Compared to the quality of what Sony puts out. None of those titles you listed are exciting enough to buy a console.
It's a nice added plus for gamepass to have those on top of halo, doom ect. But not even close to same caliber.
TBH I would be excited for Flight Sim and buy a Series X for that alone, but it's called Flight Sim for a reason; unless there's a lot more "gamey" kind of content being added (like I dunno, a professional flight career racing mode like in a GT or Forza but with planes), it will be niche in spite of the great visuals since by nature pure simulators tend to be more niche.
I actually hope they show more of Bright Memory Infinite. I just finished Bright Memory on the Series X and thought it was pretty cool and it gave me Maken X and Breakdown vibes, which I also enjoyed. As an FPS fan, I enjoy the different take that Asian and Japanese developers bring to the genre.
Same here WRT BMI having gameplay shown. I know it's a bit of a meme that they're using Unreal assets, but isn't that kind of why Epic are putting those out in the first place, to expediate game development and asset creation/curation time especially for small teams that don't have an influx of cash, but can still put out visually impressive games? I don't see a reason necessarily to mock that as long as the final product looks great and no copyrights are being blatantly violated.
Since the game is due this year (or early 2022 at latest) then there's no reason to not have a small gameplay segment at the show captured on Series X. Even 1 minute of raw gameplay in real-time would be great and be a good showcase for the system.
Yeah, MS and Spencer gotta stop saying "wait til next E3". Agreed.
But we been saying this for the past decade and XBox still here and having good shows.
I wouldn't say their shows have been "good"; I tend to separate the content of the show from the production of the show itself so even when I can say, for example, the May 2020 show had a lot of
great games shown off (BMI, Exo Mecha, The Gunk, The Ascent, Scorn etc.), the production of that event was saggy ass, especially with the bad video cam quality and "gameplay" being thrown around like a buzzword when very few of the games shown had any actual gameplay shown (and if so it was in very small snippets blending in with the stylized parts of the trailer, the only big exception to this was Bright Memory Infinite).
Similarly with the indies event from March; again a
lot of great games getting shown off (several of which I became interested in playing thanks to it like the one postal lady one), but the format was TERRIBLE. Way too many drawn-out interview segments which should've been saved for a post-show, among other things.
"No more waiting".......so basically crunch then? Is that the message to devs currently working on games?
Lol no; I'm not saying to rush ahead on Perfect Dark, Fable, Avowed etc. But games already scheduled to come out this year like Bright Memory Infinite, The Gunk, FS 2020 etc.? It's not asking much to have gameplay of those running on Series X at this E3, at the very least. I also don't think it's unrealistic to expect some major Japanese AAA 3P exclusive announcement or partnership, unless Phil's words about breaking into the Asian market were mainly only related to GamePass subscription penetration (which, uh, you still need some major stuff going on with Japanese & other Asian devs to make happen).
Mark my words when I say this but I would honestly keep expectations on the lower end here - simply because COVID has really messed things up. I would argue that E3 2022 is really where its going to be at. I hate saying this, but I will be 100% transparent with you, I think most people will walk away disappointed with Microsoft's showing this year. I know we all have been waiting, but I might have to ask you to wait 1 more year.
Disclaimer - Despite me working in the Industry and heavily working with Microsoft in the past for many years, this is a PERSONAL prediction and only based on educational and logical guesses. I do NOT actually know anything inside-wise. So, please do not claim that I've said this and that.
You will most likely see
Halo Infinite SP/MP - Much More Improved with November Release Date
Forza Horizon 5 With September Release Date set in Mexico
Starfield Blowout
Forza Motorsport 8 for 2022
State of Decay 3 is a possibility
Perfect Dark - Possible gameplay snippet and a 2022 Holiday game
Everwild Update
1 New IP
More Game Pass stuff/surprises
Elden Ring (From Software mostly shows their stuff at Microsoft pressers, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, Sekiro and Elden Ring all were world premiers at Microsoft E3 stages)
You will most likely NOT see
Gears 6 - Too early and a 2024/2025 game (E3 2023 most likely)
Fable - Too early and a 2023/2024 game (E3 2022, 100% shown)
Hellblade 2 - Too early and a 2023/2024 game (E3 2022, 100% shown)
Awoved - Too early and another 2023/2024 game (E3 2022, 100% shown)
Multiple New IPs (E3 2022/E3 2023)
DOOM 3 - Too early (E3 2022 possible)
Your expectations are actually more ambitious than mine xD. From the way some of the insiders have been chattering it makes any expectations on PD, Everwild, Elden Ring etc. very low but I hope they're either trolling or just have a bad source on that. I also think they'll prob save Forza 8 for 2022 if the rumors Forza Horizon 5 coming this year or early 2022 are true.
The expectations on the other stuff WRT not to see are realistic as I agree with that. So if this type of showing were to happen, the question really is would it be enough to hook in the attention of gamers not already in the Xbox ecosystem, and ensure enough momentum for the brand going forward to at least try keeping pace with Sony and Nintendo? There's been some other people here downplaying the significance of E3 but I don't think they understand how mainstream the perception of E3 is to the wider mainstream market. To them it's THE gaming show, and the ESA have so much riding on this year's event, probably even more than Microsoft tbh.
So for the sake of ensuring E3 can remain relevant, I'm sure the ESA are counting on platform holders like Nintendo and particularly Microsoft to put on a great show. And like just mentioned, the brand itself needs sustained momentum going into the 2nd half of the year and into 2022, the sooner they can build up that momentum the better and what better place to really push that ball rolling than E3?
