Lack of Exciting First-Party Studio's & New IPs Should be a Cause for Concern for Xbox Owners

PressA2Join: The cancellation of Platinum Games’ Xbox One and Windows 10 Exclusive Scalebound at the back end of last year might have come as quite a shock to some fans, to others, it signalled a new low point in the history of the Microsoft-owned brand that strives on a yearly basis to compete with fellow console powerhouse Sony.

[UCForce]

No kidding, Scalebond was something big for MS. But now, they just ruined it. Like I said before, focus too much on power is not gonna help or neither stay in the past too much. There must be a balance.

[Resis7ance]

Agreed. The balance has firmly shifted of late in Sony's favour, the gap is widening month by month.

[Kingthrash360]

Yeah, it's bleek. But as soon as you show concerns you are a troll fanboi.
I don't know how many times I get accused of saying facts and concerns.
I own a xbox one and barley ever use it.
The new ips don't hold interest and the old ips are a shell of their former selves.
I get mad at this because MS has the money to fix this, but they just don't do it. Instead that just blow money on stuff.
Scalebound but quantum break wasnt?
Fable cancelled but recore wasn't?
Phantom dust remake cancelled but the remaster wasn't?
Make no sense

[Resis7ance]

Can't say I care much for the term fanboy or console war, IMO both competing consoles should deliver fresh exciting new IPs along with exclusives for each brand. Sadly at the moment, only one console is performing on that front.

[TheKingKratos]

TBH the more i think about it the more i ask myself why do i care ?
If xbox gamers are happy with what they are getting then let them be happy
i will just stick with my ps4 and pc but if the make xbox exclsuives that i like i will buy the Scorpio and that's it.

[blitz0623]

MS doesn't care and we will be reminded again next Thursday that there was a million hours played on Xbox Live, a 6.7% increase YoY, and an annual high of software sales last month

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Gamer4lifz

I think to a degree you should care, things are best when there is competition, the PS4 may not have been as good as it is if the PS3 didn't get a good thrashing at the beginning of the last gen. Sony learnt from their mistakes, Microsoft is repeating some of them (it's actually worse because they're not gaining any traction at all, they're actually losing it).

[skydragoonityx]

I literally wanted to get the xbone because of scalebound.. Well money saved I guess ;)

[Resis7ance]

I think a lot of gamers were looking to Scalebound as a sign of the future with Xbox. It was certainly a sad day when Microsoft pulled the plug on the game.

[thekhurg]

Ironically a friend of mine and I were planning on getting xbones for the cooperative play on this game. Thankfully it was cancelled before we pulled the triggers.

[gangsta_red]

Scalebound was disappointing, but thank goodness there's other games I'm looking forward to like Crackdown and State of Decay.

Which games are you looking forward to UCforce, being an xbox owner and all? There are still more out in the yonder that still should hold your attention.

[Nyxus]

Well that's good and all, but personally I'm not interested in Crackdown or State of Decay, and was looking forward to Scalebound. But what's done is done, I just hope they will have something similar to replace it.

[LexHazard79]

@nyxus,

State of Decay is the shit. I missed it on Xbox 360 but got it on Xbox One. That game is closest to TWD as you can get. The sense of community. Having to go on runs for matetial and such. Clearing out houses, fortifying camp. Driving around...SoD is awesome. Looking forward to SoD2. That game is looking badass. Most anticipated zombie survival game.

[Chevalier]

I am looking forward to Cuphead and Phantomdust remaster the most. Sad that the new remake was canceled.

[Raiden]

If the game SCALEBOUND didn't impress like the running demo show at E3 then there is a problem, NO MAN SKY, for all that it promise never happened, MS is not in the position to wanting to deliver a disappointing game look at FABLE, so I understand them cancelling both games, you don't want your customers returning your game hours later because it's no good, I do believe that FABLE and SCALEBOUND ips will return as well as hoping for PGR, the only thing MS needs to do is create more studio's.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

"No kidding, Scalebond was something big for MS." Didn't all of you complain that it didn't look that good for awhile? Now that its gone its something big and compelling?

[gangsta_red]

There was a list of reasons for Scalebound being bad that I read from a few folks. But the best was the main character being a douche because of his Beats headphones.

Which I never understood, he always looked like the typical Japan protagonist who's cocky and over powered.

Scalebound was a miss but what's done is done, especially since it's been how many months since? There are still more games coming and those are the ones I am looking forward to also.

A cause for concern would be if there was nothing on the horizon for Xbox. If nothing was announced or planned, then that would be worrisome. But it is funny to see certain folks who are always "worried" or "concerned" take up so much interest constantly.

[LexHazard79]

And the reason they were gonna buy a Xbox. Lol...

