Are Microsoft quitting the console hardware market?

Are Microsoft discontinuing Xbox consoles?

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hemo memo said:
Open Amazon. Search for Xbox. What results do you see?
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Well, Xbox did take a lot of inspiration from Sega. Maybe there are some guys at MS that need to let that devotion go? Maybe I've seen them in some threads around here.
 
Phil has said in several interviews that he's not allowed to run an unprofitable business inside of MS. He has to show a positive number on the balance sheet.

The US tariffs have hit everyone and we saw MS raise prices on their hardware. If they can't get the boxes to retail at a reasonable price, and if he's not allowed to subsidize them with debt, then it would make sense that they let stock run out without ordering more.

If that's the situation, how long can they go with no hardware to sell before they have to give up on it completely? This seems like uncharted territory...
 
I see one Xbox Series X for sale on amazon. Hurry! I saw 5 yesterday, but of course they disappeared quickly. I see nothing on Best Buy and nothing but third-party sellers on Walmart (excluding refurbished units).

Weird. I wonder what's going on.
 
rm082e said:
Phil has said in several interviews that he's not allowed to run an unprofitable business inside of MS. He has to show a positive number on the balance sheet.
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He was just telling the court what they wanted to hear. Xbox had been running at a loss for years/more than a decade until Don. MS doesn't have to have a profitable business in a sector as long as they think it is something that fights competitors threatening their dominance in other businesses. Even after the massive failure that was Windows Phone Satya says today that he regrets shutting that down and would have kept it if he had the chance. Personally I think the failure of Windows Phone/Nokia was why Ballmer left and Satya came in though.
 
If so, they're ahead of the curve I think. Dedicated gaming hardware for the living room is not as socio-technologically viable as it has traditionally been. It's not the first choice for teenagers anymore. I bet the average age of a true hardcore console hobbyist is 30-49. You can raise the lower end of that if we make it 'hardcore consoler who does not primarily playing Fortnite/COD/Overwatch with it'. Most investors don't even want to talk about funding a AAA single player game. Too many other options with better prospects. Streaming future is coming, and not even PC will be left completely unscathed. Obviously I'd prefer there to be some crazy combination of competition and leaps in manufacturing efficiency to bring prices back down, but in reality, there is no stopping it. I think there will be some really cool benefit. I mean, imagine Kojima being able to spec like twice the power of a 5090 and not being held back by pesky thermodynamics and microeconomics? Sure there's potential for consumers to get fucked, but if you think about it the "ownership" isn't so different from buying digital on Xbox or Playstation. Hell even certain PC stores. Yes it will suck for people who live in remote places, but there's not enough of y'all.
 
tr1p1ex said:
MSFT wouldn't raise the price to $600 and then get out of the console business in the same breath.
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That's them getting out of the console business without getting out of hardware. They're dropping the loss-leader model of consoles. Will make the next expensive box that sells less at a higher price than seem like the better alternative to the $600 "last gen" one they could buy.
 
I know for a fact that, as of now, they are not leaving the hardware market.
 
bender said:
I'm sure their plans to enter the handheld space were in earnest too. Things change.
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Very well could change but agreeing with what Dacvak Dacvak as of right now they are still all in on next gen

The handheld always was a bit of a head scratcher, next gen consoles really aren't, not yet anyhow

Queue the sales numbers which I know are terrible but (especially Phil) isn't ready to leave behind any install base that is using GP and that has a large library and wants new hardware

Its going to fail worse than anything they have produced so far but AS OF RIGHT NOW, its coming
 
On amazon uk I get Series X disc and digital new sold and dispatched by amazon. Currys (large electrical good outlet) also has new Series X on their store. John Lewis are pushing a Series X Doom dark ages bundle. Series S widely available as well so it's not getting scarce yet.
 
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No they will release one console in the coming gen(in some form even if not traditional) but long term its not looking great. They seem to be dissasociating themselves bigtime from their hardware and transitioning more to a publisher and them axing their handheld certainly dosent inspire confidence. That being said I really hope they dont leave the console market, Sony needs more direct competition for a healthy market. If Xbox was competitive I would bet Sony wouldnt be this cocky with transitioning damn near their whole first party to gaas not would they release their pro with such middling specs at near double the cost of the base if a xbox series one x was released from Microsodt like last gen.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
Very well could change but agreeing with what Dacvak Dacvak as of right now they are still all in on next gen

The handheld always was a bit of a head scratcher, next gen consoles really aren't, not yet anyhow

Queue the sales numbers which I know are terrible but (especially Phil) isn't ready to leave behind any install base that is using GP and that has a large library and wants new hardware

Its going to fail worse than anything they have produced so far but AS OF RIGHT NOW, its coming
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I mostly believed you (and it's not that I don't believe you have some inside scoops), but the writing seems to be on the wall with the current supply chain. I thought we heard late last year that they were ramping down production to get through inventory, so maybe this and the tariff war are the result, but this feels like a silent pullout. Xbox PR has been silent, everything is getting ported to competing systems, retailers pulled the plug on selling their devices even before the current barren stock situation, training their userbase to not purchase games + all digital devices (which would further disincentivize a retail presence), putting their handheld device on-hold, losing ground in their strongest territories without gains in other territories, and the writing on the wall could go on. The 70B+ investment they made and thought they could flip the console war backfired spectacularly as it put way more focus on a money losing division both internally and externally. I'd be shocked if we see another subsidized hardware offering from them as they've seemingly lost confidence in the brand internally, from retail, and from consumers.
 
