. Any solutions for signup and has your cord loosened?
@AdamKoralik i live outside north america in the south - this sign up crap never happened till last few months. Does not sign in. The system how it positioned on the pc table caused trouble turning on or sudden shut off because the cord was damaged on the earlier xb 1 x - suspect the same but the loosness this time. Thanks replying.
Simplicity always trumps everything else. Xbox is going nowhere. physical media is going nowhere. and if Xbox chooses to go all digital, they will lose millions of customers. If the series S would have launched with a disc drive it would have sold so much better imo considering the series X selling point was having a disc drive. But the new cod launch has seemed to have been profitable.
I'm someone that has been very happy with my series x. I don't have time to play every game under the sun so I think there is an overabundance of games to play if I'm looking for something. Game pass has been a breath of fresh air and I don't understand the complaints about it.
Back in the 90s and 2000s it was so exciting imagining what the next gen consoles would bring. Technology was moving so fast. Now games all feel the same and just aren’t fun anymore. Every game on the PS1 felt and played differently. The variety was amazing. Games for novice players games that were a challenge. Games now have zero risk too when you die. You just go back 2 minutes so the intensity and stress is all gone. Most games are mindless now. Thwres not a single game that’s coming out that I’m excited for
I know this video was most likely recorded before November 7th, but make sure to mention in the PS5 video that the Decima Engine is now on Xbox due to Death Stranding now having an Xbox version. The Decima Engine is Sony's engine, which means that the Horizon games could potentially be ported to Xbox. I guess this also means that the game OD will also be coming to a PlayStation platforms.
Both Xbox and PS5 had identical Ryzen 2 and RDNA2 chip sete. Of course, it's easy to port. Save for the RAM set up the Xbox One and PS4 were identical too.
I usually agree with most of your takes, but this one felt disingenuous. The concept of exclusives tied only to consoles has been fading. This applies to both Xbox Series and the PS5. What's more, you omitted some big exclusive games, albeit timed, coming to the Xbox this holiday season (Stalker 2 is a few days away, Indiana Jones, MS Flight Sim, Avowed in February, with many more on the horizon). I feel like everyone gives PS5 a pass for having a weak ass year (yes Astrobot is cute but it only sold 1.5 million copies and there are 60 some odd million consoles sold. Every other game is also either on PC or coming to PC. If you're gonna make these kinds of assertions, at least be even handed and call it out everywhere. At the end of the day, you're entitled to your opinion, this particular take just rubbed me the wrong way.
Agree with a lot of this, but not the exclusivity part. As someone with a PC, why would I even consider XBox hardware? However, I still own a PS5 and Switch. Obviously, Switch has tons of exclusives, and PS5 has timed exclusives that matter. I just get Game Pass on PC and never miss a thing. I’m not arguing the financial aspect or how Microsoft wins if I’m on PC, I’m only arguing this take that XBox having no exclusives hurts XBox.
@mundanemorselsmundanemorse7028 I totally agree with what you're saying. I wasn't trying to say you need an Xbox over PC. I was mostly referring to people only on Xbox and PS. Yes M$ has been ported some games over and left it open in the future, but as it stands you can't play FH5, Gears, Halo, Avowed, Starfield, etc on the PS5. The argument of, "well it's on PC, so I don't need an Xbox" is totally good by me if you also apply that logic to PS. All of PS5s big games, and timed exclusives are also on PC. Every game, save Astrobot, is on PC day and date or confirmed to be coming to PC. PC master race is winning on all sides lol.
29:59, I think everything you said was valid, Xbox doesn't have much to offer other than a possible elder scrolls or exclusive call of duty that will bring people in. Perfect Dark looks kinda cool but to buy the whole system is pretty unappealing. I think with next generation I'm just going to get a PC if they abandon the physical side lol. As far as the cloud gaming I think they are trying to be like Netflix the problem is casual people don't even know about this aspcet of xbox usually they've done a poor job promoting it thus it will fail.
When you look at the hardware sales numbers in totality so far, it really makes you wonder how many series s/x consoles are going to be sold during its lifetime.
The Hardware itself is perfectly really great for the price, but at the end of the day I don't think it was a worthwhile purchase. Only feature I think has been worth it is for the 4k blu ray playback, though that's an extremely niche use-case in today's world. Ever since I got my Steam Deck both the Series S and X I have at home collect dust. I have specific reasons for the S and the X but for the average use case I would MUCH rather recommend you save up extra cash and get a PC.
@wolfman210 That's very relative my dude. Yes if you want to play games in native 4k and 30-60fps medium settings probably around 900 USD. But with those 900 on top of getting PS5 "performance*" you get the flexibility to play at a myriad of resolutions, details, effects, with free online, no massive patches, access to every piece of emulation software, free games left and right, every storefront, a millones other use cases etc. If you are already comfortable spending 500-600 usd might as well save up a little more and go PC
It's been strange days for the Xbox. I don't ever recall there being a company like Microsoft Xbox that obviously does not know what it wants to be anymore, but yet still is able to not go bankrupt. They're out in no man's land. Seems unsustainable.
Buying a series X during the holidays sales so I can play GTA VI next year. Been perfectly happy with my Xbox One X since 2017. This generation is so weird. Lol
I'm sad about the backsliding of Xbox (PS fan here). Us players always win when these two titans are competing. I haven't experienced a brand new game experience/mechanic in years. Only polishes on tried and true.
Great video. I know you don’t like the all digital versions (I’m not a fan of all digital either), but I think the Series S is a quality console. I’ve had mine for almost 4 years now and it’s never put a foot wrong. Just wish that Xbox would release a disc drive for it.
