Game Services thread, v2: Ubisoft headline portends a darker gaming future

[Project 2501]

Why are console players such cucks. Lots of complains but watch there be almost no dramatic drop in subscriptions. Maybe a few thousand on the first week and than that same group boycotting will just go back to resubscribing. I've heard so many legit retarded arguments from console players to mods should be banned because muh developers want it to be played a specific way to loyally defending fucks ups and unfinished products from developers.

 

[method115]

Why are console players such cucks. Lots of complains but watch there be almost no dramatic drop in subscriptions. Maybe a few thousand on the first week and than that same group boycotting will just go back to resubscribing. I've heard so many legit retarded arguments from console players to mods should be banned because muh developers want it to be played a specific way to loyally defending fucks ups and unfinished products from developers.

Probably because people just don't care. They game for a couple of hours and move on with their day. They aren't trying to fight the man when it comes to gaming. They just want a couple of hours of relaxation then get back to the shit they need to do. The rest probably have enough money where it doesn't matter.

 

[Zazen]

Why are console players such cucks. Lots of complains but watch there be almost no dramatic drop in subscriptions. Maybe a few thousand on the first week and than that same group boycotting will just go back to resubscribing. I've heard so many legit retarded arguments from console players to mods should be banned because muh developers want it to be played a specific way to loyally defending fucks ups and unfinished products from developers.

Meh, let people play how they want to. The elitist PC players are just as annoying imo. Options are never a bad thing and a lot of PC releases have been terribly optimized as of late so sometimes console is the safer choice. I also work from home on my PC and the last thing I want to do is spend additional hours on it.

 

[method115]

Meh, let people play how they want to. The elitist PC players are just as annoying imo. Options are never a bad thing and a lot of PC releases have been terribly optimized as of late so sometimes console is the safer choice. I also work from home on my PC and the last thing I want to do is spend additional hours on it.

Yep there's pros and cons to both. I prefer how easy it is to use a console and just the standard interface\ui vs PC. The only thing that comes close is Steam Big Picture mode and the upgrade they did a while back basically turns your PC into a console. This is the only way I game on PC and I don't even have a keyboard/mouse connected for months now.

Console is great but some of the performance for games with the low FPS bothers me to much these days. I got to used to playing on PC and I can't stand 30 FPS anymore. PC games running horribly has honestly never been an issue for me. Even when Cyberpunk came out my PC ran it fine and so did a buddies of mine. Sure we had bugs here and there but it was nothing like what you were reading online where it sounded like the game was just unplayable. I do always tend to have a top of the line PC though and I think that's really the main issue. I honestly don't even really listen to PC users and their complaints about poor performance anymore. It's been so unreliable and my experience is almost always the opposite of what I'm reading online.

 

[Madmick]

The Game Pass Core list is finally about to debut. When it was first announced, they said it would come with access to 19 games, then that became 25 games, but that has once again been revised, finally, to 38 games. Microsoft has said they will add games to this library with updates 2-3 times annually.
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/09/13/game-pass-core-full-list/

Until more games are added this tier remains trash. They need to make it cheaper. For only $1 less per month than Game Pass on Xbox (for console users who want multiplayer access) I can't imagine who would opt for this.

 

[method115]

The Game Pass Core list is finally about to debut. When it was first announced, they said it would come with access to 19 games, then that became 25 games, but that has once again been revised, finally, to 38 games. Microsoft has said they will add games to this library with updates 2-3 times annually.
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2023/09/13/game-pass-core-full-list/

Until more games are added this tier remains trash. They need to make it cheaper. For only $1 less per month than Game Pass on Xbox for console users who want multiplayer access I can't imagine who would opt for this.

I thought the list was pretty good but my main issue is putting the sequel of the game instead of it's predecessor. Doom Eternal instead of the first Doom? Either have both or give people the first one. Same with Psychonauts and Dishonored. How Halo MCC is not on there while Halo 5 is makes no sense. I guess they are assuming people want the latest title instead of playing the series in order? IMO they should give people the first title at minimum and then go from there. No sequels without giving them the original title first.

