The physical edition includes a gilded holographic character nine-card set, two exclusive holographic Chibi Trailblazer key chains, a physical game disc and disc cover, an exclusive postcard, and a game redemption code with exclusive items.
With the launch of Call of Duty Season 4, Activision quietly put adverts inside loadouts for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, sparking a backlash in the process.
Putting Ads in a pay-to-play Premium title? Well done Microsoft. Well done /s This is really scummy.
This game will never change because these sweatlords love buying up all the skins and bundles that become obsolete the following year. They're the ones perpetuating Activision's greed.
If Microsoft introduces adverts into its other games I hope it can do them without disrupting the immersion of the game world. So for example in the new Fable game it would look out of place if there was a billboard advertising Cadillacs.
A far better way to do it would be to have a wizard conjure a 'dream cloud' in front of your character and then in the cloud you can see the Cadillac car and see the text with price and availability and hear a booming sales voice promoting the car. That would work so well as it wouldn't be a billboard and completely, 100%, fit in with your character's adventuring in Albion. Doesn't that sound so much better?!
The first direct and natively supported comparison between identical Windows 11 and SteamOS gaming hardware is here. And it's pretty much a bloodbath for Microsoft.
"And it's pretty much a bloodbath for Microsoft."
OOOKAY! ..Interesting choice of words for that topic lol
Maybe a bit extreme lol. But it's really interesting. Seen one or two videos of Forza Horizon 5. One of the testers used a low end Rx 6500 xt GPU. Using windows FH5 got a average of 62fps fairly respectable. But the same setup using Steam OS using the same settings FH5 got a average of 94fps. Thats a massive gain.
Racing games are pretty much always easy to run though. Look at the more demanding ones, 5-13fps gain, not bad but if you already have a decent PC to begin with those gains are small. For a handheld though I guess any boost is a decent boost.
Yup I would also say that the last time a Windows operating system was good was Windows XP
It has basic Linux in it, and you can stuff it with the Linux equivalent of all the apps your casual PC user uses on Windows. The Steam portion of it basically acts like Steam Bug Picture mode which it loads up automatically to that for a more console like experience. It isn't JUST made for gaming.
@Sorftware_Lover
Aren't you forgetting the fact that almost all games are "made for Windows"?
Should we be surprised?
Steam OS is built solely for gaming, whereas Windows 11 is packed with numerous security features and various overall processes.
I switched to Mint couple months back and it was the best decision I made. Turns out my laptop isn't a complete POS, Windows is. Windows has been a complete headache since I got my laptops a few years back and Linux fixes all those problems. I don't even game on my laptop, I just use it for basic stuff and I cannot recommend switching enough.
having the same problems right now with no way back. I have been refusing W11 upgrades all this times with my PC and laptop at home - both Ryzens. but suddenly last week, both of them started to have stability issues for no reason.
the PC with RX6600XT connected to a TV keep crashing and losing display, where I had to keep reinstalling the Radeon software after each reset but no matter what I did, I couldn't get the HDMI audio working anymore despite it has been working fine all this time. the laptop was even worst, it abruptly crashed while I was using MS word and listening to music on YT and then never able to recover again. the Asus recovery, startup repair, restore point, reset windows...nothing worked!
for the PC, I said "F it" and proceeded to W11 upgrade. didn't take long and would you look at that, the Radeon software and HDMI audio working fine from the first boot. this made me think, do MS and AMD have some deal in the back, forcing users to upgrade by purposely messing up their drivers? on the other hand, my laptop was beyond saving, so I fresh installed Windows using USB. thing was, I forgot the USB installer I used was for Win11 not Win10 as I helped a friend build a PC last couple of months and he wanted W11. and yeah my laptop works now.
BUT these don't feel like upgrades at all! they both work but they are noticeably SLOWER than they were when I was on W10! like WTF MS?? it's official that W11 is a bloated, unoptimized mess of an OS that is hiding its flaws behind fast hardware!
By any chance, did you update Windows 10 recently? The May 13th update, dubbed 'The last security update for Windows 10,' is bricking a lot of Windows 10 PCs (including mine) to force people to upgrade to Windows 11.
@CantThinkOfUsername
yeah...I think I might have installed it without knowing. I remember reading about it but it completely skipped my mind at the time. shaddy as hell!
Xbox's handheld ambitions continue unabated, but the focus is shifting towards improving Windows 11 for third-party handhelds — for now. The Xbox Series X 'Melrose' successor is safe, with development continuing at full pace.
If they run the same games as the main home console, then yeah, sure.
But if they need specially tailored games just for them? Probably not, unless there isn't a home console for comparison (see Switch).
I am kinda low-key happy this happened.
Dont want another Series S situation (games to be designed from 4 to 12TF scale and not 10 to 12TF).
Hope PS follows suit as well. Tablet SKU sharing with console for 10th gen, will just continue the cross gen -esque development/design phase/nature.
Want a proper 20+ only TF rasterized next-gen plz (+ frame-gen and the lot).
If anybody wants to continue the cross-gen, the Series S|X, PS5 will remain for that. And Switch 2, if you gotta go even lower in the TF range.
Yes and No. All of the PC handhelds combined have struggled to sell 7 million units, which would be a flop for any “console”. So the market is extremely niche because of price and target market (the informed hardcore gamer / casuals aren’t picking these up).
These handheld PCs are $500 or more, and offer at best Xbox Series S performance levels, so it’s best for MS specifically to just partner with ASUS, instead of investing millions if not billions.
