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[Negotiator101]

I dont think there's a chance now. Xbox as a brand is pretty much done.

I think they can release some good products such as decent controllers and hopefully the great games come thick and fast for everyone now they are third party.

I think Xbox will be brought into the main business more and just become a subscription and services arm of MS. Hopefully they do some good work and turn windows into an awesome OS for us gamers.

Xbox as a brand is certainly not anywhere near done. If you're actually referring to Xbox hardware then you may have a point but the Xbox brand is very much alive and kicking. Have you not heard the PR line "every screen is an Xbox"?

Problem is on Gaf is that most are pushing the agenda that Xbox is finished, without really understanding the difference between a brand Vs a hardware box. Microsoft are thinking far bigger than a console in the living room and have been for many years now.

 

[Mr.Bond]

No, Between Don's arrogant attitude and Phil's incompetence they managed to kill the brand and burn it to the ground.

What is the point of owning a console that won't have any exclusives and will not have any of Nintendo or Sony's IPs?


I am not an Xbox hater at all. I like their ecosystem and their hardware but I think that between the gamepass and their new "everything is an xbox" policy their hardware lost any reason to exist.


Maybe if they were to create an extremely powerful and heavily subsidized console to have an advantage over the PS6 they could have a chance, but I don't see that happening.


The Xbox as a console brand is dead.

 

[Nankatsu]

Nothing like starting Wednesday with a good laugh.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Not with Phil Spencer.

I believe the new model is a very good one, if reports are true. However, I am shocked that Phil Spencer is going to be allowed to direct it.

Usually when a company needs a strategic shift, they fire the people who dug them into the hole.

Phil Spencer had enough time and failed. Time to move on or this next venture will also fail.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Problem is on Gaf is that most are pushing the agenda that Xbox is finished, without really understanding the difference between a brand Vs a hardware box. Microsoft are thinking far bigger than a console in the living room and have been for many years now.

Xbox console sales have practically dried up.

Consumers are telling us with their wallets that Xbox is finished.

 

[Griffon]

Xbox can very easily come back in my good graces. They just need to do three things.

Make online play free.
Phase out gamepass, and sell games at reasonable prices.
Make a few good games worth owning hardware for.

See. That'd be very easy to do.
I don't really care about their hardware form factor, be it a PC hybrid or whatever the fuck they fancy, that's not the most important point.

 

[crackajack]

they would need to reverse their current third party ambitions, remove all games at least from PS, and delay release dates on PC and hope that everyone is by then loyal enough to finally switch platform or buy a second console. They should be able to pump out as many exclusives as Sony does and if the whole third party push was only to get enough people fixed on their IPs, it might actually work. It almost worked when they only had Halo, Gears, Forza and should have now a few interesting IPs more.
another big change kinda would even be their normal inconsistent behavior

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

As much as I like to laugh at Microsofts schizophrenic business strategy over the last years I don't think any company is better or worse then their latest product.

Do I actually believe either their branded hardware or upcoming software/OS changes will turn things around for them, nope. But I'll happily eat crows and support them if they nail it.

 

[Horseganador]

Xbox is withdrawing from some European markets, the console is losing sales and laying off people, and there's still someone holding out hope.

 

[Negotiator101]

Xbox console sales have practically dried up.

Consumers are telling us with their wallets that Xbox is finished.

You completely missed the point I was making, can't see the wood for the tree's.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

You completely missed the point I was making, can't see the wood for the tree's.

No I'm not

Microsoft have fought tooth and nail to bring back the glory days of the 360.

Their initial reasoning for purchasing Bethesda and Activision was to take Sony's place.

By the time Activision went through it was too late and Satya Nadella was no longer willing to fund the Xbox project.

This new "Xbox PC" is a quiet quitting of the console market.

 

[clarky]

Any game that wants to have those qualities, they are made intentionally in a specific way.

Imagine if Atomfall devs decided we want high metascore title that gets a few nominations at TGA. It would be a completely different and safe title.

Instead, they made something obscure thats guaranteed to have lower scores (remember Prey 2017?) and will likely be panned by a lot of players as well.

Surely every dev just sets out to make the best game they can.

We were talking about killer apps and system sellers, what would get Xbox back on top. Not some weird and wonderful titles that you and I like that sell 500k copies.

 

[Negotiator101]

No I'm not

Microsoft have fought tooth and nail to bring back the glory days of the 360.

Their initial reasoning for purchasing Bethesda and Activision was to take Sony's place.

By the time Activision went through it was too late and Satya Nadella was no longer willing to fund the Xbox project.

This new "Xbox PC" is a quiet quitting of the console market.

I'm not talking about the Xbox as a console, but as a recognisable brand globally. Whether you accept it or not it remains a powerful brand and that's why it continues. For many years I've been reading the same crap that Xbox is done, Gamepass is not sustainable, yet here we are with more Xbox hardware in development and 35m Gamepass subscribers.

Start thinking for yourself and actually see what Microsoft are doing, you don't keep investing in a dying brand especially not a massively successful company like Microsoft if they're not seeing growth potential, they would just close it down or sell it off.

 

[hinch7]

No. Their consoles and brand is essentially dead everywhere but maybe the US, even the UK has turned to PS and Nintendo only.