I’m a retro Nintendo player having grown up in the 80’s/90’s. But the Xbox 360 was one of my favourite consoles of all time because of the quality of games!! COD4, MW2, Red Dead, FIFA, GTA4, Halo 3 etc were all incredible games with absolutely no focus on micro transactions and season passes. You buy a game, you’ve got the game! I bought an Xbox Series X and every time I go to play a game, it takes me 5 hours to install an update before I can play it. Then when I load up, I’m bombarded with pop ups for season pass and DLC. It’s off putting! I play my Nintendo Switch now more than any console because the games are complete on cartridge and focus on quality over DLC and live service. I’m even enjoying some Xbox 360 classics like Red Dead Redemption on there! I recently purchased Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch knowing it was a visual downgrade just for the convenience of playing handheld. Xbox should get back to making good games and stop pushing live service micro transactions.
Owned and preferred xbox since the 360 but as I'm not bothered about game pass and never had it. I'm just gonna go to PS and nintendo for the future, no point committing to xbox now sadly. Will just keep my series x til xbox ditchs hardware. Sad times for gaming as I'm an 80's boy who loved console wars
Hey everyone, sorry, I know the title card is wrong. The next one will be too, it wasn't noticed until I left the country. Enjoy the video!
no speculation on the handheld as a console? Sarah Bond came from T-mobile and I'm speculating that her connections to the carrier might make the handheld have a persistent data connection via 5G. Most cloud games on gamepass are not touch controlled btw but uses the xbox controller or third party adapters and the phone or tablet is just a streaming display. A hand held xbox would be native as a controller and display device not so different than what the Dreamcast had ith it's memory /display add-on. Also, the controller itself could be internet persistent where latency is minimized which Stadia was trying to do. You can still share games digitally for friends on your xbox account and would be interesting if Xbox offers a marketplace for owned games.
I LOVE this series you do! Enjoy your time overseas!
@DanWhite1025 I mean, Canada isn't exactly overseas, but I will!
As long as one of them still makes consoles, the other one is forced to make them too.
Wow, negative Nancy you got everything wrong.
Modern generation of consoles are just good at playing last generation games.
Pretty much yeah.
the only reason i ended up with a ps5 was because it was only a little more than the ps4 pro i actually wanted.
They're just PC's now
I’d buy a ps pro if there were new games worth playing. Soul games are the only thing I really buy at release these days. Most of what I play is old games mixed with a bit of online pve grind games
Except for maybe the Nintendo Switch, but that's more of a previous gen console that doesn't have a current gen successor
Honestly, time feels like such a blur and a rush coming off the xbox 360 to the series x. It's hard to believe how old the 360 is now...
Ye, it feels like yesterday that I attended the skyrim midnight launch event.
While in reality that was 13 years ago.
It’s gonna be 20 next year!
Scary isnt it
Don Matrick was the worst mistake Microsoft ever made. Xbox to date has not recovered from his arrogance and incompetence.
Don was doing what boss asked him to do. After years of taking blame he said in interview that task he was given was take over living rooms and to deliver machine which will do it. Basically all in one
@@olearturI mean, wasn't that why Microsoft initially created Xbox? The threat of Sony taking over the living room and Microsoft wanting to do it instead.
@@oleartur
Makes sense, Windows already fell off after Windows 7, and nowadays it's a barely functioning mess that people only use because they're required to use the equally terrible and non-functional Microsoft 365 subscription service. Microsoft has always been a software company, so why does none of their software work properly anymore?
@@oleartur you can do that without neglecting the gaming side of the console
@@oleartur
In other words what xbox and xbox 360 did?
Gaming seems kinda dire these days. Just me who thinks that?
For just console owners, yeah definitely. I moved to PC the past couple of years and honestly I've been keeping busy just replaying all the classics I love and finding hidden gems I missed on Steam.
My series x still remains a 4k Xbox 360
my One X kind of ended up the same... specifically as my 4K Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive machine. Still eyeing up a Series X at some point if the price is right, but having recently got a PS5, there's not really much justification for it.
I got a used series X for my birthday this year and have been loving it for what it is. It plays games great on the couch. If Microsoft remembers Xbox is for games & gamers, we should be okay.
It’s a weird state of affairs that the Series consoles are better emulation machines than they are actual consoles at this point.
But that’s irrelevant because your average gamer isn’t into emulation or isn’t interested in dev mode on their Xbox. I hate emulation, I buy all my retro games physically. The only good thing about emulation is preservation. Other than that, I never touched it.
What? No, they are great actual consoles
@alwhitney1968 You're a joke stop talking emulation is amazing it preserves gaming history and you can play those games on any device. Your old physical games won't last forever 😂 things degrade over time as items get older and older
They run the games that are made for it just fine, there just isn’t a need to own one anymore.
@Mike-t5r9q physical media over digital any day, games from 50 years ago are still playable physically today. That stuff doesn't just degrade by its self no matter what
Remember when videogames had compelling single player modes that didn't require online and servers? When the full games were on the disk and worked out of the box? When micro transactions weren't force fed and required to win? Ahh the good old days.......
Why do you have to remember when there’s two consoles that offer that. The Switch and PS5
Agreed. Gen 8 and 9 are the WORST in video game HISTORY
@@dammyoyesanya4656 those are key license software. Much downloading and patching required.... There was a time games had to work out the box... Online update wasn't a thing yet....
@@dammyoyesanya4656 I think Nintendo and Sony are overrated as well. Nintendo has been making the same games for years and Sony just continues making open world titles with different skins that gamers are getting sick of. They’re no better than Xbox other than they have marketable IP that bring gamers in. Other than that their games are pretty ordinary compared to what they used to be.
@@Roach22 Going by your logic God of War is the same game as Uncharted? You mentioned they are all the same skins, I guess Killzone is the same game as Ratchet and Clank. Since they all use the same skins.
