December 1, 2023 • 62 mins
In episode 2 we discuss the 2024 release window for Xbox first-party titles, which is poised to be a strong year for the brand if everything is released as expected. We also discuss Phil Spencer's comments about Xbox potentially leaving the gaming landscape by 2027, if Game Pass targets are not met, and on this weeks, "Have you played this?", we look at a forgotten platformer released on the original Xbox.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, how's it going? Welcome to the second episode of Digital Downtime
(00:06):
with your host, Prince Gale aka Gilly aka yeah, whatever.
Today, we're going to be talking about Xbox and Microsoft as a whole and their future.
And me and my friends meme about this every year, but they might be poised for a big 2024.
So we'll take a look into that.
We'll also be discussing Phil Spencer's comments about the game paths and how if they don't
(00:32):
reach their targets by 2027, they might be out of the market.
So what does that really mean? We'll look a little bit deeper into that.
Then of course, on our weekly Have You Played This?
We'll be looking at Blinx, a platformer that was released on the original Xbox,
since it's an Xbox themed episode.
(00:54):
I want to thank everyone again for listening to the first episode.
I do appreciate it. If you have not listened to it, make sure to check it out
where we talk about the Game Award nominees and whatnot.
Sit back, relax and welcome to episode two.
(01:35):
Microsoft got hit with a pretty big leak earlier this year.
It was about the FTC leak, I think.
If I'm correct, yes.
So this kind of leaked things for Xbox in terms of more of a Bethesda Outlook sort of thing.
But even beyond the link, Xbox has a lot of exclusives in the pipeline with no clear release dates.
(02:02):
Obviously, the past couple years, their strategy has been just buying studio after studio.
So we kind of got, you know, yearly, oh, these are the studios we've acquired now.
These are the studios we've acquired now.
But we haven't really seen the output of these studios yet, not completely.
Of course, this year we saw Hi-Fi Rush, which was kind of like a surprise release.
(02:22):
But beyond that, we haven't really seen these games kind of be put out yet.
I'm thinking 2024 is going to be the year for that, right?
Because they got a lot cooking and, you know, not going to be able to touch basis on every single title.
But of course, on paper right now, it seems like they have more than more than Sony.
(02:45):
You know, with the PS5 and all, Sony's strategy right now is to release bigger exclusives.
Obviously, this year, Spider-Man 2 was a big one for them.
And then Final Fantasy 16 with the timed exclusivity and whatnot.
So Sony's approach has more been about heavy hitters and it always works for them.
(03:07):
But on paper right now, it seems Microsoft has more.
But I mean, that could always change.
You know, one state of play could change all that.
Sony could have some things cooking at the Game Awards, which we will see.
Yeah, but even for next year, aside from, you know, FF7 Remake, Rebirth and then Rise of the Ronin,
(03:31):
I cannot forget about that because I believe that's coming out in 2024.
But yeah, FF7 Rebirth, Team Ninja's Rise of Ronin.
Then, of course, they have Helldivers 2 and then, you know, Somniac Games Marvel's Wolverine,
which we are not sure if it's releasing for sure in 2024.
(03:56):
But it could be a possibility, but it's looking like more like 2025.
But aside from those two, three titles there, there doesn't seem like much yet for Sony.
Of course, Foam Stars by Square Enix, which is like a Splatoon-like.
I know it got panned heavily just by its initial reveal.
(04:17):
I'm a big Splatoon guy, so obviously I took my digs at it.
But I think the closed beta they had, or open beta, was actually received pretty well.
So the next time they have another one, I will be tuning into that.
I hope they surprise everyone and Foam Stars is actually decent
because Sony does need some exclusive multiplayer games.
(04:39):
That's a conversation for another podcast.
But we look at that and then now, if we compare that to Xbox,
well, I guess if we're talking about games or exclusives with unknown release dates,
there's also Death Stranding 2 and Silent Hill 2 for Sony.
(05:00):
But these might be more like console exclusives.
They might even be console timed exclusives where they're on PS5 and PC from the get-go.
And then later they go into Xbox platforms and whatnot.
But that remains to be seen.
But now if we look at what Xbox has cooking, we have Hellblade 2,
(05:25):
we have Obsidian's Avalid, which seems like their take on the Elder Scrolls series,
an interesting dark modern folktale base game called South of Midnight.
And then the leaks show that Indiana Jones and the Oblivion remaster slash remake
could be coming out in 2024 as well.
(05:46):
Do not forget Everwild by Rare is targeting a 2024 release.
The steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution from an exile entertainment could be 2024 as well.
Sated Decade 3 could also possibly be making its appearance next year,
but that could also be a 2025 game.
Like I said, this is so hard to know when these games are coming out.
(06:11):
Obviously, we have Stalker 2, which let me just confirm is not coming out on Sony consoles.
That was originally released for this year, December, but things got pushed back.
So yes, that is an Xbox slash Microsoft Windows game.
So cannot forget about Stalker 2, which looks very excellent.
(06:35):
And then, you know, obviously there's Fable by Playground Games,
which seems unlikely for 2024.
But we just look at what most likely will be coming out in 2024 a little bit more in detail.
You know, we haven't really seen much of Indiana Jones.
(06:56):
I know it's a Bethesda title.
Could be something very good.
It's really hard to make a lot of comments about Indiana Jones at the moment,
because we just haven't seen anything, no details, not even a trailer, not even gameplay,
not even any gameplay detail leaks or anything along the sorts.
It's kind of hard to tell with that.
Obviously, the Oblivion remake slash remaster is a big one.
(07:21):
I am a huge advocate for Oblivion.
I remember when the 360 first came out.
Oblivion was the only game I had for about almost a year.
I got the 360 in 2006 around my birthday time, which is August.
And then, yeah, we lived on an 8th grade then, like a farm.
So we didn't have the internet to support online gaming until about summer 2007.
(07:48):
And that's when I picked up Gears of War 1,
which is one of my favorite games of all time, by the way.
That was my gateway to online gaming.
If you know me really well, you'll know how synonymous Gears of War 1 is with me as a gamer.
So damn good times.
(08:09):
Yeah, Gears of War 1 and Saints Row 1.
And Saints Row 1 is another title that was probably the best GTA-like game at the time,
that actually did enough with activities and the insurance frauds
and all the different little mini games and the very rooted street gang storyline.
(08:30):
It stood out. It was a fantastic title.
But more so, the online is very underrated on Saints Row 1
because that's how I met a lot of my good friends now.
And then from there, we started playing Gears of War 1, and now I'm going on a tangent.
But what I'm trying to say is for like a good year or so, all I had was Oblivion on the 360 there.
And man, what a title.
(08:54):
I know Bethesda's most popular Elder Scrolls title is Skyrim.
And beyond that, it might just be their most...
It might be, it is their most popular game of all time, even compared to the Fallout and whatnot.
But I think an Oblivion remaster slash remake could really introduce the game to a new audience.
(09:18):
I think it'd be something that'd be welcomed.
Obviously, you know, we saw Starfield.
Their engine isn't mind blowing or anything, but it'll do wonders for that game, I think,
if they do Oblivion with the revamped art style.
And of course, the Game Pass always helps.
These exclusive titles get more push, more reach easier.
(09:43):
So if that's it on the cards for 2024, I will be looking forward to it.
Like I said, probably just Game Pass it up.
I personally do not subscribe to the Game Pass monthly now.
I kind of just get it when there's games I want to play.
Like I got it for the month for Starfield.
And then, you know, past times, you know, the $1 deal and whatnot.
But Microsoft got rid of the $1 deal now because the $1 deal for the month used to work for only new members.
(10:11):
But for some reason, it kept working for me and it kept working for other people too, even though we weren't new members.
But I know they put the lockdown down on that now.
So fuck you, Microsoft, for that.
And then, of course, there's a lot of people who used to do the gold ultimate and then convert into the Game Pass.
And a lot of people locked in Game Pass that way.
I know they changed that as well now because it's no more live, right?
(10:34):
It's core pass. It's just a Game Pass core or whatever.
So, you know, they figured out the people that were taking advantage and made some adjustments from there.
But it's all right. It's OK.
It's OK, Phil Spencer. It's OK, buddy.
But nevertheless, yeah, the Oblivion remaster could be a big trick up their sleeve, along with Indiana Jones, depending on what it is, how it's going to be.
(11:09):
And Hellblade 2 is obviously something Microsoft's been cooking for a while now.
It's something they're focusing on heavy.
You know, obviously Ninja Theory.
I've heard mixed things about the first Hellblade.
I know a lot of people love it for how it approaches schizophrenia and the narrative as a whole.
(11:34):
But it's more like a double A game than a triple A game, because obviously it was.
They didn't have the budget and it was independently made.
But it seems now with Microsoft's budget behind them, the overall scale of this game looks big.
And the visuals look nuts, man.
I don't know how this game is going to be as a complete package with the gameplay and the story, the narrative and everything interwoven and whatnot.
(12:03):
But I know from just a sheer visual perspective, this is about to be something super crazy because that's just, man, it's just from what have you seen so far.
And that was gameplay.
It looked like it was like a CGI cinematic.
And then it transitioned right into like gameplay, you can tell when someone's moving the character.
(12:28):
So if anything, the visuals are going to be nuts.
I'm curious to see how the Series S even runs this behemoth of a technical masterpiece, what it seems like it's going to be.
So they're definitely playing their cards pretty heavy on Hellblade 2.
And I think that's an interesting approach, because if you're a gamer, you'll definitely know about Hellblade 1.
(12:55):
But if you look at it at a more like what's going to push our console type of game, I don't know if it's going to quite be that in terms of its mainstream appeal and push.
Obviously, I think Starfield was the major, major title for Bethesda and Microsoft as a whole to really grab that mainstream attention.
(13:18):
And I think they did to an extent, but I don't think they have any other title cooking that might do that.
Again, based on these leaks, Indiana Jones might be that game, a licensed game.
Obviously, the licensing is doing wonders for Sony with Spider-Man and now moving forward Marvel's Wolverine.
(13:40):
So depending on how Indiana Jones plays and whatnot, you know, let me see real quick.
Who is who the developer between this Indiana Jones game?
Upcoming Indiana Jones game from Bethesda and Machine Games.
Oh, so it's a developer of Wolfenstein.
OK. If it's a developer of Wolfenstein, the game might be pretty crazy.
(14:09):
Let me just browse through this article real quick and see what details we even have on bottom.
The Indiana Jones game for Xbox Series X is a developer of Machine Games, the studio responsible for New Order and Wolfenstein 2 New Colossus.
We also know that Bethesda Game Studios head Todd Howard has a hands-on production off the back of his work at Starfield.
(14:34):
OK, very interesting.
While Bethesda on record saying the Indiana Jones game is very, very, very early in its development,
Microsoft leaks suggests it's been on the cards for the studio for a while to support its bid to get the Xbox Xbox Activision deal passed.
Microsoft released improperly readacted internal documents from 2019 that prove Bethesda once hoped to get Indiana Jones out by the end of fiscal year 2022, which obviously is not what happened.
(15:03):
We're past fiscal year 2022 now or past fiscal year 2023 almost.
So.
Interesting.
Let's see if there's any more details.
About the.
There was a teaser video a while back.
(15:27):
But you know, you can just like Google Indiana Jones game teaser and you'll find the tweet.
It's like there's a passport, a hat, the whip, a plane ticket to Rome dated 1937.
OK, so that'd make the timeline of the game between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones The Last Crusade.
(15:51):
From the date and location we can expect Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini to merit at least a mention in the game,
which also hints at links to the Vatican and the US government.