 

[Zazen]

The list is pretty weak. Stupid to not spend a bit more to get the big games

 

[Madmick]

I thought the list was pretty good but my main issue is putting the sequel of the game instead of it's predecessor. Doom Eternal instead of the first Doom? Either have both or give people the first one. Same with Psychonauts and Dishonored. How Halo MCC is not on there while Halo 5 is makes no sense. I guess they are assuming people want the latest title instead of playing the series in order? IMO they should give people the first title at minimum and then go from there. No sequels without giving them the original title first.

I expect chunks of games to be added in the first 2-3 updates to come. The library doesn't appear intended to remain this barebones.

But the pricing doesn't make sense at all. Unless, unfortunately, one assumes it forebodes an another price hike planned to come for the stronger tiers. Since many industry onlookers have speculated it isn't sustainable to maintain Game Pass at its current pricing, it's too good, this only strengthens my suspicion. Also, I've never known a corporation to reduce the pricing of a subscription plan for anything, so I'm not counting on that for "Core". I just hope the next price hike is delayed as long as possible.

 

[rikwebb]

2nd half of September's Game Pass additions

Party Animals (Cloud and Console) – September 20

Available on day one with Game Pass: Fight with or against your friends in Party Animals! Choose your character from a diverse cast of adorable animals as you battle it out across multiple game modes to be the last one left standing in the ultimate competitive brawler. Paw up, grab a plunger, and get ready to party like an animal.

Payday 3 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – September 21
Available on day one with Game Pass: Payday 3 is the explosive sequel to one of the most popular co-op shooters of the past decade. Since its release, Payday-players have been reveling in the thrill of a perfectly planned and executed heist. That's what makes Payday a high-octane, co-op FPS experience.


Cocoon (Console and PC) – September 29
Available on day one with Game Pass: From Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer of Limbo and Inside – Cocoon takes you on an adventure across worlds within worlds. Master world-leaping mechanics to unravel a cosmic mystery.


Gotham Knights (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 3
Batman is dead. A new expansive, criminal underworld has swept the streets of Gotham City. It is now up to the Batman Family – Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin – to protect Gotham, bring hope to its citizens, discipline to its cops, and fear to its criminals.


The Lamplighter's League (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 3
Available on day one with Game Pass: Sneak, steal, and shoot your way through a world of pulp adventure in The Lamplighters League! Globetrot across a variety of exciting locales around the world and outwit your enemies in strategic turn-based combat and, if you play your cards right, you might just save the world.

Leaving the service at the end of the month

• Beacon Pines (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Despot's Game (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Last Call BBS (PC)
• Moonscars (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Outriders (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Prodeus (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Weird West (Cloud, Console, and PC)

 

[listrahtes]

I thought the list was pretty good but my main issue is putting the sequel of the game instead of it's predecessor. Doom Eternal instead of the first Doom? Either have both or give people the first one. Same with Psychonauts and Dishonored.

Well its the idea to tease you and f.e. you can get Psychonauts just as Dishonored everywhere for next to nothing. Can recommend it. Its old but has a weird very creative charme. The successor is exceptional. Its the much better deal to give you the 2end gane.

With Xbox I really dont get anyone being dissapointed in the prices with the various workarounds regarding paying full price.

 

[Madmick]

This isn't a game service, per se, but a enticement perk. Sony is offering a free choice of one of the following exclusives to anyone that buys a PS5 and activates a free PS Plus account before October 20 this year:
PlayStation giving away free exclusives to new PS5 owners, no PS Plus required

• Demon’s Souls
• Death Stranding: Director’s Cut
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered
• Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut
• God of War Ragnarök
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Returnal
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure
• The Last of Us Part I
• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

 

[method115]

This isn't a game service, per se, but a enticement perk. Sony is offering a free choice of one of the following exclusives to anyone that buys a PS5 and activates a free PS Plus account before October 20 this year:
PlayStation giving away free exclusives to new PS5 owners, no PS Plus required

• Demon’s Souls
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered
• Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut
• God of War Ragnarök
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

lol at the poor souls who picks miles morales.

