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[Majormaxxx]

Wrong. The Xbox series is a massive fuck up. Launching 2 consoles was a boneheaded move that didn't address their biggest issue, games. Power doesn't mean shit. People don't buy consoles to play specs, they buy it to play games. Games that are different than the ones they played previously. Games that offer new experiences. That's the whole point of generations. A new generation brings the promise of new but in the case of Xbox, it just brought more of the same. Same controller with barely any improvements. Same UI with a ui update failing to come for 3 years after launch. Even then, the new UI is still samey. Seriously weak sauce. No good games launched for 2 years and when they finally started launching games, they had a lot of misses.

Power your dreams was the slogan leading into launch and this dream has been nothing short of a nightmare. I bought the Xbox series X at launch and didn't have one good exclusive game to play. It was the worst console launch in history bar none. Even the Xbox one was better. Trying to spin this as an Xbox one problem is just a horrid take. I could go on and on. I even made a thread charting Phil Spencer's failures as leader of Xbox. How this guy hasn't been fired is beyond me.

Sure. But the lack of games doesn't make the console bad.

One was a bad console.

One X was a good console.

SX is a good console.

Yes, MS should have made games - but this cannot be done FAST. You need studios or deals. They were doomed to fail.

 

[FalconPunch]

Sure. But the lack of games doesn't make the console bad.

Wrong, the point of a games console is to play games. If there are no good games to play, the console fails at its number one job and therefore, it's a bad device. It's better to have a console with bad hardware and great games than the reverse.

One was a bad console.

Yes it was because it had very few good games and not because of the hardware.

One X was a good console.

I owned this as well and it still had very few good games and as a result didn't get a lot of use. It had good hardware but like I said, we don't play hardware specs, we play games. As a result, it was not a good console.

 

[Majormaxxx]

Wrong, the point of a games console is to play games. If there are no good games to play, the console fails at its number one job and therefore, it's a bad device. It's better to have a console with bad hardware and great games than the reverse.

Yes it was because it had very few good games and not because of the hardware.

I owned this as well and it still had very few good games and as a result didn't get a lot of use. It had good hardware but like I said, we don't play hardware specs, we play games. As a result, it was not a good console.

These are all fair points. But MS didn't have a winning move at that point. They turned it around as much as possible with one X, back compat etc. What were they supposed to do? Suddenly come up with a dozen new studios so that they can whip out exclusives? They need time for this...

 

[Thirty7ven]

People really trying to agree with Jez heh?

So if the traditional sense of generations don't exist anymore for Xbox, why not release an updated product every year? Then as years roll by the oldest product in a five year span gets dropped.

Oh wait what he really means is Series is bombing harder than Hiroshima so MS gotta get rid of this generation quickly.

 

[SkylineRKR]

All Series S does is making the PS5 DE more valuable.

I remember hooking up my DE, a few weeks after I had hooked up XSS. I was thinking "This thing cost me only 100 bucks more?". I played Astrobot with the DualSense with all its gimmicks and haptics... The PS5 felt fresh down to the controller. Not to mention PS5 had some next-gen exclusives at least.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

are you referring to kinect? That was a weird push!

yep, the pivot towards kinect and not investing in First Party Studios.

 

[Astray]

The real damage came a few years later when the exclusives dried up and new consoles started launching without must-play exclusives - which has also stretched into this generation.

Coincidentally, a certain well-liked executive took control of Xbox at that time.

Phil Spencer is directly responsible for the lack of a late stage revival for Xbox One and the horrible launch of the Xbox Series consoles.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Have truly left the previous gen at this point? All the biggest games (Minecraft, Fortnite, COD, even FIFA included) are still launching on PS4/Xbox One and Switch.

 

[Synless]

Sure. But the lack of games doesn't make the console bad.

One was a bad console.

One X was a good console.

SX is a good console.

Yes, MS should have made games - but this cannot be done FAST. You need studios or deals. They were doomed to fail.

No, they were not doomed to fail. They set themselves on a path with their decisions that ultimately led them to where they are now. They made poor decisions and now they have poor results.

 

[jroc74]

Have truly left the previous gen at this point? All the biggest games (Minecraft, Fortnite, COD, even FIFA included) are still launching on PS4/Xbox One and Switch.

As of today there are some Series console exclusive games.

