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[Daneel Elijah]

It is indeed baffling. There are only 2 possible reasons:

1. They are not confident in Starfield. I don't believe that. This is their marquee release; they have to be 100% confident in Starfield.
2. They are confident in Starfield, but they don't have the marketing budget to do that kind of marketing. I think this is the more likely option. But it's equally stupid. If they don't market Starfield, what else they will market! This is the game to market and plaster everywhere. But stupidly enough, whatever little marketing they have done so far has a huge tagline that says "NO CONSOLE REQUIRED".

Anecdotal evidence, but in France I have recently seen for the first time this year some Xbox adverts outside(billboard and on bus stops). It was for Overwatch !
I found it weird when I saw them first a few days/ weeks ago and moved on.They are still there now. Maybe they will put out some Starfield ads closer to release? If they don't it will be clear to me what they are interested in...

 

[Flutta]

Or 3. They care about GamePass numbers doing a big sustained bump and they do not care as much about console or game sales as they expect this to drive subscribers (think Disney+).

Series S wouldn’t exist if they didn’t care about console sales. This stupid narrative needs to die already….

Also isn’t the majority of GP subs coming from consoles?

 

[Panajev2001a]

Series S wouldn’t exist if they didn’t care about console sales. This stupid narrative needs to die already….

Also isn’t the majority of GP subs coming from consoles?

Plans change over time first of all, due to demand or allocation of HW to other businesses (XCloud), or manufacturing cost vs expected outcomes, or even because the enemy you prepared to attack is different than the one that showed up.

 

[foamdino]

I'm getting Starfield next month on PC. However I'm now convinced (given that there's practically no marketing) that it will be coming in hot and that it will be flaky in places - like "Cyberpunk on last gen consoles flaky".

Given it's a bethesda/todd game, I'd only ever get it on PC anyway, but there's been so little footage of this running that I suspect that it really isn't running very well on console.

I hope it holds up (at least on PC) as it's been a long time since bethesda launched something I'm interested in (I can't stand Fallout games).

 

[MrTired]

Do you honestly think Microsoft didn't pay for that?

Not directly, as in they are paid for it when they announced the strategic partnership with Samsung by giving them a whatever service Samsung is wanting at below market value rate. The same way Microsoft is leveraging its partnership with Sega to get games on its Xbox that it's marketshare especially in JRPG genre does not warrant. Some of those also being included in Gamepass.

 

[Alex Scott]

It is indeed baffling. There are only 2 possible reasons:

1. They are not confident in Starfield. I don't believe that. This is their marquee release; they have to be 100% confident in Starfield.
2. They are confident in Starfield, but they don't have the marketing budget to do that kind of marketing. I think this is the more likely option. But it's equally stupid. If they don't market Starfield, what else they will market! This is the game to market and plaster everywhere. But stupidly enough, whatever little marketing they have done so far has a huge tagline that says "NO CONSOLE REQUIRED".

I think Xbox will depend on word of mouth for marketing like BG3.

 

[John Wick]

The new fifa (eafc) is out next month and yet fifa 23 is in first place. Wow.

The new EPL season is about to start and kids are mad on football in the UK.

 

[Horseganador]

UK 2023 (ene - jul)
PS5 399K
X|S 182K

This year in the UK it is already going from 2:1 in favor of PS5.

The little interest in promoting Starfield on the part of Xbox is worrying, it is their most important game in many years, they should be full of it, limited console packs, 24/7 announcements, etc... instead the only thing that They are going to launch a $350 S series while Sony sells Spiderman 2 packs, it's hard to understand.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

erm....isnt starfield one of the biggest game coming out soon? Series performance doesnt look good for Microsoft, unless people starts to buy series consoles this month?

It is pretty peculiar. I said it before, but unfortunately for Microsoft I don’t really see Starfield selling alot more consoles or ripping up the sales charts. A diminutive to noticeable boost? Sure, but I don’t think it will be as significant as people think. Arguably the biggest game of the year is coming out soon and both the hype and console sales are down?

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

August is going to be nuts for ps5 with the fire sale.

Let's see what effect Starfield has...Microsoft betting everything on that game lol

Microsoft really needs to start hyping up Starfield especially this close to release. Kind of concerning imo.

 

[Woopah]

Why are people expecting a game that is releasing in September to affect console sales in July?

They're the same specs that play games exactly the same, they aren't three different systems.

Series S and Series X are two models of the same system, just like PS4 and PS4 Pro or 3DS and new 3DS.

Is insane seeing PS4 sales up to 331% and Sony not wanting to make a portable PS4.

