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[BlackTron]

Revenue is irrelevant, only profits matter.

It's true that profits are the final answer to "are we making money" but to be fair they both matter. You can be in debt and have negative profits and still be operating, because you have revenue..."cashflow is king"

 

[XXL]

Activision will now bring in $X amount a year, quicker than the interest their cash reserves of that $80 billion was bringing in.

In theory, buying Activision, with its popular titles across Xbox, PlayStation, PCs and phones, helps Microsoft on all these fronts. But if Bond is going to pull off this transformation, she's going to have to navigate her division through some pain first. Microsoft has already cut more than 2,650 games jobs this year, with a quarter of the cuts announced in mid-September. These are part of industrywide job losses totaling 11,500. Its gaming unit is operating under a challenging set of revenue and profit goals, according to people familiar with Xbox's business, who declined to be named while discussing private financial matters.

Xbox’s President on Handheld Devices and Subscription Gaming

A relative outsider, Sarah Bond is leading a high-stakes transformation of a company that’s lagging behind Sony and Nintendo.

www.bloomberg.com

Consoles make fuck all in revenue it’s all about the software and DLC, Microsoft know that so selling 1/4 the consoles of Nintendo they make more still from their gaming division.

Xbox fans don't buy games though. Game Pass trained their base to not buy games, which is why their games are being announced for Playstation. They even moved the released date of Indiana Jones forward.

So yes Op, you’re not missing anything and they’re doing completely fine they’ll never match Sony for consoles sold it doesn’t matter.

Grow a pair and go say all this shit to Colin on the next Sacred Symbols. Because when he brings this up, you literally go silent.

Then you want to come here and call us cunts.....Get the fuck out of here with that shit.

 

[twilo99]

A whole generation of gamers have grown up playing it.

How much is that worth?

How much is Mario worth today?

Right, it seems like it’s one of them appreciating assets..

 

[ByWatterson]

The revenue is up due to the purchase of Activision automatically giving them more business. Profit is way down as a result though.

Next year there won’t be a revenue bump unless they ancquire another publisher, revenue may actually drop.

This post made me realize for the first time that Xbox under Phil is a ponzi scheme.

 

[ByWatterson]

Grow a pair and go say all this shit to Colin on the next Sacred Symbols. Because when he brings this up, you literally go silent.

I don't think it's the same guy?

 

[StueyDuck]

as many have already pointed out, revenue =/= profit

 

[XXL]

Mattyp comes across as a nice guy on his youtube channel. Gets on GAF and he becomes incredibly condescending at times. He isn't wrong here at all, but still....disappointing.

He is wrong. Nothing is going well at Xbox. They are on their way to becoming a 3rd party developer or are going to radically change the way their platform operates at the very least.

They removed Day 1 games from Game Pass standard, they're shutting down studios, canceled their ambassador program, have a limited marketing budget, are bringing their games to other consoles, 3rd party support is drying up and even some of their hardcore base is leaving the platform.

This all happened in less than a year.

The reason he comes here to vent is because he doesn't have the courage to discuss this with Colin on air.

 

[XXL]

I don't think it's the same guy?

It is.

 

[XXL]

They have 34M gamepass subscribers at last count.

That would be a highpoint.

Not everyone is subscribed all year.

In fact most people I know (myself included) sub for one month, unsub and repeat when big releases come out.

This is the main issue with all subscription services.

 

[ByWatterson]

It is.

Then why does he spell color as "colour" and say that the PS3 was "$1000 here" in other posts?

Dude seems like he's in Australia. Thought MrMattyPlays lived in New York.

 

[Topher]

He is wrong. Nothing is going well at Xbox. They are on their way to becoming a 3rd party developer or are going to radically change the way their platform operates at the very least.

They removed Day 1 games from Game Pass standard, they're shutting down studios, canceled their ambassador program, have a limited marketing budget, are bringing their games to other consoles, 3rd party support is drying up and even some of their hardcore base is leaving the platform.

This all happened in less than a year.

The reason he comes here to vent is because he doesn't have the courage to discuss this with Colin on air.

