[Laura Fryer] The Future of Xbox
- Thread starter cireza
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Buggy Loop
Member
Not really
2019 revenue pie chart of microsoft still has xbox division at 9%
GAAS is taking over?
In what reality?
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RetroGamingUK
Member
Tell me you didn't watch a second of the video without telling me you didn't watch a second of the video.
JerryinSoCal
Member
How much are they spending?
LavitzSlambert
Member
Truly. A 12 year old quote is one of the first things that comes to mind, STILL, in every conversation about the console. I don't know if I ever saw a company made self-inflicted gunshot wound like it. Thing is, that's what Microsoft is. Even if Xbox has plenty of passionate folks (like Laura) trying to do their best, they could never get out from under the shadow of Microsoft leadership and culture. It's poison. Profitable poison.
Microsoft barely cares about Windows these days, it's just a platform they control. At the end of the day, they want people to subscribe to Game Pass, Microsoft Office, and Azure. Windows is a convenient means to that end. There is no gaming presence on Mac, and although things are trending positively for Linux, it's not ready for mass user adoption (even SteamOS). Windows is the only game in town and a way for Microsoft to fluff up their publishing business, which is really all they've cared about historically until Sony posed an existential threat through the living room.
It doesn't require the axe as a whole (I know you aren't saying that, the person you replied to is). It certainly needs cost cutting to make it profitable, and there's no way they trimmed all the fat and redundancies away considering the way they bought the companies and how hands off Microsoft was the first year or two of the purchase. With the waning hardware business, there are whole teams that are probably done for. Why do you need all of that when you have no clear future plans, and are partnering with a third party expert to create the next Xbox?
Black_Stride
do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
If
If there is a 10th generation Xbox console like actual first party console, then the whole premise that the Xbox is now just a gamepass frontend is incomplete as the first party Consoles would still exist.
One of her points was that no one would buy an Xbox if all an Xbox was is an ROG Ally like machine with a new front end.
She concisely critiqued the Ally of which i agree with her, the Xbox branded Ally doesnt seem to come with any advantages or pull factor if you will, theres no real reason to pick it over any other handheld PC especially when you can get a SteamDeck, Legion S or True Ally.
If there is actually a console with a bespoke chip that in theory has a VM to run Xbox Xbox games and x86 PC games the story changes somewhat, quite alot actually.
If the 10th gen chip is for an actual console, then the Rog Ally X and other such devices are just another avenue for the XboxAnywhere initiative but not the entirety of the brand.
Keep hope alive
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adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Funny enough I do
Ethooooooooooooooos_PSsssssssss !!
ChorizoPicozo
Member
Xbox can justify its existence by implementing A.I., the use of Cloud and Azure, BUT they NEED to improve their margins ASAP. if they don't.....let's break this down clearly and do a rough, realistic estimate.
We'll use PlayStation's recent revenue breakdown and margins, then map it to Xbox's ~$20B in revenue, and adjust for Xbox's known structural disadvantages:
PlayStation Benchmark
From recent financials:
- Total revenue ≈ $30B (approx.)
- Profit margin ≈ 10–12% overall for the segment
- Hardware margin: ~0–5% (often low or loss-making)
- Game Sales & Services: ~15–20%
- Add‑on content/subscription: ~25–30%
Result: PlayStation earns roughly $3B–$3.5B in profit.
Xbox total revenue ~= $20B.
️
Xbox Proportionate Revenue
If Xbox had PlayStation-like efficiency:
- Profit ~= $20B * ~10–12% ~= $2B–$2.4B
Xbox Reality Check
But Xbox has significant headwinds:
- Hardware sold at a loss (~‑5%), possibly costing $250M–$500M/year.
