Xbox console sales are tanking, but does Microsoft even care anymore? | Friends Per Second #44
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- čas přidán 18. 05. 2024
- Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: www.squarespace.com/skillup
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Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code FRIENDS at manscaped.com ! That’s 20% off with free shipping when you use code FRIENDS. Thanks for sponsoring FPS!
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It feels like Xbox is doing a soft-exit from the hardware business without saying it out loud, right? Alanah Pearce joins us for a discussion on the state of console platforms, plus we chat about Stellar Blade, No Rest for the Wicked, Dragon's Dogma 2 and more. We're also joined by Panic Co-Founder Cabel Sasser and famed indie developer Lucas Pope (Papers Please, Return of the Obra Dinn) to chat about the Playdate console and Pope's latest release: Mars After Midnight.
Timestamps:
00:00 Catch Up with Special Guest Host Alanah Pearce!
13:19 The State of Xbox
33:46 User Question 1
44:23 Squarespace (ad)
45:52 Interview with Panic Co-Founder Cabel and Game Maker Lucas Pope
01:25:30 Manscaped (ad)
01:28:00 User Question 2
01:38:41 What We've Been Playing
02:14:31 Show and Tell
02:35:49 Wrap Up
Let's meet our hosts!
- Jake Baldino (aka the Before You Buy Guy) is pretty much the most watched reviewer on CZcams across both Gameranx and his personal channel ( / jakebaldino . If you're obsessed with Delorians, The Mummy and Pizza you can discuss that stuff with him directly over on Twitter: @JakeBaldino
- Lucy James is a Senior Producer at Gamespot and a Creative Producer at Giant Bomb. She's actually, like, experienced and credentialed and has real life skills and stuff, while the rest of the gang would be funemployed if the YT algorithm didn't kiss them for random, inexplicable reasons.
- Skill Up used to work at McDonalds but he got fired for skimming too many chicken nuggets. He says he regrets it since he hasn't had a better job since.
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Listen to the Friends Per Second Podcast on your favourite podcast platform: linktr.ee/friendspersecond
Follow on Twitter: / thefpspodcast
Follow on Instagram: / friendspersecond - Hry
Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: www.squarespace.com/skillup
--
Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code FRIENDS at manscaped.com ! That’s 20% off with free shipping when you use code FRIENDS. Thanks for sponsoring FPS!
your podcast is legit shit . Pls dont do this no more . Its so cringe bro . like wtf
I can't get the code to work for Manscaped in EU. Is it a US only code?
love that alanah and lucy live in soft, vibrant lighting while the boys are in the freaking dungeon.
That's why they're framed on the bottom
@@defofawanderer7619 lol yeah they really look like two rooms with the ladies in one and the boys in the other
The Batman and Barbie contrast
Lol 😂
Goated obeservation
Alanah and Ralph are the reason I think about gaming in an Australian accent
What’s left of alanahs Australian accent is not an Australian accent
@@bjwal6 I’d say it’s still an Aussie accent, you can tell with some of the pronunciations and (often) fast cadence that Aussies speak with relative to North Americans (USA & Canada).
@@bjwal6Alanah talking about her “porn” disappearing in Dragon’s Dogma would disagree with you 😆
Kinda looks like Lucy and Alanah are in the same room, same with Jake and Shillup. Girls bringing in the light while dudes are chiling in their basement :P
Light mode Vs dark mode
Lmfao @@kickingmagpie
And Lucy with the dark hair + white top while Alanah got the blonde hair and dark top. Just rename the podcast to Yin Yang at this point ☯️
Lucy getting thicc, yall notice?
oh yes~
Jake saying “raw dog” is one of my favourite things. I still chuckle about his story how he “raw dogged” a plane ride to this day.
That, and when he said, "some people want to have sex with Sonic." Had me dying.
Jake is hilarious I love when he comes out of nowhere with his jokes
Alanah should be the permanent 4th person
Whenever they have a guest at least one person in the comments says this about said guest
Yes!
@@scottconley4194oh I didn’t realize they said that
Been saying this from the jump! They have the best chemistry
@@scottconley4194nah he cookin, I’ve always thought alannah would be the perfect 4th member. I just figured she would be too busy to do it.
The way some of this Xbox conversation aged since they closed Tango is crazy. 😭
Hi. I am in my 30s and I understood the Casper reference. Thanks, goodbye.
Came here to say this.
