HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
Its entertaining though those celebrating a rumor from a "tipster" that can't be verified in an article hidden behind a paywall from Tom Warren no less that most people can't take seriously to begin with
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[The Verge] Microsoft may stop marketing of Xbox consoles in EMEA and focus only on Game Pass, Cloud, PC and Xbox Controllers
- Thread starter LakeOf9
- Start date
King Dazzar
Member
That's the long version. The short version is "you dont need an Xbox" lol"you don't need an Xbox to play Xbox"
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
King Dazzar
Member
I totally get the trust issues. But wouldn't it be weird for Warren to be making up negative stuff about Xbox? Surely he'd be peddling positive rumours?
Elfstar
Member
Why it's always these big bald dudes with XboxEnd of an era.
ShaiKhulud1989
Gold Member
I mean you can doubt Warren, but I live in Eastern Europe and Xbox here is not even dead, it's decomposing badly.
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Yes very sad
balls of snow
Member
Its not over until Halo is on playstation.
TrebleShot
Member
Stick a fork in it.
Hero of Spielberg
Member
I’m trying to read this article on the PC I built using The Verge’s guide, but sparks keep getting in my eyes
Dr. Samuel Hayden
Member
At this point I won't be surprised if the next gen xbox just gets cancelled
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Phil Spencer can now add killing Xbox to his resume. What a wild week for Xbox fans.
It's funny.
Not so long ago, Phil Spencer thought he could spearhead Microsoft purchasing Nintendo, thinking this would be good for both companies (LMAO) and would be his "Career moment"
Now he'll be remembered as the man who spearheaded Xbox to ruin.
bitbydeath
Member
I always thought they’d close shop in Japan first.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
L after L
mayham2199
Member
It really is wild thinking back on a bunch of those old FTC emails that were leaked and what the situation is now. I think it's telling that even Spencer made a remark about how he knows some of the suits "think he's being to confident" which means these emails weren't abnormal. I bet those same guys are laughing their ass off at what he's done to Xbox now.
mayham2199
Member
Didn't really think this was funny but the ending got me. "I've only played it on my PC", "WTF!".
bitbydeath
Member
If Microsoft wasn’t already trying to screw the industry I’d agree, but……
Daniel_Mallorca1985
Member
The CMA has approved the merger in the end.Well some did say MS could pull out of the UK if the CMA didnt let the deal go thru.
But did those ppl mean Xbox...
DeltaPolarBear
Member
You already ARE being screwed by Sony. Xbox hanging on does nothing to keep Sony honest, they are no longer a credible threat. All they are doing is taking up space and prevent a new competitor from signing up.
PS5 could be MUCH cheaper, if they wanted to. They just don't see why they had to with Xbox being so weak.
Xbox need to be sunset-ed as soon as possible to make room for fresh blood.
Topher
Identifies as young
The CMA has approved the merger in the end.
And Xbox hasn't been the same since.
bender
What time is it?
I'd argue it has or least the trajectory of the brand.
Topher
Identifies as young
I'd argue Xbox consoles are less of an ongoing concern now than they were before the acquisition. That may be what you are implying as well.
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bender
What time is it?
It felt like that writing has been on the wall well before the acquisition. I'm sure some people internally had a glimmer of hope that it could start to turn things around or at least put the breaks on the freefall, but the realities are that the Xbox brand has last market share in its' strongest territories, hasn't made up ground elsewhere, nor has it made inroads in its' weakest territories.
Daniel_Mallorca1985
Member
Why not?
Topher
Identifies as young
True, but the third party narrative started ramping up after October when the acquisition completed. No way to know really. Could be things would have happened exactly as they happened either way.
My response from above...
bender
What time is it?
With all the cheerleading media and influencers, it's hard to sort through the noise. Unless they can shift their hardware business specific to limited regions, the writing has been on the wall for a while. Microsoft marketing has seemed to revolve around Game Pass rather than Xbox for years now. The acquisition has probably accelerated timelines as any 70+ billion investment would.
balls of snow
Member
If it wasnt apparent then it is now: stop buying games on xbox store until they give a clear message that the lineage will continue and your digital library is safe. Be it console or pc.
JohnnyFootball
GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
First off, MS has exited the console business. They don't want to acknowledge it. There is literally nothing MS can do that would hurt Playstation at this point. Xbox is an ant on a gorilla.
Screwed in what way? Nintendo still exists, buddy. I see these fears that Sony would start charging $800 for consoles $100 for games...take a deep breath. First off, Sony makes their money in software sales. In order to have software sales, they need to sell consoles. Drastically raising the price of consoles gets in the way of that. CHarging more for games also gets in the way of that. Would a Sony monopoly be a good thing? No...but Nintendo still exists. PC gaming is an option. Sony still has checks and balances. MS/Xbox simply is no longer providing them. That's on MS/Xbox. They stuck with Phil and his shitty visions for far too long.
OrionNebula
Member
Hm… at least xbox kept playstation on their toes, though
Even though it’s half expected now, it still likely would have a negative impact on the gaming industry, I fear, in the long run
Even though it’s half expected now, it still likely would have a negative impact on the gaming industry, I fear, in the long run
Mibu no ookami
Banned
I think they'll continue supporting current hardware until it can't run games, the Series S will get hit first for example but more on that later. They're releasing new models because they'll sell at a higher margin that the current models and didn't require significant R&D. I'm guessing that in 2026 Xbox will release their Xbox PC lineup, which will probably include a handheld. These will also allow you to play your Xbox games from previous generations.