@gangsta, too much dub in his step. 😂😎

[freshslicepizza]

scalebound is like telling a fish store, they both get bigger once they are dead. soon you will see another amazement, all the hype for days gone but miraculously hardly anyone here has any interest in state of decay 2. it's just like the consensus that you can be a huge gran turismo fan but not a fan of forza.

it is pure ridiculousness how someone can be that much of a brand warrior.

on topic, yes microsoft needs to invest more into its own in house studios. been saying that for a long time. but when we have a huge audience here on n4g who hardly give games like forza horizon 3 a second look, hardly say anything at all about sea of thieves, crackdown 3 or state of decay 2 coming but are so upset over scalebound it becomes crystal clear these brand warriors will never go away.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Yep, mostly everyone here hated it and now a certain group of people only started caring when they cancelled it. No doubt the lack of exclusives is a problem for MS but this game looked shit.

[johndoe11211]

Cut the bs moldy. Days gone has not even come out yet so you have no idea what it's like. And not just because they are both about zombies means that they are similar games so there is no grounds for comparing the two or criticizing people for being more excited for one over the other.

[Chevalier]

I bought an Xbox S and Scalebound was easily my most anticipated game. They really dropped the ball. I won't have anything to buy till Phantomdust.

[dmetripaulpavlin]

I think we can easily trust the people who got to see Scalebound behind closed doors that it was neither exciting or good.... which makes it unlikely a big thing for M$.

[TheCommentator]

Platinum Games ruined it with their batshit crazy director, who resigned shortly after he got pulled off MS' teat. I'm sure MS was really happy that Platinum spent their time working on PS4 games instead of what MS paid them to work on. Seriously, a guy like that, who f's up a deal like that, gets forced to resign. Simple.

[MasterCornholio]

"I'm sure MS was really happy that Platinum spent their time working on PS4 games instead of what MS paid them to work on. "

Nope that didn't happen.

Platinum had multiple teams. One of them worked on Scalebound while the other on Nier Automata. Microsoft wasn't funding a PS4 console exclusive if that's what your implying.

Sounds like your just angry at the fact that the Nier team managed to get the job done while the other didn't.

[TheCommentator]

I didn't realize there were two teams with different directors. I thought he oversaw both projects so that was my mistake. Thanks for the correction!

With that in mind, he wasn't exactly making progress on Scalebound and many people who saw it behind closed doors said it didn't look that good. There's also still merit to the fact that he was reported to have gone through a nervous breakdown before putting in his resignation. Resignation is usually forced on people in Japan who fail, like Ken Kutaragi. Scalebound is Platinums failure, not MS'.

Also, I'm not interested in Japanese games at all. Almost every single one sucks, IMO. I like "dude bro" shooters and western made games. That's why PS4 has no exclusives besides Uncharted and Horizon that even interest me.

[Rimeskeem]

I still don't get the Scorpio. It's powerful but you can get a 1060 which will be better and still play Xbox games on Windows. I guess it's for simpicity.

[NatFanBoyRestricted]

You get better performance on console hardware because of the console level of optimization. How don't you get the Scorpio, without getting console in general?

[Rimeskeem]

@Nat

well, for exclusives and such, which xbox no longer has.

[Aceman18]

Its the reason i sold my X1 last summer to my friend. Until i see a more varied and consistent flow of new IPs it will be a while before i buy another MS console.

Take some damn risks man, show me yall aint afraid to try MS.

[Soc5]

Yeah, what happened? Maybe they were losing too much money in the gaming divisions.
Halo should be a huge franchise instead it's just meh, Forza is doing ok I guess. But pre ps4, I loved my 360 even though the damn thing kept breaking, and my last one died. But I was more of an xbox player and now ps4 reversed all that. I still haven't bought an xbox one, and probably wont. I guess we'll see what they are up to but they are losing a lot of ground.

[Cueil]

you're making a ton of assumptions... Phil made a decision based on what he knew... which is far far more then what we knew

[Nyxus]

It certainly is, at least for me.

[Jc95]

Not even trying to be negative but when you have two consoles that are so on par with similar capabilities, it really comes down to the exclusives at this point.

[Resis7ance]

Sadly though, there's only one winner when it comes to Exclusives.

[tinynuggins]

I disagree. I'm content with my xbox one backlog and excited that some of those exclusives that I missed can be played on scorpio later this year. I always hear that xbox has no exclusives but what you mean to say is that they do not have any exclusives that appeal to you. THAT, I can totally get behind because I'm in the same boat with ps4 and wii-u. I've had a ps4 a little over 20 months now and a wii-u since launch and the first game i got was horizon zero dawn and splatoon. That doesnt mean that sony and nintendo don't have exclusives, just few that appeal to me and my family.

[The 10th Rider]

@Resis7ance,

One winner . . . Sooooooo, PC?

[andrewsquall]

@Jc95 And going by the far superior capabilities with THOSE same exclusives as proof, there is only one winner too.