I don’t know about the movie, but I remember when Casper was a TV cartoon show.. 👴🏼
Same 😂
I think this Jake guy could be a good permanent fourth person for the Commonwealth Friends Per Second podcast.
Hey folks, suggestion for you: Have the user questions be visible on screen when you answer them, it would enhance the experience!
Alanah: Makes boat analogy
Ralph: You have my attention
“This… is the Jahre Viking”
Classic SU
lol
This is the ship we did not expect.
I understood that Casper reference Jake. Yes 🤣
The game that hit me at the perfect time and I don’t want to replay is Red Dead Redemption 2, I was lost in life and felt like people around me couldn’t understand my head, but Arthur’s journey and where it leads just hit me so hard man and I felt like I had to do something with my life not just go to school and work, being 22 and directionless sucks but I’m 28 now I have a house and a wife with a kid and tbh, Arthur and John showed me that a small family life is the life for me
I love that this podcast took over 10 minutes to introduce Alanah after everyone was nerdsniped at the mention of the Playdate 😂
Alanah was probably shocked at how early the introduction happened.
Friday FPS?
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!
A British, an American and two Australians walk into a bar...
Tell me more bby 😌
What a fantastic choice for a guest, excited for the show this week.
Anyone: Hermit crab lining up on shells
Ralph: ABSOLUTE CINEMA
Lucas Pope looks like if Gary Oldman was a game developer.
Oh my god, I can’t unsee that now! Lol
Such a wholesome interview with Cabel and Lucas!
The Bill Pullman Casper pull was a top tier obscure reference that is completely appreciated.
This interview is excellent. Thank you so much for letting him go on about designing the game without interrupting. That was so fascinating.
My favorite WoW memory is someone saying in the stonetalon chat to put toilet paper in the toilet before you go to avoid splashing. The man was a prophet.
The fact that this is the first face to face conversation between these guys is hilarious and wholesome AF. Like this is probably the best marketing for the Playdate device. It’s so NOT my thing but I am tempted to try it out merely because of the wholesome nature of how these guys seem to operate and where their priorities are. They sound like the optimistic ideal for a game/hardware publisher compared to the rest of the tech space.
"they make Cyclops the main character and he's the boring one."
Yeah the X-men movies really did a disservice to Cyclops, he's actually a REALLY good character, they just kinda...sidelined him for Wolverine (who is also a good character) which I really don't think they needed to do.
Just came here to comment about the game association. I drifted Tscuba Circuit on Gran Turismo 5 all night after the loss of my mum.
Now it always comes to mind when i drift there on GT7
No one:
Chat bot with girls ass for picture: "The camaraderie in this community is palpable. It's clear that we're all in this pursuit of knowledge together."
SOMEONE has to raise the average IQ on the internet, even if it isn't real people.
"The collaboration on display is extremely enriching to witness"
Nice try, bot
No one cares about my answer to a user question but for me, a game that resonated very strongly with me because of a situation was Persona 5 Royal. During Covid lockdown, I was so bored and persona was not something I would typically play. I wasn’t into anime or JRPGs. I desperately needed something new. I played it. Became incredibly addicted to it and the characters really filled the hole in my life in that I couldn’t go out and hang with my friends but I could get into this game and go to a batting cage with the characters in game. I cried like a baby when it was over. (Also became a fan of anime and other JRPGs.)
I hope there was someone one room over to hear Alanah suddenly shout "-and there was c*m everywhere!" with no context lmao
Let be real, Rahul would have entered the room had he heard that
I appreciated the Casper reference!
33 here. You know we are all getting older (not old) when we start talking about the past and the memories we made.
Stop sugarcoating it. We’re fkn old dude. I’m 2 years older than you and trust me, we’re old.
@@MisterK-YT Lol.
I have friends in their 40s and I don’t consider them old. They act how they did when they were younger, have fun & enjoy life lol
@@PureSilver07 exactly. My dad is almost 65 and him and I play video games pretty often. I feel like I’m getting older but I’m a long way from old.
Ralph is not over-selling the hermit crab video. Truth, once again, is stranger than fiction.
"Why did they even call it Overwatch 2?"
NOBODY KNOWS!!
Money
Ralph as a fellow RLM enjoyer, all i can think of is you channeling The Nerd Crew every time you say "for me personally..." 😂
Really appreciated having Lucas Pope on this. You guys rock
Its great to have Alanah on, shes super level headed and her takes on games and the industry are always intersting and rational. She fits super well here.