As of today there are current gen only games from Sony and 3rd parties.

Jez is coping.....hard.

 

[diffusionx]

I don't know who this guy Jez is, but every time someone posts something from him on this thread it's some of the stupidest shit I've ever read about videogames. I can't believe he really is this dumb or else I would figure he can't tie his own shoes.

 

[lh032]

2027.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

That model actually could have worked if it wasn't for TVs coming with all the apps & Fire sticks , Google TV , Google Nest , Echo & so on bringing all these new features to people's homes so people don't really care about the extra stuff that consoles can do anymore.

It's actually pretty funny that Sony & Microsoft was fighting for the living room because Microsoft was worried that the consoles was going to end up replacing the home PC for most tasks but Amazon & Google walked right in & took over the whole house lol.

Alexa & Hey Google is doing exactly what Sony wanted PlayStation 3 to do & what Microsoft wanted Kinect to do.

I still don't think that model would have worked for them even if console had taken over the living room and the living room was still the primary place to consume content.

The cost involved and the nature of how we use the devices makes them ill equipped for annual upgrades.

The fact that they're primarily meant for gaming is exactly why Sony and Microsoft failed to make them entertainment hubs in the first place. They would have needed to be significantly cheaper to accomplish that.

 

[thismeinteil]

I believe IF Xbox is trying to squeeze out the next Xbox a year ish after the PS5 Pro they will go on a full court press getting info out there just before the Pro launches

That'll actually be hilarious to watch them preaching about having a true next gen console for a year, while PS5s and Pros are still flying off of shelves. Then when they are about to launch the NeXbox, Sony just slips out with, "Oh, BTW, you may want to wait til 2027 for the real next gen system."

 

[onQ123]

I still don't think that model would have worked for them even if console had taken over the living room and the living room was still the primary place to consume content.

The cost involved and the nature of how we use the devices makes them ill equipped for annual upgrades.

The fact that they're primarily meant for gaming is exactly why Sony and Microsoft failed to make them entertainment hubs in the first place. They would have needed to be significantly cheaper to accomplish that.

Consoles actually was the entertainment hubs for most people in the PS3 / Xbox 360 era & Kodi that took the world by storm on Fire stick came from the modded Xbox OG scene .

If it wasn't for the shift to Fire sticks & other smaller devices I could see Xbox & PlayStation hitting us with new models with better entertainment features as a way to stay fresh.

The dream was dead when Sony released the PS4 Pro before UHD Blu-ray & Microsoft did a bad job as selling it as a Xbox One S / X feature.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

That strategy is already primed for failure. There are only so many things you can do with console hardware: price, power, and third-party support.

1. Xbox has tried the 'price' angle with Series S. Failed.
2. Xbox has tried the 'power' angle with Series X. Failed.
3. Xbox has the smallest third-party support.

Even if they (somehow!) release a significantly more powerful system than PS5 Pro in 2025 or 2026, it will fail. The first 12-18 months are usually marked by supply shortage. After that, by the time Xbox's supply shortage would start easing up, Sony would announce and/or release its much more powerful PS6, making the Xbox Next obsolete in ~18 months.

I would say it all depends.

If they launch X6 at the same time GTA6 comes out, meaning in 2025, they might have a chance with people trying to play it on the most powerful system, especially if Microsoft is willing to take a hit on hardware costs.

Not saying it is a great plan, but it is probably their only option if they want to even try and compete at this point.

If they can beat the PS5 Pro on both price and power, that is a different conversation.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Consoles actually was the entertainment hubs for most people in the PS3 / Xbox 360 era & Kodi that took the world by storm on Fire stick came from the modded Xbox OG scene .

If it wasn't for the shift to Fire sticks & other smaller devices I could see Xbox & PlayStation hitting us with new models with better entertainment features as a way to stay fresh.

The dream was dead when Sony released the PS4 Pro before UHD Blu-ray & Microsoft did a bad job as selling it as a Xbox One S / X feature.

They were popular because people owned them and they could stream apps and content as well as play physical media.

The shift away from physical media coincided with the rise of streaming sticks and smart tvs.

There was never a scenario where annual releases would have made sense. There aren't many features as far as entertainment goes. Sony tried their hand at live tv, and it failed.

