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Windows Central - Sarah Bond has set up a new team dedicated to game preservation and forward compatibility

Topher

Gold Member
I'm more amused it reached 28k peak players. Nearly every friend/co-worker that games that I know has bought this game or is playing it now on GamePass. I don't know a single person who owns it on Steam.

That's because the vast majority bought the game on battle.net or consoles. The game had 12 million players by August of last year. Wasn't added to Steam until October.
 

sachos

Member
Its cool that they are at least assuring as that the forward compatibility will continue, but also don't fall for the PR speak, they are the most DRM heavy console by far. Required Online Activation & Account plus awful physical game releases.
 

Mortisfacio

Member
That's because the vast majority bought the game on battle.net or consoles. The game had 12 million players by August of last year. Wasn't added to Steam until October.

Yah I'm aware of that, which was the point of my post: I'm more amused it even got to 28k.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Puh-lease. Xbox's backwards compatibility has been half ass since Xbox 360. Don't even support all games. At least with the PS3 and PS5, there was like 99% backwards compatibility.

PS3 had BC in its initial model, but that was quickly phased out. PS5 is BC with PS4, but that's it. Xbox One/Series BC is superior to PS4/5 BC. What is that 99% BC based on again?

Yah I'm aware of that, which was the point of my post: I'm more amused it even got to 28k.

Ah....I follow now. There are some Steam purists out there. lol
 
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Three

Member
I'm more amused it reached 28k peak players. Nearly every friend/co-worker that games (beyond just the new COD and sports games) that I know has bought this game or is playing it now on GamePass. I don't know a single person who owns it on Steam.
How exactly would they have been playing on GP when it hit its all time peak 6/9 months ago?
 
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HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
Different good or different bad? 🤔
Being 100% transparent I haven't talked to anyone in awhile about stuff but last I did nothing seems to have changed on things I said 6 months ago

So for someone like me who likes Xbox hardware and wants a beast around the time GTA6 launches its a different good, very good.

Sarah seems to reinforce the big console is coming just curious if my timing I said back early Aug still stands
 

Topher

Gold Member
Being 100% transparent I haven't talked to anyone in awhile about stuff but last I did nothing seems to have changed on things I said 6 months ago

So for someone like me who likes Xbox hardware and wants a beast around the time GTA6 launches its a different good, very good.

Sarah seems to reinforce the big console is coming just curious if my timing I said back early Aug still stands

She is certainly bringing the hype. Hope she can back it up because her feet are going to be held to the fire on this "biggest technological leap ever in a generation" claim. And rightfully so.
 

Topher

Gold Member
The numbers floating out there says Xbox looked at a machine thats roughly 2x the power (TF wise) of the PS5 Pro so I guess if you are just counting TFs (which Xbox likes to do) it could be

Geez....not teraflops again. First we have to know if they are talking about that dual-issue stuff or not. We've been that road already with the Pro. First it was 34 TF and then it was 17 TF. But even if it is truly 2X Pro in TF, there's got to be more to it to justify that claim. Folks will be looking at "generational leaps" in the context of the introduction of 3D to consoles and such. That's a bit more massive than going from a 6800 to a 7800 in GPU specs. We are literally talking about a rez bump that still needs upscaling to get to 4k/60 in many cases.

Time will tell, but I don't think Sarah Bond is doing herself any favors with this massive hype bit. She can go from hero to zero very quickly.
 
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Ashamam

Member
She is certainly bringing the hype. Hope she can back it up because her feet are going to be held to the fire on this "biggest technological leap ever in a generation" claim. And rightfully so.
I cant really get my head around a premium console perhaps with a handheld option. The bulk of the market is just not going to buy in at the top end. If the hype is correct then it will have to be an expensive box. So the only way I see Xbox heading in this direction if they basically PC'ify the Xbox market. Maybe then Xbox builds the top box and licenses out for $500 box options. Idk, feels complicated and kind of counter to the whole point of fixed hardware targets that consoles offer. It was bad enough with two SKU hardware profiles this time around, imagine if it was 5, or 10! All with slightly (or fundamentally) different hardware profiles. What a mess that would be.

