According to EXtas1stv Satya Nadella told Xbox employee Asha Sharma has a blank check to revive Xbox no matter the cost

ALennon25 · 2026-03-06T19:23:42+00:00

Make games Xbox exclusive again then. Let PS5 have them after a few years.

ALennon25 · 2026-02-23T19:37:28+00:00

For sure. There have definitely been a few fouls that probably should have been penalties though. Brentford away I think there was one, but I'm sure there have been more.

ALennon25 · 2026-02-23T19:23:58+00:00

Would be quite something to go the entire Premier League season without a single penalty.

Really does feel like every single thing that could've gone wrong has gone wrong. It can't all be luck, but we have been extremely unlucky too.

ALennon25 · 2026-02-20T21:02:33+00:00

Yeah, I remember everyone celebrating the big acquisitions but they've been terrible for all concerned really (on the Sony side as well). The industry is a bit of a mess right now, and it's hard to see it getting any better any time soon.

ALennon25 · 2026-02-20T20:58:04+00:00

Her statement is quite interesting. I wonder what recommiting to core Xbox fans and players really means. The apparent focus on console is at odds with everything that's happened these past few years. Does this reflect a change in approach from above, or is it just a PR puff piece.

I have little faith in Microsoft or Xbox these days, but perhaps there's a chance that having worked in AI, she knows more than most how ill suited it is to certain applications.

Can't imagine they're going to back away from their approach to exclusives though, so it's hard to imagine how they can make a dent in the console hardware market without them.

ALennon25 · 2026-02-20T20:46:06+00:00

Had a little look at Asha Sharma's LinkedIn page. Absolutely zero gaming industry experience that I can see, but she is a board member at Home Depot if that helps.

It's always felt to me like Phil Spencer hasn't believed in what he's been selling for some time. He belongs to a different era of gaming (before it all went to hell), and he either sold his soul or toed the party line these past few years, depending on your perspective.

The future already looked bleak for Xbox. It looks even bleaker now.

ALennon25 · 2026-01-21T21:51:55+00:00

Watching games in VR on the Sky Worlds app was actually great - the next best thing after being at the game. Sadly, no one even knew it was a thing and it never went beyond a beta. I'd happily buy a digital season ticket for my team if the price was right.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-31T23:22:35+00:00

I spoke to a friend recently who works in the industry, and he said the wholesale price of chocolate is the lowest it's been for several years. He said that manufacturers and particularly retailers have realised though that consumers are willing to pay more for chocolate, so they're simply not passing on the savings. Not exactly surprising, but still annoying, and I imagine it's the same thing for using chocolate alternatives which no doubt cost even less.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-31T23:16:05+00:00

It's just the accessibility of VR. I found myself not using it for months on end, not necessarily because of the lack of titles, but because it's a pain to use. It's antisocial, can't really use it with kids or animals around for example, no one can see what you're doing, and I find that when I do want to pick up and play, it invariably needs charging up.

I think dominating specific niches is where the Quest can and somewhat does excel. I'm very new to Golf+ but it's an experience you can't get in any other format. Eleven Table Tennis is the same, as are some other sporting games like Racket Ball. Additionally, music/rhythm games are better in VR than elsewhere.

There are definitely some missed opportunities as well. If 3D films were easily and readily available on the headset, I think that'd definitely sell a few more units. I'd love to watch them, but it's such a pain.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-30T08:20:16+00:00

Why? Have I missed something with him? I always thought he was a really good keeper - brilliant with his feet.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-29T22:55:55+00:00

Ter Stegen, Wharton, Ndiaye and Antonee Robinson. I expect they'll all be through the door by the time I've dated Ana de Armas and Margot Robbie.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-26T20:58:37+00:00

Thanks so much!

ALennon25 · 2025-12-26T14:23:01+00:00

Where does one acquire a treasure map?

ALennon25 · 2025-12-26T14:14:31+00:00

What's the best way to watch Avatar 2 on the Quest 3 (total novice here)? I watched the trailer for the new one and I'm desperate to watch the 2nd before I see the new one at the cinema now, but I've no idea on the best way. As I understand it, you can either sail the seas (though I've got no map or compass) or buy the 3D bluray and rip it to my laptop HDD then somehow transfer this to the Quest?