I miss when Xbox was more fun and offered unique console experiences. I don’t really like this new direction they’re going in
Yea don Mattrick killed xbox
Agreed
@@AkiraYanky unfortunately its more likely phil did. Don Mattick had exclusive games and sold more consoles.
@@michael2093 Fair point
@@michael2093he’s literally the reason I and many others skipped the Xbone. Short term gains mean nothing when you lose your long time fan base.
This is coming from an og Xbox and 360 owner
I can't believe the 9th generation of consoles are already 4 years old. Has it been that long? I still felt like those hardware were introduced yesterday. Surely, time flies.
I think COVID makes it feel like that because a lot of people got the console later in the generation due to supply issues.
I wish Xbox went into a more conservative direction. The Series X should’ve been a complete brand overhaul that echoed the xbox 360 days. Just a great console with great games and none of the BS.
They could win so much good will by doing that, but instead they go the complete opposite direction.
As someone super invested on Xbox due to the humongous library I've been building there for the last 14 years, the most I got out of it this year (apart from the standard backlog cleaning) has been the "finally" ports. Finally we have more square enix titles, finally we have death stranding, etc
Death stranding is a bigger gain than people think. Sony helped fund publish and create the decima engine, I really can't believe they sold the IP tbh.
Death stranding and final fantasy 6 are big wins to have on xbox.
A company's downfall begins when their board of directors forces decisions outside of their expertise, The board's bloated egos think that their funding automatically gives them qualifications to make every decision.
The true November tradition
Number of games released in 2008 for X360: 200
Number of games released in 2018 for XONE: 20
Number of games released in 2024 for Xbox Series X|S: 2
Wholly crap. Is this for real?
@@rafaelraad555 I assume they’re referring to Microsoft published games?
@@rafaelraad555 I’m mostly referring to exclusive games
@@thepurrfectionist365 I got that, and that’s why I was so impressed.
It’s concerning when Xbox can’t even get basic Capcom arcade ports on time.
as an xbox fan it's sad to see their current situation, I used my series x a lot in the beginning of the gen but yeah today not so much and i pretty much moved to pc and ps5. I only hope they don't do anything stupid regarding digital games like shutting down servers otherwise i will need to rebuy my games on ps5
4 years? Gotta figure out where they went...
Pandemic made 3 years feel like 1 extended boring & stressful one.
@@NinjaRunningWild stressful yes, boring not so much thanks to my retro gaming space I had built early 2021 before everything started
@@NinjaRunningWildi agree lol 2020, 2021 & 2022 were one big year in my memory
The current gen is a strange one anyway, both for Sony and Microsoft. We should be approaching the summit of this console generation, yet games wise it feels like we barely got started. Up to this year I had no incentive to upgrade from PS4, especially as I'm not owning a 4K screen. The biggest titles so far were all cross gen, while changing this year with a lot more 9th gen exclusives. Maybe 2025 will be a year where some actual system sellers will go to market. GTA6 will be that game for me.
But especially Microsofts strategy I can't understand, there is no way they are ever going to earn back that mountain of money they used to buy Bethesda and Activision. So like you mentioned, the suits step in. Combine that with ever escalating development costs for AAA games and you end up with generations where as a platform holder you just can't come up with a steady supply of exclusives to drive demand. And adding the multiplat and PC support with it, it puts consoles as a concept behind. And tying to finance that through a subscription model sounds near impossible.
Sony on the other hand also has a though time. It's quickly sprawling all over the place with multiple bets on everything, but seemingly not fully committing to them. A mediocre support for PSVR2, a very confusing and restricted handheld, a barely interesting streaming service, confusing subscription tiers and a terrible approach in exploiting their legacy with backwards compatibility. Add to that an ever expanding list of extremely expensive accessories (Pro controller, Portal, Pulse Elite audio products, the separate disk drive) and of course the monstrously expensive mid gen PRO console ( Where you at best get 4 years out of ) and they can count themselves lucky their are financially in a good place, as it's certainly not their strategy at the moment that brings them at the top.
Besides all that, consoles used to be really plug and play as you'd buy the game, pop it in and start playing. That concept is dead, and console gaming lost its low barrier for entry. With day one patches, regular MASSIVE updates and games releasing is such poor technical conditions you have to jump through a lot of hoops to just get going. And most ridiculously asking the players to choose what compromise to make (quality mode vs performance) It's become no different that PC gaming.
And the bloody micro transactions per game. Literally, it's a value proposal that makes them earn more money blood sucking their fan base.
Dude, you have enough brain for all this and you game on consoles?!! That's why I'm still on Xbox. I'm gonna be SMRT someday.
I collected some original Xbox games recently and remembered my enthusiasm for it 20 years ago. Dead or Alive 3, Dino Crisis 3, House of the Dead 3, Jet Set Radio Future, Otogi 2… We got great Japanese exclusives before.
Dino crisis 3 is terrible dude
I think you're the first person I've ever seen say that they like Dino Crisis 3
A pity the Dead or Alive series is pretty much dead thanks to their stupid decision to go xbox exclusive
@ Huh? DoA5 and DoA6 came out on PS4. DoA5 did well financially. I think their biggest mistakes were “censoring” the females’ costumes in DoA6 and too much DLC.
Yeah I like being able to play some of my original Xbox games. Gunvalkyrie and the Splinter Cells are great as well on the Series X.
Just wanted to say that you putting the mic right by your face. It makes a HUGE difference for me and I can hear you more clearly. I have some auditory processing issues so thank you for having the mic set up this way. Great stuff!
This generation really does not feel like 4 years have passed since XBSX and PS5 launched. I'm gueesing the next one won't be that much different simply because of PS5 PRO and Series X (or X2?) having enough juice to last until the end of the decade
Pro was a minor upgrade for Gta 6 and hardcore gamers. The Base PS5 and Xbox Series X has more than enough power to last us for the next 3-4 years.
