The most frustrating thing about Xbox

Clickbait title is clickbait DSS

But hey, I'd just like to take a second to acknowledge the single most frustrating part of the Xbox brand.

It's always thrown around how much money Microsoft has, and how much weight they have to throw around. But do they use that? Nah.

Microsoft has an exclusives problem that even the most core of the lemmings have to admit has an effect. But the frustrating thing? It doesn't have to be like this at all.

Even without investing in something new, which they've done very occasionally, such as helping out with the recent indy darling Cuphead, Microsoft has a stable of IP that, if they actually bothered to leverage, could begin to rival Nintendo. Hell many of their IP were brought up under Nintendo thanks to an acquisition they proceeded to destroy, but could easily build those names back up!

• Halo (& Halo Wars)
• Gears of War
• Forza
• Minecraft
• Killer Instinct
• Age of Empires
• Quantum Break
• ReCore
• Fable
• Max: Curse of the Brotherhood
• Ori
• Crackdown

As a few modern examples. If we dig further back to further round out their potential library...

• Blinx: The Time Sweeper
• Project Gotham Racing
• Conker
• Kameo
• Perfect Dark
• Viva Pinata
• Banjo Kazooie

And if we wanted to really dig deep and find some old Rare names they could completely modernize and reinvent for a modern audience if only they wanted to...

• Battletoads
• Blast Corps
• Jet Force Gemini
• Jetpac
• Slalom

THAT is the biggest frustration with the Xbox brand that I have. They have the most potential to have a wide and diverse offering of Microsoft Ecosystem exclusive content, covering every possible genre imaginable including their own extreme sports game. But, Halogearsforza.

Basically I've had a few and got sad Battletoads will never have another game. Discuss.

Their IP catalog isn't that good. Halo and Gears are yesterday's news and will never return to their former glory without Bungie/Epic making them. Rare's IPs are ancient history and aside from Banjo, Conker and Perfect Dark none of them were ever a big deal to begin with. Other than that they've just got a bunch of flops like Crackdown and Blinx.

Lol, just got to keep holding on to that hope

Yeah, because having a list of mostly Japanese games and movie games is so much better.

Japanese games and movie games outscore all the crap on Xbone, they are better. Xbone has shit for games at this point. Anything would be better than the sea of flops that the Xbone calls exclusives.

You took the words outta my mouth. HaloGearsForza are old news and have been milked to death. Rare isn't the same company they once were. Most of their talent left years ago.

Nobody said that all these properties would still be worked on by Rare.

But it is though.

I see. Well I agree with you, they have potential but MS seems like they just don't give a shit.

They aren't hungry like Sony and Nintendo are. They seem to be content coasting with HaloGearsForza despite the fact they are lagging behind Sony and Nintendo which is baffling.

Cows just can't stop talking about Xbox... incredibly strange. Seems like the old cow adage of "don't love my console, just hate yours" is 100% correct.

Only gonna get worse in the lead up to Nov 7 :(

@darkspineslayer: A modern take on battletoads would actually make me consider an xbox.

Of course, I only buy consoles that have at least 5 exclusives I care about, but modern Battletoads? That would definitely be one of them.

Hey look another alt. You don't see them often round these parts.

So which poor, deluded, pathetic user are you really?

I'm guessing it's someone that likes to play with Dynamite in Cop games.

Well personally I have more games then I could possibly play that interest me enough just on the Xbox One alone because I prefer to play the multi platform games on that system. So while I guess it would be nice to get more exclusives it doesn’t really matter to me because it would just end up pushing another game that I might be interested in off my list.

It basically comes down to this: MS does not care about video games, or gamers, in general. Sony and Nintendo strive to create memorable exclusive content; they care and it shows. More and more I think MS should just step out of the video game landscape. Let somebody else in who actually has interest in this medium.

Just curious, if M$ starts announcing exclusives that are coming after the release of xbx, then what will you cows have to say?

An XBoneX enhanced Viva Piñata would be an instant purchase for me. Loved the first two core games.

@darkspineslayer: Quantity is not the problem, it's quality. If Halo 5 and Gears 4 were groundbreaking titles, we wouldn't be having this talk. The biggest challenge facing the Xbox brand is that 2/3 of its biggest franchises' are no longer working on those games. Bungie has moved onto Destiny, and Epic Games have moved onto whatever that hero shooter is. Bungie understood what made the Halo magic. Same with Epic Games. Forza is still far and way the best racing sim in the biz, but that doesn't have the widespread appeal of Halo.

The most frustrating thing about the Xbox brand is that we haven't had a game from them that's pushed the entire industry forward since Halo 3 in 2007. Sony and Nintendo have both had those games since then.

And yet we haven't heard a peep about anything interesting from MS studios

I think that some people get a little too wound up about whether a title is exclusive or not.

More games is always better and I've said in the past how I'd like to see more 1st party story-driven and horror stuff to balance it out. But truthfully, I'm more than satisfied with the lineup and Xbox delivers with shooters, racers, and 2D games. The first 2 I already knew about from before, but it was a complete coincidence that another one of my favorite genres ever got 2 masterpieces(Ori and CupHead) and a 3rd one is likely to hit soon(Ori 2).

