NeoGAF - is Xbox dead?

Is Xbox dead?

  • Yes, as of today

  • Yes, as of when they announced their multiplatform plans

  • Yes, as of the first major round of layoffs/closures (Tango etc.)

  • Yes, as of when they announced all their games would hit PC day one

  • Yes, as of the Xbox One reveal

  • No, they are not dead yet, but they are headed there in a few months

  • No, they are not dead yet, but they are headed there in a few years

  • No, they are not dead yet, but they are headed there with their new hardware

  • No, and they won't be

Results are only viewable after voting.
As you've know it from 2001 to like, 2023/24, yes. The initial wave of games going to PS5 was just pulling off the bandaid. As long as I can continue to access all the content I've purchased from their online storefront over the years, I don't care that they're moving away from hardware ( as far as in-house developed). All these devices now are basically PCs in some form.
 
LakeOf9 said:
Epic has a competing storefront in the PC storefront space, and remains committed to it to the tune of spending hundreds of dollars on it every year.

Is EGS alive right now?

Don't deflect the question, either answer or accept your initial comment was stupid.
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Nah your entire premise is the issue, since they unrelated, and by definition stupid.
 
Sacred said:
Nah your entire premise is the issue, since they unrelated, and by definition stupid.
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I am asking you about something similar but unrelated. Answer the question.

Or don't, at this point you not answering it is as good as an answer.
 
Much as I enjoy watching the spectacle, I don't think so.
Having the Xbox console run a modified Windows 11 with third party stores is going to shake up the console scene. So much it may attract the attention of legislators to ask Switch & Playstation to open up too.
 
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Xbox died after the XBone reveal. All the momentum they had from 360 instantly vanished and at the same time Sony revealed the PS4 and completely course corrected everything they had messed up with the PS3
 
Holammer said:
Much as I enjoy watching the spectacle, I don't think so.
Having the Xbox console run a modified Windows 11 with third party stores is going to shake up the console scene. So much it may attract the attention of legislators to ask Switch & Playstation to open up too.
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it is dead. they are making a pc not a traditional console anymore.
 
For 10 years now. Makes no sense to me how any real gamers are choosing it over ps4,5 and pc.
It's always empty promises
 
At this point, it isn't much more than a facade. From the outside, it appears to be a business without clear direction that is struggling to find an identity. For all practical purposes, it is dead. Regardless of the talk, I do not expect to ever see an Xbox console ever again. They probably have a business model in mind but have concerns about losing customers and revenue as they transition, so are doing all this goofy shit instead. Going to be an HBR case study someday.
 
LakeOf9 said:


Mr. Jez Corden believes the doomsaying around the Xbox is hyperbolic and premature. He thinks that, as has apparently happened a lot of previous times, all of this will amount to nothing in the long run and Xbox will continue to do fine.

I feel differently. I think that every previous time Xbox "died" it took chip damage that brought it one step closer to the brink, and as things stand now, Xbox is in a precarious position where it may as well not be considered a major platform holder for the purposes of the industry any longer.

What does GAF think? Is Xbox dead?
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The poll master strikes again 😆
 
Unknown Soldier said:
Xbox died after the XBone reveal. All the momentum they had from 360 instantly vanished and at the same time Sony revealed the PS4 and completely course corrected everything they had messed up with the PS3
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Still think they had enough time to turn it around. At the end of the day if the Xbox one had better games it would have helped. But they didn't bother competing on that front or hardware. Didn't help that two of their biggest franchises Gears and Halo were taken over by different developers.
 
they hurted bethesda id

chris-farley-snl.gif
 
Poll is missing the actual answer:

Xbox "died" with the whole "Everything is an Xbox" direction that they kicked off with starting XCloud and GamePass.

You're either platform agnostic/service based or you are platform-based. You can't do both for any length of time because they are antithetical business models meaning that one would inevitably kill and cannibalize the other.
 
It seems like they're paying a horrible price for the ABK acquisition at the moment. I can't see a successful Xbox existing under Phil Spencer, so eventually Nadella will pull the plug. There're many more layoffs to come until then, though.
 
Microsoft will still put some money into the brand so not exactly dead, but don't think they're trying to compete with PlayStation head on anymore.

