Deerock71
Very Poor Hoice of Wor
I'd put a billion in advertising on the Xbox after that. ONLY ON XBOX would be everywhere. So, rewinding, I would've never agreed to putting Call of Duty on any other system and I'd make Sony resurrect SOCOM.
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Knucklepux
Member
I'd fire Phil, he's now to representative of everything wrong.
I'd sell of act/blizz and get what I can.
I'd remove the multiplat strategy and get back to offering exclusives
I'd retool gamepass into an ancillary service. What's currently the premium tier would be it. No more day one releases from Xbox studios
I'd fire my marketing team as they absolutely market nothing and no one ever knows about Xbox games
I'd reinstate backwards compatibility program but push for it to be local on hardware
Basically, I'd copy PlayStations strategy overall but invest in my own IPs
I'd sell of act/blizz and get what I can.
I'd remove the multiplat strategy and get back to offering exclusives
I'd retool gamepass into an ancillary service. What's currently the premium tier would be it. No more day one releases from Xbox studios
I'd fire my marketing team as they absolutely market nothing and no one ever knows about Xbox games
I'd reinstate backwards compatibility program but push for it to be local on hardware
Basically, I'd copy PlayStations strategy overall but invest in my own IPs
PatientGamer
Member
that's a fair point actually. I'd put 'Steam' in the same category as the PS5/6 in my example above in that case.
ByWatterson
Member
Griffon
Member
Make an official PC emulator and transfer all the user accounts to it.
Kill the dedicated hardware, kill GP, and then become a normal game publisher, because that's whatActivisionXbox is now.
Burn the PC Xbox launcher too, and move everything over to the battle net launcher and Steam.
Kill the dedicated hardware, kill GP, and then become a normal game publisher, because that's what
Burn the PC Xbox launcher too, and move everything over to the battle net launcher and Steam.
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Baemono
Member
Start over with a fresh new team, hire people from Sony and Nintendo, name your console something else and make it unique, and everything is exclusive so people actually want to buy your products. And no more day one on Game Pass stuff. Heck, even no more Game Pass, or like back catalog like Nintendo does, with OG Xbox, 360 and even Dreamcast.
ecosse_011172
Banned
Only 25 nerds care about disks.
That's the least of their many problems.
They're goosed and unsavable, they should sell everything and hand the money to Sega to make a real console.
JackedTortoise09
Neo Member
They'll definitively have a significant legacy, more than Sega too. They brought with them and popularized online play, online storefronts and game distribution, popularized FPSs and WRPGs on consoles, brought multimedia entertainment like Netflix on consoles, gaming subscriptions, many of which we take for granted now. Xbox consoles were way more successful than Sega's and the purchases of Bethesda and Activision alone make Xbox way more relevant and noteworthy in gaming history than anything Sega ever did. Outside of game forums, no one really associates Sega with anything, besides Sonic. Even good games they publish like Yakuza franchise... no one goes "you excited for the new Sega game?"
Dr. Samuel Hayden
Member
How about going back to what actually worked with OG Xbox and the 360?
DragonNCM
Member
That train is long gone......there is no turning back....they fucked so much that even David Copperfield cant fix it.....
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Shits_McGiggles
Member
Honestly, US and Canadian game development is so fucked that there is no way you could actually have the games to make Xbox a compelling platform. The only thing I would do is make their original Xbox and Xbox 360 emulation solutions open-source so that it doesn't die with the Xbox platform. Either that or make a dedicated retro platform that allows users to emulate original Xbox and Xbox 360 games.
Backwards compatibility is the only thing that made the Xbox Series X worth it for me, and I don't see original Xbox or Xbox 360 emulation getting better anytime soon.
Backwards compatibility is the only thing that made the Xbox Series X worth it for me, and I don't see original Xbox or Xbox 360 emulation getting better anytime soon.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
uh?
MacReady13
Member
Like I would've done from the start- emulate the 360 era in terms of getting games onto the console. Focus solely on console gaming. Pay 3rd parties for exclusives like they used to (Mass Effect and Bioshock being prime examples) and just focus on making great 1st party games EXCLUSIVE to console.
