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[Brucey]

I will repeat something I said a couple of weeks ago

The whispers believe MS is waiting to see if the new COD moves the Gamepass needle and if it doesn't they are looking at some possible big time changes

Looks like you can sign up for PC gamepass sub for a $1, I can't figure out how long the trial lasts before they start the recurring $12 monthly sub. The terms link has zero details.

It seems like there could easily be a huge surge of pc gamepass "subscribers" signing up for the $1 deal and then cancelling.

PC Game Pass | Xbox

www.xbox.com

 

[Brucey]

Sorry I should have clarified.

I meant the termination of its current form, as in no Day 1 games after COD.

I will say...if they aren't making another console, I could see them stopping it entirely.

The question is what to do about people who've already maxed out with years of gamepass already paid and locked in?

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Here's what the Surface team have been up to:

But Surface sales and revenue have been dropping significantly over the last couple years as well:

Is Microsoft's Surface lineup in danger of being discontinued altogether?

Sales for Microsoft Surface are dipping, and the passionate leader behind the brand left Microsoft. Is it time to start worrying about the future?

www.xda-developers.com

A high end portable and halo "Xbox PC" type product could well try and leverage the Surface branding and give it a little last gasp boost as it isn't as toxic as Xbox. $750 and $1500?

Neogaf cries about a 700 eurodollar PS5 but thinks a 750 eurodollar handheld is the future?

The Switch works because it's cheap and it's the only way to play Pokémon.

 

[Optimus Lime]

Based on my sources, unless it can run Windows and Steam, it's a horrible idea that will be DOA, like everything Phil's touched since 2014.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

One has to wonder why the powers ar MS don't push a loss leading brilliant bit of kit out there. Imagine even half of the $70billion they spent going into crazy good hardware or handheld. We'd be talking 70million units at something like $500 loss per unit.

They even said it themselves about out buying Sony etc. Too bad they didn't action it and just don't seem to have the vision for the platform. Gamepass on top of that? Come on.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

The question is what to do about people who've already maxed out with years of gamepass already paid and locked in?

Simple, converte them to Ultimate, which forces them to get PC Gamepass licences, and then kick them all to PC and cease Xbox Gamepass.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

My thought is that the next Xbox will be able to download other storefronts. Maybe you'll be able to link your Xbox account with your Steam account or Epic account, etc.

Xbox will do whatever scummy thing they can to make their store's version make the most sense. Be it through search results, an "optimized" tag, make it less convenient to play through other launchers (time to launch, seperate sign in?), meaning it will be more convenient to play their version.

To make their offering the best offering, they'll have to drop their XBL requirement to play paid online multiplayer games. Which I think is probable. It's a PR win and they still have Gamepass Ultimate and Core.

They'll lose out on that 30% cut some of the time, but selling more consoles with a fixed Gamepass attach rate is probably worth it. And a console that has access to Gamepass, PC exclusives and Playstation titles when they become available on Steam is definitely marketable/valuable.

 

[Brucey]

Simple, converte them to Ultimate, which forces them to get PC Gamepass licences, and then kick them all to PC and cease Xbox Gamepass.

Potentially they could be faced with issuing refunds? which would be a hell of an undertaking, given some paid full price and others only a token amount to convert Xbox live over. So what is the true value of a month or year of gamepass ultimate?

 

[TheGodfather07]

Where was his sources when he said the rumours of Microsoft porting games to playstation was "copium"? They know nothing at all.

 

[akira__]

My thought is that the next Xbox will be able to download other storefronts. Maybe you'll be able to link your Xbox account with your Steam account or Epic account, etc.

Xbox will do whatever scummy thing they can to make their store's version make the most sense. Be it through search results, an "optimized" tag, make it less convenient to play through other launchers (time to launch, seperate sign in?), meaning it will be more convenient to play their version.

To make their offering the best offering, they'll have to drop their XBL requirement to play paid online multiplayer games. Which I think is probable. It's a PR win and they still have Gamepass Ultimate and Core.

They'll lose out on that 30% cut some of the time, but selling more consoles with a fixed Gamepass attach rate is probably worth it. And a console that has access to Gamepass, PC exclusives and Playstation titles when they become available on Steam is definitely marketable/valuable.

If the focus is more storefronts, would that be admission that the current storefront on the console is lacking?

