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[RetroGamingUK]

The lack of exclusivity kills the Xbox brand. Then flip flopping business plans every 2-3 years doesn’t allow for anything to materialize. You can pivot strategy all you want, but at the end of the day if the foundation is shit then the house won’t be solid.

I fail to see what the USP of Xbox Series S is now compared to PS5…

- Gamepass?
- The controller is slightly different and has less features?

It’s a far cry from what they had in the early 00s with Halo, power, HDD and Xbox Live.

I doubt the execs at Microsoft care at this point, they’re the ones pushing to go third party, not the Xbox division.

 

[clarky]

What you typed wasn’t exactly unique. In fact it’s been obvious to almost everyone but Xbox. Buying ABK was the final nail in the coffin for going back to how Xbox was, with their exclusives and must have the console push.

Just saying that's what it would take to save Xbox, didn't say it was probable nor possible.

They haven't released a must have title for years, that's the core issue. I was just suggesting how to fix that.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

What you typed wasn’t exactly unique. In fact it’s been obvious to almost everyone but Xbox. Buying ABK was the final nail in the coffin for going back to how Xbox was, with their exclusives and must have the console push.

I think the intention when they bought ABK and Bethesda was to become the number one player in the console space.

I think Satya Nadella gave them the money on the provision that they grew Series X sales and Gamepass subscription. If they didn’t achieve this then they’d have to go third party to compensate and make money back.

They didn’t achieve the above, in fact they barely moved the needle.

 

[Jaybe]

Buying ABK was the final nail in the coffin for going back to how Xbox was, with their exclusives and must have the console push.

This. The sooner people accept the Microsoft Gaming is basically Activision Blizzard King + Bethesda, and is now one of the largest third party game publishers, the sooner we can move on from their failed hardware. It’s nice they apparently (from rumours) want to keep their current customers on their ecosystem with another console entry and some type of me-too PC handheld, but these will not move the needle in any way.

 

[SHA]

Seriously why doesn't Microsoft make a Handheld that runs Windows and has Steam on it, etc.? This way, the device can succeed and you can make a lot of money from it, especially if it has powerful spec. I've been thinking about buying a portable device for a long time, but I'm waiting for something really powerful!, and I'm ready to buy it. I can imagine running all of Microsoft's games on it, as well as Sony games, Switch games, a PS3 emulator, and a PS4 emulator with Bloodborne, etc.

It should also not look stupid in front of the switch otherwise that mass number will shift to switch instead.

 

[clarky]

I think the intention when they bought ABK and Bethesda was to become the number one player in the console space.

I think Satya Nadella gave them the money on the provision that they grew Series X sales and Gamepass subscription. If they didn’t achieve this then they’d have to go third party to compensate and make money back.

They didn’t achieve this.

Of course it was. If they had the base to keep these titles exclusive xbox then that's exactly what they would be doing.

Unfortunately for them they where too busy buying half the industry when they should have been focusing on releasing actual great games. The series consoles still don't and likely never will have a killer app. There is zero reason to own one, unless you are already heavily invested in the eco system.
Its too late now they have completely fucked it. They seem to have zero direction. I'd sell everything if I was them.

Its only a matter of time before they fuck COD up.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I think the intention when they bought ABK and Bethesda was to become the number one player in the console space.

I think Satya Nadella gave them the money on the provision that they grew Series X sales and Gamepass subscription. If they didn’t achieve this then they’d have to go third party to compensate and make money back.

They didn’t achieve the above, in fact they barely moved the needle.

They knew before the purchase was complete that the regulators wouldn’t let them make everything exclusive. So they made the decision to be the biggest publisher by going through with the deal at any cost.

 

[jufonuk]

Man, I hope at least something will work out. Sony needs competition to keep them in check.

 

[Bernoulli]

He just lost some weight

 

[clarky]

They knew before the purchase was complete that the regulators wouldn’t let them make everything exclusive. So they made the decision to be the biggest publisher by going through with the deal at any cost.

I genuinely think they were that stupid initially that they thought they could just buy COD and make it exclusive.

 

[Nikodemos]

Ironically, they bought too much shit for their current market share. So they can either go third party, or keep languishing in the 3rd spot.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

it's a mess because their business is a mess.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

I can go buy one right now. I can also can buy games for it so no its not dead. Sherlock.