Quick edit- I'd also fuck off gamepass and especially day and date releases on that shit.
Quick edit- I'd also fuck off gamepass and especially day and date releases on that shit.
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Buggy Loop
Gold Member
I would just do games, like microsoft's huge legacy in the past for PC gaming.
Plastic boxes really don't matter that much especially in the future. There's huge sums of money on being everywhere.
Plastic boxes really don't matter that much especially in the future. There's huge sums of money on being everywhere.
Aenima
Member
Thers nothing to salvage. They had a chance to start salvaging it in the beginning of the gen. The Series X is a nice console but instead of focusing in selling that they focused on the Series S and the principal focus was always on promoting GamePass. Now thers nothing else there to salvage. Going 3rd party was the correct decision, so xbox can still exist in the future as a publisher. If they dont ruin all the studios they own.
Unfortunatecookie
Member
8 things:
1) Immediately terminate Phil Spencer and Aaron Greenberg. Both individuals have had 10 years to turn Xbox around. They have failed on a level that nobody thought was possible. It's time to go.
2) Kill the Xbox branding -- including but not limited to renaming the entire operation, brand new color scheme (no more loud neon green), brand new segmentation strategy (i.e., target entirely new audience), brand new UI, brand new advertising strategy, etc.
3) Release a controller that isn't stuck in 2005. Brand new haptic and trigger features, rechargeable battery (doesn't matter if it's removable), brand new look, different/changeable analog stick placement, brand new D-pad, etc.
4) Eliminate any and all edgelords, fake experts (e.g., Jez Corden), and based bros as brand partners. No more thumbnail grifters and mentally unstable X users as brand ambassadors.
5) Brand new lower cost hardware identity. No more $650 consoles and $1,000 handhelds. Design $300 consoles and $400 handhelds. It does not matter if PlayStation is more powerful; the point is to gain as much market share as possible by being measurably more affordable than the direct competitor. Think $400 Android phones VS $800 iPhones.
6) Sell-off as many Xbox studios as possible. Start with Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Turn 10 Studios, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, inXile Entertainment, and Rare. Then look into the possibility of off-loading ZeniMax and ActiBlizzard.
7) Radically rethink Game Pass. Killing it is not an option as it's the only reason to buy an Xbox. Start by eliminating all first-party day one games (from all tiers) and refocusing the service around smaller sized games. Additionally, pivot from the 100GB games that millions of people can't even download due to how crappy their country internet is.
8) Partnership with Nintendo. PC is a lost cause and Sony (not PlayStation) seem to still recognize how dangerous it is to sleep with Microsoft. Nintendo could offer games and access to their audience that allows the 'new' Xbox to be more competitive against PlayStation. It's not about porting Mario or Zelda; it's about porting Kirby and Yoshi and Captain Toad etc.
TL;DR: Fire the people at the top, no more CAPS LOCK branding, release a controller that isn't held captive in Jurassic Park, no more working with deranged people, much cheaper hardware, bye-bye most studios, new Game Pass direction, heeeeeyyy Nintendo.
Can they pull this off? Nope. It's unfortunate, but they're hell-bent on letting the boat sink rather than grabbing buckets to scoop the water out. They're finished.
1) Immediately terminate Phil Spencer and Aaron Greenberg. Both individuals have had 10 years to turn Xbox around. They have failed on a level that nobody thought was possible. It's time to go.
2) Kill the Xbox branding -- including but not limited to renaming the entire operation, brand new color scheme (no more loud neon green), brand new segmentation strategy (i.e., target entirely new audience), brand new UI, brand new advertising strategy, etc.
3) Release a controller that isn't stuck in 2005. Brand new haptic and trigger features, rechargeable battery (doesn't matter if it's removable), brand new look, different/changeable analog stick placement, brand new D-pad, etc.
4) Eliminate any and all edgelords, fake experts (e.g., Jez Corden), and based bros as brand partners. No more thumbnail grifters and mentally unstable X users as brand ambassadors.