- Game Pass:
- Cannibalizes software sales
- Lower margins (~5–10%) vs traditional game sales (~15–20%)
- Larger workforce due to recent acquisitions (ABK), inflating OPEX
- Mixed shift toward services (~15–20%), making margins thinner
Rough adjustment:
- Hardware loss: ‑$300M
- Services & Game Pass margin drop:
- PlayStation-like services ~= 25–30%; Xbox ~= ~10–15%
- Delta ~= roughly ‑$500M–$1B
- Workforce cost = ABK + Xbox overhead ($500M–$1B)
PlayStation-like Profit: $2B–$2.4B
Final Xbox Profit Estimate
Adjust for Xbox headwinds: roughly -$1.3B–$2.3B
Resulting range:
- At best: around breakeven (~$0–$500M)
- At worst: loss of roughly $1B–$2B per year
Even if you map PlayStation's revenue structure onto Xbox:
Summary
PlayStation-style Profit ~= $2B
Xbox adjustments ~= $1–$3B in drag
Final Outcome: Xbox profits range from tiny (a few hundred million) to significant losses — making its profits almost invisible or nonexistent in realistic scenarios.Estimating Xbox's Profitability Using PlayStation as a Benchmark
Step 1: PlayStation's Revenue & Profit Overview
- Total Revenue (FY2023): ~$27.5 billion
- Revenue Breakdown:
- Hardware (PS5/PS4): 30–35% (~$8.3–$9.6B)
- Network Services (PS Plus, subscriptions): 20–25% (~$5.5–$6.9B)
- Digital Software (games, DLC): 30–35% (~$8.3–$9.6B)
- Physical Software & Other: 10–15% (~$2.8–$4.1B)
- Operating Profit Margin: 5.7–6.5% ($1.6–$1.8B)
- Margin Drivers:
- Hardware sold near break-even or slight loss
- Heavy R&D, marketing, and development costs
- High-margin software and subscription services balance losses
- Workforce: ~13,000 employees in gaming segment
Step 2: Xbox's Estimated Revenue & Cost Structure
- Total Revenue (2024 estimate): ~$20 billion
- Revenue Breakdown (estimated):
- Hardware (Xbox Series X/S): 20–25% (~$4–$5B)
- Content & Services (Game Pass, digital sales): 65–70% (~$13–$14B)
- Other (peripherals, licensing): 5–10% (~$1–$2B)
- Console Losses:
- ~$100–$200 loss per console sold
- Assuming 20M units sold → cumulative ~$3B loss
- Annualized (5M units in 2024) → ~$750M loss
- Game Pass Cannibalization:
- ~25–30M subscribers, ~$2B annual revenue
- Estimated 20% cannibalization of full-price game sales
- Potential profit erosion of ~$1–$1.5B
- Workforce Size & Cost:
- ~22,000 employees (including Activision-Blizzard
- Average cost ~$150K/employee → ~$3.3B annually (vs. Sony's ~$1.95B)
Step 3: Estimating Xbox's Profit Margin
- Baseline margin (if PlayStation-like): ~6% on $20B → ~$1.2B profit
- Adjustments:
- Hardware losses: -$750M
- Game Pass cannibalization: -$1 to $1.5B
- Higher workforce costs: additional ~$1.35B labor expense vs. Sony
- Estimated Operating Profit Range:
- Best case (less severe adjustments): ~$500M profit
- Likely case: operating loss of $500M to $1B
- Margin range: approximately -2.5% to -5%
Step 4: Key Challenges for Xbox
- Structural console losses remain unresolved, unlike PlayStation's break-even PS5 hardware.
- Game Pass subscription revenue sacrifices high-margin full-price game sales.
- High labor costs due to workforce size and recent acquisitions increase overhead.
- Smaller console install base spreads fixed costs less efficiently.
- Activision acquisition adds integration costs and debt servicing pressures.
- Step 5: Summary & Conclusion
Bottom line:
Metric PlayStation (FY2023) Xbox (Estimate, 2024) Total Revenue ~$27.5B ~$20B Operating Margin ~6% -2.5% to -5% (losses) Operating Profit ~$1.6–$1.8B -$0.5B to -$1B (loss) Hardware Losses Minimal (break-even) ~$750M annual loss Game Pass Impact N/A ~$1–$1.5B profit erosion Workforce Cost ~$1.95B ~$3.3B Console Units Sold ~75M ~20M
Despite generating ~$20B in revenue, Xbox's gaming division is likely operating at a loss — due to hardware losses, Game Pass cannibalization, and a bloated workforce — contrasting sharply with PlayStation's profitable model.
To estimate Xbox's profitability, we'll break down the available data and make reasonable assumptions based on PlayStation's financials, Xbox's revenue, and known challenges. Here's a step-by-step analysis:
---
### **1. PlayStation's Financials (Reference Point)**
- **Revenue (2023):** ~$27 billion ([Sony Gaming & Network Services](https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/strategy/pdf/2023/GNS_E.pdf))
- **Operating Profit Margin:** ~6-7% (historically ~8-12%, but recently lower due to rising costs).
- **Operating Profit:** ~$1.6–$1.9 billion.
PlayStation's profit comes from:
- Hardware: Low or negative margins (consoles are often sold at a loss).
- Software/Digital: High margins (30% platform cut, full-game sales, MTX).