Both can also be said for the Sega Saturn. You can even buy new games for it.

 

[BlackTron]

This became false as soon as they acquired ABK. Doing all that to stay 3rd in the console space won’t pay their big bills or be enough to please shareholders. They need to be a huge publisher everywhere cause they purchased huge publishers.

They could be fine with a console even after ABK, maybe even especially after. The reason they need to go third party is because they don't know how not because it's fiscally impossible.

There's more potential money in being a platform holder. But they need exclusive games to leverage that. If their exclusives aren't even good enough to sell consoles, then yeah they need to go third party. What they're doing is a better path, though it's weird that they're trying to play both sides. But that's consistent with being confused about their direction. They want to sell games as a publisher so they can probably invest that money back into competing with their partners later as a platform again. Once the scale tips they will be ready with the "gotcha bitch!" and start withholding exclusive titles again.

 

[Mownoc]

After spending $70 billion on acquisitions they've had to make cuts which is why a dart board is now used for decision making.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

They want to sell games as a publisher so they can probably invest that money back into competing with their partners later as a platform again. Once the scale tips they will be ready with the "gotcha bitch!" and start withholding exclusive titles again.

there is no going back

 

[digoutyoursoul]

A mess building up over the years that has been cheered on by the fanatics and grifters of its own community . Disgraceful.

 

[Physiognomonics]

I mean, let's be honest... The gaming industry as of right now is a mess.

Gaming industry is thriving in others parts of the world

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I can go buy one right now. I can also can buy games for it so no its not dead. Sherlock.

Oh...right. You mean like you could still buy the Dreamcast after it was dead...

Xbox is dead. There is no saving it. 3rd party is their only option....

Spoiler

and one I think they will grow to enjoy if they can actually get competent people in charge of that division

 

[Warnen]

Lost the console wars to Sony surely they can beat Nintendo at the handheld wars…

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Just saying that's what it would take to save Xbox, didn't say it was probable nor possible.

They haven't released a must have title for years, that's the core issue. I was just suggesting how to fix that.

They havent since Halo 3.

Look at their first party game sales compared to Nintendo and Sony since then.

 

[Fess]

Retool every game you have in development and target the next box with those titles exclusively . Hand every developer you value working at your studios a proper contract. Give them all an extra couple of years to polish the shit out of said titles. Release them only on said box and not on gamepass for 6 months minimum.

Profit.

Would cost a ton, but thats what it will take to save xbox.

6 months delay on lower tiers of Gamepass is enough. They’ve been hyping day 1 access for years, can’t remove that completely.

But the rest, yeah. They should move on. Pull the plug on Series. Can have a minimum requirement info box like on PC, some games might run well enough on Series X but no mandate to make a game run on Series S.

And yeah, everything should have a year minimum purely for polishing and play testing. Nintendo said that they did that on Zelda TOTK and it showed.

 

[Moridianae]

Not to mention if something becomes amiss and Indiana Jones slips, they'll have yet another holiday without any real exclusive to help sell their console. Maybe I'm wrong, though.

 

[BlackTron]

there is no going back

If they think they have an opportunity, they will withhold an exclusive title. This is what Microsoft is in its bones. Right now they are weak. But when they perceive to hold strength...

Whether the opportunity actually exists or is a good idea, that's different. They could make the next Halo a successful game on Playstation. Once they have successfully courted Playstation's player base, and found monetary success as Sony's partner, hold the next game as leverage to take customers back from Playstation. The opportunity might not align but they would take it.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

They could be fine with a console even after ABK, maybe even especially after. The reason they need to go third party is because they don't know how not because it's fiscally impossible.

There's more potential money in being a platform holder. But they need exclusive games to leverage that. If their exclusives aren't even good enough to sell consoles, then yeah they need to go third party. What they're doing is a better path, though it's weird that they're trying to play both sides. But that's consistent with being confused about their direction. They want to sell games as a publisher so they can probably invest that money back into competing with their partners later as a platform again. Once the scale tips they will be ready with the "gotcha bitch!" and start withholding exclusive titles again.

I think they’re too big with too much overhead and too many investors involved now to ever go exclusive again. Plus apparently their surface team is the one working on the hardware. That won’t win back the hardcore.

 

[SHAKEZ]

If they simply tried to stick to something and give it time they'd find success. They acquired all that talent just to make their console irrelevant by making their games available on other platforms.

