At this point, I feel like Xbox’s fight for Japan is almost as much about the perception of success or failure in Japan, rather than actual fiscal success of the endeavor. Japan’s influence in the console market is gradually shrinking (in terms of sales, at least).

So I think there are two particular aspects to this situation, and pre-orders in general.

So I think there are two particular aspects to this situation, and pre-orders in general.

Right, I don’t think people exactly realize the costs of getting into PC gaming. If you want power and features equivalent to a next gen console, prepare to pay at least 3x the cost. And if you aren’t prepared to build it yourself, you’ll need to do a lot of due diligence on buying from pc companies: there’s a lot of…

Honestly, both, for different things. It’s very weird, but I find there are certain types of games I struggle to get into playing at my desk, and certain types of games I can’t see myself enjoying on my couch.

I might be wrong, but I think Steam just doesn’t support cross-save capability in anyway, apart from games tied into an online ecosystem like DOTA2 or CS: Go, etc. I’ve never had a Steam game carry over between systems.

Quite a news item to drop on a Monday morning, especially the day before preorders start for the Series X|S. So far, they’ve said they will honor the exclusivity deals already in place with Sony, though I wonder if those deals were set up originally as true exclusives, or just timed releases. I tend to think the…

I think that depends on the contract Arkane signed with Sony. Not sure how new ownership could affect that, but then again I’ve always had a suspicion that Deathloop will end up as a timed exclusive. We shall see.

I think Demon Souls and Spider Man are definitely attractive, and are better than your average launch titles. But I mostly agree, I’m definitely not getting it at launch, whether it’s a holiday thing or a 2021 thing is still a bit up in the air.

I know backwards compatibility is one of those things where you either love it, or have no idea why it’s a thing. Personally, I’m the former. It’s great to be able to go back and play old games from a franchise that still runs today. You can pick up games you might have missed for low cost, watch a series evolve over…

I definitely get what Luke is saying, the automation of scalping definitely has negative impacts on the console preorders. Doubly so, since I doubt physical retail will be able to have the same kind of pre-launch, in-person presence in years past due to Covid.

Let us not forget, Xbox 360 had the biggest exclusive that generation: “Launching in 2005"

For launch, I think Sony has an advantage. In a vacuum, I doubt most of their launch exclusives would be all that steller: Demon Souls seems really impressive, though I thought the framerate looked a bit suspect at times. Miles also looks great, but if Sony felt like it couldn’t price it at $69.99... not sure how…

Sure, absolutely. Halo was rumored to be the same, started development on the One, got shifted over to next gen partway through. Cross-gen games are pretty normal and, honestly, totally fine more often than not, particularly in the first months of a new system.

On one hand, I do think that this generation will bring a significant upgrade in visuals and capability. The PS4 and Xbox One are really old tech, and on their last legs. I’m really curious to see what these games will look like on them compared to the next gen. From what I’ve seen so far though, I think it will be a…

I have to say, visually the Demon Souls game is super impressive, and looks like a great next gen showcase. Ironically, I think the game is helped by its age: although they’re totally revamping the engine and visuals, I imagine the level lay out is the same: lots of corners, lots of relatively small areas and arenas,…

So one interesting theory I’ve seen floated around a lot recently is that the digital version may be produced in significantly lower quantity than the digital version. In some ways, I think this makes sense: if they load the market with more disc versions early, they don’t eat as much of the cost up front, but can…

I think Xbox’s main advantage against Stadia is that this added on to game pass, and is therefore built on the assumption you already have an Xbox or PC.  It doesn’t seem to be based on the concept (yet) of replacing home consoles like Stadia is, but rather as an accessory to an existing ecosystem that broadens the…

Because even the Xbox Series S is better than around 98% of currently in use, for only a little more than what you would need to pay for the gpu of an equivalent gaming pc?

SSD is definitely the same for both units, which I think is one of the main reasons I am somewhat skeptical of a $399 price for the digital console.  It’s not impossible, but that’s quite a hit to take per console, if component prices I’ve seen are accurate.