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Who do you predict will win? (pic: Metro)The Tuesday Inbox hears more arguments on the pros and cons of Xbox Game Pass, as one reader is surprised the Xbox Series X hasn\u2019t sold out.
\nTo join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
\nThe deciding factorI see a lot of Sony fans getting riled up at the concept that Microsoft\u2019s success may be inevitable, which is a good sign that there\u2019s some truth to the suggestion. I have a lot of sympathy for people saying that Microsoft\u2019s massive cash reserves are essentially cheating, but as that equally angry Microsoft fan pointed out recently Sony did something similar when buying companies up at the start of the PlayStation 1 era.
\nAdmittedly there was nothing on the scale of Bethesda, and they did it right at the start of their video game history, not four generations in when they\u2019d run out of steam, but that doesn\u2019t mean what Microsoft is doing is entirely without precedence.
\nSony can still win but they\u2019ve got to have games that are on the level of must-have as Nintendo\u2019s best, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019re there yet. It\u2019s not a question of whether The Last Of Us Part 2 is better than Zelda: Breath Of The Wild but whether it has the mass appeal, and I don\u2019t think it does. Ratchet & Clank is much closer to the sort of game they need, even though I\u2019ve never liked the series and find it too shallow and repetitive.
\nBut it\u2019s that sort of family friendly game that Sony needs to focus on. The single-player, mature-rated games will get them a certain way, but I feel their importance was overstated last generation when they had essentially no competition from Microsoft. When Microsoft is making similar games, of probably similar quality, I think for many the difference will appear small and Game Pass will be the deciding factor.
\nI don\u2019t say this as being either a good or bad thing, since I try to get all formats eventually in a generation, but that seems the most likely outcome to me.Ashton Marley
\nLocalised hateLooks like Argos have either a lot of stock of the Xbox Series X or nobody\u2019s buying it. I first noticed stock availability at my local (Gateshead) on Thursday but didn\u2019t have the money to buy it, checked again on the off chance yesterday (Sunday) and still available, so I got one this time and picked it up today.
\nDon\u2019t know if it\u2019s the same nationwide as I\u2019m unsure how they allocate stock but might be worth checking. I\u2019ve been reading that they\u2019re normally gone in minutes, so to be available for at least three days is saying something.La_Mer
\nGC: Argos allocate stock locally, so\u2026 maybe people in Gateshead really hate Xbox for some reason?
\nA mischief of ratsGenuinely thought Xbox did great at E3; seemed less sterile than former years and had loads of games in the works.
\nFor me the highlight was A Plague Tale: Requiem. So excited about it. Can\u2019t believe no one else has made comment about it!
\nFirst one was just amazing!
\nSomerville looks really good too!SimonPS: Looks like I\u2019m going back to Xbox after PlayStation 4 this last generation \u2013 sure I\u2019m not gonna be the only one.
\nGC: A Plague Tale: Requiem is being released on all formats, including a cloud version for Switch. It is on Game Pass from day one though.
\nE-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
\n14 days on the phoneA warning to anyone planning to use Nintendo\u2019s UK Store:
\nThey\u2019ve just recently undergone a revamp and are now rebranded as My Nintendo Store. As a result of the change you\u2019re no longer able to simply cancel an order if you\u2019ve changed your mind, even if it\u2019s a pre-order.
\nYou now have to get in touch with customer services to amend anything, which in my experience has been frustrating; you now have to jump through hoops confirming your identity just to return an item or cancel your order.
\nI\u2019ve now had to speak to three customer service agents (the second agent disconnected the chat before resolving anything) and all I want to do is return an item within their 14-day returns policy.DM
\nOh MotherI\u2019m playing through EarthBound again for the third time and it still astounds me how weirdly brilliant it is. I am not hugely into role-playing games but wanted to know what all the fuss was about, so I bought it when it was released on Wii U. It didn\u2019t click instantly but it did make me want to keep playing and after it did click with me, I found it amazing and it gets better on each run.
\nThere are frustrating grindy parts, but the overall package of the game just blows me away, brilliant soundtrack, wonderful story that has huge emotional impact and the fact that many parts of it are like some sort of weird trip. Utterly fantastic game and I do hope it\u2019s added to Switch SNES online and that Mother 3 gets an official release at some point.John Atkinson
\nVideo games unpluggedI really don\u2019t get it when people say why do you play FIFA when you could play football for real outside. a) games are escapism and believe me when I say I\u2019m nowhere near as talented as the players in real life who can do stuff in FIFA I never can. b) I will never get to play in a real stadium in front of a huge crowd. c) the players around me would be my mates, not professional footballers.
\nIt\u2019s like saying why do you play a racing game when you could go to a track and drive a car around?
\nRant over.Angry_Kurt (Twitter)Now playing: Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (Xbox Series X) and Super Mario Galaxy (Switch)
\nGC: You\u2019re leaving yourself open to an obvious reply with that last question.
\nInfinite appealI\u2019ve read a few negative comments on Halo Infinite over the last week, so I feel like showing it some love. To me I don\u2019t expect it to ever be as big as it first was, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s possible with sequels, the same as Tomb Raider will never have the same impact as it did in the 90s.