- Subscriptions (PS+): High margins (recurring revenue with low incremental costs).
---
### **2. Xbox's Revenue Breakdown (Estimate)**
Xbox's annual revenue is ~$20 billion ([Microsoft FY23 reports](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2023-q4.aspx)), including:
- **Hardware (Consoles):** ~$4B (estimated 5-6M units sold at ~$500 ASP, but sold at a loss).
- **Loss per console:** ~$100–$200 (historically, consoles lose money early in the lifecycle).
- **Total Hardware Loss:** ~$0.6–$1.2B.
- **Game Sales/Digital (30% platform cut + 1st-party):** ~$8B.
- **Margins:** ~30% (after costs) → ~$2.4B profit.
- **Game Pass & Subscriptions:** ~$5B (25M subscribers at ~$180/year).
- **Margins:** ~50% (content costs are high, but scaling helps) → ~$2.5B profit.
- **Other (Cloud, Licensing, etc.):** ~$3B.
- **Margins:** ~20% → ~$0.6B profit.
**Total Gross Profit (Pre-Expenses):**
$2.4B (games) + $2.5B (Game Pass) + $0.6B (other) - $1B (hardware loss) = **~$4.5B**.
---
### **3. Xbox's Expenses**
- **R&D + Marketing:** ~$2B (high spending on studios, exclusives, and Game Pass promotions).
- **Workforce Costs:** ~$3B (20K employees at ~$150K average, including benefits).
- **Overhead/Other:** ~$1B.
**Total Operating Expenses:** ~$6B.
---
### **4. Xbox's Estimated Profitability**
- **Gross Profit:** $4.5B
- **Operating Expenses:** $6B
- **Operating Profit/Loss:** **~-$1.5B annually**.
---
### **5. Why Xbox is Losing Money**
1. **Console Losses:** Selling hardware at a loss with no clear path to recoup (unlike PlayStation, which has stronger software attach rates).
2. **Game Pass Cannibalization:** Subscribers buy fewer full-priced games, reducing high-margin sales.
3. **High Content Costs:** Game Pass requires massive spending on 1st/3rd-party deals (~$1B/year for content).
4. **Workforce Size:** Xbox has ~20K employees (similar to PlayStation's ~18K), but with lower revenue efficiency.
---
### **6. Comparison to PlayStation**
| Metric | PlayStation | Xbox (Estimate) |
|----------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| Revenue | $27B | $20B |
| Operating Profit | +$1.6B | **-$1.5B** |
| Margin | ~6% | **-7.5%** |
| Key Issue | Lower margins | Structural losses |
---
### **Conclusion**
Xbox is likely losing **~$1–2B annually** when accounting for:
- Hardware losses.
- Game Pass's mixed impact (high revenue but lower profitability than traditional sales).
- High fixed costs (workforce, content, R&D).
This aligns with reports of Xbox's gaming division being a "loss leader" for Microsoft's broader cloud/ecosystem strategy. Without Azure/Office subsidies, Xbox's standalone profitability would be even worse.
**Final Estimate:** Xbox's gaming division operates at a **-5% to -10% net margin**, implying **$0 to -$2B in annual profit**.
Crayon
Member
I'm wondering is "XBOX PC" is going to end up being any kind of meaningful descriptor. I think it's odd that they are showing this ally thing if they are also working with amd on some kind of chip. One that gives them a legal loophole to run xbox games. If they are working on that, it seems like majorly jumping the gun to represent this asus unit as "an xbox". Should let the xbox part be the front end and the hardware just a slight variation with the normal rog branding.
I really think they are still way too influenced by online trends and influences when it comes to what their users want. If phil's ozempic hasn't had the side effect of dramatically boosting his higher cognitive facilities, he's still an idiot. And this could be about soothing the faithful and feeding the influencers until they can show something more ambitious and "deserves" the xbox branding. It's been greatly devalued already.
We currently see the most prolific g-rats dropping cash to suddenly become pc gamers, and phil wants to please them at the cost of confusing and underwhelming everyone else. This initiative they have sounds good on paper, but they are just so bad at this stuff.
Like have they considered how this is going to put so much more attention on steamos? It's clearly trying to ape it, by leaving the standard gui session and using the console dash interface as the true window manager in particular. It's going to invite comparisons in a major way and it's going to invigorate foss developers. Just by virtue of valve being the leader here, ms will constantly be playing catchup for a great long while and looking like idiots as usual.