Feels like they're just throwing some random stuff out there hoping something sticks but don't seem to have the grand plans they once had.
 
Begleiter said:
It seems like they're paying a horrible price for the ABK acquisition at the moment. I can't see a successful Xbox existing under Phil Spencer, so eventually Nadella will pull the plug. There're many more layoffs to come until then, though.
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😂 "Horrible Price"... the Upper Management Corpos knew this would happen when lying in court.

This is simply business as usual, for them.
 
As a closed console box, it seems the days are numbered.

They'll still probably have another Xbox, but it will just be more like a Steam Deck where the hardware for a bit is a set SKU before the next one, with a front-end that will feel like a console UI using a pad, and then there will be Windows running underneath it that can be accessed in some way.

The real question is if their approach will bring in enough people to be where they want it to be, because realistically Microsoft makes way more money in other areas. Couple that with Linux being able to increasingly play games well, and in future when Proton supports ARM...MacOS will also be able to play games.
 
LakeOf9 said:
I don't, I am legitimately asking if stuff like the Switch counts since growth can potentially come from that (but if it doesn't count, and you only mean stationary consoles, then I am inclined to agree with you)

You shouldn't assume the worst, lol
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My bad. It is hard to keep up around here sometimes. :messenger_grinning_squinting:

I do count the Switch because it replaced a home console and a handheld console by combining them into one unit. It is still a closed eco system and runs on a proprietary OS.

Judge Magister said:
But when a console is a 3rd party collab like that Asus ROG what's the point really?!
I honestly don't see a reason to continue with console gaming.
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Why continue with console gaming? What has changed? You have been able to play PC games for decades (I have). You have been able to play portable PC games since laptops were invented (guilty). You have been able to play handheld PC games for years now (recent convert). You have been able to aggregate gaming libraries for years now on PC (I don't bother). Continue on consoles if you like console gaming for the same reason it has always been.

I play on consoles and PC. Nothing has changed for me other than how I might approach my next PC build and which OS I choose.

For the record your honor. 😜

I advocate for people to make their own choices and choose what is best for them. I have always done that even when I was managing an EB Games/GameStop. One of the few rules I had in my store is that employees were not allowed to push their preference of consoles on a customer. Let the customer decide because they are the ones taking it home (with little chance of a refund). If someone wants to switch over to PC, go for it. It is fun. However, don't do it because it has become the new talking point. Social media warriors are not going to refund a purchase if someone is not happy with it.


Just for fun, I asked co-pilot is the ROG Ally X considered a gaming console or a handheld PC.
The **ROG Ally X** is best classified as a **handheld gaming PC**, not a traditional gaming console.
---

### 🧩 Why It's a Handheld PC

- **Operating System**: It runs **Windows 11**, giving you full access to PC games and software—not just console-style titles.
- **Game Compatibility**: It supports platforms like **Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games Store, and GOG**, just like a desktop gaming PC.
- **Hardware Specs**: It's powered by the **AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme** processor, with up to **24GB of LPDDR5X RAM** and **1TB–2TB NVMe SSD storage**, rivaling many high-end laptops.
- **Customization & Modding**: Like a PC, you can tweak settings, install mods, and even use peripherals like keyboards, mice, or external displays.
- **Form Factor**: While it looks like a console (think Switch or Steam Deck), its internals and OS make it a portable PC in disguise.

---

### 🎮 Console-Like Features

Despite being a PC, the Ally X borrows heavily from console design:
- **Controller layout** with ABXY buttons, triggers, and joysticks
- **Compact, ergonomic design** for handheld play
- **Quick resume and cloud save support** for seamless gaming sessions

---

### 🧠 TL;DR

Think of the **ROG Ally X** as a **gaming laptop that shrank itself into a Switch-like shell**. It's not a console in the traditional sense (like a PS5 or Xbox Series X), but it delivers a console-like experience with the power and flexibility of a PC.