Very excited about the upcoming console release and I have more than enough games in all the genres I love. More importantly, some of those games I adore like Forza Horizon 3....while the PS4 is a wonderful system, nothing there is better to me than that game alone... just my preference(neither on Nintendo's side either). The 3rd party games fill the gaps in genres nicely for now and I'm super excited about upcoming games like Evil Within 2 and PUBG.

Yes I'd like them to flex their $$$ muscles but not necessarily the way you do....I want a monster Forza Horizon 4, that's how they'll really impress me. One of things I like about Microsoft is how they take care of some of their biggest franchises, they don't leave fans behind(Gears, Halo, Forza, Crackdown) by ditching these for newer stuff(too bad for Fable, I hope they bring that one back, can't win them all). I actually appreciate that and now that these signature series are in place on XOne and ready for the XOneX upgrade, maybe we will start seeing the newer stuff soon.

Something something cows... something something shook...

Looks like it might have been since it seems he got nuked

I feel the same frustration with Sony and its lack of multiplayer games. They have some core multiplayer games that need to be revived to pump life back into PSN. PS3 had a nice variety of games and just kills me seeing multiplayer getting pushed aside on PS4.

I liked that Sony Multiplayer games offered up some variety from what third party devs were offering, had a lot of fun on PS3 between Socom/MAG, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, Resistance, and Motorstorm.

Hardware wise I think Microsoft did well with the Xbone S and XboneX. They should keep that team moving forward on future hardware.

Exclusive games are certainly a problem. Xbox also could stand to add a little diversity in their lineup as well. It's not like the console doesn't have games to play, but rather why would someone pick it up over the competition.

That being said I have seen a lot of improvements from the start of the generation and I do not think that with the right effort it could become a great platform.

They want the fast cash.

Bought Minecraft.

Making a 500 bucks console.

All their remasters are out /Halo, Gears and Rare Replay/

Shilling BC which negates the point above.

• Halo (& Halo Wars)
• Gears of War
• Quantum Break
• ReCore
• Fable
• Ori

This is what I'd be happy with. Just give mea new Fable and I'm set.

• Blinx: The Time Sweeper
• Project Gotham Racing
• Conker
• Kameo
• Perfect Dark
• Viva Pinata
• Banjo Kazooie

Not sure how I feel about these. I have the Rare Replay Collection and I've only played Banjo and Perfect Dark. Need to go back to that... it's another reason why I don't need to buy any new games any time soon (after Super Mario Odyssey).

• Battletoads
• Blast Corps
• Jet Force Gemini
• Jetpac
• Slalom

Gonna be honest: none of these would entice me currently, though who knows what would happen to these games with a fresh start?

The new NyaDC alt already got banned? Man, he was here for like an hour. That's record-breaking, I think. He got the axe before I could even reply to him.

No doubt Microsoft is attempting to unify Xbox live and the windows store to the point where an Xbox console will play all windows games. X1X is a bridge console to perhaps see if consumer buy into the idea. Publishers don't want to throw money into a nameless product--that of which is "pc gaming". They want a brand connected to their product. This is what Ms is doing, or plan to do, VS the opposite approach of Sonys which is more of a traditional console approach. Ms want to lay a framework for developers similar to the way Apple does with its iPad product. I predict the next line of Xbox consoles will release with two skus--a more budget friendly and a higher spec machine, all while being completely open about what each offers. And then if people truly want the highest of high end they build a PC. However, the confines of game development will rest within a more traditional console life cycle.

He probably has another one by now.

Instead of EndOfAugust, this time it will be EndOfDay ;)

Japanese games are mostly weird sh@t. Name one Japanese FPS game that can match any Halo game. You can't they don't have any that can. Fact!

The most frustrating thing about Xbox is surely that it's not Playstation. It tries, but it fails, on every generation.

The last one gave playstation a run for it's money!

The fact that Microsoft won't utilize the Rare franchises is what irritates me the most.

A new Conker or Perfect Dark would be awesome, but I guess that would make too much sense.

I overall prefer the Xbox brand over the Playstation brand, but I agree with this. Microsoft continuing to do nothing with Rare's great IPs is my biggest frustration with Xbox. I want a new Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and Battletoads! I also think that Microsoft could use Banjo-Kazooie in a similar way to how Nintendo uses Mario to lead spin-off games across a variety of different genres such as a Banjo-Kazooie kart racer or a Mario Party style game (which would be fantastic to play on Xbox Live).

For the first couple years of last gen. After that it was smooth sailing for Sony.

@henrythefifth: how many times has Sony copied M$?

You nailed it on the head and it's also my biggest frustration: There is only so much haloforzagears I can take and unfortunately those games sell really well so every other game is just not really that important to MS or is a one off deal:

Ryse: one off deal
Alan Wake: one off deal
Quantum Break: one off deal
Recore: one off deal
Sunset Overdrive: one off deal

It shows absolutely no commitment from MS. I'm glad that MS is going back to the Age of Empires series, but seeing as that is a game series that is as popular on PC as Halo is on consoles... Did that series really have to stay dead for so long ?