[kayoss]

@tinynuggins
Thats the problem. For you its fine because you have a back log of games for the xbox one. but for the majority of gamers, they want to finish one game and move onto the next game. Thats the problem with the xbox one. Once fans finish one exclusives they're itching for the next one. However, there are none. This is why most people are going to the PS4, not only they have more exclusives, in addition theres something for everyone.

[NatFanBoyRestricted]

Yup my TV and monitor say Xbox and PC. Can't wait for Ace Combat now. If only they were BC

[JasonKCK]

On par? Which ones?

[Overload]

It's always been clear as day as to how Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo operate and if having consistent software is important to you and you don't have a PlayStation console, you're doing it wrong.

[Krysis]

Consistent exclusive software

[CrimsonWing69]

You don't say, Captain Obvious!

[BIGBOSS08]

Xbox is fine! They have scorpio. Its going to magically change everything!/s

[The 10th Rider]

I don't think it's the first party studios that are Microsoft's biggest cause of concern. People forget that the reason Sony is blowing Microsoft out of the water this year is because of third party exclusives, mostly Japanese. Microsoft is stuck in a spot where they're missing games from an entire region of the world and it's a big issue considering Japan's been rocking it lately. Japanese support also isn't something Microsoft can simply conjure up out of nowhere. What Microsoft should be doing to stay competitive is trying to partner with Western devs to bring out some new games. Microsoft has the money that they could easily bring in outside studios to develop games based off their IPs, they could swoop in and save cancelled projects, and they could start a program where small developers who can't get funding elsewhere are able to bring their ideas and apply for funding in exchange for exclusivity. If Microsoft starting implementing strategies like that in the West they may be able to re-establish their place there. However I don't think Microsoft as a whole is too interested in the game division, so I doubt they're willing to pour much money into it.

[LexHazard79]

Theyve already poured billions, whats another few more?

[Chevalier]

Billions? Where are the games then?

[LexHazard79]

@chevalier, So you disagree? Do you guys think making consoles is cheap?
Marketing, Games, R&D...didnt MS spend 2billion just on Minecraft?

Lol...

[Chevalier]

" Marketing, Games, R&D...didnt MS spend 2billion just on Minecraft?

Lol..."

Are you stupid? MS spent 2 Billion on Minecraft and can't afford to make games is what your saying then? Truly idiotic statement of the year. GTA V has sold close to 70 million units and cost $200 million to make. For the price of Minecraft alone you could make 10 games like GTA or 20 huge $100 million dollar AAA games. Yeah think about that again.

[trooper_]

Did you just mention Minecraft?

...

....

Ha,ha,ha,ha!

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

They don't necessarily have to have Japanese games, but it would certainly help their anemic catalogue. But I completely agree with your post.

[The 10th Rider]

Yeah, I don't think they're going to get the Japanese support at this point. So while Nintendo and Sony have the Japanese space locked in, Microsoft should invest money to build a rapport with Western devs,pick up some exclusive titles and partner with studios to put out some more games.

[Relientk77]

But Halo, Gears of War and Forza will always be there to save the day

/S

Forza. Every. Single. Year.

[Gwynbleidd]

I can't wait for Forza motorsport! It has been 2 years since the last game. IMO the 2 year dev cycle is great. When the thrill of the last one is fading the new one with improvements and evolution is coming!
I don't get how people can not understand the difference between Horizon and Motorsport as they come up with the lame "Forza every year" jingle!

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Obviously they need more variety but to be fair, Forza games have never really dropped in quality except Forza 5 and even that's a stretch.

[LexHazard79]

Forza every single yr. But different racers....so why complain. They're sport titles. Last I checked NBA 2K, Madden, Fifa, MLB the Show all come out yrly. At least Forza switches it up. Track racer to arcade racer in different locals. Keep hating tho 😂

[trooper_]

But Microsoft hasn't switch up their formula, have they? Gears, Halo, Forza, Gears, Halo, Forza...

[i3eyond the Circle]

Can we stop acting as if e3 isn't around the corner.

What concerns for Xbox has Microsoft not pounced on for its fans?

DRM? Gone.
Xbox power for graphical dominance? Done.
Backwards compatibility? Masterfully created.
Power brick? Gone.
EA Access? Accepted.

Xbox is literally perfecting the game and building an unmatched foundation and you'd have to be a complete tool and moron to believe exclusive software isn't going to improve or come at all to the platform Microsoft is creating.

The fear is that if when they do begin pushing the exclusives there will be nothing left for fanboys to desperately cling to. It'll be metacritic links and asshats averaging scores for games with "b b buh we got bettuh wated excloosivzzzz dood" as the final weak card oh... and hardware sales looool

So predictable.

[Prince_TFK]

I agree with your statement.