Love how your intro is exactly the same like 15 years later. solid!
I honestly love the Xbox Series X. Its my go to console. It feels robust and is a generally a powerful beast 😅
As someone who used to collect, selling all my collection. And sticking with PC and Series X
Gamepass is the winner in my eyes.
I love it, because its saving me 1000s
Australia a year of ultimate gamepass is now $280au
Which is still great value. But I use a VPN and get a year for the next 5 years for $136au for the next 5 years. So I'm happy tbh.
I'm over buying all my games
Because of the whole licensing issues with digital games I don’t buy games unless they’re on sale and the discount is at least 50%. I agree with you on Game Pass but also because there are games on there that are great that I never would have considered playing outside of Game Pass.
@@Roach22
On my PC I wait for discounts, and the freebies are great. I just bought RE4 Remake because it got cheap enough for me. For context it's the RE game I wanted remade the most. I've had on GC from 3 days after the US launch, I imported a copy because I didn't want to wait for the European launch. Wii, X360 and PC. The X360 and PC ports are dreadful, the whole game doesn't feel right. I thinks it's because it's the stripped down PS2 port. So much patience lol.
I just don’t get how a über rich company like Microsoft mismanages its gaming division this poorly. They have funds, the talent, and resources to make great games… and instead, they go all-in on Gamepass, mishandle the internal studios they already have, and spend billions acquiring others. Even pre-2013 Mattrick era Xbox had more games people wanted, Kinect BS aside. Imagine if they used to money spent to buyout publishers, to improve their internal development studios, give them more resources. Phil Spencer and current Xbox leadership needs to go.
The Mattrick years were far better than the Spencer years
This has been the case for a long time. Phil should have been fired after halo infinite released if not before. His laissez fair approach has never worked, and those two dead years killed their reputation. It’s when I dropped off and went PC. And now there’s no reason to own Xbox hardware if you can get your hands on a PC.
People who don't understand license agreements. Think about the way you purchase Microsoft Windows. You're not purchasing the disc. You're purchasing the product key. Microsoft is just gracious enough to provide an install disc with your purchase
And if you get a digital copy of Windows, you don't even get a disc, you just get a product key, which they whitelist on their activation servers.
California really passed that law. I'm from California, and that's cool. Digital content is not a purchase
Hate to say it, but the Kinect for Xbox 1 was ahead of its time! It let you ditch the controller and use your body and voice. It could track your moves, recognise your face, and made games like “Rise of Nightmares” feel immersive.
I thought it was kind of cool, but it didn't work as well as it should. It was always a bit impresice and a bit of a hassle.
Thank you for mentioning that digital purchases are not ownership. I spent so much money on the PS3 storefront when I was a late teen/young adult thinking the purchases were going to transfer over to the PS4 and how wrong I was. I Think I have like $2000 worth of games saved on my system that is gone forever when that system will break one day. It was the slim model so they're almost as durable as a damn N64 but one day it will be gone. I am not completely against buying digital games but I always get them discounted and games I truly love I will get a physical copy to keep it. Don't buy digital consoles because there is literally no point to their existence other than to drive a market that only takes away ownership to consumers.
I did the same with my ps3. I skipped the ps4 ( i know, big mistake) and sold my ps3 in preperation for the ps5. Imagine my surprise when i found out my games were not available. But, i bought another ps3 and my account can still download the games i bought.
Social media’s continued rise has, quite possibly, also been a continued thorn in the side of XBOX. As Adam has insinuated multiple times, the console wars are still a thing. People really seem to care more about buying a plastic box that has games one can’t play on another plastic box. XBOX has been doing better for physical games; especially from Limited Run Games, but Microsoft isn’t interested in exclusivity either. They’re interested in XBOX as a service. By investing in these larger publishers and Gamepass, the brand is profitable and likely isn’t going anywhere, however, the console may sadly do so. Sucks since the Series X is a very well- built console with more content then people would likely credit it for. Their investment in backwards compatibility is nothing to scoff at.
That last part baffles me so much people love to argue games, then sell back compat so short. In a generation where most titles have PC releases and are old game remasters. And the much better back compat doesn't just give the Xbox over 600 games, most of which aren't on PS4 and enhancements to them too... just like the remasters do 😭 what are we arguing about
@AlphaladZXA The issue isn’t an argument for enjoying an XBOX console; it’s that people don’t trust and require XBOX. I enjoy my XBOX hardware, but I cannot stand their business model. P.C.’s can already run most backward compatible games either through emulation or a native version. Microsoft is stupid enough to port all their games to their competitors’ platforms. Competition that doesn’t care to show the same grace in return. After the ‘This is An XBOX’ commercial today, many people, including myself are regretting purchasing a Series console. If *every* single, first- party game comes to other platforms and those platforms won’t play ball with Microsoft, no one should invest in their consoles. We were lied to at the beginning of this generation by Microsoft. We’ve invested money on a abandoned platform. Not that Sony or Nintendo are the “good guys” either, but people appreciate it when companies respect these investments… Not lie to their customers… *Again and again.* Preserve your library, friend.
I love my Xbox series X, I can play soooooooo much on it.
The economics of cloud gaming will never make sense to me. You cant go faster than the speed of light, so they'd need to build data centers in every town to get latency to a (still worse than local) playable state. So I cant see how having multiple data centers with thousands of Xbox's worth of hardware in each of them is better than selling one Xbox per house and having them pay for the electricity.
Also, bandwidth isn't free. A high quality Netflix stream uses like 5-10GB an hour and they're just doing 24fps or 30fps video content. A 60-120fps 1080p game stream would need at least double that to not look all crunched with artifacts. Compare 10-20GB an hour to stream a game, to simply downloading the game locally or selling it on a disc.
