That would be great… Man I have so many ideas for it
It’s the same thing I’m thinking about since Zenimax: it’s ok to spend billions on publishers, but then their marketing budgets are smaller than Deep Silver games…there’s something not right here.
Concerning shows, they are more backwards than Nintendo, which is not a compliment and also hugely strange, they did shows when they had jack shit content (Inside Xbox in 2018-19), but now dead silence…
1 Like
Things to improve.
Localization.
Community building in other countries.
Game Pass should let you stream games you own.
Xbox should make their own controller for mobile games. See how good the back bone is for phones.
It should be easier to share clips and images online.
3 Likes
I’d say Xbox still needs improvements with getting games out of Japan and having Japanese developers make games for the xbox consoles.
When you see NISA localize games for Switch or PS4/5, but not Xbox that is a problem.
I’m not sure if this is on MS or more just studios not making these games for Xbox, but Xbox needs to not miss out on visual novels.
I’d also say MS needs to be against censorship and l understand why the execs at MS are doing it with Japanese games, but when Xbox has to miss out on games like Galgun because the game isn’t politically correct, you are cutting off potentially getting fans of those games.
I’d also say there needs to be a Game Pass family plan.
A big area that Xbox needs to improve is with advertising their products, a lot of times games come out and unfortunately people don’t know about them.
Then MS needs to really market why buying for example a Xbox Series S with Game Pass is better than the competition and what you get with that system.
I’d also say Xbox needs more party games. More stuff like Jackbox games would be great.
I know it isn’t for this generation, but for the Xbox that comes next add some features like motion controls, built in mic, a touch screen and haptic triggers. I know those are on the other console and even though they aren’t something l need, it just isn’t a good look to miss out on something your competition has.
Also it was on the Xbox One controller, but make the twist up D-pad a standard part of the controller too.
Another thing that isn’t 100% the fault of MS, but license holders and that being if you buy a downloadable game it won’t be taken off of your account. I understand not being able to buy that game, but if you purchased it, it should always be in your download history.
4 Likes
Thank you for bringing this up. I wanted to, but I fear I sound like a broken record by now.
Fans of very niche Japanese games like this don’t take censorship kindly. Read any article on Gematsu regarding Sony and the comments are filled with vitriol towards Sony with censorship being the leading factor (some of it is very cringey, but these ARE the people buying this niche stuff).
In fact, Idea Factory has straight up said “We will not localize a game if we have to censor it.” And this is what the fans want too. They once localized a game called Monster Monpiece, and censored it. The backlash was very big and the sales were lower than their other localized games… So they instated the policy “We will not localize a game if it has to be censored.” So this means Xbox will most likely never get an Idea Factory game again (360 had them), because of this policy. Keep in mind 360 allowed this from Idea Factory:
And as mediocre a game as Gal Gun is (I was still going to buy it lol, and I DID buy it on Switch), there are pretty good games out there that so happen to lean into that “ecchi” territory too. A LOT of DRPGs on Switch do it (I love Mary Skelter, but Sony blocked the Western release of Mary Skelter 2… So the game was just a Switch exclusive in the West), the Senran Kagura series were fun “Warriors” type games (The series creator left Marvelous and cited Sony’s policies as a reason behind it, he felt he could no longer make his games with that in place. He could have just moved the series to Switch, but that’s another story), Visual Novels? Most of them have these kinds of elements. In fact I’m waiting to see what happens with Danganronpa 2 on Xbox. There’s 2 extremely fanservice scenes in the first chapter alone that are far above DR1’s tame fanservice levels.
360 had no problem with this stuff. Gal Gun was a 360 exclusive… Dream C Club was an exclusive… DOA Xtreme 2 was an exclusive… The above game Record of Agarest War had a bunch of exclusive content…
When NINTENDO are the ones saying “We’ll leave content regulations to the ratings boards and parental controls”, but Sony/MS are the ones who think additional regulations are needed, IMO clearly something is wrong here
https://twitter.com/CensoredGaming_/status/1144440969426886658?s=20
But then here is some of the stuff Microsoft has rejected from Xbox recently (along with a rather ridiculous request. Cut 50% of the game from a Visual Novel? Are they asking them to rewrite it?)
And you know, all of those games are on Switch. I do not see the Switch getting in PR trouble for hosting this stuff.
Meanwhile, more confusingly, the Microsoft/Xbox store is hosting the UNCUT version of the Senran Kagura anime, with uncensored nipples in it. The games do not have this, no Japanese game does due to CERO, so these rejections for far more tame content continue to confuse me. I do not like how video games seem to be under a harsher censorship microscope than other mediums.
5 Likes
Xbox needs to improve their quality control. Stop releasing unfinished and buggy games. If a game is buggy and the graphics are not up to par then delay it. Also stop hyping up how powerful your system is going to be and then the 3rd party games play better on the other system.