My personal favorite Skillup review and the one that brought me to his account is his FinalFantasy 15 review. Genuinely one of the best way of explaining a game I’ve seen in a video
HUGE fan of Alanah’s dedication for video game accessibility 🙌🏻
As a disabled gamer it’s so appreciated! It’s crazy impressive how many strides have been made in the field. So grateful for folks like Alanah.
Lucy's nudist comment fucking killed me man lmao.
and she wasn't even wrong, lol
Alanah! do come visit here more. The ratio of Australians in the show is at a desirable amount now.
😂
1:54:13 Lucy felt that "WHAT!?" down to her very soul! Critical damage from Ralph! 😂
I played Death Stranding and Alien Isolation for the first time during Covid lockdown. Very different effects on the mind. Alien definitely hit harder because of what was going on. We were all quarantining in real life and in the game, it was basically that plus an apex predator is hunting you. Death Stranding, on the other hand, was so contemplative because you really did feel alone in what was essentially a dying world and the game really asked you "does humanity deserve to continue living on?" when all we do is continue to choose violence even when an apocalyptic event happens.
Contemplative post 🤔
Great having Alanah on! Also have been super stoked with Panic's help with Firewatch and Untitled Goose game along with creating the Playdate. I've been using their web dev apps for what feels like 20 years and have always loved their spirit.
Alanah is a really nice 4th addition to the team, man. Really enjoyed seeing her perspective on things.
Yes, I'd love to see her join the crew permanently
The moment Xbox announced that every Xbox game would also come out on PC was the moment that I abandoned them. I'm kind of grateful for it since it made me a PC gamer.
Man, I wish I could switch right now, but money's too tight for a good PC, and I've got zero knowledge around anything PC related, so I also need time to figure that out. But eventually I'll switch. Sad, I've always been with Xbox, but it is what it is. I'd go for PS5, but with all my game saves being on Xbox, PC would be the logical choice.
Also, could we just normalize cross-save and cross-play already? Would solve a lot of problems.
Me too! Finally made the switch to PC gaming last year and will never be able to go back now.
@@Atypical_TypoPC gaming is becoming the logical switch tbh. Every major hits Sony has released in the past few years are already on PC as well. You literally get the best of both worlds
@Atypical_Typo I got all three. Just get a pc. Fuck me last time I turn my ps5 was like few months ago and I see many of my friend switch to pc and xbox. Trust me the ps5 isn't ps4 where u think it is customizable and personalised. Plus baldur gates on pc better than ps5 version.. that alone has me sticking to pc for games and xbox for all this free gamepass mulitplayer games. Get ps5 only if u want cinematic games(which ull be sickening of eventually) but otherwise nah ps4 is better than all console released so far.. sad to say
@@SilverGeFer how do u not see that Sony bringing their games to PC and PC gaming becoming bigger benefits Microsoft. Now all they need to do is to add a windows mode, on Xbox and use AI to allow people to buy games that isn't on the Xbox store meaning that Sony games will be playable. Also PC gaming becoming more popular is gonna give Microsoft an huge advantage if they ever decide to monetize windows gaming. And companies won't switch to Mac and Linux because there will be a huge back catalog of games on windows. This is what I got back from a friend of mine that works at Microsoft.
I know people say this about every guest but Alanah really fits in, like if you told me she was a permanent member I'd believe it. She should definitely come back, the vibe just works. Also Jake breaking at the "what" was hilarious.
you should watch play watch listen. she moved the podcast to its own channel. so we might have to wait for the rest of the catalogue to be reuploaded there.
Agreed
@@tanmaypanadi1414the rest of the videos are still on her page they're just unlisted. You have to go to her PWL playlist and they're all there.
@@tanmaypanadi1414you can still watch the old episodes if you go onto her channel and it’s under playlists
She's been on before
ALANAH needs to be on every episode! You 4 are the best 🩷
Thanks for that interview, I am still relatively new to gaming after a 20 year gap and I literally have never heard of the Playdate in the last 3 years of gaming again. I don’t know if it sounds like a device built for me BUT I totally respect its existence and that quirky story about its creation. Cheers!
1:25:31 Sweet baby Gebus I thought Alanahs “American” ad read voice was bonkers and hilarious but Lucy is giving her a run for her money with this one!😂🤣
That was my favourite interview on the podcast. Super unique!
