For a good while, there was a bit of hype built around the Xbox Series S, in particular for the retro gaming scene. It was a cheaper device that offered a small form factor. Likewise, it allowed consumers to download emulators and enjoy various retro video games. But while this process was available, some consumers were skeptical. Of course, it didn’t take Microsoft too long before they outright banned emulators from being available in the marketplace, making it impossible to download and enjoy. That’s just the emulators being used in the Xbox Series X/S retail mode.

[…]

RETAIL MODE ON XBOX IS DEAD!

  • 15-day suspensions handed out to users of retail emulators as a warning shot from Microsoft.
  • Devs warning users to delete emulators
  • Retail Mode team disbanding and shutting down the Patreon. Sorry to bear the bad news. RT to warn others

[Article continues…]

    • Neato@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Neither will Windows. But issue is this was a way to use emulators, play purchased Xbox games, and still have an active friends list at the same time.

    • AndrewZabar@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Seriously. I never understood why people do consoles and buy into every sleazy tactic the companies pull.

  • AnonTwo@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Is there a reason you’d want to use retail mode for emulators over developer mode? I don’t know what the two modes offer.

    • SpaceMan9000@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The ease of not having to boot into dev mode and rebooting into retail mode if you want to play with friends.

      You also don’t need to pay the dev fee iirc.

      Booting out of dev mode will also remove your apps if you don’t explicitly tell it not too. Which in turn is a hassle (there is an app that can be used to bypass this question tho).

  • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It just sounds like console gaming is getting shittier as the years go by. Like now I can’t do what I want with it? They know the only things keeping old games from the void are emulators and enthusiasts right? Are they making these old games available? No? Then they should fuck off.

    • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      They dont want you playing the old games, because the old games were good with high replayability and staying power. The new games are designed for you to drop it before you mindlessly buy the new one hoping it will be better (it probably won’t).

      • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Or the endless microtransactions. Oh god the hideous microtransactions! These two things are why I stopped playing new shit.

        • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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          1 year ago

          My App Store is a graveyard of games I deleted the moment they showed me an ad. I don’t care how good the game is, I’m not watching ads in order to play. I’ll happily pay a fixed price because developers and designers need to eat, but I play games to have fun, and constant ad interruptions are the opposite of fun.

          Even worse, many games now want like $10 a week. removed, that’s more than I pay for Sibelius and the full Adobe suite.

          Micro transactions, subscriptions, and ads absolutely ruin gaming. I’ll happily pay $10 for a decent game and $20 for a good one, but fuck off with the ads or ridiculous subscriptions. (I’m talking mobile. Like $60 for a console game, but you’d better not nickel and dime me after that.)

          /rant

          • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 year ago

            Lol don’t even get me started on phone games, last game I played on a phone was fucking Bejeweled 3 ffs! Been done with those!

    • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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      1 year ago

      I don’t think they care about the void, honestly. There was a story last week pointing out that like 87% of games are being lost to time. They don’t seem to care. They’ll just keep churning out clones and bullshit so long as the money keeps flowing. And it will.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is a real bummer. If I own the console Microsoft shouldn’t be able to dictate what software I run on it.

    • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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      1 year ago

      If i own the console

      Oh no, don’t give them ideas. Soon they’ll make you rent the console like some tech companies are doing. :(

    • QuarterlySushi@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Because it’s easy? Why wouldn’t you? If I had an Xbox sitting around and it was an easy option that performed well, I’d give it a shot.

    • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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      1 year ago

      Mac-only household and I can’t afford a PC just for gaming. I don’t want one, anyhow. I’ve been gaming since 1977 and have always preferred consoles, from the Intellivision through every Nintendo (except the Wii), PlayStation, and Xbox iteration. I like controllers and hate Windows with the passion of a white dwarf.

      But that’s just me.

      • skulblaka@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Many emulators run on mac or Linux and you can buy usb-ended controllers for damn near every console that has ever existed.

        • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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          1 year ago

          Oh shit, really? I didn’t know that. Mac hasn’t been good for gaming historically, and I basically gave up trying ages ago.

          I think you’ve just destroyed my week.