The city street setting is actually one of its few redeeming qualities for me! But you're right, there's a huge amount of work to be done.
This is the part that, honestly, completely baffles me. It's really strange.
I agree, it's a terrible decision. But direct this anger at 505 Games (the publisher), and not Remedy. 505 made this call.
I do think you're right when you say it's pretty tough to make a call. COVID has thrown sales predictions way off kilter.
I reckon it will come down to the quality of experiences. Once mobile gamers get a taste of the kind of console quality indie and AAA games they'd have access to, the value for money proposition skyrockets. And with an ongoing Game Pass sub, parents would potentially be more likely to buy an Xbox for their kids, or themselves, if they've already had a go.
I agree. Any game will look dreadful if you pause it and zoom in close to a texture. There's no question that Infinite isn't winning any awards for pushing visual fidelity (The Last of Us: Part 2 takes that crown), but like you I'll generally take smoothness in motion and scale over fine detail. That's just my own personal preference. A lot of folks will prefer graphics to be bleeding edge, and that's OK too!
I don't think they've compromised on anything apart from the graphics? What else has been compromised?
I always find "How many of these articles are going to be written?" to be such a strange take. Do you mean "How many articles are going to be written where I disagree with the perspective of the writer?"
Surely exposing yourself to different opinions is what online discourse is for, right? If you only surround yourself with things you agree with, you exist in a vacuum, and are never challenged.
As for your point about "copying De...
@morganfell I literally ask the question: was this because of inconsistent directives from the higher ups? Phil Spencer is a high up. I'm not excusing his behaviour one bit. What a strange take. Also, "people such as yourself" is a completely out of left field remark. I'm a journalist stating my opinion. I'm not a fanboy, for any side. That should be clear from my actual article.
@rainslacker I agree, especially since most of those games in the showcase are probably dropping in 2022 at the earliest.
This is exactly the argument I present in the article. We're definitely on the same page!
Erm.. i'm pretty sure their PR is a separate entity from their development studios, technical support, related products etc... not sure what your point is here? Phil Spencer didn't personally make the misleading title card graphics, (haha). He'll make the calls, along with ol' Booty and senior leadership, and their PR teams will action it. So... yes, you can separate them because they literally do different things. And who knows who screwed up here? Inconsistent directives fro...
No worries bud!
Yeah I think that's a fair point. Having games be cross gen is a nice consumer friendly move, but being super vague about release windows and whether or not certain games are actually cross gen, or in fact much further away than we thought, is absolutely on them.
I'm saying the clarity of their messaging is not ENTIRELY terrible. Some of it (like Game Pass, for example) has been great. But with this cross gen stuff, it has been decidedly messy.
And I do think it's a messaging problem. Phil says one thing during interviews, their showcase said another. And then they've tried to muddle through on social media. If that's not to do with messaging, then... I don't know what is? Seems like a weird point to fixate on. ...
I hear you on this, but I also think their PR around the value of Game Pass has been basically perfect. So the "messaging needs clarity" line is more about their approach to cross gen titles, and the contradictory information that has been put out there.
I don't look at Microsoft as being disingenuous or backtracking in the same way someone like EA have in the past? I think their issue is with the inconsistency of their PR.
I wonder if all these exclusives just end up being timed, for that very reason? Say a 12 month exclusivity before inevitably being ported to other platforms...
Absolutely. The nature of their subscription model was a huge mistake, especially since they don't have the library to justify it. Compare Stadia's offering to Xbox Game Pass and it's laughable (even PS Now has it beat by far). They should have had a free to access version from the start.
A fair question! I think Google are giving it their best shot, and securing exclusive content that will draw people in is a very Sony play. Whether it's enough to turn the tide still remains to be seen...
I'm so chuffed. I thought it wasn't ever going to happen!