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[IbizaPocholo]

Xbox Heading into Next Generation in a Position of Strength

One of my favorite things to analyze is the how the big three (PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox) continually adjust their methodology in relation to

seasonedgaming.com

With so many advances being made by the Xbox team in preparation for next-generation and the future of the brand, and the Xbox team being so transparent and confident in their direction, it’s time to put all of the pieces together to see where they truly stand heading into the fall. Let’s dive in.

As we’re all aware, the Xbox team boldly unveiled their first next-generation console at The Video Game Awards in December. This took everyone by surprise and according to the Xbox team themselves, wasn’t even their original plan. In fact, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said he didn’t even like the idea at first. But, feeling the need to try something original with their messaging, they went forward with it by premiering an inspirational teaser that led to the first look at the surprising form factor. It’s safe to say it was a success as the Series X unveiling, and in particular the Hellblade 2 teaser, were the most talked about reveals from the event.

Since that moment, the Xbox team has shown that they are approaching next-generation with a far different tone than the division did back in 2013 (which for all of our benefit, I won’t rehash). Xbox as an organization is pushing the boundaries of what a gaming ecosystem should be and they have been purposeful in their communication, which in my opinion, has been long overdue.

As it relates to the Series X, the team has continued to reveal features and technology advancements that are going to be meaningful to players as they move into next-generation. In late February, Spencer himself took to Xbox Wire to confirm some of the tech specs and features of the Series X. It’s a powerhouse through and through and as Jason Ronald (Director of Hardware for Xbox) commented on a recent episode of Major Nelson’s podcast, it will be transformative in how we play games. While having the next-gen power crown in hand and a wealth of advanced features are no doubt impressive, it’s the depth of the relationship with AMD that I find most interesting.

Check the link for more.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

I really hope they have a solid launch lineup planned to show off what this beast can do right out the gates.

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

source: position_of_power.png

 

[rofif]

what does that even mean. What are those news websites

 

[richyque]

Same ol song, every gen, Never shows just talks.

 

[Bryank75]

I think people should remember what happened the last time Xbox was in a 'position of power' in this industry..... they oversaw the introduction of subscriptions to play online (no free games), microtransactions, dlc and other nickle and dime type behavior.... on top of RROD and introducing timed exclusive content from COD and GTA4.

You can thank them for all of that coming to gaming and I'm sure they will push it all even further if they get into position this time too.

 

[icerock]

Looks like I'm the only one who reads the articles on here, most just write their post on basis of the title.

Anyways, it's a well-written piece even thought there's a fair bit of fluff in there. MS have a compelling hardware, subscription model and services in the pipeline. These are undeniable facts, the concern remains about the software but the author is taking an optimistic outlook over their FP studios. There's nothing wrong with it.

 

[nosseman]

Xbox One launch was so bad for MS. They lost a lot of momentum.

This time they have a good position to win NA. Remember - with the extremely bad Xbox One launch they still has sold over 30 million units in NA compared to 36 million PS4 sold in NA. That is how close it is and with Xbox One costing more at launch and with with much less power.

MS just has to keep doing what they are doing and dont fumble.

With the payment plans they have been doing for Xbox One and XBox One X it gets even better.

Xbox All Access = Console + 24 months Xbox Gamepass Ultimate for $24.99 per month for 24 months. Extremely attractive for people that dont want to plunk down $500 just to get going and then maybe get 1 or 2 games for $60 per game.

 

[killatopak]

They’re certainly in a better spot than this gen that’s for sure.

 

[GHG]

If this is a position of strength then we should all have a lot of hope and optimism as we approach the aftermath of the coronavirus lockdowns.

 

[Sosokrates]

source: position_of_power.png

And ppl start crying when ppl troll sony threads, you do realize you are just giving people further ammunition to shit all over sony threads, is that what you want?

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

IbizaPocholo part of the Xbox Discord group confirmed.

 

[Sosokrates]

They’re certainly in a better spot than this gen that’s for sure.