They'll get "cross gen" games with the Xbox Series, but these won't be sold as Xbox games necessarily. This will allow them to drop Xbox Series S support earlier than Xbox Series X support.
So the phase out will essentially happen as people stop playing Xbox Series S and X. The new hardware will be high margin and probably manufactured by many different manufacturers.
This is already happening, but what Microsoft faces is a cliff, where retailers will be afraid to buy units in high quantities less they be stuck with them and then they have to decide whether they even want dedicated Xbox sections in their store or if that valuable space is better suited to something else.
This probably happens next year or 2026.
They sold 2,000 units last week. They've only sold 5x the number of units as the PS4 has this year. They have closed shop.
The CMA has approved the merger in the end.
Kumomeme
Member
Xbox Series gonna win the next generation - and I'll tell you why
TL;DR: Cheapest console + LATAM Support + Gamepass Every start of a generation is an amazing Cold War, where information and hype are practically directly converted into money. The company that keeps their hand hidden for the longest and keep the image of being the owner of the answer about...
Fair point. If Xbox is dead, what happens if Xbox Live gets shut down?
twilo99
Member
They’ll probably file for bankruptcy first tho
UltimaKilo
Gold Member
The industry is already going in this direction, unfortunately, with the younger generation skewing dedicated consoles for mobile and cloud crap.
Microsoft is probably making the right decision to make sure they focus on gaming as part of the Windows ecosystem and pushing for recurring revenue, they just had to start earlier than most.
The problem is that it is easy to doubt this new strategy will be successful with Phil Spencer at the helm. Ultimately, it will be about putting out great software, something that while they had an amazing summer showcase, their track record proves that it’s going to take a lot more than that.
Radical_3d
Member
Sega, you’re back in!
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Well, if they aren’t really selling the hardware in Europe, definitely not selling in Asia, that leaves North and South America, UK and maybe AU/NZ?
And even in NA sales have been dropping. Big question is if there is a point to spend a lot of money on R&D vs saying f it and going 3rd party.
Killjoy-NL
Gold Member
I'd argue that without Xbox the industry will be much better off with healthy competition between PC/PS/Nintendo.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
So, yesterday game pass was dieing and now it's the only focus for Europe.
Maybe the truth is in-between.
Europe becomes a second class citizen and only gets game pass streaming and very low volumes of console stock to sell to the region while UK and US gets more focus on a console/pc hybrid.
Sales of Xbox hardware will probably never eclipse 10 to 20 million units again but may be higher end and sold at a profit.
Will developers support it? Or will it just run pc code to make things easier.
Who knows.
Maybe the truth is in-between.
Europe becomes a second class citizen and only gets game pass streaming and very low volumes of console stock to sell to the region while UK and US gets more focus on a console/pc hybrid.
Sales of Xbox hardware will probably never eclipse 10 to 20 million units again but may be higher end and sold at a profit.
Will developers support it? Or will it just run pc code to make things easier.
Who knows.
EDMIX
Writes a lot, says very little
Truth.
I think for people like this, it hit them harder as they likely just had some blind spot for how this publisher is. I don't care who like MS, this company by no means can be trusted and their end goal has always been wild greed. They will port to what ever system they can and anyone thinking otherwise will join those shocked at all those timed deals like Dead Rising, Bioshock, Lost Planet etc or shocked at them bringing games to PC and then bringing them to PC day and date, it was like...how many times did this publisher need to tell you one thing and then do the other to except they are not your friend?
Sooooo that is the last fucking publisher I would ever be doubting would put their games on PS and Nintendo, MS has been knocking on the door of just being a 3rd party publisher for some time now and I've told people FOR YEARS, their end goal may not actually be to stay in the home console market, their moves suggest they are seeking to just do software
Putting games on PC day 1
Buying 3rd party publishers
Putting games on Nintendo and PS
None of that sounds like a publisher looking to continue to stay in the console market, that sounds like the moves of a publisher in transition to move away from hardware and it seems many ignored soooooo much
I'm happy many for years saw this like O onQ123 and many more, I'm sorry for those blindsided by this tbh, but some of us saying this, where not just saying it to bash. I'd say this even if I liked them or something (as I don't even hate MS, I their OSs and many of their products) but I have to be honest with what I see from a business standpoint.
Like BlockBuster to Netflix, you have to the recognize the transition and MS moves do not strike me as something happening to stay in hardware, even their massive push and focus on GamePass seems like its a step in the direction away from hardware. So to some of us, this isn't really "news", its like.....yea we know, we've sorta been telling you guys this for a while now.
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Alan Wake
Member
Xbox is pretty much non-existent in these markets anyway. They can't be selling many consoles in the EMEA regions. Xbox is moving away from consoles and toward becoming an app and a subscription service only, that's been obvious for years now. As someone who likes consoles, buying them, unboxing them, using them and having them in my collection, I think it's a shame. I've always liked Xbox as a console, even Xbox One became decent in the end. But at least we still have Nintendo and PlayStation.