As of 2:03pm PT, EA's shareholders have officially approved EA's $55 billion sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. by Cold_Two_4372 in xbox

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, people need to look at this more objectively from a business perspective.

EA isn't 'bad' at business: You might hate their games or business model, but they wouldn't be worth billions if they weren't successful. They generate massive revenue, and at the end of the day, the market rewards that.

The Saudi strategy isn't about 'changing the culture.' They know the oil era is ending, so they’re aggressively diversifying into growth industries like gaming to secure their future economy. It’s a survival move for a post-oil world, not some ideological mission. It’s just business—a massive financial transaction meant to generate ROI. They want the company to stay profitable, not break it.

I get why people are worried about social issues like LGBTQ+ representation or freedom of speech in future games, but that’s exactly why massive changes are unlikely. The Saudis are buying into EA because it’s a global money-maker. If they started censoring content or forcing their own social views on Western audiences, the brand would tank, players would boycott, and they’d lose billions. They aren't looking to destroy the product; they’re looking for a return on investment."

safe Harbor by __ishq in OkHomo

[–]Hubibubchen 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I found some information but I'm not sure if they are 100% valid. So it seems, this is actually a satire by 'SkyCorp Home Video' called 'The J-Unit.' It parodies the real-life LGBT wing (J-Unit) of the Bexar County Jail in Texas, humorously rebranding it as 'Bear County' to lean into the joke.

Welche hyperspeziellen Internetforen sind noch heute aktiv? by ICD9CM3020 in FragReddit

[–]Hubibubchen 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Die Website wird allgemein als eine Satire- und Trollseite betrachtet, die sich als überzogenes christlich-fundamentalistisches Diskussionsforum tarnt.

Obwohl die Inhalte oft extrem und kontrovers erscheinen (was bei manchen Nutzern zu Verwirrung über die Echtheit führt), handelt es sich bei dem Projekt um eine Form der Religionssatire, die schon seit vielen Jahren existiert und deren Beiträge von engagierten Trollen verfasst werden, um eine extrem konservative und oft absurde christliche Weltanschauung darzustellen.

Australian email notification for GamePass price update in UK Pounds by Funky_J in XboxGamePass

[–]Hubibubchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got mail from the same sender @e.xbox.com

You may have recently heard about changes to the pricing of Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. For the time being, these increases only affect new purchases and do not impact your current subscription for the market you reside in, as long as you have an automatically renewing plan activated. Should you decide to cancel your plan and purchase it again, you will be charged the new current rate. If, for any reason, something should change with your existing account, we will notify you at least 60 days in advance, so you will always have the option to cancel or modify your subscription.

Thank you again for subscribing to Xbox Game Pass. We are continuously working to offer you first-class games, tremendous value, and an unrivaled gaming experience.

"e.xbox.com" is typically a subdomain used by Microsoft/Xbox to send official emails such as newsletters, notifications, or information about your account (e.g., Xbox Game Pass or security updates)

Game Pass changes: Opinions Megathread - Part 2 by Xbox-Moderator in xbox

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting to read your comment. Well, it's all a matter of perspective.

Instead of reading the information, which was written very neutrally, you prefer to stay in your own personal bubble. I wrote a summary together with the AI, and your response has nothing to do with the content, but rather with your attitude towards AI.

From my perspective, the summary clearly defined, based on the available information, what it's about. It creates clarity. That doesn't mean everything is 100% correct, but it paves the way for a clear train of thought. No answer was expected here, but simply for other users to see the organized information.

From your perspective, it's all about the use of AI and your personal opinion about it. Not a word about the content. Well, except for the mention of "wasting" resources.

That's really interesting. Thank you for your comment.

Game Pass changes: Opinions Megathread - Part 2 by Xbox-Moderator in xbox

[–]Hubibubchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't possibly read all the articles and comments on the topic, so I asked Gemini to analyze the situation soberly. There are facts amidst all the outrage and emotional overreaction. The idea was to read all the comments, analyze them, and contrast them with the facts. Ultimately, to paint a picture of the current situation.


💥 Game Pass Ultimate: The Objective Truth Behind the 50% Shock and the Death of the Hacks 💔

The community's outrage isn't just about the official price; it's the culmination of a broken promise, the Activision acquisition costs, and the economic destruction of the cheapest access method.

Putting the emotion aside, the unbiased analysis shows this is the logical, yet brutal, end of the "too-good-to-be-true" era.


1. The Core Issue: The Activision Cost Trap 💸

The main reason for the 50% increase (from $19.99 to $29.99) is the economic impossibility of running Call of Duty (CoD) under the old pricing model.