PS4 Pro didn't come out before 4k bluray, they just opted not to include it. Physical media was already dying when the ps4 pro launched.

 

[sendit]

Sure. But the lack of games doesn't make the console bad.

 

[reinking]

IMO

People can go on about hardware and when/where they failed but Xbox has always had good hardware. Their problem is on the management side. Lack of focus on software is the biggest issue. Everyone talks about arrogant Sony, I can't remember a time when we did not have arrogant Xbox. Instead of owning up to past and current issues to correct course they constantly shift the goal posts and claim victories. That is how they have lost focus and lost identity. Maybe it is because they are backed by the MS war chest that allows this attitude. As long as they continue to rely on their circle of unfluencers like Jez (who only influence each other) for feedback and keep trying to brute force their way into first place they will continue to remain exactly where they are in the console space. I just wish they would decide if they are going to be a Game Pass/Service company and go third-party or bring their focus back to consoles and start competing honestly. I am afraid if they continue in their current state it is going to damage the industry by buying up studios and not getting the results they want.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I would say it all depends.

If they launch X6 at the same time GTA6 comes out, meaning in 2025, they might have a chance with people trying to play it on the most powerful system, especially if Microsoft is willing to take a hit on hardware costs.

Not saying it is a great plan, but it is probably their only option if they want to even try and compete at this point.

If they can beat the PS5 Pro on both price and power, that is a different conversation.

But if they launch a next-gen console (not a Pro version) in 2025, it wouldn't be significantly more powerful than a PS5 Pro launching in 2024. It'll be similar to the PS4 Pro vs. Xbox One X type situation at best -- which wouldn't be enough to beat PS5 x GTA 6 marketing.

And beating PS on both price and power is pretty much an impossible option, because it will be an either/or situation. If they make it too powerful, it will cost them too much. And I doubt Xbox is going to subsidize their hardware as much.

Besides, as I said above, the first 12-18 months are usually marked by supply shortages. By the time that is over, Sony would have announced an even more powerful PS6 that people would rather wait for.

 

[FrankWza]

When I first heard about it they were calling it Xbox 2 which was curious because they could have just said the next Xbox

I bet they do somehow try to incorporate the Series moniker though as one big "family"

But answering question directly I have no idea



Btw internally Xbox used the term "marching orders" to their "armies"

I kid you not

We knew

New marching orders, sir!

#HelloFTC

#HelloSEC

It's pretty obvious where the money and marching orders for this is coming from. Conveniently timed for the Christmas shopping season, too.

You mean calling it out? Did I make you guys have an emergency meeting this morning? Got some new marching orders?

 

[EverydayBeast]

360 beat PlayStation 3 for a long time, AAA multiplatform games were so good on the 360 than you add Halo 3, ODST, 4, 3 Gears of War games, Xbox live and the dash was so fast. The problems came when Kinect arrived, Microsoft never stopped trying to set their mind on beating the competition (changing the dashboard) Xbox and 360 probably was just too good for their own good.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

"The truth is Xbox ditched generations with the Xbox One"

Fixed.

 

[nick776]

I'm LOVE Xbox, at the same time I just do not understand how SO MANY PEOPLE defend their nonsense. It's been 6 years since their buying spree and they still don't have any significantly great (system seller) games. Forza Motorsport taking 6 years and releasing the way it did is ABSURD. That Redfall released at all is even MORE ABSURD. Any other company would clean house with their executive leadership. I think MSFT's executive team all needs to go and new blood needs to come in to make one last attempt to turn things around.

 

[SkylineRKR]

360 beat PlayStation 3 for a long time, AAA multiplatform games were so good on the 360 than you add Halo 3, ODST, 4, 3 Gears of War games, Xbox live and the dash was so fast. The problems came when Kinect arrived, Microsoft never stopped trying to set their mind on beating the competition (changing the dashboard) Xbox and 360 probably was just too good for their own good.

Well worldwide 360 never really beat PS3. And ironically Xbox best year ever I think was the year they launched Kinect.

Its sad really. 360 was in hindsight pretty good. I mostly hated it for having 3 RRoD's throughout 2006 and 2007, and the launch unit lacked HDD space, wifi and HDMI. But that aside, the blades dash was good, the games were consistent, XBL was fun. Then MS turned it all around, focused its dashboard on avatars and shits. And doubled down on Kinect.