OK.
A new Indiana Jones game with an original stories and development from our studio machine games.
And it will be exactly produced by Todd Howard in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games tweeted Bethesda when the game was announced.
(16:15):
It will be some time.
That's the key wording here before we have more to reveal.
So because this is a Bethesda title, the new Indiana Jones games could be Xbox Series X and PC exclusive.
So it could be Mr. GamesRadar.com. It's definitely will be.
But yeah, OK, so machine games is developing the original story.
(16:41):
So that's positive because I do enjoy the Wolfenstein games.
Now, as a listener viewer, you know, I'm not the biggest Indiana Jones game or game Indiana Jones fan in general.
Like I'm not like die hard or, you know, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones.
I love, love, love, love.
(17:02):
But because machine games is making it and obviously they worked for the FPS route, but they've worked on linear campaigns and narrative driven campaigns.
This might be like.
Xbox call to action for like an uncharted S game.
Which which could do wonders.
(17:23):
You know what I mean?
I know I think with Lucasfilm in the mix, we're hoping that, you know, Indiana Jones looks like Harrison Ford.
Harrison Ford might be too old now to do like the mocap and voice acting and all that was evident by the new Indiana Jones movie that you should probably stop because that was a commercial and critical flop.
(17:50):
But nevertheless,
expecting Mr. Ford to record all the dialogue, you know,
it was a bigger leap, but it could be cool.
Maybe not the mocap dialogue maybe.
We also want to see the gameplay.
Right. Like I said, it's going to be mostly like an uncharted game.
You know, he wasn't just if you look at the movie, he wasn't just racing and shooting up the place, you know, he's not fucking Rambo.
(18:16):
But obviously there's some there's some stealth, there's some disguises, there's some problem solving.
You know, he uses his whip right through his pistol.
So basically what I'm describing to you guys is uncharted, like I said.
That's not that wrong.
I mean, uncharted obviously took some grave influences from Indiana Jones.
The movies from Tomb Raider.
(18:39):
So to have Microsoft's own version of uncharted Tomb Raider in the IP of Indiana Jones backing it
could be that game they need to really like, you know, push the platformer brand forward.
So look out for that.
Just don't know if it'll be 2024.
(19:01):
But yes, Hellblade 2 for sure should be 2024.
Seemed like the Oblivion remaster will be as well since it's you know, Microsoft probably like, oh, everyone already saw the fucking leak.
So let's get that going.
Another interesting title here is Obsidian's Avowed.
Now, Obsidian is one of those developers that will always try different things with their games.
(19:28):
In my mind, they're the best Western RPG developers, even though they don't quite hit the mark every single time.
But that does not mean they don't try.
I mean, just look at their catalog.
We have Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Knights 2.
Alpha Protocol, which is one of those games that was cool when it really fully hit.
(19:50):
And of course, we have fan favorite beloved Gigantic Colossal.
The People's Choice Fallout, Fallout New Vegas.
So it is not developed by Bethesda.
It is an Obsidian game, but obviously they borrowed heavy from the Fallout 3 engine and whatnot.
Fallout New Vegas, if you have not played it, go do that right now.
(20:11):
Obsidian's best game.
Of course, they made Dungeon Siege, South Park's Second Truth, which is a game I've had my steam library for a very long time.
I should be playing it.
A few great things about that too.
So what I'm trying to compare and contrast here is that Knights of the Old Republic 2 is so different from New Vegas, which is so different from South Park's Second Truth.
Which is so different from Pillars of Eternity, which is another game I need to play, which is more on the CRPG side of things.
(20:36):
That's also fantastic.
Which is so different from the next game, Skyforge, which is so different from Tyranny.
Then you got Pillars of Eternity 2.
Then you have more of the recent titles of Outer Worlds, which is like a game I did not mind actually.
It kind of has a mixed approach going for it, but it's kind of like Fallout on a more miniature scale, but in space.
(21:00):
And I actually, you know, it's what's funny is I thought Starfield was gonna, because I played Outer Worlds this year too, right before Starfield.
So I can prep for Starfield sort of thing.
And I thought Starfield was gonna blow Outer Worlds out of the water in terms of scope and polish and kind of the world building.
But it ended up being kind of equivalent, which is kind of crazy, which is a testament to the Outer Worlds.
(21:24):
Because this is not Microsoft published or backed.
It was published by Private Division.
So you can clearly tell they didn't have the budget they wanted to make Outer Worlds, but it's still a solid game, man.
There's some interesting characters.
A lot of cool, there's like this whole Civil War going on on this one, that you kind of like, kind of decide for.
(21:47):
Even the ground-screeber things, you know, like you're like this dude waking up by the scientists.
You can like, take his side or go the corporate route or like yadda yadda yadda.
I mean, without any much spoilers, but I mean, the game has been out for like four years now.
But point being, there's a lot to do.
There really is, which is kind of sick.
(22:09):
So Outer Worlds, but again, Outer Worlds so different from Pills of Eternity and Stick of Truth.
And then obviously Grounded has been doing very well.
Again, very different.
And then they released Pentament last year, which I still need to play.
But again, very, very different game.
It's like a 2D RPG game and you take the control of some, you know, journeyman, I think.
(22:35):
Who like becomes, you know, a part of all these series of murder mysteries.
Back in like the 16th century.
Like, I don't know, man.
Obsidies is those people, you feel me?
You smell me?
And it's sad that they never got a Game of the Year nom or nothing.
I think New Vegas should have been for sure.
(22:56):
I know New Vegas, my critics wasn't as crazily received as by the players,
because obviously it felt very similar to Fallout 3.
But man, just that world and the characters and just everything about New Vegas is great.
Except for the poor PC performance, which you need to like patch the shit out of.
I had my old PC and every time it would crash, I couldn't even use my PC anymore.
(23:18):
I had to like restart my whole PC.
And this is like when I first started streaming.
So like my stream would be cut out for like five to six minutes every couple of hours.
Like it was interesting times, man.
But yeah, back to the point I was making, man, avowed.
Apparently, the shares the same universe, those pillars of eternity.
(23:39):
It will be first person though.
And it's very Elder Scrollies.
So kind of like how Obsidian took the wheel from Fallout 3 and made New Vegas into what it is.
Obviously, they're not just taking...
Obviously, they're not just taking like Skyrim's engine and making this game, hopefully not.
(24:04):
But it could be their version of Elder Scrolls, which might be beloved.
Like how Fallout is beloved in the overall grand scheme of the Fallout universe.
I'm hoping so.
Players assume control of an envoy from the Edea Empire.
(24:26):
Players can use magic melee weapons and firearms such as pistols.
So no different from Elder Scrolls there.
There are several skill trees, which are expected.
Weapons can be individually upgraded.
And the interesting kind of worrisome part is while the Valid is not a full open world game,
the game features several large open zones for players to explore.
(24:51):
So I was kind of hoping with Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios publishing tag on this,
that the budget would have been bigger because that kind of smells a lot like how Outer Worlds was.
Not fully open world game, but several large open like planets, regions for people to explore.
So I think it's going to be similar to that.
(25:12):
As the player explores the game's world, they interact with other NPCs similar to Obsidian's previous game, Outer Worlds.
Okay, there you go.
The game features dialogue options which reflects the tone the player wants to convey.
Wonderful.
What's the good part about Outer Worlds?
Some NPCs will join the player's party and become their companions.
Each of whom have their own personality to combat skills.
(25:33):
Players can explore the game's world and complete quests with two companions at a time.
So this is just sounding more and more like a set of their Fallout New Vegas to Fallout.
And this being Valid to Elder Scrolls, this is just seeing more like...
(25:56):
This is just seeing more like...
You know how I was describing Outer Worlds as being like a mini Fallout?
This is sounding like Outer World to Outer Scrolls Edition, if that makes sense.
It's starting to sound more like a mini Outer Scrolls.
But that necessarily can't be a bad thing.
So this is definitely set to be released in 2024, so that could be a big one.
(26:19):
So make sure to stay tuned for that.
And then of course, there's this game called South of Midnight.
Which might not be on everyone's radar, but it's...
It's by Compulsant Games.
(26:40):
And I'm trying to think what game they made, man.
Compulsant Games had that one game, man. You guys know what I'm talking about.
We Happy Few.
We Happy Few.
Obviously the studio is made of ex-Arkane Studios developer Willemijn Provost.
(27:03):
Yeah, We Happy Few was the big one.
And then this is going to be the first game since Microsoft bought them, which was back at E3 2018.
Holy shit.
It's going to be their first game since then.
This is what I mean when they spent years and years acquiring these studios.
They acquired the studio back in 2018 and they're finally releasing a game now.
(27:26):
Holy shit.
Like six years later in 2024.
But yeah, South of Midnight.
There's a Steam page for it.
I don't know if you guys remember the trailer for it.
The trailer was like that weird dude playing the guitar in that pond river thing.
And the chick goes up to him like, yo, what's up?
(27:50):
I don't know if that makes sense.
Yeah, it's going to be a third person action adventure game set in the American deep dows.
The main protagonist you play as Hazel.
You explore the mythos and encounter creatures of Southern folklore.
Very interesting.
You know, typical hometown disaster strikes.
She becomes a weaver, which is like a magical mender of broken bonded spirits.
(28:14):
She has all the new abilities to save her town.
But it was very cool because you usually don't have your you don't really have the deep, deep South as your background for a highly mythological folklore game.
So that could be very promising from compulsive games.
So stay tuned for that one.
(28:36):
That definitely seems to be in line for 2024 as well.
And then, like I said, there's also Everwild, which keeps getting delayed over and over.
And, you know, the conversation about Rare is definitely like could be its own entire podcast, really.
(29:00):
I'm obviously rare. It's one of the greatest game developers of all time.
But since Microsoft acquired them back in the day, what, like 2002, three, look at the track record real quick.
They've had I think the first game they made was grabbed by the gullies.
Let me see.
(29:22):
Grabbed by the gullies was the first rare game to be published by Microsoft after Rare was bought out from Nintendo.
So grab by the gullies might be on the Have you played this segment one day because very interesting game.
That was the first one. And then obviously from there they did Conker Live Reloaded, Perfect Dark Zero, Viva Pinata, which is one of my all time favorite games.
(29:47):
The Viva Pinata, Trouble in Paradise, Banjo Kazooie, Nuts and Bolts, which looking back at it now was actually a decent game.
Initially Killer Instinct, well, under supervision of Rare.
Then they came out with a Rare replay and then Sea of Thieves, which over time, you know, became a really good game.
(30:14):
So I'm afraid it were credits too.
And then in 2020, they oversaw the production of Battletoads 2, which was kind of disappointing.
So yeah, Rare has been interesting since it was acquired by Microsoft.
Obviously before that they were like the king of the 90s with the original Killer Instinct 1 and 2, the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, GoldenEye 007, Banjo Kazooie.
(30:41):
The list just goes on and on. Perfect Dark on the N64, Conker's Bad Freridae.
Just an all time goaded 90s developer.
And really I think they kind of just carried, carried, carried, carried the N64, man.
(31:04):
They really did, man. Just like, man, GoldenEye 007 itself, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Banjo Tooie conquers Bad Freridae.
But they also conquered Super Nintendo days because the Donkey Kong trilogy alone is so good, man. So hard too.
So never fully rule out what Rare could be capable of.
(31:28):
Obviously Everwild is not something we've seen a lot of. I know it's going to have the Accel Shaded art style on some action adventure game.
A few details have been announced. Description of its gameplay have been varying based on different reports.
So it's supposed to be a third person adventure game. The elements taken from God games.
