Xbox Series S/X

A Partner Preview showcase happened today. The things that caught my eye -

• Unknown 9: Awakening, looks like a Geist-esque third-person action game
• Sleight of Hand, no gameplay, but I dig the stylized noir look and cards
• The Alters, a survival management game where all your workers are alternate versions of the same person
• Creatures of Ava, about exploring a fantastical land, and meeting the locals and wildlife
• The Sinking City 2, moar Lovecraft survival horror
• Final Fantasy XIV, finally coming March 21
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone Trilogy, collection of the first three games
• Persona 3 Reload expansion pass, two rounds of cosmetics and The Answer
• The First Berserker: Khazan, looks like some soulslike action
• Tales of Kenzera: Zau, looks like a really cool 2D action game
• Frostpunk 2, more post-apocalyptic arctic civilization management
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, looks like there's strategy and action elements to it

It's all pretty cool. Sleight of Hand, Creatures of Ava, and Kunitsu-Gami especially caught my eye. Look forward to hearing more about them :o

Apparently, there have been rumors that the Xbox will be getting a handheld console.

I bet it'll be like a handheld version of the Xbox Series S.

tbh a portable Game Pass machine sounds like a good idea if they can keep the hardware price reasonable. Also not cloud-based.

Indie showcase with IGN wrapped up not too long ago. A few things that caught my eye-

• Astor: Blade of the Monolith, looks like an interesting mix of character action and Zelda-style exploration and dungeon diving
• 33 Immortals, a preview of a raid boss in this multiplayer action-RPG
• Palworld, more... friends? To catch
• Commandos: Origins, a new entry in the stealth RTS genre
• Centum, trippy, surreal escape adventure
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, new adventure game from the Life Is Strange folks
• Keylocker, rhythm RPG where you must fight against the system that wants to oppress music
• Stampede: Racing Royale, battle royale racer
• Times & Galaxy, become an intergalactic journalist
• Sulfur, hardcore first-person looting and shooting
• All You Need Is Help, looks like Tetris, but craft-style
• Promise Mascot Agency, manage a team of mascots in a dilapidated future
• Dungeons of Hinterberg, dungeon diving, with puzzles
• Vampire Survivors, Laborratory update shadowdrop

Lots of good stuff coming. I think Astor, Keylocker, Sulfur, All You Need Is Help, and Hinterberg are the ones I'll keep an eye on :o

Any of these console exclusives?

Hmm, as far as I can tell, no. They're all appearing on at least one other platform :o

Xbox Games Showcase followed by a mystery direct on June 9

A month and a week away. Eager to see what else they have coming down the pipeline :o

More games coming to Playstation and Switch 2 in the future.

Would now be a good time to buy a new Xbox?

Ehhhhhhhhh.

To be honest, a lot of people don't think so because of the Multi Platform deals happening. Not helped that most of the multi platform stuff on Playstation actually runs better there, an extra kick in the dick for a lot of Xbox Owners.

there's also the fact that at this point, about the only real differences between Xbox and Playstation is branding, since they both are basically gamer PC rigs in a box. Meanwhile the Switch still has a thriving market despite being underpowered, as it's an HD console you can take and play anywhere, and the Steam Deck is also a portable PC with solid power, alongside your Steam library coming along.

Let me put it another way: if I've had an Xbox One for about seven years and am getting tired of how poorly it runs Hitman 3 would it be worth it now to upgrade to a newer version of Xbox?

Oh yeah, in that case, well worth picking up a Series X or S since it's backwards compatible with anything that runs on Xbox One.

I would've said otherwise to just stick with whatever platform you have the most purchases on.