I really think they are still way too influenced by online trends and influences when it comes to what their users want. If phil's ozempic hasn't had the side effect of dramatically boosting his higher cognitive facilities, he's still an idiot. And this could be about soothing the faithful and feeding the influencers until they can show something more ambitious and "deserves" the xbox branding. It's been greatly devalued already.
We currently see the most prolific g-rats dropping cash to suddenly become pc gamers, and phil wants to please them at the cost of confusing and underwhelming everyone else. This initiative they have sounds good on paper, but they are just so bad at this stuff.
Like have they considered how this is going to put so much more attention on steamos? It's clearly trying to ape it, by leaving the standard gui session and using the console dash interface as the true window manager in particular. It's going to invite comparisons in a major way and it's going to invigorate foss developers. Just by virtue of valve being the leader here, ms will constantly be playing catchup for a great long while and looking like idiots as usual.
PurePlatinum
Member
Who?
ChorizoPicozo
Member
another interesting point, i guess.... i have to imagine that the numbers people inside Xbox/MS knew the "the Xbox Business" was projected to contract in the near future: they needed ABK's to survive. (as a gaming division) literally. And it's pretty know that Xbox was almost axed like 2 or 3 times already....there is a saying in Spanish: "dar patadas de ahogado" which can be localized in English to: Fighting a losing battle... that's Xbox.
This new pivot is Xbox kicking while they're sinking with an $80B weight strapped to its ankle....I don't know if Xbox can't endure 5 more years of layoff season.
RetroGamingUK
Member
II_JumPeR_I
Member
Yup she nails it.
SeriesX will be my last Xbox Console.
Dont need nor want a PC with a Xbox sticker and different layers/stores
SeriesX will be my last Xbox Console.
Dont need nor want a PC with a Xbox sticker and different layers/stores
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Power Pro
Member
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
Inb4 the usual suspects come in and talk about the "dream" that some people have of Xbox going 3rd party and getting out of hardware.
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
Really good video. Laura echoed the exact same thoughts I have.
The "recap" in the beginning about how quickly they have shifted their narratives is what I've talked about multiple times in the past. She did it way more efficiently and effectively.
The reality is that Xbox is lost. It has no identity anymore. And it's quickly rushing towards its inevitable death. There are some who will stay with this sinking ship because of their digital library - the sunk cost fallacy - but most will jump ship.
The numbers will speak for themselves when the new ASUS "Xbox" Rog Ally flop, and the narrative shifts to "well, it was always going to be a niche product."
The "recap" in the beginning about how quickly they have shifted their narratives is what I've talked about multiple times in the past. She did it way more efficiently and effectively.
The reality is that Xbox is lost. It has no identity anymore. And it's quickly rushing towards its inevitable death. There are some who will stay with this sinking ship because of their digital library - the sunk cost fallacy - but most will jump ship.
The numbers will speak for themselves when the new ASUS "Xbox" Rog Ally flop, and the narrative shifts to "well, it was always going to be a niche product."
RetroGamingUK
Member
I can't see Ally X, Xbox PC or Gamepass having any long term success. PC gamers find their attempt to pivot towards being a Steam competitor laughable.
In the long run they'll end up being a third party publisher only, most of this will be down to acquired IP like Call of Duty and Minecraft.
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
True. And, to be honest, it makes way more business sense for Xbox to be a third-party publisher with an optional subscription service (if they still want it) like EA does with EA Play. No subscription will be better, though.
They have identified the correct path. But, like most other things, they are too slow to walk that path.
They are still trying different strategies to stay in the hardware business (likely to retain GP subscribers), but they will definitely fail at that. And sooner or later, they will become a third-party publisher that offers no hardware (again, just like EA).
But the longer they take in becoming that, the harder it will be for them. In the meantime, they will continue to gut their studios, disband their teams, devalue IPs and their perception with poor games, and layoff talented developers.
By then, however, it will become nearly impossible to sustain even as a third-party publisher because there won't be enough talented devs there left.
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RetroGamingUK
Member
I can see why they're taking their time rather than ripping the band aid off, their biggest fear is a mass transition to Steam, which seems inevitable anyway.
These backwards compatible next-gen "Xbox" devices seem futile too, sure people will bring their old game libraries with them, but what's stopping them from switching to Steam for every game purchase after that?
In 5 years they'll be purely a third party game publisher with an app/store on Windows that barely anyone uses.
Parazels
Member
What the hell does it mean?
RetroGamingUK
Member
No idea, but he was wearing a straight jacket when he said it.
