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Defining Duke, Episode 123: The Thread (Patreon)

Published:
2023-05-08 18:59:51
Imported:
2023-05

Content

Hey All! It's time to submit your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Episode 123 of Defining Duke.  

Great ways to get your write-up used: Be pithy, be topical, and be insightful. Walls-of-text, posts littered with poor grammar and punctuation, etc., are promptly (though respectfully) ignored.  

As this is an Xbox podcast, be sure your submission makes sense within that realm. You have until Wednesday, 5/10 at 3 ET to make your submission.

Comments

ZipDavis

Hello Nice Guy Dukes, When I bought my Series X backwards compatibility was thriving and a new accessibility controller was released. It felt like Xbox was trying to improve their image. Now no more b/c, Dev mode has been removed, Drm is still an issue and achievements still lack a platinum equivalent. What can Xbox do for an easy pop? Thanks for keeping me company while I 100%d Like a Dragon Ishin. You both saved my sanity.

Normal People (Sacshop)

Ahoy Casting Couch incognito COG and Controversy Free Matty With the seemingly sudden rise in great and affordable retro/emulation handheld releasing lately - have either of you been interested in any of these? I know Cog you are pretty enamored with the ROG Ally and Matty you love that sweet, sweet Logitech cloud sponsorship (I'm kidding) so some of these could be on your radar... Recently picked up an Anbernic RG35XX as well as their RG353V and the ultra popular miyoo mini (the new +). I apologize if this all sounds like Mandarin to you both. Any interest in a pocket sized, game boy or switch sized emulation machine capable of playing everything up to PS1? Perhaps PS2 and GameCube? Gamepass is possible on many of these devices running Android btw too so there is that as well to consider.... Have a "Need to put the best console on ice while I bring out my tablet from 2016 to play this GOTY real quick" kind of day

Brian Lau

Hey Dukes, Long time, first time. Phil Spencer joined Kinda Funny's Xcast to answer the "hard hitting" questions to address Redfall and Xbox in general. I'll say it... to me, they gave the impression of the guys asking Phil all the tough questions but it felt more like Aaron Rodger's weekly visit to Pat McAfee where all questions felt vetted beforehand. In that interview, Phil said he will be more transparent when it comes to setting the right exceptions to gamers moving forward. He admitted that they claimed Redfall would run in 60fps but shipped with 30fps. This may be a question for Hoeg but can this lead to a class action lawsuit if enough people want to file a lawsuit for it with this admission by Phil? Have a "I spent 3 hours searching for a specific document out of hundreds of random items nearby in order to advance the Visionary Lead in Deathloop" kinda day.

CustomAlex .

Hey dukes hope everything is going well keep up the great work my question is Phil Spencer had an interview on kinda funny that I'm sure your going to talk about. But what jumped out to me was when he said that there mock reviews for redfall were different by double digits. How does that happen? And do you think this means they will change up who does their internal reviews? Have a great day love the show you guys are the reason I got an Xbox which has been my person 5 and Indie machine

Anonymous

What’s up Orange “Matt” Cassidy & Jay “Cog” Lethal, My question is a short one who do you think could properly right the Xbox ship? My pick is out there but imagine Shawn Layden jumping over and bring his people to clean house? Have a CM Punk is coming back to AEW but I could care less kinda day.

Cai

Hey Dukes, I’ve started the last 3 generations with an Xbox console first, and each time have been pulled away to the PS ecosystem for a specific game and then stayed there for the most part. I bought a PS3 for The Last of Us, a PS4 for God of War/Bloodborne, and am eyeing up a PS5 for Final Fantasy 16 and Spiderman 2. I say this in light of Phil’s interview with KF, and how Starfield being an 11/10 wouldn’t shift consoles. For me, the games are what matter, and I will always try to be where the best games are. Starfield looks like the kind of game that might turn someone’s head towards a system, and so the hesitancy to label it as such is a little baffling. Is Phil just trying to ease the pressure on the team at Bethesda? Thanks, and have an “I’m feeling unfaithful because the 85+ on metacritic first party games caught my eye” kinda day.

KevinFausch

Hey Dukes, What is something that Xbox could do during the show case that would completely turn the negative conversation around? I'm talking jaw dropping, holy shit kind of announcement.