(31:51):
So who knows? I'm just looking around the internet right now. Apparently saying recent reports suggest the game has no combat whatsoever, which is kind of interesting.
According to a video game report by Andy Robinson from the Video Games Chronicle, shout out Andy and VGC,
(32:13):
Everwild will be more of a Viva Pena like game. A survival game in the earlier trailers hinted at.
What? This got me kind of hard right there. No, I'm not going to cap because I love Viva Pena.
He also stated that he hasn't looked into it in a while, but if Greg Maels is taking lead, you can be very confident that it will turn out great.
(32:38):
So let's look at Greg Maels. He's a creative director for Rare. He's been working there since 1989. Holy smokes.
So he worked as a designer on Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3. He was a director for Banjo Kazooie. Holy shit.
(33:01):
OK. Designer for Banjo Tui, designer for Grab by the Ghoulies, designer for Viva Pena, director for Banjo Kazooie,
director for Nuts and Bolts and a director for Sea of Thieves and designer Sea of Thieves. And then he's going to be the director for this game.
(33:31):
Very low three games directed completely, but he did direct Banjo Kazooie. He did direct Banjo Kazooie, Nuts and Bolts and he did direct Sea of Thieves,
which is a very good game. So that could be promising. Don't know much about it, but it could be promising.
(33:52):
Obviously back in 2021, it went through a complete reboot because the game was initially shown in 2019 presentation.
Then two years later, it went through a complete reboot. So maybe three years is enough time, hopefully.
(34:13):
The Everwild development team is now optimistically targeting a 2024 release. So I hope that is the case.
I really do. That sounds more and more interesting to me. What else do we have cooking for 2024?
(34:34):
I think those are the main hitters Hellblade 2, Avowed, South of Midnight, Everwild.
Obviously Clockwork Revolution could be another big one. This one's from NXL Entertainment.
And I believe these are the developers behind Wasteland. Yes, they are.
(35:01):
So obviously very into RPG heavy, top down, CRPG turn based kind of style.
Clockwork Revolution, obviously when it was first showed, a lot of people were calling it Antiscam, Bioshock Infinite.
Similarities are to be made. But yes, it's described as a time bending steampunk first person RPG.
(35:28):
You stumble across an adventure that allows you to travel into the past and discover the city you call home.
And then you go through different alteration of historical events to kind of bring things back to norm, I guess.
Traveling back to key moments in interaction, the choice of will have a butterfly effect on the deep,
narrow driven worlds and characters of Avalon, causing them to change and react in unprecedented ways.
(35:49):
Now I'll tell you this. First person RPG, they're always more familiar with the turn based style and whatnot.
So we'll see how they adjust to the gameplay.
But this team obviously was a part of the original Fallout 1 and 2 as well. And obviously they made Wasteland from there.
(36:12):
So if we're looking at narrative driven worlds and characters, they're definitely going to land and deliver on that aspect.
That's what makes me excited about this game. Could be another big one for 2024 if it doesn't release in 2024.
So I'll go for Clockwork Revolution.
And then, of course, Stated Decade 3 as well.
(36:38):
Announced back in 2020. Like I said, this is a big issue with Microsoft right now.
These games have been announced for what seems like ages now.
And we just do not know if they're for sure going to be coming out in 2024 or not.
But yeah, Stated Decade 3. I played the first one. Never got a chance to play the second one.
(37:05):
But yeah, Stated Decade 3. Looking at a recent article here now by GameRant.
New Stated Decade 3 release. Rumors bad news for the fans.
Rumors suggest that Stated Decade 3 might not be released until 2027.
What? Indicating a longer development period for the highly anticipated game.
(37:27):
Previous controversy surrounding undead labs and a toxic workplace environment have raised concerns about the studio's development practices.
While Stated Decade 3 release may be delayed,
Microsoft has a strong lineup of first-party titles set to be released in the coming years, providing variety for gamers, which we've been talking about this entire episode.
(37:50):
Wow, 2027 is kind of crazy.
But yeah, even this article mentions, there's of course, well, For the Mortisport already came out.
But it mentions Evoud, Clockwork Revolution.
Most of the articles keep forgetting about Stalker 2 and then whatnot.
(38:12):
Yeah, there's plenty of variety.
Okay, so I guess we won't talk much about one more Stated Decade 3.
If you haven't heard about Stated Decade, you know, the zombie survival game with some building elements and whatnot, some elements.
So check it out if you have not yet.
The leaks also, the FTC leaks for the Bethesda and Xbox also mentioned a new Doom gaming development.
(38:35):
I doubt this comes out in 2024.
But whenever it does come out 2025, I would say.
You damn well know Microsoft's going to keep that exclusive to like a PC, Xbox only.
So that'll be a heavy hitter.
I think Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda is obviously going to give them a lot of more big heavy hitters compared to like, you know, the requirement of these other studios.
(39:01):
But obviously Obsidian and Exile are good ones too, deeply rooted with the Western RPG atmosphere.
So compared to Sony, you know, once these games start kind of rolling out, they might have that sphere unlock the Western RPG hemisphere.
I sure hope they do.
That's probably one of my favorite genres.
(39:23):
I mean, I love my RPGs too.
But I love the decision making and open endedness of Western RPGs.
So they could be there.
What haven't we touched upon?
We haven't touched upon the Fable game, which is developed by Playground Games, aka the Forza Horizon devs.
(39:47):
But it's hard to say what Xbox has planned for Fable and some of these other bigger games.
But we'll see.
That's kind of Xbox's motto right now.
We'll see.
But I can safely say I hope Everwild, Clockwork Revolution, and then Hellblade 2 and Evowed, and South of Midnight, and Stalker 2.
So that's like six titles.
Will all be 2024.
(40:09):
All in a very diverse lineup as well.
You know, Hellblade 2 being more of a third person narrative driven, Evowed being kind of like elder schools.
Right?
We don't know how South of Midnight is going to look.
You know, Stalker 2 is a FPS single player game.
Same thing with Clockwork Revolution.
Everwild, no idea what it's going to be.
So it's a very diverse lineup.
(40:30):
I'm looking forward to it.
Then of course, with that being said, if you compare that to what Sony has for 2024.
I know comparisons are dumb, but that's what everyone likes to, you know, the console people like to argue about.
Obviously for them, they have FF7 Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin and Helldivers 2.
(40:53):
And then Wolverine, whenever that comes out, might not be 2024.
Then Formstars.
So, I mean, like I said, I feel like on paper, the variety and the interesting new IPs and stuff are coming from Microsoft's end.
Then obviously it's hard to compete with like FF7 Rebirth, right?
And we'll see how Team Ninja's or Rise of the Ronin is as well.
(41:16):
And then, you know, Helldivers 2 could be good.
Formstars, we'll see.
Obviously, Wolverine is going to be a huge title as well.
And then you have, you have the unknowns, right?
Like we don't know, like, what Sucker Punch is doing.
Ghost of the Sima 2 could be on its way.
You know, obviously Guerrilla Games has been heavy with Horizon, but maybe Killzone can get rebooted.
(41:42):
We definitely know what Naughty Dog's been doing.
And we're going to save that for another podcast because I've got a lot to say about Naughty Dog.
But it's going to be very interesting moving forward for both about consoles.
Obviously, the Game Awards, like I said, previous episode, if you have not seen it yet, we discussed all the nominees and whatnot.
While the Game Awards, I think, you know, obviously presents all these awards.
(42:03):
I think the Game Awards 2023 is also kind of like a winter E3.
A lot of people tune in to see the reveals and world premieres.
So usually there's some exciting moments at this event.
So maybe Sony will be cooking up some shit there.
And then obviously there's some good multi-genre, multi-genre, multi-console, multi-plat.
(42:26):
There you go. Multi-plat games.
Look at the Alone in the Dark reboot.
Prince of Persia lost crown.
Tekken 8 in January and Forso.
So a lot of the pipeline for Xbox in 2024.
Hopefully it's all going to come into fruition.
Because if it doesn't, we'll be talking about Phil Spencer's comments next about Xbox maybe exiting the gaming industry by 2027.
(42:56):
Stay tuned.
All right. So it's no surprise.
Xbox is very game pass heavy.
It's relying on the game pass to get bigger and bigger to keep its foot in the gaming industry.
And then in talking about the FTC leak earlier, there's going to be a new Xbox Series X variant coming.
(43:19):
And even the next console generation is set for a 2028 release.
But Phil Spencer predicted that his subscribers aren't where they need to be by 2027.
It could end the mark of Microsoft's activity in the gaming business.
Very interesting comments.
Currently Xbox game pass is available on Xbox consoles as well as PC with the latter having the lowest number of subscribers.
(43:45):
One of Xbox's goal for the future is to increase subscribers on PC as much as possible.
The thing with the PC game pass is it is cheaper than the console game pass or like and or the ultimate.
Ultimate kind of gives you both. And cloud gaming.
It is cheaper.
The issue with PC gaming is there's just way too many fucking launchers.
(44:08):
You know, Steam is like the place where a lot of people feel comfortable.
And then you throw this Xbox game pass, which historically has been horrible with the Microsoft store and whatnot.
I feel like their new app is a lot better.
The past year or two.
But yeah, I think it's just the launchers. People are just tired of playing on these launchers.
You already have Steam and you have this and then you have Epic and then you have Ubisoft Connect and you have EA Play.
(44:34):
Then you have Blizzard.Nan and then you have yada yada yada.
This this this and the.
It's too much, man. You came to PC to kind of like streamline these processes.
But now like your PC kind of feels like a console because you're launching all these different fucking games from different platforms.
So they kind of feel like their own. And then your games are split up across all these libraries.
(44:56):
Then, of course, you can just get God Galaxy and streamline all your games in one place.
But I tried to do that, but I don't know.
It's like, again, it's like getting into the interface with that.
So it's kind of a lot of people just like steam or steam or nothing. Right.
And thankfully, so Steve's been there for a while. Right.
So I think that's kind of part of it.
(45:20):
But yeah, let me quote Phil Spencer here.
He said, I can safely say that if we do not make more progress in this off console.
We would exit the gaming business just for the outcome.
I don't believe we'll still be in the business.
It could be a long shot comment, because I mean, obviously,
the next generation console currently development by Microsoft, and obviously they're going to be made with the game pass in mind.
(45:45):
So adopting kind of like a cloud hybrid system that make most of the gaming on Xbox entirely digital.
And I know there's also reports the company wanted to bring cloud streaming to PlayStation consoles.
But obviously, there's no way in hell Sony would ever accept that.
But maybe, maybe, you know, never say never.
Maybe in the distant future.
(46:08):
When Xbox drops, like their competition approach and their hardware approach,
they become like game pass off for heavy.
Maybe. But if they're planning to release another console, that's never going to happen.
Because. Yeah, Sony is going to always view the direct competitor right for trying to compete in hardware with them.
So, yeah, I just thought it was very interesting comments.
(46:31):
Do you guys think that this will be true?
Do you think, you know, if the game pass numbers aren't where they're supposed to be?
Microsoft will ditch the Xbox gaming brand by 2027.
I doubt it. Like I said, if they don't get to where they want to be numbers wise, game pass wise, they might ditch like hardware.
(46:53):
You know, Xbox is like a console competing brand.
Might be. Gone.
But I think Xbox will always exist just like as a brand on its own, whether it goes into publishing.
Like, you know, how Sega did eventually or publishing or they start putting all their Marvel and game pass
(47:14):
game on PC and game passes on PlayStation for whatever Nintendo games can support.
You know, game passes on the Switch's successor.
And then now the game passes integrated to Steam, which I think would drive huge numbers.