“Can’t tell you who the new hero is” proceeds to use the word “drill” 😂
Man I feel old hearing Lucas talk about using the crank in a way no one was expecting. My parents' car windows were crank operated so opening a window with crank isn't that alien to me...
Watching 4 young gaming commentators discover that aging affects how you view things is funny.
You are a living allegory for the maturing of the industry. It's changing to an income generating machine. As little input as feasibly possible to create as much profit as achievable. The artistic aspect of the industry sits in the indie fringe. The block busters exist but there is differential set of levels separating out like the movie biz. Low risk high profit.
All of my favorite game talk shows have been featuring Alanah recently and I am HERE FOR IT.
Very intimate episode. I really loved it! Lucy bringing it up her struggles with depression and how to overcome depression, and Alanah sharing her experiences with games being part of real life events. I can totally relate with both of them. Love you all, great episode.
Jake: my roommates and i were all fresh 21 year olds getting drunk and playing minecraft on a private server on the weekends. I 100% get where youre coming from.
Early Minecraft days were so wholesome
Finally the colab we’ve all been waiting for ❤
Are you sure Cabel is a game publisher? He surprisingly seems to have a soul as well as good and decent values!?😳😜
Yo this was one of my favourite episodes yet. Really felt like just a bunch of friends hanging out talking about stuff they love keep up the amazing work guys
Its not a discography, Alanah.
Is the audio sync like a third or half a second off?
This has just been such a great funny cozy episode. Can we get Alanah on like every other episode or something? The Dynamic of the 4 of you are just effortless.
I was literally wondering the other week when Alanah would be on the Pod! Glad to see her on this episode!
I wanted the Vision Pro to be able to handle multiple windows from my mac and PC simultaneously. I want my IDE in one window, slack in another, email off to the side, different windows for different tab groups...etc. Then I also want my non-work PC to be able to stream over something like Helldivers 2 to a window that I could pull up whenever I wanted to take a break. Not having to shift between several windows across 3 displays, while also not needing to move to a different chair/desk for my personal stuff would be well worth the price.
Another banger, thanks so much for this episode! Great dynamic between the four of you. And I love that the episode is so long :D Looking forward to the next one.
This episode is magical.
Great convos, great questions, great insight, fantastic interview. Cheers.
In other news Stellar Blade sold over a million copies in less than 24 hours, and has become one of PS5s most positively user reviewed games.
Wow, good for ShiftUp.
It’s not even that good but well done for Shift Up. They are reminding the world how women should like in video games in a world that makes them too dark skinned and manly.
Implying stellar blade's sales number as important NEWS, is like saying EA CEO's color of underwear is an important news. Lmao.
@@avedinamling8320 you seem too
Great for shift up but we all know the publisher and investors are still going to complain about not meeting expectations.
Jake I appreciate your casper reference
“Making cardio a video game is the only way I’ll do it” I don’t know why but I lol’d at that hard maybe because I’m the same atm 🤣
The combination of Ring Fit Adventure, Beat Saber, and Synth Riders helped me lose 40 lbs last year all throughout 2023, and I'm now currently in the best shape of my life 😅
I would like to state to Jake:
I appreciated the Casper movie reference
Love Alanah, love Lucy being real about mental health stuff, love Jake being so happy about the games he loves, and love Ralph getting into comics again. Best podcast out there 💖
Xbox is failing because it has no exclusives that can compete with PS5, that has been their problem since 2013.
Your point is correct but sony are also trash now. Sony have not released a true NEW exclusive ip since... 2020. And the exclusives they have released have been dissapointing af. Gaming in general has just been trash this gen
@@distruttle3045 Stellar Blade.
@@distruttle3045say what you want but on ps5 there is always something new and good to play. Helldivers 2, ff7 part 2, Ronin, Stellar blade, these are very good games and all came this last 4 months. What came out on Xbox since January? Sonys 1st party studios are making games and eventually will release them.
@@TheRedRaven_ lol
@@TheRedRaven_thats not a first party game bud
12:00 Jake was discussing who VR headsets are for...that crowd he's describing already has a home in VR Chat
I’m here for the Casper references Jake 👍
For the record Ralph I genuinely enjoyed your review on Final Fantasy 16 even though I fundamentally disagreed with you. I enjoy intelligent and constructive criticism of art/media.
Emphasis on intelligent and constructive!
Hell yeah, Jake! Props for that Casper reference!
So nice to have Alanah on the show! Much love y'all!
