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Grade the Microsoft Conference

Grade the Microsoft conference

  • A

    Votes: 266 24.1%
  • B

    Votes: 373 33.8%
  • C

    Votes: 336 30.5%
  • D

    Votes: 128 11.6%

  • Total voters
    1,103

MiguelItUp

Member
I rated it a B, I thought it was really good. There wasn't a ton of talking, and it was just nonstop games. I may not have been into everything that was shown, but there were definitely quite a bit of cool looking games.

Easily the best presentation so far IMO. Would've been cool to see even more surprises and exciting announcements.
 
Pretty underwhelming I would say. I was expecting next gen games like Demon's Souls or RnC from Xbox, but nope. They have lots of games but most are indies and mediocre, only Forza looks promising, But not my cup of tea. It seems many games from Xbox studios are becoming GASS.
Say's a lot about a fanbase when the only measure for "next-gen" is visuals. Demon Souls is a PS3 game in a nice coat of paint, nothing "next-gen" about that.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Say's a lot about a fanbase when the only measure for "next-gen" is visuals. Demon Souls is a PS3 game in a nice coat of paint, nothing "next-gen" about that.
If I learned anything recently, it's that everyone is throwing around "next-gen graphics" or expectations for just insane graphics overall. Which is amusing to me because next-gen consoles are still in their infancy, we probably won't see anything visually mind blowing for a bit. It's all gonna look current, if not SLIGHTLY better in a variety of ways be it lighting, shadows, or just RTX effects period. That's really it.

I feel I'm modest when it comes to a lot of things, and honestly I'd never jump the gun to judge something without actual gameplay or details. But I've seen so many things already that I think look pretty great and fun, but people are like, "LOOKS LIKE A PS3/360 GAME" when I beg to differ. Especially when you can make out everything that's going on that a PS3/360 title realistically couldn't and wouldn't handle in a variety of ways. It's just really silly, lmao.
 
easily the most competent in years. sure, it's a lot of old IPs with content refreshes or sequels, but it's also hard to deny how exciting Horizon 5 or Flight Simulator looks. Halo MP looks great. Sea of Thieves continues to shine. indies like Ascent, 12 Minutes, and Somerville look great. Fall/Winter will be great for Xbox owners.

next year, might even be better as Double Fine, Bethesda and other new additions start revealing new projects that will be exclusive to the platform.
 

JoeBudden

Member
Has anyone from the influencer side marked this show low?

Kinda funny, and more on the brief glance i looked at on twitter seem to be rating this conference extremely high. A rank etc. I thought it was a solid case but not the mega conference I had hoped for.
Tim Gettys was critical of the show and gave it a B+ score.

He said there wasn't any exclusive content/killer apps shown that holds up to Sony or Nintendo standards, too many CG trailers for upcoming exclusives, 90% of the show was multiplatform, Halo didn't look revolutionary, Starfield release date is too far out and he's skeptical it'll meet it, etc etc.
 
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martino

Member
Tim Gettys was critical of the show and gave it a B+ score.

He said there wasn't any exclusive content/killer apps shown that holds up to Sony or Nintendo standards, too many CG trailers for upcoming exclusives, 90% of the show was multiplatform, Halo didn't look revolutionary, Starfield release date is too far out and he's skeptical it'll meet it, etc etc.
what they have too much: fps
was there even a AAA third person ?
eastern contents were near absent

the show was still good but they can still do a lot better if they want to please a larger audience.
 
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Banjo64

cumsessed
Horizon Forbidden West showed gameplay, starfield was a cinematic of guy fiddling with knobs.
hungry lick GIF
 
Say's a lot about a fanbase when the only measure for "next-gen" is visuals. Demon Souls is a PS3 game in a nice coat of paint, nothing "next-gen" about that.

Most of the games released so far are. But there are enough differences, even in the gameplay department, to justify the investment.
 
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Nubulax

Member
Out of Starfield, God of War Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7, only one game has a set release date.

A set release date that doesnt ammount to much when its 16 or so months away, wouldnt be shocked if it gets pushed to 2023. Halo doesnt even have a set release date still just "Holiday 2021" and that was supposed to be out with the launch of the console
 

JoeBudden

Member
what they have too much: fps
was there even a AAA third person ?
eastern content were near absent

the show was still good but they can still do a lot better if they want to please a larger audience.
The exclusive Avalanche game and Red Fall are very likely AAA third person games.

You're right, however, about there being zero Japanese games.
 
By that same token, Halo, Forza Horizon 5 and the likes are not next-gen either.
Halo Infinite has the first open-world location in the series and continues to evolve the multiplayer from Halo 5. Forza Horizon 5 is the best looking racer in the past few years since Horizon 4 and will have largest open world in the series with Mexico.
 