The PS4 sales will very very low, that's why the growth % is so high.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Why are people expecting a game that is releasing in September to affect console sales in July?

I think because:

1. PS5 sales have been increasing although their next big game is releasing in October,
2. Console sales almost always increase in year 3, compared to year 2, but Xbox Series X|S has been declining, and
3. Xbox had a decent showcase in June, which should have hyped up people and increased console sales -- and that would have reflected in July numbers.

 

[Klayzer]

I think because:

1. PS5 sales have been increasing although their next big game is releasing in October,
2. Console sales almost always increase in year 3, compared to year 2, but Xbox Series X|S has been declining, and
3. Xbox had a decent showcase in June, which should have hyped up people and increased console sales -- and that would have reflected in July numbers.

I think, a lot of people thought Xbox would be building momentum, up to the release of a highly anticipated title.

 

[Woopah]

I think because:

1. PS5 sales have been increasing although their next big game is releasing in October,
2. Console sales almost always increase in year 3, compared to year 2, but Xbox Series X|S has been declining, and
3. Xbox had a decent showcase in June, which should have hyped up people and increased console sales -- and that would have reflected in July numbers.

PS5 sales are increasing but that has very little to do with Spiderman 2 or showcases. Showcases don't tend to boost hardware for a long time (it's not like Switch saw a July boost from its June showcase) and Spiderman 2 has been known about for years.

Starfield will affect hardware in September, just like Spiderman 2 and Mario Wonder will affect hardware in October, when they actually come out.

 

[mckmas8808]

It is indeed baffling. There are only 2 possible reasons:

1. They are not confident in Starfield. I don't believe that. This is their marquee release; they have to be 100% confident in Starfield.
2. They are confident in Starfield, but they don't have the marketing budget to do that kind of marketing. I think this is the more likely option. But it's equally stupid. If they don't market Starfield, what else they will market! This is the game to market and plaster everywhere. But stupidly enough, whatever little marketing they have done so far has a huge tagline that says "NO CONSOLE REQUIRED".

I can't see either one of those being true. MS 100% has the marketing for Starfield. I mean they made Starfield controllers and headsets for god's sake lol. Maybe their marketing will really start once the game comes out.

It's one of the ways they're balancing out making there games available at no additional cost on there sub service.

Xbox are using the service as a marketing tool and saving the money they would spend on traditional marketing of individual games. They are get other companies to foot the cost i.e Samsung advertising Starfield in there promotion gaminghub/cloud gaming.

I would like to think MS would want people to actually BUY their console to play the game (even if it's through GamePass) than trying it out on a Samsung TV. They must know that people that buy their consoles are play this game on PC are 1 million times more likely to stick to Gamepass right? Any half-brained person knows that someone playing games through GamePass would be less "sticky" than someone that buys a console or games on a PC.

 

[jm89]

UK 2023 (ene - jul)
PS5 399K
X|S 182K

This year in the UK it is already going from 2:1 in favor of PS5.

The little interest in promoting Starfield on the part of Xbox is worrying, it is their most important game in many years, they should be full of it, limited console packs, 24/7 announcements, etc... instead the only thing that They are going to launch a $350 S series while Sony sells Spiderman 2 packs, it's hard to understand.

UK about to join the rest of europe.

 

[mckmas8808]

UK 2023 (ene - jul)
PS5 399K
X|S 182K

This year in the UK it is already going from 2:1 in favor of PS5.

The little interest in promoting Starfield on the part of Xbox is worrying, it is their most important game in many years, they should be full of it, limited console packs, 24/7 announcements, etc... instead the only thing that They are going to launch a $350 S series while Sony sells Spiderman 2 packs, it's hard to understand.

This is 69% to 31% marketshare in the UK for 2023 in favor of Playstation 5 in Microsoft's 2nd most favorable country on Earth. Insane!

 

[DenchDeckard]

Microsoft really needs to start hyping up Starfield especially this close to release. Kind of concerning imo.

I don't think there's anything to be concerned about but I know nothing.

 

[SlimySnake]

It is indeed baffling. There are only 2 possible reasons:

1. They are not confident in Starfield. I don't believe that. This is their marquee release; they have to be 100% confident in Starfield.
2. They are confident in Starfield, but they don't have the marketing budget to do that kind of marketing. I think this is the more likely option. But it's equally stupid. If they don't market Starfield, what else they will market! This is the game to market and plaster everywhere. But stupidly enough, whatever little marketing they have done so far has a huge tagline that says "NO CONSOLE REQUIRED".