But they lost me before all this. There was a period where they let Bungie go, axed PGR, and Team Ninja broke loose as a 2nd party. These were my fave Xbox IP. Something broke, for me these studios were pillars of the original Xbox. I think this all coincided with the departure of Peter Moore, and the signing of Don Mattrick. And this is the problem, you need to build a certain identity. I think Xbox had that at first (I would associate Xbox with Halo, NG, DoA, PGR etc), but they doubled down on current trends instead.

Everyone was laughing at PS Move, but Sony just didn't go all in with it. And for the better. Sony wasn't so delusional as to forcefeed motion controls with the PS4.

 

[Freelance Yakuza]

Idk if it's they have no reason to improve. I do think it might fuck up their feedback on how to improve though. Go on era or Twitter in 2019 and you would think that gamers at large had sworn off ps and were all going to switch to Xbox the second series x came out.

The irony is they are the ones who make this shit up in the first place. Check the leaked slides about "this is what players will be saying". Then they carry on like getting people to say it will get them somewhere. All it gets is an illusion online that Xbox is more popular than it really is.

This is something I've been thinking about recently. Xbox Series sales are horrible, worse than previous gen, but the online discurse is filled with Xbox owners harassing anyone who dares to say something bad about the brand.

 

[SkylineRKR]

This is something I've been thinking about recently. Xbox Series sales are horrible, worse than previous gen, but the online discurse is filled with Xbox owners harassing anyone who dares to say something bad about the brand.

There is certainly something going on. MS is also very vocal on social media via proxies. It seems the worse they do the more desperate they get. They started with the Teraflops, which DF ate up and voiced a lot. That obviously didn't work, and now its either a victim role or something else. I see some ridiculous things being posted on various outlets for a good while now, from PS5 success being a threat to humanity to Sony being desperate to include PS Portal sales as if they would have bad numbers otherwise. Its really weird.

 

[FalconPunch]

I would say it all depends.

If they launch X6 at the same time GTA6 comes out, meaning in 2025, they might have a chance with people trying to play it on the most powerful system, especially if Microsoft is willing to take a hit on hardware costs.

Not saying it is a great plan, but it is probably their only option if they want to even try and compete at this point.

If they can beat the PS5 Pro on both price and power, that is a different conversation.

Launching the next Xbox soon would be borderline idiotic. In fact, they should completely forget about launching any new hardware until at least 2028. If they launch a whole new generation, what games are going to convince people to buy the hardware? The current games released and announced for the series can't convince people to buy the hardware. Furthermore, based on Xbox track record this gen, the games they release are more likely to be a miss than hit. That's due to either being rushed out too early with technical issues, having bad design due to the engagement requirements of gamepass, etc. Right now the Series X is selling for $150 less than ps5 and the series s for as low as $149 which is less than the switch lite. Despite doing this, they're being outsold by the ps5 and the switch with a 2011 tablet cpu/gpu. That should tell you all you need to know about the need for new hardware.

They need to fix the quality and quantity of their games, the quality of their user experience, and the identity of the brand before they consider launching new hardware. The first step to fixing this is firing the whole Xbox management. At this point, Xbox is just a bad meme. Even former Xbox employees meme Xbox. Just look at Major Nelson posting a link to ps5 on Amazon smh.

 

[TheUndeadGamer]

Let's say Xbox next is launched earlier than PS6, how will it stand out? Besides games and gamepass, what will give it identity rather just being me too (to the PlayStation)? If that makes sense.

 

[Crayon]

This is something I've been thinking about recently. Xbox Series sales are horrible, worse than previous gen, but the online discurse is filled with Xbox owners harassing anyone who dares to say something bad about the brand.

I've been bitching about it for years but it's been getting more obvious as the disparity between what you see online vs irl widens.

 

[FrankWza]

This is something I've been thinking about recently. Xbox Series sales are horrible, worse than previous gen, but the online discurse is filled with Xbox owners harassing anyone who dares to say something bad about the brand.

I've been bitching about it for years but it's been getting more obvious as the disparity between what you see online vs irl widens.

Halo Infinite won game of the year on this very forum.

 

[Crayon]

Halo Infinite won game of the year on this very forum.