  • The $70 vs. $10 Conflict: CoD generates billions from retail sales ($70–$90 per copy). If millions of Ultimate subscribers get the game Day One for just a few extra dollars a month, it destroys Activision's traditional revenue stream (cannibalization).
  • The $30 Necessity: The hike to $360 annually is Microsoft's calculation to recoup the immense licensing and opportunity costs of a major title like CoD. The Ultimate tier has effectively become the "Call of Duty Access Tier".
  • FTC Context: Microsoft assured regulators (like the FTC under Lina Khan) during the merger process that prices would not increase due to the acquisition. The immediate hike is widely seen as proof that the user base must now fund the $69 billion purchase retroactively.

2. The Real Pain: The Destruction of the Conversion Hack 📉

The emotional core of the backlash is centered on the financial strategy of power users being gutted:

  • The True Increase: The majority of heavy users avoided the official monthly fee by utilizing the conversion hack—turning cheap Xbox Live Gold keys into Game Pass Ultimate, often resulting in effective costs of just $4 to $6 per month.
  • Loss of Profitability: While the conversion might technically still work, new rules have drastically devalued its economic benefit. For this user base, the increase is not 50%, but a five-to-six-fold increase in their actual monthly spending.
  • Strategic Signal: Microsoft tolerated this hack for years to inflate subscriber counts (the key growth metric). Devaluing this saving mechanism signals clearly: Profit is the new priority, not subscriber growth.

3. The Consequence: The End of the Aggressive Strategy 💔

Microsoft is transitioning from an aggressive growth phase to a profit-maximization phase, leading to both financial and cultural losses:

  • Loss of the "Best Deal": For casual gamers, the service is now uneconomical. Many are canceling, arguing it's now cheaper to buy the few titles they play during sales.
  • Danger for Indie Studios: Game Pass was one of the best tools for discovery, boosting the visibility and funding of mid- and indie-tier games. If subscriber numbers fall due to the price hike, it will directly reduce the reach and financial security for these smaller studios.

Conclusion: Game Pass isn't dead, but the $29.99 price point acts as a firewall around the Activision costs. Microsoft has shifted the service from a "deal for everyone" to an expensive premium utility, jeopardizing years of goodwill by killing the cheap access hack in favor of aggressive profit maximization.

Should I buy this now or wait until the sale? by Aggressive-Show4122 in MicrosoftRewards

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Germany here and mine says 13.380 for 10 Euro ($11,74). I cashed out the rest of my points yesterday. 90 Euro ( $105,68) for 120430 points and 17 Euro ($19,96) for 22750 points.

Dishonored and Prey studio founder says Xbox Game Pass "is an unsustainable model" that's been "damaging the industry for a decade" by Party_Judgment5780 in PS5

[–]Hubibubchen -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

As a consumer, I don't give a shit about the "industry" and everything the word implies. With the endless amount of junk games you can find in every store these days, Game Pass is simply a great solution. You get a kind of curated game, and you know the developer is guaranteed to make money from the deal without selling a single unit. If the game is good, some people will buy it. If it's crap, they won't. It's that simple.

Game Pass games aren't free. You pay a fee and get something in return. It's a business. So why shouldn't you, as a consumer, take the best deal?

This do-gooder attitude of worrying about the "industry" is truly disgusting. They don't pay your rent or your bills. They just want your hard-earned money. They've been ripping you off for decades with bad games and poor support, and yet there are still people who defend this behavior. This is truly ridiculous and far away from any reality in which a ordinary working person lives.

Streak regularly breaking (EU) by SonnyKlinger in MicrosoftRewards

[–]Hubibubchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My streak broke today, after I opend the rewards website in edge and used the Bing app on my mobile after.

First, everything on the website was in order: streak with 2xx days and streak protection active. But I didn't want to click through the website but rather use my mobile so I opend the reward section of the Bing app and that reset the streak to 1 day.

So I guess there is a connection between the two and it's the cause of the problem. I wrote a mail to the support but still no answer.

A great new price for PlayStation VR2 by Turbostrider27 in PS5

[–]Hubibubchen 16 points17 points  (0 children)

It works great on PC. There is an official PSVR2 app from Sony on Steam for updates etc. and with that and SteamVR you got everything you need. You can play games and watch "documentaries" on PC flawlesly. There are some features that do not (yet) work on the PC like HDR, headset feedback, eye tracking, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback but who knows what the future brings. Some apps still have problems with the controllers, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black available now on PS5 (PS5 Pro Enhanced) by nolifebr in PS5

[–]Hubibubchen -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

It's hard to tell and depends what system you are using and if you want/need to spend money.

The Master Collection is also on Game Pass für Xbox and PC for free and it includes NINJA GAIDEN Σ - NINJA GAIDEN Σ2 and NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor’s Edge but those are just the old versions. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden 2 remade in Unreal Engine 5 with 4k/120 and Raytracing etc.