Sometimes MS game division seems to be run by the worst kind of people. That clown Don Mattrick closing down studios and pushing for that focus on haloforzagears along with exclusivity deals (COD) was the worst thing to ever happen to the Xbox brand.

The damage is still felt today.

lol, not even close. Most those IPs arent even in the same league as Sony's let alone Nintendo's

Don't worry guys Phil said he took a flight to Japan to spend some of your Xbox Live Gold sub money, unfortunately it looks like he didn't spend any on games, but he had a nice trip!

Meh. exclusives arent the end all be all that this forum makes them out to be. Most console gamers play mostly multiplats. Its really just a matter of what MS is doing not being to your particular tastes.

People keep bringing up the idea that that MS has all this money, but the Xbox division doesnt have unlimited money and as a part of the larger overall company are subject to the spending discretions of higher ups at the overall company. When the big games they make dont sell, especially being far behind in the gen, it means they arent going to greenlight a bunch of other new projects. Definitely after the beginning of this gen when contrary to what this forum always touts, Sony took a lead selling superior multiplats as their marketing scheme. The PS4 had a 20 million unit lead before their first major exclusive of this gen came out. So you dont need exclusives to sell units.

MS was in a damned if we do damned if we dont situation this gen once they fell really far behind in sales. Just like people here like to roast them for Scalebound, the same dickheads would be here acting a donkey if Scalebound had been released and was a total shit game. These same douchebags would be here blaming MS and not Platinum just like they do now.

Anyway, I'm actually pretty happy with the direction they are going. X1X is a basically turning into a Steam box type device bringing PC titles to the console. I dont care if they arent exclusives, if I can play them I'm more than satisfied. I was pretty satisfied with the list of games they announced at E3 too. I'd rather they concentrate on bringing out a bunch of AA level good games than trying to keep trying to 'do what Sony does'. The worst part is MS gets roasted for have a solid base core IPs like its some kind of negative because those games dont appeal to some people. But great racing games and great shooters isnt a negative in my eyes. What does Sony have to compete in these genres? Nothing.

They have three good platformers (Ori, Cuphead, Super Lucky). They have ReCore which actually isnt as bad as this forum likes to pretend. The only thing that MS is really missing is a single player RPG. They just brought out Fable Anniversary which means they arent totally ignoring that either.

They are also bringing a bunch of MMOs, more RTS games (new Age of Empires will probably coming to X1X), kb&m support. They even floated rumors that theres a new Splinter Cell coming at GDC, as well as a new Shadowrun game. They've also said they still have other major IPs in development they havent announced yet. Which after the Scalebound fiasco is a good idea.

No I dont want to 'just buy a PC'. And I'm 100-percent positive theres a lot of people that fit into the same niche I fall into and thats why the X1X will do okay.

I get why people feel the way they do, but this isnt last gen. Whats funny is Sony was a total shit show last gen but all the Sony fanboys give them a pass. (And the real hardcore cows paint a revisionist history now that Sony 'won' last gen) So why is it so hard to believe MS might actually be able to right their wrongs this gen?

@oflow: Yeah I'm still convinced that one of the biggest reasons for the PS4's huge initial lead is because of the power and price difference, combined with the very bad press Xbox One had at launch and being stubborn about not making Kinect optional. There are many other reasons for sure, Playstation is a successful brand that stands for something, returning Playstation fans from PS3 and before will naturally get in line for the PS4 just like someone like me who was very happy with the 360 and I came back for more with XOne.

I still remember the numerous PS4 exclusives that came out later on that were poorly reviewed like Driveclub and The Order. Xbox had its duds too, but they had great exclusives as well with TitanFall(console anyways) and Sunset OVerdrive. But I think it made it so easy for people to go with PS4 because if you were on the fence, you know you have great games like Bloodborne but you love Xbox as well.....but then you have a system that is cheaper(at first anyways) AND is more powerful, so it plays more than 90-95% of the same games at better graphical fidelity, honestly I'm impressed how Xbox One did well enough in light of that. And this board was a good reflection of that, because almost every topic was about how the PS4 was better graphically.

I don't care what will happen to the market once the XOneX is released, I'm just happy that I'm getting a big boost, I've got over 300 games in my backlog installed between XOne and 360 BC, at this point if there was 2 more exclusives released it really wouldn't make a big difference to me. Definitely would like to see something new in the future though, I like the buzz that is created when a cool game like CupHead is released and to play something fresh feels good, so I know the exclusive thing has its value and looking forward to seeing what is next, but honestly I don't think anything would be different if Xbox One had a couple more exclusives right now, things would be largely as they are now, guaranteed as far as I'm concerned.

Spot on. MS bought a bunch of great studios, put their IPs on a drawer and threw away the key. Lemmings keep telling us that we shouldn't wish for MS to go away from the industry because competition is great and blah blah but competition is not great all the time just because. A company that buys off great gaming companies and basically shuts down great IPs is definitely not a great competitor and is making the industry worse not better.