I know I've talked to so many people, my friends, other people.
You know how like EA Play is integrated to Steam.
And if the game pass was integrated to Steam, you just like pay your eleven, twelve bucks a month.
(47:38):
And then you can just like get all the games through Steam.
Like it'll be like, oh, like has like an available has like an available and game pass tab.
You just click that and it becomes a part of your like how EA Play works.
But obviously on the back end of things, you know, the logistics of financials behind Valve and Microsoft to make that work would probably be a lot of work.
(48:01):
But I think that do wonders. I mean, the target they're trying to hit is they want to be they want to surpass 100 million subscribers by 2029, 2030.
It could be possible. Like I said, we talked about these promising exclusive titles coming out.
So obviously all these Xbox exclusives are day one.
(48:22):
And obviously the third party AAA titles play a big factor.
We've said I've been killing it lately, man.
They like the new Laker Dragon came out there day one Dead Space just got on there.
Like I said, game pass is something I'm going to subscribe to pretty soon here.
Since I have a job and I can afford it now and actually see games of value I want to play.
Yeah. It's very, very interesting comments.
(48:47):
So we'll see. But let me know what you guys think.
Like I said, from YouTube, drop a comment on Twitter. You can follow me at Digital Down Pod.
Yeah, at Digital Down Pod. I know it's a tricky Twitter handle, but that's kind of what all I could do given the character limit was available.
(49:10):
You can also hit me up directly at GiliPG, that's G-I-L-L-I-E-P-G on Twitter or Instagram or on Twitch or wherever.
I also have Digital Downtime Podcast at gmail.com.
If you want to email me your comments or concerns or anything beyond that, we'd love to hear back from you.
(49:35):
Just overall about the conversation today about what exclusives are you excited for that the Xbox brand has launched?
Do you think they're all going to be coming out in 2024?
Will Xbox actually exit the gaming industry by 2027?
If they don't hit their metrics, this is all to be seen.
But obviously it's a fun conversation to have.
But we're still not done yet. Of course, stay tuned for our Have You Played This?
(50:02):
Which features a very, very interesting title that was available on the original Xbox.
So let's see how many of you guys remember it. Stay tuned.
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second edition of Have You Played This? Today.
Looking at Blinkz, a time sweeper, which is developed by R-Tune, published by Xbox Games Studios.
(50:29):
This dev team worked on a game called Pinobi Wings of Adventure as their first title for the GBA.
And then obviously Blinkz, the time sweeper, was like their biggest one.
They made a sequel to Blinkz, Blinkz II, Master of the Time and Space.
From there worked on more Nintendo Advance and DS games.
(50:50):
Eventually they ended up making Blue Dragon on the 360 as well. Very interesting.
They haven't made a game since 2011 now.
But yeah, Blinkz, a time sweeper, only on Xbox, was released on October 9th, 2002.
The Xbox was released November 15th, 2001, I believe.
(51:13):
So about a little under a year after, it was kind of Xbox's response to the heavy hitters Sony was putting out at the time, right?
So the response to Jack and Daxter, the Ratchet and Clank, the Crash Bandicoots, the Spyros, all these platformers Sony was pushing out.
(51:35):
Of course, Nintendo obviously, strong. Donkey Kong and Mario Presence 2D and 3D to that point.
And then obviously they had the Banjos. Rare was going crazy at that time.
The platforming scene was wild, 3D and 2D, from like the 90s to like mid 2000s.
And obviously now there's still a resurgence. The AAA realm and indie games have been killing it too.
(51:59):
But that's not the point. The point is Blinkz, the time sweeper was specifically made so that Microsoft can kind of have their own crash, their own little mascot in the platforming genre.
And, you know, it wasn't a bad game, you know?
It wasn't the best game I ever played, but I think it was a game that was kind of overlooked and it wasn't what Xbox was hoping the game would deliver.
(52:23):
Right? Like I said, you know, Blinkz didn't become like Xbox mascot or anything.
Like you don't think Xbox would be like, oh man, Blinkz, you know, you think of Master Chief or Market Phoenix or Forza or, you know, something along those lines.
You don't think, oh, Blinkz, right? So I think it failed for the high expectations they had.
But yeah, it was a fun game. I was an action platformer. You had this little vacuum cleaner thing.
(52:48):
You can like sweep up, you know, that's why it's called time sweeper, sweep up some shit.
Obviously collectibles were big, you know, gold crystals, cap metals, time crystals.
And you can shoot out the trash too, if I remember correctly.
And then I remember how the main gameplay loop worked, but I think if you got like three of the same crystal or whatever,
(53:11):
you can like control time or whatever, something like that.
And then you can like reverse it, speed it up, slow down, pause, et cetera.
So that's some interesting elements to it. You know what I mean?
Yeah, I think the development.
(53:34):
I think R2, let's see more about the devs here.
Yeah, it was founded in 1999 by Sonic the Hedgehog designer Naoto Ushima, alongside other various Sega developers.
The team loved the idea of a cat that could control time, especially in combination with the processing power of the original Xbox at the time.
So they combined and worked on the game. So metacritically, set a CID about 71.
(53:58):
Looking at some big hitters here. IGN gave it a 8.8, GameSpot gave it a 6.3.
Game Informing a 7.75, Electric On It Gaming Monthly 7.10.
It's about a game I'd give a run of 7 to as well.
But I think I think it's worth the play.
Obviously, last week with Spawn Armageddon on Have You Played This, definitely a more discreet game than I think this.
(54:24):
I think people forget about Blinkz the Time Sweeper.
And like I said, on this Xbox Microsofting episode, I thought it was appropriate to bring it bring it total.
GameSpy actually gave it the number 6 at the most overrated games ever in 2004.
That's hilarious. But yeah, obviously the game looked really well.
This one thing I remember as a kid, because growing up, I had a PS2 during this time era.
(54:49):
And then like a little shortly after I got the GameCube, never had the original Xbox, but my cousins did.
And I'd always just go over there and play.
I remember there's a period of time where I let them borrow my PS2 and they let me borrow their Xbox.
So they really wanted to play God of War and stuff like that, I think.
And then I took that time to play all the games they had.
(55:10):
I took that time to play Blinkz the Time Sweeper because I didn't have an Xbox.
I played Halo 1, the campaign, Shenmue 2, Chronicles of Riddikos, another one, I think.
And then a few other Xboxes. The original Xbox was cooking a little bit, you know what I'm saying?
But yeah, the graphics were really cool.
(55:31):
But I didn't go into the gameplay too much because it's kind of difficult to explain how the time control worked.
But yeah, the time control was a little bit kind of difficult to navigate through.
But yeah, I think eventually the game entered the Platinum Hits range.
And then I don't know if it did super crazy commercially, but yeah, you know,
(55:57):
GameSpot said the players get a sense of relief from completing a level rather than enjoyment or satisfaction.
So they said how you will, you know, you get relief instead of satisfaction or enjoyment.
It was a runner up for GameSpot's most disappointing game on Xbox Award.
It went to ToeJam and Earl 3 instead. AGM, which gave it a 7.5 out of 10.
(56:24):
It's probably a little tedious and repetitive, but they believed issues aside, the unique style and playing mechanics made it stand out.
And like I was saying earlier, GameSpot suggested that Blinkz was proposed to be the possible mascot for the Xbox system,
rivaling Nintendo's Mario, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog.
And since the main character of Halo combat, Evolved Master Chief, was considered to be too violent,
(56:47):
the officials wanted a friendly furry face to lead the sales among the younger clientele.
But as we already know, due to the game's unpopularity, it never achieved a suggesting goal.
And Master Chief is unofficially seen as a mascot, even to this day.
But yeah, interesting fact, Blinkz was at one point proposed as a mascot for the Xbox in Japan.
(57:10):
So yeah, man, Blinkz the Time Sweeper. Released. It was a platformer.
That's some interesting concepts going forward, but I don't think the execution is quite there.
Still, I think it's a fun game. Like I said, 7 out of 10.
Like I said, you know, a lot of these, like, have you played these games? Have you played this? Have you played these games?
(57:33):
I mean, kind of hard to get your hands on now, just like last week's Spot Armour getting.
But, you know, there's ways to play the Xbox. Like I said last week, if you know, you know.
The great thing about Xbox is they also have wonderful backwards compatibility support.
So if you do want a Series X, maybe you can try finding a copy of Blinkz.
(57:55):
Check it out for yourself. If not, you know, there's always YouTube and whatnot.
So that's this week's Have you played this game? Blinkz the Time Sweeper.
Xbox attempt at creating a massive mascot and platforming competitor to the Ratchet and Clank,
Jack and Daxter, Mario's and whatnot. But just quite failed to capture that audience.
(58:16):
So good attempt, Microsoft. But the game is not forgotten, as we're still talking about it today.
But yeah, that goes all for episode two.
We discussed Xbox's 2024 release window, what they have cooking, what they have in store and the potential for greatness is there.
(58:40):
Let's just hope they finally deliver because they have been cooking for a while.
Let's just hope all this cooking actually makes the final meal or the final dish that much more better.
We will see. We also discussed the possibility of them exiting the gaming industry by 2027 to fill to meet their game paths projections.
(59:02):
Then, of course, on Have you played this? We discussed Blinkz the Time Sweeper.
Again, a Microsoft exclusive from the past that wanted to rival the great platforms at the time, the great mascots at the time, but didn't quite do so.
Again, this episode was hosted by your boy, Gilly, aka well, Prince Gill, aka Gilly, aka, you know, the gaming nerd, aka the Punjabi playboy prince, aka the mocha skin manimo, aka.
(59:34):
Catch the drift.
So I learned a little bit more about podcasts, so I guess what I'm supposed to say is make sure you save this on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, add it to your library or whatever.
Make sure to leave a rate review, whatever a lot of fun stuff on YouTube, same thing.
(59:56):
Like, comment, subscribe. I do appreciate all feedback and any feedback in these early stages of the podcast.
Next week, we will probably be diving deeper into this Naughty Dog conversation that I mentioned last week.
So I think next week's episode is going to be dedicated to Naughty Dog talking a bit about their legacy and why they're one of my favorite developers of all time,
(01:00:21):
which disappoints me on what they're doing currently for the PS5 to have an in-depth conversation about all that, you know,
what they meant, what they mean for PlayStation and what they did during the original PlayStation era, PS2 era, PS3, PS4, and what they aren't doing for the PS5, unfortunately.
(01:00:42):
So I think that will be next week's conversation.
But as always, if you want to connect with me, like I said, digitaldowntimepodcast.gmail.com.
You can also follow on Twitter or whatever X it's called nowadays, digitaldowntod.
To reach me, it's this gillipg, G-I-L-L-I-E-P-G on all socials.
So Twitter and Instagram and Twitch and my own YouTube as well.
(01:01:07):
So many, many ways to contact and get in touch.
If you're for any feedback or whatnot, I would appreciate it.
We also currently are looking for sponsorships and advertisements and that kind of ordeal.
So if you're interested in that, you know, you can contact me on the many platforms I just listed.
And also, if you're looking to be a guest on the show, same way, make sure to reach out.
(01:01:31):
You can talk anything gaming at all.
That's kind of what the podcast is about.
So if you're looking to be a guest, just give a shout out to me.
If you follow me on Twitter right now or have me on Discord, just give a DM or whatnot or reach me through the email.
But yeah, that's going to be it for episode two. Hope you guys enjoyed.
(01:01:54):
I played around with the audio a bit more, so hopefully it sounds a bit better than episode one.
Like I said, just let me know.
We're always making adjustments on the technical side of things to ensure the best quality for our listeners.
