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The Microsoft/Xbox store apps are garbage on pc

mogster7777

mogster7777

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,990
Is there a way to see sales of games on the Xbox store on pc Play Anywhere Xbox games? Or get notified about it?

Also I can't figure out how to even use the Xbox app on pc because it's so terrible. I couldn't even see a store for it. So I had to go into a seperate app called Microsoft store.

They seem to have two terribly designed apps when they just needed one. They have the Microsoft store app on pc where you download everything including games.

Then they have the Xbox app which is pretty much useless and just allows you to see your achievements and friends. You can't do anything else with it. Unlike the console version where you can use the store too,

Why not just let you use the store from the PC Xbox app instead of going into a seperate store app each time? Why are they bundling games together with everything else like iTunes? Also why even have stuff like iTunes on there when you can just download it normally from the website? What's the difference?

It's the most pointless unintuitive thing.

I wanted to be notified of a Quantum Break sale on Xbox play anywhere but you can't even do that. You can't even see what sales or offers are even currently on with their games because there is no option to see?!

I mean with steam it's so easy you can get notifications etc and wish lists but the other stupid ass thing is Quantum Break is currently on sale from a steam seller but if I bought it from there it wouldn't work on the Xbox app and that means I can't unlock Xbox achievements which I'd like to do as I have a gamerscore of 400k

It's like MS go out of their way to make things as user unfriendly as possible yet they want synergy. But they have two totally seperate apps that kinda blend together but not really.

Even if I ask for help on my Windows 10 on a topic it will open the Edge browser even though Chrome is set to default.

The other thing, I wanna see what games have what achievements or if they even have achievements before buying them on the Xbox/Microsoft store but I can't even see that.

I don't even know what to call it. Do I call it the Xbox store or the microsft store. They've kinda separated the two and the Xbox name is I'll suited as it just implies it's on a console not the pc.

MS are the worst. Cant get anything right. It's a mess of confusion.
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,823
I would just buy it on Steam, some people had to reinstall the OS after trying to download a big game on MS store
 
Starlatine

Starlatine

533.489 paid youtubers cant be wrong
Member
Oct 28, 2017
30,515
mogster7777 said:
Is there a way to see sales of games on the Xbox store on pc Play Anywhere Xbox games? Or get notified about it?.
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outside sites like store parser and xbox store checker are your best bet
major nelson's blog list the weekly sales as well. i think they appear in the console too
 
SuikerBrood

SuikerBrood

Member
Jan 21, 2018
15,493
Welcome to the Microsoft Store. May your efforts on browsing it be as joyful as possible.

Fingers crossed that they'll announce a dedicated game store on X018 this saturday.
 
Ge0force

Ge0force

Self-requested ban.
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,265
Belgium
Microsofts current PC initiatives are complete trash and have barely been improved for the past three years. Even if everything works as attended, the experience is miles behind every other digital games platform on PC.

It's closed nature also locks out many of the perks of PC gaming, which is the main reason why I refuse to use it for core PC games.

I pray on my knees that the rumors about Sunset Overdrive and Ori 2 coming to Steam as well are true. It would be sad to see these great games being held hostage in such a dumpster fire.


Rychu said:
Those issues don't exist anymore. Download issues like that have largely been fixed since the release of Forza Horizon 4 anyway, haven't heard of many problems.
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Nonsense. The Forza Horizon 4 PC performance thread, reddit and official forums are filled with people having issues. You should read this ArsTechnica article as well.
 
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Rychu

Rychu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,277
Utah, USA
SuikerBrood said:
Welcome to the Microsoft Store. May your efforts on browsing it be as joyful as possible.

Fingers crossed that they'll announce a dedicated game store on X018 this saturday.
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It's nice to have big dreams. Sadly I don't think that will happen. I think we will see changes to the Microsoft Store gradually over time (but that will be slow as a lot more divisions are involved in that). I think one universal store for everything is what Microsoft's vision is and I don't see them allowing gaming division to stray from that.
 
xyla

xyla

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,414
Germany
Rychu said:
Those issues don't exist anymore. Download issues like that have largely been fixed since the release of Forza Horizon 4 anyway, haven't heard of many problems.
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There are still problems. Mostly it can be really, really slow or suddenly stop an update of several GB and then just start again.

The store is a big problem - I deal with it from time to time because of Game Pass in combination with Play Anywhere titles like Sea of Thieves or Forza.
MS have managed to make a turn around this gen almost comparable to the one Sony did with the PS3, but they left the PC side dead in the water so far. Every attempt of MS to re-vitalize the PC side in the last 10 years was so half hearted that at best, it was met with disbelieve from the community. At worst it was something horrible like GFWL with Payment for online or UWP which are for some reason still rocking on.

I'm excited for the moment MS stops building dead store over dead store (seriously, try to buy something from the web store - you have to go through 2 platforms alone to find out the price of something like RDR1, not to mention buy it) and really tries to build something good and functional again. They have some great ideas at the moment and seem to be on the right track when it comes to consoles.
I heard somewhere that one of the big problems in the past has been the Windows team pushing hard on the console and games teams when it came to OS and store features. In the end they couldn't fix anything because it was a different division and only in the recent time, they've been able to slowly walk away from the stuff they had to implement and also have gotten some control over the PC store too - might remember that part wrong though.
 
2shd

2shd

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,587
I didn't have issues for a long time up until a Windows patch that killed the Horizon games for me. Other UWP games work, but not those.

