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[Banjo64]

On the topic of Game Pass, the most interesting thing to me is that Microsoft’s internal target is 100m subscribers by 2028 or whatever it was.

They haven’t pulled that number out of their arse. I’d imagine that projection has factored in to their acquisitions etc.

They aren’t going to come close to that. So what’s going to happen as a result?

 

[X-Wing]

The Microsoft board isn't console warriors or fanboys.

I think Phil Spencer could convince them to give him the money for GTA6 exclusivity or timed exclusivity (say 3 months), but they're not blind. They see the dwindling growth in GamePass and they see the dwindling hardware numbers.

GTA6 exclusivity would cost billions of dollars, but it's literally the only thing that could keep Xbox in the game for at least another year or so. Phil is on a short leash.

I mean... Rockstar would have to be willing
I think consumers have been loudly telling Microsoft that they don't want their console. Microsoft can only ignore that for so long.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I don’t think 6:1 is possible. Xbox always does okay holiday sales.

But overall it’ll still be a significant gap, it seems like the core console market is just universally dominated by Sony these days and there’s not much Microsoft can do because their prior audience is either on ps5 or pc. It just doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose anymore. Everyone has shifted to those platforms.

Interesting since you were convinced 12 million was possible globally for the quarter.

At least 6 million of that is going to need to be in the US if not more.

And again, I'd be surprised if Xbox sold more than 1.5 million globally for the holiday season. So wondering how you reconcile your confident 12 million unit projection with not thinking 6:1 is possible. If they sell 12 million, 6:1 is very much on the table.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

On the topic of Game Pass, the most interesting thing to me is that Microsoft’s internal target is 100m subscribers by 2028 or whatever it was.

They haven’t pulled that number out of their arse. I’d imagine that projection has factored in to their acquisitions etc.

They aren’t going to come close to that. So what’s going to happen as a result?

We're going to see a lot of things happen to GamePass over the next couple of years

• Price will increase to gain more revenue from existing subscribers
• Content will become increasingly MGS + ABK + Zenimax back catalog and new titles and less 3rd party
• Subscribership will fall drastically
• Once Microsoft announces the XBS is being discontinued, the clock will start ticking on GamePass

I mean... Rockstar would have to be willing

If Microsoft says they'll give them a billion dollars for 3 months of exclusivity, I think T2 jumps at that.

 

[Banjo64]

We're going to see a lot of things happen to GamePass over the next couple of years

• Price will increase to gain more revenue from existing subscribers
• Content will become increasingly MGS + ABK + Zenimax back catalog and new titles and less 3rd party
• Subscribership will fall drastically
• Once Microsoft announces the XBS is being discontinued, the clock will start ticking on GamePass

If Microsoft says they'll give them a billion dollars for 3 months of exclusivity, I think T2 jumps at that.

I agree with your first 2 bullet points but I disagree on the last 2. The service launched in 2017, it’s an entrenched service and I think the number of subscribers has reached its plateau point where it’ll just stay relatively the same now. If anything I think cheap hardware is the only thing they can do going forward, Sony can charge a lot more by the looks of it and regardless of software people will just lap it up.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

It’s not about the console sales only, you have to measure the engagement also.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I agree with your first 2 bullet points but I disagree on the last 2. The service launched in 2017, it’s an entrenched service and I think the number of subscribers has reached its plateau point where it’ll just stay relatively the same now. If anything I think cheap hardware is the only thing they can do going forward, Sony can charge a lot more by the looks of it and regardless of software people will just lap it up.

People didn't sign up for GamePass for it to be just Microsoft + ABK + Zenimax games. That won't be enough content, especially with higher prices to keep people signed up.

They've tried giving away the Series S and it doesn't work. Literally free for new Verizon subscribers if they joined and I think 150 for existing subscribers...

Not only has GamePass plateaued but we're seeing that XBS is plateauing as well.