Then there is the possibility that "biggest technological leap" is an enormous stretch based on a focus change to NPU's with a switch to ARM to improve perf/watt. It just won't live up to the hype. After all it would kind of be a 1st generation hardware type scenario, you usually have to wait a few generations for full potential to be realised. Then there is the "paradigm shift" to take into account. So if you take that at face value its a major shift, whatever they are planning. But they are still constrained by available technology at the design lock, which if they are shooting for 2026, is basically now. Be very interesting to see how it comes together, my first expectation is that it won't be 2026, 2027 is more realistic for an in house generational release.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The numbers floating out there says Xbox looked at a machine thats roughly 2x the power (TF wise) of the PS5 Pro so I guess if you are just counting TFs (which Xbox likes to do) it could be

2X the power of PS5 Pro releasing in late 2025 or 2026. That would be a pretty significant move.

But outside of first party, it'll have the same 'issue' as the current gen where the game will be developed-first around running on the more popular brand, so many games will end up not using its strengths.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
I cant really get my head around a premium console perhaps with a handheld option. The bulk of the market is just not going to buy in at the top end. If the hype is correct then it will have to be an expensive box. So the only way I see Xbox heading in this direction if they basically PC'ify the Xbox market. Maybe then Xbox builds the top box and licenses out for $500 box options. Idk, feels complicated and kind of counter to the whole point of fixed hardware targets that consoles offer. It was bad enough with two SKU hardware profiles this time around, imagine if it was 5, or 10! All with slightly (or fundamentally) different hardware profiles. What a mess that would be.

Then there is the possibility that "biggest technological leap" is an enormous stretch based on a focus change to NPU's with a switch to ARM to improve perf/watt. It just won't live up to the hype. After all it would kind of be a 1st generation hardware type scenario, you usually have to wait a few generations for full potential to be realised. Then there is the "paradigm shift" to take into account. So if you take that at face value its a major shift, whatever they are planning. But they are still constrained by available technology at the design lock, which if they are shooting for 2026, is basically now. Be very interesting to see how it comes together, my first expectation is that it won't be 2026, 2027 is more realistic for an in house generational release.

I don't have a good feeling about the boasting at all. They are making this out to be a revolutionary pivot in console gaming. I know they are big on AI these days, but I certainly hope they are not using that to make grandiose claims and then they turn out to be just another iterative step forward when the pixels hit the screen.

As far as PC'ifying Xbox, I think it would be brilliant if Microsoft could somehow merge PC gaming and Xbox gaming into a single box that still allows the freedom PC gamers must have but with a gamer friendly Windows UI. That's a tall order, but if MS wants to be successful in the hardware business, I think it would take that sort of shift.
 

Ashamam

Member
As far as PC'ifying Xbox, I think it would be brilliant if Microsoft could somehow merge PC gaming and Xbox gaming into a single box that still allows the freedom PC gamers must have but with a gamer friendly Windows UI
I was talking about the market though. As in opening up the hardware whilst keeping the software stack a closed garden.

But I agree that a hybrid machine could be more attractive than a stand alone high end Xbox. You could justify the expense for the extra functionality then. Especially if they beefed up remote streaming given its likely you would want the box in your living room. So you could imagine lower spec laptops in a house using the living room XboxPC as the the gaming source. Its still pretty niche though, likely attractive to people here, but not so much your average low tech console gamer.
 
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DAHGAMING

Gold Member
I dont know what the word "paradigm" means buut I asume it means Xbox will continue to be the most powerfull war box that only alpha males can handle 💪💪💪.
 
And who will make it.
Note: She never mentions it will be coming from MS.

I don't really see how Xbox systems made by companies other than Microsoft pans out financially, unless it's something between the following:

-Simple "Xbox" license for 3P OEMs (why would OEMs pay for a license to slap on a PC device, particularly a brand that's been on the decline?)​
-"Xbox" license paired with some Xbox UI console-like frontend running on a custom/lightweight Windows environment (non-essential utilities, services etc. turned off)​
-"Xbox" license paired with a Windows license and the console-like frontend OEMs can customize to their own tastes (like if SEGA licensed one, they could customize their version of the frontend to mimic the Dreamcast or Saturn's UIs)​
-"Xbox" license paired w/ Windows license, console-style frontend (customizable), & standardized hardware spec/blueprint (with some other incentive like Microsoft handling wafer orders and fabbing with Intel on Intel foundries). Like some multi-package licensing deal.​

The first option would be the cheapest & easiest, but also quite worthless to pursue, and come off like a cash-grab. The last option would require the most effort (outside of Microsoft making hardware devices themselves, which would also be possible), but offer the best results. Could also result in something like a Big Picture consolized gaming mode for Windows based on the Xbox UI.

The numbers floating out there says Xbox looked at a machine thats roughly 2x the power (TF wise) of the PS5 Pro so I guess if you are just counting TFs (which Xbox likes to do) it could be

Personally I don't think they're just referring to power here, especially just things like TF or that ilk. "Biggest leap yet" could be alluding to other things outside of just the power narrative (even though, naturally, there should be a substantial gain for the next hardware vs. Series X in those typical metrics).