2 Likes
I feel like that is happening when you look a the games that came out last year like horizion and I also think if they did not have all these companies they would of rushed grounded 1.0 but I feel like its gonna be a solid product
Halo may have scored well but it was rushed and unfinished. That’s bad management in my opinion. Don’t forget they were going to release the game when the system came out in 2020 in worse condition than what it was release in. Not trying to hate on Xbox but quality control, bad management, and rushing games are the areas they need to improve the most in my opinion.
4 Likes
Tbf, majority of the 3rd party games have been better on the Xbox. Don’t let the Xbox version of Elden Ring cloud your judgment - FromSoftware titles on Xbox seem to be badly optimized generally.
Framerate wise I think a lot have been better on the PS5, but I may be wrong on that.
I absolutely agree with you and I’ll be honest a Lot of these types of games are just not for me, but MS shouldn’t stop them from coming out.
There is people that want these games, so l see no reason why they can’t come out.
If people don’t want them, then don’t buy them, but censorship isn’t the way to go about if you want to be, building up your audience.
1 Like
Initially, it was during the launch period. But now, the general trend is in favour of the Xbox.
1 Like
So, I’ve been meaning to write this for quite a while. May as well give it a go, now that I am having some difficulty sleeping. Do I think Xbox right now is the best platform holder? Absolutely. Do I think there are areas for improvement? Of course. I’ve opted to divide this up into 5 categories (the 3 publishers, Xbox platform and all-encompassing). We’ll go in alphabetical order I suppose. It is largely nitpicky as hell. I will also be quick to note when I feel change is coming already and this is more just the reality now.
Activision-Blizzard-King
- Where do I begin? Oh wait, easy. Fuck Kotick. Fire him.
- With that out of the way, clean up the culture big time.
- Make CoD semi-annual (supposedly in the works)
- Revive older IP (supposedly in the works)
- Restore Activision’s image as a trailblazing publisher, not the CoD mill of now or the license mill of yesteryear.
- Revive Radical
- Make King games less scummy
- Bring Blizzard games to console and cloud.
- Maintain Activision Publishing to get third parties to work on ABK IP.
- Significant clarity on exclusivity is needed (we know, in fairness, their hands are tied here)
- Restore Blizzcon to a great, non-toxic event.
Bethesda
- More polish upon release of games.
- Clarity on Roundhouse and ZOS.
- Up the release cadence on BGS IP by exploring other avenues, 15 years between release is nuts (supposedly in the work with FNV 2).
- More airtight PR (i.e. less it just works/16 times the detail moments) (Already on the right track with Into the Starfield.)
- Determine what to do with the Zenimax name. It makes less sense as part of a collective. Maybe rebrand Zenimax to Bethesda and ZOS becomes Zenimax Game Studios.
- The line between over and underexposure needs to be better walked. Deathloop was overexposed. Ghostwire went MIA for months on end. Redfall too.
- Restore creative freedom to studios (very likely to happen).
Xbox Game Studios
- Mojang should optimize and support Xbox hardware more.
- More emphasis on brands outside of the holy trinity is important (we’ll get a better feel for that starting next year)
- 343i and Turn10 should be allowed options outside of their games (seems to be the case going forward)
- Make sure teams do not stretch themselves thin (arguably a bigger worry with NT and Obsidian. They are doing a lot. Make sure they get the resources and time to do so).
- There is a treasure trove of old IP that deserves to be rebooted.
- Ensure polish upon release (on the right track in a big way).
- More graphical showcase titles would be appreciated (Hellblade, Fable and Coalition should be able to put this to rest).
- Stop announcing XGS games too early. (Should be less of an issue now with ABK and Bethesda)
Xbox Platform
- More generalized support for Quick Resume.
- Loosen the content moderation rules. Some of them, including warnings for taking pictures in-game that have sensitive material, are way too harsh. If it’s good enough to sell on your store, it’s good enough to share in your ecosystem.
- XCloud should have more regions.
- PC app needs a big overhaul or to be merged into Battle.net
Xbox General
- More events throughout the year are needed (likely)
- More consistency in release cadence (hopefully the case starting next year)
- Be wary of no-mans-land events, it may not always be to your liking (Game Awards, Gamescom)
- More iconic characters are needed from all studios. Xbox and many of their studios, in general, have valued realism often which is great but means only the truly top-shelf designs and characters break through. More stylized characters are needed to become iconic going forward (This is likely with Everwild, Midnight and Double Fine looking to bring the goods in particular here).
- More support from Japan, China and South Korea.