On a side note, wanna bet the amount of disgrees that we will get for supporting MS on N4G? Smh

[andrewsquall]

Haha...............no. You will get negs for doing the typical victim moron "look how many negs we martyrs will get" comment. Its YOUR type of comment that is getting more frequent around here.

[i3eyond the Circle]

Don't care. I rarely if ever even reply to these people on this site and at most times know the comments that will be left on the posts I make....because this place is very predictable.

I look at disagrees as tears especially when no comment is left containing any logical rebuttal.

[LexHazard79]

@andrew,

Its true tho.. showing support for Xbox is frowned upon here. What I dont get, is why have different sections if the PS fanboys are always in Xbox threads.

[Prince_TFK]

@andrew

What's more predictable is people like you running around calling people by names. What a sad life you got.

[Majin-vegeta]

Ahhh the infamous "WAIT FOR E3"warcry from xfanatics.Love this time.of the year never gets old.

[Chevalier]

You know what else is predictable? EVERY E3 Xboxers here say the exact same thing in April like clockwork. Wait till this years E3, DX12, Cloud tech, Gears and Halo will turn it around. NONE of those have come to fruition. More power isn't going to fix the major problem. Lack of 1st and 3rd party exclusives.

You can have all the power in the world and it won't be worth a damn if there are no games on it. It's the equivalent of having a amusement park with all the best rides except no one on the rides themselves.

Seriously the best 3 things you got on that pathetic list is hilarious.

Power Brick is a feature now? Seriously? The ONLY system stupid enough to have an external power brick has been 360 and XB1. Did the Wii, Wii U, PS3 and PS4 have power bricks? NOPE.

BC is a great feature, no denying that, but, when that's the main way to get games onto the system? Pathetic.

EA Access, okay another paid service and option. Yay.

The most damning and hilarious thing is all the goalpost you guys keep shifting. For example when we talk about BC and EA Access it's genius because it's MORE OPTIONS for the customer.

When we talk about the vast amount of 1st and 3rd party support and exclusives. We constantly hear oh those are 'niche' games, no body plays those Japanese games, how come this game has not sold 10 million units. Instead those very same people championing the Xbone should be agreeing that MORE OPTIONS is ALWAYS good for the consumer. Instead its brushed off because it is legit niche, not on Xbone or hasn't moved X amount of units, or best of all I'm not interested. I'm not interested in Halo or Forza, but, should that matter to all the other Xbox owners not care too? Nope. You should buy what you like.

There are quite a few here who said " Oh Horizon Zero Dawn ONLY sold 2.6 million in 2 weeks to 60 million PS4 owners! " Then in a recent thread knowing Halo Wars 1 sold 3 million defending Halo Wars 2 poor sales performance saying it's a niche game, it wasn't supposed to do huge numbers. 3 million sales is not niche.

A new Xbox system is coming, glad it excites you guys. But let's be honest perfecting is a stretch of your imagination. You seem to think power was the issue all along. That's a contradiction, power didn't matter before when you bought the garbage underpowered Xbox One, but, now it does again when you have the advantage? Guess if you guys score a handful of exclusives those will matter again too? That's just rich. Shifting goalpost at the finest.

[i3eyond the Circle]

You big mad or little mad? Again what concerns for Xbox has Microsoft not pounced on for its fans? Answer the fucking question. If i wanted to talk about features that'd be an entirely different argument. What I gave was a shortlist of consumer friendly and hardcore fan requests that must have costed millions in r&d or wasn't denied to enrich the console for its fans. With all bases covered to make Xbox one of the best places to play games and it really is with Xbox Live Looking for Group, Clubs, a more robust Games with Gold program thanks to BC and Play anywhere that stretches your dollars etc ....you'd have to be a complete moron and tool...as I've stated above to not believe more software is coming.

And as far as I'm concerned I've invested more time into high profile Xbox exclusives than most high profile PlayStation exclusives combined with Horizon finally being the game with more than 15 hours of longevity.

2017 is the first time in 4 years many people can even say they played more than 1 or 2 high profile PlayStation exclusives a year. Microsofts dry spell in 2017 somehow determines they have not made any software at all like there isn't Xbox gamers who put more fun, enjoyable, creative and what gaming is about hours into the likes of Titanfall, Halo 5, Gears 4, Forza Horizon, Gears U, Halo MCC which are still clocking hours to this day ...and games with shorter legs SSO, QB, DR3&4,Ori made their mark and for me were fun as hell while playing. Unless fun is calculated by the different games you play other than the time you play them...miss me with the bullshit.

You talk about shifting goalposts when all you guys do is make up imaginary ones. Because I was alive in 2013-14 when the only real argument you had was resolution and a list of *insert developer name here* projects.