Justspartan

Hey, Mr.Matty and the D-Squad Leader himself, Cog! Not gaming-related, but I'm going on vacation at the beginning of June. I've never flown before, and I'm feeling a little nervous. Do you all have any tips or tricks that could help? Take care and have a 'If you don't roll with me on my Redfall, you don't deserve me on my Starfield' kind of day.

towtansua

Matty sometimes does the *whisper emphasis* just like president Biden does. but it's not creepy when Matty does it.

Phil Walker

Hey Matty, heard you're making a game... Hypothetical choice. 500k gamepass bag and 5 million players. Or 100k players and 3 million gross revenue?

Anonymous

Hey Dukes, I know Redfall got a lot of (deserved) hate… but what’s not cool is people in the community also spewing hate at those that are finding some enjoyment in the game. Listen, Redfall’s far from perfect, but there’s no need for others to proactively tear down anyone that’s having fun playing the game. I just want to put that out there. It’s okay to like Redfall. Thanks Dukes! Play what you like.

Ben Scott

Hey Dukes! Phil Spencer’s recent interview suggests that Arkane Austin was completely unsupervised during the development of Redfall. After this whole debacle, I think that autonomy has been essentially relinquished. Does Xbox need a Shuhei Yoshida-type executive to push studios to raise the quality of their games? Shuhei was notorious for being unimpressed and disappointed during corporate visits, and studios had to dig deep to polish their games. Personally, I think Xbox needs to be more hands-on and a stern representative that visits the studios to check on the status of their projects might be a good move. I hope you all have a “Phil Spencer threw me under the bus on a popular podcast” kind of day! Thanks, Ben

Your Boi Nicky V

Hey Bukkake Bandit Barry and The Italian 'Titty Gobbling' Stallion Matty, Dudes, among the many broken promises from last year's showcase, it seems like one game has been forgotten, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn. We were given an early 2023 release date and yet there's been no news about the game all year, outside of a few screenshots on the official Twitter. Any chance this may be a stealth drop at the next showcase? And are you guys confident this could bring some of Cog's #JustOne energy to Game Pass? Have a 'Cog is so hench, he makes Gears's artsytle look realistic ' kind of day.

Nevets

Dukes, Why is Xbox missing small titles from big publishers? One of my favorite games is getting a definitive edition and it's coming to everything except Xbox. Even though this game is on Xbox 360. The game in question is Clash of Heroes: Might and Magic. I kind of feel like this is a situation like Catherine where it's backwards compatible, so I guess companies think it's okay to skip. Thoughts?

Mr. Scott If You're Nasty

Sir Dukes of Negativity, With some time to digest the Redfall and Xbox acquisition news, do you feel like you're still as negative about the Xbox as a platform? I felt a lot of emotion last episode, and I get it, but I feel like some of it was hyperbolic. Love the show gentlemen. Have a don't jump kind of day!

pen in pant

Whaddup Dukes, Not really Xbox news but Aspyr has removed mentions of DLC on the eShop for KoTOR 2. Why do we keep seeing companies constantly not delivering on their commitments? As always I love the work y’all put in. Best $5 I’ve spent every month for 2+ years now.

Vonoran

Hey Dukes, I’m sure everyone’s tired of Redfall discussions; however, those that say it should have been cancelled in production forget how that option is a no win scenario for Xbox. Acquire Arkane Studios and cancel a new IP like Scalebound. The media would have torn Microsoft apart. Gamers still cry about Scalebound and no one really knows what that game was. Yes, damage was done with releasing Redfall, but there would have been a shitstorm if Microsoft had cancelled it as well. The real talking point should be how does game development decrease so that when a game flops like Redfall, production hasn’t wasted 5 years of dev time.

NJ

Hey Dukes, I’ll get straight to the point since this’ll be a bit long-winded. Xbox is not a game development company. It’s a tiny gaming division of a giant technology company. Everything Microsoft does is based around a service model, and all of those services are moving to cloud platforms (even the cloud itself is one of their subscription services through Azure). They’ve said that they don’t see PlayStation as a competitor, and I think the reasons why have been staring us right in the face all along. Everything Phil Spencer has said, everything Xbox and Microsoft have done, demonstrates that they have no interest in managing day-to-day game development. They clearly buy other companies for that. I think that their objective is to prove their technology across industries, and to provide a gaming platform with the smallest barrier to entry possible (#CogWasRight). So, why do we keep expecting them to do what PlayStation do after they’ve already told us that they’re not going to? Quality control gates… now that’s something else entirely =)

Nathanael Myer

Hi Dukes, love the interview with Craig. Keep the Minecraft content flowing. Seriously, my 73 year old mother still plays Minecraft and enjoys it.my kids love playing with her. This game is multi generational game and that does not come around yo often.

