They are spending money on games, but getting output from their new first party studios was going to take time. Halo was supposed to be their big crown jewel game for launch, but obviously that got delayed.
Microsoft actually have a laundry list of games I’m extremely interested to play - Avowed, Fable, the next-gen Forza Motorsport (that is apparently a major rework this time), Everwild, Stalker 2, The Initiative’s rumoured Perfect Dark game, inXile’s unannounced “triple-A” RPG, etc.
The question right now is just how far away those games are, because the July showcase made everything seem like it was at least 2022, even though there were no real dates. I agree that their launch lineup is now perilously thin though.
EDIT: And according to market valuation, they can actually afford to buy Sony about 15 times over, haha.
Microsoft definitely done goofed when it comes to launch exclusives, there’s no way to talk around that. I do believe they will compete this generation with their bundles. You can get an XSX and Game Pass for $35/month, and that’s an extremely attractive offer. Or with a XSS for $25/month.
Microsoft’s excellent backwards compatibility will also retain many Xbone customers who don’t want to lose their previous investment in games. Less Xbone players than PS4, but they’re out there.
I suspect Spencer is unhappy with 343 Industries right now, after they were forced to delay a game that has been in development for five years and was basically the linchpin of their launch slate.
Gamepass makes up for a lot of that though. A kid buying the financed version of an Xbox has access to 100 games; the kid buying a PS5 has access to 0 without further purchases (not counting the built in controller demo game).
The annoying thing is that I want an S, but have a hard time justifying it. Since I have a PS4 Pro already, I’m probably going to have to trade it in for a PS5. But the PS5 looks like a disaster toy alien. But I also would like to Flight Sim on the TV. But I already could do that with my PC… but I also don’t really game as much as I used to (except for Age of Empires 2 DE…). But I also have a huge PS4 backlog… but Gamepass is just an eternal backlog…
So apparently the 24-month membership from Xbox All Access gets automatically activated on the linked console as part of setup, and you can’t go past 36 months total on your account. So unless I’m missing something, that means it won’t work for anyone who has more than 12 months already pre-paid, which applies to a number of us here.
Could I order and get approved for an all access Xbox one S. And then in the morning upgrade that to the Xbox Series X. Just dont know if I will get approved for the All Access thing and would rather find out today then in the morning with all the chaos. Or, is it mostly automatic.
