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MS Earnings Call - FY23Q3 | 4% decline for MS Gaming, Xbox HW down 30%

feynoob

Banned
I'd be interested in knowing how much of that is due to Bethesda.

Edit: the software I mean.
My guess will be the new games this year compared to last year games.
Last year, xbox had fewer 3rd party games

This year had alot of games, which pumped up the sales alot.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
Content and services up 3% due to GP doesn’t seem surprising. Were they really expecting less growth there even though bigger install base + PC GP growth?

That doesn’t make much sense in my mind.
 

Trogdor1123

Member
more like 4th party publisher
Hit The Woah Freaking Out GIF
 

reksveks

Member
Do people really believe MS investors don't care if the gaming division is underperforming and that MS will throw endless dollars at it because they are profitable overall due to other divisions?

Not trying to say Xbox is doomed, but use some common sense people.
Some investors will care but not enough and the majority definitely won't care over the more important divisions.
 
Its still confusing.

MS should have sticked with one device. These revenue split is creating confusing headlines.
It could have been better. But wich one? The Xbox Series X, who would find itself VS a 400€$ PS5 DE and a 300 Switch? Or a S that would be faring even worse than it is doing right now by virtue of not being equal to the PS5?
The X|S strategy was not a good idea to me either. But this was because I would have prefered to have a better( more heavily discounted) Series X. If they had felt that they could go against Sony with one device they would have done so. Microsoft choose to make 2 consoles anyway because after the Xbox one fiasco they knew that loosing on price and/ or power again would kill the brand even more.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Those hardware numbers.....alrighty then.....
MS second best Q3 results. Hardware down due to series x constraints since they are building their cloud infrastructure more and more.

Just like the CD, DVD, Blu ray, and now cable box consoles are a dying platform.
What...is MS trying to speedrun the death?
 

feynoob

Banned
Some investors will care but not enough and the majority definitely won't care over the more important divisions.
With a high net revenue, they wont care that much.
MS just made 52b revenue this year, plus 18b net revenue. That will overshadow xbox revenue down.

It could have been better. But wich one? The Xbox Series X, who would find itself VS a 400€$ PS5 DE and a 300 Switch? Or a S that would be faring even worse than it is doing right now by virtue of not being equal to the PS5?
The X|S strategy was not a good idea to me either. But this was because I would have prefered to have a better( more heavily discounted) Series X. If they had felt that they could go against Sony with one device they would have done so. Microsoft choose to make 2 consoles anyway because after the Xbox one fiasco they knew that loosing on price and/ or power again would kill the brand even more.
They had the right idea, but wrong execution.
Xss should have been a xbox one X mini console.
 

Ansphn

Member
MS second best Q3 results. Hardware down due to series x constraints since they are building their cloud infrastructure more and more.

Just like the CD, DVD, Blu ray, and now cable box consoles are a dying platform.
True. Just like how Avatar and Mario broke records on a streaming service. Forget the old like Theaters, DVDs, and CDs..Out with the old, in with the new. I heard Playstation getting no sales and Gamepass is breaking records..
 
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Kvally

Member
Seems 2% is from gamepass. 3%(5%cc)
Game Pass can have an increase on a relative match with more consoles being sold. The more consoles sold the more Game Pass subs that are sold and an increase in Game Pass revenue, you can still be at 10-15% of those consoles and have an increase in Game Pass revenue.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Supply constrained where? UK is their second largest market.

You can buy the console stand alone from Microsoft. They’ve increased the price elsewhere, as they’re now forcing you to buy the Forza bundle. It’s never not been in stock after the initial year one shortages.

Just more double speak from MS.





 
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Dick Jones

Gold Member
No?

For example, I just checked and non-bundled Series X consoles are out of stock at Best Buy, Target, and Amazon right now. PlayStation 5 is available on all 3 of those sites.

It’s been like this for months.
Yeah they are out of stock. Xbox Division only selling Forza Bundled (at a higher price) to reduce the loss per console. It's a choice not a chip shortage.
 

XesqueVara

Member
Funnily the next one with ABK will probably be the biggest Q2 in Xbox history, that Cod and Candy Crush money plus Diablo launching will make this numbers way up.
 

Sanepar

Member
You hate to see the hardware decline, but hopefully they can get back in to marketing mode a bit with the upcoming showcase and move past the "we're so bad" shtick they were kind of forced into with the ABK deal.

At least GP numbers are still going up.

Insert that "we still have GP" gif the ponies like to use.
Gp numbers going up... 3% less than 1 million subscribers in one quarter. Yeah awesome. Now it has 26mi at best.
 

Nydius

Gold Member
Do people really believe MS investors don't care if the gaming division is underperforming and that MS will throw endless dollars at it because they are profitable overall due to other divisions?

Not trying to say Xbox is doomed, but use some common sense people.