Other storefronts would not only lead to missing that 30% sale cut but also lose out on performance that was gained by working for a single platform with devkits, sdk, api, etc. Be prepared that other storefront games will run 20% to 40% worse then their console counter parts.

The multiple storefronts would help with the strategic positioning of MS. See their case against apple for example.

Within the gaming industry we have yet to see a open console take off.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Microsoft knows deep down the only chance they have of superseding Sony in console sales is to release theirs before Sony does.

It worked for a while with the Xbox 2 (Xbox 360), and I can't see Sony releasing a PS6 in 2 years when PS5 has barely gotten out of 2nd gear.

But alas, stranger things have happened in gaming.

It mainly worked for the 360 because of the PS3’s launch price.

 

[Brucey]

It mainly worked for the 360 because of the PS3’s launch price.

Also 360 had a 12 to 18 month headstart over the PS3.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Also 360 had a 12 to 18 month headstart over the PS3.

Yep, but the price was a guaranteed delay of any swift catch up (though the PS3 sold more from launch).

 

[Brucey]

Yep, but the price was a guaranteed delay of any swift catch up (though the PS3 sold more from launch).

Ultimately the value offering was the PS3 because the 360 launched without basic stuff like HDMI, hard drive, WiFi etc. By the time you got all the add-ons you were right up there. Before the HD-DVD drives brief appearance. But certainly the initial price of entry appeared low.

 

[ThisIsMyDog]

it's the only way to play Pokémon.

 

[PatientGamer]

It mainly worked for the 360 because of the PS3’s launch price.

I think if the PS3 launched day and date with X360, they would've still stomped.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

I think if the PS3 launched day and date with X360, they would've still stomped.

What would have stomped? The 360?

 

[PatientGamer]

What would have stomped? The 360?

The PS3 would've stomped the 360.

 

[Aguero9320]

I know this will trigger a few, but it's true. The pace of change, for me at least, is happening fast. I own all the consoles and always have, but I don't think I'll buy another one of any variety. I recently built a very nice gaming PC, but I'm not really using it to play games - I'm using Geforce Now. I do still use remote play occasionally from the Xbox or through Moonlight (and even more rarely from the PS5) which uses my hardware but that's out of necessity rather than choice. If it's on Geforce Now I'm using that, either through the TV app, Apple TV using Moonlight or on my ROG Ally X (which is 100% a streaming machine it turns out).

I'm still interested to see if Microsoft really do something different to pull me back in, but the streaming stuff works so well for me I'm not sure what that could be. I am certain PS6 is not in my future. Hopefully they are developing a service to match Geforce Now, or looking to partner with them. The amount of games that don't come out in a way that would make them accessible this way is smaller than ever and shrinking all the time.

 

[mckmas8808]

Here's what the Surface team have been up to:

But Surface sales and revenue have been dropping significantly over the last couple years as well:

Is Microsoft's Surface lineup in danger of being discontinued altogether?

Sales for Microsoft Surface are dipping, and the passionate leader behind the brand left Microsoft. Is it time to start worrying about the future?

www.xda-developers.com

A high end portable and halo "Xbox PC" type product could well try and leverage the Surface branding and give it a little last gasp boost as it isn't as toxic as Xbox. $750 and $1500?

Those prices would make it dead on arrival lol!

 

[finalflame]

I get the feeling the next XBOX is going to essentially be part of the PC ecosystem, with a layer of XBOX experience draped over it. I'd be very surprised if I am wrong about this.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Those prices would make it dead on arrival lol!

Exactly.

Only Premium devices will see these sorts of big price points. A mainstream device would sit right there at anything over $600.

 

[Punished Miku]

Those prices would make it dead on arrival lol!

That's what I've been expecting since February. Already saved up $2000 just this year.

I made a thread about getting a PC, and everyone told me it'll be in the 1000-2500 range. If I can get a console and handheld for that, and it doesn't feel like a huge ripoff in terms of cost / performance, I'm definitely interested. It's not going to be a mainstream device though at all.

 

[Brucey]

Those prices would make it dead on arrival lol!

They've tried the low end with series s, the high end with series x, both at once, those markets have failed to respond with falling demand for those offerings... what else is left but the ultra premium tier of cashed up Xbox fans. I just don't see it recouping development costs tho.