 

[kruis]

I agree with your first 2 bullet points but I disagree on the last 2. The service launched in 2017, it’s an entrenched service and I think the number of subscribers has reached its plateau point where it’ll just stay relatively the same now. If anything I think cheap hardware is the only thing they can do going forward, Sony can charge a lot more by the looks of it and regardless of software people will just lap it up.

Cheap hardware => Xbox Series X price cuts

When that happens there's no reason to keep the Series S. The longer this generation lasts, the more of an embarrassment the Series S becomes.

 

[Ronin_7]

People didn't sign up for GamePass for it to be just Microsoft + ABK + Zenimax games. That won't be enough content, especially with higher prices to keep people signed up.

They've tried giving away the Series S and it doesn't work. Literally free for new Verizon subscribers if they joined and I think 150 for existing subscribers...

Not only has GamePass plateaued but we're seeing that XBS is plateauing as well.

Activision barely makes any games other than Call of Duty.

Bethesda main titles take ages to make.

For those services to 'work' they would need every single 3rd party on board, that or having 60 game studios making different games at different times but that would not be sustainable, especially if we're talking about AAA games with insanely high budgets.

Even then, who knows if 60 studios would be enough, many games would be cancelled, others would be Trash this is normal in the entertainment industry so it's a complicated model.

Also most people who buy a PlayStation 5 per example have an insane quantity of quality F2P games to play from the get go, the options are so extense that buying games or subscribing to services become almost redundant.

 

[BadHaircut]

There's just no reason to own an xbox when ALL their stuff is on PC and they don't have anything compelling first party-wise these days.

This is it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft had numbers that showed that less consoles are being sold, but Xbox PC figured are up around the same level.

The issue of course, is that the Xbox PC players would be significantly less entrenched in the Xbox ecosystem, whether that be games, achievements, friends or subscriptions.

Add a pretty tepid game lineup for years now, and you have a recipe for mediocre figures. Gamepass continues to be their biggest differentiator and best chance at success. But I'd wager its growth was the result of some first mover advantage and an aggressive approach to value/acquisition.

There's every chance they can maintain the value approach and keep people subscribed and drive some growth. But I think that recent history around streaming video services has indicated that these models are tough. As competition heats up, you need to be delivering a shitload of good quality content and just as importantly, driving perpetual growth. The former is expensive and the latter gets exponentially more difficult.

 

[Banjo64]

Cheap hardware => Xbox Series X price cuts

When that happens there's no reason to keep the Series S. The longer this generation lasts, the more of an embarrassment the Series S becomes.

True, but we’ve seen from their leak that they want to charge the same price for the disc-less Series X redesign.

 

[Heisenberg007]

On the topic of Game Pass, the most interesting thing to me is that Microsoft’s internal target is 100m subscribers by 2028 or whatever it was.

They haven’t pulled that number out of their arse. I’d imagine that projection has factored in to their acquisitions etc.

They aren’t going to come close to that. So what’s going to happen as a result?

 

[SenkiDala]

On the topic of Game Pass, the most interesting thing to me is that Microsoft’s internal target is 100m subscribers by 2028 or whatever it was.

They haven’t pulled that number out of their arse. I’d imagine that projection has factored in to their acquisitions etc.

They aren’t going to come close to that. So what’s going to happen as a result?

They said they count on 50% of that number being xCloud sub. And as I already said as of today xCloud simply doesn't work, quality is shit, it's laggy, and you need 15 to 45 minutes to launch a game at any moment of the day. My connexion is 1gb up/1gb down ping at 2, so no that's not the reason and Gforce Now and PS+ PS5 games streaming work like a charm.

So yes with that said, reaching 100M sub with 50M being cloud subscribers... I don't see that possible to reach that goal. On the leak we had they said that if they don't reach that limit they'll quit the gaming market, I don't make this up it's just what they said on official documents. Yes plans can change but losing 4 generations in a row, selling less and less, and spending 100B$ to acquiring gaming companies... If at the end it doesn't pay I don't see them continuing so long.