Were you around in the PS3 days? MGS4 was Playstation's biggest exclusive and everyone assumed that would kickstart a PS3 comeback. it had one good month in the month of its launch but there was no pre or post MGS4 bump.

Starfield will be big in September but like Phil said, hes not expecting one game like starfield to carry or rescue the business. I wouldnt be surprised if they have already waved the white flag this generation. After all, its been 3 years. They did the same last gen around this time. If they spend lavishly on big marketing campaigns it might be sunk cost. Starfield will sell regardless of massive marketing campaigns anyway, but it likely wont move enough consoles to be worth a $100 million marketing push.

The PS3 gained momentum through out the gen. It wasnt one game or two games. It was years of quality first party titles that brought people back along with MS's screw ups with kinect. After Starfield and Forza, MS doesnt have a big release planned. After MGS4, Sony had Resistance 2, Motorstorm PR, Socom, KZ2, Infamous, Uncharted 2, God of War 3, MAG, Heavy Rain, GT5 shipping within the next two years, and then they went super saiyan after that. Phil probably knows he might have 1 game a year next year and lets face it, Hellblade 2 isnt going to move the needle.

 

[Pelta88]

It is indeed baffling. There are only 2 possible reasons:

1. They are not confident in Starfield. I don't believe that. This is their marquee release; they have to be 100% confident in Starfield.
2. They are confident in Starfield, but they don't have the marketing budget to do that kind of marketing. I think this is the more likely option. But it's equally stupid. If they don't market Starfield, what else they will market! This is the game to market and plaster everywhere. But stupidly enough, whatever little marketing they have done so far has a huge tagline that says "NO CONSOLE REQUIRED".

I've heard rumours on socials that XBOX won't allow access to any hands on gameplay at Gamescon. If this is true, then I'll officially start to worry.

 

[charles8771]

Why the FUCK is GTAV still a top 5 let alone top 2 seller for any month? Are you people insane? What is going on that folks haven't bought that game or got a copy for free over the last 10 years? Lmao

What Rockstar has been doing since 2013?
Yeah focusing on GTA Online

While GTA 5 is 10 years old, its the latest GTA
There was not native GTA on 8th gen

 

[VitoNotVito]

Would still be an attractive option if it was £150 instead of £250.

 

[John Wick]

UK 2023 (ene - jul)
PS5 399K
X|S 182K

This year in the UK it is already going from 2:1 in favor of PS5.

The little interest in promoting Starfield on the part of Xbox is worrying, it is their most important game in many years, they should be full of it, limited console packs, 24/7 announcements, etc... instead the only thing that They are going to launch a $350 S series while Sony sells Spiderman 2 packs, it's hard to understand.

I think getting ABK over the line is the priority and so MS continue to keep quiet and act the victim.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Were you around in the PS3 days? MGS4 was Playstation's biggest exclusive and everyone assumed that would kickstart a PS3 comeback

PS3 did have a comeback, it actually sold more and more just launched much later. Eventually it closed the gap and more…

 

[Thirty7ven]

Gamepass is Starfield’s ultimate word of mouth driver. They will get 20 million playing the game and talking about it in a couple of days. That’s all the marketing they need.

 

[noobie]

UK 2023 (ene - jul)
PS5 399K
X|S 182K

This year in the UK it is already going from 2:1 in favor of PS5.

The little interest in promoting Starfield on the part of Xbox is worrying, it is their most important game in many years, they should be full of it, limited console packs, 24/7 announcements, etc... instead the only thing that They are going to launch a $350 S series while Sony sells Spiderman 2 packs, it's hard to understand.

That's more like 2.5 : 1.
And it look like is only going to get worse with PS5 slim and spider man 2

 

[MasterCornholio]

That's more like 2.5 : 1.
And it look like is only going to get worse with PS5 slim and spider man 2

Curious to see the impact the Pro will have if it exists.

 

[Stare-Bear]

So, normally when a hyped game moves consoles it’s because it’s being included in a bundle. Think ps5 GOW or Horizon bundles…

How is this going to work with Starfield? Can’t really bundle a game that’s “free” to play on a subscription from day 1…

 

[jroc74]

So, normally when a hyped game moves consoles it’s because it’s being included in a bundle. Think ps5 GOW or Horizon bundles…

How is this going to work with Starfield? Can’t really bundle a game that’s “free” to play on a subscription from day 1…

MS did some FH5 bundles for the versions that wasn't on Game Pass. Or it included some DLC, can't remember which.

I wouldn't be shocked if they did that again. But, there are no bundles out now. Which is what some are saying about the odd marketing of the game.

Maybe they can't do bundles?