 

[Dick Jones]

Is the current idea to reopen the last gen and add those console sales to the current gen? I don't think Jizz has thought this one out.

 

[IllegalLemon]

Honestly, the insane amount of copium and mental gymnastics evident in people like Jez & Co, would make people like Zalker & Colt Eastwood look almost unbelievably sane in comparison, it's a bizarre sight to behold, all the while making Phil Spencer's statement of "Not wanting to be outdone in price or power" look like absolute meme material, while simultaneously making it evident of how fargone some people, who are too much into their console war fantasies, have gotten. This literally makes it seem like they(Microsoft), don't want to stand behind their statements and promises.

If anything, the logic of choosing to potentially launch a next gen console prior to your competition is flawed on so many different levels, and goes against Microsoft's philosophy of "not to be outdone in... Blah, blah, blah" and all those empty statements they've made initially. So, ok, fine, you've launched your new gen box, because you didn't want to insert an enhanced Series X and torture devs even more, by giving them a third console hardware config to work with and learn to optimise for.

You now have a one year headstart in that scenario. The downside? Your competitor can burst through your wooden defences and put out a faster, more powerful box out the door the following year, that could probably be a more tempting purchase, essentially leaving you at a disadvantage yet again. And that's not even the worst part of it all. What are devs going to use as a baseline, since the PS5 will also be in the way? What are devs going to prioritise? The more powerful console, or the more popular one? The answer is already obvious, they'll prioritise the one with the larger install base, since that's where most of the money is and use that as the baseline. Why go that route, only to have your competitor curb stomp & humiliate you a year later with a more powerful box, potentially at the same price? It literally just doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. It goes against even their own train of thought.

They want to one-up their competitor, only to get one-uped themselves a year later, shooting themselves in the foot in the most outrageous way possible? Wtf even is that logic, where did all the confidence they had in the weeks and months leading up to launch in 2020 go? This is a cautionary tale to never underestimate your competition like Xbox did with PlayStation, simply because they had a Trillion dollar megacorp backing them. Especially since their competition (Sony) has been in that business and perfecting their craft longer than they did and their gaming market share is growing not shrinking.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Honestly, the insane amount of copium and mental gymnastics evident in people like Jez & Co, would make people like Zalker & Colt Eastwood look almost unbelievably sane in comparison, it's a bizarre sight to behold, all the while making Phil Spencer's statement of "Not wanting to be outdone in price or power" look like absolute meme material, while simultaneously making it evident of how fargone some people, who are too much into their console war fantasies, have gotten. This literally makes it seem like they(Microsoft), don't want to stand behind their statements and promises.

If anything, the logic of choosing to potentially launch a next gen console prior to your competition is flawed on so many different levels, and goes against Microsoft's philosophy of "not to be outdone in... Blah, blah, blah" and all those empty statements they've made initially. So, ok, fine, you've launched your new gen box, because you didn't want to insert an enhanced Series X and torture devs even more, by giving them a third console hardware config to work with and learn to optimise for.

You now have a one year headstart in that scenario. The downside? Your competitor can burst through your wooden defences and put out a faster, more powerful box out the door the following year, essentially leaving at a disadvantage yet again. And that's not even the worst part of it all. What are devs going to use as a baseline, since the PS5 will also be in the way? What are devs going to prioritise? The more powerful console, or the more popular one? The answer is already obvious, they'll prioritise the one with the larger install base, since that's where most of the money is and use that as the baseline. Why go that route, only to have your competitor curb stomp & humiliate you a year later with a more powerful box, potentially at the same price? It literally just doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. It goes against even their own train of thought.

They want to one-up their competitor, only to get one-uped themselves a year later, shooting themselves in the foot in the most outrageous way possible? Wtf even is that logic, where did all the confidence they had in the weeks and months leading up to launch in 2020 go? This is a cautionary tale to never underestimate your competition like Xbox did with PlayStation, simply because they had a Trillion dollar megacorp backing them. Especially since their competition (Sony) has been in that business and perfecting their craft longer than they did and their gaming market share is growing not shrinking.