 

[Heisenberg007]

They said they count on 50% of that number being xCloud sub. And as I already said as of today xCloud simply doesn't work, quality is shit, it's laggy, and you need 15 to 45 minutes to launch a game at any moment of the day. My connexion is 1gb up/1gb down ping at 2, so no that's not the reason and Gforce Now and PS+ PS5 games streaming work like a charm.

So yes with that said, reaching 100M sub with 50M being cloud subscribers... I don't see that possible to reach that goal. On the leak we had they said that if they don't reach that limit they'll quit the gaming market, I don't make this up it's just what they said on official documents. Yes plans can change but losing 4 generations in a row, selling less and less, and spending 100B$ to acquiring gaming companies... If at the end it doesn't pay I don't see them continuing so long.

That's a good point -- the quality of service -- and warrants a separate discussion.

At ~25M subscribers, users have to sit through long queues, especially if there is a big game that a lot of people wants to play (e.g., Starfield, GTA, etc.). If they increase their subs by 400% to ~100M subscribers, they will also have to improve their xCloud capabilities by more than 500-800% to have any sense of a decent-quality service that doesn't frustrate users.

That would require some serious investment.

And if they do invest a lot more money into this, I wonder if their goal would still remain 100M subscribers. I reckon, with their additional expenditures, their goal for revenue (breakeven and profits) will also go up.

That seems like an infinite loop to me -- a path with no success.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

As someone who primarily plays on Xbox, they need to start talking about what happens with libraries before I spend more cash.

 

[Bojji]

Jesus. What a bloodbath. MS getting skullbanged. They might has well give up on hardware at this point.

Yeah, it's in much worse state than I expected. It will probably sell less than Xbox One in the end.

It’s not about the console sales only, you have to measure the engagement also.

I don't really get how they want to expand GP at this point, clearly not many people want their console. PC is massive market but competition to their service is quite strong.

Maybe they will release GamePass on Switch 2? I doubt Sony would allow them to do anything on their consoles.

So far since day one (2002) Xbox is only costing MS money and thanks to recent acquisitions this (minus) number is bigger and bigger, they are really stubborn - I give them that.

 

[BootsLoader]

Maybe they will release GamePass on Switch 2? I doubt Sony would allow them to do anything on their consoles.

I highly doubt that they will release GP on any other platform, if they do that, they might as well become a third party developer or service provider and toss the console division in the trash bin.
They could also concentrate on PC only which is a huge market already and they will make money from it as it is already established (because of Windows OS).

 

[SaucyJack]

Looking at those Xbox numbers, it would not surprise me in the slightest if Microsoft went all-in with CoD exclusivity; that may be their only Get Out Of Jail card right now since Activision Blizzard is imploding.

Tbh I think COD exclusivity would hurt COD more than PlayStation.

There were important, market leading MP games before COD and there will be new important, market leading MP games after COD

 

[SaucyJack]

Yeah, it's in much worse state than I expected. It will probably sell less than Xbox One in the end.



I don't really get how they want to expand GP at this point, clearly not many people want their console. PC is massive market but competition to their service is quite strong.

Maybe they will release GamePass on Switch 2? I doubt Sony would allow them to do anything on their consoles.

So far since day one (2002) Xbox is only costing MS money and thanks to recent acquisitions this (minus) number is bigger and bigger, they are really stubborn - I give them that.

GamePass needs respectable console sales to succeed, that it’s also available on PC isn’t enough to reach the targets they have.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Microsoft probably got a 15 to 20 year plan for gamepass...ABK etc which we will never understand until we understand.

Doesn't mean it will work, but I'll just enjoy gamepass until it goes whichever way it goes.

 

[Alan Wake]

I highly doubt that they will release GP on any other platform, if they do that, they might as well become a third party developer or service provider and toss the console division in the trash bin.
They could also concentrate on PC only which is a huge market already and they will make money from it as it is already established (because of Windows OS).