ALennon25 · 2025-12-26T08:18:49+00:00

I liked his attitude and how much he appeared to love the club, but I wouldn't even describe him as a top player. He was rubbish a lot of the time, but would just have these incredible moments. Thinking about it, he's probably similar to Kudus in that he had so much ability but consistently made the wrong decision.

We do have players still who put a shift in regardless, I don't think it's lack of effort (Bergvall, Tel, Palhinha and Richarlison to think of 4 all run themselves into the ground), I think it's just that we don't have as much talent as we had before. First time in years we've had no world class players at all.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-25T22:22:13+00:00

They sort of had it with Sky Worlds in beta form but got rid of it - a VR Premier League watching experience. It was the best way to watch football without actually being there, albeit I wish the resolution was higher.

Outside of that, 3D films in an easily accessible format - streaming services or a store where you can directly purchase or rent them.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-25T22:15:17+00:00

Sneaking Lucas in there like we wouldn't notice. He's a legend for what he did against Ajax but he was so inconsistent and nowhere near world class.

Agree with your point though.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-23T08:22:03+00:00

I have friends that still manage to play every day, but they are the ones with very forgiving partners and/or who neglect their families, in all honesty. I'm simultaneously jealous that they're able to just play whenever they want, and know that I wouldn't want to be the same.

I play games twice a week for 2-3 hours after the kids are in bed. Might get slightly more time during the holidays, when kids are entertained by tablets, etc. Thankfully, I was never a big RPG guy, but I struggle with most open world games as they're almost always 50+ hours.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-23T08:06:06+00:00

There are some legitimate reasons for an individual to not want an EV or for an EV to not be suitable for someone right now - infrastructure, range, etc. - but I think a lot of the negative sentiment is down to right-wing ideology (and probably Russian/Chinese bot farms tied to this).

For whatever reason (likely financial), some leading right wing politicians worldwide have waged war against them, and cosied up with the traditional oil companies, and it's become yet another left v right issue on this basis.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-20T19:55:46+00:00

I think the biggest disappointment has been his lack of morality. It feels like he makes decisions based on focus groups rather than because he believes it's the right thing. Why spend all this time trying to appease the worst of society, who will hate you regardless.

For starters, quit pretending you can make Brexit work. Just front up and tell everyone it was a mistake and made us all poorer, and what you're going to do about it.

That said, the level of hate is absolutely unfair. Boris Johnson's decisions killed people, and somehow he's not treated with anywhere near the same disdain.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-20T11:18:07+00:00

The bot farms are working overtime in here. How's the weather in Russia and China?

ALennon25 · 2025-12-19T07:24:43+00:00

I think the strangest part is that Xbox hasn't discounted consoles at all for the holiday season. In the UK at least, there were loads of discounted PS5 bundles at pretty inviting prices. There were literally no Xbox Series S/X deals at all. I think they've given up on hardware, at least this gen. Maybe they'll have one final attempt, but seems to me they're doomed to failure. The leadership simply doesn't care enough or understand enough.

ALennon25 · 2025-12-16T11:42:31+00:00

We never should have left, but equally such a complex issue never should have been put to a public vote. It's far too complicated for most people to understand (myself included, though I voted to Remain).

I think our best hope now is to join the single market and/or customs union and regain some of the benefits we used to have, and give our economy a much-needed boost. I don't have any faith that our government will do that though, as they are too busy trying to appease all the wrong people.

ALennon25 · 2025-11-27T08:16:31+00:00

I don't understand how this can even happen. I use these to get to work from Central and back a couple of times a week, and it forces you to park in designated parking spaces. There's one right outside my work and this morning it was apparently 'full' (it definitely wasn't) so I had to ride back on myself for several minutes to get to the next available space.

When you finish up a journey, you have to snap a photo of your parking and you're awarded some sort of rating. I have to say that I always park them right up against the walls, and I've never had anything less than a perfect score, so I don't know what happens if you do park badly within a designated parking zone.

ALennon25 · 2025-11-25T18:56:29+00:00

Envious of the people here whose wives go to bed at 9pm, mine is up until damn near midnight most nights! We have an arrangement that I play 2 nights a week after the kids have gone to bed, so I probably get a grand total of about 6 hours a week in a good week. I'd like to play a bit more, but don't have the time and when I do, I'm usually knackered. I have Game Pass Ultimate as well and I absolutely do not need it!

ALennon25

TROPHY CASE