When Microsoft streamed their "first look at Xbox Series X gameplay", basically all videos had a disclaimer at the bottom that read "footage representative of expected Xbox Series X visual quality", "footage representative of expected Xbox Series X gameplay", or, in the case of the short snippet from Madden 21, "gameplay captured in Xbox Series X engine". The exceptions were The Medium, which had a CGI/pre-rendered trailer; and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which didn't make it clear on which platform its footage had been captured.
After the huge backlash the company received from fans, who considered that initial showing to be, at the very least, a bit misleading (given its title), you'd expect that the folks at Redmond would learn from their mistakes - especially when their competition made a significant splash a little over a month later. And even if Sony's showcase was also light on "hands on the controller" gameplay, they made a (literal) statement at the very beginning, by claiming: "All game footage you are about to see from this point forward in the show has been captured from PlayStation 5 systems".
That, to me, was the most important moment of all next-gen reveals. It meant that, no matter what you were looking at, you were guaranteed to see the exact same thing if you were to boot those games on your own PS5. No "in-engine" demos. No footage "representative" of the console's specs. Actual captures from real PS5 hardware.
Microsoft had a chance to redeem themselves with their July's "Xbox Games Showcase", and we all know how that went. Craig memes aside, the worst aspect of the Halo Infinite gameplay demo, which was supposed to promote the Series X biggest launch title (at the time), and still considered one of Microsoft's flagship franchises, is that the game wasn't running on a Series X console either.
What followed was another baffling display of CGI, pre-rendered and in-engine trailers - exactly what the fans didn't want after the previous, disappointing event. At no point did they specifically say "this is real gameplay running on an actual Series X". We saw a small glimpse of Ori and the Will of the Wisps at 120fps, but not only that is another current-gen title, they didn't bother to clarify from which device they captured the footage (and whenever that happens, we can safely assume it's from the PC version).
I was holding out hope until the price and release date announcement. I figured that, by then, Microsoft would've finally felt compelled to show something - anything - running on Series X - and not through third-party outlets, but in an official capacity, through their social media channels, commercials, etc.
That announcement came and went and all games we saw were running on Series S. No mention of X. Nothing. With only two months left before that console is released, the only games we've seen actually running on it have been current- and last-gen offerings, through the lenses of Digital Foundry and Austin Evans, of all people.
Clearly, Microsoft are more interested in selling Game Pass subscriptions than consoles, at this point. Phil Spencer's statement during their big showcase, that all of the titles on display would be available day-one on Game Pass, seemed like a direct response to Sony's bold claim of prior, which also encompassed all of the games the Japanese company showed off in their event - just in a different way. It served to cement the differences in focus and strategy of the two giants.
However, if you're releasing a brand new piece of hardware no matter what, you have to make your case for it. Regardless of how compelling you think your subscription service is, you still have to demonstrate how much better games will look and play on the $500 device that you're about to ship, otherwise, you're selling a product based solely on false expectations. From a consumer perspective, that is unacceptable.
I hope we get to see more of the Series X in action before the actual game reviews start dropping in. We've never seen or known so little about new consoles (and that includes the PS5) this close to their release.
After the huge backlash the company received from fans, who considered that initial showing to be, at the very least, a bit misleading (given its title), you'd expect that the folks at Redmond would learn from their mistakes - especially when their competition made a significant splash a little over a month later. And even if Sony's showcase was also light on "hands on the controller" gameplay, they made a (literal) statement at the very beginning, by claiming: "All game footage you are about to see from this point forward in the show has been captured from PlayStation 5 systems".
That, to me, was the most important moment of all next-gen reveals. It meant that, no matter what you were looking at, you were guaranteed to see the exact same thing if you were to boot those games on your own PS5. No "in-engine" demos. No footage "representative" of the console's specs. Actual captures from real PS5 hardware.
Microsoft had a chance to redeem themselves with their July's "Xbox Games Showcase", and we all know how that went. Craig memes aside, the worst aspect of the Halo Infinite gameplay demo, which was supposed to promote the Series X biggest launch title (at the time), and still considered one of Microsoft's flagship franchises, is that the game wasn't running on a Series X console either.
What followed was another baffling display of CGI, pre-rendered and in-engine trailers - exactly what the fans didn't want after the previous, disappointing event. At no point did they specifically say "this is real gameplay running on an actual Series X". We saw a small glimpse of Ori and the Will of the Wisps at 120fps, but not only that is another current-gen title, they didn't bother to clarify from which device they captured the footage (and whenever that happens, we can safely assume it's from the PC version).
I was holding out hope until the price and release date announcement. I figured that, by then, Microsoft would've finally felt compelled to show something - anything - running on Series X - and not through third-party outlets, but in an official capacity, through their social media channels, commercials, etc.
That announcement came and went and all games we saw were running on Series S. No mention of X. Nothing. With only two months left before that console is released, the only games we've seen actually running on it have been current- and last-gen offerings, through the lenses of Digital Foundry and Austin Evans, of all people.
Clearly, Microsoft are more interested in selling Game Pass subscriptions than consoles, at this point. Phil Spencer's statement during their big showcase, that all of the titles on display would be available day-one on Game Pass, seemed like a direct response to Sony's bold claim of prior, which also encompassed all of the games the Japanese company showed off in their event - just in a different way. It served to cement the differences in focus and strategy of the two giants.
However, if you're releasing a brand new piece of hardware no matter what, you have to make your case for it. Regardless of how compelling you think your subscription service is, you still have to demonstrate how much better games will look and play on the $500 device that you're about to ship, otherwise, you're selling a product based solely on false expectations. From a consumer perspective, that is unacceptable.
I hope we get to see more of the Series X in action before the actual game reviews start dropping in. We've never seen or known so little about new consoles (and that includes the PS5) this close to their release.