Maybe that's the plan after all. They're pushing our physical media with the Series X revision. Xbox consoles clearly are not selling well, and Xbox has been pushing to land Game Pass on other platforms for some time now. Even on Samsung TV's. I can definitely see them ditching consoles, but not gaming. They're not making a 70 billion dollar investment just to pull out a few years later.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Excitement is in the air with the recent Bethesda and Activision purchase. People really running out to buy xboxes

Shareholders are really going to scream soon. It could be close to the end.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Yeah, it's in much worse state than I expected. It will probably sell less than Xbox One in the end.



I don't really get how they want to expand GP at this point, clearly not many people want their console. PC is massive market but competition to their service is quite strong.

Maybe they will release GamePass on Switch 2? I doubt Sony would allow them to do anything on their consoles.

So far since day one (2002) Xbox is only costing MS money and thanks to recent acquisitions this (minus) number is bigger and bigger, they are really stubborn - I give them that.

Nintendo wouldn't allow GP either. If I'm not mistaken, I vaguely remember that both PS and Nintendo have already declined Microsoft's offer to put Game Pass on their respective platforms.

It is evident that the pathway for more GP subs is via Xbox console hardware. Roughly 35% of active Xbox console users are subscribed to Game Pass, and 85% of total Game Pass subscribers come from Xbox, while only ~15% come from PC.

Despite that, Microsoft has made no effort to promote HW sales

• They continue to release their games day one on PC;
• They sacrificed console market share to fill up server blades with Series X hardware at a time when PS5 was suffering from supply shortage issues; and
• Their advertisements for Starfield literally say that you don't need to buy an Xbox to play Starfield.

It really is mind-boggling how they have been operating the division.

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Microsoft probably got a 15 to 20 year plan for gamepass...ABK etc which we will never understand until we understand.

Doesn't mean it will work, but I'll just enjoy gamepass until it goes whichever way it goes.

Microsoft was created in 1975. Xbox exist since 2001. Soon, Microsoft will have spent more time in the gaming business than time without it. Them having a 10/15 years plan is at best a very optimistic one or arrogant in my opinion. Outside of monopoly, that would fix all of their problems and give them a lot of money, there is not a lot to understand.

Of course good to you if you like Gamepass as it is now. But 10 years in tech is a long time. Even during the PS3 era I remember talking with a friend about what kind of console would the PS5 be and if there would be one or just a web service like the java games that I was playing back then. 10 years. 2 possible new generations of consoles. By then Xbox could not exist anymore, or they could buy Steam...
One thing I am certain, a lot of people like you have profited of it, and that is better than not having Gamepass exist at all. Hope that it continue that way and that Gamepass don't poison gaming like some of us fear.

 

[TheGodfather07]

Xbox hardware is actually hindering Microsoft right now. How will they grow subs with numbers like that? Only 6m-7m for an entire year is abysmal and they will decline further next year. It just seems to get worse for them every passing year. They are continuously losing whatever marketshare they have left.

 

[BootsLoader]

Maybe that's the plan after all. They're pushing our physical media with the Series X revision. Xbox consoles clearly are not selling well, and Xbox has been pushing to land Game Pass on other platforms for some time now. Even on Samsung TV's. I can definitely see them ditching consoles, but not gaming. They're not making a 70 billion dollar investment just to pull out a few years later.

They will not quit gaming for any reason. They always used to make game, since Age of Empires and other games. I think they can make a profit from gaming but only on PC and/or other platforms.

Let’s see how it will unfold. Quite curious their next gen strategy.

 

[Forth]

As someone who primarily plays on Xbox, they need to start talking about what happens with libraries before I spend more cash.

This is were I am too. I'm hesitant to but anymore digital games for Xbox if the future is unclear.
I honestly think I'll just sell my Xbox and get a PS5 once the new slim arrives in the UK.