I simply cannot play Forza Horizon 3 or 4 on my PC. They crash at the splash screen. I have tried literally every troubleshooting tip I've seen online. I can not acceses these games at all. It's absurd.
 
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Sioul

Sioul

Hero of Bowerstone
Member
Oct 27, 2017
526
I've never had any issues with the Store (buying or downloading games), on the other hand everyday I have some issue with the Xbox app like not loading my friends, not getting invites, delays in messages or party chat not working
 
DestroyerOfWorlds

DestroyerOfWorlds

Member
Jun 22, 2018
2,154
They have a wishlist feature for the store in beta and it should be available soon. Once it is, you'll be able to add a game to the wishlist and get notified when it goes on sale.

Now, the whole having two apps with the Xbox app vs the store just comes down to a misunderstanding you have about the purpose of the Xbox app. It's not meant to be the store and doesn't need to be.

The Xbox app is there to do all of the Xbox service related stuff, like join parties, send messages, stream from your console to PC, etc. It's a pretty useful app if you game in the Xbox ecosystem a lot.
 
SmashN'Grab

SmashN'Grab

Member
Oct 27, 2017
525
Don't bother getting Quantum Break on the MS Store. Firstly, it's not a Play Anywhere title. Secondly, it's DX12 only with a terrible performance profile. Thirdly, it's available on Steam in DX11 with a considerably better performance profile compared to the MS Store version. Lastly, increasing your gamerscore is not worth the hassle for this particular game. If you're looking to just do that, you can download free apps from the MS Store like Mahjong or Solitaire and unlock a few achievements that way.
 

Deleted member 1759

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,582
Europe
Not sure why some here say they don't have problems buying/downloading games. The way I read the OP it's about the awful UI/UX. Having to deal with two different apps, the W10 Store (or whatever it's called now) search doesn't work well, lacking features, etc. And I agree, the storefront is indeed trash.

Only downloaded one game from it (GoW4) and the download and installation were smooth. But actually using the store itself is just an awful experience.
 

severianb

Banned
Nov 9, 2017
957
The Sony/Playstation apps are much more trouble free.


It took me FOREVER to figure out just how to log in as a different user on the Xbox app once you have it up and running and are logged in. I clicked everywhere before figuring out you have to RIGHT CLICK on the name of the currently logged in user, THEN it gives you a context menu to change users!!!!

HOW UNINTUITIVE CAN YOU GET!!!???

A lot of the functional issues with the Windows 10 Store and running games is simply down to Windows 10 updates not being tested enough by Microsoft before they are rolled out. I've had SO many programs break due to one of the MANY Windows 10 updates that install no matter what.. (Good luck trying to stop them...)
 
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JD3Nine

JD3Nine

The Fallen
Nov 6, 2017
1,866
Texas, United States
Microsoft's PC presence feels like it was slapped together in about 10 minutes. Even if you like the Xbox app, it is still incredibly obtuse to use. Don't even get me started on the store either. As someone who doesn't have or want an Xbox, why am I supposed to take this seriously?
 
nickfrancis86

nickfrancis86

Member
Nov 10, 2017
427
The Store is rubbish but everything that I've downloaded from there has worked pretty well. Gears 4, FH4, ReCore and Sea of Thieves.

I don't even use the Xbox app, I'm not really embedded in the Xbox franchise so have no reason to use it really. It does baffle me how there isn't a separate store for Play Anywhere/Game Pass titles. When UWP came about I was expecting some sort of self contained Xbox app or environments, even something like Steam Big Picture so that it was couch friendly.
 
OP
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mogster7777

mogster7777

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,990
I hate this store so much. You cant even specify a different drive to install the games to. Or move them afterwards like Steam. Always installs to my SSD
 
Ge0force

Ge0force

Self-requested ban.
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,265
Belgium
mogster7777 said:
I hate this store so much. You cant even specify a different drive to install the games to. Or move them afterwards like Steam. Always installs to my SSD
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Pretty sure you can choose the drive for bigger "apps". You can't specify the folder and you can't backup tho.

But if you hate the store so much, there's a very simple solution: don't use it. There are plenty of other (competent) stores and ecosystems on PC, offering many great games (with a lots of them on sale right now)
 
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mogster7777

mogster7777

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,990
Ge0force said:
Pretty sure you can choose the drive for bigger "apps". You can't specify the folder and you can't move or backup tho.

But if you hate the store so much, there's a very simple solution: don't use it. There are plenty of other (competent) stores and ecosystems on PC, offering many great games (with a lots of them on sale right now)
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Yes but it's the only way to earn Xbox achievements by using the damn store. I can't earn Xbox achievements if the same game is on Steam and I play from there
 
SuikerBrood

SuikerBrood

Member
Jan 21, 2018
15,493
If you want to move an app or game to a different drive: go to apps in your Windows setting and select the game you want to move. There should be a 'move' button.
 
Alvis

Alvis

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,262
Spain
Don't use the MS Store. Most games end up on Steam after they bomb HARD there (ReCore, Quantum Break, etc) and the store is absolute and utter garbage that imposes many limitations and zero tangible benefits aside from "wow it's somewhat integrated with my xbox profile I guess!!!"
 
Ge0force

Ge0force

Self-requested ban.
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,265
Belgium
mogster7777 said:
Yes but it's the only way to earn Xbox achievements by using the damn store. I can't earn Xbox achievements if the same game is on Steam and I play from there
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If achievements are so important to you that you rather use a shitty store/ecosystem that you hate, instead of using one of the far superior alternatives, I really don't know what else I can say.

"I don't like what you're doing, but here's my money anyway so you can keep doing it."

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