A set release date that doesnt ammount to much when its 16 or so months away, wouldnt be shocked if it gets pushed to 2023. Halo doesnt even have a set release date still just "Holiday 2021" and that was supposed to be out with the launch of the console
Ragnarok was revealed last year and all we know so far since then is that it is no longer a PS5 exclusive and that it'll release sometime next year...maybe. Meanwhile GT7 which was also revealed last year with a gameplay trailer is also no longer a PS5 exclusive and I won't be surprised if it slips further into 2023.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Halo Infinite has the first open-world location in the series

I thought 343 said Halo Infinite wasn't open world.

Ragnarok was revealed last year and all we know so far since then is that it is no longer a PS5 exclusive and that it'll release sometime next year...maybe. Meanwhile GT7 which was also revealed last year with a gameplay trailer is also no longer a PS5 exclusive and I won't be surprised if it slips further into 2023.

It is the same old story regardless of whether we are talking about GT7, God of War, Starfield, or Halo. Having a release date means nothing.
 
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Nubulax

Member
Ragnarok was revealed last year and all we know so far since then is that it is no longer a PS5 exclusive and that it'll release sometime next year...maybe. Meanwhile GT7 which was also revealed last year with a gameplay trailer is also no longer a PS5 exclusive and I won't be surprised if it slips further into 2023.
It was just a logo, not much more than say Contraband or Outer Worlds 2 from this conference. If we want to go down that rabbit hole Starfield was revealed in 2018 at E3 and 3 years later the only thing they can show is an alpha in engine cutscene basically with the game almost 2 years away from that. You can put a release date on anything but if we have learned anything the past 2 or 3 years its that it doesnt mean shit. Id say we can have a more concrete idea about dates and what is what when Sony has their inevitable summer game show that I would be shocked if they dont do
 
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I thought 343 said Halo Infinite wasn't open world.
It's not like an RPG world where you'll be travelling for 20+ hours, but vast areas of the Halo ring are open to exploration from the moment you enter and most missions can be done in any order you please. This has never been done in a Halo game before.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Tim Gettys was critical of the show and gave it a B+ score.

He said there wasn't any exclusive content/killer apps shown that holds up to Sony or Nintendo standards, too many CG trailers for upcoming exclusives, 90% of the show was multiplatform, Halo didn't look revolutionary, Starfield release date is too far out and he's skeptical it'll meet it, etc etc.
All pretty valid I think but he still gave it a B+ that's quite good.
 
Pretty bad showing. I don't know why they even bothered to show Starfield. Game is over a year away and they didn't show gameplay or anything about it. No updates on the next gen games people actually care about (perfect dark, fable, avowed, Hellblade 2, everwild). The biggest blunder was Halo. They messed up showing the campaign last time, so this was their chance to redeem themselves and wow everyone. Instead they just showed a cinematic and then showed the multiplayer, no firm release date, which leaves it open to a delay. At least the multiplayer looked fun. Nothing on Scorned with a vague fall 2021 release window, Everwild was a no show which I think suggests development issues (and I still don't know how anyone can be excited about it when we literally know nothing about what kind of game it is, but I digress). For me, the only highlights were Stalker 2 and Forza Horizon 5, both of which actually looked impressive. Replaced looked cool too, but who knows when it's releasing. It essentially looks the same as The Last Night, which didn't show either and is stuck in limbo, so I feel bad for them since this might steal their thunder. I did get a kick out of the outer worlds 2 trailer. Redfall looks promising, but again, just a cinematic...

I think it will be a while before Microsoft actually gives me a reason to want to own an Xbox. C for Craig rating for me.
 

John Wick

Member
No it doesn't.
FH5 looks damn near a real open world and Flight sim as well.
Unless you think a cartoon looks better than real life.

FH5 and Flight sim are easily the best looking next gen games so far.
This is comedy posting at it's finest.
 
Well, I too was very impressed by Forza Horizon 5 but it’s been a year since GT7 was shown and I expect it to look better the next time we see it. Looks like Horizon 5 is closer to release than GT7 as well now. I expect it to be closer to the final product than GT7 was a year ago.
Yes that's definitely true. But GT7 was also originally slated for this year, so at the time it was shown it was at most a year off its original release date target. But it is true the FH games tend to get shown off very close to release, that isn't the case with Gran Turismo, traditionally speaking.

I'm hoping next time they show off GT7 the visuals are even better than last time and can rival Forza Horizon 5's, but for right now just off of what we've actually seen, FH5 is definitely in the lead. PD have the chops to pull it off, though (in fact the only big concerns with GT7 should likely be focused on engine sounds and certain car and handling physics, and it launching in a really solid state. Sony had a real problem with MP-focused games, especially racers, launching in a good state (Driveclub, GT Sport, can extend to 3P exclusives co-funded through them too like Street Fighter V, etc.).
 
It's a solid B for me, and only because Fable, Avowed and Hellblade weren't shown. The one thing this conference did right was show/prove that XBOX does indeed have games. So it'll be nice to put that tired excuse to rest.

Also people need to chill the fuck out about CGI trailers. At least they showed something that helps convey what the game is.