 

[LixhulHot]

It's very obvious to me Xbox days are numbered and this is their last generation. They've given up.

They had a great Xbox and Xbox 360 and I was a huge fan, only to drop the ball with Xbox One, and drop it again with Xbox Series, which is a worse name than Wii U.

Some of my takes:

- Their strategy in hardware this generation makes no sense. How can you have a weak version co-exist with a strong version, bottle neck will always be there

- Phil Spencer is a poor Xbox lead. Since day 1. He has not delivered on anything he has said, and has no strategic mindset. Where are the games that have been touted for years? Why has he come out and said exclusives don't matter, only to then buy Activision?

- Almost non-existent first-party contribution to the industry now

- Game Pass. A good way to devalue new releases. Poor business strategy, should contain older titles only.

- No differentiation to PlayStation. Everything Xbox does, Playstation does better.

In conclusion, no games, no strategy, poor leadership, has made Xbox a shell of what it once was. I shed no tears for a once excellent product.

 

[CosmicComet]

The Switch could absolutely surpass the PS2 in sales with a price cut.

Remember the PS2 got as low as $99.

It has already come close to the PS2's numbers even without an official price cut.

The little system that could.

Xbox is dead af even with Starfield and acquisitions. Nadella will fire Phil and sell the brand.

 

[ArcaneNLSC]

On the topic of Game Pass, the most interesting thing to me is that Microsoft’s internal target is 100m subscribers by 2028 or whatever it was.

They haven’t pulled that number out of their arse. I’d imagine that projection has factored in to their acquisitions etc.

They aren’t going to come close to that. So what’s going to happen as a result?

Microsoft have always had dreams of reaching unachievable numbers they thought the Xbox One was going to sell 100-200 million units then as this gen was about to start they talked about reaching 2 billion users

 

[Sanepar]

We're going to see a lot of things happen to GamePass over the next couple of years

• Price will increase to gain more revenue from existing subscribers
• Content will become increasingly MGS + ABK + Zenimax back catalog and new titles and less 3rd party
• Subscribership will fall drastically
• Once Microsoft announces the XBS is being discontinued, the clock will start ticking on GamePass

If Microsoft says they'll give them a billion dollars for 3 months of exclusivity, I think T2 jumps at that.

At this point I think there is no turning back.
They will buy more publishers and enforce consumers on their platforms. I bet their next publisher is EA.

 

[ULTROS!]

Honestly, Xbox is kinda like a niche system now. I dunno but that’s the way I see it.

The big hits of Xbox are popular… on PC.

 

[Bojji]

Honestly, Xbox is kinda like a niche system now. I dunno but that’s the way I see it.

The big hits of Xbox are popular… on PC.

Yep, there is nothing "exclusive" to their consoles outside quick resume feature. Once I upgraded my GPU I had no need to keep series x around so I sold it.

Song started porting their games but I doubt they will release any big game day 1 on pc, few months exclusivity to PS5 is a good strategy.

I also don't get why they keep Phil around, after years he achieved nothing.

 

[Forth]

I just don't understand what Xbox is anymore.
I do like my Series X but I've just no idea what Microsoft are going for at the moment, it's not selling, GPU is not that great for £12.99 a month, PS5 is destroying it worldwide and next year we'll have the Switch 2 and PS5 Pro and Microsoft have a discless redesigned Series X.
I honestly think at this point I'd rather Microsoft went third party more than Nintendo.
I just don't understand what Microsoft want anymore.

 

[Panajev2001a]

The Microsoft board isn't console warriors or fanboys.

It is a question of maths not fanboy or console warrior mentality. MS has a history of playing dirty when trying to get a monopoly in a market. The problem is how much money is that market worth to them once they were to own it and how long would it take.