Anonymous

Greetings. I don't have a question. But I must agree with Cog in the last video. It's time to put up or shut up. Give the Xbox Audience some Token of faith to believe in. And not all of this endless amount of vaporware announcements. We hear the hype of billions of dollars spent in acquisitions. Yet never see anything further from it. Have a pleasant week.

Anonymous

Although, I must add in. Microsoft's middle management being filled with incompetent sycophantic yes men. Explains so much of their output over the past 10 years and why so much of their 1st party output tastes so repetitively homogeneous. Basically the captain of the ships rader is faulty which will end up crashing the ship into an Iceberg. Again! After the 1st time in 2013. I'm more concerned at this point that Microsoft controls the world's Computer OS. Yet its junior software division is riddled with mismanagement. Sony might be extreme in it's intolerance for failure. But at least it holds executives accountable. Which is clearly not happing at Microsoft. Eventually Phil Spencer is going to be fired within the next 12 months. The Xbox brand is doing irreparable brand damage to the company as well as it's Reputation. Have a 'I completely over the Elder Scrolls VI' kind've day.

PapaFlow

Greetings dukes, A couple questions for ya'll to chew on. Is it time for a paradigm shift in how open videogame developers are pre release? Redfall really got me thinking, if what Phil Spencer said is to be believed, Microsoft themselves may have been bamboozled in what was shown and reviewed internally. I grow tired of being shown very small vertical slices of a game in very controlled environments under ridiculous review embargos. Additionally, do you think the xbox ecosystem would benefit from both a user review system and an early access system like what steam has implemented? Personally based on what I've seen I think Redfall would of been better off to not finish the game content wise, polish the player experience instead and release the game in early access with a full 1.0 release to occur in the future.

Anonymous

P.S. Paragraph breaks still aren't available on patreon mobile. The enter key submits the current text in the box. So apologies for the wall of text. It's an unavoidable issue for many. Thank you for your understanding. It's a damn shame that Xbox got the Xbox got the console design and size right. The heating solution as well. Yet has continued to fail at everything else. Competition is good for business and important for evolution. Without Microsoft as a force. Sony will definitely take anti-consumer stances. Like Microsoft did with the Xbox one.

Adam Barnes

What’s up lads, This one is a correction for Matty. I’ve heard you say on multiple occasions “in mass”. For example, the public were playing this game in mass. The term is ‘en masse’, pronounced ‘on mass’. Thanks for all the hard work boys. I’m another PlayStation player who listens to your show for the insight and entertainment you both offer. Nothing but love

Anonymous

Hey Cog and Matty, This question is for Cog, what is it going to take for Cog to take the Sacred Symbol boys to the gym? I finally got around to watching An Evening with Last Stand in Houston and noticed that Cog's arms are bigger than the Sacred Symbol boy's heads. Matty, you're good, I know you've had some various health issues and have been putting time in the gym so keep up the hard work! Have a good one.

AlexDiesTwice

Hello, Dukes! Recently Matty mentioned that Xbox fans like to overhype the Sideshow items compared to what should be the Main Event courses. Similarly, do we think that users also overhype and put too much pressure on the indie games that are dropping day and date on Gamepass? For example, I've seen some users mad that a game like Ravenlok, which was done by a very small studio, not be a game of the year contender or "banger". Which sounds weird to me as this isn't what these indie games are aiming for, they are looking to add unique experiences that cannot be found in the Triple A space. Do you think this attitude is justified or is there something missing here? Cheers, Alex.

Anonymous

Howdy boys, I’m guessing you guys watched the Phil interview, did the last 10 minutes of that interview seem out of place and character for Phil? Is this just another level of strategy to look week for the deal or did we actually see true Phil? Cheers and have a the head of my gaming box would rather make controllers than great games kinda day.

Brian Wagers

Hey Dukes, Everyone is talking about Phil Spensers interview this week. Do you agree with him that there isn’t much that Xbox can do this generation games wise to get folks to change consoles? Also, is Phil the right guy to lead Xbox as they go forward?