Remember, last year Sony showed a fucking splash card for GOW and the internet lost their damn minds. So like, lets relax.
 
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As years go by, E3 for MS will get better and better due to:

-More development time for games
-Acquisitions of more studios
-De-attaching and removing the shackles of the potato jaguar CPU and GCN based GPU from Xbone and Xbone X
-Optimizing games for Zen 2, RDNA 2, SSD with SFS
-More unification and ubiquitous nature of Windows OS/UI and Xbox branding

They have made progress guys. E3 is not the only way to reveal games and new developments. MS can do it anytime it wants to whenever it feels like it. Im sure they got something lined up this fall and holiday season.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Everyone else on the panel was gave it S+ and A+ grades. Kinda Funny in general are industry shills so a B+ from one of them, with some real criticism, is kinda low and surprising.
they are renowned PlayStation fans though right? They only just started supporting Xbox within the last 12 months it feels. I also skimmed through and Getty’s was pretty damn crazy hyped for halo, even ranking it his number 1 slot for top 3 things at the show.
 

The Alien

Banned
C. And I'm being generous.

Too many shooters, Not enough gameplay. Not enough truly riveting titles. I own a Series X but I wish I had a PS5...
Yep.

Not counting Starfield, Forza Horizon 5, Party Animals, Pshychonauts 2, Shredders, Among Is, Yakima Titles Sea of Thieves, Slime Rancher 2, 12 Minutes, Hades, Somerville, Plague Tale Requiem, Age of Empires, Replaced, and Eiyuden Chronicles....yep, there were too many shooters.

🤔
 

JoeBudden

Member
they are renowned PlayStation fans though right? They only just started supporting Xbox within the last 12 months it feels. I also skimmed through and Getty’s was pretty damn crazy hyped for halo, even ranking it his number 1 slot for top 3 things at the show.

Not really. Two of the guys on the review/reaction panel were from their Xbox show. The third co-host from their Xbox show is actually hosting the extended Microsoft event lol.

Tim said he's still expecting greatness, it's just that he's not expecting a God of War 2018-esque reboot from 343 for Halo anymore. He pretty much said that's both good and bad.
 
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AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
Say's a lot about a fanbase when the only measure for "next-gen" is visuals. Demon Souls is a PS3 game in a nice coat of paint, nothing "next-gen" about that.
Unlike car driving game and space shooter, those are next gen!
 

lachesis

Member
Since I mostly am interested in very niche jp games - so MS and Sony shows aren't exactly my type of things since 360/PS3 days.
I used to be more hyped for Tokyo Game Show or Space world for that reason... but that's decades ago.

Having said so, I think this was one of the stonger, if not the strongest MS show over the years - especially there was not as much talk, lots of games showing, and I was quite wowed by the graphics for several games like Flight Simulator (I'm not even into flight sims or things like Ace Combat - but the beauty just gets me somehow), Starfield, and Forza... even though I'm rather reserved in excitement, but I'm sure fans of those genre must be quite hyped!
 

VN1X

Banned
Yep.

Not counting Starfield, Forza Horizon 5, Party Animals, Pshychonauts 2, Shredders, Among Is, Yakima Titles Sea of Thieves, Slime Rancher 2, 12 Minutes, Hades, Somerville, Plague Tale Requiem, Age of Empires, Replaced, and Eiyuden Chronicles....yep, there were too many shooters.

🤔
Stop trying to poke holes in my infallible internet punditry.

Also to keep in silly take mode: loads of those you mentioned are known entities and have been out already. There's a lot of diversity sure but I'd argue those other titles (Shredders, Slime Rancher 2, etc) aren't exactly the type of games you'd buy a brand new console for.
 

Dr Bass

Member
No it doesn't.
FH5 looks damn near a real open world and Flight sim as well.
Unless you think a cartoon looks better than real life.

FH5 and Flight sim are easily the best looking next gen games so far.
Nope. Not even close. FH doesn't even utilize Ray Tracing.

You need to actually go play Ratchet. Almost every review compared it's visuals to an offline CG movie.

No one will think that about Forza or Flight Sim. They both look great, but they don't have the same artistry and skill on display as Ratchet.

Easily.
 
I think it depends on what you expected. Last year's conference was them announcing an absolute ton of games that were really far away in the dev cycle, so even though there were cool moments (FABLE!!) it still felt like they were lacking in games.

This year their conference felt very substantive, one of their best conferences in years, just games back-to-back-to-back. They have done highlight reels before, but with 27/30 of the games coming to Gamepass, and like 25 of the games dropping in the next 18 months I am no longer worried about them not having games. I'm also super excited to be a Gamepass subscriber, and I think that is really what they are trying to push.....
 
The conference was awesome. Way better than Sony's. My broke ass has all platforms, well besides that weak tablet called a Switch. Not wanting to spend money needlessly doesn't mean you're broke, child. It means you're smart with your money.

That Sony digital event is just a rumor at this point.
 
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