 

[ArcaneNLSC]

I just don't understand what Xbox is anymore.
I do like my Series X but I've just no idea what Microsoft are going for at the moment, it's not selling, GPU is not that great for £12.99 a month, PS5 is destroying it worldwide and next year we'll have the Switch 2 and PS5 Pro and Microsoft have a discless redesigned Series X.
I honestly think at this point I'd rather Microsoft went third party more than Nintendo.
I just don't understand what Microsoft want anymore.

This will give you the answer of what Microsoft want

 

[KungFucius]

This is pathetic. Nobody wants the damn things. I am curious how many people stopped supporting the consoles when they went day and date on PC. That is when I sold my Xbone and never looked back.

 

[nosoynadie22]

I think that Xbox has done many things well, the problem is that Sony has also done many things well and until Sony makes a serious mistake like the price of the PS3 and the cell processor there will be no way for Xbox to compete with Playstation

 

[Heisenberg007]

Microsoft was created in 1975. Xbox exist since 2001. Soon, Microsoft will have spent more time in the gaming business than time without it. Them having a 10/15 years plan is at best a very optimistic one or arrogant in my opinion. Outside of monopoly, that would fix all of their problems and give them a lot of money, there is not a lot to understand.

Of course good to you if you like Gamepass as it is now. But 10 years in tech is a long time. Even during the PS3 era I remember talking with a friend about what kind of console would the PS5 be and if there would be one or just a web service like the java games that I was playing back then. 10 years. 2 possible new generations of consoles. By then Xbox could not exist anymore, or they could buy Steam...
One thing I am certain, a lot of people like you have profited of it, and that is better than not having Gamepass exist at all. Hope that it continue that way and that Gamepass don't poison gaming like some of us fear.

Even that wouldn't necessarily work.

Assume a world where Nintendo and PlayStation don't exist, and Microsoft Gaming has successfully devoured everything and everyone. At that point, if they, being the only game publisher out there, release Redfall, Starfield, Halo Infinite, and Forza Motorsport, would you buy those games?

I won't. I'd rather have nothing to play than play games like these. I'm sure plenty others would do the same, because the quality of those games is so, so bad.

What I'm trying to say that even a supposed monopoly wouldn't necessarily fix things for them. On the other hand, if they produce great content (e.g., Ori), they'd survive and thrive even amidst all the competition in the world.

 

[MasterCornholio]

At this point I think there is no turning back.
They will buy more publishers and enforce consumers on their platforms. I bet their next publisher is EA.

Depends if they can. And there are many factors to that not just regulation.

 

[Bojji]

I just don't understand what Xbox is anymore.
I do like my Series X but I've just no idea what Microsoft are going for at the moment, it's not selling, GPU is not that great for £12.99 a month, PS5 is destroying it worldwide and next year we'll have the Switch 2 and PS5 Pro and Microsoft have a discless redesigned Series X.
I honestly think at this point I'd rather Microsoft went third party more than Nintendo.
I just don't understand what Microsoft want anymore.

I think they don't have a clue anymore what to do. They tried emulating Wii and failed, they tried to go tv, tv, tv route and it failed too. Now they just copied Sony and try to be as "core" as possible but Sony is simply destroying them.

They bought stuff for billions but I doubt few Activision ips being exclusive will help them much.

Sony is releasing pro console next year and as far as we know they have nothing to counter it.

They won't easily abandon console maket they invested so much in but they clearly have no idea what to do to change their dire situation.

 

[Alan Wake]

Honestly, Xbox is kinda like a niche system now. I dunno but that’s the way I see it.

The big hits of Xbox are popular… on PC.

Yeah. I just thought about this the other day. It's actually kind of true. Xbox as a console could continue to exist in its own universe, like the Surface laptops (great hardware but Microsoft isn't selling many of them). Let people who want them buy them, but it's not where Microsoft is putting their effort. Their focus is subscriptions from now on.