TRAGICTACTICS

Last week you said Arkane should abandon Redfall after they fix it and add the 60fps but I noticed that the $100 version has a "hero pass". So I think Arkane has to make those two future heroes due to them already selling it in the $100 version of the game. Any thoughts?

TRAGICTACTICS

What are you guys thoughts on that nihilistic Phil Spencer interview where he basically said that no matter what Xbox can't win and people won't buy Xbox consoles even if the games are good. And that they can't win against PlayStation.

Anonymous

hello duks, after a week of beating xbox to the ground and saying playstation is better them ever, i was thinking, what better way to resolve this delame them making a fighter roster fro each console. so here are the rules. 1: 15 characters for each brang 2: one character per series. have a "lets put these characters that we love to beat each other kind of day

RK128

Hello Mr. Duke and Jedi Cog, With the rumor of Konami signing deals did Castlevania, Metal Gear and Silent Hill with PlayStation, how could Microsoft counter that? Any franchises y’all have in mind? Have a ‘I feel inspired to not buck up after General King preached the good word’ kind of day.

Stinkling

I don't even like Xbox, i just listen for Matty and Cog banter, keep on trucking boys! :3

Mikey Rivers

Just a quick shoutout to the dukes on the Craig Leigh interview. His name was unknown to me but hearing him talk his shit made me realize that there are lots of unknown legends in the space. If haven’t listened make sure you sub and do so!

Joshua La Rosa

G’day Dukes, quick question. Do you think the game pass model makes it harder for Microsoft to secure 3rd party AAA timed exclusives. Given Xbox would need to theoretically cover the expected sales deficit on PlayStation and also offer a bag big enough to have the game come to Gamepass. Have a “my plastic box is better then yours” type of day.

Sam Lee

Ring ring, ring ring. Dukes, it's 2021, your phone is ringing and when you pick it up you hear... "Hey Dukes, it's a me, Phil Spencer. I love what you guys are doing on Defining Duke. I need a huge favour, you know that game, RedFall? It's flying under my radar and I need someone to supervise Arkane Austin. You've got until 2023, good luck." So Dukes, how would you change this game in 2 years? What aspects would you focus on? Combine all the heroes into one? Reduce the scope and create a smaller experience akin to Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment? Tell us Dukes! Have a "I can be an 11/10 man but no girl would leave their man for me" kinda day.

Anonymous

Hey Dukes, So I jumped on the Gamepass wagon back in 2021. In part thanks to this great show! I hadn't had an Xbox since my 360 got the RROD back in the day. After listening to a few eps of DD I picked up a Series S and like many savvy gamers took advantage of the £1 deal and stacked gamepass for 3 years. My Ultimate membership runs out in April 2024. So my question is, what can Phil and co do in the next 12 months to convince me to continue my subscription beyond then? As things stand I won't be renewing and I bet there are many folks in my position who tried it as an experiment and are now thinking the same. Thanks as always boys!

Anonymous

Top of the morning to you gents! Unless you’re reading this later in the day then idk what the phrase would be. Now I don’t usually like to wear a tinfoil hat. However, Redfall being released as bad as it is just has me scratching my head. Hear me out now, if I was a company willing to spend 70 billion big ones what wouldn’t I do to make that deal go through? It has me wondering do you think Microsoft released the game to continue to look weak in hopes of increasing their chances of this deal going through? “Look we can’t even manage the teams we have now! You really think we’re gonna be a dominant force in cloud gaming? Even with Call of Duty the biggest franchise in history people aren’t going to switch over from their PS5s.” It just seems weird to me how Phil is saying they didn’t expect it to be that bad and is it possible sure, but is it plausible personally I don’t think so. Love the show keep up the great work!

Anonymous

Hey friends, Well, Redfall was so bad that I bought a PS5 this weekend. With nothing exclusive to play until Starfield and the PS Collection ending soon, I though I might as well pick up a PS5. I’ve always been the type to own all consoles, but I can’t be the only one who was ready to make the jump. Also, I signed up for Sony’s subscription and I was greeted with basically every exclusive from the last few years for $15 per month. There is a clear difference between the two, and as a die hard Xbox fan, that makes me sad. I could be playing Redfall if it was better, but I’m playing PlayStation now. Thanks y’all - Jason

PortugalTheMark

Hey Lads! What are the chances of an XO style Xbox show? We had XO 18 & XO 19 (In Mexico and England) which i would love to see a return too as West Coast America is a bit of trek for a brit like me. I know Xbox wants to do 'DIrects' like the January one and Starfield one upcoming. What about getting the worldwide fans more involved in a social setting? Cheers guys and have a "The UK version of gamepass may not include ABK games for the foresable future due to the CMA's concerns" type of day. (Cheers CMA ffs).