I don't disagree with what you are saying, but I'm saying he isn't wrong when he says that purchasing ABK was simply a change in the balance sheet.

 

[XXL]

I don't disagree with what you are saying, but I'm saying he isn't wrong when he says that purchasing ABK was simply a change in the balance sheet.

I agree with that, it's an investment.

If the investment turns or not is to be seen.

From Sarah Bonds interview it doesn't sounds like it's all rainbows and sunshine so far and they 100% overpaid for it.

Also the path to making back that investment with the least amount of resistance is on every platform aside from their own.

 

[jroc74]

So there are ppl on forums that didnt know about the ABK acquisition.

Interesting.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

So there are ppl on forums that didnt know about the ABK acquisition.

Interesting.

I doubt most people who play games know about it.

CoD and everything is still coming out on PS4/5, they won’t notice any difference.

 

[Bernardougf]

I agree with that, it's an investment.

If the investment turns or not is to be seen.

From Sarah Bonds interview it doesn't sounds like it's all rainbows and sunshine so far and they 100% overpaid for it.

Also the path to making back that investment with the least amount of resistance is on every platform aside from their own.

Yes but Im pretty certain that the ABK deal was made to make the ultimate hail mary to push gamepass/xbox and the unexpected pushback and forced deals for COD made them heavily course correct, it was going to be exactly like bethesda and then the UK regulators hard balled them (as much as they could at least). The us regulatory judment and leaked emails didn't help either. All in all I dont think they going third party was the goal but a consequence of multiple factors. But it is what it is.

 

[RoboFu]

The funny thing is that it would still be easy for them to turn it around , but they have put too much money into the BS that's holding them back that they will never let it go. They shouldn't be firing developers they should be firing all the toxic consultants and market analyst.

 

[MisterXDTV]

They have 34M gamepass subscribers at last count.

They changed the name from LIVE Gold to GamePass Core to reach 34M

LOL

 

[XXL]

Yes but Im pretty certain that the ABK deal was made to make the ultimate hail mary to push gamepass/xbox and the unexpected pushback and forced deals for COD made them heavily course correct, it was going to be exactly like bethesda and then the UK regulators hard balled them (as much as they could at least). The us regulatory judment and leaked emails didn't help either. All in all I dont think they going third party was the goal but a consequence of multiple factors. But it is what it is.

It's possible. I'm not sure exactly what triggered this. But it's very clear that things changed.

Their sales also fell of a cliff in the last year, that could have had something to do with it.

The fact they're having trouble selling the Xbox Series S (in this economy), while also giving away games for "free" and are 99% going to sell less than the Xbox One after all these acquisitions is extremely concerning.

I think it's multiple factors that has contributed to their current pivot.

 

[GoldenEye98]

It's possible. I'm not sure exactly what triggered this. But it's very clear that things changed.

Their sales also fell of a cliff in the last year, that could have had something to do with it.

The fact they're having trouble selling the Xbox Series S (in this economy), while also giving away games for "free" and are 99% going to sell less than the Xbox One after all these acquisitions is extremely concerning.

I think it's multiple factors that has contributed to their current pivot.

FUD

 

[wolffy66]

500 billion in revenue doesn't mean much if you spent 600 billion to get it.

The problem is that statement is simply not true even if it represented what happened.

Imagine I sold you a house for 600k, you rented it out for 500k for the year.

Now even if you overpaid 100k for the house, you still have the 500k asset + 500k rent income.

 

[wolffy66]

This post made me realize for the first time that Xbox under Phil is a ponzi scheme.

Now you just have to figure out what ponzi scheme means lol

 

[ByWatterson]

Now you just have to figure out what ponzi scheme means lol

You're so darling.

Xbox continues to make money-pit investments like Gamepass and Activision to paper over the fact that they increasingly don't make profit. They spend more than they have to convince people that they're making more than they are.

Continual acquisition of cash flow to cover up perpetual and unsustainable loss. Ponzi scheme.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

It's possible. I'm not sure exactly what triggered this. But it's very clear that things changed.

Their sales also fell of a cliff in the last year, that could have had something to do with it.