Because without y'all, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have started it.
So thank you once again.
(01:02:16):
Yes, Gilly out and see you next week on Digital Downtime.
(01:02:46):
Bye.
Ladies and gentlemen, how's it going? Welcome to the second episode of Digital Downtime
(00:06):
with your host, Prince Gale aka Gilly aka yeah, whatever.
Today, we're going to be talking about Xbox and Microsoft as a whole and their future.
And me and my friends meme about this every year, but they might be poised for a big 2024.
So we'll take a look into that.
We'll also be discussing Phil Spencer's comments about the game paths and how if they don't
(00:32):
reach their targets by 2027, they might be out of the market.
So what does that really mean? We'll look a little bit deeper into that.
Then of course, on our weekly Have You Played This?
We'll be looking at Blinx, a platformer that was released on the original Xbox,
since it's an Xbox themed episode.
(00:54):
I want to thank everyone again for listening to the first episode.
I do appreciate it. If you have not listened to it, make sure to check it out
where we talk about the Game Award nominees and whatnot.
Sit back, relax and welcome to episode two.
(01:35):
Microsoft got hit with a pretty big leak earlier this year.
It was about the FTC leak, I think.
If I'm correct, yes.
So this kind of leaked things for Xbox in terms of more of a Bethesda Outlook sort of thing.
But even beyond the link, Xbox has a lot of exclusives in the pipeline with no clear release dates.
(02:02):
Obviously, the past couple years, their strategy has been just buying studio after studio.
So we kind of got, you know, yearly, oh, these are the studios we've acquired now.
These are the studios we've acquired now.
But we haven't really seen the output of these studios yet, not completely.
Of course, this year we saw Hi-Fi Rush, which was kind of like a surprise release.
(02:22):
But beyond that, we haven't really seen these games kind of be put out yet.
I'm thinking 2024 is going to be the year for that, right?
Because they got a lot cooking and, you know, not going to be able to touch basis on every single title.
But of course, on paper right now, it seems like they have more than more than Sony.
(02:45):
You know, with the PS5 and all, Sony's strategy right now is to release bigger exclusives.
Obviously, this year, Spider-Man 2 was a big one for them.
And then Final Fantasy 16 with the timed exclusivity and whatnot.
So Sony's approach has more been about heavy hitters and it always works for them.
(03:07):
But on paper right now, it seems Microsoft has more.
But I mean, that could always change.
You know, one state of play could change all that.
Sony could have some things cooking at the Game Awards, which we will see.
Yeah, but even for next year, aside from, you know, FF7 Remake, Rebirth and then Rise of the Ronin,
(03:31):
I cannot forget about that because I believe that's coming out in 2024.
But yeah, FF7 Rebirth, Team Ninja's Rise of Ronin.
Then, of course, they have Helldivers 2 and then, you know, Somniac Games Marvel's Wolverine,
which we are not sure if it's releasing for sure in 2024.
(03:56):
But it could be a possibility, but it's looking like more like 2025.
But aside from those two, three titles there, there doesn't seem like much yet for Sony.
Of course, Foam Stars by Square Enix, which is like a Splatoon-like.
I know it got panned heavily just by its initial reveal.
(04:17):
I'm a big Splatoon guy, so obviously I took my digs at it.
But I think the closed beta they had, or open beta, was actually received pretty well.
So the next time they have another one, I will be tuning into that.
I hope they surprise everyone and Foam Stars is actually decent
because Sony does need some exclusive multiplayer games.
(04:39):
That's a conversation for another podcast.
But we look at that and then now, if we compare that to Xbox,
well, I guess if we're talking about games or exclusives with unknown release dates,
there's also Death Stranding 2 and Silent Hill 2 for Sony.
(05:00):
But these might be more like console exclusives.
They might even be console timed exclusives where they're on PS5 and PC from the get-go.
And then later they go into Xbox platforms and whatnot.
But that remains to be seen.
But now if we look at what Xbox has cooking, we have Hellblade 2,
(05:25):
we have Obsidian's Avalid, which seems like their take on the Elder Scrolls series,
an interesting dark modern folktale base game called South of Midnight.
And then the leaks show that Indiana Jones and the Oblivion remaster slash remake
could be coming out in 2024 as well.
(05:46):
Do not forget Everwild by Rare is targeting a 2024 release.
The steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution from an exile entertainment could be 2024 as well.
Sated Decade 3 could also possibly be making its appearance next year,
but that could also be a 2025 game.
Like I said, this is so hard to know when these games are coming out.
(06:11):
Obviously, we have Stalker 2, which let me just confirm is not coming out on Sony consoles.
That was originally released for this year, December, but things got pushed back.
So yes, that is an Xbox slash Microsoft Windows game.
So cannot forget about Stalker 2, which looks very excellent.
(06:35):
And then, you know, obviously there's Fable by Playground Games,
which seems unlikely for 2024.
But we just look at what most likely will be coming out in 2024 a little bit more in detail.
You know, we haven't really seen much of Indiana Jones.
(06:56):
I know it's a Bethesda title.
Could be something very good.
It's really hard to make a lot of comments about Indiana Jones at the moment,
because we just haven't seen anything, no details, not even a trailer, not even gameplay,
not even any gameplay detail leaks or anything along the sorts.
It's kind of hard to tell with that.
Obviously, the Oblivion remake slash remaster is a big one.
(07:21):
I am a huge advocate for Oblivion.
I remember when the 360 first came out.
Oblivion was the only game I had for about almost a year.
I got the 360 in 2006 around my birthday time, which is August.
And then, yeah, we lived on an 8th grade then, like a farm.
So we didn't have the internet to support online gaming until about summer 2007.
(07:48):
And that's when I picked up Gears of War 1,
which is one of my favorite games of all time, by the way.
That was my gateway to online gaming.
If you know me really well, you'll know how synonymous Gears of War 1 is with me as a gamer.
So damn good times.
(08:09):
Yeah, Gears of War 1 and Saints Row 1.
And Saints Row 1 is another title that was probably the best GTA-like game at the time,
that actually did enough with activities and the insurance frauds
and all the different little mini games and the very rooted street gang storyline.
(08:30):
It stood out. It was a fantastic title.
But more so, the online is very underrated on Saints Row 1
because that's how I met a lot of my good friends now.
And then from there, we started playing Gears of War 1, and now I'm going on a tangent.
But what I'm trying to say is for like a good year or so, all I had was Oblivion on the 360 there.
And man, what a title.
(08:54):
I know Bethesda's most popular Elder Scrolls title is Skyrim.
And beyond that, it might just be their most...
It might be, it is their most popular game of all time, even compared to the Fallout and whatnot.
But I think an Oblivion remaster slash remake could really introduce the game to a new audience.
(09:18):
I think it'd be something that'd be welcomed.
Obviously, you know, we saw Starfield.
Their engine isn't mind blowing or anything, but it'll do wonders for that game, I think,
if they do Oblivion with the revamped art style.
And of course, the Game Pass always helps.
These exclusive titles get more push, more reach easier.
(09:43):
So if that's it on the cards for 2024, I will be looking forward to it.
Like I said, probably just Game Pass it up.
I personally do not subscribe to the Game Pass monthly now.
I kind of just get it when there's games I want to play.
Like I got it for the month for Starfield.
And then, you know, past times, you know, the $1 deal and whatnot.
But Microsoft got rid of the $1 deal now because the $1 deal for the month used to work for only new members.
(10:11):
But for some reason, it kept working for me and it kept working for other people too, even though we weren't new members.
But I know they put the lockdown down on that now.
So fuck you, Microsoft, for that.
And then, of course, there's a lot of people who used to do the gold ultimate and then convert into the Game Pass.
And a lot of people locked in Game Pass that way.
I know they changed that as well now because it's no more live, right?
(10:34):
It's core pass. It's just a Game Pass core or whatever.
So, you know, they figured out the people that were taking advantage and made some adjustments from there.
But it's all right. It's OK.
It's OK, Phil Spencer. It's OK, buddy.
But nevertheless, yeah, the Oblivion remaster could be a big trick up their sleeve, along with Indiana Jones, depending on what it is, how it's going to be.
(11:09):
And Hellblade 2 is obviously something Microsoft's been cooking for a while now.
It's something they're focusing on heavy.
You know, obviously Ninja Theory.
I've heard mixed things about the first Hellblade.
I know a lot of people love it for how it approaches schizophrenia and the narrative as a whole.
(11:34):
But it's more like a double A game than a triple A game, because obviously it was.
They didn't have the budget and it was independently made.
But it seems now with Microsoft's budget behind them, the overall scale of this game looks big.
And the visuals look nuts, man.
I don't know how this game is going to be as a complete package with the gameplay and the story, the narrative and everything interwoven and whatnot.
(12:03):
But I know from just a sheer visual perspective, this is about to be something super crazy because that's just, man, it's just from what have you seen so far.
And that was gameplay.
It looked like it was like a CGI cinematic.
And then it transitioned right into like gameplay, you can tell when someone's moving the character.
(12:28):
So if anything, the visuals are going to be nuts.
I'm curious to see how the Series S even runs this behemoth of a technical masterpiece, what it seems like it's going to be.
So they're definitely playing their cards pretty heavy on Hellblade 2.
And I think that's an interesting approach, because if you're a gamer, you'll definitely know about Hellblade 1.
(12:55):
But if you look at it at a more like what's going to push our console type of game, I don't know if it's going to quite be that in terms of its mainstream appeal and push.
Obviously, I think Starfield was the major, major title for Bethesda and Microsoft as a whole to really grab that mainstream attention.
(13:18):
And I think they did to an extent, but I don't think they have any other title cooking that might do that.
Again, based on these leaks, Indiana Jones might be that game, a licensed game.
Obviously, the licensing is doing wonders for Sony with Spider-Man and now moving forward Marvel's Wolverine.
(13:40):
So depending on how Indiana Jones plays and whatnot, you know, let me see real quick.
Who is who the developer between this Indiana Jones game?
Upcoming Indiana Jones game from Bethesda and Machine Games.
Oh, so it's a developer of Wolfenstein.
OK. If it's a developer of Wolfenstein, the game might be pretty crazy.
(14:09):
Let me just browse through this article real quick and see what details we even have on bottom.
The Indiana Jones game for Xbox Series X is a developer of Machine Games, the studio responsible for New Order and Wolfenstein 2 New Colossus.
We also know that Bethesda Game Studios head Todd Howard has a hands-on production off the back of his work at Starfield.
(14:34):
OK, very interesting.
While Bethesda on record saying the Indiana Jones game is very, very, very early in its development,
Microsoft leaks suggests it's been on the cards for the studio for a while to support its bid to get the Xbox Xbox Activision deal passed.
Microsoft released improperly readacted internal documents from 2019 that prove Bethesda once hoped to get Indiana Jones out by the end of fiscal year 2022, which obviously is not what happened.
(15:03):
We're past fiscal year 2022 now or past fiscal year 2023 almost.
So.
Interesting.
Let's see if there's any more details.
About the.
There was a teaser video a while back.
(15:27):
But you know, you can just like Google Indiana Jones game teaser and you'll find the tweet.
It's like there's a passport, a hat, the whip, a plane ticket to Rome dated 1937.
OK, so that'd make the timeline of the game between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones The Last Crusade.
(15:51):
From the date and location we can expect Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini to merit at least a mention in the game,
which also hints at links to the Vatican and the US government.
OK.
A new Indiana Jones game with an original stories and development from our studio machine games.
And it will be exactly produced by Todd Howard in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games tweeted Bethesda when the game was announced.
