What does Microsoft need to do to make Xbox successful again?

To be honest, I'm really not sure how they can. The Xbox One launch was a catastrophe for the Xbox brand in general, as was the Kinect and all the fart assing around they did with that piece of trash.

Apart from Halo and Gears, they really don't have that many compelling exclusives either, and even with those two, you would have a healthy amount of people that would say they're burned out as franchises. Forza is fantastic for the racer genre, but it's on PC now as well. Fable is practically dead at this point, as are its developer. Rare is a shadow of its former self, although Sea of Thieves is looking pretty good at the moment but probably won't sell a heap of consoles on its own (again, coming to PC as well).

So yeah, not a whole lot going for them in the console space at the moment. They are still the primary platform for the likes of CoD and BF but that won't save them from Sony's momentum at this point.
 
Sunset overdrive, Ori and the blind forest, Killer Instinct, halo 5, quantum break and GoW 4 are all but forgettable.

Out of those the only must have, in my eyes, is Ori. And it's available on PC. And I'm being generous. They just don't compare to what you can find elsewhere.
 
I got my Xbone S back in October, full well knowing it wouldn't be my primary or even secondary console. I already had both a PS4 and a Wii U, as well as a gaming PC. So, I bought it expecting to JUST use it to play Halo with some friends.

Honestly, regardless of the games drought right now I do think Microsoft's ecosystem is pretty appealing. Backwards Compatibility is a big deal for me, since I didn't really explore the 360's library back when it was current - and the fact that it integrates so well into the system's other features like screenshots, streaming, cloud saves, and what-have-you is really nice. Games with Gold have generally provided some really good monthly games, so even if I'm not outright buying anything for the system it feels like there's always something to play. I can see myself maybe subbing to Xbox Game Pass once that's out for the same reason - I might want to try some games, but maybe I won't feel like dropping money to buy them. Games I actually want to buy I'll get on PC or PS4 depending on the circumstances. Getting them as part of either the Game Pass or Games with Gold lets me try stuff out I wouldn't have otherwise, and since I'm not dumping loads of money into those games I don't feel like I'm getting a significantly worse experience playing them on Xbone, even if the version's of the games are technically worse on there.
 
Why do so many people think Scorpio is the answer? The main problem isn't the power, it's the lack of games. Scorpio alone doesn't magically fix that. The most powerful system in the world doesn't matter much if there's barely anything interesting to play on it.
 
I'd like MS to undergo a "Nintendo-like" transition. At some point, they'll realize they can't keep up with Sony's exclusive output and concentrate on their strengths. Sony's strengths are singleplayer experiences. MS just can't deliver them on the same scale as Sony. Instead, MS should focus on their own strengths. OS, cloud and services. And they are in the midst of that transition. UWP, EA Access and Xbox Game Pass are clear signs. It's funny that some gamers don't seem ready yet though.

Yep.

The only addition to that is they may now try to always go for the best (as in most powerful) place to play multiplats (amongst consoles). And get some more 3rd parties to allow their games to be part of the Play Anywhere initiative.

All that said and done the brand is not going to sell well outside of the US and U.K. Sony's brand (and MS hate) is just too strong


Why do so many people think Scorpio is the answer? The main problem isn't the power, it's the lack of games. Scorpio alone doesn't magically fix that. The most powerful system in the world doesn't matter much if there's barely anything interesting to play on it.

No games at all, huh? Really?

LOL, ok.
 
Yep.

The only addition to that is they may now try to always go for the best (as in most powerful) place to play multiplats (amongst consoles). And get some more 3rd parties to allow their games to be part of the Play Anywhere initiative.

All that said and done the brand is not going to sell well outside of the US and U.K. Sony's brand (and MS hate) is just too strong

I think UWP is a bigger deal than folks tend to let on. It allows developers to make games and apps for both W10 and Xbone at the same time more or less seamlessly, and I think in the long-run that's what MS is going for. The future of Xbox is the brand, not necessarily the console, and in the end Xbox "consoles" are just going to be gaming PCs with an Xbox logo on them and slightly less productivity features from W10.
 
I think UWP is a bigger deal than folks tend to let on. It allows developers to make games and apps for both W10 and Xbone at the same time more or less seamlessly, and I think in the long-run that's what MS is going for. The future of Xbox is the brand, not necessarily the console, and in the end Xbox "consoles" are just going to be gaming PCs with an Xbox logo on them and slightly less productivity features from W10.

Agreed.
 
Yep.

The only addition to that is they may now try to always go for the best (as in most powerful) place to play multiplats (amongst consoles). And get some more 3rd parties to allow their games to be part of the Play Anywhere initiative.

All that said and done the brand is not going to sell well outside of the US and U.K. Sony's brand (and MS hate) is just too strong




No games at all, huh? Really?

LOL, ok.

Oh definitely. If MS can offer the best versions of Assassin's Creed, Need for Speed, FIFA, Madden, Call of Duty (they should really try and get timed DLC-exclusivity back) that would be a huge success for them. I know we live in the bubble in which exclusive games are the most important part of the equation, but that's not the case for the majority of people.

People didn't hate MS during the 360 era here in Germany. On the contrary, it was the console to get when PS3 was too expensive and before Sony got the exclusive games train rolling.
 
From what I see Although Sony has things other than Gaming. Sony just seems like a Gaming Company and Obviously Ninty that's all they do. MS just feels like a Software company that does gaming on the side.
 