The fact they're having trouble selling the Xbox Series S (in this economy), while also giving away games for "free" and are 99% going to sell less than the Xbox One after all these acquisitions is extremely concerning.

I think it's multiple factors that has contributed to their current pivot.

My best guess is the acquisition didn’t give Xbox or Gamepass the huge boost they expected and Nadella just said enough is enough.

 

[Woopah]

The revenue is up due to the purchase of Activision automatically giving them more business. Profit is way down as a result though.

Next year there won’t be a revenue bump unless they ancquire another publisher, revenue may actually drop.

You're so darling.

Xbox continues to make money-pit investments like Gamepass and Activision to paper over the fact that they increasingly don't make profit. They spend more than they have to convince people that they're making more than they are.

Continual acquisition of cash flow to cover up perpetual and unsustainable loss. Ponzi scheme.

How do you know what the profit of Xbox is?

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

The revenue is up due to the purchase of Activision automatically giving them more business. Profit is way down as a result though.

Next year there won’t be a revenue bump unless they ancquire another publisher, revenue may actually drop.

Genuinely curious, where are the profit numbers you’re referencing?

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Xbox revenue is increasing because they bought ActivisionBlizzard for $68.7 billion and now can add CoD/WoW revenues to their tally.

This. A typical corporate trick together with buying back shares.

 

[JayK47]

Pretty sure they make most of their money off software, not hardware. So they are doing just fine as this forum busts a nut over Sony daily.

 

[th4tguy]

There is only so many decisions you can make to drive short term quarterly growth before everything collapses in.
MS needs to be focused on long term growth and not immediate cuts that drive quick returns but hurts them in the long term

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

you're missing the costs my guy

 

[ByWatterson]

How do you know what the profit of Xbox is?

It's less than good because they never tell us what it is.

 

[K' Dash]

revenue is not net profit.

Sony can tell you all about that subject

 

[RetroGamingUK]

It's less than good because they never tell us what it is.

They stopped giving console sales numbers as soon as they started going badly.

They stopped giving Gamepass numbers as soon as the growth stopped.

 

[Astray]

The funny thing is that it would still be easy for them to turn it around , but they have put too much money into the BS that's holding them back that they will never let it go. They shouldn't be firing developers they should be firing all the toxic consultants and market analyst.

It's anything but easy.

They're basically doing a full-business pivot at this point.

[/USER] Mattyp comes across as a nice guy on his youtube channel. Gets on GAF and he becomes incredibly condescending at times. He isn't wrong here at all, but still....disappointing.

I understand Mattyp 's frustration at having to interact with people who don't understand the nature of acquisitions like this , he's a content creator and probably interacts with hundreds of comments a day as his daily job.

But at the same time he's forgetting that:

A) Asset values can go up AND down. Ignoring the idea that your asset can decline in value can lead to faulty analysis and results. If Microsoft mismanages its subsidiaries, then it's very easy to see their values decline, just look at Disney and ask about the value of Marvel Entertainment today vs its value right after Endgame came out and smashed records.

B) Console sales aren't the be-all end-all anymore, but an Xbox business that doesn't sell hardware units or expand the captured userbase risks becoming a vestigial part of Microsoft Gaming, especially when things like COD or Minecraft don't really *need* an Xbox or Gamepass to continue existing in order to bring in $$$ for the mothership.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

To lazy to compare data, but Xbox financials will jump big since Activision data is now combined.

But if Xbox financials are still going up excluding Activision, that's odd since legacy Xbox is trending down.

 

[nowhat]

They stopped giving console sales numbers as soon as they started going badly.

They gave console sales up to when One was basically almost tied with PS4. About a year into the previous gen, 2014 or thereabouts. Never since. Funny, that.

 

[XXL]

They stopped giving console sales numbers as soon as they started going badly.

They stopped giving Gamepass numbers as soon as the growth stopped.

Exactly. When they're doing well, they never stfu about it.

Phil Spencer (and Aaron) has been silent for almost a year now.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

this is what the influencer and shill culture has done the the gaming discourse.