We could be indeed entering into a weird time with console launches

I THINK what Xbox was looking at was launching late 2025 early 2026 and have at least 2 years of sales before PS6 hits

I believe we are going to be hearing more from the guys you mentioned VERY soon and again will be parroting each other almost perfectly

That last line is a guess

 

[IllegalLemon]

We could be indeed entering into a weird time with console launches

I THINK what Xbox was looking at was launching late 2025 early 2026 and have at least 2 years of sales before PS6 hits

I believe we are going to be hearing more from the guys you mentioned VERY soon and again will be parroting each other almost perfectly

That last line is a guess

Can't have it any other way I guess!!!

 

[SkylineRKR]

Sony can sit back and watch. They can let MS release a next-gen system, and lower the price of PS5 if needed. The PS5 will outsell the next Xbox beyond its launch period anyway. Its brand is currently that strong, third parties esp. from Japan will likely continue on PS5. And then Sony can prepare for a next-gen console outdoing the new Xbox on all levels.

PS5 sales won't crash if MS releases a new system. There is no way this is going to happen. Sony is in a PS2 situation again, all they need is to not release another PS3. And the chance this will happen is zero; there won't be a physical format to push and console architecture will likely stay as straightforward as it is right now. Sony isn't going to push for its own CPU, and isn't going to court Nvidia. I figure they just order a more powerful chip from ATI than what MS would have.

 

[Crayon]

The problem with these guys is that they can't get their head out of outselling playstation. MS is poised to make a smart move here if they can just bring themselves to publish on playstation and move the xbox somewhat up and out of the way. Jez and co would not mind the outcome, I swear. Would they rather be sticking it to ps? Sure. But they'll have the most powerful console and the best place to play those in perpetuity if ms pivots to a low-volume, high-end console and otherwise runs as a big publisher. From their perspective it really would not be a bad outcome.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

The problem with these guys is that they can't get their head out of outselling playstation. MS is poised to make a smart move here if they can just bring themselves to publish on playstation and move the xbox somewhat up and out of the way. Jez and co would not mind the outcome, I swear. Would they rather be sticking it to ps? Sure. But they'll have the most powerful console and the best place to play those in perpetuity if ms pivots to a low-volume, high-end console and otherwise runs as a big publisher. From their perspective it really would not be a bad outcome.

But so many of those guys on Social Media (and here in both camps) care more about plastic boxes sold, it drives their clicks

 

[Nonehxc]

We could be indeed entering into a weird time with console launches

I THINK what Xbox was looking at was launching late 2025 early 2026 and have at least 2 years of sales before PS6 hits

I believe we are going to be hearing more from the guys you mentioned VERY soon and again will be parroting each other almost perfectly

That last line is a guess

To add to all that, Sony could just fire a guided PR shipbreaker right at the Xbox and Zealots waterline the moment just before Xbox opens pre-orders for the system.

They could just say:

'Congratulations to our bros at Xbox on the new system!

BTW, we'll be releasing a newer and much improved next-gen system Soony. You should just wait for it'

And BAM, just with a few words, since people trust them because their track record speaks for itself, there's millions of lost sales. And there's NOTHING that MS or the Zealots can do to offset that short of making Xbox free and personally dropping it through people's chimneys.

'We got Xbox into 5 million newer households, Satya!!'

'But we airdropped 6 million, Phil.'

'Some of those bastards had a fire going on'

 

[Crayon]

But so many of those guys on Social Media (and here in both camps) care more about plastic boxes sold, it drives their clicks

I got you covered. Remember, I have seen the future.

A core cope for a while has been not caring about the console sales. When I am president of xbox, the strategy will genuinely put console sales aside. I won't be doing one thing and saying another. It won't be a cope anymore. What's going to drive their clicks now is relishing in every df verdict for the $1000 xbox. Games with XGS splash screens all over the PSN charts. Laughing at the poors who can't afford the best console, and the suckers who pay full price for all those xgs games.

And when you are my vice president, you will see that this is the best plan because it depends on things that are actually under our control. We are going to make Jez and Colt so happy, you and I. And Satya, too. Satya will call us the sons he never had and the rats will sing many songs about us.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I got you covered. Remember, I have seen the future.

A core cope for a while has been not caring about the console sales. When I am president of xbox, the strategy will genuinely put console sales aside. I won't be doing one thing and saying another. It won't be a cope anymore. What's going to drive their clicks now is relishing in every df verdict for the $1000 xbox. Games with XGS splash screens all over the PSN charts. Laughing at the poors who can't afford the best console, and the suckers who pay full price for all those xgs games.

