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[Skifi28]

Bad take is bad. If anything, PC is helping keep them afloat.

 

[rofif]

They are failing because they let go of traditional gaming console model. new gen, physiacal games, maybe backwards compatibility, maybe not.
They do not focus on single player games. They just want gaas and continuous platform.
It just sounds like they do not know what console is and how console gaming should look like.

And then, they release everything on pc so there is 0 reason to get an xbox.

 

[near]

PC has nothing to do with this narrative that Xbox is failing.

And where is Xbox failing completely ? You need to get a reality check.

I don't think Xbox consumers really give a shit if Microsoft is breaking even if they're not satisfied with their overall content output. No potential buyer of the Series X is looking at the system and thinking to themselves: "this is a stable financial model, and therefore I'm happy to invest my money in this platform." That is a pathetic fanboy argument. The reason this topic exists is that a crowd of gamers just aren't content with Xbox's first party efforts, it's failing in that regard. As someone who owns neither PS5 nor Series X, the latter is failing horribly to convince me it's a platform worth owning, when Microsoft's entire marketing of it has been a conflict of interest. With xCloud and Game Pass accessibility.

 

[darrylgorn]

Who wants an Xbox when you can have a Playstation?

I'll never touch either, but that's pretty much the reason why they're trailing.

 

[Clintizzle]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Xbox is failing because Mercury is in microwave at the moment. We need to let this lunar phase finish and let Phil Spencers rising sun sign (asparagus) start it's birthing sequence - this will start what I'd like to call "the best year of games Xbox has ever seen".

Well, at least that's what my white girlfriend with a nose piercing says....

 

[Self_Destructive]

Another way to look at it is that Xbox is only as successful as it is.. due to PC..

 

[reksveks]

Would have been good to be able to plot software and hw revenue per user but ehh.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

I can play 99% of all Xbox games on PC, so there's no reason to buy an Xbox.

Xbox as hardware is failing, but as a publisher it's thriving.

 

[hussar16]

I am starting to think that the main reason the Xbox is failing is due to the rise of PC gaming and the simple reality that you can play every Xbox game on the PC. Halo 3 was only on the Xbox 360, as was Forza, Gears at first etc. You simply don't need an Xbox. Sony is releasing games on PC but after they have been out for a while on the PS5. It could be a year or two before we see Ragnorok. Some games like Demon Souls may never come to the PC. If I could play Tears of the kingdom on the PC at 4k 60 (legally) I wouldn't touch any piece of Nintendo hardware and I would hazard a guess many wouldn't. I don't think the original Xbox would have been as big a success if Halo was also released at the same time on PC and that was before the Twitch age

This is the reason .but Xbox is so far down the hole they can't get out of it.xbox constantly talks about how it's not about what platform your exclusives are yet the proof shows you people won't buy your console if you don't give them a valid reason phil.if your just Like hey maybe buy our stuff if you want or buy a pc I don't care that's already cutting off your market share.ive never seen a bigger bone head move. I know it's all to push the Xbox game pass but if it never really becomes profitable then Xbox is screwed and should call it quits

 

[Rendered Tangent]

Ultimately, a lack of interesting software is the problem.

The casual market has little to no interest in pc gaming as a substitute for a console, so that's not the main problem.

Just think, for a moment, about the number of high quality Playstation exclusives we've seen in the last two generations.

Off the top of my head there's;

Days Gone
Demon Souls
The Last of Us and TLOU Part 2
Uncharted series
Returnal
No Man's Sky
God of War and GoW Ragnarok
Spiderman and SM Miles Morales
Bloodborne
The Order 1886
inFamous
KillZone
Gran Turismo Sport and GT7
Ghost of Tsushima
Ratchet and Clank
Shadow of the Colossus
Detroit: Become Human
Heavy Rain
Metal Gear Solid 4

There are more, I'm sure.

Now, what did Xbox owners get in the same time period?

Ryse
Forza and Forza Horizon
Halo
Redfall
Crackdown
Sunset Overdrive

Again, I'm sure there's more...but ask yourself, which of the two offerings is more appealing?

This is why Xbox as a product is finding it hard, and the fact their games hit pc is just the cherry on top of the excreta sundae.

 

[ReBurn]

Record breaking revenue.....

..Deffo failing.

The only thing they are failing in is releases and leadership...as a business they are probably happy...which makes it even worse!