(16:15):
It will be some time.
That's the key wording here before we have more to reveal.
So because this is a Bethesda title, the new Indiana Jones games could be Xbox Series X and PC exclusive.
So it could be Mr. GamesRadar.com. It's definitely will be.
But yeah, OK, so machine games is developing the original story.
(16:41):
So that's positive because I do enjoy the Wolfenstein games.
Now, as a listener viewer, you know, I'm not the biggest Indiana Jones game or game Indiana Jones fan in general.
Like I'm not like die hard or, you know, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones.
I love, love, love, love.
(17:02):
But because machine games is making it and obviously they worked for the FPS route, but they've worked on linear campaigns and narrative driven campaigns.
This might be like.
Xbox call to action for like an uncharted S game.
Which which could do wonders.
(17:23):
You know what I mean?
I know I think with Lucasfilm in the mix, we're hoping that, you know, Indiana Jones looks like Harrison Ford.
Harrison Ford might be too old now to do like the mocap and voice acting and all that was evident by the new Indiana Jones movie that you should probably stop because that was a commercial and critical flop.
(17:50):
But nevertheless,
expecting Mr. Ford to record all the dialogue, you know,
it was a bigger leap, but it could be cool.
Maybe not the mocap dialogue maybe.
We also want to see the gameplay.
Right. Like I said, it's going to be mostly like an uncharted game.
You know, he wasn't just if you look at the movie, he wasn't just racing and shooting up the place, you know, he's not fucking Rambo.
(18:16):
But obviously there's some there's some stealth, there's some disguises, there's some problem solving.
You know, he uses his whip right through his pistol.
So basically what I'm describing to you guys is uncharted, like I said.
That's not that wrong.
I mean, uncharted obviously took some grave influences from Indiana Jones.
The movies from Tomb Raider.
(18:39):
So to have Microsoft's own version of uncharted Tomb Raider in the IP of Indiana Jones backing it
could be that game they need to really like, you know, push the platformer brand forward.
So look out for that.
Just don't know if it'll be 2024.
(19:01):
But yes, Hellblade 2 for sure should be 2024.
Seemed like the Oblivion remaster will be as well since it's you know, Microsoft probably like, oh, everyone already saw the fucking leak.
So let's get that going.
Another interesting title here is Obsidian's Avowed.
Now, Obsidian is one of those developers that will always try different things with their games.
(19:28):
In my mind, they're the best Western RPG developers, even though they don't quite hit the mark every single time.
But that does not mean they don't try.
I mean, just look at their catalog.
We have Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Knights 2.
Alpha Protocol, which is one of those games that was cool when it really fully hit.
(19:50):
And of course, we have fan favorite beloved Gigantic Colossal.
The People's Choice Fallout, Fallout New Vegas.
So it is not developed by Bethesda.
It is an Obsidian game, but obviously they borrowed heavy from the Fallout 3 engine and whatnot.
Fallout New Vegas, if you have not played it, go do that right now.
(20:11):
Obsidian's best game.
Of course, they made Dungeon Siege, South Park's Second Truth, which is a game I've had my steam library for a very long time.
I should be playing it.
A few great things about that too.
So what I'm trying to compare and contrast here is that Knights of the Old Republic 2 is so different from New Vegas, which is so different from South Park's Second Truth.
Which is so different from Pillars of Eternity, which is another game I need to play, which is more on the CRPG side of things.
(20:36):
That's also fantastic.
Which is so different from the next game, Skyforge, which is so different from Tyranny.
Then you got Pillars of Eternity 2.
Then you have more of the recent titles of Outer Worlds, which is like a game I did not mind actually.
It kind of has a mixed approach going for it, but it's kind of like Fallout on a more miniature scale, but in space.
(21:00):
And I actually, you know, it's what's funny is I thought Starfield was gonna, because I played Outer Worlds this year too, right before Starfield.
So I can prep for Starfield sort of thing.
And I thought Starfield was gonna blow Outer Worlds out of the water in terms of scope and polish and kind of the world building.
But it ended up being kind of equivalent, which is kind of crazy, which is a testament to the Outer Worlds.
(21:24):
Because this is not Microsoft published or backed.
It was published by Private Division.
So you can clearly tell they didn't have the budget they wanted to make Outer Worlds, but it's still a solid game, man.
There's some interesting characters.
A lot of cool, there's like this whole Civil War going on on this one, that you kind of like, kind of decide for.
(21:47):
Even the ground-screeber things, you know, like you're like this dude waking up by the scientists.
You can like, take his side or go the corporate route or like yadda yadda yadda.
I mean, without any much spoilers, but I mean, the game has been out for like four years now.
But point being, there's a lot to do.
There really is, which is kind of sick.
(22:09):
So Outer Worlds, but again, Outer Worlds so different from Pills of Eternity and Stick of Truth.
And then obviously Grounded has been doing very well.
Again, very different.
And then they released Pentament last year, which I still need to play.
But again, very, very different game.
It's like a 2D RPG game and you take the control of some, you know, journeyman, I think.
(22:35):
Who like becomes, you know, a part of all these series of murder mysteries.
Back in like the 16th century.
Like, I don't know, man.
Obsidies is those people, you feel me?
You smell me?
And it's sad that they never got a Game of the Year nom or nothing.
I think New Vegas should have been for sure.
(22:56):
I know New Vegas, my critics wasn't as crazily received as by the players,
because obviously it felt very similar to Fallout 3.
But man, just that world and the characters and just everything about New Vegas is great.
Except for the poor PC performance, which you need to like patch the shit out of.
I had my old PC and every time it would crash, I couldn't even use my PC anymore.
(23:18):
I had to like restart my whole PC.
And this is like when I first started streaming.
So like my stream would be cut out for like five to six minutes every couple of hours.
Like it was interesting times, man.
But yeah, back to the point I was making, man, avowed.
Apparently, the shares the same universe, those pillars of eternity.
(23:39):
It will be first person though.
And it's very Elder Scrollies.
So kind of like how Obsidian took the wheel from Fallout 3 and made New Vegas into what it is.
Obviously, they're not just taking...
Obviously, they're not just taking like Skyrim's engine and making this game, hopefully not.
(24:04):
But it could be their version of Elder Scrolls, which might be beloved.
Like how Fallout is beloved in the overall grand scheme of the Fallout universe.
I'm hoping so.
Players assume control of an envoy from the Edea Empire.
(24:26):
Players can use magic melee weapons and firearms such as pistols.
So no different from Elder Scrolls there.
There are several skill trees, which are expected.
Weapons can be individually upgraded.
And the interesting kind of worrisome part is while the Valid is not a full open world game,
the game features several large open zones for players to explore.
(24:51):
So I was kind of hoping with Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios publishing tag on this,
that the budget would have been bigger because that kind of smells a lot like how Outer Worlds was.
Not fully open world game, but several large open like planets, regions for people to explore.
So I think it's going to be similar to that.
(25:12):
As the player explores the game's world, they interact with other NPCs similar to Obsidian's previous game, Outer Worlds.
Okay, there you go.
The game features dialogue options which reflects the tone the player wants to convey.
Wonderful.
What's the good part about Outer Worlds?
Some NPCs will join the player's party and become their companions.
Each of whom have their own personality to combat skills.
(25:33):
Players can explore the game's world and complete quests with two companions at a time.
So this is just sounding more and more like a set of their Fallout New Vegas to Fallout.
And this being Valid to Elder Scrolls, this is just seeing more like...
(25:56):
This is just seeing more like...
You know how I was describing Outer Worlds as being like a mini Fallout?
This is sounding like Outer World to Outer Scrolls Edition, if that makes sense.
It's starting to sound more like a mini Outer Scrolls.
But that necessarily can't be a bad thing.
So this is definitely set to be released in 2024, so that could be a big one.
(26:19):
So make sure to stay tuned for that.
And then of course, there's this game called South of Midnight.
Which might not be on everyone's radar, but it's...
It's by Compulsant Games.
(26:40):
And I'm trying to think what game they made, man.
Compulsant Games had that one game, man. You guys know what I'm talking about.
We Happy Few.
We Happy Few.
Obviously the studio is made of ex-Arkane Studios developer Willemijn Provost.
(27:03):
Yeah, We Happy Few was the big one.
And then this is going to be the first game since Microsoft bought them, which was back at E3 2018.
Holy shit.
It's going to be their first game since then.
This is what I mean when they spent years and years acquiring these studios.
They acquired the studio back in 2018 and they're finally releasing a game now.
(27:26):
Holy shit.
Like six years later in 2024.
But yeah, South of Midnight.
There's a Steam page for it.
I don't know if you guys remember the trailer for it.
The trailer was like that weird dude playing the guitar in that pond river thing.
And the chick goes up to him like, yo, what's up?
(27:50):
I don't know if that makes sense.
Yeah, it's going to be a third person action adventure game set in the American deep dows.
The main protagonist you play as Hazel.
You explore the mythos and encounter creatures of Southern folklore.
Very interesting.
You know, typical hometown disaster strikes.
She becomes a weaver, which is like a magical mender of broken bonded spirits.
(28:14):
She has all the new abilities to save her town.
But it was very cool because you usually don't have your you don't really have the deep, deep South as your background for a highly mythological folklore game.
So that could be very promising from compulsive games.
So stay tuned for that one.
(28:36):
That definitely seems to be in line for 2024 as well.
And then, like I said, there's also Everwild, which keeps getting delayed over and over.
And, you know, the conversation about Rare is definitely like could be its own entire podcast, really.
(29:00):
I'm obviously rare. It's one of the greatest game developers of all time.
But since Microsoft acquired them back in the day, what, like 2002, three, look at the track record real quick.
They've had I think the first game they made was grabbed by the gullies.
Let me see.
(29:22):
Grabbed by the gullies was the first rare game to be published by Microsoft after Rare was bought out from Nintendo.
So grab by the gullies might be on the Have you played this segment one day because very interesting game.
That was the first one. And then obviously from there they did Conker Live Reloaded, Perfect Dark Zero, Viva Pinata, which is one of my all time favorite games.
(29:47):
The Viva Pinata, Trouble in Paradise, Banjo Kazooie, Nuts and Bolts, which looking back at it now was actually a decent game.
Initially Killer Instinct, well, under supervision of Rare.
Then they came out with a Rare replay and then Sea of Thieves, which over time, you know, became a really good game.
(30:14):
So I'm afraid it were credits too.
And then in 2020, they oversaw the production of Battletoads 2, which was kind of disappointing.
So yeah, Rare has been interesting since it was acquired by Microsoft.
Obviously before that they were like the king of the 90s with the original Killer Instinct 1 and 2, the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, GoldenEye 007, Banjo Kazooie.
(30:41):
The list just goes on and on. Perfect Dark on the N64, Conker's Bad Freridae.
Just an all time goaded 90s developer.
And really I think they kind of just carried, carried, carried, carried the N64, man.
(31:04):
They really did, man. Just like, man, GoldenEye 007 itself, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Banjo Tooie conquers Bad Freridae.
But they also conquered Super Nintendo days because the Donkey Kong trilogy alone is so good, man. So hard too.
So never fully rule out what Rare could be capable of.
(31:28):
Obviously Everwild is not something we've seen a lot of. I know it's going to have the Accel Shaded art style on some action adventure game.
A few details have been announced. Description of its gameplay have been varying based on different reports.
So it's supposed to be a third person adventure game. The elements taken from God games.
(31:51):
So who knows? I'm just looking around the internet right now. Apparently saying recent reports suggest the game has no combat whatsoever, which is kind of interesting.