Want to see how it stacks up against the Steam Deck or even the upcoming Xbox Ally X? I can break that down too.
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Xbox got terminally ill cancer when it went TV TV TV TV TV TV TV and then Shu came out with the "This is how you share a game on PS4" bit

Since then instead of going the proper route with chemotherapy radiation surgery etc. …. They elected to go the Pot smoking dewormer treatment route that "cures" cancer. (Day 1 game pass everything goes to PC)

Now shockingly the weed and dewormer didn't work and they are being sent to hospice.
 
As much as Don Mattrick hurt Xbox, he didn't kill it. It just never recovered, Nadella said there's nothing more we can do (spend), and told Phil to take it off life support and transition to Microsoft Gaming. PC Game Pass becoming the focus was the final nail in the coffin where even the fanbase realized there was no future.
 
No.

But they might be streamlined to just make Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Minecraft, possibly Forza Horizon, maybe World of Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls, perhaps Fallout, and not much else.
Oh and controllers!

Smaller projects won't be greenlit.
Gamepass cost will increase.
Hardware will be phased out into a series of Windows devices.

There has been dark days for Xbox but this is the darkest one I can remember. RROD was nothing. There was still excitement for the future. I don't sense much excitement at all anymore within their userbase. I'm still hopeful for Gears E-Day and The Elder Scrolls VI but that's about it. And I only have til year end until my Gamepass sub ends so they better introduce some way to get that cheap soon. Once I'm out I'll end up skipping 99% of their games to just go for the certain 9+ games like before GP, which are rare tbh.
 
I still don't understand why people are so ecstatic about Playstation. It's more expensive and exclusives have been same middling stuff as with Microsoft
 
kikkis said:
I still don't understand why people are so ecstatic about Playstation. It's more expensive and exclusives have been same middling stuff as with Microsoft
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Me neither, the software output isn't enough and I can play their games on PC now as well as all the multiplats.

But still, there is an easy fix. If they would go back to true exclusivity and widespread paid 3rd party exclusivity again they would be in a similar position as Nintendo.

And there is no scenario where I outright skip Nintendo's games. And therefore I can't skip their hardware either. I would buy Switch 2 if it was a calculator, because that's the only way to play their next Zelda, Mario and Metroid.

MS don't have any way to do this when their console brand is dead on the market. They have no plan B. They have to rely on Windows now and that means no certain way to have a spot for the mass market in the living room yet. Everything is an uphill battle.
 
It depends how you define Xbox.

If you define Xbox like a closed platform, with a platform holder, manufactured by MS and with its divisions of marketing, sales, i+D, quality control, disc pressing, development tools and OS, then yes, it's not completely dead but on the way and fast.

If you define Xbox like a nickname for Microsoft gaming efforts, a booting screen for Games for Windows, a UI for consolized PCs running windows, a launcher for fire stick and smart Tvs associated with streaming or GP, a sticker for some Asus portable PC that enters Games for Windows renamed Xbox PC then no, it's not dead.
 
I think their next Xbox will come out, but more a PC like device. Might just be some mini pc (with BC with Xbox games) made by some other company with their named stamped on it and some Xbox controllers. A least going by rumors and what they did with Asus with the Xbox rog ally. Also probable that MS will just kill off Xbox related projects hardware before then. I just hope i can ride this gamepass train on my series x a bit longer. Shit is looking dire and I would never recommend an Xbox to anyone…except the person who buys my series x when games on gamepass dry up.
 
LakeOf9 said:


Mr. Jez Corden believes the doomsaying around the Xbox is hyperbolic and premature. He thinks that, as has apparently happened a lot of previous times, all of this will amount to nothing in the long run and Xbox will continue to do fine.

I feel differently. I think that every previous time Xbox "died" it took chip damage that brought it one step closer to the brink, and as things stand now, Xbox is in a precarious position where it may as well not be considered a major platform holder for the purposes of the industry any longer.

What does GAF think? Is Xbox dead?
Click to expand...

Record profits, record MAUs, record quarter = dead
 
Anecdotally for me the one reveal was the day I preordered ps4 after having switched to Xbox then Xbox 360 only for years. But the writing was on the wall when they started boiling the frog with 4 games.

Also, talking about Xbox the console. Not ms gaming or Xbox gaming, they're gonna reap more than ever between acquisitions and ps.
 
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They need to get out there and start communicating what the future of the brand is because its not a good looking for them right now.
 
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