(Digital Foundry) At What Point Did Xbox Lose the Current-Gen Console War?
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vaibhavpisal
Member
They need to manufacture and supply more systems.
Thats about it.
Thats about it.
Futurematic
Member
They lost in 2013 with Kinect and used games.
They simply never recovered. Hence their desperate flailing attempts to find any way to win which instead only ruined the industry with Game Pass and Activision merger.
They simply never recovered. Hence their desperate flailing attempts to find any way to win which instead only ruined the industry with Game Pass and Activision merger.
Shambalakan
Member
I can't watch the video right now, but in my opinion, late 2023 was the final nail in Xbox's coffin and it made them going multiplatform.
There were many moments before that too, like all awful things happened with X1 before release (TV TV TV, Kinect, price, always online and...) and then releasing games day one on PC, and then things like Halo Infinite's gameplay reveal and... but they still had a little hope for 2023.
Starfield was supposed to be the next big thing, "The Elder Scrolls in space" and Forza Motorsport was supposed to be amazing after years of development, "built from the ground up". But both games were disappointing and not only didn't help to sell more Xbox consoles but in some regions, Xbox even sold fewer consoles than in September and October of 2022. And then we saw "only 4 games" on PlayStation and then more and more.
There were many moments before that too, like all awful things happened with X1 before release (TV TV TV, Kinect, price, always online and...) and then releasing games day one on PC, and then things like Halo Infinite's gameplay reveal and... but they still had a little hope for 2023.
Starfield was supposed to be the next big thing, "The Elder Scrolls in space" and Forza Motorsport was supposed to be amazing after years of development, "built from the ground up". But both games were disappointing and not only didn't help to sell more Xbox consoles but in some regions, Xbox even sold fewer consoles than in September and October of 2022. And then we saw "only 4 games" on PlayStation and then more and more.
demigod
Member
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Yep, the fail was so epic and the management so terrible that they never recover.
I still remember that amazing Sony "trade your games" video they banged out the night after watching Xbox fiasco. It was just a nail in the coffin.
And then Phil kept f-ng up the responses with GamePass Day 1 games being a dumb idea (that they can't drop now) and Activison buy was idiotic.
Basically they were and still are managed by "MBA crowd" which led to the usual MBA based consequences. I am sure McKinsey was there somewhere along the way!
semiconscious
Member
this. they needed to regain their audience, & their trust, &, despite all their 'innovation' & maneuvering, never really managed to do so...
//DEVIL//
Member
They lost the day they started releasing their games on PC day one.
They confirmed their loss with Halo infinite reveal.
Reconfirmed it again with with multiple years with no real big exclusives.
Then they digged their own grave when they increased the price of the box series X and their game pass ( Xbox series x 2tb is more expensive than PS5 pro 2tb ? what ? fucking idiots doesn't cut it )
Then they barried themselves when they increased the price of Game Pass.
It's game over for them really. Anyone who buys the next xbox must have something wrong in their head.
I don't even see the point of what they are doing. This is an Xbox brand ads is nothing but a joke that doesn't fly by anyone. Its almost as if they think people don't have internet and still watch TV ads to try and brainwash them with this stupid idea that is not even an idea. Not to mention their cloud service for this is an Xbox campaign is absolute dog shit. Geforce now stomps on it.
Company is a joke really.
They confirmed their loss with Halo infinite reveal.
Reconfirmed it again with with multiple years with no real big exclusives.
Then they digged their own grave when they increased the price of the box series X and their game pass ( Xbox series x 2tb is more expensive than PS5 pro 2tb ? what ? fucking idiots doesn't cut it )
Then they barried themselves when they increased the price of Game Pass.
It's game over for them really. Anyone who buys the next xbox must have something wrong in their head.
I don't even see the point of what they are doing. This is an Xbox brand ads is nothing but a joke that doesn't fly by anyone. Its almost as if they think people don't have internet and still watch TV ads to try and brainwash them with this stupid idea that is not even an idea. Not to mention their cloud service for this is an Xbox campaign is absolute dog shit. Geforce now stomps on it.