Little Mac
Member
She's right about the Steam Deck. I got the OLED recently and, traditionally being a console gamer, it's been a real game changer for me.
veterangamerUK
Member
That's what people do now if they want a Sony exclusive, what's the difference?
Alan Wake
Member
I really like her thinking. Her video about how culture ruined Xbox One is also worth watching.
Liopleurodon
Member
It had a better run than Sega.
Astray
Member
You need to Google "cost of revenue", or just "costs" in general.
Revenue is like less than half the story of any company's financials.
Pedro Motta
Gold Member
clarky
Gold Member
Don't be silly now.
cireza
Member
Microsoft wish they had released games that reached 10% of the quality of what SEGA released back then.
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Pretty sure that people won't be pleased to spend that money knowing their multiplatform franchises will suddenly turn into exclusives, hence why Square got fucked over Final Fantasy and why Epic Games Store is hated.
Humdinger
Gold Member
Surprising how many people don't understand this. They just look at the big revenue numbers and assume the company/division is doing great.
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
Those people either never invested or owned a business in their life, or they are being disingenuous. That's about it.
Revenue has its place in the business world, but if there are questions about your ROI and profitability, then revenue alone does not mean anything.
asdasdasdbb
Member
Funny thing is I think GP got the green light because at the time, subscriptions were hot and there's a lot of dumbass Wall Street "Investors" who only look at revenue and not income.
Syphon Filter
Member
it did to be fair. the 360 alone is enough.
cireza
they did, Halo is far better than anything sega ever put out.
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RetroGamingUK
Member
Apart from a couple of aspects…
- bodging Sonic on Saturn
- not having a single decent football game on Dreamcast, despite sponsoring several team shirts
…Sega's first party output on their "failing" console was fucking on point. So many amazing titles across many genres that really pushed boundaries. It's a shame so many people never got to experience them.
RetroGamingUK
Member
Sigh
They want everyone to use the Xbox app for all games so that they can heavily advertise their own games and Gamepass up front.
It won't work, everyone will just use the Steam app just as they use Edge to install Chrome.
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clarky
Gold Member
Your saying Xbox has had a better run than SEGA had, behave.it did to be fair. the 360 alone is enough.
Arcade, Master system, Megadrive, Saturn, Dreamcast. Vs. Xbox and half of the 360's life.
Even if im generous and chop out the Arcade, its still not even close.
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Syphon Filter
Member
genesis and dreamcast were the only good consoles sega had. dreamcast was good but its life was cut short, even the original xbox is better than it. the 360 blows anything they did away and by far.
digoutyoursoul
Member
Cool lady, comes across well.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
That's big facts. Her, Peter Moore, J Allard, Seamus Blackley...any of them in charge would see a very different Xbox brand vs what we're seeing today. One putting their own console first and competing with software exclusivity.
Even Don Mattrick would have likely pushed through making the Zenimax stuff exclusive and avoided buying ABK (favoring COD marketing rights and maybe some timed exclusives). And none of them would have bothered with a stalled-out service like Game Pass, whose target growth was highly unrealistic from the beginning.
The Saturn's a great system too (and probably my personal favorite SEGA console).
It's dumb trying to directly compare the original Xbox to Dreamcast though, because if you don't care for Halo or FPS games or WRPGs, the OG Xbox immediately becomes your least-preferred system of that generation. The 360, well certainly in terms of unit sales it outdid anything SEGA put out, but the market was a lot bigger by that point, and the 360 had a rather weak finish , comparable somewhere between the Genesis's late years and the Saturn's last years in the West.
In terms of actual games, well again that comes down to preferences. A lot of the cool SEGA 1P that helped define Saturn & Dreamcast didn't have equivalents on the 360, and if they did they weren't as prevalent. But I can see why quite a few would pick 360 over those consoles. Now if we're comparing 360 to SEGA's entire history as a hardware maker, then no, it doesn't blow away "anything", as in everything, they did.
SEGA has several major technical accomplishments in gaming, lots of them stemming from their super scaler arcade games in the '80s and their Model 3D arcade systems of the '90s. They basically set the standard for racing games, rail shooters, and 3D fighters. They were years ahead of everyone with tile-based deferred rendering (Dreamcast) and setting up a viable centralized online gaming service (SEGA.net). They've made quite a few games that have influenced game design in multiple genres, and games that were graphics leaders during their time either in their genre or industry-wide.
Microsoft (including the 360) have some accomplishments of their own, certainly if you also look at the PC space with setting up DirectX to try standardizing 3D graphics in PC gaming. But I'd say SEGA have the more significant industry accomplishments out of the two.
