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Games Inbox: Explaining Xbox’s multiformat plans, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth hype, and Demon’s Souls at 15-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro
The Friday letters page has another good reason why the Switch 2 reveal is likely in March, as one reader is impressed by F1 23 on Game Pass PC.
Starfield – probably amongst the first or second wave of multiformat games (Picture: Microsoft)
The Friday letters page has another good reason why the Switch 2 reveal is likely in March, as one reader is impressed by F1 23 on Game Pass PC.
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Three good reasons
I’m not surprised there’s such hysteria around Xbox’s rumoured plans, given how they’ve basically said nothing the whole time and allowed people’s imaginations to run riot. I feel at this point that literally anything could be true and while common sense suggests that they’ll only announce a few minor multiformat games at first, if someone high up at Microsoft has decided that the gig is up then it could be much more than that.
As far as I can see, the reason Xbox is going multiplatform is three-fold. Firstly, the Xbox console is not selling. Which means they’re not making money from it (either directly or via licensing fees from third party games bought for it). Second, Game Pass is not doing as well as expected, so it’s costing them tons of money for little reward.
And thirdly, they’ve spent over $70 billion on buying developers and so far it’s done nothing to boost interesting in either the console or Game Pass, in fact both are going down. If that’s not cause for a rethink I don’t know what is.
Phil Spencer and co. could make the argument that Call Of Duty on Game Pass will make all the difference but I’ve got a feeling people at Microsoft have heard that one time to many by this point and have just had enough. They’re not pulling the plug, but they are determined to make money the simple and obvious way. I wait, with great interest, to see how Microsoft will spin all this next week.
Benson
Monkey paw
I’ve owned every Xbox since the original and all the recent news has me reeling. Personally, I love my Xbox Series X and enjoyed many games on it. I do think some of the exclusives this gen have been underwhelming, but to buy Activision Blizzard and suggest they go multiformat more broadly is, to me, silly.
I do understand the commercial arguments: a bigger potential audience to sell games to and claw more money back.
But to do that whilst Sony is not doing the same back, means there will be absolutely no reason to own an Xbox.
I do think exclusives are important to encourage creativity and ensure that a monopoly doesn’t happen – which will happen if Xbox does really start selling all the exclusives on PlayStation.
I do also feel a bit betrayed in that I have been loyal to the Xbox brand, and it seems like maybe I should have just got a PlayStation after all.
I will just say this though: for everyone almost willing Microsoft and Xbox to fail, be careful what you wish for because competition in markets is good for everyone in the industry.
Tom
PS: Still playing the amazing Baldur’s Gate 3 – nearly 90 hours in and still in the middle of Act 2. What a game!
Timed exclusivity
Microsoft have got themselves into one hell of a pickle, I can’t believe that the largest company in the world has let the message get so out of control over the last couple of weeks. I can entirely believe that the initial rumours from weeks ago, that Hi-Fi Rush and a couple of other smaller or games as service exclusives are the ones coming over to other formats, in a move not too dissimilar to when Ori went to Switch, and that is all there is to it. Gamers love to get carried away and play themselves when to comes to rumours. Let’s just wait and see, eh?
As for what Microsoft should actually do, they made their original mistake by taking Bethesda exclusive to Xbox with that purchase. The digital lock in from last generation meant they were never gonna catch PlayStation as far as the old school console war goes, that ship sailed in 2014. Owning Bethesda but keeping them at arm’s length would have meant they could have had their games on Game Pass and Xbox at launch but still put them out on PlayStation 5 some months later, published under the Bethesda name.
The same strategy would have worked for Activision when they picked them up. They could have also kept the original core Xbox Game Studio franchises, like Halo and Forza, exclusive and nobody would’ve questioned it. If I was a betting man, I think something like this will be announced next week: ‘Day One for Game Pass subscribers, £70 on PlayStation 5 in 12 months’.
As for the Switch 2, isn’t there a slightly boring reading of the rumoured reveal date? Nintendo will need to declare their expected earning projections for the 2024/25 financial year at the end of March/early April. If the Switch 2 is expected to land in that period up to March 2025 they’ll have to explain a jump in expected profits, marketing expenses, etc. in Q3 and Q4. So they’ll have no choice but to say something publicly before that board meeting…. even if there’s no details and just admitting it exists and it’s launching for Christmas.