According to a video game report by Andy Robinson from the Video Games Chronicle, shout out Andy and VGC,
(32:13):
Everwild will be more of a Viva Pena like game. A survival game in the earlier trailers hinted at.
What? This got me kind of hard right there. No, I'm not going to cap because I love Viva Pena.
He also stated that he hasn't looked into it in a while, but if Greg Maels is taking lead, you can be very confident that it will turn out great.
(32:38):
So let's look at Greg Maels. He's a creative director for Rare. He's been working there since 1989. Holy smokes.
So he worked as a designer on Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3. He was a director for Banjo Kazooie. Holy shit.
(33:01):
OK. Designer for Banjo Tui, designer for Grab by the Ghoulies, designer for Viva Pena, director for Banjo Kazooie,
director for Nuts and Bolts and a director for Sea of Thieves and designer Sea of Thieves. And then he's going to be the director for this game.
(33:31):
Very low three games directed completely, but he did direct Banjo Kazooie. He did direct Banjo Kazooie, Nuts and Bolts and he did direct Sea of Thieves,
which is a very good game. So that could be promising. Don't know much about it, but it could be promising.
(33:52):
Obviously back in 2021, it went through a complete reboot because the game was initially shown in 2019 presentation.
Then two years later, it went through a complete reboot. So maybe three years is enough time, hopefully.
(34:13):
The Everwild development team is now optimistically targeting a 2024 release. So I hope that is the case.
I really do. That sounds more and more interesting to me. What else do we have cooking for 2024?
(34:34):
I think those are the main hitters Hellblade 2, Avowed, South of Midnight, Everwild.
Obviously Clockwork Revolution could be another big one. This one's from NXL Entertainment.
And I believe these are the developers behind Wasteland. Yes, they are.
(35:01):
So obviously very into RPG heavy, top down, CRPG turn based kind of style.
Clockwork Revolution, obviously when it was first showed, a lot of people were calling it Antiscam, Bioshock Infinite.
Similarities are to be made. But yes, it's described as a time bending steampunk first person RPG.
(35:28):
You stumble across an adventure that allows you to travel into the past and discover the city you call home.
And then you go through different alteration of historical events to kind of bring things back to norm, I guess.
Traveling back to key moments in interaction, the choice of will have a butterfly effect on the deep,
narrow driven worlds and characters of Avalon, causing them to change and react in unprecedented ways.
(35:49):
Now I'll tell you this. First person RPG, they're always more familiar with the turn based style and whatnot.
So we'll see how they adjust to the gameplay.
But this team obviously was a part of the original Fallout 1 and 2 as well. And obviously they made Wasteland from there.
(36:12):
So if we're looking at narrative driven worlds and characters, they're definitely going to land and deliver on that aspect.
That's what makes me excited about this game. Could be another big one for 2024 if it doesn't release in 2024.
So I'll go for Clockwork Revolution.
And then, of course, Stated Decade 3 as well.
(36:38):
Announced back in 2020. Like I said, this is a big issue with Microsoft right now.
These games have been announced for what seems like ages now.
And we just do not know if they're for sure going to be coming out in 2024 or not.
But yeah, Stated Decade 3. I played the first one. Never got a chance to play the second one.
(37:05):
But yeah, Stated Decade 3. Looking at a recent article here now by GameRant.
New Stated Decade 3 release. Rumors bad news for the fans.
Rumors suggest that Stated Decade 3 might not be released until 2027.
What? Indicating a longer development period for the highly anticipated game.
(37:27):
Previous controversy surrounding undead labs and a toxic workplace environment have raised concerns about the studio's development practices.
While Stated Decade 3 release may be delayed,
Microsoft has a strong lineup of first-party titles set to be released in the coming years, providing variety for gamers, which we've been talking about this entire episode.
(37:50):
Wow, 2027 is kind of crazy.
But yeah, even this article mentions, there's of course, well, For the Mortisport already came out.
But it mentions Evoud, Clockwork Revolution.
Most of the articles keep forgetting about Stalker 2 and then whatnot.
(38:12):
Yeah, there's plenty of variety.
Okay, so I guess we won't talk much about one more Stated Decade 3.
If you haven't heard about Stated Decade, you know, the zombie survival game with some building elements and whatnot, some elements.
So check it out if you have not yet.
The leaks also, the FTC leaks for the Bethesda and Xbox also mentioned a new Doom gaming development.
(38:35):
I doubt this comes out in 2024.
But whenever it does come out 2025, I would say.
You damn well know Microsoft's going to keep that exclusive to like a PC, Xbox only.
So that'll be a heavy hitter.
I think Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda is obviously going to give them a lot of more big heavy hitters compared to like, you know, the requirement of these other studios.
(39:01):
But obviously Obsidian and Exile are good ones too, deeply rooted with the Western RPG atmosphere.
So compared to Sony, you know, once these games start kind of rolling out, they might have that sphere unlock the Western RPG hemisphere.
I sure hope they do.
That's probably one of my favorite genres.
(39:23):
I mean, I love my RPGs too.
But I love the decision making and open endedness of Western RPGs.
So they could be there.
What haven't we touched upon?
We haven't touched upon the Fable game, which is developed by Playground Games, aka the Forza Horizon devs.
(39:47):
But it's hard to say what Xbox has planned for Fable and some of these other bigger games.
But we'll see.
That's kind of Xbox's motto right now.
We'll see.
But I can safely say I hope Everwild, Clockwork Revolution, and then Hellblade 2 and Evowed, and South of Midnight, and Stalker 2.
So that's like six titles.
Will all be 2024.
(40:09):
All in a very diverse lineup as well.
You know, Hellblade 2 being more of a third person narrative driven, Evowed being kind of like elder schools.
Right?
We don't know how South of Midnight is going to look.
You know, Stalker 2 is a FPS single player game.
Same thing with Clockwork Revolution.
Everwild, no idea what it's going to be.
So it's a very diverse lineup.
(40:30):
I'm looking forward to it.
Then of course, with that being said, if you compare that to what Sony has for 2024.
I know comparisons are dumb, but that's what everyone likes to, you know, the console people like to argue about.
Obviously for them, they have FF7 Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin and Helldivers 2.
(40:53):
And then Wolverine, whenever that comes out, might not be 2024.
Then Formstars.
So, I mean, like I said, I feel like on paper, the variety and the interesting new IPs and stuff are coming from Microsoft's end.
Then obviously it's hard to compete with like FF7 Rebirth, right?
And we'll see how Team Ninja's or Rise of the Ronin is as well.
(41:16):
And then, you know, Helldivers 2 could be good.
Formstars, we'll see.
Obviously, Wolverine is going to be a huge title as well.
And then you have, you have the unknowns, right?
Like we don't know, like, what Sucker Punch is doing.
Ghost of the Sima 2 could be on its way.
You know, obviously Guerrilla Games has been heavy with Horizon, but maybe Killzone can get rebooted.
(41:42):
We definitely know what Naughty Dog's been doing.
And we're going to save that for another podcast because I've got a lot to say about Naughty Dog.
But it's going to be very interesting moving forward for both about consoles.
Obviously, the Game Awards, like I said, previous episode, if you have not seen it yet, we discussed all the nominees and whatnot.
While the Game Awards, I think, you know, obviously presents all these awards.
(42:03):
I think the Game Awards 2023 is also kind of like a winter E3.
A lot of people tune in to see the reveals and world premieres.
So usually there's some exciting moments at this event.
So maybe Sony will be cooking up some shit there.
And then obviously there's some good multi-genre, multi-genre, multi-console, multi-plat.
(42:26):
There you go. Multi-plat games.
Look at the Alone in the Dark reboot.
Prince of Persia lost crown.
Tekken 8 in January and Forso.
So a lot of the pipeline for Xbox in 2024.
Hopefully it's all going to come into fruition.
Because if it doesn't, we'll be talking about Phil Spencer's comments next about Xbox maybe exiting the gaming industry by 2027.
(42:56):
Stay tuned.
All right. So it's no surprise.
Xbox is very game pass heavy.
It's relying on the game pass to get bigger and bigger to keep its foot in the gaming industry.
And then in talking about the FTC leak earlier, there's going to be a new Xbox Series X variant coming.
(43:19):
And even the next console generation is set for a 2028 release.
But Phil Spencer predicted that his subscribers aren't where they need to be by 2027.
It could end the mark of Microsoft's activity in the gaming business.
Very interesting comments.
Currently Xbox game pass is available on Xbox consoles as well as PC with the latter having the lowest number of subscribers.
(43:45):
One of Xbox's goal for the future is to increase subscribers on PC as much as possible.
The thing with the PC game pass is it is cheaper than the console game pass or like and or the ultimate.
Ultimate kind of gives you both. And cloud gaming.
It is cheaper.
The issue with PC gaming is there's just way too many fucking launchers.
(44:08):
You know, Steam is like the place where a lot of people feel comfortable.
And then you throw this Xbox game pass, which historically has been horrible with the Microsoft store and whatnot.
I feel like their new app is a lot better.
The past year or two.
But yeah, I think it's just the launchers. People are just tired of playing on these launchers.
You already have Steam and you have this and then you have Epic and then you have Ubisoft Connect and you have EA Play.
(44:34):
Then you have Blizzard.Nan and then you have yada yada yada.
This this this and the.
It's too much, man. You came to PC to kind of like streamline these processes.
But now like your PC kind of feels like a console because you're launching all these different fucking games from different platforms.
So they kind of feel like their own. And then your games are split up across all these libraries.
(44:56):
Then, of course, you can just get God Galaxy and streamline all your games in one place.
But I tried to do that, but I don't know.
It's like, again, it's like getting into the interface with that.
So it's kind of a lot of people just like steam or steam or nothing. Right.
And thankfully, so Steve's been there for a while. Right.
So I think that's kind of part of it.
(45:20):
But yeah, let me quote Phil Spencer here.
He said, I can safely say that if we do not make more progress in this off console.
We would exit the gaming business just for the outcome.
I don't believe we'll still be in the business.
It could be a long shot comment, because I mean, obviously,
the next generation console currently development by Microsoft, and obviously they're going to be made with the game pass in mind.
(45:45):
So adopting kind of like a cloud hybrid system that make most of the gaming on Xbox entirely digital.
And I know there's also reports the company wanted to bring cloud streaming to PlayStation consoles.
But obviously, there's no way in hell Sony would ever accept that.
But maybe, maybe, you know, never say never.
Maybe in the distant future.
(46:08):
When Xbox drops, like their competition approach and their hardware approach,
they become like game pass off for heavy.
Maybe. But if they're planning to release another console, that's never going to happen.
Because. Yeah, Sony is going to always view the direct competitor right for trying to compete in hardware with them.
So, yeah, I just thought it was very interesting comments.
(46:31):
Do you guys think that this will be true?
Do you think, you know, if the game pass numbers aren't where they're supposed to be?
Microsoft will ditch the Xbox gaming brand by 2027.
I doubt it. Like I said, if they don't get to where they want to be numbers wise, game pass wise, they might ditch like hardware.
(46:53):
You know, Xbox is like a console competing brand.
Might be. Gone.
But I think Xbox will always exist just like as a brand on its own, whether it goes into publishing.
Like, you know, how Sega did eventually or publishing or they start putting all their Marvel and game pass
(47:14):
game on PC and game passes on PlayStation for whatever Nintendo games can support.
You know, game passes on the Switch's successor.
And then now the game passes integrated to Steam, which I think would drive huge numbers.
I know I've talked to so many people, my friends, other people.
You know how like EA Play is integrated to Steam.
And if the game pass was integrated to Steam, you just like pay your eleven, twelve bucks a month.
