WC/Jez: Microsoft's ambitious new Xbox: Your entire Xbox console library, the full power of Windows PC gaming, and no multiplayer paywall

Will you buy the next Xbox hardware?


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This is another point that some could be missing. How many people will buy an Xbox Magnus and then use it for "PC" purposes?
I'm about 99% sure that it won't be easy to use the thing for "PC purposes".
People expecting this h/w to just run your regular Windows don't really understand the model MS is pursuing.
This will likely still be a console with its own OS and own UI.
It just doesn't make any sense for MS to try and make a PC prebuilt - this market has close to negative margins as is, they won't be able to compete with huge OEMs on either price or margins.
So the h/w being closer to PC parts is fine - cuts down on R&D, allows for less platform specific optimizations needed, could potentially run a full Windows to allow running competitor's titles on the machine (for those who will care enough).
But the main s/w I'd still expect to be a console specific OS/SDKs.
 
If you had to pick a number for lifetime sales for the first party Magnus device at each potential price point, what would it be?

$799 - ? million
$999 - ? million
$1199 - ? million
$1499 - ? million
$1999 - ? million
> $1999 - ? million
Xbox Series sold 2M last year.
Likely around 1M (or less) this year given numerous stores around the world have either dropped them completely or severely reduced their stock in that time.

Who knows if there will even be a store presence for them by 2027, two years is a long time for Xbox with the current burning state it is in, and it's only going to continue getting worse, January is looming. 🔪

Shareholders will see it getting worse and continue to tear more shreds, who knows if Magnus will even be allowed to release once they're done, again, two years is a very long time.
 
You're going PC. Your new color is gold. Congratulations in advance.
imokay-yummy.gif
 
It's likely that the ability to customize, swap parts or run any software you wish will be traded off with being a simple box with console UI. Which is fine, until the price comes in. $1200-2k for a box destined to become dated with no way to limp it along with upgrades will only seem appealing to a niche. They know this which is why their success has been de-coupled from hardware with it. Wanna pay for a niche product? Great. Don't? Also great, that's why Halo is multiplat.
 
It's likely that the ability to customize, swap parts or run any software you wish will be traded off with being a simple box with console UI. Which is fine, until the price comes in. $1200-2k for a box destined to become dated with no way to limp it along with upgrades will only seem appealing to a niche. They know this which is why their success has been de-coupled from hardware with it. Wanna pay for a niche product? Great. Don't? Also great, that's why Halo is multiplat.
Pretty much. I could live with it, if it seems somewhat fair price wise and lasts at least 7 years. I spent $1000 already this gen on PS5 and Xbox together, and had PS+ for a while. For a very niche audience, it could be super cool.
 
Pretty much. I could live with it, if it seems somewhat fair price wise and lasts at least 7 years. I spent $1000 already this gen on PS5 and Xbox together, and had PS+ for a while. For a very niche audience, it could be super cool.
That's the question, would people spend more up front on a much higher powered system that you likely get a full generation out of vs those of us (like myself) who grab mid gen refreshes like the PS5 Pro because we want more power

I think the casuals will clearly say no but enthusiasts?

I dunno
 
That's the question, would people spend more up front on a much higher powered system that you likely get a full generation out of vs those of us (like myself) who grab mid gen refreshes like the PS5 Pro because we want more power

I think the casuals will clearly say no but enthusiasts?

I dunno

Depending on where I am with Xbox, I will end up doing both. I am viewing I the next Xbox purchase as a mini/TV PC more than I am a console. It seems like it will offer me more of what PC gaming on a TV does now. I can see this being a big deal for gaming enthusiasts but passing by the traditional console market. I am excited to see what MS offers but sad if it weakens the overall console market.
 
We are still arguing details that we do not know about yet. Sure, it will "do it all" but we have no idea how well. Is it really going to be a console experience?

Yeah, that's my question, too. MS doesn't have a great track record with regard to Windows or the Windows Store, and this is going to be all about Windows. They're promising a "curated" console-like experience, smooth as a baby's bottom, but it's easy to make promises, and it's easy to get excited about plans on paper. We'll see how smoothly the actual product functions.
 
That's the question, would people spend more up front on a much higher powered system that you likely get a full generation out of vs those of us (like myself) who grab mid gen refreshes like the PS5 Pro because we want more power

I think the casuals will clearly say no but enthusiasts?