Which, well, hasn't even panned out for Xbox the past ten years. Some Ws' with One X aside, tho a lot of that is because of how undercooked the XBO was.
 
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Mortisfacio

Member
How exactly would they have been playing on GP when it hit its all time peak 6/9 months ago?

I think you misunderstood my post. To this point, everyone I know that's played the game or still playing it didn't buy it on Steam. I don't know a single person who owns it on Steam, which is why I'm more surprised it even hit 28k and even factoring in current numbers. My Dad, for example, is playing it on Game Pass.
 
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DrFigs

Member
yeah for sure the company pushing for game rental subscription services, cloud gaming, and a new series x console that is all digital is serious about game preservation.
 
A good game is a good game, regardless of the time it came out and the machine it came out on.

Why would any game fan not want to the opportunity to be able to keep playing games they have loved from their past?
1) I don't think that is necessarily true. RE4 is probably in my top 10 games ever. I tried to play it in 2018 (so wayyyy before it was remade) and it was unplayable to me. Probably put 90 mins into and had to uninstall due to the dated controls. I will never forget the memories of playing it for the first time in the mid to late 2000s and how awesome that game was. But today, in 2024, it's a bad game (again the original, haven't played the remake yet).

2) It's not like I'm against it per say, it's just this is overboard. They have a freaking team. Thats a shit ton of time, resources and money for a feature that barely gets used. I get Gaf is a video game enthusiast board so a lot here will disagree but people aren't buying consoles to just play old games.
 

King Dazzar

Member
it's just this is overboard. They have a freaking team. Thats a shit ton of time, resources and money for a feature that barely gets used. I get Gaf is a video game enthusiast board so a lot here will disagree but people aren't buying consoles to just play old games.
Yeah, got to be careful with some of these statements from MS. For all we know, the team will be spending time ensuring current BC works on some yet to be announced new hardware. Rather than us all assuming its to work on further preserving very old historic games. Or, the team is made up of staff focused primarily on other projects, who attend a BC meeting once a month and dont do anything unless they need to.
 
The Microsoft Enterprise side of the business had always been maintaining backwards compatibility. It doesn't always work well, but it works well enough.

The way I read it, there will be an Xbox Mode in the future. Basically a built-in Xbox emulator, in Windows. That would allow it to run legacy Xbox software. Software only though; doubt they would bother to let you run discs. I interpret their claim about working on forward compatibility, is to convert as many disc-only games to software mode as they find viable. And then just let people rescue most of their library of Xbox games as they could on PC.

I don't expect Third Party Xbox labelled PC boxes to be popular. But since it is third party made, Microsoft wouldn't really CARE if it fails.
The existence of this semi-PC Xbox is to pretend next gen Xbox will still come out. It is all about minimizing customer backlash while letting them down gently.
 
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sendit

Member
  • In the emails, Sarah Bond reiterated Microsoft's plans to build new Xbox hardware focused on delivering "the biggest technical leap ever in a generation."

it sound like an early release of the new Xbox🤔

We Will see
It also sounds like they realized Series S was a mistake that anchored the Series X. Cut our losses now and move forward to next gen.
 
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FINALLY MS does something GOOD!

Now if they would just reinstate the BC program and get back to the great work they were doing with that. They could make a lot of Xbox owners very happy if they started patching some of the Xbox One exclusives that never got updated for higher resolution and fps! Just patching like Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 3, Ryse, Dead Rising 3, Quantum Break etc would bring excitement and good will back to Xbox!
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
hope sony follows as well.

This is a good thing from Microsoft (if they actually do it)
 
Listen Houston Rockets GIF by NBA

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I finally listened to jizz Corden and extrapolated with what a dev said about Xbox on the GDC: "directionless".

that assessment seems correct.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Its too bad XBLIG games were never BC on Xbox systems. Some of those $1 games were rock solid. Much better than the typical $10-15 XBLA game. But poof. All gone unless you got an old 360 lying around.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
And who will make it.
Note: She never mentions it will be coming from MS.

Takes a special level of confusion to assume the next Xbox console won’t be R&D’d , designed and made by Xbox, even if there’s really an option for third party OEMs to make versions built around the same baseline spec.

dont see anything special about the statement. just another "duh" xbox pr bullshit.

How is a leaked, internal email detailing a factual metric in one paragraph ‘xbox pr bulllshit’?
 
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