my thoughts on the Xbox Showcase backlash (& Summer Game Fest)

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I didn't even know there's a controversy.

I didn't even know there was a controversy. As far as I know and saw, Xbox had a great show with great games and that's pretty much it

Was the controversy that they totally outdid Summer Game Fest?

there was controversy?

Fun fact about Enotria, they initially released a trailer with their release date a couple hours before the Elden ring DLC trailer and release date. Their first planned release date ended the same as the ER DLC. Later that day they just released a statement saying, stay tuned we are coming back with a new release date which is good because it gives them 3 more months of polishing.

Didnt think there was a controversy

1:29 "There is this division inside of Ubisoft" That's just damn good wordplay.

I don’t think letting a developer take their time and having a release date need be to mutually exclusive. I think the games industry could use a retooling on how they plan out their game development schedule. I much rather them take their time and pad the game release by 2 years, so they can get the game in a state they’re proud of.

Controversy?

I think the release date thing is that people dont want to see something until it is ready and then they can be exited about it coming out. But with games oftentimes being announced years before they come out its hard to be exited about it and so its frustrating to see a good trailer and then have no idea when or if the game is actually coming.

10:45 The Hollow Knight Silksong situation is the actual controversy everyone should be talking about 😔

A lot of the frustration for me with the no hard release dates is that a lot of them said they are coming in 2024 without a hard release date. Feels like some of those games are probably going to come out later than 2024, but they wanted to give the appearance of a lot of games coming out this year when that may not be the case.

I kind of feel like the real thing people were upset by was the fact that it was all pre-rendered cinematic trailers with very little to no actual gameplay. A lot of flash with no substance, which I understand happens a lot obviously, but to have so little actual gameplay shown doesn't get a lot of gamers hopes up. It either screams "this game won't be released for another 3-4 years" or "this game sucks but it LOOKS cool so we're showing you that", both of which I think a lot of gamers are just exhausted by, and have been hurt numerous times by before.

Convention/Hotel rates are INSANE! Here's some anecdotes from my job: we had to pay a $30K for Internet access, while a separate company who works within the hotel charged us $5K to rent 3 TVs. No wonder PAX South ended...

There were 31 products previewed at the Xbox showcase. 4 had absolutely No Date. 10 had a non-specific 2025 date. 17 had a 2024 Date - 13 with a specific date and 4 this Fall. There was a surprising number of dates actually provided as opposed to the complaints.

I don't need release dates down to the day, but a release window "late 2024", "early 2025" etc would be nice. Personally, I get more excited when I know something is coming, and when.

One of the first things my lecturer said in my games dev module at uni was "don't neglect marketing"

My take on the release date thing is, if a game is so early you can't have a semi-accurate release date for it, I don't need to see it. It often leads to the game disappearing for years (FF7 Remake, Kingdom Hearts 3/4, Fable, Perfect Dark) or some games being shown at so many events I get tired of them before they come out (Deathloop).

Xbox showcase was absolute 🔥 9/10 and what controversy?