Marc
GC: That’s a very good point.
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Enthusiasm reborn
I played the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo this morning and I don’t believe I’ve ever been this hyped for a game. The original Final Fantasy 7 isn’t even my favourite PS1 era Final Fantasy (let alone my favourite ever) but I’ve always thought the story as a whole, as told via the Compilation was brilliant.
Remake was a great game and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but from what I’ve seen (though I’ve tried to avoid much in the way of spoilers) and played in that demo, Rebirth – well it’s in a different league and has entirely reignited my passion for gaming; I’m eagerly awaiting release day. Special shout out to music as well, the score is simply astounding.
Sill82
Detective Alan
Just finished Alan Wake 2. As a game I think it leaves a little to be desired, especially compared to the Resident Evil 4 remake, but you can’t deny it’s an experience.
I know Remedy said True Detective was an influence, and it’s very clear in the playing, but HBO should be eating this story up for another season of True Detective, it would be so good! The current season has a cool setting and mood but it’s painfully slow and the plot is dull, this Wake arc would certainly liven it up. Make it happen Sam Lake.
Ron
PS: Really enjoyed the Grounded 2 documentary, whatever your thoughts on The Last Of Us Part 2 it’s fascinating to see Naughty Dog at work.
Dream love
I booked a few days off work and decided to dig out my Dreamcast (I’m amazed my new TV has an analogue connection) and my main reason for getting it out is to go through Skies Of Arcadia again, as I have the time to go through it without interruption.
Skies Of Arcade is obviously an absolute classic but I’ve been putting on a few of the other games I still have. Dynamite Cop is so bad but it’s so enjoyable, MDK 2 is Dark Souls for the Dreamcast, Toy Commander is great. I won’t do a boring list of the lot, but Metropolis Street Racer will always have a special place for me – one of the best soundtracks and just great going round parts of London.
Love my Dreamcast.
The one regret I have about the console is they never released Star Wars Arcade for it. Hands down the best Star Wars game ever made and I remember family holidays to the seaside, and I’d be on that in the arcades. Could never beat Darth Vader in the duel!
Simon
The good old days
Why do we gamers feel we need to get information from our console maker or publisher?
I used to only hear about things about a month before they came out or when I read a review.
I honestly don’t care about announcements, I don’t monitor it, what’s the point?
Maybe it’s just the internet but I like my expectations being the way they are. It doesn’t consume any time and I play what I enjoy.
I think we have lost a sense of fun and some of it, for some it might be lost to an unhealthy level of speculation.
Brethren09
Modest beauty
With F1 23 recently arriving on Game Pass PC, and with my love of racing sims, I thought I would give it a go, having not played an F1 game for a good few years.
Now, my PC is getting on a bit… For those who are interested in that kind of thing it’s an i5-7600k paired with a 6GB RTX2060 and 16GB of RAM. Like an idiot I try and get this fairly modest set-up to power a Samsung CRG9 49″ super ultrawide monitor – if I use its full 32:9 resolution that’s 5120×1440 pixels – 7,372,800 pixels, only a million pixels off 4K. Generally now, newer games I have to switch to 16:9 mode, a far more reasonable 3,686,400 pixels.
What I’m saying is I was expecting to have to do some serious tweaking to get this game running at a reasonable frame rate (I will always play racing games 32:9, no matter what other compromises I have to make) and wasn’t sure how much of a looker it would be compared to Automobilista 2 or Assetto Corsa Competizione. Anyway, I thought I’d try high settings (not ultra) and run the benchmark. Best give it a challenge I thought, so Monaco with all its buildings to render, in the rain to really stress test everything and…
Wow! This game looks incredible! The cars, the lighting, the tarmac, the freakin’ marbles on the track! The buildings, the rain, the spray. This is without a doubt one of the best-looking games I have ever seen.
Even better – the game was running at 60 fps in the wet and 70fps in the dry.
Just… how? How have Codies managed it? It’s not only the best-looking racing game I have ever seen but one of the best-looking games… that is some seriously great optimisation work! Well done Codies!
Anyway, have fun gaming y’all!
The Dude Abides
More Trending
Inside job
Interior: Sony Towers
Sony Boss: ‘Show the next candidate in’
Interviewee: ‘Hello’
Sony Boss: ‘You want to be the next head of PlayStation? What can you bring to the brand?’