5) Brand new lower cost hardware identity. No more $650 consoles and $1,000 handhelds. Design $300 consoles and $400 handhelds. It does not matter if PlayStation is more powerful; the point is to gain as much market share as possible by being measurably more affordable than the direct competitor. Think $400 Android phones VS $800 iPhones.
6) Sell-off as many Xbox studios as possible. Start with Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Turn 10 Studios, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, inXile Entertainment, and Rare. Then look into the possibility of off-loading ZeniMax and ActiBlizzard.
7) Radically rethink Game Pass. Killing it is not an option as it's the only reason to buy an Xbox. Start by eliminating all first-party day one games (from all tiers) and refocusing the service around smaller sized games. Additionally, pivot from the 100GB games that millions of people can't even download due to how crappy their country internet is.
8) Partnership with Nintendo. PC is a lost cause and Sony (not PlayStation) seem to still recognize how dangerous it is to sleep with Microsoft. Nintendo could offer games and access to their audience that allows the 'new' Xbox to be more competitive against PlayStation. It's not about porting Mario or Zelda; it's about porting Kirby and Yoshi and Captain Toad etc.
TL;DR: Fire the people at the top, no more CAPS LOCK branding, release a controller that isn't held captive in Jurassic Park, no more working with deranged people, much cheaper hardware, bye-bye most studios, new Game Pass direction, heeeeeyyy Nintendo.
Can they pull this off? Nope. It's unfortunate, but they're hell-bent on letting the boat sink rather than grabbing buckets to scoop the water out. They're finished.
Shifty1897
Member
Get completely out of the hardware business.
There's no money to be made on the console side of the hardware space. Make game pass for PC and streaming, and sell all your games on PS5 at launch for full price.
There's no money to be made on the console side of the hardware space. Make game pass for PC and streaming, and sell all your games on PS5 at launch for full price.
Nydius
Member
I'm scratching my head at the number of people here seriously suggesting Microsoft stops selling on Steam. Have people forgotten they tried doing precisely that, twice? First with Games for Windows Live, which failed spectacularly, and then by integrating Xbox and the Windows Store into Windows and trying to sell their gaming software there as Windows specific apps. Which also failed spectacularly.
Trying to force PC gamers into yet another walled garden storefront isn't going to fix any of Xbox's problems. PC gamers have spoken overwhelmingly: They prefer Steam with GOG as a runner-up. EGS is a distant third.
Trying to force PC gamers into yet another walled garden storefront isn't going to fix any of Xbox's problems. PC gamers have spoken overwhelmingly: They prefer Steam with GOG as a runner-up. EGS is a distant third.
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Andro Dunos
Neo Member
It starts with putting master chief in smash brothers.
The most obvious and terrifying answer is to make every single bit of IP they own(thats legally possible) exclusive to their next console. Sell off the small non major ip producing studios to help offset costs. Sell the next console at least $200 less than Sony if not more.
Eliminate gamepass or make it only for older games with a low pricepoint.
Any game older than a year, maybe more, goes on pc or any console that will have them.
Eliminate gamepass or make it only for older games with a low pricepoint.
Any game older than a year, maybe more, goes on pc or any console that will have them.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
I don't think anyone could fix it.
Maybe in 10 years someone could buy the Xbox brand and bring it back as some low level business.
Maybe in 10 years someone could buy the Xbox brand and bring it back as some low level business.
Hudo
Member
I wouldn't. I would go all-in on PC gaming on Windows. Which is one of the biggest platforms in the world. I would instead make easy-to-use and affordable gaming PCs (that are also easy to modify, e.g. making core parts open source, supplying technical plans etc.) and try to apply some pressure on Nvidia and Intel to stop being greedy cunts. Maybe team up with AMD to make some actual competitive stuff so that Nvidia are forced to unfuck themselves. I would still release games on Playstation and Nintendo hardware. I think Valve had the right idea with the Steam Deck but is, as typical with Valve, lacking in the willingness to go all the way. I think Microsoft can should go all the way and see what happens. But my "let's leave it open and accessible" philosophy would probably get evil looks from Satellite Nutella and all the other Microsoft managers, I guess. Because Microsoft's "closed garden" systems are all fucking garbage and annoying to use (as are all of their competitor's ecosystems).