 

[Madmick]

NVIDIA has added a major new feature syncing Xbox and Ubisoft libraries with the GeForce Now cloud gaming service. They're already up to over 101 total supported Xbox store titles since they began supporting gameplay for the Xbox library on GeForce now just a few months ago, and 80 of these are on Game Pass. But what this adds, with this feature, gameplay progress will sync between GeForce Now and Xbox/Ubisoft, and vice versa, so you can pick up play where you left off going from one to the other for all those games.

Members can now connect their Xbox accounts to GeForce NOW to sync the games they own to their GeForce NOW library. Game syncing lets members connect their digital game store accounts to GeForce NOW, so all of their supported games are part of their streaming library. Syncing an Xbox account will also add any supported titles a member has access to via PC Game Pass — perfect for members taking advantage of the latest Ultimate bundle.

The new update also adds benefits for Ubisoft+ subscribers. With a linked Ubisoft+ account, members can now launch supported Ubisoft+ games they already own from the GeForce NOW app, and the game will be automatically added to “My Library.” Get more details on Ubisoft account linking.

Additionally, to compliment the launch of this feature, for a limited time, anyone who purchases a 6-month subscription to GeForce Now Ultimate ($50) will get a complimentary 3 months to Xbox PC Game Pass. Since Xbox PC Game Pass is $10/mo, this renders the effective cost of GeForce Now Ultimate to be $20 for the six month period ($3.33/mo).

 

[rikwebb]

First half of January's Game Pass Additions announced

Available Today​

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Close to the Sun (Cloud, Console, and PC)

---

Coming Soon​

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Hell Let Loose (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – January 4

Assassin's Creed Valhalla (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 9

Figment (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 9

Super Mega Baseball 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC) EA Play – January 11

We Happy Few (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 11

Resident Evil 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 16

Those Who Remain (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 16

Also leaving the service soon

January 5:

• Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud and Console)

January 15:

• Garden Story (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• MotoGP 22 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Persona 4 Golden (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Persona 3 Portable (Cloud, Console, and PC)

 

[rikwebb]

2nd half of Feb's game pass additions

Available Today​

Return to Grace (Cloud, Console, and PC)
A daring space archaeologist has just unearthed the ancient resting place of a long lost A.I. god known as Grace. Adventure with various fractured A.I. personalities as you uncover the great mystery of why she was shut down all those years ago in this first-person narrative adventure set in a visually stunning '60s retro sci-fi world.

Tales of Arise (Cloud, Console, and PC)
As two worlds of conflict converge in Tales of Arise, two people from opposite walks of life join forces to challenge their fates and create a new future. Along the way, meet up with a unique cast of allies, all with their own reasons to fight. Featuring a real-time combat system, battles are energetic and enthralling with countless combinations of skills and abilities.

Coming Soon​

Bluey: The Videogame (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 22
Join the fun with Bluey and her family in Bluey: The Videogame! Play a brand-new story set across 4 interactive adventures. For the first time ever, explore iconic locations such as the Heeler House, Playgrounds, Creek and a bonus beach location. Play your favorite games from the TV show, including Keepy Uppy, Chattermax Chase, and more!

Maneater (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 27
Returning to the Game Pass library, Maneater is a single-player action-RPG, set in the Gulf Coast's unforgiving waters. Fight to survive in the open ocean, swamps, and rivers with danger lurking at every depth. Your only tools are your wits, your jaws, and an uncanny ability to evolve as you feed.

Madden NFL 24 (Cloud) EA Play – February 27
Ultimate members can start their season with Xbox Cloud Gaming on February 27, 2024, courtesy of EA Play. Don't forget that until March 8, you'll also score an Ultimate Team Supercharge Pack with your membership.

Indivisible (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 28
Making a return to the Game Pass library, immerse yourself in a fantastical world with dozens of playable characters, a rich storytelling experience, and gameplay that's easy to learn but difficult to master. With a huge fantasy world to explore and a variety of characters to meet and fight alongside, help Ajna learn about herself and how to save her world.