Company is a joke really.
Topher
Identifies as young
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kiphalfton
Member
I think they lost once Sony found it's bearings with PS3.
They've been a cancer on the gaming industry since then, leading shitty initiatives.
Can thank them for paid online, game streaming, online game rentals, increasing console prices, etc.
They are the devil.
They've been a cancer on the gaming industry since then, leading shitty initiatives.
Can thank them for paid online, game streaming, online game rentals, increasing console prices, etc.
They are the devil.
Topher
Identifies as young
Mister Wolf
Member
Halo Infinite not living up to the hype. The multiplayer needed to convince people to buy an Xbox Series X. It was a mistake to have Halo Infinite on the older gen consoles. It should have been utilizing the Series X to the fullest with RTGI and everything else.
Liopleurodon
Member
When they decided to have an Xbox One, instead of Xbox 360 2.
bitbydeath
Gold Member
Could even go back to RROD as it wasn't long after that debacle that they lost a lot of key people.
Sebastian1295
Member
As soon as they implemented gamepass they lost the console war. It simply was never going to be sustainable.
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T0minator
Member
Its been one thing after another for over a decade.
Xbox One reveal ruined their reputation
Game sales were already weak compared to PS4 and Gamepass hurt their own game sales even more.
Series consoles had zero new games exclusive to the brand enticing ppl over PS5 at launch
MS spent billions on studios and hurt their own game sales with GP
Forced to release all their games on competing hardware eliminating the need for their hardware.
Next up: releasing their next console with Steam will hurt Xbox's own storefront minimizing their own sales even more.
If Steam releases a less expensive console that'll be the final nail in the coffin
Xbox One reveal ruined their reputation
Game sales were already weak compared to PS4 and Gamepass hurt their own game sales even more.
Series consoles had zero new games exclusive to the brand enticing ppl over PS5 at launch
MS spent billions on studios and hurt their own game sales with GP
Forced to release all their games on competing hardware eliminating the need for their hardware.
Next up: releasing their next console with Steam will hurt Xbox's own storefront minimizing their own sales even more.
If Steam releases a less expensive console that'll be the final nail in the coffin
PlayStaytion
Member
I don't think it's just Xbox, we actually wanted a tight schedule of 1st party releases like every 2 to 3 years and that stopped after Halo 3, Crash Bandicoot 3, Uncharted 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears 3, God of War 3, Killzone 3, The Last of Us Part 2.
Crayon
Member
Might have been when they dressed up this guy spencer as a messiah and trotted him out to a desperate fanboy army that they grew through years of viral marketing. It worked too well and they ended up with a feedback loop of bullshit. Spencer should have been out at some point but he was so good for the pr they like for so long.
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Agreed. That was the start of the downfall.
People thought that Microsoft would make a dramatic comeback when they purchased Activision and Bethesda, stating it would be impossible for Sony to compete as Microsoft would some the biggest gaming franchises tied up as Xbox exclusive.
Phil Spencer thought Microsoft would dominate to such an extent that they would purchase either Valve or Nintendo next.
ZehDon
Member
Yeah, it was Halo Infinite. The Series X and S are pretty solid hardware and Microsoft clearly wanted to use Infinite as a showcase title. But, Bonnie Ross' 343i are simply beneath that kind of game. Go watch reaction streams for the Infinite gameplay Series X reveal. They're all the same. The moment people realised that this was what Halo Infinite was, they turn on it, and the Series X, instantly. "What's wrong with the graphics?", "Is this the Xbone version?", "Wait... they're actually serious? What the fuck?", "Is this all the Series X can do?". Any chance Microsoft had of a solid generation died during that reveal steam. The narrative was set: Series X disappoints when it matters most. And they never recovered the ball.
