If you run XBOX division, what strategy would you pursue?

If you run XBOX division, what strategy would you pursue?

  • Share Bethesda/Activision IPs with Sony and Nintendo to get as much revenue as possible

    Votes: 60 51.7%

  • Keep Bethesda/Activision IPs exclusive, make less revenue, but build stronger XBOX brand over time

    Votes: 56 48.3%
  • Total voters
    116
Kotaro

Kotaro

Member
XBOX got great first party IPs after their Bethesda and Activision acquisitions.

XBOX line-up easily trounce Sony's first party line-up, they're on par with Nintendo's. I don't understand why they can't do what Nintendo is doing, keep their IPs exclusive to their platform, build stronger XBOX brand over time.
 
Kotaro said:
XBOX got great first party IPs after their Bethesda and Activision acquisitions.

XBOX line-up easily trounce Sony's first party line-up, they're on par with Nintendo's. I don't understand why they can't do what Nintendo is doing, keep their IPs exclusive to their platform, build stronger XBOX brand over time.
Click to expand...

Because "over time" isn't what stockholders want. They want returns now.

And Microsoft ain't Nintendo. lol
 
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Make good games. Develop unique franchises.

Release on PS a few years later keeps Xbox exclusivity intact enough.

By that time, most games drop down $30 or less. Meanwhile you can charge $70 on PS.

Can always hold back a (few) really big hits.
 
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The Xbox brand was never loved by the masses. X360 was largely successful due to PS3's mishaps. Xbox was destined to fail.

More so, Microsoft never really wanted to enter the hardware business. The sole purpose of Xbox was to prevent Sony from becoming a dominant chip manufacturer, and they've succeeded in that goal, thus there's no need to be in the hardware business anymore. They're returning to their core business model, which is software.

Microsoft becoming one of the world's largest gaming publisher is a smart business decision.
Xbox is dead. Even the name "Xbox" will eventually be scrapped. It will become just Microsoft.
 
They aren't allowed to do exclusives, at least not COD which is the one that could force people into their ecosystem.

So just share it all, be everywhere, and rake in the money from tapping into PlayStation's 80m and Switch's 150m userbase.
 
tr1p1ex said:
Make good games. Develop unique franchises.

Release on PS a few years later keeps Xbox exclusivity intact enough.

By that time, most games drop down $30 or less. Meanwhile you can charge $70 on PS.

Can always hold back a really big hits.
Click to expand...
Probably the smartest strategy, and it definitely starts with "make good games".
 
Now, or 5 years ago?

At this point the best bet is just go 3P publisher and put everything out on PC and PS5.

5+ years ago? Differentiate hardware more, replace Series S with a portable that doesn't demand feature parity. Keep everything exclusive that you can. Revamp Game Pass to be more of a "classics" collection and 1P releases after being out for a year.
 
Spin off Xbox/Microsoft Gaming to a separate entity ABKZ
Then set Bobby Kotick :messenger_weary::messenger_ok: to lead it.

Fire the three stooges; Phil Spencer, Matt Booty and Sarah Bond in worst possible way and lock them out of Redmond.

XBox and GamePass would be first to be killed off.
 
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Share my games with everyone and create a console/PC hybrid that can buy games from any store. I would offer two initial versions. Xbox Standard and Xbox Elite would be their names. Portable version called Xbox Mini would release down the line. Their streamlined version of Windows would not be available anywhere else.
 
Stop all work on big budget games, instead focus on small 5-6 hours games and lots of them. Built on the same engine and each with a different gameplay schtick that is used until it has run its course.

Separate teams into art-copy-dev-game design, and have them lead larger support teams that specialize in their respective fields.

start releasing them every two weeks, once you have enough ready.
 
Mister Wolf said:
Share my games with everyone and create a console/PC hybrid that can buy games from any store. I would offer two initial versions. Xbox Standard and Xbox Elite would be their names. Portable version called Xbox Mini would release down the line. Their streamlined version of Windows would not be available anywhere else.
Click to expand...
Tfd109 GIF by Tacoma FD
 
Kotaro said:
And the reason Nintendo is Nintendo, because of that, they build their brand over time, making their games strictly exclusive to their platform, that's how you build brand and value of your product
Click to expand...

It would have to start with a massive change to Microsoft's culture. I don't see it happening.
 
3rd party.

Whoever thinks exclusivity for MS is viable in any way is a moron.

But tbh, I'd rather run MS and shut down Xbox asap.
 
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Everything possible to exclusive. Drop gamepass day and date to something like 25% discount til the game comes to gamepass, 1 month later. Either sell some xboxs on the back of exclusives or get out.

Gamepass is great but its still good with more limits.
 
Id make them all exclusive. Build my own brand. Eventually you'll win.

But in reality.. I'd never buy them in the first place. I could think of 69 billion ways that money would be better spent.
 
Folks need to keep in mind that Microsoft can't make COD exclusive for another 8 years or so. They made a bunch of concessions to get the ABK acquisition done. If they tried with the rest then the PR backlash would be massive.
 
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There's been too much damage to the brand to save Xbox as a whole. No one wants their HW anymore. Especially with their titles coming out to PC Day 1 and other consoles. Even with the acquisitions they have made, Xbox is piss poor at handling their existing studios, so the new ones aren't fairing much better.

Honestly, the best bet would be to just completely strip the bandage off and go full 3rd party. Get new management that can actually competently oversee their remaining studios.
 