Space Engineers (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 29
A sandbox game about engineering, construction, exploration, and survival in space and on planets. Players build spaceships, wheeled vehicles, space stations, planetary outposts of various sizes and uses (civil and military), pilot ships, and travel through space to explore planets and gather resources to survive. Featuring both creative and survival modes, there is no limit to what can be built, utilized, and explored.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 5
Load up your Boltgun and unleash the awesome Space Marine arsenal to blast your way through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood in a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, frenetic gameplay and the stylish visuals of '90s retro shooters.

Leaving the service soon

Leaving February 29​

The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon, which means it's a perfect time to plan out your achievement grind with these at the top of your list before they go!

• Madden NFL 22 (Console and PC) EA Play
• Soul Hackers 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

 

[rikwebb]

First half of March's Game Pass additions

PAW Patrol World (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 7
Explore the world of "PAW Patrol" like never before, in a 3D action adventure where anything is PAWsible. Play as your favorite pups, drive their vehicles, and save the day by taking on fun rescues and missions either in single-player or with your family in couch co-op. It's the ultimate PAW Patrol playtime!

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 12
Are you ready, kids? SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is coming to Game Pass! Play as SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy in this faithful remake and thwart Plankton's evil plan to take over Bikini Bottom. Battle Plankton's army of rogue robots – this time with friends in multiplayer mode! Meet all your favorite Bikini Bottomites, voiced by their original voice actors and show Plankton that crime pays even less than Mr. Krabs.

Control Ultimate Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 13
From developer Remedy Entertainment, this supernatural third- person action-adventure will challenge you to master the combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through a deep and unpredictable world. Control Ultimate Edition contains the main game and all previously released expansions (The Foundation and AWE).

No More Heroes 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 14
No More Heroes 3 follows the otaku assassin Travis Touchdown as he takes up his trusty beam katana once more and slashes his way through 10 of the deadliest fighters in the galaxy. Rack up combos with Travis' beam katana and experience hack-and-slash action like never before!

Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – March 19
Available on day one with Game Pass: Start your interstellar homestead in this peaceful open-world farming adventure! Build your sustainable exofarm, grow alien crops, customize your mech, and explore a new world full of mystery with up to three friends!

MLB The Show 24 (Cloud and Console) – March 19
Available on day one with Game Pass: Swing for the fences, experience game-deciding moments, become a legend and live out your baseball dreams in MLB The Show 24. Want to hit the field early? Game Pass members can unlock up to four days early access plus deluxe edition bonus content with the purchase of the Digital Deluxe Add-On Bundle. Learn more about how MLB The Show 24 continues to tell important stories from the Negro Leagues on Xbox Wire.

And leaving the service on March 15th

• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Shredders (Cloud, Console, and PC)

 

[rikwebb]

Second half of Game Pass's March additions

Available Today

Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
Available on day one with Game Pass: Start your interstellar homestead in this peaceful open-world farming adventure! Build your sustainable exofarm, grow alien crops, customize your mech, and explore a new world full of mystery with up to three friends!

MLB The Show 24 (Cloud and Console)
Available on day one with Game Pass: Swing for the fences, experience game-deciding moments, become a legend and live out your baseball dreams in MLB The Show 24.

Coming Soon

The Quarry (Cloud and Console) – March 20
When the sun goes down on the last night of summer camp, nine teenage counselors are plunged into an unpredictable night of horror. The only thing worse than the blood-drenched locals and creatures hunting them are the unimaginable choices you must make to help them survive.

Evil West (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 21
A dark menace consumes the Old West. In solo or co-op, fight with style in visceral, explosive combat against bloodthirsty monstrosities. Eradicate the vampiric hordes with your lightning-fueled gauntlet and become a Wild West Superhero.

Terra Invicta (Game Preview) (PC) – March 26
From the creators of Long War, an alien invasion has fractured humanity into seven ideological factions each with a unique vision for the future. Lead your chosen faction to take control of Earth's nations, expand across the Solar System, and battle enemy fleets in tactical combat.

