calling it a "hit" was probably a stretch, I meant more that it was successful for what it is
They're doing it out of a mixture of desperation, greed and stupidity. No different than any fad in the past. Only this time, there's way less excuse. We've exhausted most imaginable fads over the last 3 gens and know they don't work; more egregiously though, this one isn't even particularly successful or new! Motion controls were both. VR was at least the latter. But PlayStation should know better than to think a handheld is the new key to the city having made the PSP and Vita.
Are you sure about that? I dont think PS is looking at their handheld as a dedicated hardware but more like the portal
All of that is due to artificial and arbitrary locks in the SOFTWARE, not the hardware architecture.
Winner winner
Xbox. He was questioning how they would sell the chip without profit then have other stores thus possibly making no loss-leading profit either. He was asking what's in it for MS.
It isn't fundamentally different from an x86 arch machine as consoles were in the past.
It's about the functionality. A streamline gaming os for Xbox and PC games. Will most likely be in a smaller form factor than most pcs and will primarily be used with a controller. Everything will be standardized but you will still have the convenience of specific interface and peripherals that are more associated with a console. It's a console box with a bit more utility and still will maintain a console like experience than what is available presently with a pc hooked up to a tv natively. That's very intriguing. It's not about being the most powerful device ever but giving more options that cater to gaming specifically. That sounds pretty interesting to me.People here thinking Xbox brand can compete with real pcs and other handhelds
Microsoft is a software company. I think they know how to make money, since they have a multi-trillion-dollar worth.
Xbox hadn't been making profit for a long time. MS' money comes from other parts of the company. but yes MS is a software company which is why DeltaPolarbear was asking why they would be making hardware and giving it away for nothing to OEMs.
I'm sure there will be but just look at this forum for proof of how optional store fronts go when steam is present.
But it isn't today. It's also on pc. If MS allows for steam as an option on their device, that will be what the users choose to use.
Why do you think this makes any difference? It is already what the vast majority of Windows gamers use afaik. On GeForce Now I can play almost my entire Steam library as well as everything on Game Pass. This ship has already sailed.
They haven't? That's news to me, as everywhere else reported otherwise.
Revenue isn't profit, but it is wrong to just assume that Xbox is some albatross that is draining money. If that were the case, they would just get rid of it. It is Microsoft, they don't have to care about some losing side-venture. The fact that they are still here with Xbox means it is worth it to them in some way.
Revenue and profit are not the same thing. it's a well known fact that xbox was operating at a loss for many many years up until Kinect. This may not be the case now.
People here thinking Xbox brand can compete with real pcs and other handhelds
I think you didn't read what I was saying given you're repeating what I've said.
Is the APU locked to the OS? If not, the OS license is the only guaranteed money. If so, uh oh. We (consumers) have a bigger problem.
Not only that. They are most likely bleeding money.
Let this sink in:
Because they need to focus on sales for their own store. By shifting to an open platform, they lose any real sway to funnel people into their own store. No one is going buy stuff from them when steam is also on their system.
But what do you mean by "dedicated"?
I am not so sure it fails and it is a big problem if what you said is true...Why would the consumers have a bigger problem when this all going fail anyways.
I don't think they "need" to or even care much about sales on their store, otherwise they would not bother with Xbox at all. Clearly that is not what is driving them here.
Windows has an entire Linux Sub-system built into it called WSL. Microsoft owns GitHub and deploys Linux architecture with Azure at massive scale. They are not in competition with Linux anything.
If they aren't making money on the hardware and they aren't making money through their own store fronts, then what is the purpose of releasing their own dedicated platform?
uh....question? If I buy a pre-built. How do I access video games?Prebuilts are gaining in popularity. Some new users do not want to go through building and setting up a pc. So it makes sense to offer a PC like device as more people are shifting towards PC gaming instead of consoles. And being a device that appeals to both console users and also pc gamers Xbox essentially has two markets to tap into. Only way for the console to succeed is the success of these new chips. The custom Ryzen AI needs to offer some serious gains. But if PS6 uses the same chip as the neXt box, much like this gen and last gen, then it's over.
Source
Would that still make Xbox/Microsoft the gatekeeper on what can be installed on these systems if they are OS locked? I don't think Microsoft views Linux as a true competitor but Steam OS vs the streamlined WIndows 11 they are working on for this space could get competitive. At least I think it can.
Steam is already an optional storefront on all Windows systems. If these new Xbox devices are running an optimized Windows build then…nothing changes.
It's possible they have a new long term strategy
Embrace, Extend, Extinguish – Microsoft's modus operandi. You can guarantee that in order to get these APUs at cost, you have to agree to preinstall Windows on the device. That's the deal. The Xbox backward compatibilty would require Windows anyway.
Linux is installed via a boot-loader before an OS kernel is even loaded. Anyone who knows what they are doing can install Linux on just about anything. And anyone who thinks there is still some war between Windows and Linux these days has no idea what they're talking about.
The cold hard truth.
I do not think it is a war between Microsoft and Linux. I as much as said so when I said I do not think Microsoft views Linux as a competitor. There does not have to be a war for Microsoft to go after an emerging market. I am concerned because I did not get a clear answer if these devices were going to be OS locked similar to how consoles work. If that is not the case, I am very excited.
Probably to expand the base and they get a cut of games sales and GP.
Which is why giving chips away for free increases anti trust concerns rather than the other way around if it were like you say,
Where does it say the hardware is given away for free? The OP's post says sold for no profit. That means to me breakeven cost pricing.
Right but pc is not where their vast majority of gamepass subscribers come from. They come from the console side.