I think when most people say they'd be disappointed with Microsoft's presentation, it's if they focus too aggressively on GamePass via indie content or just put out yet more CG trailers but no gameplay to go alongside that, or gameplay that at least in a game or two's cases doesn't provide visual fidelity and polish similar to what we've seen from Sony's efforts on PS5 (particularly Demon's Souls Remake, Horizon Forbidden West and Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart). That doesn't mean they have to be the same kind of games DESIGN-wise, but in terms of visual fidelity that shouldn't be a lot to ask for at this point.
Yes, I know you've been hearing wait one more year for a long time. This was supposed to be the year, but COVID happened, so things naturally got delayed and you have to accept that fact that Microsoft won't show all the goods they originally anticipated. This is not me trying to defend anyone, and you have the right to be upset about it if you wish, but the bottom line is that a change happened in the world and sadly its out of everyone's control no matter how much money you'd throw at people to get the job done. It threw everyone out of a loop. You cannot deny this fact plain and simple. Microsoft is not the only one affected by this, but so is Nintendo and Sony, but they do not need to prove as much for obvious reason and they coming off a good momentum. Maybe MS can show a bunch of CGI trailers, but let's be real, people will cry anyway about that too.
Yes, I think Playground Games can def hit it out of the park. Obsidian I am not sure, I enjoyed Outer Worlds but it was not as good as I was hoping it would be.
I am mostly interested in seeing what Bethesda, Coalition, Playground Games and The Initiative will pull off.
Yes all three are affected but that doesn't mean all three are handling it the same way. In spite of what some may insist, Sony seem to be handling state of affairs even with COVID much more smoothly than Microsoft when it comes to 1P content on their new console platform. I mean just look at the turnover studios like Insomniac have been able to do in only three years. Then you look at the full breadth of games that are 1P or timed console exclusive for PS5 so far: Demon's Souls Remake, Miles Morales, Astro's Playroom, Godfall, Destruction All-Stars, Sackboy, MLB The Show, Returnal and Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart coming next month.
That's
nine PlayStation ecosystem exclusives since November of 2020, being a mix of 1P and 3P, cross-gen and PS5-exclusive. All of that even with COVID factored in, and even with that factor, apparently Horizon Forbidden West will be ready to release this year as well. It all comes down to management amid setbacks and I think PlayStation division planned better with contingencies for the impact of COVID than Xbox division did, the results are speaking for themselves right now. We can say the Xbox division prioritized other things, namely system features and whatnot, but then we have to ask if that was the right thing for them to prioritize this early into the new generation when the majority of early adopters are looking forward to new games and experiences tied to them that can't be offered by alternatives (or not as well).
Here's my problem with that. Halo Infinite was already in development for almost 5 years when covid hit back in march of last year and was scheduled to be a launch title. That means they should have been in close to polishing/fix bugs phase of development. Covid is being used as an excuse for bad time/development management.
343 is 700-750 devs strong in size, there a huge studio. Studios 1/3 in size are bring out game during the covid pandemic.
For crying out loud their competitors over at Guerilla Games develop Horizon 2 while growing from 200+ to about 450 devs while at the same time moving to a larger studio, while at the same time continue development during the pandemic and most likely launch this Holiday.
Horizon 2: Cross gen open world game. 450~ devs and 4 3/4 year development.
Halo Infinite: Cross gen semi open world game. 700-750 devs and 6 year development.
The multi-change in leader over the years at 343 shows that Covid was not the primary problem. It Smells like bad Leadership.
Its still amazing to me that we still to this day haven't seen any Halo Infinite footage or screenshots on Xbox Series X, Just PC!!! On a title that should have launched last year.
Not even a screenshot.
Yeah, this is a reason why I'm still mum on Matt Booty, as he acts as the head of the Xbox Game Studios (XGS), while Phil Spencer acts as the head of the Xbox Division. So in a way I'm mum on them both xD. It's on Booty to help guide the teams comprising XGS and ensure quality is being met, and it's on Spencer to make sure Booty is doing his job properly, among other things.
One of the few upper Xbox division management types there I think is doing a good job is Sarah Bond, though. They negotiate publishing deals with external teams to work with Xbox and help with getting content into GamePass, can't say they haven't been doing their job pretty well. I'm sure there are a few others, too, but outside of Greenberg those are the three I first think of and in terms of ensuring internal XGS teams are meeting certain expectations in quality & timeliness, and strategizing out content releases to not leave gaps in publishing of certain tiers of games, that mainly comes down to Matt Booty and Phil Spencer AFAIK.
Are you talking exclusively for the XSX or over the lifetime of the Xbox brand? MS has already said they are pushing cross gen and PC releases so there will never be XSX only titles. Pretty much every game MS puts out is multi-player; Sea of Thieves, Gears, Forza, and Halo. Based on the past to conclude that in the future they won't be able to top those past releases is folly. I appreciate them not following Sony with the types of games they make they just need to release more with regularity. E3 is next month I'm pretty sure they'll figure it out. They've never had this many studios before.
Personally I'm not saying they need to make the kind of games Sony typically makes; however I think they can stick to their strengths while matching the type of visual fidelity and creative design (particularly visually) seen in Sony's bigger games. They could also benefit in pushing character narrative a bit more with more identifiable designs and storytelling/writing techniques that can make them impressionable to the audience more.
They have shown the ability to do this in bits and pieces, whether it's the general polish of the Forza games, the photorealism in FS 2020, the fidelity in Gears 5/Hivebusters and iconic designs like Master Chief from the Halo series. Now they just need some games that can blend all of that together and still leverage MS's general strengths for multiplayer game design, smart integration with GaaS model and use of cloud technology that can take fuller advantage of Series X hardware and they'd get a
LOT of doubters and people on the edge to jump in once and for all.