\nBut I still like its gameplay, the iconic music in intense sections, its animated sci-fi setting and the campaign story. What they showed was more of everything I love with enough changes to keep it fresh but not so many to put me off. It\u2019s exactly what I want.
\nI don\u2019t really expect anyone who doesn\u2019t already like Halo to want to play it. If you didn\u2019t like the previous ones, why would you suddenly ever want to play a future one?
\nI do disagree with the way Microsoft organise their studios though. Having them based around franchises must cause issues with retaining talent and supress ideas when all you can ever make is a Halo\/Gears\/Minecraft game. Maybe it makes sense for driving games but, ironically, Playground are the first to get to do something else.Tim
\nDigital toysMe and my son like playing Lego Dimensions and Disney infinity 2.0 and 3.0 on our Xbox One S.
\nWe\u2019re thinking about upgrading to an Xbox Series S but with it being digital-only is there anyway to be able to play these games as they\u2019re on disc?
\nI did wonder if maybe they could have made the games free to download, as you would still need to purchase the bases to play the games.Scott
\nGC: We don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way round the problem, especially as both series are now defunct.
\nMore: Gaming<\/p>\n
Nothing to laugh aboutHaving been around games and the console wars for over 20 years at this point I thought I\u2019d seen it all. That is until I read reader Cerberus\u2019 Reader\u2019s Feature.
\nThe idea that Game pass could put Sony out of business is absolutely laughable considering Sony\u2019s total dominance for the past four generations. Let alone Sony\u2019s start to this generation.
\nWill it be incredible and give Microsoft an edge to catch up to Sony and Nintendo? Possibly, but a million things need to go perfectly for that to happen, will it take off on PC? Will new TV owners subscribe in meaningful numbers, doubtful in my opinion.
\nWill the billions of mobile users be interested enough to ditch candy crush and subscribe? My mother certainly said no along with the vast majority in my view. It just doesn\u2019t make sense that the free to play mobile crowd would have any interest in game pass at all.
\nSo many refuse to see any downsides with Game Pass, as good as a service as it undoubtedly is. Games being removed from the service, Microsoft being a million miles away from producing the quality of Sony and Nintendo along with the price.
\nFor us gamers, it\u2019s clearly good value. For someone buying a TV or my mum playing Candy Crush for free, dropping \u00a3150 plus \u00a350 on a controller for a one-year subscription is never going to happen.
\nRabid fanboys also refuse to accept that there\u2019s an upper celling for this service and have been blinded by the billions of gamers message Microsoft put out.
\nWhen you think that at best Microsoft sold 80 million Xbox 360s; that said many, many people bought multiple due to the red ring of death and it seems clear to me, that 80 million is the absolute upper limit to subscribers. That\u2019s a great win for Microsoft but Sony and Nintendo\u2019s business models will continue completely unaffected as long as the quality of exclusives continue.
\nThat\u2019s the best case for Game Pass.
\nThe worst case is Game Pass costing way more in terms of third party deals (many millions) dev costs, AAA costing $100+ million these days, and the Bethesda purchase. Microsoft now have a considerable number of studios to support and a considerable loss on full game sales (the whole point of Game Pass isn\u2019t it!?) to overcome. If their subscriber base doesn\u2019t grow to match the outgoings then Microsoft won\u2019t support a massive loss making division, look at Nokia, Mixer, etc. Imagine a situation where they can\u2019t grow the sub count passed, say, 40 million and you can see third party deals drying up and huge downsides for Xbox.
\nA lot needs to go right for this to work for Microsoft (they themselves have said it isn\u2019t in profit, Tom Warren\u2019s tweet, etc.) while Sony and Nintendo continue as normal.
\nIn short, all of the companies are just fine and no one is going out of business any time soon.Jellybelly100
\nGC: Rabid fanboys, you say?
\nInbox also-ransTotally agree about bringing back Vagrant Story. I really don\u2019t understand some of the games that Square Enix just refuses to bring back. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s more bizarre \u2013 that or Chrono Trigger.Gizzard
\nSorry, I\u2019m still trying to understand. A Silent Hill\u2026 skateboard? Just imagine it was not only someone\u2019s job to come up with that idea but to make it a reality as well. Amazing.Lopok
\nThis week\u2019s Hot TopicThe subject for this weekend\u2019s Inbox was inspired by reader Andee, who asks what\u2019s your favourite video game soundtrack.
\nWe\u2019ve run similar Hot Topics a few times in the past so to ensure the discussions is different your musical choices can only be from the current and previous generations (i.e. PlayStation 4 and 5). What has been your favourite soundtrack from that period and how does it compare to other classics?
\nDo you listen to the soundtrack separately to the game and do you enjoy the whole thing or just a few tracks? What do you think of current standards in video games music and what are you looking forward to in the new generation?
\nE-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
\nThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers\u2019 letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
\nYou can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader\u2019s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
\nYou can also leave your comments below and don\u2019t forget to follow us on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\tMORE : Games Inbox: The next PS5 State of Play, Starfield disappointment, and Vagrant Story remaster<\/p>\n
\tMORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: The best and worst of E3 2021<\/p>\n
\tMORE : Weekend Hot Topic, part 2: The best and worst of E3 2021<\/p>\n