A lot better spot

• More powerful hardware then the competition? Check ✓
• A very competitive array of over 15 first party studios? Check ✓
• Competitive at price? Check ✓
• Excellent team focused on gaming? check ✓
• Pro consumer? check ✓

 

[Bryank75]

And ppl start crying when ppl troll sony threads, you do realize you are just giving us further ammunition to shit all over sony threads, is that what you want?

So, you admit that you target Sony threads to troll?? Awesome...really cool of you!

 

[GHG]

And ppl start crying when ppl troll sony threads, you do realize you are just giving us further ammunition to shit all over sony threads, is that what you want?

How about you explain to us where this so called "position of strength" is coming from instead of getting upset?

 

[GiJoint]

I wouldn’t say strength because the user base is much smaller, but I can’t see them doing an Xbox One disaster lead up and launch like I can’t see Sony doing PS3 disaster lead up and launch. You could say it’s a more level playing field time around.

 

[nosseman]

A lot better spot

• More powerful hardware then the competition? Check ✓
• A very competitive array of over 15 first party studios? Check ✓
• Competitive at price? Check ✓
• Excellent team focused on gaming? check ✓
• Pro consumer? check ✓

Dont forget about Xbox Game Pass - many games to get going for a few dollars per month in the beginning.

 

[Sosokrates]

Looks like I'm the only one who reads the articles on here, most just write their post on basis of the title.

Anyways, it's a well-written piece even thought there's a fair bit of fluff in there. MS have a compelling hardware, subscription model and services in the pipeline. These are undeniable facts, the concern remains about the software but the author is taking an optimistic outlook over their FP studios. There's nothing wrong with it.

What concern?
They have acquired and expanded talented devs, so I dont know why anyone would doubt these devs more then sonys.

 

[Roberts]

As long as they sell enough consoles and games to keep the brand alive, I don't give a shit if they win the gen or not. For three generations it has been my main console of choice, because it has everything I need as a gamer: best consoles, best controllers, best and most fun games for my gaming taste, best services, best achievement system, best...

 

[mejin]

 

[xHunter]

What concern?
They have acquired and expanded talented devs, so I dont know why anyone would doubt these devs more then sonys.

I think people doubt Microsoft, not the devs. People think, that these studios wont receive as much freedom as lets say sony studios do.
I dont think anyone here really doubts that the new Microsoft studios can bring out banger games.

 

[GHG]

What concern?
They have acquired and expanded talented devs, so I dont know why anyone would doubt these devs more then sonys.

They have zero track record while working under Xbox.

Considering Xbox's history with how the handle their first party studios and approach first party game development a lot remains to be seen.

Outside of Forza Horizon its hard to think of any success stories from this generation from XGS. Playground have really pushed the Forza Horizon series forward from being a spin off to the point where it's now arguably the premier Forza game whereas other franchises have either stagnated or regressed. New IP's have been a joke from first party studios.

They still have a lot to prove.

 

[Vawn]

If they just have games this time. I hope they understand the importance of great AAA games. Quality games, not a bunch of average stuff, but actual system sellers.

 

[Lukin1978]

source: position_of_power.png

Enough said right there

 

[icerock]

What concern?
They have acquired and expanded talented devs, so I dont know why anyone would doubt these devs more then sonys.

Isn't that obvious? Acquiring devs is one-part of the job, getting them to churn out quality material is the latter (and much harder) part of the job.

People don't doubt Sonys' dev because of their track record, same goes for Nintendo devs who have an impeccable record. MS devs have yet to earn the same level of faith because they haven't put anything out yet, that trust has to be earned over time. It's not that hard of a concept to grasp.

 

[Entroyp]

From distant third place more like it

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Once Sony unveils the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X's advertising momentum will come to a complete halt. The power of the PlayStation brand is insurmountable.