I would also make a new Freelancer and spend my time unfucking many of the studios that they have under their belt: Blizzard, Halo Studios, Bethesda, etc. That alone would probably take a good chunk of time, tbh.
I would also make a new Freelancer and spend my time unfucking many of the studios that they have under their belt: Blizzard, Halo Studios, Bethesda, etc. That alone would probably take a good chunk of time, tbh.
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KungFucius
King Snowflake
They can't. They increased the cost of consoles to the point where they are ridiculous and the only value proposition, cheap gamepass subs are now gone. Who is going to buy into that ecosystem now? The new handhelds went on preorder a few days before this change. How many people redid the math and said no?
They are basically a more expensive version of Ubisoft + with overpriced hardware.
They are basically a more expensive version of Ubisoft + with overpriced hardware.
Games Bookstore
Member
How would you right the ship? We gotta think back to where it really started to go wrong for Xbox.
Xbox definitely has an identity crisis which likely started with Kinect despite how well that peripheral sold.
Goodwill was definitely lost with the whole "TV, TV, TV sports, sports, sports, water cooler", used games and DRM fiasco in the lead up to Xbox One.
To me what really signalled the end for Xbox was when they decided to release Day1 first party studios on both Xbox and PC.
Xbox no longer was a console at that point it became an ecosystem, and truly lost its identity from this point on. The reason to buy an Xbox if you had a decent gaming rig became even less apparent.
Sure consoles are convenient and far less hassle over compatibility and drivers, but not really a compelling argument to fork out $500USD on a kinect bundled XBox One.
Fast forward a few years later, Gamepass is announced and all first party titles will be coming to the service day 1, you now have a culture of gamers less willing to pay for games. This to me was the final nail in the coffin.
So to get back to the original question, is XBox salvageable? Probably not at this point, but if you were to put me in charge of righting the ship, I would do the following:
- No more day1 releases of 1st party games on PC (or PS, Switch etc. for that matter) I realised PC gamers will hate this option, but you need to give people a reason to buy an XBox.
- Restructure Gamepass to something similar to PS+, no more day1 first party releases, adjust the pricing to something more affordable for gamers, get rid of the recently announced bloat.
- Time exclusive on big hitters just like GTA4 was back in the day. Imagine GTA6 was exclusive to XBox for 12 months. You can't say Microsoft doesn't have the resources to afford that. Now contemplate how many gamers that would bring to the system, just for one game.
- Restructure pricing on XBox aggressively. At this point I feel gamers are being bent over by greedy corporations, all the big 3 are equally as guilty of this and there's only so much you can blame on tariffs.
- A good leader of the Xbox division that is hungry for the job, not a complacent one like Phil. Peter Moore in his prime would have fit that bill.
- Finally games, games and more games. Ones that are compelling and give you a reason to buy the console. This more than anything would help Restructure Xbox's identity. First party output (not including the Publisher acquisitions of Activision and Bethesda) have been very lacking and or lacklustre in general.
Xbox definitely has an identity crisis which likely started with Kinect despite how well that peripheral sold.
Goodwill was definitely lost with the whole "TV, TV, TV sports, sports, sports, water cooler", used games and DRM fiasco in the lead up to Xbox One.
To me what really signalled the end for Xbox was when they decided to release Day1 first party studios on both Xbox and PC.
Xbox no longer was a console at that point it became an ecosystem, and truly lost its identity from this point on. The reason to buy an Xbox if you had a decent gaming rig became even less apparent.
Sure consoles are convenient and far less hassle over compatibility and drivers, but not really a compelling argument to fork out $500USD on a kinect bundled XBox One.
