Is the Xbox PC thing going to work out?

Gamezone

Gamezone

Gold Member
I mean, even with 100% revenue, Epic is struggling with getting publishers to release their games on EGS. Usually they skip it and release their games on Steam, unless Epic offers them bribe money.

So where does this leave Xbox PC?
 
There is no such thing as Xbox PC. Only PC.

Personally I hate MS for trying to piggyback on PC gaming. The new ROG Ally is just another PC handheld with fierce competition, it won't outsell the Steam Deck.

One thing is evident though: All roads lead to PC gaming.
 
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It's not going to work. The benefit of Play Anywhere is if you own an Xbox. I own an Xbox, but prefer to buy games on steam as I have over 200 games there and I can get them inexpensively.
 
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Most games don't release on the PC store so they're already at a huge disadvantage. No one in their right mind will purchase games there. Epic has a much better selection and even they can't make a dent.
 
Once you allows Steam and Epic on your platform, you won't be making much money from Software on your own store. At the same time, non-subsidized hardware will be too expensive to sell massive volumes and make money from that. I've said it before, but in my opinion it's just a way to transition their console gamepass subs to PC without losing them to Nintendo or Playstation. If that goal is achieved, it's a success. I just don't expect the platform to make any money on its own, it's more of a trojan horse.
 
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it will be the end of PC gaming , pc will be assimilated with XBOX
resistance is futile

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No it's not going to work. The fact that Xbox is putting games on PlayStation was the nail in the coffin in terms of hardware. I don't expect them to do well in the handheld space since there's already PC handhelds in that space. Microsoft is decades too late in dominating the pc gaming landscape.

The should have been had a pc gaming store front since windows 98 if the were that serious.
 
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Whatever software allegedly makes this so special, why gate it behind a ROG Ally? You can't just use it to make Windows better? Or is that coming like two days later?
 
Gamezone said:
I mean, even with 100% revenue, Epic is struggling with getting publishers to release their games on EGS. Usually they skip it and release their games on Steam, unless Epic offers them bribe money.

So where does this leave Xbox PC?
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  • Offer unique services Steam can't match (e.g. streaming, Play Anywhere)
  • Have cheaper prices while at the same time make key sellers a reality to compete with Steam
  • Take a smaller percentage on copies sold like EGS
  • Make your UI/App more performant, comfortable to use, customer friendly
  • ...
Can they do it? Even if they do everything right, I'd assume it'll take them many years until you see meaningful shifts in user bases.
 
BlackTron said:
Whatever software allegedly makes this so special, why gate it behind a ROG Ally? You can't just use it to make Windows better? Or is that coming like two days later?
Click to expand...

It's coming to the original Rog Ally and Ally X this year and other handhelds next year. No word on ever coming to general Windows users.
 
I am not sure what their long term goal is.
Do they want to be a third party giant. Which they currently probably are. With okay revenue but without that 30 or whatever % cut platforms and stores get. So they will be what they already are.
Or do they want to lock as many people as possible into their game and supply system only to make a play anywhere flip later and return to exclusivity for everything. So this is just an investment/preparation phase.
 
It seems like they want Xbox people to transition to PC, but no I don't think it is going to work. Xbox people are going to buy PS5s.

Then they also want PCfats to start buying and playing games on the Xbox app, and no that isn't going to work either.
 
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Skifi28 said:
I've said it before, but in my opinion it's just a way to transition their console gamepasss subs to PC without losing them to Nintendo or Playstation. If that goal is achieved, it's a success.
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At this point I feel like Xbox identity is more Gamepass than any physical box. I agree that their goal is to transition those subs to pc platform but I'm not sure they can pull it off. Steam is so dominant
 
It'll work out fine.

But it might not work out fine for Xbox / Microsoft in particular.
 
HeisenbergFX4 said:
Fighting for scraps at a seat at the table and slowly withering away in the process
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I hope not. I really hope they can find a way to bring a true console-like gaming experience to PC. Steam is so close and starting to finally come around to pushing Steam OS but having Microsoft in that realm could create interesting innovations (and better compatibility for non Steam games and hardware?).
 