Interviewee: ‘How about all Xbox exclusives?’
Sony Boss: ‘Phil, welcome to Sony’
ThePowerFeeling (PSN ID)
Soulful memories
Demon’s Souls was released 15 years ago in Japan on the 5th of February. I remember reading/watching the reviews in Edge magazine, GamesTM (remember them?), GameTrailers (now Easy Allies), and GC when they were in their Teletext days, which were my go-to video game publications, and GameTM would go on to award it one of maybe three or four 10s they’ve ever given out, which lit my fire of curiosity, my interest in this fascinating looking Japanese dark fantasy action adventure instantly piqued.
However, it wouldn’t be until 2011 with Dark Souls that I got to experience FromSoftware’s truly seminal formula for myself, due to Demon’s Souls protracted localised release in the West, after Sony’s apathy in porting it outside of Japan was rectified by Namco Bandai assuming publishing duties for the rest of the world. That and I only owned an Xbox 360 for much of that respective generation.
I never got around to playing Demon Souls on the PS3 but experiencing the remake in 2021 gave me a great deal of insight on just how remedial and transformative it must’ve felt to experience in its day.
Dark Soul’s elegantly, adventurously interconnected level design, lack of any maps, quest-marking arrows and hand-holding conventions, and relative obtuseness in the storytelling, lore, and game play systems, not to mention the notoriously high difficulty, were the shot in the arm gaming needed back then.
It was a period in the more mainstream aspect of the medium where a lot of developers were afraid of challenging gamers and insulting their collective intelligence with overtly shepherding design. A time in which even saw the mighty Nintendo stumble a bit with the excessive mollycoddling of Zelda: Skyward Sword’s game design outside the dungeons, and their 2D Mario series reduced to its most predictable and unspectacular form.
Dark Souls felt like a perfectly tuned marriage of retro sensibilities with modern gameplay mechanics, almost like how I felt a contemporary 3D Ghosts ‘N Goblins or Castlevania would feel, minus the obvious focus on platforming.
Prior to the Souls games my only experience with FromSoftware’s games were the okay-ish role-player Enchanted Arms on the Xbox 360 and the very good Japanese mythology-infused action games Otogi 1 and 2 on the original Xbox. Dark Souls took my appreciation for this developer’s latent talents to a whole new level, and ever since FromSoftware have been as dear to me as PlatinumGames, Capcom, Square Enix, Hideo Kojima’s body of work, and, of course, Nintendo.
I’m still currently pressing on with the end game in Armored Core 6 and it’s just astonishing really that I’d never played an Armored Core game before, considering my late father bought me and brother a Japanese PlayStation back in January 1995. Or any of FromSoftware’s earliest games, like the King’s Field series, Echo Nights, and Evergrace, etc.
One could say the advent of the Soulsborne revolution signified a sort of rebirth of the previously modestly-sized developer. Now amidst its contemporaries FromSoftware’s design philosophy is a cornerstone of artistic integrity and intelligently designed, unadulterated gaming bliss in the industry.
So 15 years later Demon Soul’s influence remains unabated, with the most successful student of their masterclass in game design to date, being Round 8 Studio’s excellent Lies Of P, from the Soulslikes that I’ve played. Long may FromSoftware’s incandescent fire remain kindled. Stop faffing about remastering/remaking inferior games and give us a spruced up Bloodborne already Sony. That Lovecraftian masterpiece’s 10 year anniversary is in 2025, so Inbox magic…
Galvanised Gamer
Inbox also-rans
Disney+ losing millions, Netflix losing millions, Amazon Prime… well, you know. Why on earth would any console maker want to go this way in the future?
Bobwallett
So, when Starfield gets bad reviews on PS5 as well can we all admit that it’s just not a very good game?
Stamford
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Gadfly, who asks what is your favourite superhero video game and what new ones would you like to see?
Despite what you might imagine, superhero games are relatively rare and even the Marvel name is no guarantee of success. But if budget was no issue, what kind of superhero game would you like to see and who would you like to make it?
You can also include other non-superhero comic books but try and explain how you think the gameplay would work and what would make it different from a regular video game.
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Games Inbox: Xbox leaving the gaming industry, Suicide Squad madness, and Nintendo Switch 2 reveal
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