So yeah, the economics of game streaming wouldn't be able to support a mass market unless they're just targeting the smartphone gamer crowd that are used to not having high quality gaming experiences.
As someone who has been using Xcloud for several years now, the service itself gets better and better with time.
Little known fact, Google Stadia had an EXCELLENT level of okay quality. The lag was practically non existent..... and this was several years ago.
Xcloud has caught up quite well and I've been able to play a lot of fast twitch (1st person shooters and fighting games) with very limited hiccups.
The biggest difference I've seen has not only been the connection quality but the quality of the device being used to interface. A high end cell phone (Samsung S22 and above) and/or a laptop with a good gpu built in gives the best results.
So I see what the Xbox brand is doing and ummmmm, it's actually working quite well.
@@tdtellem Having a few beta testers is a far cry from trying to have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people using the service at the same time.
Also remember that nothing can go faster than the speed of light. If you really like twitch shooters, you'll always be at a disadvantage compared to the guys that could simply afford to buy the $300-500 box once every 6-8 years.
Agreed
It is about is it good enough for some people. And it seems it is.
I use xCloud to test and sometimes play some games when I’m traveling and have my steam deck with me.
Is it as good as playing on a dedicated hardware. No. Is is good enough for some games. Yes.
But for me even a low end hardware to play the games natively will be better than could gaming.
@@mravg79 The main thing I'm thinking about is the cost to Microsoft, not even if the services is good or not. Right now the cost is manageable because it's still basically in a beta test phase with not many users, but if they wanted to move all ~20 million remaining Xbox gamers over to cloud......
Ongoing bandwidth costs would be insane, building data centers everywhere would be insane, electrical costs would be insane (when the Xbox is in your house, you're the one paying the power bill).
I guess Microsoft could charge you like, $50 to $100 a month, but the service would still be offering lower quality game play and visuals compared to just having a cheap $500 box sitting under the TV
Xbox is basically doing what Disney did in the 2010s. Buy up the competition, do little to nothing with it, realize they can't afford to maintain all the new IPs, and let them fail. I knew Bethesda would start to decline as soon as Xbox bought it. At least when Sony buys an IP, they have to do something with it, because like you said in the PlayStation 5 videos, at least half of Sony's revenue comes from the PlayStation brand. Sony can't afford to lose, Microsoft can
I switched from PS5 to Series X mostly due to Game Pass (a friend gave me a year for free)
Exclusives are easily the best thing about the PS5 but unfortunately it felt like this year Sony really slowed down on them and overall, there wasn’t any good games worth playing that I couldn’t play on Xbox.
The Series X, in contrast, is a fantastic piece of hardware that provides backwards compatibility on X360 games and some OG Xbox games, in addition to the previous generation. This alone to me is a huge advantage over Sony as a console gamer, and is by far the strongest reason to own one.
Sony has gone the nickel and dime way by charging a bunch of money for remasters, territory restrictions everywhere and attempts to get as much profit as possible from everything they possibly can. Also, they completely screwed PS3 digital libraries everywhere.
MS should focus on Xbox and double down on their BC strategy, have stronger exclusives and position themselves as a complete piece of hardware that offers the best value among all the consoles.
It's ironic how Microsoft so desperately tried to save PC only for people to not want Windows anymore and switch over to Linux. Windows 11 is a total disaster on most fronts.
This console generation is a disappointment. The Nintendo switch is the only hardware worth buying, all you need is a PC and a switch and you’re good for this generation.
I've had my Series X for almost 2 years now, I made the upgrade from the One S and just wanted a device where I could get the best from the Xbox titles plus backwards compatability for some 360 and OG titles. I've not used it as much this year due to picking up a PS5 last Christmas, but there's a few titles I've gotten for the system new this year. It tends to be the one I get most of the Sonic the Hedgehog games for, and I did grab Persona 3 Reload and Metaphor Refantazio for it. There's plenty of Series/One titles I've yet to grab as well.
This is the first time since the 6th gen that I've had all of the current consoles, and if I hadn't started playing FFXIV on my PS5 I'd likely have put more time into the Series X.
I just got the Series X last month after having a Series S for the last 2 years and Xbox One S 4 1/2years before that. Having a disc drive really does make a difference since I have a bunch of games in my backlog that aren't on game pass.
Oh look guys I'm Adam, reviewing everything EXCEPT Eggnog and "Home Alone", "Krampus", and "Bad Santa" this Christmas Season
OH god its four years old. I"m currently working on a personal story video tied to the original xbox. I"m dealing with the fact i'm a crusty old man with Xbox, then 360, now the series x. God.
Great insights. Better than 90% of other channels.
Although I think the ps5 and series x hardware are fine, I’ve been underwhelmed with the games so far. If I would have know what the console landscape would be at this point, I would have just stuck with last gen and doubled down on pc.
This video showed up on my recommendations and you made a good video man. I liked hearing and was fascinated by the history leading up to this console. I’m a lifelong Nintendo and PlayStation user, so I didn’t know it.
Honestly, my fav type of videos on this channel is this, and talking about Xbox nonetheless!
Man, been watching your videos since 2012. Keep on gaming
Honestly, the kind of points raised in your video are kind of why I went with the Steam Deck over the Series S. If things are going mainly digital, and licensing will only last so long , then I'd be a fool to pay full price for them when I can get all the games these platforms have at a ridiculously low price via one of their flash sales if I'm patient enough.
I truly believe Microsoft is done with the traditional console after the Series X. I know for a while, a generic prediction for Sony and Microsoft is the idea that they're going to simply make "Roku stick" likes that just plug into a TV and offer a bare bones, streamed, gaming experience, but I truly believe that's the direction Microsoft is headed. An "Xbox stick" of sorts, with native releases on PS5/PC. That to me is very clearly the message they're giving to me as a consumer.
