Microsoft revamps Xbox Game Pass plans and hikes Ultimate to $29.99 a month, Ultimate gets Ubisoft+ Classics and more

Thierry Henry Smile GIF by hamlet
 
GHG said:
If they can't find a way to make it financially viable in the long run then they will get rid of it.

The more it stagnates (or the less people that subscribe) then the more they will need to raise the prices.

People don't realise that from a financial perspective, these "all you can eat" subscription services are akin to ponzi schemes. They only work if a certain number of people are paying in at a given subscription price, and if not enough money is being paid in to the system then they are prone to collapse. The irony is that if they continue to aggressively raise the price as they have been in the last couple of years, the more likely it is to happen.
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I wasn't talking about Gamepass survival but replied to that bit about how people would be dumb to subscribe if Xbox consoles go poof.
I don't care about consoles anymore but I still save money with GP on PC, so I use it, assuming I can find it cheap… which is getting difficult…

I think we're seeing the final code stacking run here. From what I can tell $14/month is the cheapest you can go now for Ultimate, at least in my area, can be stacked 3 years. PC Gamepass is a way forward too, $10/month, I think that's where I'll be heading if the service survives. But then you don't get Ubisoft so it depends what you think about that.
 
I still think a OEM 'console' will happen, but no shocker if it doesn't.

I'm surprised at the surprise that MS *might* be out of the console business. I mean, no shit? It's been on the cards since 2022 when it was clear that the Series consoles were flopping. Which, was on the back of the XBox One underperforming. Starfield was the last thing they tried to turn it around. Once that didn't hit, the decision was clearly made internally to give up competing with PS.

All the purchase of Abk did was accelerate those plans.

And I mean in the, very long term, cloud gaming is a smart bet. Eventually ( a long ass time from now) all hardware makers will move their business to the cloud and ditch console.
 
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This is how Phil Spencer responded to the multiplatform rumors the first time.

Game Pass not coming to PlayStation or Switch, says Phil Spencer

www.gamesindustry.biz

Game Pass not coming to PlayStation or Switch, says Phil Spencer

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has clarified Game Pass will not be coming to PlayStation or Nintendo Switch.
www.gamesindustry.biz www.gamesindustry.biz


So, they're probably going to make a PR statement saying they're releasing new hardware without mentioning the word "console."
 
Dannyufcfan said:
I still think a OEM 'console' will happen, but no shocker if it doesn't.

I'm surprised at the surprise that MS *might* be out of the console business. I mean, no shit? It's been on the cards since 2022 when it was clear that the Series consoles were flopping. Which, was on the back of the XBox One underperforming. Starfield was the last thing they tried to turn it around. Once that didn't hit, the decision was clearly made internally to give up competing with PS.

All the purchase of Abk did was accelerate those plans.
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Both Sony and Nintendo had their "if this failed we are getting out of the business" moment. wiiU and PS3.

But what is different, is that both Nintendo and Sony WANTED to sell games. And back then so did SEGA. They only think about quitting because they might not have a choice.

Xbox is different. Xbox is bowling out because Microsoft never believed in the entire business to begin with. Gaming was just a tool to expand their reach and power, gaming itself was never what they wanted to do. Gaming was just the stepping stone. And once the stepping stone is worthless you just get rid of it. It doesn't matter that Microsoft can bankroll Xbox for a hundred years, what matters is that Xbox never served its original purpose and now it failed to grow streaming either. Xbox is being killed not because of desperation but because it could no longer justify its existence.

Xbox is being fired as the bottom 10% lowest performer of the company. Nothing more and nothing less.
 
GHG said:
Joe Biden Shut Up GIF by Election 2020


People need to stop kidding themselves with this crap/cope. Look at the prices they've just bumped their subscriptions to, look at the price they've set for their console customers who only want to play online, look at the price of their consoles, look at the prices of their storage expansions, look at the rumoured prices for their next consoles.

This is the company that introduced paid online to the console space and then in the hubris of the 360 era attempted to extend paid online to the PC space because they thought they could get away with it.
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And now today we are paying for online with Sony and Nintendo. That won't magically go away when Microsoft bows out. This is the Legacy of Microsoft in gaming, now and forever: paying to play online with consoles

Thanks for nothing MS. Please go fuck yourselves and never darken the doorsteps of gamers ever again
 
DeltaPolarBear said:
Both Sony and Nintendo had their "if this failed we are getting out of the business" moment. wiiU and PS3.

But what is different, is that both Nintendo and Sony WANTED to sell games. And back then so did SEGA. They only think about quitting because they might not have a choice.