Diablo IV (Console and PC) – March 28
The next-gen action RPG experience is coming to Game Pass with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Experience a gripping story or jump straight into Season of the Construct to unearth a new threat looming deep beneath the sands of Kehjistan.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 28
Get behind the wheel of the coolest cars and vehicles from the Hot Wheels universe, including the new ATVs and motorcycles. Explore 5 new stunning environments and race the way you want with new mechanics in exciting challenges and crazy game modes!

Open Roads (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 28
Available on day one with Game Pass: Long-lost family secrets. Hints of a hidden fortune. And miles to go before they sleep. Tess Devine's relationship with her mom has never been easy, but they're about to set out together on a journey into the past that they'll never forget.

Ark: Survival Ascended (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) – April 1
Respawn into a new dinosaur survival experience as Ark is reimagined from the ground-up into the next-generation with Unreal Engine 5! Are you ready to form a tribe, tame and breed hundreds of species of dinosaurs and other primeval creatures, explore, craft, build, and fight your way to the top of the food-chain? Your new world awaits!

F1 23 (Cloud) EA Play – April 2
EA Sports' F1 23 will be available with Xbox Cloud Gaming via EA Play. Test your driving talents, create your dream team, and be the last to brake in the official video game of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Superhot: Mind Control Delete (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 2
Making a return to the Game Pass library! Time moves only when you move. Superhot: Mind Control Delete gives you more insight into the signature power fantasy world of Superhot with more story, more signature gameplay, more action, more guns. Keep dancing the slow-motion ballet of destruction for so much longer than ever before.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

I wonder when the COD back catalogue will come to Gamepass. My PS3 isn’t hooked up so I wouldn’t mind being able to play all the COD titles from like 2007-2018 on my Series X.

 

[Madmick]

Xbox Insiders can now use mouse and keyboard for cloud gaming in select games​

• Mouse and keyboard support is now available on Xbox Cloud Gaming, but the change is currently only available to those in the Xbox Insiders program.
• Only select games are compatible with mouse and keyboard input at this time, but the input is available in both the mobile Xbox app, Xbox Game Bar on PCs, and cloud gaming via Edge or Chrome web browsers.

As mouse and keyboard input for cloud gaming is still in its testing phases, only a limited selection of games will be compatible with the feature in the beginning. Those games include:

• Fortnite
• ARK Survival Evolved
• Sea of Thieves
• Grounded
• Halo Infinite
• Atomic Heart
• Sniper Elite 5
• High on Life
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Zombie Army 4 Dead War
• Gears Tactics
• Pentiment
• Doom 64
• Age of Empires 2

Finally. This is huge. There were reports in June 2022 that they were rolling this out, then...nothing.

But kudos to Microsoft. This is a wonderful addition for PC gamers. They continue to lead the vanguard in terms of the technological progression of mainstream AAA gaming. Insiders only for now, and only these games, but support is expected to be added for thousands of games, and whenever they've added a new feature for Insiders, it's only been a few months before it rolls out to everyone.

I tested it tonight with Halo Infinite. Cloud streaming still offers a noticeably inferior image quality to local gaming, but that's understandable, and has nothing to do with this feature. I was amazed how responsive it was. It finally feels like playing on a real mouse. It's not at all like REWASD or Better xCloud (as cool as those are) which just trick the game into thinking the "controller" you're using is actually a mouse. That's terrible, it's just so weird, being limited to the movement caps of a joystick.

 

[rikwebb]

EA is raising the price of its EA Play subscription as of May 10th

EA raising price of EA Play subscription

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inboxElectronic Arts is increasing the price for…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Electronic Arts is increasing the price for its EA Play subscription service, GamesIndustry.biz understands.

The standard EA Play tier will increase from $4.99 / £3.99 per month to $5.99 / £5.99, with the annual fee rising from $29.99 / £19.99 to $39.99 / £34.99.

Meanwhile, the EA Play Pro subscription — which gives users extra in-game rewards and perks, as well as access to all of the publisher's latest games as soon as they launch — is increasing from $14.99 / £14.99 to $16.99 / £16.99, with the annual membership up to $119.99 / £99.99 from $99.99 / £89.99.