They're pretty much heading there full speed for the last few years
No home system, a handheld with online functionality, becoming the biggest publisher in the industry, pushing GamePass
In fact I wouldn't be surprised to wake up one day and see the headline saying "Microsoft and Sony to secure a historical deal - GamePass available on PlayStation starting X Month YY Year"
They have one more console left then there done
It’s because you have a brain
I think they're also going to focus on selling controllers and accessories. The numbers show tons of people use the Xbox controller on PC, much more than people use PlayStation. Most can agree the Xbox controller is awesome, aside from it being prone to stick drift.
Except for the fact they confirmed the next console is their most powerful yet...Not sure how that translates to a Roku Stick for you and Adam lol.
Great video Adam, you’re sliming down my guy great work. Keep it up.
4 years and still no exclusive games that take advantage of the new-gen hw. What was the point of this generation? I mean, even the One X runs some games better than the Series S. Worst console generation EVER.
Agreed
What do you mean? Flight Sim takes full advantage of the hardware, especially for SX, Hellblade 2, Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport with the SX capable of RT at 60fps with 4K being common during gameplay, Starfield, and were soon going to have Stalker 2 in a couple weeks, and Indiana Jones, both of which will run at 60fps on the Series X.
Tha may not be an * exorbitant* amount of games, but to say there are “none”, is a bit hyperbolic.
The OneX can have a better resolution output than the SeriesS but it doesn’t match the SeriesS on performance. Cyberpunk runs at twice the frame rate on the SeriesS for example
@@danieldickerson4838 you are right, 2 games in 4 years... wow
one X does not run ANY game better than the Series S. It can run them in 4k... that's about it.
Xbox was born because MS didn't want Sony to control the living room. The PC wasn't widely adopted by core gamers before the '90s because there were many better gaming platforms available in the '80s, like the C64, the Amiga, the PC Engine and the NES.
I just bought a One S. Didn’t have money for a Series X/S right now. But I’m happy with it. I’m mainly a PlayStation and Nintendo person but do like Xbox exclusives and catch up on the years later. I do like the One S so far and could actually see myself switching over to Xbox if they had better exclusives….
Im still yet to.get a PS 5 and Xbox series X. Still plying PS4 Pro and XBox S, the disc version. My 360, still gets a good play too.
I actually agree with Cali on something? Truly weird times we live in.
I only use my series x for backwards compatible games very few actual new games. I play everything else on ps5
To be honest, I never was an Xbox until I saw the series X. They nailed the design look, I have zero regrets buying it on day one. The heavy hitter games needs to come out more consistently. Can they lower the price on the ssd card, that would help a lot.
Love your content, bud.
I used to think this whole console generation was dull and sad. But now that PS5 games are getting cheap, I find myself quickly building a large collection for it. Meanwhile I bought 1 Series X game this year, and it was a LRG release.
There are some games I would have bought on Xbox because I had historically played them on Xbox, but most are either Smart Delivery (aka Xbox One on disc), digital only, or now in the case of Alan Wake 2, only partly on disc because Xbox Blurays are lower capacity.
In previous generations the Xbox brand really was a 3 platform. Now it's like a bad knock off.
I just copped series x. This gears of war news gave me the itch to get back into gaming.
I’m one of the few that absolutely loves the Series X the most this gen: current games, lots of backwards compatible games, Gamepass, being able to play Spotify over every game, quick resume and emulation (I own the games and have a cartridge/save transfer so I’m actually playing them legally). They wanted a PC for TVs and I feel that’s what I’m getting without spending a lot on a new PC. I’m happy with it but to each their own
Its a rough time to be an Xbox fan right now.
I recently purchased a brand new Series X for around $15 due to a trade in, and it sits alongside my gaming rig that acts as my main platform. The Series X is a fantastic machine, and is genuinely one of the most well engineered pieces of tech I’ve owned. The fact that I cannot hear it while pushing it hard, even if I literally put my ear up to it, is very impressive. Quick Resume feels like some black magic witch craft, and the console overall is incredibly fast, efficient, and still very performant 4 years on into its lifecycle.
Shame that sales have tanked for it, as MS really did create a fantastic beast of a machine here, with great software enhancements for games as well, enhancements that were often times automatic for older titles like auto HDR, and giving 360 and OG Xbox games 60fps support. Although my PC is still my main platform, and that will never change, the SX is fun as hell to play on, and so far, doesn’t feel redundant for my lifestyle.
Microsoft's strategy is bizzare...all they needed to do was make a console that didn't red ring & burst into flames alongside some compelling exclusive software not on PC with a good marketing campaign....but nah the cloud will save em 🥴
Bought an Series X in Christmas 2022, it was on a promotion and I took it as an opportunity to enter the Xbox console environment as this was my first Xbox ever. Is a nice little machine that I can take with me on a travel, and I took the opportunity to play older Xbox games (Gears saga as an example), or Red Dead Redemption 1. But I love Forza Horizon, I have 4 and 5, as the older ones are already delisted, last year I bought a second hand Xbox One X, cleaned it, painted, attached an older external SSD so the games have faster loading, and bought the physical version of Forza Horizon 1, 2 and 3, and also Ace Combat 6. I already have a nice PC.
In the end, I have a great use for the Xbox One X for older and delisted games, and the Series S I take with me if I'm going to travel. As the newer games are also available on the PC, I don't see the reason for the Series X nowadays as this console don't have exclusives, as only just be that you want a living room experience and easier setup for games. Is really sad because this console have good hardware. It reminds me when I had Sony PSP, that little console was so good, and the only thing I felt that was abandoned by Sony.
Bummer. FH3 was special. 1 and 2? Eh... I remember the E3 they unveiled FH3. People were quite impressed.