Fast forward a few years later, Gamepass is announced and all first party titles will be coming to the service day 1, you now have a culture of gamers less willing to pay for games. This to me was the final nail in the coffin.
So to get back to the original question, is XBox salvageable? Probably not at this point, but if you were to put me in charge of righting the ship, I would do the following:
- No more day1 releases of 1st party games on PC (or PS, Switch etc. for that matter) I realised PC gamers will hate this option, but you need to give people a reason to buy an XBox.
- Restructure Gamepass to something similar to PS+, no more day1 first party releases, adjust the pricing to something more affordable for gamers, get rid of the recently announced bloat.
- Time exclusive on big hitters just like GTA4 was back in the day. Imagine GTA6 was exclusive to XBox for 12 months. You can't say Microsoft doesn't have the resources to afford that. Now contemplate how many gamers that would bring to the system, just for one game.
- Restructure pricing on XBox aggressively. At this point I feel gamers are being bent over by greedy corporations, all the big 3 are equally as guilty of this and there's only so much you can blame on tariffs.
- A good leader of the Xbox division that is hungry for the job, not a complacent one like Phil. Peter Moore in his prime would have fit that bill.
- Finally games, games and more games. Ones that are compelling and give you a reason to buy the console. This more than anything would help Restructure Xbox's identity. First party output (not including the Publisher acquisitions of Activision and Bethesda) have been very lacking and or lacklustre in general.
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chromatic9
Member
I think they could keep a console going and go back to what made the Xbox 360 good and wind down game pass for older games and indies. They have a decent chunk of fans to have a good third place standing.
Ever since Satya came in it's about buying ip and being software focused so after that last attempt by Xbox it's probably done. I think the top people at MS are just happy to get a bunch more ip in this process of Xbox implosion.
Ever since Satya came in it's about buying ip and being software focused so after that last attempt by Xbox it's probably done. I think the top people at MS are just happy to get a bunch more ip in this process of Xbox implosion.
N1tr0sOx1d3
Given another chance
At this point it's a dumpster fire. My Xbox SX is being sold at CEX today. Fck em.
What a waste of potential.
What a waste of potential.
nani17
are in a big trouble
MrTentakel
Member
I move everyone in my cloud eco-system where I have full control over pricing and usage of my products
Price the next generation Xbox (Xbox RU SeriouZ) at 1.000$
Price AAA releases at 85$
Price AA releases at 60$
Price indy titles at 40$
=> Cloud looks cheap now!
Price Gamepass Ultimate Cloud experience at 40$/month or 400$/year
Pay some shills to promote it as best deal in gaming (compare it to 5 years of buying consoles and games and value of backlog and bla)
People learnt to not own anything and to be happy about it.
Barrier of entry is low (40$ a month)
People are used to pay this and more for their mobile contracts
=> Shitload of profit.
Price the next generation Xbox (Xbox RU SeriouZ) at 1.000$
Price AAA releases at 85$
Price AA releases at 60$
Price indy titles at 40$
=> Cloud looks cheap now!
Price Gamepass Ultimate Cloud experience at 40$/month or 400$/year
Pay some shills to promote it as best deal in gaming (compare it to 5 years of buying consoles and games and value of backlog and bla)
People learnt to not own anything and to be happy about it.
Barrier of entry is low (40$ a month)
People are used to pay this and more for their mobile contracts
=> Shitload of profit.
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WhiteWaterM00se
Member
1.) Go 3rd party and double down on famous IP and get it everywhere, Nintendo and Sony.
2.) get MS IP in Nintendo IP (smash) and in things like Sonic Cross worlds. Create exposure for younger audience.
3.) Play nice with Apple to get cloud streaming on Apple devices
4.) THEY MUST SAVE HALO! Figure it out!!!
5.) Get WoW on everything! Where the hell is console and mobile? WoW classic needs to be everywhere.
Edit: sell off unneeded IP, Kameo, Killer instinct, Goldeneye and Banjo to Nintendo.
Crash and Spyro to Sony.
Bring back more Tony hawk and Guitar hero.