[Chevalier]

" 2017 is the first time in 4 years many people can even say they played more than 1 or 2 high profile PlayStation exclusives a year. "

This is my point exactly spelled out word for word. 'High Profile' exclusives have been there EVERY single year. Whether you like them or think they are doesn't change that! Xbox has literally been cycling the same garbage Halo, Gears, Forza + Forza Horizon alternating for 10 years straight. Yet here you guys are peddling that as some kind of win along with a couple timed exclusives does NOT change that fact. You guys set the bar so low that when MS announce Forza 7 and Halo 6 again this year you guys will be satisfied with the norm. New IPs be damned.

Again those consumer friendly practices are nice, but, you buy an new game system to play new games. Whether you are fine with replaying old Halo, Gears or whatever garbage you like has no bearing on the state of Xbox. There's a god damn reason they're being outsold 2-1. If those nice features were so awesome then how come they haven't translated into sales? I work in a game store and have for 8 years. Not ONCE has someone come in and tell me they want to buy an Xbox to play 360 games, or that EA Access is the reason they HAD to get Xbox One, nor has someone said I will buy an S because it has NO power brick.

People do however come to me and say I am buying this PS4 to play Horizon, Uncharted, Persona 5, Kingdom Hearts, Nioh, God of War upcoming, TLOU and the library of games to come. There is no significant library on the way for Xbox right now so I don't get the people coming in to buy Xbox for what's to come so much as the Halo or Gears that is already there. Whereas PS4 has people buying the system or ALL the current stuff and people saying they can't wait for Days Gone, Spiderman, God of War, TLOU2. No one is coming to me to buy an Xbox for Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3, SoD2 for example.

Every year its wait for E3. Wait for DX12, Cloud, more Power, more games and every other magic sauce. Just for you I will act surprised when I hear Halo 6 and Forza 7 okay?

[i3eyond the Circle]

So this giant pointless wall of text is a guy talking about sales with a list of games that aren't even a year old when this generation started in 2013. Cookie? That's literally the last bastion of hope most fanboys cling to in a nutshell.

Your game store knowledge is pointless... third party software sales confirm this.

I've worked at a Life Store for 32 years and know clearly that sales don't represent a better product.

You're happy PlayStation has some good games coming with no concrete release dates and hardware sales brought upon by the Nostalgic PlayStation era that you blame on exclusives because of some guys that walk in your game store. You believe there is a 2:1 difference of 30 mil hardware sales from exclusive games that don't even equal that number in comparison to their total numbers sold. The math on that is not in your odds.

We've been gaming on Xbox and it's only getting better.

Strongest console
More robust online network
Most versatile console in entertainment

There's nothing else left but software for Microsoft to focus on. So I'll say it again...

You'd have to be a complete moron or tool....to think otherwise.

And let's say your worst dreams come to life and Microsoft starts kicking ass on the exclusive front....will you dare open your mouth about sales? Because PlayStation will outsell Xbox even when Xbox is a better console from a night and day standpoint and that my friend will be the last card.

I'm done with this post. Don't expect a reply. Poor your heart out and I'll see you on a different post.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

There's nothing wrong with the foundation that's Xbox's built (although I have to question what you mean by "Xbox power for graphical dominance", it sounds like a buzzword from a sales pitch). If anything you can argue the initial Xone reveal hurt the brand at the beginning of this gen.They just need to attract devs and push games, that's a significant weak point for them (actually Nintendo had that problem too apart from 1st party games, that's probably why the WiiU failed when there is nothing of note wrong about the hardware, time will tell how the Switch fairs).

[Chevalier]

What's 'better' is subjective. Your an absolute idiot to suggest otherwise. I have people specifically come in to buy systems for Halo, Gears, Uncharted, Kingdom Hearts, Persona, TLOU, Bloodborne. Don't get me wrong 3rd party games do also factor in, but, if you had a choice between the same 3rd party games that play the same and a robust library or one that isn't which one do you think would sell more? Yeah that's right the one more game options.

Strongest console - If this really mattered to you then why did you buy an Xbox One over a PS4?! Pure stupidity.

More robust online network - subjective again, the 'best' network is where you play with your friends, it's why you bought an Xbox? I prefer my PS4 over my Xbox because none of my friends game on Xbox except 1 person.

Most versatile console in entertainment - Again it's nice, but, GAMES are why you buy a game system. All the other stuff while nice is just a nice bonus. I didn't buy my system to play old games, I own 2 PS3's and a 360 already, EA Access is another paid service option I'm not interested in. Shareplay for example is a feature that far surpasses all those things you mentioned.

" And let's say your worst dreams come to life and Microsoft starts kicking ass on the exclusive front.."

Lol, unlikely. After seeing how Xbox has run their tail end cycles for Xbox, 360 it seems unlikely. I am basing that off history of MS consoles as a whole, they have not supported a full generation yet to date. If your enough of an idiot to think that's going to change I don't know what to say. Xbox has NEVER been a global brand. You expect me to believe all of a sudden every developer will jump on when they ignored 25 million Xbox One users? With ZERO units sold for Scorpio that is highly unlikely. No developer would ignore 70+ million PS4 users by this falls end for a smaller pie. They would rather develop for both systems side by side.