Humdinger said:
I don't even know what "Xbox PC" means, really. I suspect the same is true for many other console gamers.
Click to expand...
imo it's an exclusive windows for a line of pre-built pc's
so "Xbox PC" tends to be such pcs that belong to that line.
 
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reinking said:
I hope not. I really hope they can find a way to bring a true console-like gaming experience to PC. Steam is so close and starting to finally come around to pushing Steam OS but having Microsoft in that realm could create interesting innovations (and better compatibility for non Steam games and hardware?).
Click to expand...
We will find out, quite soon I would imagine
 
Nobody is gonna pay to play online on PC. They are gonna be sacrificing a huge chunk of revenue from console gamers who are used to that. Idk what their aspirations are but Steam is so popular that I don't see anyone toppling them. Even uncle Tim giving away genuinely free games weekly for years has barely done anything for them.
 
Its just a rebranded Microsoft Store specifically for games.


Their big push is with PlayAnywhere so they are trying to make devs feel like that store is worthwhile.
The PlayAnywhere incentives might make devs jump on the Microsoft Store otherwise I dont see too many publishers taking that store seriously.


The MS games store best sellers and most played is mostly like Casino games and shit that people can only use the MS store to download cuz they cant install Steam on their work computers and/or legit dont know about Steam.


The most played and best sellers list legit looks like a mobile store from like a decade ago.
No serious gamers use the MS Store except for Gamepass.

They need to somehow convince devs and gamers that the store is viable, basically if I publish on Xbox publishing to XboxPC should be as simple as a toggle during submission. (hyperbole but you get the point).
 
Nope.

- If people wanted to buy an Xbox, they would have bought it already. There wouldn't be a big group of people who wanted to play Xbox games but only on a handheld device, instead of a traditional console.

- And if folks wanted to play PC games on the go on a portable handheld, they'd have already bought Steam Deck, which offers better integration with Steam, is subsidized by Vault, and a pretty solid piece of hardware.

- And if folks wanted to play PC games on a handheld but didn't want Linux, they would have already bought Legion Go or Asus Rog Ally.

Honestly, there is no substantial market for this. It'll sell a few million units, which of course wouldn't move the needle in the grand scheme of things.
 
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BennyBlanco said:
Nobody is gonna pay to play online on PC. They are gonna be sacrificing a huge chunk of revenue from console gamers who are used to that. Idk what their aspirations are but Steam is so popular that I don't see anyone toppling them. Even uncle Tim giving away genuinely free games weekly for years has barely done anything for them.
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My only concern is if they do try to start putting their games behind a paywall. I remember Sony doing this with the SOE access years ago. It included MMO type games but also had a few games like Tanarus that were online but not a persistent world. They could also create a "perks" pass that would not restrict online play for those that do not subscribe but it could put them at a disadvantage. We just have to see if they are happy being one of the largest publishers or if they are going to push things too far.
 
No. The brand is becoming synonymies with mismanagement and failure. The moving to "kinda third party" was the stake in the heart. The attempt to jump back to the PC is also too little, too late, as Steam has already gained too much momentum and is very close to being fully disconnected from Windows.

Will the Xbox brand die though? Likely not, MS has too much money and can keep it on life support forever. But it will continue to dwindle in terms of mind share, and one day I expect turn into a 3rd party dev house/publisher.
 
Xbox wants to increase Game Pass subscribers by forcing digital.

$80 Games, making people wanting to subscribe instead
Getting rid of physical media which also forces people to subscribe

It's an strategy, Xbox PC is just their new brand name for 'This thing that runs Game Pass'

I believe it will work in the long run
 
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lol no. It's a bone that is being thrown to the faithful and not the future of Microsoft in gaming.

If the Switch 2 was 100% important to Nintendo, Xbox PC is 20% important to Microsoft.

This thing is a virtue signal for Microsoft more than it is a viable product, but we'll see.

Let's see how many the Rog Ally X sells at that price.
 