I dunno

Therein lies the problem...casuals don't want that much expense/power, they want to get their foot in the door. Meanwhile enthusiasts don't want to spend big money on a PC with all its PCness stripped away. You're left with a niche enthusiast audience caught between both.

It's better for them to target a niche with hardware and serve that one segment they can profit on very well than targeting everyone and ending up underwater (just ask men in boxes)
 
The removal of the online pay wall has my attention and the complete backwards compatibility. I want to see how Sony does in those two areas with the PS6.

Would it be strong enough to do native backwards compatibility with all the previous gen's? That'd be pretty awesome if they add that to the PS6.


So, a Sony and Nintendo market it is.

SEGA right now.... "Do we take another punt?"
They have a pretty big catalog these days. It's definitely tempting to get it if that hypothetical ever happened. (it probably won't, but hey?)

in retrospect could you imagine Sega would be like if they had the IP's they have now back during the Saturn and Dreamcast days?
 
Silicon prices could be the wildcard here. Assuming MS is willing to sell it as a loss. DRAM price hike this month is probably a sign of things to come with all the new demand. I'd be open minded to it if there was a true windows layer (just for modding / backward compatibility reasons).
 
The smart marketing move (if this thing is going to be expensive anyway) is to have it packaged with an Xbox branded mouse, keyboard and controller. If the message is that this is the only machine you need for gaming and productivity, the messaging should start with what they give you in the box. The marketing is easy, here are your controls for productivity, and here is your control for your leisure time. They will miss a great opportunity if they don't do this. Slam the message home immediately about what this device is and what it can do as opposed to just a console or just a standard PC.
I'm sure part of the plan is to get vendors to make officerly licensed mice, keyboards, and controllers for this thing. Although you should be able to use anything on the market.
Except it will be a "standard PC" what other thing can it be ?

I'm glad some of you are discovering PC gaming today but stop praising things that are not worth any praises.

I can already use my "productivity controller" which is called a "keyboard" and potentially a "mouse" (mice was cute though).

And when I'm done "productiving" I can use my leisure controller which is called a "controller" to play games.

People are not THAT dumb.
 
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When hasn't a console been sold at a loss at launch?
Neither MS, nor Sony are subsidizing consoles any more, especially MS if they allow other PC stores and get rid of online paywall.

At best, they will sell the first party consoles at cost, while OEMs sell higher spec variants for 20% profit.
 
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Neither MS, nor Sony are subsidizing consoles any more, especially MS if they allow other PC stores and get rid of online paywall.

At best, they will sell the first party consoles at cost, while OEMs sell higher spec variants for 20% profit.
There will be a nice chunk of budget to play with if they forgo building the digital garden walls. I don't think Microsoft invested as much as they did to go this far and bow out rather than taking a chance on some short-term hardware losses. It would be idiotic. There's a very competitive device that could be brought to market here, and I know there are people at Microsoft who see it. Now, I HIGHLY doubt whatever they end up releasing will be as amazing as it could be (not in terms of horsepower, but in mod-ability and common sense).
 
Neither MS, nor Sony are subsidizing consoles any more, especially MS if they allow other PC stores and get rid of online paywall.

At best, they will sell the first party consoles at cost, while OEMs sell higher spec variants for 20% profit.

Being subsidized doesn't necessarily mean they are taking a loss. If it is sold at cost it is still being subsidized by the closed garden system. More than likely Microsoft is going to be making their profits off of the hardware next gen if it is a PC which is why many are projecting significantly higher prices for Xbox.
 
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Being subsidized doesn't necessarily mean they are taking a loss. If it is sold at cost it is still being subsidized by the closed garden system. More than likely Microsoft is going to be making their profits off of the hardware next gen if it is a PC which is why many are projecting significantly higher prices for Xbox.
Well, MS trying to make profits on the hardware is also speculation.

Amy hood wants profit margins of 30% for the entire division, not specifically hardware. The Series hardware being sold at $100-$150 loss per unit was cutting into those profit margins. As long as they aren't selling at loss, the division should hit 30% quite easily, especially being multi-platform, their games only need to sell 2-3 million copies to reach that 30%. Anything on top is icing on the cake.