Anonymous

Hello lads First time writing in Following the release of Redfall, the discussion online has been furious in regards to the quality of the Xbox first party output I have always been of the mind that game pass as a platform has massive potential, especially for how AAA titles are developed With Redfall failing across all metrics, many are now waxing lyrical about the incredible games from Arkane’s past Unfortunately titles such as Dishonored and Prey have reportedly been shelved due to poor sales But in my eyes a service such as game pass would be ideal for a meaty immersive sim to thrive and survive I’ve always thought that game pass could be an antidote to some of the industries most undesirable traits My question is, if Xbox manages to improve and enhance its pipeline, what type of AAA games would you most like to see in the game pass model and how do you think the service could affect its development in a positive way? I hope you have a “This Patreon question is too long, but sod it, I’ll send it anyway” kind of day

Jeff Caseres

What’s up, Dukes! So I had a dream that Starfield had dropped, and it had a surprise feature none of us saw coming. The whole game was playable in 2 player co-op, and at 60fps on Series X! It made me realize that we don’t have a No Man’s Sky/Starfield type of multiplayer co-op game, imo that would be awesome af! My question is, have you guys had dreams of playing unreleased games? I also had a dream once that I was playing GTA6 😂. Keep it up! Love DD all LSM!

Boomboom Washington

Greetings from Toronto gentlemen! With remakes and remasters more popular than ever, we're always talking about the games we want to see come back. I'm gonna switch it up today and ask you lads; what's one IP you never want to see again? As always, have an "I'm about to get swept right out of the Playoffs" kinda day!

Alex

Hi Dukes soooo i need to vent after that Phil spencer interview, I see a lot of people saying how good it is and all I heard was more excuses talking about how they have more time with starfield is pretty useless information when the game you've just released is dreadful, and how making good games wont change things (which its pretty obvious that making good games do change things looking at sony and nintendo) where is the fighting sprit from xbox leadership where are the voices saying were going to provide our players with the best games possible, all i want is the cool Xbox 360 days to come back but as time goes on i just dont see that Xbox ever coming back. i don't care for cloud and PC but the way phil talks so defeated about console i just feel is it time for a change at the top they should defiantly keep Phil but i feel like xbox needs a strong businessman at the top to make the hard choices and stop the bullshit. Ok rant over hope that was ok lol

NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE

Hey Dukes! Simple question: Favorite sandwich and it’s contents? That is all. Thank you for everything.

Enraged Seahawk of Seattle

Hey matty and cog it’s your favorite Seahawk fan here. Just finished jedi survivor, was wondering what are your thoughts on; the game director had an option to ask for more time and ea offered it but they choose to deliver now probably in fear of dealing with other games. Also can we expect a spoiler cast? I need to see more on this ending. Have the kind of day where you can’t stop thinking about Jedi survivors ending.