PS4/Pro >>>>> Xbox1/Scorpio

So basic business sense suggest you don't have a clue what your talking about. Unless Xbox starts writing fat paychecks it would still not help. Timed exclusive content hasn't ever seen a big bump in Xbox sales beyond a month. They would need to beat PS4 by 3 straight years to get even with PS4.

[BigWan78]

and here we go............................ .............

another cliche'd article....................... ................

let the wash rinse and repeat comments, commence...................... ................

[Gwynbleidd]

lol, those articles are so pointless now! We heard it and we will be wiser after E3, where mS is supposed to reveal new IPs according to Phil Spencer.
Xbox is doing fine. The ecosystem is outstanding and there are good exclusives and lots of multiplats. Enough reason to enjoy Xbox.

[Resis7ance]

Whichever way you look at it, or don't, it's a power struggle, you can have all the exclusives you like but Xbox lacks originality, Sony has it in abundance and delivers quality year on year.

[Gwynbleidd]

Yes, Sonys worldwide brand recognition is higher but it does not change that people have different tastes. I for one do not like the Sony ecosystem nor do I care for most of its exclusives. It doesn't make Playstation a bad platform, it simply is not my cup of tea. I prefer Xbox for the service, gamepad and exclusives.
So I don't care for all those drama-queen "xbox has no games" opinion-pieces as I am having lots of fun on the Xbox platform and IMO people should relax and take all the gaming business much less serious!

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

I'm a diehard Xbox fan. I've had XBL since day one when live came free with Mech assault. I own hundreds of Xbox games and never missed a yearly subscription. Now with all that being said MS YOU DONE FUCKED IT UP! How MS can't see that it's not all about power is beyond me. I don't even use my Xbox anymore I play my Pro or Switch 90% of the time. I will buy a Scorpio but I have lost faith in MS as my console maker of choice. Fans like me are the type MS can't afford to lose to Sony but gradually that's what's happening due to lack of exclusive content. Hopefully MS goes back to the OG Xbox days of power AND exclusives.

[Chevalier]

Hey doesn't it feel great to know they could shell out $2 billion on Minecraft knowing that GTA V cost $200 million. For the price of Minecraft they could have budgeted for 10 games of that calibre!

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

None of that concerns me as I'm not a shareholder but I do see your point. All that money spent on Minecraft could have been better spent on new ip. I'm sure Minecraft will eventually break even for MS but new ip will keep their dedicated fans...well dedicated.

[Darkfist_Flames]

You should blame the xbox fanboys for that, they get exciting for almost everything MS says.

[ocelot07]

The thing is am having a hard time why people are only realising this now. In my opinion Microsoft has been known for a lot of things. But I have never in the 15 years of Xbox looked at Microsoft and said they have amazing exclusives. They have a few good IP's sure but they seem to always fall back to Forza, Halo, Gears.

The early days of the 360 they did very well. Viva Pinata, Project Gotham, Kameo, Gears of war State of decay. But then slowed down on the new stuff and just started on releasing Halo, Gears, Forza. Why not try a new Kameo game? How about bringing the Age of Empires series to the Xbox?

Am happy they have tried with the likes of Recore, Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive. But the Xbox needs more. A lot more. I don't want to turn this into fanboy war number 6022 of the day. But they are so far behind Sony and Nintendo in terms of exclusives it's embarrassing and sad.

Sony seem to release a new exclusive every week. Weather that be a JRPG or an open world filled with robot dino's. A lot of people I have noticed on here criticise Sony for releasing 2 many Japanese style games. How about instead of criticising them you actually give them a try?

I for years hated on Zelda and yet I can't get enough of BOTW. I hated on Final Fantasy for so many years. Yet from what I have played of 15 am enjoying it.

[Rippcity]

Not all exclusives appeal to all people. Sure Horizon was awesome and I'm definitely moving onto Persona next, but I'll definitely play Halo Wars 2 when I get the money. That game came out like weeks ago yet Xbox has no exclusives coming out. I think what you mean to say is, Xbox has exclusives that I don't care about. Tons of us having been waiting for another Halo Wars game and while I understand that Xbox isn't getting as many as ps4 exclusives (not even taking Nintendo into account because all of their games are exclusive given their shit 3rd party support) that doesn't mean they aren't getting any.

Edit: grammar

[ocelot07]

Don't you mean Microsoft games? Halo wars 2 is available on pc which I'll be picking up my self once my own backlog of games is down and it's a little bit cheaper.

I just think Microsoft should do more. They just don't have much of a variety. Saying that I am excited to here more news on Sea of thieves and crackdown.

