Xbox X

Big news today that Microsoft has bought Bethesda makers of The Elder Scrolls series (Skyrim, oblivion, morrowind), fallout series and doom amongst others.

really interesting to see if they make the games they are currently on Xbox and pc exclusives. They have already said they will be in the game pass.

 

It would be a big hit for Sony if so, but it would also be a huge amount of money lost via sales that I'm not sure that they could justify - imagine timed exclusives would be the way to go.

 

People will buy Xboxes just to play TES and Fallout.

I suspect the top shelf IPs will be exclusives, and the others (e.g. Doom) would be more dispersed.

 

I'm considering not bothering with either console and just upgrading my PC's RTX 2060 Super to an RTX 3080.

 

Yep. Got my PC last autumn and love it for gaming.

Currently got a Ryzen 3700X in there with two 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD's, so with a RTX 3080 it'll likely blow away the new gen consoles.

 

Problem is that Bethesda aren't what they were development wise. Fallout 76 was an absolute disaster and with the new Elder Scrolls and Starfield likely to be on the same creaking engine, it's not as big a loss to Sony as it might have been 5 years ago. I could genuinely see Microsoft winding down the studio side.

Id Software is the big one I think for them. Arkane Studios have been a bit meh for years.

Overall it's not a huge surprise as there were lots of rumours that ZeniMax were struggling.

 

Nice. You tried VR on it? I've got a 3900X with a Red Dragon 5700 XT and it runs like a dream.

 

Nope, only VR stuff I've tried so far was using a friends PS VR a couple of years ago which I was impressed with other than the resolution closely resembling a TV from 1993.

Jealous of your 3900X!

 

I said similar to this myself before the launch of the XB1 "Why don't I build myself the mother of all steam boxes / linux powered media centres?". I used to think it was just laziness why I didn't - the fact that you're guaranteed at least five years of gaming optimised for a single system - 5 years of playing H:I... I'm kidding myself.

 

Someone's just released details of the Xbox memory expansion cards and the controller - no prices though:

https://www.theverge.com/21452750/microsoft-xbox-series-x-controller-1tb-expansion-cards-hands-on

 

Can use 3rd party storage BUT:

 

Cant seem to find anywhere to preorder one at the moment

 

I have played games ever since I had a zx81 (3D monster maze, side point but games used to be written in 16k , modern programmers could learn a thing or two from the early developers)

trouble I find nowadays is that games have so many cut scenes and pointless things in the way of you playing the actual game that it becomes infuriating. Also when ever I look for a new game on the PS4 they are so insanely expensive that 9 times out of 10 I don’t bother , at what point did it becomes reasonable for a game to cost upwards of £100 (full game with expansion pack and special edition godknows what etc etc etc).

I think this might be the first time I don’t rush out to by the new gen console

last game I really enjoyed playing was hollowknight which I found on PS4 Now

 

Grand Feft Auto

 

About twenty years ago I played Lemmings but that's all since I dabbled with Space Invaders in my early teens! I don't like 'shoot 'em up'-type games or football games and even if I wanted to game I know my skill-set would be at pre-Space Invaders level! If people are into gaming I've no problem with it at all, it's just not for me.

Collecting vinyl (the allegedly 'cool' version of trainspotting - it's not, really) reading a good book or going for a run this morning because it was windy & wet - now you're talking!

 

Well my One X has just died, none of the usual internet suggestions have worked and because it's out of warranty a repair would cost £236! May as well just hold off and put that money towards one of the new consoles, it just means I'll have to socialise or something for the next month.

 

happened to me a while back, i was out of warranty but microsoft covered me anyway and sent me a completely new console gratis. might be worth dropping their customer service a line @scummybear

 

I'll second this as my experience with their customer service is pretty good.

 

Cheers, I'd ruled it out due to the warranty but will definitely try my luck now. Maybe they'll be looking to shift old stock anyway!

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

 

How did you contact them? When I go through their CS area and enter details it just says 'Phone calls and chats aren't available for this issue.' and directs me to the generic troubleshooting pages, which I've already tried. Even if I'm economical with the truth of my issue I get guided to the same sections.

I may just try a DIY fix, as I suspect its a hard drive failure. All my games are on an external, so I assume I would only need a small replacement boot drive.

 

It was a year ago or so but I definitely did an online chat with a customer service representative through the Microsoft website. They then sent me barcodes and stuff by email to arrange for the parcel to be sent off. Was all very efficient. I’ll have a quick look and see if I can find it for you.

 

Hope you get better luck than I did with Sony
My PS3 died a couple of weeks out of warranty and the only option I had was to have a reconditioned unit with a 3 month guarantee for £30 cheaper than I could buy a new replacement.
I'd vowed never to buy Sony again after similar failures of their consumer electronics. They went through a phase of getting a bad reputation in the industry a few years ago due to their method of soldering components to circuit board not really ageing well.

I've since relented with a 4K Blueray player, which touch wood still works, but they were the only manufacturer at the time to produce one which retained SACD compatibility. Very much a hobsons choice.

It's Gran Turismo which has prompted my console buys. There was no real leap on PS4 so I'm still chugging away on PS3. 4K gaming is the dealmaker for me.

 

Beeb review:

"The Thing"? Original "Battlefront II"? "Baldur's gate"? Oooooooooooh I'm tempted...