Captain Hero

Hey Dukes. Really enjoyed the last episode, keep killing it with the thoughtful takes. Like many other xbox fans I came away from Spencer's latest interview with very mixed feelings. On the one hand I salute his candor and willingness to take the tough questions head on. Props also for defending Arcane and the importance of creative freedom. However, his assertion that great games won't move the needle for Xbox was very odd. The ecosystem push is a smart one and it plays to Microsoft's strengths. Butttttt...you can't ignore your core audience, and the lack of love for the console is becoming a real problem for core Xbox fans (no revamps for achievements, lack of third party exclusives, incredibly slow rate of releases for first party games etc). I don't agree with a lot of Playstation's moves (making people pay for PS5 game upgrades, constantly remaking major games) but their commitment to premium experiences and exclusive mass market IPs is clearly delivering. With Gamepass you don't always know what you'll get, but with PlayStation you know you'll get at least two excellent first party exclusives a year. People are voting with their feet sadly. Another issue is that Gamepass seems to be reaching the limits of what it can to turn things around for Microsoft. Gamepass is terrific value - however, it's appeal may be less compelling for long time gamers who have big catalogs of games. I recently opted not to subscribe and given the lack of first party games from Xbox I don't regret it (the third party offerings there are hit and miss). Clearly, Microsoft needs to fix the management of its first party studios. Irrespective of what happens with the ABK deal (please just let it go), Microsoft needs to find (or commission) excellent third party exclusives. Which mass market exclusives would you lock down tomorrow if you were Spencer? I would do the following: Fund Sega to remaster classic games like Fighters MegaMix, Last Bronx, Sega Rally, Panzer Dragoon Saga and Scud Racer. Harness that old school Sega 'revenge for the Dreamcast' energy - you know what I'm talking about. Heck maybe you fund a total remake of Panzer Dragoon Saga (one of the best RPGs of all time) and get it to really show off what the Series X can do - huge skies, clouds and biomes. Get the next Virtua Fighter game as an exclusive for Gamepass, with guest Xbox characters included (DoomGuy, Joanna Dark, Senua, Master Chief). Approach Capcom - get them to do a new version of Marvel vs Capcom (also with Xbox guest characters) - exclusive to Xbox. Approach Disney - do a video game adaptation of the Darth Bane trilogy where you get to play as Darth Bane building the Sith order through espionage, political manipulation and assassination (get EA and respawn to build this game through a permanent exclusive deal). Approach Warner Bros and fund them to do the next Batman Arkham game, or get them to do an Aquaman game (water exploration and speed swimming), or a Flash game (speed baby). Maybe partner with Sega and Namco to do an Xbox exclusive Smash Bros knock off. There are so many things Xbox could do. Now more than ever they need to think outside the box.... curios to get your thoughts. Have a swell day Dukes. Best, Captain Hero.

brody_low

Dukes, which cancelled Xbox would you bring back if you could? I always thought Phantom Dust or ScaleBound would have been interesting additions to their library.

Anonymous

Hey Dukes, Is Xbox missing the forest for the trees? They are in the business of games, no matter what their strategy is... it needs great games. I think the strategy is to gather up IP and make it near impossible for Sony or anyone not to put Gamepass on their platform, but this still fails without great games. Please never have a "May 3rd Phil Spencer" kind of day

Anonymous

Hey Dukes, Just was curious on why no one but my guy King is giving Pete Hines the smoke? Businesses are nothing without the chain of command and Pete had to know this game needed more time. Phil went out there and took left and right hooks from every direction, but somehow Pete has barely been mentioned. Whatever trust Pete had with Phil has to be severely damaged from this. I understand it starts at the top but this has to fall on Pete and Arkane at some point. Thoughts?

Anonymous

Hello my brothers in Duke, When do gamers say enough is enough? I have recently moved into doing other fun hobbies such as reading, watching baseball, and learning other skills. Why? Because the games that keep releasing are broken, and frankly I do not want to support these companies if they believe this is okay. I am not a “beta boy”. Do y’all believe that gamers will be fed up with broken games or just keep accepting it? Is there a solution to this? Have a “I can’t believe Nintendo has more stable games” type of day

Anonymous

Hey Dukes, Does the 60 fps patch for Redfall ever come out? High end PCs are having a difficult time running Redfall and it already looks ugly on consoles while performing poorly at 30 fps. What can Arkane do to double the frame rate? My take is that Arkane slowly patches the game to and acceptable state but by then game is forgotten about. The 60 fps patch never comes out but no one notices.

Brian Heninger

Hey Dukes, with Tears of the Kingdom launching in a couple of days, which will be a top-priority game for a while. I haven't paid for Game Pass in years because of Microsoft Rewards, and I would like to keep on getting points while I am busy with Zelda. One of the daily rewards is 50 points, and you get it by earning an achievement from any Game Pass Game. Do you have any Game Pass games that you recommend I play on the side to earn my daily achievement so I can keep racking up those points?