I think you mean the PSvita. The psp was overrated and only sold well on hype much like the Ps2.
Great video with a lot of good insight!
Having a PC made ever getting an Xbox irrelevant, at least in my situation. Sadly I just haven't cared too much for the Xbox brand since like 2013-2014.
Don Mattrick was the worst thing to ever happen to Xbox.
great stuff as always brother!
I think the strategy for Xbox consoles needs to be better integration with pc, so more dual license digital purchases. And also, there has to be at least a few consoles exclusives if PlayStation and Nintendo still have exclusives. Add to it, they need to keep doing what they can to get more third party support on Xbox. If they can do these three things there is at least a possibility of growth but at least they won’t lose their existing customers when the next gen comes out.
My Series X is still the console I use most right now, but as soon as my Analogue 3D shows up next year, I'll be playing through all of my N64 games again.
I dont have much hope for future console generations, but the Switch successor may be good.
I'll buy a used one, though.
Still playing mine, mostly college football and random gamepass games. My kids both have Xboxes and family share at home is a great thing.
I still greatly enjoy mine.
Even the concept of gamepass is very enjoyable in my book as it has gotten me into games that I normally would not have looked at such as subnautica.
I still think the xbox could work as a console if they just offered more exclusive content. It frustrating to see them try to offer games exclusively through online distribution when most consumers want and still prefer physical/tangable experiences. Streaming your games that you own to your phone or laptop when you are away is a great idea though but banking on it to save the business isn't a very good idea in my opinion. If Microsoft could put in more effort to secure more console exclusive experiences or do what sony does and try to make deals for third party exclusivity then I think the brand could come back.
You bring this up around xbox fanatics and they go crazy, I think it's a cope. Sony and Nintendo have never forgotten this basic aspect of console gaming and oh look, they're doing much better than xbox. Jeez, let's just jeep pretending exclusives don't matter. I believe this was the xbox biggest mistake and it broke the trust of a lot of people. If your console has no exclusives then it will not succeed, simple as that.
Console exclusivity is starting to become a thing of the past as every platform besides Nintendo is going multiplatform. I don't know why people obsess over it so much especially since it's anti-consumer. Besides, Xbox still has exclusives like Halo, Gears, Forza and other games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 coming this month, and Avowed, Fable and South of Midnight next year.
@cun7us sure. They're becoming a thing of the past for Xbox. Hence their current situation. Sony and Nintendo are laughing all the way to the bank.
For sure. I hope the idea hits MS them like a brick thru the windshield of one of their fancy Forza Horizon cars. They should always get the best games as exclusives. Best ammo to stay in the fight.
@@thelastofus2872 nope, Sony is also going multiplatform as they're now releasing on PC too. Microsoft's current situation is selling over half a billion copies of Black Ops 6 thanks to them going multiplatform, while Sony lost hundreds of millions on Concord, so who's really laughing all the way to the bank? You have no idea what you're talking about.
This is the year that I gave up on the Xbox ecosystem completely. I bought a One X a few years back to play some 8th gen games in 4k. After seeing all of the issues that came out of Xbox, I got a PS4 pro to pick back up with the PS4. In doing so, I realized that by getting an Xbox as my console of choice, I slightly alienated myself from some friends who mainly play on Playstation. It's not that serious, but man, those are some real-world consequences for putting my money on team green. And what did I get for it? Nothing I couldn't have gotten if I'd just bought a PS4 pro in the first place. Goodbye, big green fart.
Very smart and clear explanation gracias 👌🏽
The Xbox One S was my first Xbox, I want the Series X but I really haven't gotten much of a reason to upgrade yet personally. With all the IP they own now there's no excuse as to why Xbox isn't rivaling Nintendo like Sega did back in the 90s. They have Crash, Spyro, Banjo and the rest of Rare and a ton of other iconic franchises. They should start reviving them and start giving people a reason to buy their hardware, just make great games.
Adam heard of the cord loosening at the power port in back?
Mine is not snug, tried unplugging to recycle the power supply because signup gave me fits months.
Any solutions for signup and has your cord loosened?
Mine is fine.
@AdamKoralik i live outside north america in the south - this sign up crap never happened till last few months. Does not sign in.
The system how it positioned on the pc table caused trouble turning on or sudden shut off because the cord was damaged on the earlier xb 1 x - suspect the same but the loosness this time.
Thanks replying.
Simplicity always trumps everything else. Xbox is going nowhere. physical media is going nowhere. and if Xbox chooses to go all digital, they will lose millions of customers. If the series S would have launched with a disc drive it would have sold so much better imo considering the series X selling point was having a disc drive. But the new cod launch has seemed to have been profitable.
I'm someone that has been very happy with my series x. I don't have time to play every game under the sun so I think there is an overabundance of games to play if I'm looking for something. Game pass has been a breath of fresh air and I don't understand the complaints about it.
Back in the 90s and 2000s it was so exciting imagining what the next gen consoles would bring. Technology was moving so fast. Now games all feel the same and just aren’t fun anymore. Every game on the PS1 felt and played differently. The variety was amazing. Games for novice players games that were a challenge. Games now have zero risk too when you die. You just go back 2 minutes so the intensity and stress is all gone. Most games are mindless now. Thwres not a single game that’s coming out that I’m excited for
I know this video was most likely recorded before November 7th, but make sure to mention in the PS5 video that the Decima Engine is now on Xbox due to Death Stranding now having an Xbox version. The Decima Engine is Sony's engine, which means that the Horizon games could potentially be ported to Xbox. I guess this also means that the game OD will also be coming to a PlayStation platforms.
Both Xbox and PS5 had identical Ryzen 2 and RDNA2 chip sete. Of course, it's easy to port. Save for the RAM set up the Xbox One and PS4 were identical too.
I believe Microsoft even said they created the original Xbox because they didn’t want Sony to own the lounge room.