 

[BlackTron]

I think they’re too big with too much overhead and too many investors involved now to ever go exclusive again. Plus apparently their surface team is the one working on the hardware. That won’t win back the hardcore.

You're talking about where they stand today. This is something that would happen not tomorrow, but the day after. A critical point of the post is that their stance will chance with circumstances (weakness vs strength).

 

[Nikodemos]

If they simply tried to stick to something and give it time they'd find success. They acquired all that talent just to make their console irrelevant by making their games available on other platforms.

Worse, they acquired a bunch of studios, only to shut them down afterwards. Literally wasted money.

 

[BlackTron]

If they simply tried to stick to something and give it time they'd find success. They acquired all that talent just to make their console irrelevant by making their games available on other platforms.

Too much reactionary trend chasing. This is how Nintendo Wii killed the Xbox brand.

 

[clarky]

They havent since Halo 3.

Look at their first party game sales compared to Nintendo and Sony since then.

I wouldn't go that far back personally, I think that is a little harsh. Gears and ODST released after that for example off the top of my head. There's been some really good Forza entries after H3 also.

Be we are in agreement in general, that their output has been lackluster, especially so since the One.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

You're talking about where they stand today. This is something that would happen not tomorrow, but the day after. A critical point of the post is that their stance will chance with circumstances (weakness vs strength).

Ehh. Investors are not going to give up all that 70% publisher money they get for years for MS to push hardware. MS doesn’t even like hardware to begin with. Almost didn’t even make the Xbox cause of how much they hate hardware. Once that gravy train is turned on and flowing, there’s no turning back.

 

[SHAKEZ]

Worse, they acquired a bunch of studios, only to shut them down afterwards. Literally wasted money.

Damn I forgot they did that, yep that's even worse, what they did to Tango was fucking criminal.

Too much reactionary trend chasing. This is how Nintendo Wii killed the Xbox brand.

This as well, for one of the rechear companies in the world, they tend to chase a lot of short term money making strategies.

 

[clarky]

Too much reactionary trend chasing. This is how Nintendo Wii killed the Xbox brand.

Its ok, the Handheld is going to save the day.

 

[Taycan77]

I can't speak for others but when I hear about Xbox these days I just think of when ports or Forza Horizon 5, Starfield, Flight Sim '24 and a few others are going to be announced for PS5. I haven't owned Xbox hardware since the 360 days and have no intention of getting any new hardware (if it arrives!). But I will be spending significant sums on Xbox software in the coming years. Ultimately that's all the Microsoft execs care about.

 

[BlackTron]

Ehh. Investors are not going to give up all that 70% publisher money they get for years for MS to push hardware. MS doesn’t even like hardware to begin with. Almost didn’t even make the Xbox cause of how much they hate hardware. Once that gravy train is turned on and flowing, there’s no turning back.

Bond said it herself that there's too much potential in hardware not to try.

They could do something stupid like make it console/PC again. I don't think they will ever truly stop vying for their own platform full of 30% cuts. They'll just return to the shadows and bide their time for the next scheme.

 

[clarky]

Both can also be said for the Sega Saturn. You can even buy new games for it.

Ok mate get yourself down to Argos and get yourself a brand new Saturn with a the latest COD.

Let me know how you get on.

Behave.

 

[Edmund]

They'll get obliterated by Nintendo if they ever go the handheld route.

 

[Alan Wake]

Definitely feels like MS executives are paying more and more attention to Xbox and basically running the show now over at Xbox

They don't care about Xbox, they care about Microsoft Gaming. That's the strategy now, and Xbox is only a small part of that.

 

[Alan Wake]

They'll get obliterated by Nintendo if they ever go the handheld route.

They wouldn't compete directly with Nintendo, obviously, just like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally are not. It would be for a different target audience.

 

[clarky]

They'll get obliterated by Nintendo if they ever go the handheld route.

A handheld could work, but i don't see it doing massive numbers at all regardless.

Launching a year or so after the Switch 2 seems also fucking stupid, so im guessing that's exactly what they are thinking.

 

[BouncyFrag]

A handheld with strong backwards compatibility would be an eventual buy from me.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

They knew before the purchase was complete that the regulators wouldn’t let them make everything exclusive. So they made the decision to be the biggest publisher by going through with the deal at any cost.

