Xbox Series X review (2024): Unfulfilled potential

Engadget:

The Xbox Series X is still a powerful gaming console, but its limited library of exclusives makes it far less compelling than the PlayStation 5.

[gold_drake]

yeah its quite odd, but not surprising, that we are 4 years into this gen and there hasnt been a whole lot going on for xbox gamewise.

[S2Killinit]

Well at least they kept these poor gamepass subscribers paying for “day one” so no feather off MS’s hat.

[MrDead]

The platform has no identity They tried to fill the gap by buying publishers who's games where already coming to the system and that failed.

They tried to ban multiplatform publishers from completing systems to attract new customers, that failed and ended up punishing the publishers they purchased.
Their streaming service and mass consolidation is extremely bad for the industry and it's workforce.

Seems to me MSs problems comes from the fact it's not interested in gaming, they just want to own it.Nothing wrong with the Xbox as a system unfortunately it's run by Creatively bankrupt money men adding nothing new, just taking and taking.

[LoveSpuds]

Absolutely spot on squire.

It has always surprised me that folks support XBox when it is owned by a corporate giant with one of the worst track records for shit business practices in modern history. It's even more confounding that people were cheerleading when MS started with massive consolidation of huge chunks of the industry.

[jwillj2k4]

Absolutely NOT on spot lmao. Microsoft didnt buy those publishers to help the Xbox console. They move past the physical Xbox as a priority a long time ago lol..

[Reaper22_]

Microsoft had nothing to do with concord"s failure.

[Reaper22_]

Your entire post is full of inaccuracies, contradictions and bullshit. Microsoft isn't the only one to use money to influence and they aren't the only ones who have laid off workers. To say that they want to own gaming is just plain stupid. 3rd party is still the life line of the industry. Unfortunately its a rapidly changing more expensive industry . It takes a lot of money to make games today compared to 20 years ago. But imo that's not the biggest problem I see within the industry.

[Ninver]

Basically they've tried everything under the sun and failed. I wonder why they're still trying at this point.

[Rude-ro]

Will tell you this.. you are almost hitting the nail on the head.
They do not care about gaming.
They care about the global monopoly on computing.
Sony was a leading innovator in this department and Microsoft saw the dangers of Sonys growth in said area while grabbing the attention of the youth through gaming.
A ten year old gamer growing up with a Sony console would then trust their hardware via their computing needs as an adult.
When Microsoft got “into gaming”…
Apple was making a market move.
Google was releasing their own cloud os.
And…
Sony was rewriting pc architecture with Linux..
And Microsoft learnt what “engagement” really meant.
Ie Microsoft was in big trouble of losing a lot.
So they attacked.
They took on Sony only to control them.
To put them in check and they continue to do this making sure Sony plays along.

Microsoft’s greatest strengths is their media and marketing…
Control the news, control the world.

Look at the two decades of Microsoft pretending to have games forcing Sony to compete.
Forcing Sony to spend money to compete against Microsoft’s marketing onslaught.
Destroying confidence and selling the idea that Microsoft was equal to or better in gaming..,
While monopolizing games through contracts and giving false hope on “future games”..

You do not need everyone to believe reality… you just need a big enough group of people to believe in the reality you are marketing to do what you want yo do.

Funny story.. this is exactly what the Republican Party has been following…
And funny enough the previous administration gave Microsoft the military contract via their expertise… 🤷🏻‍♀️
Look how that is turning out.

[Vits]

Console gaming has been pretty mediocre this generation. Very few great games are coming out, many niches are being left unfulfilled, and the AAA blockbusters often have the depth of a 4D attraction at Disney World—by design—because that's apparently what the critics and the public want. Microsoft is part of the problem, releasing very few games and even fewer that try something new or innovative. Despite having a stronghold on multiplayer and co-op franchises, they consistently crash and burn with poorly optimized and poorly thought-out games. Now, they’re also chasing Sony’s cinematic corridor shooter trend—which makes total sense. The last God of War might as well have been an AI-generated game with how formulaic it felt, but Sony understands that presentation matters more than content. Microsoft, on the other hand, can’t even get that right.

[trez1082]

Most of what you said is on you to be honest. You need to play or try more games. You name God of war but did you try Returnal ? I’m pretty sure spider man 2 isn’t anything like god of war nor a “ corridor” type game. I mean I can literally name just Sony games that’s nothing like what you’re describing but what’s point.

Startfield wasn’t Microsoft chasing “ Sonys corridor shooter Trent “ and Indians jones is a fun game and both different type of games.
You can say you want more but to say they chasing Sony’s trend is wrong. All those companies try different games. Some work, some don’t.