And when you are my vice president, you will see that this is the best plan because it depends on things that are actually under our control. We are going to make Jez and Colt so happy, you and I. And Satya, too. Satya will call us the sons he never had and the rats will sing many songs about us.

 

[Crayon]

Most excellent. Next, let's find our new greenberg.

 

[jroc74]

Is the current idea to reopen the last gen and add those console sales to the current gen? I don't think Jizz has thought this one out.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Where did Jez state any falsehood in that tweet? Software wizardry is used to emulate 360 and OG Xbox games, but Xbone-era game run natively on the Series consoles. Feel free to demand the PS6 not run any BC games.

 

[SportsFan581]

Seems reasonable. I could see them going with a 4 year console life cycle (would be supported in software for longer since you always have cross-gen) with smaller iterations.

I can also see them trying to hit in between the Pro and the PS6 also. That's a safe zone for the smaller competitor, the extra couple years should allow you to ensure that you are top dog at release without as much cost. With very little risk when PS6 launches because PS6 only software from third parties wouldn't release instantly and when cross-gen ends a couple years later the hardware would be getting refreshed again plus the general scalability on the GPU side.

Who knows if there is any truth to any of these latest rumors, but it sounds like a solid plan for MS.

 

[Freelance Yakuza]

Let's say Xbox next is launched earlier than PS6, how will it stand out? Besides games and gamepass, what will give it identity rather just being me too (to the PlayStation)? If that makes sense.

Without any direct competition, do you think folks would pick up an Xbox? I'm starting to wonder if they might not. It seems like they're just not into what MS has got to offer.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Hell, if MS wants to go with a 4-5 year cycle, with games required to be made to the last machine's spec only requiring an upgrade every 8-10 years I'd be cool with it. Especially if they continue the All Access program where you get GPU plus interest-free financing over 2 years.

Consoles are just glorified mid-spec PCs when they launch anyways.

 

[Thirty7ven]

The problem with these guys is that they can't get their head out of outselling playstation. MS is poised to make a smart move here if they can just bring themselves to publish on playstation and move the xbox somewhat up and out of the way. Jez and co would not mind the outcome, I swear. Would they rather be sticking it to ps? Sure. But they'll have the most powerful console and the best place to play those in perpetuity if ms pivots to a low-volume, high-end console and otherwise runs as a big publisher. From their perspective it really would not be a bad outcome.

Even though they will say bs like console sales don't matter just because Phil Spencer threw the towel live in 4K, these minions draw their power from community and that community is the Xbox console community. Attempts throughout the years to try and co opt Steam's community have failed hard.

If I buy Fallout on Steam/PS/Nintendo, I'm not a part of the Xbox community, just like I'm not a part of the EA community when I buy Jedi Survivor or FIFA.

At the end of the day the fear here is the loss of the community, the audience these content creators speak to, because then Xbox would become a brand in the same sense Ubisoft is a brand. There's no Ubisoft community.

So what's happening is a lot of these content creators and social media participators are getting their feathers ruffled because for years the promise was that the community would get larger, buoyed by a promising and dream filled 12 months prior to the start of the gen, but hat has slowly but steadily turned into a nightmare, even though for a moment there the mere news of the ABK acquisition made them feel like the promised land had arrived.

It's all about what keeps a community together. It's why Starfield is still such a relevant topic in Xbox podcasts, they simply refuse to let go of the time when that game was the great unifier, the great white hope that would kick start the gold rush.

There's real fear that Xbox could actually say fuck it and start publishing their games on PlayStation, because that would be the death of the community.

 

[nick776]

What will Xbox sales look like next year? We have Switch 2 hitting along with PS5 Pro. If Xbox Series sales tanked this year with their big hitter Starfield on top of Forza Motorsport, what does MSFT think sales will look like in a year where Switch 2 and PS5 Pro will be their main competition? I don't even see how they stand a chance, honestly, but I hope I'm wrong because I love Xbox. With as many studios under their roster as they currently have, there is just no excuse for their abysmal lack of great games. In any other world, management would be to blame but in MSFT's situation that doesn't seem to be the case. I think a top-down redo of the management staff needs to happen ASAP starting with Mr. Spencer.