Friends Per Second Dream Team: Alana, Nakey Jakey, Lucy and Austin
Microsoft obviously stopped giving a flying fk about gaming as a whole it seems. Just throwing money around and seeing what works.
It kinda works.
Not sure why they didn’t mention that PS and Switch sales were both also down 30% from last year. It’s just that Xbox was down 30% two years in a row. All console sales are down
Meanwhile, xbox is releasing more first party games in a year than sony does in tree
If you look at the bigger picture, console gaming is going down as a whole. You can see that PS is also pivoting to multiple platform releases, Xbox is just the faster one since they're already behind console market, but the trend is the industry moving to open platforms.
The high barrier to entry and the high cost of living today is hurting the console market as a whole.
I genuinely think the next gen might be Xbox's last one if they don pull themselves together.
What Alanah was saying about games providing that solace during those difficult times, especially times of loss, couldn’t be more accurate for me. Lost my dad, my best friend whom I was raised with my whole life, and had engagement broken off all within a couple months span. Back in 2021. If it weren’t for games and herb I wouldn’t be here.
Alanah: *calls bestest boy into frame*
Other three: 🥹
Banjo is indeed the bestest boy! (Shh… Don’t tell my dog Tank I said that!)😜
I can't be the only one who suddenly gets really sad when the end music plays because I realize that i can't listen to these wonderful people converse with each other for another 2 weeks.
Same tbh 😔
Question - If I buy HiFi Rush now, who will the money go to?
How does this work? If I buy a game, who gets the money? Since the studio closes I'm very hesitant to buy. I want to support the developers for their hard work, not some suits grabbing the money and buying another yacht.
Anyone else feel the sound is a bit off in this episode? Like everyone's mic 🤔
Oh my god Alanah and the FPS crew two of my fav video game content creators
I love how at 1:54:14, what makes Jake laugh is the incredulous "What?"
Right up there with the people who want to have sex with sonic comment that also got a "What!?" From Ralph that killed Jake lol
Oh my god. I love the lad from panics positivity and cheerfulness 😂
Seeing Alanah (who got me into video game media) cameo on my favorite video game podcast is such a wholesome sight 😌
The interview was great! Cabel seemed like a really fun guy!
The 2 ladies in really light and well designed rooms and the 2 guys in dark dingy man dens
Jake, I appreciate the Casper reference.
lucy being a depressed anxious nine inch nails fanatic that was super into overwatch for like 5 years straight............... she is just like me fr
Man, this podcast never fails to deliver, always a bi-weekly banger!
Also, Cabel has the jolliest voice I think I've ever heard
Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about the state of the games business and tie it to the overwhelming corporate greed based decisions that came before it? Remember when Sony and EA raised the prices of games to $70? Then crammed their games full of micro-transactions? Then Microsoft, Ubi and the rest followed suit? Now they want you to spend $200 on a preorder?!? 99% of gamers can’t afford this shit anymore and all publishers and developers are feeling it in their stock prices. For God’s sake fire these stupid corporate loons and get back to the business of serving your audience and making great games.
Lucy at 01:25:00 was the most perfect open to any ad ever.
Many years ago, while travelling in Australia, I arrived in Brisbane. Off the coach I went into a newsagents and picked up a couple of random comics. I had no idea, obviously, where the comic shops were in Brisbane so I asked the guy behind the counter if he could give me directions to the nearest one. “They have shops that just sell these things!?” He said. It was in that moment I knew he wasn’t going to be able to help me.
yeah SB lacks in story telling but the world buidling itself has pretty cool vibes. all these logs you find, the small little stories. they just struggle to put that into the main narrative. for the world of it has as much as nier automata (if you ignore the previews nier games), nier automata world also wasnt that filled except some specific levels. SB has clear themes you point out.
and again, yeah the story telling was the part that lacked, putting everything together.
I agree. Just feels a lot of times reviewers like ralph just focus on & exaggerate the things they dislike & majority of the time take the “unimpressed & here’s why” perspective, which usually leads to them comparing it to another game they’d rather be playing.. just isn’t at all objective
I have reloaded this page several times but the audio seems off from the video by a fraction of a second or something.
I got the Casper reference, thanks for the flashback!
I think the main reason people say older games are better is because the price and there was no corporate greed.
There's that, plus that there's just soooooo many more games being released now.
So the brightest sparks might not look as bright because of the spectrum down towards the average, and due to sheer volume there's a huge amount of "bad" games being released now also.
Greedy publishers do be tarnishing games in new awful ways though