(47:38):
And then you can just like get all the games through Steam.
Like it'll be like, oh, like has like an available has like an available and game pass tab.
You just click that and it becomes a part of your like how EA Play works.
But obviously on the back end of things, you know, the logistics of financials behind Valve and Microsoft to make that work would probably be a lot of work.
(48:01):
But I think that do wonders. I mean, the target they're trying to hit is they want to be they want to surpass 100 million subscribers by 2029, 2030.
It could be possible. Like I said, we talked about these promising exclusive titles coming out.
So obviously all these Xbox exclusives are day one.
(48:22):
And obviously the third party AAA titles play a big factor.
We've said I've been killing it lately, man.
They like the new Laker Dragon came out there day one Dead Space just got on there.
Like I said, game pass is something I'm going to subscribe to pretty soon here.
Since I have a job and I can afford it now and actually see games of value I want to play.
Yeah. It's very, very interesting comments.
(48:47):
So we'll see. But let me know what you guys think.
Like I said, from YouTube, drop a comment on Twitter. You can follow me at Digital Down Pod.
Yeah, at Digital Down Pod. I know it's a tricky Twitter handle, but that's kind of what all I could do given the character limit was available.
(49:10):
You can also hit me up directly at GiliPG, that's G-I-L-L-I-E-P-G on Twitter or Instagram or on Twitch or wherever.
I also have Digital Downtime Podcast at gmail.com.
If you want to email me your comments or concerns or anything beyond that, we'd love to hear back from you.
(49:35):
Just overall about the conversation today about what exclusives are you excited for that the Xbox brand has launched?
Do you think they're all going to be coming out in 2024?
Will Xbox actually exit the gaming industry by 2027?
If they don't hit their metrics, this is all to be seen.
But obviously it's a fun conversation to have.
But we're still not done yet. Of course, stay tuned for our Have You Played This?
(50:02):
Which features a very, very interesting title that was available on the original Xbox.
So let's see how many of you guys remember it. Stay tuned.
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second edition of Have You Played This? Today.
Looking at Blinkz, a time sweeper, which is developed by R-Tune, published by Xbox Games Studios.
(50:29):
This dev team worked on a game called Pinobi Wings of Adventure as their first title for the GBA.
And then obviously Blinkz, the time sweeper, was like their biggest one.
They made a sequel to Blinkz, Blinkz II, Master of the Time and Space.
From there worked on more Nintendo Advance and DS games.
(50:50):
Eventually they ended up making Blue Dragon on the 360 as well. Very interesting.
They haven't made a game since 2011 now.
But yeah, Blinkz, a time sweeper, only on Xbox, was released on October 9th, 2002.
The Xbox was released November 15th, 2001, I believe.
(51:13):
So about a little under a year after, it was kind of Xbox's response to the heavy hitters Sony was putting out at the time, right?
So the response to Jack and Daxter, the Ratchet and Clank, the Crash Bandicoots, the Spyros, all these platformers Sony was pushing out.
(51:35):
Of course, Nintendo obviously, strong. Donkey Kong and Mario Presence 2D and 3D to that point.
And then obviously they had the Banjos. Rare was going crazy at that time.
The platforming scene was wild, 3D and 2D, from like the 90s to like mid 2000s.
And obviously now there's still a resurgence. The AAA realm and indie games have been killing it too.
(51:59):
But that's not the point. The point is Blinkz, the time sweeper was specifically made so that Microsoft can kind of have their own crash, their own little mascot in the platforming genre.
And, you know, it wasn't a bad game, you know?
It wasn't the best game I ever played, but I think it was a game that was kind of overlooked and it wasn't what Xbox was hoping the game would deliver.
(52:23):
Right? Like I said, you know, Blinkz didn't become like Xbox mascot or anything.
Like you don't think Xbox would be like, oh man, Blinkz, you know, you think of Master Chief or Market Phoenix or Forza or, you know, something along those lines.
You don't think, oh, Blinkz, right? So I think it failed for the high expectations they had.
But yeah, it was a fun game. I was an action platformer. You had this little vacuum cleaner thing.
(52:48):
You can like sweep up, you know, that's why it's called time sweeper, sweep up some shit.
Obviously collectibles were big, you know, gold crystals, cap metals, time crystals.
And you can shoot out the trash too, if I remember correctly.
And then I remember how the main gameplay loop worked, but I think if you got like three of the same crystal or whatever,
(53:11):
you can like control time or whatever, something like that.
And then you can like reverse it, speed it up, slow down, pause, et cetera.
So that's some interesting elements to it. You know what I mean?
Yeah, I think the development.
(53:34):
I think R2, let's see more about the devs here.
Yeah, it was founded in 1999 by Sonic the Hedgehog designer Naoto Ushima, alongside other various Sega developers.
The team loved the idea of a cat that could control time, especially in combination with the processing power of the original Xbox at the time.
So they combined and worked on the game. So metacritically, set a CID about 71.
(53:58):
Looking at some big hitters here. IGN gave it a 8.8, GameSpot gave it a 6.3.
Game Informing a 7.75, Electric On It Gaming Monthly 7.10.
It's about a game I'd give a run of 7 to as well.
But I think I think it's worth the play.
Obviously, last week with Spawn Armageddon on Have You Played This, definitely a more discreet game than I think this.
(54:24):
I think people forget about Blinkz the Time Sweeper.
And like I said, on this Xbox Microsofting episode, I thought it was appropriate to bring it bring it total.
GameSpy actually gave it the number 6 at the most overrated games ever in 2004.
That's hilarious. But yeah, obviously the game looked really well.
This one thing I remember as a kid, because growing up, I had a PS2 during this time era.
(54:49):
And then like a little shortly after I got the GameCube, never had the original Xbox, but my cousins did.
And I'd always just go over there and play.
I remember there's a period of time where I let them borrow my PS2 and they let me borrow their Xbox.
So they really wanted to play God of War and stuff like that, I think.
And then I took that time to play all the games they had.
(55:10):
I took that time to play Blinkz the Time Sweeper because I didn't have an Xbox.
I played Halo 1, the campaign, Shenmue 2, Chronicles of Riddikos, another one, I think.
And then a few other Xboxes. The original Xbox was cooking a little bit, you know what I'm saying?
But yeah, the graphics were really cool.
(55:31):
But I didn't go into the gameplay too much because it's kind of difficult to explain how the time control worked.
But yeah, the time control was a little bit kind of difficult to navigate through.
But yeah, I think eventually the game entered the Platinum Hits range.
And then I don't know if it did super crazy commercially, but yeah, you know,
(55:57):
GameSpot said the players get a sense of relief from completing a level rather than enjoyment or satisfaction.
So they said how you will, you know, you get relief instead of satisfaction or enjoyment.
It was a runner up for GameSpot's most disappointing game on Xbox Award.
It went to ToeJam and Earl 3 instead. AGM, which gave it a 7.5 out of 10.
(56:24):
It's probably a little tedious and repetitive, but they believed issues aside, the unique style and playing mechanics made it stand out.
And like I was saying earlier, GameSpot suggested that Blinkz was proposed to be the possible mascot for the Xbox system,
rivaling Nintendo's Mario, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog.
And since the main character of Halo combat, Evolved Master Chief, was considered to be too violent,
(56:47):
the officials wanted a friendly furry face to lead the sales among the younger clientele.
But as we already know, due to the game's unpopularity, it never achieved a suggesting goal.
And Master Chief is unofficially seen as a mascot, even to this day.
But yeah, interesting fact, Blinkz was at one point proposed as a mascot for the Xbox in Japan.
(57:10):
So yeah, man, Blinkz the Time Sweeper. Released. It was a platformer.
That's some interesting concepts going forward, but I don't think the execution is quite there.
Still, I think it's a fun game. Like I said, 7 out of 10.
Like I said, you know, a lot of these, like, have you played these games? Have you played this? Have you played these games?
(57:33):
I mean, kind of hard to get your hands on now, just like last week's Spot Armour getting.
But, you know, there's ways to play the Xbox. Like I said last week, if you know, you know.
The great thing about Xbox is they also have wonderful backwards compatibility support.
So if you do want a Series X, maybe you can try finding a copy of Blinkz.
(57:55):
Check it out for yourself. If not, you know, there's always YouTube and whatnot.
So that's this week's Have you played this game? Blinkz the Time Sweeper.
Xbox attempt at creating a massive mascot and platforming competitor to the Ratchet and Clank,
Jack and Daxter, Mario's and whatnot. But just quite failed to capture that audience.
(58:16):
So good attempt, Microsoft. But the game is not forgotten, as we're still talking about it today.
But yeah, that goes all for episode two.
We discussed Xbox's 2024 release window, what they have cooking, what they have in store and the potential for greatness is there.
(58:40):
Let's just hope they finally deliver because they have been cooking for a while.
Let's just hope all this cooking actually makes the final meal or the final dish that much more better.
We will see. We also discussed the possibility of them exiting the gaming industry by 2027 to fill to meet their game paths projections.
(59:02):
Then, of course, on Have you played this? We discussed Blinkz the Time Sweeper.
Again, a Microsoft exclusive from the past that wanted to rival the great platforms at the time, the great mascots at the time, but didn't quite do so.
Again, this episode was hosted by your boy, Gilly, aka well, Prince Gill, aka Gilly, aka, you know, the gaming nerd, aka the Punjabi playboy prince, aka the mocha skin manimo, aka.
(59:34):
Catch the drift.
So I learned a little bit more about podcasts, so I guess what I'm supposed to say is make sure you save this on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, add it to your library or whatever.
Make sure to leave a rate review, whatever a lot of fun stuff on YouTube, same thing.
(59:56):
Like, comment, subscribe. I do appreciate all feedback and any feedback in these early stages of the podcast.
Next week, we will probably be diving deeper into this Naughty Dog conversation that I mentioned last week.
So I think next week's episode is going to be dedicated to Naughty Dog talking a bit about their legacy and why they're one of my favorite developers of all time,
(01:00:21):
which disappoints me on what they're doing currently for the PS5 to have an in-depth conversation about all that, you know,
what they meant, what they mean for PlayStation and what they did during the original PlayStation era, PS2 era, PS3, PS4, and what they aren't doing for the PS5, unfortunately.
(01:00:42):
So I think that will be next week's conversation.
But as always, if you want to connect with me, like I said, digitaldowntimepodcast.gmail.com.
You can also follow on Twitter or whatever X it's called nowadays, digitaldowntod.
To reach me, it's this gillipg, G-I-L-L-I-E-P-G on all socials.
So Twitter and Instagram and Twitch and my own YouTube as well.
(01:01:07):
So many, many ways to contact and get in touch.
If you're for any feedback or whatnot, I would appreciate it.
We also currently are looking for sponsorships and advertisements and that kind of ordeal.
So if you're interested in that, you know, you can contact me on the many platforms I just listed.
And also, if you're looking to be a guest on the show, same way, make sure to reach out.
(01:01:31):
You can talk anything gaming at all.
That's kind of what the podcast is about.
So if you're looking to be a guest, just give a shout out to me.
If you follow me on Twitter right now or have me on Discord, just give a DM or whatnot or reach me through the email.
But yeah, that's going to be it for episode two. Hope you guys enjoyed.
(01:01:54):
I played around with the audio a bit more, so hopefully it sounds a bit better than episode one.
Like I said, just let me know.
We're always making adjustments on the technical side of things to ensure the best quality for our listeners.
Because without y'all, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have started it.
So thank you once again.
(01:02:16):
Yes, Gilly out and see you next week on Digital Downtime.
(01:02:46):
Bye.
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