Cloud Gaming costs roughly 3 cents an hour at current Series S profiles, according to the ABK leaked documents. Average 100 hours per month per user, is $3 per month. Even with Magnus based servers, the average costs would likely rise to $5 month but still not too much due to efficiency and server setup gains. So Cloud already has a 20-50% profit margin, based on $10 month subscription, and users buying at least one game.

The purpose of MS making first party consoles isn't really to extract profit but to act as a baseline for Developers to target and to console the Console userbase (pun intended). MS wants OEMs building most of the hardware. OEMs are welcome to make profits off the devices as they see fit based on whatever specs they can sell.
 
Well, MS trying to make profits on the hardware is also speculation.

Amy hood wants profit margins of 30% for the entire division, not specifically hardware. The Series hardware being sold at $100-$150 loss per unit was cutting into those profit margins. As long as they aren't selling at loss, the division should hit 30% quite easily, especially being multi-platform, their games only need to sell 2-3 million copies to reach that 30%. Anything on top is icing on the cake.

Cloud Gaming costs roughly 3 cents an hour at current Series S profiles, according to the ABK leaked documents. Average 100 hours per month per user, is $3 per month. Even with Magnus based servers, the average costs would likely rise to $5 month but still not too much due to efficiency and server setup gains. So Cloud already has a 20-50% profit margin, based on $10 month subscription, and users buying at least one game.

The purpose of MS making first party consoles isn't really to extract profit but to act as a baseline for Developers to target and to console the Console userbase (pun intended). MS wants OEMs building most of the hardware. OEMs are welcome to make profits off the devices as they see fit based on whatever specs they can sell.

K KeplerL2 said Xbox Series stopped selling at a loss a while back. You don't know that would achieve 30% profit margin even if that were not the case. Rest of your post is speculation and guessing as much as anyone's. And yeah, I fully acknowledge I'm speculating. I just don't see a Microsoft developing first party hardware at cost with no close ecosystem to capture profits backing it up. Makes no sense to do that while undercutting OEMs by 20% either.
 
Except it will be a "standard PC" what other thing can it be ?

I'm glad some of you are discovering PC gaming today but stop praising things that are not worth any praises.

I can already use my "productivity controller" which is called a "keyboard" and potentially a "mouse" (mice was cute though).

And when I'm done "productiving" I can use my leisure controller which is called a "controller" to play games.

People are not THAT dumb.
I get that this nothing new really, there just using Xbox branding on a PC. That alone and the high price will not win anybody over. But if they really feel the current Xbox console fanbase can be converted to this machine at least play up its strengths compared to a "standard" game console. Perhaps there many that have stayed on console and never considered gaming on a pc.
 
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Cloud Gaming costs roughly 3 cents an hour at current Series S profiles, according to the ABK leaked documents. Average 100 hours per month per user, is $3 per month. Even with Magnus based servers, the average costs would likely rise to $5 month but still not too much due to efficiency and server setup gains. So Cloud already has a 20-50% profit margin, based on $10 month subscription, and users buying at least one game.
Seriously how do you just come out with these figures and keep a straight face? I mean for starters 100hours is likely towards the end of the bell curve instead of the middle! There is a reason GFN put a 100 hour cap on per month, its to cull the 1% using a disproportionate amount of the service. Probably shared accounts with huge hours.

Also what efficiency gains specifically? What about power price rises? How are they going to depreciate the new hardware, for that matter is it a complete changeover, staged, scaled up etc etc. You have NFI. And your profit margin, big enough range there?? You are just throwing darts at the wall. You have stated you have no links to MS other than your mod duties (and shill duties here), so I'm taking you at your word you don't have MS whispering in your ear.
 
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So, if this is just a PC, why wouldn't everyone just go with PC Game Pass which is currently like half the price? I wonder how this will play out. No pay to play online would reduce the value of Game Pass as well. I think people are getting their hopes up for some possible misinformation.
 
So, if this is just a PC, why wouldn't everyone just go with PC Game Pass which is currently like half the price? I wonder how this will play out. No pay to play online would reduce the value of Game Pass as well. I think people are getting their hopes up for some possible misinformation.

Pretty sure they are doing away with PC Game Pass. They are now doing this thing where they hide the link to PC Game Pass under neath the other tiers.

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Pretty sure they are doing away with PC Game Pass. They are now doing this thing where they hide the link to PC Game Pass under neath the other tiers.

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Yeah when subscribing on PC the default tier is the Premium one which cost more for less content than what you can get with the PC Only Plan.