The only real choice for them now is go all in and improve Windows for gaming and focus on their strengths. Their console business has been nothing but a waste of time and money sink for them.

I'd even say drop the whole 'Xbox' as a brand on PC because tbh its tainted and rebrand as something new like MS Gaming or something.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Not with the same people in charge , no.

In my opinion they have made the brand mediocre , boring and predictable.

What was needed should have happened a while ago but it's too late.

I'd love them to turn it around, have a brilliant hardware and software consistent roll out with the best features on console but I don't see it with those people .

A lot of the media/youtubers/podcasters have been sell out shit bags to placate Spencer and his teams.

They are supposed to be fans ? Fuck off. No chance.

 

[Punished Miku]

Nothing to redeem really. I think they've been crushing it for a while now.

Sales aren't there though. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. Had a similar experience with the Dreamcast being one of my favorite systems ever, and the Wii U.

Luckily, they seem to be going way above and beyond to set up their existing customers to get pretty much everything they want in the future. Everyone else can buy their games on whatever their preferred system is.

 

[Fess]

Crash Bandicoot 4 was up on PC Gamepass tonight and I clicked on install, but I had to first install the Battle.net app. Agree to a bunch of stuff, then I could start downloading.

Yeah it was the same for me with Diablo IV. Didn't even show my playtime or had any achievements in the Xbox App. Complete failure as far as I'm concerned. One account, that's all that should be needed, for everything they do, every save, every achievement, every screenshot, all the playtime, one list of games.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

 

[SHAKEZ]

A box can't redeem stupid strategical decisions.

 

[Little Mac]

MS needs first party bangers ... It will always come down to quality games, and MS really hasn't been able to produce very many over the last several years despite buying up a significant chunk of the gaming development industry. I'm curious how many MS games have cracked 90% Meteoritic in the last 3 or 4 years? They also need some sort of exclusivity arrangement which seems to starkly go against their current trajectory. What's the point of owning an xbox if their games can be played on other devices that have their own, either exclusive or timed exclusive, titles?

So my answer is no, sadly. I say that with a heavy heart since I was an xbox diehard since the PS3 launch. But 2023 fucking broke me as an xbox fan and their executive decisions and poor software quality output (like Redfall) practically forced me to trade in my series console for a PS5.

 

[Catphish]

More like GamingDolt, amirite?

 

[Kacho]

Nah, it will be a niche enthusiast product like the Steam Deck is — a complimentary device that will appeal to people who want a convenient way to play their PC games on the living room TV.

While I expect interest/curiosity to be at an all-time high because it's so different from what we've had in the past, I'm not expecting lil Timmy to ask for one for Christmas.

 

[Zacfoldor]

They are beyond where good games or good hardware can help them. Their brand is in the gutter. Especially outside of US and Canada.

They will have to fight hard to subsist for at least a full gen, and will probably end up going fully 3rd party pretty soon.

Playing steam games might have given them an advantage if the PS5 and almost certainly Switch 2 didn't also play Xbox games but that ship has sailed.

Gamepass sub cheapness is their biggest competitive advantage and everyone who ever lost and failed out of the industry sold their products dirt cheap right before it happened. Everybody who ever went out of business was the "best deal" during their race to the bottom. Being the cheapest is a function of supply and demand. When there is no demand you have to incentivize. Gamepass isn't a genius move it's a desperate one. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes away one day. I can't imagine PC only gamers sustaining a sub like this exclusively. That is a lot of money per month you are asking from the PC crowd who mostly play F2P and non-slate releases.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Very high chances because of the incredibly bright future they apparently have.

 

[Baemono]

They are beyond where good games or good hardware can help them. Their brand is in the gutter. Especially outside of US and Canada.

They will have to fight hard to subsist for at least a full gen, and will probably end up going fully 3rd party pretty soon.

If they release a 97 Metacritic game exclusive to the console, I'll buy it.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

 

[Fess]

Nah, it will be a niche enthusiast product like the Steam Deck is — a complimentary device that will appeal to people who want a convenient way to play their PC games on the living room TV.

While I expect interest/curiosity to be at an all-time high because it's so different from what we've had in the past, I'm not expecting lil Timmy to ask for one for Christmas.

I can see it become a first step to transition into a PC gamer.

Similar to a docked Steam Deck but not so focused on Steam.

Steam Deck was how I decided to build a dedicated living room PC. I docked the old Steam Deck after getting the OLED and it was a major eye opener. Turned out PC gaming could be comfy couch gaming too!

Only real problem there was that it wasn't powerful enough and the Deck was also laser focused on Steam.

The Xbox might have similar power issues, won't be easy to brute force through optimization issues. But at least it'll be more open for other launchers.

 

[Plague Doctor]

If Xbox as a brand wasn't subsidized by the greater whole of Microsoft other profitable sectors, it would have died in the 2010s. Other companies in the same strata ish probably would have cut their losses by now.

It's propped up that some gamble will hit the lottery for a decade.

And history will repeat itself until MS changes.

Edit: I say this as a huge fan of Xbox in the 2000s where they had a shot to take the industry by storm and then the Xbox One happened.

 

[SegaSnatcher]

No, they will never reach the heights of the 360 era ever again. They are just basically going to the PC market now.