Dick Justice

Greetings Dukes, I was browsing the Xbox storefront when an idea hit. It might be nice to know what the Xbox community is into and doing right? So as of Tuesday May 9 7:30 pm here are the top ten selling, played, and gamepass popular titles. Top Paid Games 1. Jedi Survivor (1 & 2 spots) 2. Dead Island 2 (3, 5, and 8th spots) 3. Hogwarts Legacy (4 & 6 spots) 4. COD Modern Warfare 2 5. Don't Starve Together 6. GTA 5 7. Force unleashed?! 8. Force unleashed 2 9. UFC 4 10. Minecraft Most Played 1. Fortnite 2. Warzone 2 3. Apex Legends 4. Roblox 5. Rainbow Six Siege 6. GTA 5 7. Jedi Survivor 8. NBA 2k23 9. Minecraft 10. Destiny 2 Most Popular Gamepass 1. Fifa 22 2. Madden 23 3. Battlefield 2042 4. NHL 23 5. Fifa 21 6. Cities skylines 7. Madden 22 8. Crusader kings 3 9. NHL 22 10. Serious Sam 4 Personally I found this pretty interesting. Gamepass is leaning heavily on ea play, it was the Xbox one version of hogleg at 4, the best selling game is the seventh most played but the most popular gamepass game isn't even in the top ten most played. Of course I have no idea how accurate this information is or how often it's refreshed but thought it might spark a good conversation nonetheless. Have a, "I came home to find my cats had spilled water on my custom controller and ruined it so I'm gaming on an old xbone controller until my replacement arrives" kind of day!

UnkemptHawk

Hello Dukes, With news that GameFreak is developing an action-adventure game with Private Division as the publisher, what is your confidence level in this project from the developer primarily known for Pokémon (and all the hits and misses that come along with that)? Also, since this is a Private Division game, can we expect to see this on Xbox? For what it’s worth, the concept art was pretty, but tells us very little about the game. Thanks for the excellent show, you guys are the best!

Adam

Hello Coggy Matty and Matt Cog, I've been thinking lately about how I feel about the industry. And it boils down to this, we are basically dealing with a talented child, that moves on two quickly to the next thing, with zero attention span. How do we communicate to this monstrous being my("our" if you so deem it) current sentiment: "For the love of god, finish your damn games" As always, I hope you have a, "I just tripped on warning sign", kind of day.

Anton Kaye

My favorite pair of double D's! We all know Cog is the Lord of the humble brag, but is Gene Park the King? After listening to the Constellation, with Jaffe, this man has some incredible stories. Running an Only Fans, judging beauty contests in Hawaii, dating models, personal friends with celebrities... Has Gene one upped our Lord of Humble? Have a wonderful show!

Anonymous

Howdy dukes, I’m struck by the similarity between dead island 2 and redfall. Both attempt 4 player co-op, a stylized explorable city, enemy variety and “nests” of the enemy to clear. The difference was execution. I attribute dead island’s relative success to knowing their limitations and publisher involvement. For example, they chose an explorable hub model instead of a fully open city which likely helped stabilize performance. And, though 8 years of development hell isn’t necessarily a good thing, deep silver wasn’t shy about changing developers to meet their vision. Notably, Yager was removed as the developer after "Yager and Deep Silver's respective visions of the project fell out of alignment.” Am I overstating the similarities here? Thanks and have a great day!

Tyee

Hey duke bros I hear a lot of talk about Redfall’s iNtEllEcTuAl enemy AI and I can confirm it has some nuts and blots missing. I personally think most AI in games are not the sharpest tool in the shed and can easily be exploited for instance I’ve been playing days gone recently and I got to this part where I have to kill a bear, so this bear starts chasing me and all I did to get away from it was climb on a cars HOOD and watch it precede to lose it’s mind and not know what to do next. Some of the best AI I’ve seen comes from the halo games and last of us part 2 which still have their fault at times and finally you have AI which have interesting systems built around them like nexus system in shadow of Mordor. What are some of the best enemy AI you’ve dealt with or what intriguing system did they have built around them? Also am I being too harsh in wanted better AI to fight? Have a “elden ring boss with a quarter health left got stuck and wouldn’t fight back so I decided to end myself so I didn’t feel like I cheated the game” type of day.

RK128

Hello Plague Dukes, By the time you guys go live, Plague Tale 2 gets a 60fps mode on Series X and ps5. Do you think they should’ve waited to launch now with it being feature complete? And with performance modes being lackluster in games like Jedi, does launching them later sound like a better move? Have a ‘dem toilet rats coming back’ kind of day

Nicholas Brilhart

Greetings "Triple C" Cog and "Double M" Matty. Last week just as Defining Duke dropped, Phil Spencer was interviewed on the Kinda Funny Xcast, and not since Don Matrick said "We have a console for you" has my outlook on the future of Xbox been this grim. My question is, to quote Kazuhira Miller, "Why are we still here? Just to suffer?" It truly feels like Microsoft has waved the white flag and have accepted permanent third place "bronze medal specialist" status. If they don't believe they can be the best in the industry then why should we stick around? Have a "Silver Medal specialist wasn't quite low enough" kind of day.