Keep doing what they're doing, Turn Xbox into a console form factor Windows 11-12 in Console makeup.
Every machine sold, even if it's a third party device is a win for MS.
 
Launch a console that brings something to the table, with exclusive games on it, and if possible a GOTY right away, to an affordable price, to grow fanbase
 
Jimmy_liv said:
No, the question is..

"If you run XBOX division, what strategy would you pursue? "
Click to expand...

That's the poll question. I was replying to his post.

"I don't understand why they can't do what Nintendo is doing, keep their IPs exclusive to their platform, build stronger XBOX brand over time."
 
I'd say build Xbox, but it's probably too late. I can't imagine anything at this point that could save it. There is zero trust. Kind of like Sega releasing and quickly abandoning the Sega CD, 32X, Saturn and Dreamcast in quick succession.
 
Change leadership, fire Phil

Having exclusives is too late for Xbox now, that strategy won't work anymore for them. Its Gamepass or total failure for them
 
Sooner said:
I'd say build Xbox, but it's probably too late. I can't imagine anything at this point that could save it. There is zero trust. Kind of like Sega releasing and quickly abandoning the Sega CD, 32X, Saturn and Dreamcast in quick succession.
Click to expand...
Agree with this. No trust. It would take 20 plus years of consistent messaging to repair the damage and xbox prolly has around 5 years at absolute best.
The writing is well and truly on the wall.
 
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I would build the Xbox/Microsoft Store up as the best store to buy games in. Get more up and coming promising indies and Asian games that have certain appeal and do special sales for Game Pass members. Publicise these sales like Steam does with their seasonal sales. The point being, condition Xbox users to buy many games and a variety of games.
 
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You'll follow the strategy that will make you the most amount of money, even if it means a short-term loss.

Economics 101.

  • This is why Sony put the Blu-Ray drive into the PS3
  • This is why Bill Gates approved the Xbox, to allow it to become a platform for which Microsoft could eventually enter and dominate the consumer media and TV (cough*Xbox One*)
  • This is why Xbox forced the Kinect to accelerate its adoption, and become part of their TV and media strategy
  • This is why all three charge to play online even though it is individual developers who host the servers
  • This is why Sony spent billions to pursue live service revenue streams at the expense of single-player games
  • This is why Microsoft spent tens of billions to outright buy revenue streams

All of this comes at the expense of the core gamer, but it is the minimum of what investors expect in order to allow these platforms to exist.
 
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Those 100 billion that Phil Spencer, the Clown, spent on two purchases should have supported investments and maintenance of the Xbox, with organic growth, for 10 years and then the Xbox would have a chance to compete with the PlayStation.

MS spent, with Phil's celebration, 100 billion on the Xbox and was already expecting to recover part of that money as soon as the purchase was announced, like... MS and Phil expected that as soon as they announced the purchase of Bethesda, everyone who had a PlayStation and played Fallout would switch to the Xbox. The same when they announced the purchase of Activison, that in the first month everyone who played COD on the PlayStation would switch to the Xbox... Since that didn't happen, you have to be stupid to think that, the Xbox had to end and become a third party.

Because they clearly bought it to make all the games exclusive and bankrupt the PlayStation, but they expected that this would happen quickly and it wasn't and it wouldn't be.

I had to be quick to convince Nadella and the CFO to keep the division subsidized for at least another 5 years, keeping the games exclusive to Xbox.
 
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Topher said:
Folks need to keep in mind that Microsoft can't make COD exclusive for another 8 years or so. They made a bunch of concessions to get the ABK acquisition done. If they tried with the rest then the PR backlash would be massive.
Click to expand...
There's a real risk people wouldn't switch, and that COD would die as a result.

Det said:
Those 100 billion that Phil Spencer, the Clown, spent on two purchases should have supported investments and maintenance of the Xbox, with organic growth, for 10 years and then the Xbox would have a chance to compete with the PlayStation.

MS spent, with Phil's celebration, 100 billion on the Xbox and was already expecting to recover part of that money as soon as the purchase was announced, like... MS and Phil expected that as soon as they announced the purchase of Bethesda, everyone who had a PlayStation and played Fallout would switch to the Xbox. The same when they announced the purchase of Activison, that in the first month everyone who played COD on the PlayStation would switch to the Xbox... Since that didn't happen, you have to be stupid to think that, the Xbox had to end and become a third party.

Because they clearly bought it to make all the games exclusive and bankrupt the PlayStation, but they expected that this would happen quickly and it wasn't and it wouldn't be.

I had to be quick to convince Nadella and the CFO to keep the division subsidized for at least another 5 years, keeping the games exclusive to Xbox.
Click to expand...

Did you support the acquisition when it was first suggested?

g_wPOq.gif
 
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MS spent too much they would have to stay 3rd party on those. This isn't a small write down they could absorb easy.

It's too late, they made their bed.
 
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Brakum said:
50$ games. Guaranteed they would make more money at 50$ than at 80$.
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That's actually clever. I almost never buy full priced games, it's extremely rare. But around $50? Yeah, definitely more common! And at $30 I just put them on the backlog pile without much thinking at all.
 
Option C - sell off IPs and Studios to highest bidders and jump out with a Golden Parachute, flicking off Satya, MS finance guys and especially Phil! 😉
 
I would split the company in two:

- Microsoft Gaming, with ABK, Minecraft and maybe Sea of Thieves, releasing their games everywhere.
- Xbox, with Bethesda and all others studios, releasing games only on Xbox.
 
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