People can't grasp the notion that number of plastic boxes sold isn't the definition of success It used to be. Releasing on PC day 1 is the best way to maximize revenue, especially given the low margins on console hardware. It's better to take advantage of an existing economy of scale than try to build a new one each generation.

 

[AndrewRyan]

I agree with OP. After they announced pc is supported day 1 the console wars were over. They don't care if you play on xbox or pc. Xbox is just a convenient way to play if you don't want to deal with the hassle of a pc.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

You could say Xbox is failing because of two things:

1. MS has been training their userbase to not buy games with GamePass.

2. Having all their first party games day and date on PC is hurting their value proposition a lot, because there's absolutely no reason to get an Xbox since everything is on PC as well and a lot of their fanbase comes from there.

However those two things don't matter that much if the quality of your 1st party games is not very good to begin with.

This so much.

 

[Kataploom]

Nah, PC gaming is actually what has Xbox afloat, none of my friends have Game Pass on console, all of them have it on PC, which IIRC is like 50% or more of its subs.

Also Xbox games are very popular among PC crowd, I think even way more than Sony's.

Consoles offer something PCs don't and otherwise, so the problem is not one or the other, it's games... Phil said it wouldn't change Xbox status but I think he's waaaaay too focus on short to mid terms, Nintendo and Sony didn't get there overnight, even if PS2 was widely popular, most of the IPs that made the system big aren't in the market anymore so they basically built lots of what they have now 7th and 8th gen.

Nintendo have been playing the long game since forever. But Xbox is always looking whatever short to mid terms result which doesn't align with their goal of "being in every house living room".

They're playing long game but with Game Pass for which PC is a key factor of their success anyway.

 

[kiphalfton]

Xbox is failing because of an ancient evil curse, that only affects consoles that are named after geometrical shapes.

 

[Neofire]

Bingo and GP, why get an Xbox when you can literally play everything on PC

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I'd say xbox is failing more due to GamePass and their base no longer buying games. Most brag about workarounds to not even pay or pay much for GamePass.
However I do think going to PC Day 1 holds back innovation you can do on dedicated hardware. For example, you wouldn't make a Wii with waggle sticks without dedicated hardware and first party games to support it.
If Nintendo knew they needed a lot of PC gamers Day 1, they'd never take that kinda risk/innovation on hardware.

But even with all that, Xbox is failing cause they don't have compelling games. Even their highly reviewed games are pretty niche like flight sim, pentiment, etc.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

For the last time in American age, Xbox is failing due to not delivering games and content.

And also because you can play all the games Day 1 on PC. Both things are simultaneously true.

Worth saying, they are delivering on games and content. Some of those are quite good. Problem is actually that they have nothing that appeals to the mass market or is mainstream enough to be a breakout hit (in a way that actually is measurable like sales & revenue) or generate long-term mindshare for the brand.

Sony & Nintendo have those sorts of games. Spiderman, God of War, Gran Turismo, Horizon, Splatoon, Pokemon, Mario, Zelda etc. They also happen to be great games with lots of great content. Microsoft needs games with big brand power and they don't have those anymore.

Well, they still have maybe a couple, but they are Bethesda titles with entries several years away, so that does no good for them at current.

The issue here is that the only people who care comparing Xbox to Nintendo and Sony are Nintendo and Sony fans.

Huh? Phil Spencer compared Xbox to Sony & Nintendo multiple times on X-cast yesterday. And I don't just mean when he was doing it to critique other people who do it.

And a LOT of Xbox people compare the brand to PlayStation especially all the time. Everything Xbox does, they make it a point to compare them to PlayStation.

You can have a profitable activity without having to "beat" Sony and or Nintendo, or competing directly with them. And this is exactly what Spencer explained recently.

I agree with this. However, I question how profitable Xbox actually is, when it comes to net profits. The revenue is one thing (their spikes were largely thanks to Mojang and Zenimax acquisitions and the associated content, anyway) but the profits are not only obfuscated, they likely aren't particularly high in comparison to PlayStation or especially Nintendo's.

Sony and Nintendo certainly don't release that many first party games either. They fill the gaps with outsourced development to third parties, or even privatize multi-platform series to fill the gaps, which Microsoft does not do.

Pretty sure STALKER got a PlayStation version previously. Same with The Elder Scrolls, which has already been mentioned as an Xbox console exclusive going forward.