Skifi28
Member
You think people are not buying because there is no supply, but reality is there is no supply because people are not buying.
Durin
Member
They lost with the Xbox One DRM attempt, never seen the brand recover since then. Sony was also planning a similar approach with the PS4, so I don't look at them as some great angel, but they chose to go against it, and then wisely weaponized it with that ad to knee-cap their competition.
Halo Infinite I'd agree this gen hurt them because it wasn't a strong showcase of the hardware, and they fumbled the online multiplayer after a bit. If they wanted to do these buyouts, aside from managing the studios better, it takes years before big games get done so they were already into the gen for years losing marketshare.
Also, nothing about the Xbox besides game pass (raising prices hurt this), backwards compatibility (limited appeal) and play anywhere to play your same digital xbox games on PC separate it from the identical PS5 box running AMD hardware.
Halo Infinite I'd agree this gen hurt them because it wasn't a strong showcase of the hardware, and they fumbled the online multiplayer after a bit. If they wanted to do these buyouts, aside from managing the studios better, it takes years before big games get done so they were already into the gen for years losing marketshare.
Also, nothing about the Xbox besides game pass (raising prices hurt this), backwards compatibility (limited appeal) and play anywhere to play your same digital xbox games on PC separate it from the identical PS5 box running AMD hardware.
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Lord Malachite
Member
Xbox lost the console war with RROD on 360.
During the 7th generation, Xbox had made major inroads with the 360. They had their boot on Sony's neck since Sony had majorly botched the PS3 reveal and launch. Blood was in the water. But in their desperation to beat Sony to market on the 7th generation, they rushed the 360's development, cut far too many corners, and unleashed a highly defective product on the public with the highest failure rate in console history.
Just as Xbox could've been preparing to land finishing blows on Sony, they were forced to let up and go put out the fire that was RROD, dumping $1.1 billion into it. Money that could have gone to locking down a lot more marketing and exclusives. Meanwhile, Sony saw their chance and spent the money to secure more deals, to make the PS3 more cost-effective and slash it's price, and they had Naughty Dog teach the rest of the industry how to properly program games for the PS3 so they wouldn't suck.
As Sony began releasing big, heavy hitters for the PS3, in the middle of the geneation, Xbox rested on its laurels after 2010 and Halo: Reach devoting most of their efforts to Kinect. Sony continued to push out huge first party exclusives that defined the generation in the later years of the generation, and then Sony knocked it out of the park with the PS4 reveal, whereas the XB1 reveal was something that Xbox to this day still has never recovered from and never will.
It was the moment of the XB1 reveal that Xbox lost the trust of gamers and they've been flailing ever since to get it back. they made some progress on this front with efforts like backwards compatibility and the initial affordability of Gamepass. But those days are both long gone.
Xbox is a spent force with little left of it that isn't acquired from ABK or Zenimax. There is nothing that can make them recover as a platform holder. They can pretend they are still a platform all they like, but the entire industry recognizes that they are a third party publisher now.
During the 7th generation, Xbox had made major inroads with the 360. They had their boot on Sony's neck since Sony had majorly botched the PS3 reveal and launch. Blood was in the water. But in their desperation to beat Sony to market on the 7th generation, they rushed the 360's development, cut far too many corners, and unleashed a highly defective product on the public with the highest failure rate in console history.
Just as Xbox could've been preparing to land finishing blows on Sony, they were forced to let up and go put out the fire that was RROD, dumping $1.1 billion into it. Money that could have gone to locking down a lot more marketing and exclusives. Meanwhile, Sony saw their chance and spent the money to secure more deals, to make the PS3 more cost-effective and slash it's price, and they had Naughty Dog teach the rest of the industry how to properly program games for the PS3 so they wouldn't suck.
As Sony began releasing big, heavy hitters for the PS3, in the middle of the geneation, Xbox rested on its laurels after 2010 and Halo: Reach devoting most of their efforts to Kinect. Sony continued to push out huge first party exclusives that defined the generation in the later years of the generation, and then Sony knocked it out of the park with the PS4 reveal, whereas the XB1 reveal was something that Xbox to this day still has never recovered from and never will.