 

[Mercenary09]

These media sites sure are riding Microsoft aren't they. Position of strength? They are in third place and it isn't even close. PS4 has pulled further and further ahead despite Xbox One X, Game Pass, and everything else Microsoft has tried. Nintendo Switch passed them in only a few years on the market and isn't slowing down anytime soon. There is literally no data out there at all that points to Series X being some huge turnaround for them in terms of market share. Quite the opposite in fact.

Last generation there were clear signs that Sony was coming back b/c the PS3 outsold the Xbox 360 in the later years. That isn't happening with the Xbox One. These sites act like Microsoft has so much momentum when they really don't.

 

[Dabaus]

A lot better spot

• More powerful hardware then the competition? Check ✓
• A very competitive array of over 15 first party studios? Check ✓
• Competitive at price? Check ✓
• Excellent team focused on gaming? check ✓
• Pro consumer? check ✓

-No one but the most toxic of fanboys, who are an extremely small community numbering maybe the 10's of thousands care about power . Youre severely over estimating how much people will care. See the Switch, wii, and DS, PS2 etc.
-343 and the forza studios are probably the only studios that could actually have mainstream appeal and theyve done nothing for xboxs momentum this gen.
-We dont know prices.
-Phil likes to talk, . Him and Matt booty have contradicted one another multiple time and Phil has said that stadia, not playstation is his competition despite launching against PlayStation. That doesnt seem very foced to me.
-Sony, Nintendo, have long been pro consumer. To the extent this is even a bullet point for you as some positive is baffling to me.

 

[Bladed Thesis]

We don't know enough right now about either to determine position of strength or weakness. What we do know is reputation and Sony has the first party titles and the studios to drive them for the future. MS has not shown that ability and to look at console specifications and assume a position of power based on a few messages when we don't even know the whole message from either side yet is a bit much.

 

[Sosokrates]

How about you explain to us where this so called "position of strength" is coming from instead of getting upset?

Whats the point, its so blatantly obvious that people must people must be trolling.

Im mean if spending $billions on several game studios, having leading services like gamepass, having leading hardware is not a position of strength I dont know what is.

 

[Sosokrates]

-No one but the most toxic of fanboys, who are an extremely small community numbering maybe the 10's of thousands care about power . Youre severely over estimating how much people will care. See the Switch, wii, and DS, PS2 etc.
-343 and the forza studios are probably the only studios that could actually have mainstream appeal and theyve done nothing for xboxs momentum this gen.
-We dont know prices.
-Phil likes to talk, . Him and Matt booty have contradicted one another multiple time and Phil has said that stadia, not playstation is his competition despite launching against PlayStation. That doesnt seem very foced to me.
-Sony, Nintendo, have long been pro consumer. To the extent this is even a bullet point for you as some positive is baffling to me.

Nearly Everything you say here is false.
We dont know price but Bloomberg reports that they are close on BOM and phil has said they will not be beaten on price.

Just because sony and Nintendo have done pro consumer things it does not nullify the fact that ms has turned things completely around and are very pro consumer now.

 

[Sosokrates]

Isn't that obvious? Acquiring devs is one-part of the job, getting them to churn out quality material is the latter (and much harder) part of the job.

People don't doubt Sonys' dev because of their track record, same goes for Nintendo devs who have an impeccable record. MS devs have yet to earn the same level of faith because they haven't put anything out yet, that trust has to be earned over time. It's not that hard of a concept to grasp.

Sony dont have some magical ability to churn out great games, they just have talented devs as do ms.

 

[LittleBusters]

Whats the point, its so blatantly obvious that people must people must be trolling.

Im mean if spending $billions on several game studios, having leading services like gamepass, having leading hardware is not a position of strength I dont know what is.

What is the guarantee that the upcoming AAA games will have mass appeal? This is a huge gamble for Microsoft. What if Xbox Series X/S only sells 20-25 million units in 5 years?

 

[ILLtown]

-No one but the most toxic of fanboys, who are an extremely small community numbering maybe the 10's of thousands care about power.