How could you even post this reply without realizing how easy it would be to debunk it?

 

[cireza]

How could you even post this reply without realizing how easy it would be to debunk it?

When a studio is bought, you would expect games to become exclusive to whatever the platforms the publisher manages. When did Sony buy Square-Enix already ? Capcom ? Where are FF VII, FF XVI and SF V on Xbox ? There were absolutely no reason for Xbox players who love these series to expect them to skip Xbox. On the contrary, if someone loves Bethesda, they have a clear answer on where to go now (Xbox, PC). As a gamer, I like having clear answers, I don't really care about the brand.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Xbox is failing because of no exclusive great games being released on it. Phil can say what he wants but that is the reality on it. Also, they should not release everything day 1 on PC if you want to sell the console. It's stupid and luckily Sony decided to not take the same road to the bottom.

They haven't...yet. But you never know, they could go big brain and end up doing the same thing. I actually don't think PC ports of their non-live service games would be a bad thing but they'd need to have clear cadence with it.

So when an old game is about to get a sequel on PS, that's when you port the previous entry to PC like six months - one year before the sequel on PC, with added features and content. That gives the game at least a good 4 or so years on console exclusively and you can fully exhaust the sales cycle there and also the benefit the game can later bring by putting it in PS+, before then moving outside the PlayStation ecosystem (as in, the part of the ecosystem that is actually centered on the console) and onto third-party hardware like PC and third-party storefronts like Steam.

Again, I think many of the live-service GaaS titles won't follow that model but they also don't need to; it's mainly a cadence favorable for the non live-service GaaS titles.

When a studio is bought, you would expect games to become exclusive to whatever the platforms the publisher manages. When did Sony buy Square-Enix already ? Capcom ? Where are FF VII, FF XVI and SF V on Xbox ? There were absolutely no reason for Xbox players who love these series to expect them to skip Xbox. On the contrary, if someone loves Bethesda, they have a clear answer on where to go now (Xbox, PC). As a gamer, I like having clear answers, I don't really care about the brand.

Do you not pay attention to the history of console gaming? All platform holders have engaged in 3P software exclusivity and many well before Sony did. Nintendo made SF2 exclusive to SNES for a year. Sega had console exclusives with 3P games as well. Microsoft certainly have, especially with the 360 gen. You trying to focus all this as just a Sony thing (or that somehow Sony doing it is worst than others doing it) is silly.

SFV isn't on Xbox because Sony stepped in and provided funding for the game and also became its sponsor for Capcom Cup. If Microsoft had the opportunity to do that, chances are they turned it down, just like we know they did with Marvel. The fact Capcom even took that deal probably shows that SFIV sales favored PS3 globally, and SF is a global brand, that's even aside 360 dominating PS3 in the US & UK that same generation.

FF VII isn't on Xbox because Sony extended their exclusivity deal. BUT, they also helped with restructuring the game at some point during its development (it originally had a different team helping out but ran into complications). XVI is not on Xbox both because FF XV and FF XIII sales on Xbox consoles were pitiful, and because for XVI Sony have provided co-funding and co-development support. So seems like there weren't that many Xbox players rocking with Final Fantasy where it mattered (actually buying the games).

Also FWIW regulators like the FTC do not see 3P exclusivity deals as anti-competitive so I don't know why you are trying to use that as a dig against Sony.

 

[cireza]

Xbox both because FF XV and FF XIII sales on Xbox consoles were pitiful

And no source, of course.

Trust me bro.

(actually buying the games).

And now, for the usual Xbox gamers don't buy games.

Well obviously we don't buy games, even though game sales represent 85% of the revenue. I wonder who buys them.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

And no source, of course.

The source is Square Enix being willing enough to extend FF VII's exclusivity on console for PlayStation, and making Final Fantasy XVI console-exclusive for PS5.

Actions ultimately speak loudest.

Rendered Tangent you forgot a few Xbox games in there like Ori 1 & 2, Cuphead specifically but I get your main point and agree with it.

 

[cireza]

The source is Square Enix being willing enough to extend FF VII's exclusivity on console for PlayStation, and making Final Fantasy XVI console-exclusive for PS5.

Sony offering money to remove the game from Xbox demonstrates that Xbox sales actually matter.

Actions ultimately speak loudest, as they say.