Sony can make their own with custom AMD hardware due to their partnership, and stronger global brand for hardware. But even then it brings the question, of being a lower resolution PS5, and what does that mean for PS6 cross-gen (likely another generation where the first 3 - 4 years are just upgraded last-gen games).
Imagine a Wii U style console, where the tablet doesn't rely on the console it's self, you download the game on the console under the TV and play in 4k glory, then you can remote play, get some unique game features if using both console and handheld in tandem. Then you can download the games in 720-1080p to play on the go, continue your progress, and continue on the TV when you get back.
Sony could get away with this due to exclusives, and that would be a reason for sales. Look at the portal.
I can picture seeing new hardware having some sort of GPU dock, where the handheld runs 1080p, and the dock has additional hardware to bring in 4k/60 specs.
I do think handheld gaming is going to be a strong future, imagine Nintendo release a new upgraded GPU dock for the Switch 3, every 2 years. More frames, sharper graphics on the same game for an extra £150 for a dock with a built in GPU chip. Console cycles doesn't have to be renewed, just the hardware can be improved by them reselling docks to us again and again with small/yearly upgrades like mobile phones.
Did you just imply that Sony can make a better stronger handheld than Microsoft? You do realize we are talking about Microsoft, the tech giant, right? If Microsoft can't make one that's cost effective, Sony definitely can't...
Brand and market share means nothing when you are a trillion dollar company
@GamerRN
It has nothing to do with what company can do it, or what company can spend.
For anyone taking a basic business class there is a term called ROI, and Xbox home consoles are selling at an all time low, meaning their ROI on a handheld is a risk that doesn’t make sense, even if they can afford it. Businesses are there to make money and it doesn’t make sene for MS to invest in a handheld that’s a companion device when their current home consoles they’ve spent 20 years working on are at an all time-low, when they can invest with little risk with what ASUS already has to offer.
This is why Sony can build a better device, because they have less risk involved, meaning they can invest more in their own product, and they already have an exclusive partnership with AMD on creating features and hardware. So in this specific case, YES Sony can built a better handheld, due to custom hardware, customer tools, low level APIs, compared to an off the shelf product running Windows or a Window Xbox kernel =.
I play steam deck primarily... Don't play consoles or mobile. The deck covers it all.
Funny to see the alt already damage controlling and having a meltdown with multiple accounts in the comments already.
Sad for MS if true, a dedicated handheld would go down a lot better than a rog ally 2 with an Xbox sticker on it I think.
It couldn't have succeeded for a number of reasons. Now they've retreated to the Windows front and trying to keep that relevant for gaming. How long before Windows Central realizes there won't be a real console successor to Series X either?
@outside obviously not since they sidelined it and they wanna see how the Asus does. Are you saying they're gonna cancel the next console?
@lightning - I'm admittedly trying to box you in here - Do you think the next Xbox console will have Steam on it?
@Lightning
Here we go with having to spell everything out.
If I told you yesterday that Xbox was going to sideline the handheld console what would your response have been? Probably something along the lines of "I doubt that since Phil has been talking about it for some time now"
My point is just because they are "full speed" ahead now does not mean that will not change in future. As we have seen with the handheld. Do you understand what I'm trying to say now?
Box me in? No you said the same thing you've always been saying for years now. Those are the rumors to have Steam integration.
What about it
If you told me they were gonna cancel it tomorrow it would nothing more than fanboy talking points. I only wait for credible sources not what someone else says.
Also this is the handheld not a full blown new console. The Asus is yet to release and they're waiting to see how that thing does. Critical thinking is my strong suit you should try it some time if you can. But Ok cool well you hang your hat on that I guess. Main New console is gonna get cancelled even though the handheld is a different marketing device than the main the console itself.
I think there is a 75% chance there will not be another Xbox. There is zero reason to buy one now. No way it can possibly sell more than 10m units after Xbox went third party.
That's what they do. Goalposts shift like the wind.
I'm really confused on why they are making a "first party" device and also have a Rog Ally with their sticker on it. Make this make sense. How is their own device going to be any different?
Your console doesn't sell and they expect a handheld to?
The Rog Ally one is gen agnostic ... as you deciphered, it was to be the updated Rog Ally but just with Xbox branding. PC handheld with some Xbox features.
The handheld Xbox is/was supposed to be sharing the same gen/ecosystem with the next-gen (10th gen) Xbox. Think Series S but handheld ... it'll run the Xbox OS or whatever the next Xbox will run.
...
As for anybody wondering/confused why MS is doing another Xbox console ... coz mainly its the 10th gen of home consoles next, which started wayy back in 1972 for the 1st gen. And MS wanna be part in it, in the 10th anniversary gen of consoles. If they gotta bow out, they can't do that at 9th i.e just before 10th. They wanna stick around till the 10th or the X-th gen and check what the fuss happens.
Curious as to what excuses the spam was saying. Because prior to this news, the Xbox handheld was used as proof that Xbox is still committed to the hardware space. This handheld being scraped is not a good sign...
@Spam
You can replace scrapped with pushed back if you like. It's not a good sign either way.
asq3= obscured: “ What’s your source on the handheld being scrapped? “
Read the article from Microsoft own website and one of your favorite quotations site when it’s something bad about Sony.
Oh BTW good luck with your next SPAM account.
Isn’t this a free to play game? A bit strange to make a physical copy but more physical the better