- Be careful the games you attach your name too if you are not involved. CrossfireX, Battlefield 2042, Fallout 76, Cyberpunk 2077, GTA The Trilogy, Anthem. All controversial (or even bad) games, only one of them recovered so far. All pushed in a big way by Xbox.
- Don’t rest on your laurels. Competition are making big moves. Always sleep with one eye open (likely happening. Phil is very adaptive and well-planning. Just needed to put this here for the
s of the world,)
6 Likes
Some other things I’ve thought about, are I really want to see the Xbox execs being less hands on with what should work or not.
I’ve definitely seen improvement in this area and clearly that is why several companies sold their studio to Microsoft, but I still see room for improvement with third party studios.
I want to see future Xbox games being more locked down until release, no more leaks. I hate bringing up Nintendo, but they are great at this and you don’t know about a game until it is ready to be shown, no insiders knew about it before hand.
I love surprises, so l want to see that.
With MS and Xbox now having a great amount of first party studios, there is no reason to show CGI trailers ever again. Before when there was less first party studios, they needed to be shown, so you’d get excited for what can come to Xbox, but now there only needs to be gameplay trailers.
I don’t know if it is a licensing sku issue or royalty issue with how much MS takes for selling a game on Xbox , but I’ve seen many times where a game only comes out on Switch and PC and the game would have been perfect for Xbox too, so l want to see Xbox not missing out on games.
If that means lowering the price to bring games to Xbox, it might be something to look into. Yes it might lead to shovelwear coming to Xbox consoles, but you just don’t need to buy those games.
It might be too much of a problem, but I’d so like to see no region locks on Xbox consoles. In the past you couldn’t play a game from Japan on a console from North America, but now you can, so I’d like to be able to watch Blu-ray disks from anywhere in the world.
I also want to see MS do away with the minimum order for disk games.
I’ve seen many times where an indie developer did not bring their game out on disk for Xbox, yet the game is able to be downloaded on the Xbox and the other systems you can buy the disk, if you want the disk instead.
So that needs to be done away with, because there is a lot of collectors that want a physical game, over a voucher code.
Getting better with localization for games coming to North America. Then adding more languages for Xbox games too.
More options for people with a disability, an example being having games have closed captions. This isn’t just for speaking parts with subtitles, but when in the game as an example a grenade was to go off some symbol pops up on the screen. Another thing is letting you have complete customisation of your controller.
Now onto the more fun stuff Xbox can greatly improve in Japan, with getting more JRPGs on the Xbox.
Other areas for improvement is going after parts of the world like Brazil and India, both with releasing the Xbox there, plus having games built there.
Also more third person/cinematic games too.
Another area is with patches, I remember reading that each patch the developers bring out they have to pay to bring it out and that is why you see big patches, not small ones. It is possible that isn’t the case anymore, but if it still is this way, it needs to change.
Also making it easier for mod support on Xbox consoles. I remember reading how the developers from Ark: Survival Evolved said they’d have to pay for recertification for each mod patch.
So hopefully that will change or maybe it has already changed and Studio Wildcard hasn’t gotten around to it yet.
With Starfield coming out soon, it would be great if mods worked on the Xbox, like it will with the PC. So hopefully mod support will be better in the future on Xbox.
Xbox really needs to figure out some of the backend issues they’ve been having.
For example, both @Shpeshal_Nick and myself have lost several games from our “All Owned Games” list. It looks like I can still search for the missing games and install them that way (I’ve checked with COD Modern Warfare 2 360 and Sunset Overdrive).
This is not the first time this has happened, but if Microsoft is super serious about being a heavily digital platform, these are the kind of things they need to fix and (at the very least) be very proactive about telling the community that they’re at least looking into it.
I get it’s the weekend so I’m going to cut them a little slack, but Nick tweeted this issues hours ago. You’re telling me no one at Xbox saw that?
It’s just mildly frustrating, because I know they’ll fix it, but it shouldn’t be a problem in the first place.
2 Likes
Where do I sign? Excellent points.
I would add the abysmal marketing and localization outside of the anglosphere to that list though. Make the Xbox brand global.
I got this reply from Em without even tagging anyone literally just now lol
https://twitter.com/neonepiphany/status/1498055365283356672?s=20&t=P5c2F--k2g6mxeeIyg4mcQ
2 Likes
Nice, thanks for the update! Might remove my profile and redownload later to see if that fixes things.
For me, what they need to work on most is communication and advertising. Im constantly having to explain to people, Playstation and PC gamers, what Gamepass is! Half of them have never heard of it, and the others think it is Xbox Live and just accepted a different name.
Xbox have a tremendous ecosystem, powerful console(s), and a tonne of games on the way, but what’s the point if you don’t tell anyone.
Chances are they’re so used to default success with Windows, which requires zero advertising, that they just don’t give it enough consideration.