It might be hard to imagine now, given how the last few years have gone, but once upon a time the Xbox was thought of as the powerhouse console. Though Microsoft didn't always have quite the same robust library PlayStation was able to offer, especially in the era of the original Xbox and the PS2, what it did have was a small but significant technological edge. With the Xbox One X, Microsoft aims to get back to its king-of-the-tech-hill status, and it's a distinction that the brand needs badly right now.
That edge in power was sanded down during the current generation, when there's been rampant talk about how much of the Xbox One's power was diverted to Kinect, how many cross platform games ran and looked better on PS4, how 900p was more common on Xbox One than proper 1080p (the gold standard when these consoles launched). Piled atop all the abuse around how the Xbox One was lagging behind in terms of power were the even worse offenses early on, with consumers being told that the console would need to always be connected to the internet and loose talk about how it wouldn't be able to play used games. Microsoft further crippled their launch by trying to focus attention on the Xbox One as a "media center, family room" console rather than as a platform to play the best new games.
We have another announcement from the Little Nightmares universe as Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition was just announced for Nintendo Switch 2. It launches on October 10, 2025. According to today’s announcement, Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition will run at 4K and 60 frames per second.
The cuts are expected to be announced next week.
Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses
MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.
I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.
Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation in the Netherlands has filed a class action against Sony for inflating PlayStation Store prices.
My personal opinion:
Manufacturers and publishers have indeed inflated the industry.
From $700 million development costs for games like Call of Duty, to digital (store) prices for games and DLCs, online multiplayer fees on consoles (why can you play Helldivers 2 online for free on PC but not consoles?) or still preventing sell/lend digitally purchased games.
Sometime in the future, this bubble will collapse.
They should know better, but they just can't help themselves and suck even the last penny out of our wallets.
They should be suing the individual publishers increasing the prices to $80 instead of suing the store. There are plenty of publishers still selling game for like $50 with much success (like E33). But this proves that the publishers are the ones setting the prices.... so again nothing changes because they aren't even going after the main offender. How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD? Sony being the number one store in the market doesn't mean that publisher have to charge us an arm and a leg. Again the industry is laughing at us because consumers never get real representation. Just these fake platitudes that are meaningless.
About time. There is zero fair reason why digitally distributed products that you cannot recoup any value when you want to dispose of them, should be priced higher than that of physical copies that entail all of the costs and the benefits of owning.
Not gonna happen. Xbox One X has a chance to spark some fire and maybe outsell the PS4 Pro. But that´s it!
The PS4 continue to deliver great first party exclusives, a more diversed line up of games and has more of an global appeal among gamers.
PS4 should remain on top to the end of this generation.
Back on top? The chance for that is slim to none. But I think they can lay a good foundation for the "next-gen" Xbox with the Xbox One X, Xbox One S and the services and features Xbox have.
1.) Microsoft was never on top in the first place.
2.) If a cheaper more mass-market friendly slimline version couldn't achieve the desired affect, why would a more expensive premium console do so?
What sort of drugs is the author on?
"The reaction at this year's E3 is not unlike the kid at the playground who has had enough of all the nitpicking and bullying."
I respectfully disagree.
I'd say the reaction is more of the kid that bought his school project to get a good grade, rather than actually innovatively earning it like the other kids.