They need zen CPU. Hbm2 ram, and 8tf gpu in the Scorpio. And sell it at 299$. Then mention Halo6 and the new Halo Universe MMO in development. That will save it. Absolutely.
 
All that said and done the brand is not going to sell well outside of the US and U.K. Sony's brand (and MS hate) is just too strong

Nonsense. The "MS hate" in continental Europe is not a law and has been overblown. It's an excuse used to cover up failure.
I'm not saying that there is no negative brand perception, but that explanation only goes so far.
 
They need zen CPU. Hbm2 ram, and 8tf gpu in the Scorpio. And sell it at 299$. Then mention Halo6 and the new Halo Universe MMO in development. That will save it. Absolutely.

No it won't.

I'm sure the average Joe would be hyped to see that Zen CPU, 8tf GPU and that hbm2 ram. That screams must have item to families.

Power doesn't mean anything if you don't use it. They need compelling games and services to be able to sell their console.

Hope my sarcasm detector isn't broken.
 
No it won't.

I'm sure the average Joe would be hyped to see that Zen CPU, 8tf GPU and that hbm2 ram. That screams must have item to families.

Power doesn't mean anything if you don't use it. They need compelling games and services to be able to sell their console.

Hope my sarcasm detector isn't broken.
Mine must be off too because I can't tell for certain lol. Either must be a Halo fan (One of Us™; delusional), or sarcastic.
 
No games at all, huh? Really?

LOL, ok.

He didn't say "no games at all" though?!

They need zen CPU. Hbm2 ram, and 8tf gpu in the Scorpio. And sell it at 299$. Then mention Halo6 and the new Halo Universe MMO in development. That will save it. Absolutely.

If by "save it" you mean the console will have sales on par with the PS4, or at least sales increase significantly then I completely disagree. I expect most people who really care about Halo already have the console and another sequel and MMO spin-off wouldn't do much to move the needle. It's obviously a declining franchise and I don't think doubling-down on it would save the console at all.

(On the other hand I would bloody love a Halo RPG in the style of Mass Effect because I think the universe is broad and interesting and there are plenty of other stories to tell, but I still don't think that would do much to save the console).
 
They need zen CPU. Hbm2 ram, and 8tf gpu in the Scorpio. And sell it at 299$. Then mention Halo6 and the new Halo Universe MMO in development. That will save it. Absolutely.

I really hope you're joking, sometimes it's hard to tell these days.


The sooner you make your peace with 6 TF the better. That's what MS promised last year and that's what you'll get. And that's totally fine for a console which is supposed to run XBOX One games in 4k.

Thing is, MS will sure as hell opt for the cheapest possible solution to deliver those 6TF in fall 2017.

Because even for a premium console price / value-for-money is king. It's indeed as simple as that.
 
Their studios need to be more flexible in nature. I'm sorry, but these studios dedicated to ONE IP, with [SERIES] FACTORY all but written in their names, is a massive creative-albatross around the Xbox brand's neck. Microsoft's holy-trinity of Gears, Halo, and Forza is NOT getting them anywhere. Gears and Halo are both past their prime IPs suffering from some serious creative-sterility that's only real relevance anymore is to shareholders who haven't gotten the memo yet.

Stop killing 3rd Party exclusive games - It does nothing but reinforce and prove the "Nothing but Gears, Halo, and Forza" image of the Xbox. I mean jesus christ, Scalebound could have been the answer to Breath of the Wild and Horizon, but now Xbox's hopes on that front lie in the Vaporware known as Crackdown 3.

Scorpio as it stands needs to be a complete relaunch of the Xbox brand as a whole, like the Nintendo Switch, or at the very least like when Sony dropped the PS3 to $299 and gave the Spiderman font a blindfold and cigarette.

...And disappointed that title got changed. I was totally hyped to make a "Cater to the Alt-Right gamer niche, of course. That's how you'll make Xbox Great Again™" joke-post a few days ago, but was at work practically 24/7 when this thread was first made.
 
Why do so many people think Scorpio is the answer? The main problem isn't the power, it's the lack of games. Scorpio alone doesn't magically fix that. The most powerful system in the world doesn't matter much if there's barely anything interesting to play on it.

But Xbox has games coming, so where is the issue exactly?
 
Why do so many people think Scorpio is the answer? The main problem isn't the power, it's the lack of games. Scorpio alone doesn't magically fix that. The most powerful system in the world doesn't matter much if there's barely anything interesting to play on it.

It's quite possible that the Scorpio offers the best option for third party AAA games. We get a steady stream of those, if that's your bag.
 
Why do so many people think Scorpio is the answer? The main problem isn't the power, it's the lack of games. Scorpio alone doesn't magically fix that. The most powerful system in the world doesn't matter much if there's barely anything interesting to play on it.

The platform that plays most third party games the best is enough for many, me included. That's the reason why I bought 360 last gen and that's the reason why I bought PS4 this gen.
 
It's quite possible that the Scorpio offers the best option for third party AAA games. We get a steady stream of those, if that's your bag.

And then in 2 years the best AAA experiences switch back to PS5 potentially.
It's always going to be a technological one man up ship from this point forward.

I still feel like it's a bit of miss step to just focus on power alone.
Of course my post is null and void if there's tons of software stuff happening behind the scenes.
 
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