Sell or lease Nintendo/ Sony Kinect technology.
Could u hire Bungie to help remake Halo 2? Sony would likely jump at the chance to do that.
Finally *let me put my evil hat on*. Acquire Valve & Steam, and online pc gaming requires gamepass and/or XBOX LIVE.
Expand Minecraft! Where is the cartoon? New game spinoffs? Movie #2?
Microsoft, Moose needs a new house. Help a brother out. Everyone up in here is doing MS's work for them. Reciprocate and get us all a condo or new home.
2.) get MS IP in Nintendo IP (smash) and in things like Sonic Cross worlds. Create exposure for younger audience.
3.) Play nice with Apple to get cloud streaming on Apple devices
4.) THEY MUST SAVE HALO! Figure it out!!!
5.) Get WoW on everything! Where the hell is console and mobile? WoW classic needs to be everywhere.
Edit: sell off unneeded IP, Kameo, Killer instinct, Goldeneye and Banjo to Nintendo.
Crash and Spyro to Sony.
Bring back more Tony hawk and Guitar hero.
Sell or lease Nintendo/ Sony Kinect technology.
Could u hire Bungie to help remake Halo 2? Sony would likely jump at the chance to do that.
Finally *let me put my evil hat on*. Acquire Valve & Steam, and online pc gaming requires gamepass and/or XBOX LIVE.
Expand Minecraft! Where is the cartoon? New game spinoffs? Movie #2?
Microsoft, Moose needs a new house. Help a brother out. Everyone up in here is doing MS's work for them. Reciprocate and get us all a condo or new home.
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Why people in forums has such lust for throwing millions under the bus for the sake of "exclusivity"? No way in hell forcing COD and others exclusive will work, Tim already tried that with Epic Games Store and look and it killed any chances it had, I've been playing on PC for 20+ years and I had to beg my parents for years for a PS2, Xbox or Gamecube so I could play a bunch of multiplatform games that weren't on the PC and the issue was caused by low sales thanks to easy piracy, Steam saved PC Gaming (remember the old ole PC gaming is dead in late 2000s?), I wouldn't wish on anyone who has a hardware that would be enough to run but can't easily afford another other.
Matsuchezz
Member
just kill the brand already. the brand has always sucked! it's a joke to expect quality and something great from MS.
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Edgelord79
Gold Member
There is no point salvaging the hardware side of things. They are so far behind from being competitive at this point and making up that difference would be way too cost intensive and full of chance. Not to mention their hardware has seen large price increases and is increasingly scarce at physical retailers. At this point I'm starting to think that Phil has naked pictures of Satya or something.
A 100% focus on being a publisher might be their best option.
A 100% focus on being a publisher might be their best option.
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Madserb2023
Member
They either go third party or reverse absolutely everything they they have done since the Xbox One.
GoldenEye98
posts news as their odd job
The problem with Xbox Cloud isn't even so much the client side and where the app is available. It's the backend. They need more server locations for starters. But even then they are still pinned to Xbox hardware, which is limiting. I can't even consider switching from Geforce Now to Xbox Cloud even if I wanted to because the nearest data center is further away. It's also just technically inferior. They only recently upgraded to 25Mbps bitrate...which is a fraction of what Geforce Now allows.
Ellis
Member
Absolutely bang on. Couldn't have put it better myself. Impeccable punctuation too.
Fret Runner
Member
Still blows my mind to remember Gears of War is on Playstation now. That ever happening was always one of my "nail in the coffin" thoughts. Halo must be on its way too.
I feel they should Just bite the third party bullet at this point and fully embrace that endeavour, cause Xbox as a console is offically tainted and fumbled beyond repair at this point imo
I feel they should Just bite the third party bullet at this point and fully embrace that endeavour, cause Xbox as a console is offically tainted and fumbled beyond repair at this point imo
Donald mac Ronald
Member
I don't see how it can be saved. They've ran it into the ground. There's no reason to own one. They would need a new console and start from scratch again.
I hope they go purple just for the lulz.