Let’s go baby, some Xbox talk!
I usually agree with most of your takes, but this one felt disingenuous.
The concept of exclusives tied only to consoles has been fading. This applies to both Xbox Series and the PS5.
What's more, you omitted some big exclusive games, albeit timed, coming to the Xbox this holiday season (Stalker 2 is a few days away, Indiana Jones, MS Flight Sim, Avowed in February, with many more on the horizon).
I feel like everyone gives PS5 a pass for having a weak ass year (yes Astrobot is cute but it only sold 1.5 million copies and there are 60 some odd million consoles sold. Every other game is also either on PC or coming to PC.
If you're gonna make these kinds of assertions, at least be even handed and call it out everywhere.
At the end of the day, you're entitled to your opinion, this particular take just rubbed me the wrong way.
Agree with a lot of this, but not the exclusivity part. As someone with a PC, why would I even consider XBox hardware? However, I still own a PS5 and Switch. Obviously, Switch has tons of exclusives, and PS5 has timed exclusives that matter. I just get Game Pass on PC and never miss a thing.
I’m not arguing the financial aspect or how Microsoft wins if I’m on PC, I’m only arguing this take that XBox having no exclusives hurts XBox.
@mundanemorselsmundanemorse7028 I totally agree with what you're saying. I wasn't trying to say you need an Xbox over PC.
I was mostly referring to people only on Xbox and PS. Yes M$ has been ported some games over and left it open in the future, but as it stands you can't play FH5, Gears, Halo, Avowed, Starfield, etc on the PS5.
The argument of, "well it's on PC, so I don't need an Xbox" is totally good by me if you also apply that logic to PS. All of PS5s big games, and timed exclusives are also on PC. Every game, save Astrobot, is on PC day and date or confirmed to be coming to PC.
PC master race is winning on all sides lol.
It feels like it wasn't that long ago that people were hyped about 8th gen consoles and now we're getting close to the final sprint of 9th gen.
I tried playing remotely one time via the cloud and it didn’t work well at all. How about just make some good exclusive games?
29:59, I think everything you said was valid, Xbox doesn't have much to offer other than a possible elder scrolls or exclusive call of duty that will bring people in. Perfect Dark looks kinda cool but to buy the whole system is pretty unappealing. I think with next generation I'm just going to get a PC if they abandon the physical side lol. As far as the cloud gaming I think they are trying to be like Netflix the problem is casual people don't even know about this aspcet of xbox usually they've done a poor job promoting it thus it will fail.
When you look at the hardware sales numbers in totality so far, it really makes you wonder how many series s/x consoles are going to be sold during its lifetime.
Great video. Well explained.
The Hardware itself is perfectly really great for the price, but at the end of the day I don't think it was a worthwhile purchase. Only feature I think has been worth it is for the 4k blu ray playback, though that's an extremely niche use-case in today's world. Ever since I got my Steam Deck both the Series S and X I have at home collect dust. I have specific reasons for the S and the X but for the average use case I would MUCH rather recommend you save up extra cash and get a PC.
@wolfman210 That's very relative my dude. Yes if you want to play games in native 4k and 30-60fps medium settings probably around 900 USD. But with those 900 on top of getting PS5 "performance*" you get the flexibility to play at a myriad of resolutions, details, effects, with free online, no massive patches, access to every piece of emulation software, free games left and right, every storefront, a millones other use cases etc. If you are already comfortable spending 500-600 usd might as well save up a little more and go PC
I find the history of Xbox to be fascinating. From genesis to now, they have had one weird ass ride.
It's been strange days for the Xbox. I don't ever recall there being a company like Microsoft Xbox that obviously does not know what it wants to be anymore, but yet still is able to not go bankrupt. They're out in no man's land. Seems unsustainable.
I've actually shelved my PS5 and haven't wanted to touch it since I got my Series X a few months ago. It's just a solid system.
Buying a series X during the holidays sales so I can play GTA VI next year. Been perfectly happy with my Xbox One X since 2017. This generation is so weird. Lol
I'm sad about the backsliding of Xbox (PS fan here). Us players always win when these two titans are competing. I haven't experienced a brand new game experience/mechanic in years. Only polishes on tried and true.
Adam ya gotta make a video about sega delisting genesis and Dreamcast games. Sure seems like theyre getting ready for something… Dreamcast classic?
Wasn't planning on it.
Great video. I know you don’t like the all digital versions (I’m not a fan of all digital either), but I think the Series S is a quality console.
I’ve had mine for almost 4 years now and it’s never put a foot wrong. Just wish that Xbox would release a disc drive for it.
I’m a retro Nintendo player having grown up in the 80’s/90’s. But the Xbox 360 was one of my favourite consoles of all time because of the quality of games!! COD4, MW2, Red Dead, FIFA, GTA4, Halo 3 etc were all incredible games with absolutely no focus on micro transactions and season passes. You buy a game, you’ve got the game!
I bought an Xbox Series X and every time I go to play a game, it takes me 5 hours to install an update before I can play it. Then when I load up, I’m bombarded with pop ups for season pass and DLC. It’s off putting!
I play my Nintendo Switch now more than any console because the games are complete on cartridge and focus on quality over DLC and live service.
I’m even enjoying some Xbox 360 classics like Red Dead Redemption on there! I recently purchased Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch knowing it was a visual downgrade just for the convenience of playing handheld.
Xbox should get back to making good games and stop pushing live service micro transactions.
Always illuminating, thanks Adam.
Owned and preferred xbox since the 360 but as I'm not bothered about game pass and never had it. I'm just gonna go to PS and nintendo for the future, no point committing to xbox now sadly. Will just keep my series x til xbox ditchs hardware. Sad times for gaming as I'm an 80's boy who loved console wars