 

[Sanepar]

I just don't understand what Xbox is anymore.
I do like my Series X but I've just no idea what Microsoft are going for at the moment, it's not selling, GPU is not that great for £12.99 a month, PS5 is destroying it worldwide and next year we'll have the Switch 2 and PS5 Pro and Microsoft have a discless redesigned Series X.
I honestly think at this point I'd rather Microsoft went third party more than Nintendo.
I just don't understand what Microsoft want anymore.

Didn't u check their emails exposed? Bring playstation out of business that is the goal for them.

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Even that wouldn't necessarily work.

Assume a world where Nintendo and PlayStation don't exist, and Microsoft Gaming has successfully devoured everything and everyone. At that point, if they, being the only game publisher out there, release Redfall, Starfield, Halo Infinite, and Forza Motorsport, would you buy those games?

I won't. I'd rather have nothing to play than play games like these. I'm sure plenty others would do the same, because the quality of those games is so, so bad.

What I'm trying to say that even a supposed monopoly wouldn't necessarily fix things for them. On the other hand, if they produce great content (e.g., Ori), they'd survive and thrive even amidst all the competition in the world.

I am looking at Spiderman 2 end credits right now. This is the kind of games that I like. Of course if Microsoft don't give this kind of single player experiences I won't play their games too.

But in the last few years they got their hands on quite a few games that I like. Rogue legacy 2, vampire survivors, some of bethesda IP... if they got a monopoly, a lot more of those would be in their hands, be it with gamepass or exclusive deals like Epic is doing on their platform. And sadly we are not the majority of the market. Just a vocal part of it at best. The next generation will grow with them and like it. Like we grew up with the NES and liked it even if most games were way too hard for no good reason back then. Time will tell. But hopefully they change strategy and try to compete on quality soon. I would love for them to offer a killer machine next gen.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

It is a question of maths not fanboy or console warrior mentality. MS has a history of playing dirty when trying to get a monopoly in a market. The problem is how much money is that market worth to them once they were to own it and how long would it take.

They've just spent 80 billion dollars only to see their market share decrease and GamePass continue to plateau...

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Microsoft probably got a 15 to 20 year plan for gamepass...ABK etc which we will never understand until we understand.

Doesn't mean it will work, but I'll just enjoy gamepass until it goes whichever way it goes.

I doubt they have a real 15-20 year plan.

They might have a general vision, but things change way too much to plan out 20 years.

Think back to 20 years ago, the Xbox was just hitting the market. Online console gaming was barely in its infancy, and digital downloads weren't a thing.

 

[Heisenberg007]

This is it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft had numbers that showed that less consoles are being sold, but Xbox PC figured are up around the same level.

Even that won't be sufficient because the overwhelming majority of that PC userbase will be on Steam, not the Windows Store.

On Steam, Microsoft gets the same 70-80% revenue cut as every other publisher does. On Xbox, they'd have kept 100% of that revenue coming from selling first-party games. Not to mention the increased revenue from third-party software sales of said consumers.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

And again, I'd be surprised if Xbox sold more than 1.5 million globally for the holiday season. So wondering how you reconcile your confident 12 million unit projection with not thinking 6:1 is possible. If they sell 12 million, 6:1 is very much on the table.

They are only 3.5 to 1 for the year, which by itself is a pretty massive divide

6:1 in the US is a pipe dream

Sony can sell 12M, and Xbox will do 3 or more

 

[Mibu no ookami]

They are only 3.5 to 1 for the year, which by itself is a pretty massive divide

6:1 in the US is a pipe dream

I'm not talking about for the whole year, I'm talking about for the quarter.

And again, you said you thought PS5 sells 12 million this quarter. How many units in the US? How many units does Xbox sell this quarter?

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I'm not talking about for the whole year, I'm talking about for the quarter.

And again, you said you thought PS5 sells 12 million this quarter. How many units in the US? How many units does Xbox sell this quarter?

At least 3M Xboxes. Xbox would need to tank at 2M for that 6:1 ratio

Microsoft does more sales in holiday quarters vs Sony