Xbox is different. Xbox is bowling out because Microsoft never believed in the entire business to begin with. Gaming was just a tool to expand their reach and power, gaming itself was never what they wanted to do. Gaming was just the stepping stone. And once the stepping stone is worthless you just get rid of it. It doesn't matter that Microsoft can bankroll Xbox for a hundred years, what matters is that Xbox never served its original purpose and now it failed to grow streaming either. Xbox is being killed not because of desperation but because it could no longer justify its existence.

Xbox is being fired as the bottom 10% lowest performer of the company. Nothing more and nothing less.
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When sony and nintendo had their failures, the big and important difference between them and xbox is that they were both established Worldwide brands in a way that Xbox never really was. Sony ,in particular, were able to relay on still being number 1 console in EU and Asia even when PS3 shit the bed.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
Its gotten a lot of traction fast, part of the reason I ripped into Ybarra and Spencer yesterday, hate what looks to be coming down the pipeline (had to see what all has hit the wires while wife drives) ;)
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Have you heard anything lately in regards to the hw? Oh man, Timdog out here tearing it up with no more next gen hw.

Edit : oh wtf, never let the wife drive unless you're dying!
 
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demigod said:
Have you heard anything lately in regards to the hw? Oh man, Timdog out here tearing it up with no more next gen hw.

Edit : oh wtf, never let the wife drive unless you're dying!
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I have yet to game with people who would know but did ask a couple via texts and one has not replied and the other just sent a shrug emoji

Personally I still believe HW is coming and do not remotely put any stock into what Timdog is saying. S SneakersSO however I am pretty sure he has his finger on the pulse of Xbox better than anyone here so when he says things people should listen

I wanted her to drive us so I could check the news and by the I 100% mean gaming news but once we get to our destination I always put my phone away (though I will still get to play some BF6 at nights) ;)
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
I have yet to game with people who would know but did ask a couple via texts and one has not replied and the other just sent a shrug emoji

Personally I still believe HW is coming and do not remotely put any stock into what Timdog is saying. S SneakersSO however I am pretty sure he has his finger on the pulse of Xbox better than anyone here so when he says things people should listen

I wanted her to drive us so I could check the news and by the I 100% mean gaming news but once we get to our destination I always put my phone away (though I will still get to play some BF6 at nights) ;)
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Who knows it could be some sort of lost in the telephone game/both right thing.

"Microsoft is pulling out of Xbox hardware"

"...because OEMs are making ROG Ally-like PCs instead"

"If the OEMs even still want to"

"Okay, maybe not idk"
 
BlackTron said:
Who knows it could be some sort of lost in the telephone game/both right thing.

"Microsoft is pulling out of Xbox hardware"

"...because OEMs are making ROG Ally-like PCs instead"

"If the OEMs even still want to"

"Okay, maybe not idk"
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I mean Sneakers only claim was next gen was in doubt and Timdog took it to the totally canceled stage

I totally buy it could be in doubt but I don't believe its been canceled
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
I mean Sneakers only claim was next gen was in doubt and Timdog took it to the totally canceled stage

I totally buy it could be in doubt but I don't believe its been canceled
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Guess what I'm saying is it's all a question of definitions. Maybe they had a traditional console planned, and that's the cancelled thing. Maybe it was always a PC, and it's in limbo now. Lots of room for interpretation.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
I mean Sneakers only claim was next gen was in doubt and Timdog took it to the totally canceled stage

I totally buy it could be in doubt but I don't believe its been canceled
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The key here is that consoles don't magically launch themselves. So even if they didn't officially cancel it, if they had been delaying the prerequisite steps needed to lead to a launch, then the end result is the same.

Projects in a company always come in stages. There are things Xbox is going to have to do in the current time, signing contracts and checks, in order to at some point launch the hardware. At some point there is going to be a "point of no return" when they had to commit and throw in the bulk of the money. After which it would be too late to back out. But I feel that moment is not right now and thus there is room to hesitate.

By the time warehouses are stockpiling the Nextbox, it would be too late to halt. So if they are going to change their mind, it would be soon.
 
This all makes me sad. Xbox had long been my preferred platform. The 360 was a magical console. Even the Xbone, despite its flaws was a good console for me. I have some great memories playing online with friends.

Phil is one of the worst, if not the worst, gaming executives ever.

Serious question - how are risk are our digital libraries with what is going on at Xbox these days? I don't trust Microsoft. But it feels like pulling the plug and cutting people off (those of us who actually own games) from digital libraries might even be a step too far for MS.

Also, do we think with the demise of Xbox hardware there's a chance we could see emulation via retail mode make a comeback (instead of having to flip to dev mode)?
 
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WoJ said:
This all makes me sad. Xbox had long been my preferred platform. The 360 was a magical console. Even the Xbone, despite its flaws was a good console for me. I have some great memories playing online with friends.