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BennyBlanco said:
Nobody is gonna pay to play online on PC. They are gonna be sacrificing a huge chunk of revenue from console gamers who are used to that. Idk what their aspirations are but Steam is so popular that I don't see anyone toppling them. Even uncle Tim giving away genuinely free games weekly for years has barely done anything for them.
Click to expand...

XboxPC is the MSStore but just for games.
You dont pay for online on the MSStore.

The idea is for devs to actually put games on the MSStore as some devs just never bother.

So when you boot the stripped Win11 whatever its gonna be called, the first store you see is the MSStore but its nothing but games, if those games are fucking Sudoku you are swapping out of there ASAP.

So they are trying to get more devs to put their games on the store so atleast the front page has titles that are currently popular.


If they can legit get Win11 stripped down enough with a good front end that handheld machines and maybe even pure gaming PCs start seeing it as an OS worth using, they might be able to "trick" people into using the MSStore purely out of convenience and being front facing.


Remember how many of your friends/family legit used Internet Explorer without pause?
It was there and it got them on the internet even if FireFox was leagues and leagues better already.
Imma guess MS is trying to get gamers to follow the same path, when you boot your PC/Handheld the games you see are from the MS Store, they sell you gamepass promising 100s of games so you just subscribe and say fuck it.
 
MarV0 said:
There is no such thing as Xbox PC. Only PC.

Personally I hate MS for trying to piggyback on PC gaming. The new ROG Ally is just another PC handheld with fierce competition, it won't outsell the Steam Deck.

One thing is evident though: All roads lead to PC gaming.
Click to expand...

Microsoft provided the necessary platform for "PC" gaming to exist as you know it today so not sure how they can piggyback on something they help create
 
This just seems like a more cost effective way to try and keep the existing - and slowly shrinking - Xbox user base on board for a few more years. It seems like they can't justify the spend on another custom hardware configuration, custom OS, etc. so they're just going to lean on the already existing PC versions and create an emulation layer to handle as many of the older games as they can. My expectation will be a UI that is focused on Xbox, but probably has an option to sign into other services like Steam and EGS. If you do, then the games you own on those accounts will show up on your library just like the Xbox games.

I don't see a scenario where a small form factor PC that costs less than $1,000 (even if it's $999) is going to run games much better than a PS5 Pro. And if they target $700-ish, even more so. Because I don't think it will be significantly better, I don't think it's going to sell better than the Series consoles did.

As a PC player, I have no reason to buy such a box. As a PlayStation owner, I have no reason to buy such a box. I don't see how this attracts anyone but the existing Xbox owners who want to stick with Xbox. I'm hoping there's more to this story for the sake of all the people who still work in the Xbox division.
 
Humdinger said:
So it's a PC, except with a customized version of Windows?
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It will probably be more limited than traditional Windows and will serve as bait to make it difficult to download the Steam application while bombard you with Xbox products and applications. Pre-built PCs are more expensive than an equivalent console and offer less freedom than a PC. In short, a PC will still be better, more complete too.
 
They've been pushing the "this is an Xbox" nonsense for six months but it doesn't feel that way if you look at the PC store. It's mostly low budget mobile slop. If they're truly serious about this, when does that change?
 
A lot of gamers have their investments in Steam, and would rather keep these one one platform if possible. That said, PC platform badly needs competition for both the storefront, and the OS (SteamOS has a lot to improve on) For now, MS appears to be focusing on selling a subscription service to make inroads.
MarV0 said:
There is no such thing as Xbox PC. Only PC.

Personally I hate MS for trying to piggyback on PC gaming. The new ROG Ally is just another PC handheld with fierce competition, it won't outsell the Steam Deck.

One thing is evident though: All roads lead to PC gaming.
Click to expand...
It's not like they created the DirectX API that nearly all PC games use. At some point they will drop the DirectX name and just call it Xbox API.
 
It depends what their objective is. If it is to ditch the encumbrance of being a hardware manufacturer and become a leading cross platform publisher then I suspect it will. People are already getting the message.
 
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