 

[Topher]

So much FUD https://www.statista.com/statistics/1276183/xbox-game-pass-subscriber-count-global/

Phil Spencer says Game Pass now has 34m "fully paid" subscribers

Microsoft has shared updated Game Pass membership figures for the first time since January 2022, saying the on-demand g…

www.eurogamer.net

That includes all the Xbox Live Gold subscribers that were merged into Game Pass. The Game Pass game subscription service was never reported above 25 million subscribers.

 

[wolffy66]

You're so darling.

Xbox continues to make money-pit investments like Gamepass and Activision to paper over the fact that they increasingly don't make profit. They spend more than they have to convince people that they're making more than they are.

Continual acquisition of cash flow to cover up perpetual and unsustainable loss. Ponzi scheme.

Like I said, learn what it means

 

[pasterpl]

That includes all the Xbox Live Gold subscribers that were merged into Game Pass. The Game Pass game subscription service was never reported above 25 million subscribers.

From the article;

…. service now has 34m "fully paid" subscribers, with "significant growth" coming from PC and cloud.

 

[reinking]

Once they acquire Sony, both the revenue and profit streams will align, don't worry folks

They have to buy Sega first. Next Wednesday?

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

I understand Mattyp 's frustration at having to interact with people who don't understand the nature of acquisitions like this , he's a content creator and probably interacts with hundreds of comments a day as his daily job.

Oh shit, I didn't know that was Warren Buffett's alt account, must be frustrating as hell to talk to the riff raff about a topic he so clearly knows much more than us

 

[Topher]

From the article;

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[Astray]

Oh shit, I didn't know that was Warren Buffett's alt account, must be frustrating as hell to talk to the riff raff about a topic he so clearly knows much more than us

lol I'm trying to be nice to the guy.

(The takes about how Xbox is down an 80bn hole are incorrect tho, the truth is more nuanced than that)

 

[Griffon]

Well of course you would hope revenue is up, Activision makes much more money than Xbox.

 

[XXL]

A) Asset values can go up AND down. Ignoring the idea that your asset can decline in value can lead to faulty analysis and results. If Microsoft mismanages its subsidiaries, then it's very easy to see their values decline, just look at Disney and ask about the value of Marvel Entertainment today vs its value right after Endgame came out and smashed records.

B) Console sales aren't the be-all end-all anymore, but an Xbox business that doesn't sell hardware units or expand the captured userbase risks becoming a vestigial part of Microsoft Gaming, especially when things like COD or Minecraft don't really *need* an Xbox or Gamepass to continue existing in order to bring in $$$ for the mothership.

They will most likely thrive as a 3rd party publisher, as a console maker not so much. Its by far the least important part of the pie. Which is why they're doing what they're doing in my opinion.

It's why the announced the PS5 version of Indiana Jones months before the Xbox version even launched, that's pretty much unheard of.

In my opinion, them pursuing being a console manufacturer is the riskiest part of their business. Why go throught all of that? They can have less R&D costs and development cost with higher (more stable) overall margins by just providing software to PlayStation, Nintendo and PC. Instead of chasing the dream of growing a platform with a built in userbase of (maybe) 35-40M.

You instantly have access to approximately 200M guaranteed generational users (that buy games and don't expect things for free) on PlayStation and Nintendo alone (and thats not even counting Steam users).

It just doesn't make any sense. They have been trying to defeat these giants and have had little to no success doing so for 20+ years and in fact are going backwards.

 

[reinking]

He is wrong. Nothing is going well at Xbox. They are on their way to becoming a 3rd party developer or are going to radically change the way their platform operates at the very least.

I agree with this. I would say nothing is going well aligning with their original plans (console dominance, take over the living room etc) but is going very well if they shift to being a third-party publisher. They have accumulated a lot of properties and will have a significant impact on the industry.

 

[RoboFu]

Revenue is irrelevant, only profits matter.

If I was petty I'd go look up all those " revenue " Sony monthly charts and threads. But I'm too old to be petty like that. I'd rather take a nap lol

 

[I'm nobody]

Ignore my post wrong topic