Bethesda turned out be a dud. Fallout 4 wasn't the huge success and we all know what happened with Starfield.

Microsoft also managed to completely destroy their relationship with Japanese game developers handing over that side of the business to Sony.

 

[clarky]

Bethesda turned out be a dud. Fallout 4 wasn't the huge success and we all know what happened with Starfield.

Microsoft also managed to completely destroy their relationship with Japanese game developers handing over that side of the business to Sony.

Not really. If it wasnt for BGS then Xbox would be already deader than they are now.

The best titles they have released post COVID have all come from that purchase. And they have INDY and DOOM in the not too distant future. Doom looks especially great.

 

[Ronin_7]

Man, I hope at least something will work out. Sony needs competition to keep them in check.

Doubt.

High-End Consoles? PlayStation's engineering is leagues ahead.

Handheld Gaming? Nintendo, with Nvidia's tech backing and its unmatched IP portfolio, has that corner of the market locked down.

Mobile Gaming? Good luck breaking through the walled gardens of Google and Apple.

PC Gaming? Steam’s dominance is essentially a monopoly.

 

[clarky]

Doubt.

High-End Consoles? PlayStation's engineering is leagues ahead.

Handheld Gaming? Nintendo, with Nvidia's tech backing and its unmatched IP portfolio, has that corner of the market locked down.

Mobile Gaming? Good luck breaking through the walled gardens of Google and Apple.

PC Gaming? Steam’s dominance is essentially a monopoly.

Bingo. There isn't really room for anyone else anymore unless someone fucks up royally or a new space emerges.

 

[SaintALia]

I wouldn't buy a handheld from MS. Maybe it's because I've been burned from buying a Zune and a Windows phone and convinced my wife to buy one too, but I don't trust these companies to jump into new arenas and stay the course. If the handhelds don't sell, the companies just quietly discontinue them and pretend they or their users don't exist.

If it makes it to a second generation, I might bite though if it's compelling enough hardware and not for over 400 USD, which it defunitely is gonna be, unless it's streaming only.

 

[mystech]

Microsoft has themselves to blame for Xbox failures this generation. Right now they are dealing with PS3 era levels of arrogance from Sony. All Microsoft needs to do is mimic their Xbox 360 strategy. Specifically:

1. Be the first next gen console to release. Can you imagine if the next gen Xbox undercut the PS5 Pro by $100 while delivering a much bigger leap in detail?

2. Go back to making exclusives. The more Microsoft puts their Xbox games on PlayStation, the less reason there is to buy an Xbox… just common sense.

3. Stop acquiring studios! It’s not working. Put those same resources into helping the studios you already own to actually put out good games.

 

[diffusionx]

Seriously why doesn't Microsoft make a Handheld that runs Windows and has Steam on it, etc.? This way, the device can succeed and you can make a lot of money from it, especially if it has powerful spec. I've been thinking about buying a portable device for a long time, but I'm waiting for something really powerful!, and I'm ready to buy it. I can imagine running all of Microsoft's games on it, as well as Sony games, Switch games, a PS3 emulator, and a PS4 emulator with Bloodborne, etc.

These hardware devices aren't really that popular, and Microsoft isn't a hardware company. Their surface line cratered. Nobody really knows how many units the Steam Deck sold but maybe it's in the ~5 million range since it came out. Switch in its twilight years has been selling around that or a bit more.

I think Microsoft's best path forward is to just close up the Xbox business and transition to a 3rd party publisher. Software is what they are "good" at, they have a huge lineup of IPs, they can focus on development and releasing games, and they can build large audiences on Switch and PS.

 

[onQ123]

Mark my words Portal will be bigger threat to Xbox than PS5 it Self

Xbox biggest advantage is Azure when it comes to the future of "Off-Console Gaming" but with Portal in the mix there is a reminder that there is close to 50 million PlayStation servers in people's homes around the world & growing.

www.neogaf.com

 

[cireza]

People are panicking because of all the FUD constantly thrown at Xbox online. Be it justified or not.

However, for now, in terms of factual results, I can't see any meaningful change for me as a consumer : a ton of games are being released, they have announced some slight hardware revisions which shows Xbox still matter to them. Rumors of a handheld console ? That actually sounds... pretty cool, no ?

So what is the issue already ?