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JohnnyFootball
GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
The only thing that would have resulted from that was drastically less CoD sales.
clarky
Gold Member
I'm not getting into list wars but saying xbox first party has better better output than Sega over their respective lifetimes is frankly fucking stupid.
JohnnyFootball
GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
MS started Gamepass at a time when subscription services were few and you could get by with Netflix and be happy. Back when it was $10 a month. At that time, it wasn't a bad idea.
Gamepass would be a better option if it were less than $10 a month, but gave up Day 1 and keep them off for a year, similar to EA Play or PS Plus!
They could even provide Day One discounts for new games.
Walliwallipaloo
Member
She said not a single lie. Direct, incisive, and to the point.
Humdinger
Gold Member
It is hard for me to wrap my head around why they don't understand it. You don't even need to have owned a business. You just need to have balanced your checkbook. Or paid any attention to how your own money works. Wealth (or profit) is not about what you make; it's about what you keep.
I usually give them the benefit of the doubt and assume ignorance. A lot of people are just financially illiterate. Some of it could be "motivated ignorance," though - people who want to see their favored corporation in a good light, so they focus on revenue and conveniently forget to consider expenses.
Anyway, I'm surprised at how often it keeps happening.
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RetroGamingUK
Member
GoodData
Banned
Their brand identity, since early 2000's was tied to both box and games, even though they didn't have much first party. They're good to go on the software front. As for hardware, 360's momentum and spark are not all gone, and xbox series are great consoles - PS is just too competitive right now.
I don't believe what Fryer is saying is correct... they're expanding their hardware investments, right? They didn't axe the next xbox, they just invited 3rd party hardware which I think will be modest in terms of impact. So I think their new strategy, which is not clearly put forth, is a good one for survival right now - a good ecosystem, one that includes 1st party and partner hardware, app storefront access, good UI(which they have, I don't mind the ads), and an inclusive but yet to be revealed brand identity that gives consumers something to chow down on. The brand identity can shift to something right above hardware and software purchases by consumers. They did that with the 360 and gamertag/online id/achievements. Now I think there is something great that's on the table that they're feeling out (sony as well), and it's in the profile section of your playstation and xbox apps. Who you are as a gamer is there, and if they make that a bigger part of their console experience, they'll see some stability. The current iteration of Playstation stars didn't give consumers a chance to really own all the available content put forth so it felt to me like you were missing out when you didn't complete the campaigns. Xbox rewards on the other hand is sleek and concise, and I wish they would slowly build on it. When I play and earn rewards and achievements on Xbox, it is snappy, compact and gratifying. They just need to replace MS Jewel with Candy Crush Saga. I think both should explore successors to the Playstation Home concept as well.
I don't believe what Fryer is saying is correct... they're expanding their hardware investments, right? They didn't axe the next xbox, they just invited 3rd party hardware which I think will be modest in terms of impact. So I think their new strategy, which is not clearly put forth, is a good one for survival right now - a good ecosystem, one that includes 1st party and partner hardware, app storefront access, good UI(which they have, I don't mind the ads), and an inclusive but yet to be revealed brand identity that gives consumers something to chow down on. The brand identity can shift to something right above hardware and software purchases by consumers. They did that with the 360 and gamertag/online id/achievements. Now I think there is something great that's on the table that they're feeling out (sony as well), and it's in the profile section of your playstation and xbox apps. Who you are as a gamer is there, and if they make that a bigger part of their console experience, they'll see some stability. The current iteration of Playstation stars didn't give consumers a chance to really own all the available content put forth so it felt to me like you were missing out when you didn't complete the campaigns. Xbox rewards on the other hand is sleek and concise, and I wish they would slowly build on it. When I play and earn rewards and achievements on Xbox, it is snappy, compact and gratifying. They just need to replace MS Jewel with Candy Crush Saga. I think both should explore successors to the Playstation Home concept as well.
Lucifers Beard
Member
They're so strange at the moment. My dad called me on Friday and during the conversation he brought up the Meta Quest Xbox Headset and said that even Xbox has VR now. I obviously said that it wasn't an Xbox headset but instead played cloud games, he was pretty confused and rightly so I think. To the average person, that probably looks like an Xbox VR unit but it's just another one of their weird collaborations that doesn't make any sense.
I give them another 5 years at best before we have a repeat of the Dreamcast situation.
I give them another 5 years at best before we have a repeat of the Dreamcast situation.