[Rippcity]

Sure that's fair, Microsoft games. But I think the point I was getting as is just that while Microsoft isn't entirely focused on exclusives at the moment, they still have games exclusive to Xbox (or XBaaS) coming out all the time. It may not be as frequent as on ps4, but Microsoft is doing everything they can to make their platform more appealing to devs. Backwards compatibility, unifying the Xbox and pc market. The amount of effort they are pouring into their platform will eventually get them the exclusives they need. Currently Playstation is in the lead because they have the console sales numbers, but if what they are saying is true about the Scorpio being an Xbox one (and my assumption that it will end console generations once and for all for Xbox) then it will eventually get those numbers as well.

[ocelot07]

@Rippcity I 100% respect your opinion. Yes they are doing some great things like backwards compatibility and play anywhere. I just think Microsoft are focusing on the wrong things. Like backwards compatibility it's a nice thing to have but should it be a main focus to them? In my opinion no they really should focus on opening a few more studios and getting them to work on brand new IP's or giving them older IP's to work on like Kameo ect.

As for play anywhere. Am very grateful of it it means I don't have to buy an XB1 (I have an XB1 but only use for 4K blu-ray) plus I don't need to pay for Xbox live to play online. But with play anywhere being a thing now. I have zero reason to be interested in the scorpio. Which for a console manufacturer should be concerning. As a console manufacturer they should be aiming to get every gamer interested. I just don't think they can do that when not only are they giving people an option where to play there games. But in my view giving PC owners the better deal (no online fee, better FPS ect)

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I've never understood the hate for Japanese games. Most people I've got to try them have stated it was better than they thought (at this point they may have also admitted it wasn't the type of game that appeals to them) or I've ended up sucking a person or two into a particular series.

[windblowsagain]

It's ok New gears, fable, forza, halo gonna save it/s

[MilkMan]

Look since I started my hobby when I was 6 years old. I've been blessed with the ability to own all the platforms. Exclusive titles, or "the reason to buy your platform over the competition" is and always will be a selling point. At this very moment, I struggle to turn my Xbox on. I find reasons to do it. Since the inception and implementation of the backwards compatibility program, I turn on my Xbox to see if the awesome games I played last gen are now avaible. It's not necessary, I still own my 360 but I would like to retire that system and as I said before it gives me a reason to turn on my Xbox.
I see the argument from all sides.
If you only own one system then its clear that you have no choice but to like or learn to like what you have.
Human beings are stubborn and rarely fess up if they've committed a mistake, so If you bought the Xbox off the heels of the success of the 360 then you've "dug in" and will fight tooth and nail to let the world know that you are right and they are wrong.
Then there are those that are fanatics. Diehards. They "love" a machine or company or whatever. They've been indoctrinated and can't see what's happened.

Microsoft is not the same company it was 10 years ago. Issue after issue paints a picture that they are in disarray and have no idea how to make things right.

Even now, they have ditched Xbox One in favor of Scorpion to see if faster speeds will help them out.
Meanwhile, Sony's machine keeps on pace. Not even talking about the PS4 Pro, which I don't understand its existence. I mean the plain ol' vanilla version.

Even Nintendo with its modest consoles make money and keep their customers happy. Not with face melting speeds but with a stream of hits. WiiU did have pitfalls, but their core games were treated with respect, except for Star Fox. They should have issues an official apology for 1 farming it out to a third party and 2 for a final product that was a hot mess.

My point is Sony keeps its customers happy with a console designed to one thing and do it well. Play games.
Offering amenities that make sense like Share Play. AMAZING piece of tech.
A steady stream of exclusives that are great games to play.

[MilkMan]

Xbox One's UI is a mess. There's a new Update now and I'm still deciding whether I like it or not. HOWEVER, it does appear faster.
The streaming capabilities are atrocious
Share Play? what's that?
The DVR functionality is pathetic.
Their software for editing your vids and photos is bad.
Exclusives? You have Gears (resurrected from last gen AFTER we were told it was going to rest for awhile). Halo 5 (just a mess of a game). Dead Rising 4 (not a bad game just not a groundbreaking one either). Killer Instinct? Nice I suppose. KUDOS for getting a fighting game off the ground in such a crowded space. Halo Wars 2 was an excellent RTS and a great bargain cause you could pick up both the new and the old game for a great price. But who other than the die hard RTS crowd aka older games like me will buy this? Fable? MS destroyed it. Scalebound? Obliterated.
Where is Crackdown and all the promise it held with per-destruction? Yes, it's mind boggling how none of the cool features are in the single player game, but at this point, ill take what I can. Forza. Excellent game. I'm particular to the Horizon series but both are great games. However, they are not mainstream games. Niche.

So if you have a choice and you have all the platforms why would you limit yourself to a console that's struggling and a company that lacks direction.

It just makes sense to get busy playing and not hoping a miracle happens.

faster speeds and prettier fidelity doesn't make for a good experience. You need games, games, games that are fun.