It's obvious that this plan will disappear when the "Xbox console that is in fact a PC" will release.
 
Neither MS, nor Sony are subsidizing consoles any more, especially MS if they allow other PC stores and get rid of online paywall.

At best, they will sell the first party consoles at cost, while OEMs sell higher spec variants for 20% profit.
Why would Sony change from the Razer model that works for them? Please if you're gonna insist that the Pro model is indicative of their future pricing you are mistaken.

The pro both the PS5 and the PS4 which were both sold at a profit were produced mainly to monetize existing users already in the ecosystem. Therefore the only extra spend you're getting from these users who are already in your ecosystem is money on the hardware.

So the PS6 will be sold at a loss, it may be at a reduced loss because of the lack of competition but it will still be sold at a loss to encourage people into enter the ecosystem.
 
Why would Sony change from the Razer model that works for them? Please if you're gonna insist that the Pro model is indicative of their future pricing you are mistaken.

The pro both the PS5 and the PS4 which were both sold at a profit were produced mainly to monetize existing users already in the ecosystem. Therefore the only extra spend you're getting from these users who are already in your ecosystem is money on the hardware.

So the PS6 will be sold at a loss, it may be at a reduced loss because of the lack of competition but it will still be sold at a loss to encourage people into enter the ecosystem.
The 15 CU handheld Canis is the entry point SKU for Sony. Maybe possibly a PSTV or Series S style device with the internals used in the handheld.

Totoki also wants PlayStation to increase their profit margins to at least 15-18%.
 
So, if this is just a PC, why wouldn't everyone just go with PC Game Pass which is currently like half the price? I wonder how this will play out. No pay to play online would reduce the value of Game Pass as well. I think people are getting their hopes up for some possible misinformation.

Now you are using too much common sense. Dumb your brain down some and then you'll see that everything you said is incorrect. Then and only then will you hit the "Jez Zone."

The 15 CU handheld Canis is the entry point SKU for Sony. Maybe possibly a PSTV or Series S style device with the internals used in the handheld.

Totoki also wants PlayStation to increase their profit margins to at least 15-18%.

Source please....

I don't believe MS were losing $300 per Series X sold myself, no matter what MS might say

Confused Always Sunny GIF by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia



So.............now we don't even listen to Microsoft Executives when they say how much money they are losing?
 
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I think this was in 2022. So it was around 2 years after the Xbox Series consoles were released.
That makes a bit more sense, but I still find it highly questionable that any corp would be looking to lose more than half the retail price for each unit sold, maybe SEGA in their old nuts CSK days, but not MS after all the lessons they learnt with the OG Xbox and 360's TROD
 
That makes a bit more sense, but I still find it highly questionable that any corp would be looking to lose more than half the retail price for each unit sold, maybe SEGA in their old nuts CSK days, but not MS after all the lessons they learnt with the OG Xbox and 360's TROD

Microsoft "paid" to "beat" Sony in power, while expecting everyone to get a Series S with only the sweatiest enthusiasts going for the X.

They were wrong, so they paid a lot more than intended, on top of that they told everyone not to buy games, they couldn't come ahead on each unit. That's why they ended up under financial pressure, jacked the price and pulled the console from stores.
 
That makes a bit more sense, but I still find it highly questionable that any corp would be looking to lose more than half the retail price for each unit sold, maybe SEGA in their old nuts CSK days, but not MS after all the lessons they learnt with the OG Xbox and 360's TROD

At one point the PS3 was losing $300 per console. They sold a $600 console, that cost them $900 to manufacture and ship. It happens, when bad decisions are made.
 
Microsoft "paid" to "beat" Sony in power, while expecting everyone to get a Series S with only the sweatiest enthusiasts going for the X.

They were wrong, so they paid a lot more than intended, on top of that they told everyone not to buy games, they couldn't come ahead on each unit. That's why they ended up under financial pressure, jacked the price and pulled the console from stores.
What a load of utter drivel
 
At one point the PS3 was losing $300 per console. They sold a $600 console, that cost them $900 to manufacture and ship. It happens, when bad decisions are made.
There are a couple of differences there..

PS3 was using the then expensive Blu-ray drive and it was also in SONY's interest to kill HD DVD.
Pretty shit that, given that Toshiba made the GPU of the PS1 and the EE of the PS2

Big business is ruthless
 
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