And yet: -

The top reason for buying a PlayStation 4 over its competitors this generation is the console's perceived "better resolution", a new US survey reports.

Top factor driving PS4 purchases is "better resolution" - survey

The top reason for buying a PlayStation 4 over its competitors this generation is the console's perceived "better resol…

www.eurogamer.net

Maybe Nielson only surveyed fanboys though.....

 

[Sosokrates]

What is the guarantee that the upcoming AAA games will have mass appeal? This is a huge gamble for Microsoft. What if Xbox Series X/S only sells 20-25 million units in 5 years?

there is no guarantee.
But if ms are not going into next gen in a position of strength, what would a position of strength look like for them?

 

[GHG]

Whats the point, its so blatantly obvious that people must people must be trolling.

Im mean if spending $billions on several game studios, having leading services like gamepass, having leading hardware is not a position of strength I dont know what is.

"Position of strength" suggests you are in an advantageous position compared to your competitors. The reason the responses have been what they are is because that suggestion is laughable.

While all the things you've listed are positive steps for Xbox (and for customers in the ecosystem) they haven't moved the needle nor have they had a tangible impact in terms of sales numbers or for the rate of growth within the userbase.

They are well positioned to do much better next generation but that doesn't mean they are in a position of strength.

 

[Jonsoncao]

Spec-wise yes. However, even if XSX is $399 and PS5 is $499, xbox will still be outsold (worldwide).

We have witnessed similar things happening too many times, for example, Apple phones with inferior specs (before A9, A10 era).

Partially the explanation is due to herd mentality.

 

[Sosokrates]

"Position of strength" suggests you are in an advantageous position compared to your competitors. The reason the responses have been what they are is because that suggestion is laughable.

While all the things you've listed are positive steps for Xbox (and for customers in the ecosystem) they haven't moved the needle nor have they had a tangible impact in terms of sales numbers or for the rate of growth within the userbase.

They are well positioned to do much better next generation but that doesn't mean they are in a position of strength.

Not over sony, but over stadia they are in a strong position to go into next gen, and if you look at all the seperate components bof being a gaming platform, ms are in a strong position.
For context, stadia are in a weak position, sony are in a strong position.

Sales figures alone dont dictate a platforms overall position, the bigger indicators are how well equipped they are to perform in the future and xbox has all the things in place to succeed.

 

[Estocolmo]

I think people should remember what happened the last time Xbox was in a 'position of power' in this industry..... they oversaw the introduction of subscriptions to play online (no free games), microtransactions, dlc and other nickle and dime type behavior.... on top of RROD and introducing timed exclusive content from COD and GTA4.

You can thank them for all of that coming to gaming and I'm sure they will push it all even further if they get into position this time too.

• Xbox Live
• XBLA
• Party chat
• Friends list
• Built in hard drive
• External hard drive support
• Backward Compatability (and 4K upscaling)
• Achievements
• Xbox game pass
• Games with gold
• Xbox adaptive controller
• Elite controller
• Controller that is an inspiration for most gaming controllers
• Wireless controller standard (first with Xbox 360)
• Cloud saving
• Cross-play supporters
• Cross-buy games (PC-Xbox)
• Cross-gen games enabled (no need to buy the same game twice for new generation console i.e Cyberpunk)
• Xcloud gaming
• Azure cloud services (even supports rival PlayStation Network)

yes I know most of these are on other consoles but Xbox has been a pioneer for many consumer friendly features.

 

[LittleBusters]

Xbox Live
XBLA
Party chat
Friends list
Built in hard drive
External hard drive support
Achievements
Xbox games pass
Xbox Games with gold
Xbox adaptive controller
Elite controller
Controller that has and is an inspiration for most gaming controllers
Cloud saving

Playstation can have all those things inferior, but they have God of War.

 

[sircaw]

No it doesn't, "a position of strength" means exactly what the words mean, that they are in a strong position to go into next gen, and if you look at all the seperate components bof being a gaming platform, ms are in a strong position.
For context, stadia are in a weak position, sony are in a strong position.