Anonymous

Hey Dukes. Just saw this morning a report from Reuters (and confirmed by Bloomberg) that the EU is expected to approve the ABK acquisition in the coming weeks. Assuming this is true, what're your feelings on the deal should the EU give the go ahead. Additionally, what're your thoughts for Activision assuming the deal DOESN'T go through. I know you've talked a lot about the path for Xbox should the deal not go through, but what about ABK? Cheers and take care!

The Late Nate

Hey Fake Dishonored Fan Matty and the Illustrious Cog, I just wanted to write in with a quick, Matty, you did Cog dirty with your Dishonored 1 recommendation. You told him he could skip the DLC, which is a crime for the first Dishonored. The two DLC campaigns The Knife of Dunwall and the Brigmore Witches have arguably some of the best level design in the series, and the story in these DLC campaigns is required to understand what is going on in Dishonored 2. Further, the DLC campaigns actually take your High or Low Chaos rating for the main game and change some things in the the DLC campaigns. The DLC campaigns also have their own high and low chaos endings and gameplay implications, as well as new powers. Cog if you play Dishonored, please play the Knife of Dunwall and the Brigmore Witches, they are included in the Definitive Edition. Matty, shame on you for saying these DLC campaigns aren't necessary. You can skip Dunwall City Trials though unless you really love the combat, it has no story. Cheers, and Matty, I think you need to make a "So I Played Dishonored's DLC in 2023" video to understand where you went wrong.

Parker Petrov

Hello Cog and Matty, A lot has been made out of Phil's comments on the Kinda Funny Xcast. One of the more discussed points was about not "out-consoling" Sony and Nintendo. Then even if Starfield is 11/10 people aren't going to be selling their PlayStations. It seems like a lot of commentary on this has been about how this is defeatest and settling for third place. However, it doesn't seem like he was saying that. It seems more like he was talking about streaming, subscriptions, PC and mobile gaming being equally important. As Phil has often talked about how the 200 million or so people who buy consoles is a flat market and just targeting them is not sustainable as the console gaming market isn't growing. Sony has even alluded to this by making comments to US, EU and CMA on how they use Call of Duty money to fund their first-party games as the "#just one" games they make aren't sustainable on their own with the rising cost of development and the flat console gaming market. As look at how beautiful Horizon Forbidden West is and how much attention to detail was given, and to only sell 8.4 million copies after years of development and marketing costs. Does that translate to a large profit when you factor in marketing and development costs along with taxes and fees owed? It seemed more like it was a dose of real talk that gamers aren't ready for. As let's say Microsoft sold 40 million Xbox ones and let's say they do good and double the Xbox Series consoles sold to 80 million. Does that actually move the needle to anyone but console warriors? As it seems like he is saying no matter how many good games we put out we aren't meaningfully changing the fact Sony is going to sell 120 to 130 million PS5s. So we have to compete a different way using a different barometer for success but what say you?

Anonymous

Rise and Shine Ursine, Since you were talking about it last week, I had to write in about how good Danganronpa is! I played the series for the first time (thanks Game Pass) and absolutely fell in love with it! Everything about the games are so good, and I'm sad there probably aren't going to be more of these games to play in the future. Here's hoping Rain Code is just as good next month on Switch! Have an "It's Punishment Time!" Kind of day!

Alex

Hey pipboy Matty and N7 Cognito, Hope you both are doing well. Now that the initial impact of the redfall release is behind us I was thinking about when you had Mark Darrah on the podcast and he said the best engine to use is in game development is the engine you used last. I'm less concerned about Starfield as Arkane took a gamble on building something in unreal engine 4 for the first time. BSG is just using Creation Engine (for all of it's flaws) again. Curious on your thoughts and wondering when the NYC live show is. Cheers and thanks for a great show, Alex

Card Captor Corey

Hi Matty and Cog, With Phil Spencer putting out a defeatist attitude this week saying that "Xbox can't out console PlayStation " why should I purchase an Xbox? Should Xbox be lead by someone holding that attitude? Xbox was starting to persuade me to buy a console with the backwards compatibility and Gamepass but if the person who is running the company has these beliefs why would I ever purchase that console? It makes me think their games will always be subpar and not up to Sony's and Nintendo's seals of quality. Go Knights go beat the Oilers. Kind Regards, Corey