Mibu no ookami said:
I mean I think a lot of people here are going to go the PCMR route and we'll see an uptick of PCMR vs Console warring, but in general, I think discourse over the internet and even here might improve and get more focused on games, but you're right you see some of the threads and the direction and I'm probably being naive.

I don't know, fingers crossed I guess.
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I don't see the point in it as they are very different experiences. People aren't choosing one or the other because of games which is the main driver for console wars.
 
bender said:
I mostly believed you (and it's not that I don't believe you have some inside scoops), but the writing seems to be on the wall with the current supply chain. I thought we heard late last year that they were ramping down production to get through inventory, so maybe this and the tariff war are the result, but this feels like a silent pullout. Xbox PR has been silent, everything is getting ported to competing systems, retailers pulled the plug on selling their devices even before the current barren stock situation, training their userbase to not purchase games + all digital devices (which would further disincentivize a retail presence), putting their handheld device on-hold, losing ground in their strongest territories without gains in other territories, and the writing on the wall could go on. The 70B+ investment they made and thought they could flip the console war backfired spectacularly as it put way more focus on a money losing division both internally and externally. I'd be shocked if we see another subsidized hardware offering from them as they've seemingly lost confidence in the brand internally, from retail, and from consumers.
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Would I be shocked if a statement comes out tomorrow Xbox has closed shop on consoles and will only make controllers moving forward?

Kind of/not really

But they are much further along with one of the consoles vs where they were at with their handheld

Again I think it will be a disaster for them and likely the first Xbox I don't buy unless a very specific storm happens

But owning a decent PC and a PS5 Pro and games supporting cross play have made an Xbox console totally useless to me
 
All the people that want the Xbox to die will cry when there is no competition and Sony will charge then ridiculous prices for online services.
Competition is good , no competition means companies like nvidia charging u ridiculous amount for products
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
Of course it does

If something is mostly on paper its much easier to set aside
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No, it really doesn't. Hardware R&D is always happening in this space. The wheels of motion for the next Xbox started right after S/X were finalized and prior to the launch of those systems. If the decision makers have decided to get off the merry-go-round, how far into development the next platform is will have little influence as that loss would be deemed as preferable to the losses incurred in launching another platform.
 
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bender said:
No, it really doesn't. Hardware R&D is always happening in this space. The wheels of motion for the next Xbox started right after S/X were finalized and prior to the launch of those systems. If the decision makers have decided to get off the merry-go-round, how far into development the next platform is will have little influence as that loss would be deemed as preferable to the losses incurred in launching another platform.
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I am still very confident of as today its moving forward

And gamers better hope Xbox tries to put up a fight, I don't want a single console manufacturer dictating pricing and power much like J Jibran#one eludes to
 
I don't think MS realizes how some game series are only relevant to fanboys. Sega found this out back in the day when some IPs died off without its console fanbase.
 
RoboFu said:
I don't think MS realizes how some game series are only relevant to fanboys. Sega found this out back in the day when some IPs died off without its console fanbase.
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I'd kind of argue the opposite in the case of Xbox with how important Halo is, or at least how hard it was to make Halo. Had they managed Bungie better and let them make more than just Halo, both Xbox and Bungie would be in a better spot today. I guess that's a different conversation though.
 
Jibran#one said:
All the people that want the Xbox to die will cry when there is no competition and Sony will charge then ridiculous prices for online services.
Competition is good , no competition means companies like nvidia charging u ridiculous amount for products
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The reality is Microsoft increasing the price and Sony offering a promotional discount.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
I am still very confident of as today its moving forward

And gamers better hope Xbox tries to put up a fight, I don't want a single console manufacturer dictating pricing and power much like J Jibran#one eludes to
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Any company that is "putting up a fight" is surely taking financial hits; I don't think Xbox is in a position to put up a fight/take financial hits anymore. Game Pass and the ABK acquisition were their hail Mary. At this point, they are just trying to survive.
 
It looks like they have basically paused the Xbox Series generation while they figure out what to do next in the console space. I do believe they are working in earnest to bring the next console to the market but I have no idea what that is going to look like. The billion dollar question is, do they? 🤷‍♂️
 
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