[Vits]

Of course, it's on me—because I'm not part of the mass audience that buys these games in bulk. And that's the whole point: the market is full of people who want those kinds of experiences, so that's what studios create and publishers support. You are the perfect example of the state of things. Returnal? A very basic rogue-lite game, but with great presentation. Spider-Man 2? Barely anything new compared to the previous games with the character, but again, amazing presentation.

And the funniest part? This audience is so culturally bankrupt that they can't even understand what "corridor shooter" means in this context. They genuinely think it refers to a literal corridor game. Basically, the same type of useful idiot who will argue that every Marvel movie is different because one has a magical dude and another features a super soldier.

[8bitAssassin]

Play more games. This year was outstanding. Even with Sony's huge missteps. They still push the envelope and have so for 5 gens. Look at at all the port begging and graphics whores who only talk specs and wanting Sony's exclusives. It's all greed with a lack of appreciation.

[RhinoGamer88]

Phil Spencer intensifies! #failceo

[Elda]

Agreed. My first XB ever & it'll be my last.

[Tacoboto]

I'm disappointed the year is ending without the new controller from the FCC leaks. Indiana Jones is an amazing title and their best exclusive this year, but the exclusivity ends in a couple months, and not only will it feel better on PS5, PS5 Pro will surely have it look better too.

For early 2025 I'm hyped for Avowed, but I'll stick to PC for that if it's stuck at 30fps, and that'll likely end up being another case of a PS5 release a few months down the road. Only time will tell if Fable can stick its landing later in the year.

Regardless though, PS5 is where any gamer should be. They'll get Sony's exclusives, third party exclusives, and most of Xbox's titles much sooner than PC players will get Sony's.

[P_Bomb]

Game Pass is where it’s at for Xbox. I just finished SH2, gonna resub for a month and knock off some backlog. Indy’s a good start.

[Popsicle]

I bought the Series X at launch and it is the worst console purchase I have ever made. It’s especially worse now that I have a Pro because now I will just wait for Indy to be ported over for a better experience. For me there was no game that came out pre the PS5 Pro to justify my Series X purchase.

I won’t make the same mistake with future Microsoft consoles again unless there is a return to form dating back to the OG Xbox and 360, but I’m not holding my breath. Especially now that everything is an Xbox.

So disappointing from someone who used Xbox as their primary console when they first hit the scene. Loved the OG and 360.

[hard joe]

xbox only good when 360
been down hill ever since

[anast]

HA!

[Chocoburger]

I could have told you back in 2020 that the Series consoles would have been a dud generation.

[Destiny1080]

12 teraflops blinded them all, including phil

[Demetrius]

Microsoft got a powerful console but do nothing about releasing games at all, they'd rather cancel or show games that 3 years away

[Reaper22_]

I'm playing Indiana Jones on xbox. Concord got canceled after over 400 million invested.

[Chevalier]

Well at least Playstation had Spiderman make $4 billion in revenue while we're bringing in Playstation. Which Xbox 1st party game did the same? Oh right. NONE.

Playstation also won Goty with Astrobot. When's the last time Xbox did that? Oh right never

[DarXyde]

I don't really think either console has been anything spectacular over the whole generation.

Series S|X is the first Xbox I've skipped and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

On the other hand, PS5 has been "good" so far, but that's not what I expect from a PlayStation console either. There's still time for it to be great like every PlayStation before it, but if we're really comparing software, it's difficult to rate PS5 anything but last among PlayStations. Hardware is outstanding and we've had great games, but I don't feel like we've gotten that generation-defining title either. We're down to one new Naughty Dog game in a generation, which is disheartening. I really hope they figure out shortening dev cycles and getting those costs down without sacrificing their labour force.

[Reaper22_]

Clickbait article. There are lots of reasons to own a Xbox console. It has some terrific games and features. Microsoft isn't perfect but neither is sony and Nintendo. The only problem I see is that Clickbait article les like this are allowed to be posted to further divide gamers . The gaming industry needs xbox just as much as they need ps and nintendo. There's nothing wrong with variety and choices.

[ironmonkey]

Nope It doesn't simple as that. Lets hurt some more astrobot won game the year. *Game-of-the-year*. :)

[Travesty]

I’m surprised Phil is still running the show over at Microsoft but honestly I don’t think he is the problem as much as the company he works for or its board.

During the ActivisionBlizzard buyout they were trying to argue if they didn’t buy them out Tincent would try to and they didn’t want have a Chinese owned company buy an American company. Trying to make themselves patriotic in a way to woo over American government over the FTC’s argument in court. But in the end Microsoft and Tencent aren’t too different. They laid off 2550 employees majority of that was a direct impact from them buying out ActivisionBlizzard.

[Father__Merrin]

as a stringent PlayStation fan ps1 ps2 ps3 ps4 the series x has been my main console this gen