Phil is one of the worst, if not the worst, gaming executives ever.

Serious question - how are risk are our digital libraries with what is going on at Xbox these days? I don't trust Microsoft. But it feels like pulling the plug and cutting people off (those of us who actually own games) from digital libraries might even be a step too far for MS.

Also, do we think with the demise of Xbox hardware there's a chance we could see emulation via retail mode make a comeback (instead of having to flip to dev mode)?
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Bad. Like really bad. One guy had a go at PC and only 60 on a +400 collection of digital games transferred. So you need your previous consoles and current to still play those games.
 
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SneakersSO said:
... the thing that really stuck out to me was that suddenly, really concrete plans for actual MS Xbox HW went from being definitive, to up in the air, which was really startling given that this thing was meant to be out relatively soon. It was one of those situations where, despite folks being told 'hey, we wanna pull the trigger on this in 2026', the steps you would need to take in the lead up to delivering a new console gen weren't being met. Lots of things that were 'sure things' started getting pushed. The Costco retailer pulling Xbox, and apparently they are one of many that we'll learn about soon, told me all I needed to know.

To sum it up: the future of Xbox is software publishing [....]

Maybe some OEM thing will take up the Xbox name, but given what is clearly a collapse in favorable mindshare and faith in said brand, i'm not even sure a 3rd party OEM is gonna want to have an Xbox console by the time MS is done with their reorienting of the division.
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Thank you for chiming in. Always very illuminating.

I have said a half dozen times that surely there were be one more Xbox console generation. I will stop doing that now, lol. Sounds to me that chances are slim we will see a next-gen Xbox console. That will be a shock to Xbox fans.

Nydius said:
I had to look up who the hell Judson Althoff is.
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Me, too. Sounds like a new position Satya created to relieve him of some of his responsibilities. Althoff is now "CEO of Commercial Business," presumably overseeing Xbox. Satya is reportedly "handing off day-to-day commercial execution" to him. Should read "executions."
 
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GHG said:


Emotions running high.
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Asmon has a particularly low opinion of people who play on console, but has always been pro Game Pass and also thinks MS is doing a better job of future-proofing their gaming division than Sony. That's all in this video:



Between that and now saying Xbox loyalists deserve to pay more, I think he's pretty much upsetting everyone. :messenger_grinning_smiling:
 
laynelane said:
Between that and now saying Xbox loyalists deserve to pay more, I think he's pretty much upsetting everyone. :messenger_grinning_smiling:
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I always made the point of mentioning the fact that being a "fan", does NOT mean you save money. Quite the opposite really. Fans SPEND more money. Baseball fans buy more merch and tickets. Warhammer fans buy more plastic junk. MTG fans buy more cardboard.

At no point was "being a fan" equates to any kind of savings. You become a fan because you want to support your chosen hobby, and that means financially.

If you somehow freak out when Xbox ask you to pay more to support Microsoft, then maybe you are not their fan? Fans pay. If you don't pay you are no fan.
 
You know, reading all the stuff everyone posted and knowing what's going on with the XBox it's pretty sad. I think the Series X is one hell of a machine and it would be absolutely amazing if MS decided to take care of its machine and its library like Sony did with the PS3 for example. Too bad that will never happen.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
I mean Sneakers only claim was next gen was in doubt and Timdog took it to the totally canceled stage

I totally buy it could be in doubt but I don't believe its been canceled
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That's the thing. Folks are not really reading what S SneakersSO said. The rumor has gone from next gen Xbox not being a "sure thing" to "Xbox is cancelled". It's grapevine shit at this point which is why I'm pointing out that folks claiming to know stuff very well may be pulling Jez Corden "me too" nonsense.
 
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SneakersSO said:
Yup, thats it.

He has actual folks on payroll playing his Xbox account to drum up his gamer score, to boost that 'gamer' image.

Its really, really sad.
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They don't even do a great job at it. Whoever he paid played a shit ton of Redfall, and let good games pass them by. He should pay me to do the job, I'll fill his history with nothing but bangers.
 
Fishels said:
Holy mercy we live in wild times.

I've never owned an Xbox but the gaming industry is way better with competition in it. I fear gaming may have peaked in terms of getting the best of the best ever again. Nintendo fucked off and did their own thing and Sony already owns the Console market practically. Imagine how bad the prices will be when there is no Xbox. 1200 dollar PS6?
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You think the competition that increased the price of their most popular subscription by 50% while telling is it is what we wanted is the competition we need? The one that appears to have jacked the price on hardware before killing it? Xbox has not been the savior of the industry holding off the big bad Sony and Nintendo. They have played a large role in some of the negative things in console gaming today. I want them to survive in the console space but the idea that they have been keeping Sony in check this generation is laughable to me.
 
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