If investors were really going to push for Microsoft to divest Xbox, they would have done that during either the Xbox One launch clusterfuck or when Nadella took the helm a few months after the bungled launch. He's very strongly a "software and services" guy and probably could have been receptive to spinning off Xbox hardware. Hell, Nadella voted against the NOKIA acquisition and then wrote the whole damn thing off after he was at the helm.

But he clearly sees value in maintaining the Xbox hardware brand and if investors didn't push then, I don't see why they'd push now when Game Pass and software is still returning value on their investment.
 
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analog_future

Resident Crybaby
If someone wants the console they will get it, bundle or no bundle.

It's in stock and has been all year. I don't know why people are beating around the bush on this topic, it shouldn't even be surprising given their recent output.

If I was split between deciding on buying a new Xbox or a new PlayStation, and my options were to buy a PlayStation for $500 or an Xbox bundled with a game I don’t really want for $560-$570, the choice would be made for me. Particularly when I could play that same game with Game Pass anyway.

I’m not saying the supply issues are completely to blame for the sales dip, but to deny they’ve made an impact would be asinine.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
No Way Reaction GIF



but isnt that 2% from gamepass, or is it from another avenue?

3% gaming revenue increase overall. We don't know how much of it is Game Pass. They said the increase is driven by Game Pass, but that means of all streams that make up that revenue (sales, mtx, advertising, etc.) Game Pass was the leading driver of the increase.
 
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Even in Europe people want XSX, not XSS. Now that PS5s are available about everywhere their strategic error is glaring for all to see.

Their services numbers seem OK, but compared to SONY and Nintendo they are terrible.. I mean we are talking about 3% services. Are those numbers even offsetting current rate of (self-inflicted) inflation in US?
 
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Darsxx82

Member
But we know actual unit sales are down in the US from NPD reports. Ain't nobody thinking thats gonna be offset by Japan and Europe. Not to mention Microsoft themselves just said its due to supply constraints indicating that unit sales are down from last year. Ain't no way of spinning this one.

Atleast there'll be positive news for xbox tomorrow when the CMA approve the Activision deal.

Fewer units have been sold, that's for sure. but that does not mean that 30% less have been sold compared to the same Q last year.
Data in Europe say that there is a 10% decline and in the UK it is similar.

Then we know that XSS has been the best-selling model and that (apparently) the production of XSX has problems. If fewer XSXs have been sold than last year in the same quarter, it is normal for the decline in revenue to increase.

That the income in games and content has seen a rise is in line with that situation.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
I am confused.... gaming revenue is down by 4% (that's revenue associated with Xbox including content and services). Hardware is down by 30%...

and yet we are taking up gamepass at least being up by 3% as a good thing?

What am I missing?
 

GHG

Member
If I was split between deciding on buying a new Xbox or a new PlayStation, and my options were to buy a PlayStation for 500 or an Xbox bundled with a game I don’t really want for 570, the choice would be made for me. Particularly when I could play that same game with Game Pass anyway.

I’m not saying the supply issues are complete to blame for the sales dip, but to deny they’ve made an impact would
be asinine.

That's not how customers decide on which console to purchase.

Their mind is already made up before doing a retailer website search or looking for stock in a store.

The reality is that the Xbox Series consoles aren't in demand at the moment. The PS5 didn't struggle to sell out when bundles were the only option and nor is it struggling to sell in regions that have been subject to price increases.

Nothing changes until they fix their output. It's beating a dead horse at this point.
 
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I agree, Xbox revenue keeps going up and they have more MAU than any of the major console manufactures.

With Activision deal approving soon they will be ahead of Sony in revenue and than some.
Xbox does all sorts of things to make their MAU sound high. For example, to play Minecraft on Switch, you have to make an Xbox an account and they count you as an Xbox player.
 
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analog_future

Resident Crybaby
That's not how customers decide on which console to purchase.

Their mind is already made up before doing a retailer website search or looking for stock in a store.

The reality is that the Xbox Series consoles aren't in demand at the moment. The PS5 didn't struggle to sell out when bundles were the only option and nor is it struggling to sell in regions that have been subject to price increases.

Nothing changes until they fix their output. It's beating a dead horse at this point.

If what you are saying was true, the PS3 being priced at $600 would’ve had no impact on sales.

Of course pricing and availability plays a factor in purchase decisions. Let’s not play dumb.
 
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feynoob

Banned
That's not how customers decide on which console to purchase.

Their mind is already made up before doing a retailer website search or looking for stock in a store.

The reality is that the Xbox Series consoles aren't in demand at the moment. The PS5 didn't struggle to sell out when bundles were the only option and nor is it struggling to sell in regions that have been subject to price increases.

Nothing changes until they fix their output. It's beating a dead horse at this point.
One console had games last year and this year, while the other didnt.

Consumer will buy PS, because it had games.

We saw people buy PS5 and XsX from scalpers.
 
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