Sales figures alone dont dictate a platforms overall position, the bigger indicators are how well equipped they are to perform in the future and xbox has all the things in place to succeed.

Microsoft is playing catch up, are they doing some things right, yes they are.
But make no mistake they need to prove themselves.

I don't think you can be in a position of strength when you fucked up the last generation so badly.

I hope they do well but they need to earn people's trust back.
Show the games, good games, end of story

 

[Sosokrates]

Playstation can have all those things inferior, but they have God of War.

Not that big of a deal if you dont like god of war.

 

[Sosokrates]

Microsoft is playing catch up, are they doing some things right, yes they are.
But make no mistake they need to prove themselves.

I don't think you can be in a position of strength when you fucked up the last generation so badly.

I hope they do well but they need to earn people's trust back.
Show the games, good games, end of story

So sony have proven themselves because 3 of there AAA games got over 90 metacritic in the last few years?

What if somone prefers gears, fh4 and sea of thieves and playing 3rd parties closest to 4k on console?
I guess in that case sony have to prove themselves.

 

[Dory16]

They have zero track record while working under Xbox.

Considering Xbox's history with how the handle their first party studios and approach first party game development a lot remains to be seen.

Outside of Forza Horizon its hard to think of any success stories from this generation from XGS. Playground have really pushed the Forza Horizon series forward from being a spin off to the point where it's now arguably the premier Forza game whereas other franchises have either stagnated or regressed. New IP's have been a joke from first party studios.

They still have a lot to prove.

The Coalition did a great job with Gears, they established themselves as one of the industry's top technical powerhouses. Not bad for a studio born during this generation.
343 has done OK with Halo but not hit it out the park. If that 500 million investment into their next game engine is real, I think it disproves the whole narrative that MS is not nurturing its studios.
Turn 10 has nothing left to prove. It's pretty much a given they will have the most technically advanced racing franchise 3 gens in a row now.
We agree about Playground
The 5 new studios have to prove themselves under MS somewhat. I don't think anybody doubts Ninja Theory at this stage. Obsidian already proved themselves again just last year with a AA game that damn near won the GOTY award. Their next project will be the best first party traditional RPG, only Bethesda can see them.
Don't sleep on The Initiative.

MS is in great shape going in and I can't wait to see what happens.
Sony will be fine as always.

 

[Clear]

How can being 3rd in a field of 3 be "a position of strength"? Especially when most of the things that are supposedly going to be so impactful next gen are already in play and not changing a damn thing?

Who exactly are these puff-pieces trying to convince? Because to me it seems like its preaching to the choir, meanwhile the majority happy with their Playstations and Nintendos remain unconverted.

 

[Hendrick's]

Keep fighting the good fight Sosokrates . It's tough around here for Xbox enthusiasm.

 

[Sosokrates]

Keep fighting the good fight Sosokrates . It's tough around here for Xbox enthusiasm.

Im just confused why my post in reply to the one below got deleted and I got warned because it was juvenile.
Yeah it was juvenile, but so is the post below.
Turns out my post got reported and the person who reported it obviously thinks me calling the ps5 a mutant toaster thats going to explode is more report worthy then the post below.

Edit 2: issue has been solved.

I guess in future I will just report.

 

[Muddy]

Position of strength?

What have I missed?

 

[Dory16]

"Position of strength" suggests you are in an advantageous position compared to your competitors. The reason the responses have been what they are is because that suggestion is laughable.

While all the things you've listed are positive steps for Xbox (and for customers in the ecosystem) they haven't moved the needle nor have they had a tangible impact in terms of sales numbers or for the rate of growth within the userbase.

They are well positioned to do much better next generation but that doesn't mean they are in a position of strength.

No sir, the preamble of the article states very clearly that "this article is purely about the direction of Xbox as a brand – not a comparison to PlayStation nor Nintendo’s direction. "
It's strength compared to their position of 2013 and that's undeniable.