It was the moment of the XB1 reveal that Xbox lost the trust of gamers and they've been flailing ever since to get it back. they made some progress on this front with efforts like backwards compatibility and the initial affordability of Gamepass. But those days are both long gone.
Xbox is a spent force with little left of it that isn't acquired from ABK or Zenimax. There is nothing that can make them recover as a platform holder. They can pretend they are still a platform all they like, but the entire industry recognizes that they are a third party publisher now.
8BiTw0LF
Consoomer
Mobilemofo
Member
After the 360 debacle, things were on the slide after that ..the occasional peak, followed by more decline.
kazuyamishima
Member
2010 when they started prioritising Kinect.
Heimdall_Xtreme
Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
The red lights of death.
I lost faith in Xbox forever.
I lost faith in Xbox forever.
Banjo64
cumsessed
When they pivoted from their own cultivated dude bro image and focussed on family/Kinnect in the second half of the 360 gen. They forfeited their soul.
Despite everything, if Xbox's culture was still everyone having headsets on and insulting each other like men, I'd still own one today and would advocate for it more than a Sony console.
Despite everything, if Xbox's culture was still everyone having headsets on and insulting each other like men, I'd still own one today and would advocate for it more than a Sony console.
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DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Xbox one unveil was the major thing. That destroyed most of the confidence the general public had in the brand.
vodka-bull
Member
Riiiiiight there:
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
In the US, several factors may have played a role.
In Europe, Xbox lost as soon as a new PlayStation launched with a price that didn't require the buyer to have a second job. Ie, in 2013.
In Europe, Xbox lost as soon as a new PlayStation launched with a price that didn't require the buyer to have a second job. Ie, in 2013.
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Physiognomonics
Member
They lost it when they changed X360 strategy to TV, TV, TV + Kinect with XB1.
Gamers who bought a X360 to play Halo, Exclusive Oblivion at launch or third parties games performing better than on PS3 weren't interested into a much weaker hardware (720p then 900p vs 1080p was a big deal back then), kinect games and watching TV on their console.
Those people wanted a PS4 like 1080p console so they bought it instead of XB1.
Gamers who bought a X360 to play Halo, Exclusive Oblivion at launch or third parties games performing better than on PS3 weren't interested into a much weaker hardware (720p then 900p vs 1080p was a big deal back then), kinect games and watching TV on their console.
Those people wanted a PS4 like 1080p console so they bought it instead of XB1.
BigLee74
Member
Nah. Whether or not Gamepass in its original incarnation was sustainable or not had no bearing on them losing.
Gamepass should have been a great draw, and as long as it was of great value to the consumer, who cares what MS had to suck up?
They simply didn't get the subscribers needed because they had already lost the important battle the generation before. The generation where digital libraries really took off. Nobody wants to leave that library behind, and folk effectively became locked in to whatever ecosystem they had chosen then.
The expensive, ugly and less capable Xbox One is where they ultimately blew it. That is where a lot of X360 moved over to the PS4. Could end up being a mortal wound.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
People put too much weight on that episode. Sure, it was tremendously impactful to core gamers, but the general public barely registered it.
The thing is, Xbox always prided itself on being about power. This worked pretty well as long as PC was still a bit of esoterica for most gamers, and the PS3 was too expensive and struggling with multiplats.
But in the PS4/X1 era, PC was a mature platform that was also getting console games, and the economy allowed people to build a good gaming PC without breaking the bank. At that point, a PC was a better proposition for gamers wanting the best performance. Meanwhile, Sony had eaten a slice or two of humble pie and was back with good prices and excellent exclusives, while Xbox cheaped out on performance and bet everything on digital and non-gaming stuff. That is the thing they never recovered from. Not the used games charade.