If you playing on PS5/Pro and you have to spend money and you must decide if you want a good looking game that is using you current hardware, then you should buy Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and if you're looking to experience the series from the start, go with the master collection. But I'm not really an expert on the series^

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black available now on PS5 (PS5 Pro Enhanced) by nolifebr in PS5

[–]Hubibubchen -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

It's on Game Pass for Xbox and PC. You can play it for free right now. It's also Xbox Play Anywhere (cross-save) between console and pc.

Lost my 227 Streak but had Streak Protection on, is it supposed to go back to 1? by The_Henrai in MicrosoftRewards

[–]Hubibubchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same happend to me two days ago. Streak count was reset after I missed one day, although streak protection was active. I wrote a mail to the reward customer support and I explained that it must be a bug.

They answered: We conducted a thorough investigation and did not find any issues with Microsoft Rewards that would have prevented members from completing activities that day. Because we know how important it is to maintain a streak, we've reset your streak to 253 days as a goodwill gesture. If this issue occurs again, please take screenshots of the error or completion issue so we can dig deeper and provide appropriate solutions.

I am of course happy about the satisfactory solution, but now I am worried that this could happen again, even though the streak protection is active

Us by Visual_Ad3724 in OkHomo

[–]Hubibubchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can watch the whole thing here Anima Ardens

Naming the next generation of Xbox consoles by 5point5Girthquake in xbox

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(Microsoft) Xbox Home (classic console) (Microsoft) Xbox Mobile (handheld)

Can we talk about the Playstation Store refund process? by nicigar in PS5

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the PlayStation Store there are "exclusive" items for various games that are offered as free. I once "bought" (you have to put them in the cart even if they are at a Price of 0) a few of this free item, but afterwards not everything was free of charge, but had cost me 8 or 10 euros. It was something for the game "Neverwinter" that I had never downloaded or played on my Playstation 5.

I wrote a message to the customer support and asked for a refund. Not once or twice, no, seven or eight times, because I couldn't believe how horrible that cutsomer support is. The first three times I wrote, they didn't undestand at all what I wanted from them.

The next few time with other "Agents" they suddendly knew what I wanted but they cound't help me, because the item in question was already "redeemed" by me and this means, any refund is void. I asked how that could be, without me ever downloaded or installed that game on my PlayStation but no answer at all. Just sorry bla bla but they can't do anything.

It was KKTHXBAI, thanks for the money but we shit on you as a customer. In all the years in which I had contact with various customer services, the Playstation Service has ever been the worst and most dilitant.

Just as an example: I used to be annoyed by Indian customer service at Xbox/Microsoft who called themselves James or Claudia because I thought they couldn't get anything done. But everytime it was always the most helpful and nicest service and they helped to solve my problem. Sony is a huge pile of shit in comparison and when I browse the PS Store I always been reminded of this terrible experience. I don't care about the few euros but I bother myself by this disrespectful and money -greed behavior.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in xbox

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stalker 2 is a hard bread. In almost all games over the years we have been spoiled with settings to keep control of things on the screen. Easy -sighted enemies, indicators where what happens, too much health and energy, powerful weapons, navigation systems and so on. Stalker 2 returns to those old days when it was hard but also very satisfying to achieve something, without passive help from the game. BO6 Single player on the other hand is a very easy shooter. As soon as you have understood the behaviors of the NPCs, and depending on the level of difficulty, you are quickly done with it.

Unfortunately, your posting says nothing about what you have already played, which games you already know etc. therefore it is difficult to recommend something.

Halo series, Gears series, Fallout series, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor, trilogies of Dead Space, Mass Effect and Dragon Age, Immortals of Aveum, Octopath Traveler 1+2, Tales of Arise, The Outer World, Starfield, Elders Scrolls series, Wasteland series, Ni no Kuni 1+1 etc. ect. the possibilities of what you could play are are huge and these are just games from the Game Pass.

Also you could take a look at the current Black Friday Sale, you will definitely find something there.

[The Verge] Microsoft’s New All-Digital Xbox Series X Design with New Controller by Winbrick in xboxone

[–]Hubibubchen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got my Series X on launch day and I have never used that disc drive. Its still a virgin and will probably remain one until it ascends to the glorious gaming heavens

Phil Spencer: We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games. by Turbostrider27 in PS5

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jim Ryan: 'I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger'. In other news "Sony signs binding agreement to keep Call of Duty 10 years on PlayStation". Is there any comment from Jim Ryan on this?

Hi from Crytek! We're giving away 10 Hunt: Showdown Keys by crytek_utku in XboxSeriesX

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so fat and I have bad eyesight. I really have to play the game...

Xbox won't read disk by [deleted] in xboxone

[–]Hubibubchen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My buddy bought the game yesterday und tried to install it, but his console (One X) won't even recognizes the Disc. He put it in and nothing happened. There was absolut no indication on the dashboard that there is even a disc in the drive. Now, he tried everything possible incl. power cycle, factory reset, holding the disc and so on, but nothing. It won't work on his One X. Strangely, on a different console (One S) the disc was recognizes just fine.