Take from this what you like. It's just one man's opinion.

[LexHazard79]

Pathetic!?! Thats what I said when I finished reading both your novelas.

[Rippcity]

What makes you think Microsoft is the only one struggling? Sony spent a shit ton of money on streaming software that basically did nothing for them. They abandoned their handheld despite all of the 3rd party support it has not to mention its remote play capabilities (for fucks sake give us the option to remap buttons or at least use it to stream games to with a ds4). For right now Sony has the exclusives because they have the more popular machine, but Microsoft is building a platform that Sony will never come close to thanks to Windows 10. I could be way off with my assumptions but if Microsoft does away with console generations and the Scorpio truly is an Xbox one, that could ultimately mean the next Xbox after that will be the same architecture with greater power and ultimately be the PC for console owners. And if that is all the case then their library will continue to grow and eventually eclipse the competition. This is why I own a PC, because no matter how many consoles come out, I still have my massive pc game library at my disposal and it'll never go away. Now if there was a console that could do that, you better believe I'm going to support that thing.

[x_xavier_x]

@MilkMan

The "Xbox has no games" argument again...really? The people that keep insisting that Xbox has no games are beginning to sound as ludicrous as the ones that think the Earth is flat. There are over 1000 games available for the system with hundreds more announced. If you can't find enough games on the Xbox platform to satisfy your needs then you may be more of a brand loyalist than a gamer.

The emphasis of a majority of these "no games" debates is on the perceived superiority of the Sony platform due to their recent slate of exclusives. I realize that Sony currently has the edge when it comes to exclusive titles but the significance of that aspect is predominantly overblown. Exclusive games make up a very small fraction of the entire library for each system yet all we hear is how much they impact the overall console experience. If exclusives were so important to gamers then why do the majority of Sony exclusive titles sell less than 5% of the current user base? I have both consoles from MS and Sony, as I did last gen, but I can't say that I favor one over the based solely on the handful of exclusive titles that I've purchased. While exclusives can be a tantalizing aspect they are not a comprehensive measure of a consoles value, and often they are nothing more than talking points for diehard fanboys.

As for the rest of your observations, they are far too subjective to deem worthy of a reply.

[Miss_Weeboo]

If you bought an Xbone you lost, the fanboys are gonna keep "defending" MS practices but they know...

[Elda]

Let's see what they show this year at E3,if MS don't have any fab exclusives for the release of Scorpio & well into 2018 then they need to just hang it up.

[Mikerob2007]

it was enough for me so i just sold my xbox one last week. Will now put the money to some great ps4 games.

[XXanderXX]

Am good , games will come , studios will be bought or hired to create new IPs or even work on some stored up IPs .
Just a matter of time so no need to get all worked up or do anything stupid .

[LexHazard79]

Like what sell my PS4 Pro on Thursday and put all the money towards Scorpio?

[XXanderXX]

That's all up to you , but there are people here that think if they repeat the no game crap over ,over that some will run screaming and switch sides .
As for me that's never going to happen cause am good & Okay with what's being offered.

[Scatpants]

Nah, I own an Xbox, but I'm not concerned because I also have a PS4 and Switch. My Xbox can just continue collecting dust.

[HotMoltenLava]

Don't pretend you guys care about Xbox owners. Another one on these articles. This shit gets old.

[Dragonscale]

Just think with the development costs of Scorpio and what they spent on minecraft how many studios or new ip's they could've created. Ah well.

[NerdStalker]

I cant believe how complacent Microsoft have been with the xbox one. I know its actually sold well but compare that to what ps4 sold and it should be a cause for concern for them followed by the fact ps4 is fired out exclusives left right and center this year and they've not really anything planned as far as I know until later. Seriously dumb move from ms this game actually looked like it could be a winner. Should have hired the staff they needed to make the game work, god knows they have loads of cash.

[synistatha1]

Xbox fans are the most gullible people I have ever seen lmao. Always good for a laugh or 2.

[QUIMICOMORTAL]

It should! but they are blind and they now spend all their energies on praying for a new console!

[Flewid638]

They don't play games like that though. Xbox is the best console if you don't care about gaming on a deeper level. Storylines, pushing graphics, innovation....it's just not their thing.

Jump in, shoot em up with friends, jump out. Thats good enough for them. These game-changing cinematic experiences are just not for the demographic....and that's ok.

[MilkMan]

You know, i think you may be on to something here.

[itsmebryan]

For me I must have great racing games and Xbox is the only one that delivers. Forza motorsport and Horizon has been amazing. I can care less about Scalebound because it was never on my radar. I have been happy with my Xbox so far and even use Kinect. For me along with my gaming rig is a good combo. So far none of the PS4 games has made me want to buy a PS4 besides the recent Zero Dawn. But, I won't buy PS4 for one game.

[Razzer]

Expect nothing. Get nothing.