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[TheGodfather07]

What exactly do think is happening?

Why ask questions you already know the answer to? Don't play dumb.

 

[March Climber]

Phil seems to have been sidelined. Maybe today at the Direct?

This type of in-depth conversation has to be had post-showcase, not during one. They will probably hold a post-showcase couch talk for him to clear the air completely, either same day or next day. Right now, all we have are rumors and vague wording from an interview with a higher up.

 

[onQ123]

Marching orders lol

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Lol.

This goon thinks MS even has a grand plan to unveil in 2024.

They've been throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks since 2013.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Move makes complete sense.

It's a good move for everyone.

The analysts I spoke to agree that a strategy of curated, timed releases of former-exclusives on Nintendo and PlayStation consoles makes a lot of sense for Xbox…

So exactly what was suggested on the Satya post. Why are people so desperate to turn this into MS getING out of hardware and becoming publisher only?

Exactly. Pure fan fiction being written here over the last few days.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Decent margins for Microsoft would eliminate one of the primary drivers of getting their hardware in the first place and put you in a price range where you are in competition with tens of not hundreds of other hardware manufacturers. At that point you'd be better off trying to go the Steam Machine route.

It's honestly why I think they want to get out of the console hardware business. Remember they were selling the S/X at $100-200 loss per unit sold not to mention R&D. They've given the console hardware business 20+ years and their biggest success was marred by massive hardware failures that cost them over a billion to remedy. They followed that up with hardware that only managed 68% of the sales and their current hardware probably isn't going to equal that.

That’s why I said they go super high, customizable, and powerful.

It differentiates their product more, makes it a lot more niche, but retains profitability

They will be perfectly OK selling far less consoles than trying to race to the bottom on cost. Because software will be the major driver of profits, not hardware, they won’t leave hardware cold turkey

 

[gothmog]

That’s why I said they go super high, customizable, and powerful.

It differentiates their product more, makes it a lot more niche, but retains profitability

They will be perfectly OK selling far less consoles than trying to race to the bottom on cost. Because software will be the major driver of profits, not hardware, they won’t leave hardware cold turkey

I think the complication to a plan like this would be the risk of negatively impacting the Windows side of the business. Xbox basically becoming a Windows gaming PC minus the bullshit of dealing with Windows could potentially crater the Microsoft based desktop and laptop markets. They make a ton of money licensing the OS to manufacturers.

 

[DenchDeckard]

That’s why I said they go super high, customizable, and powerful.

It differentiates their product more, makes it a lot more niche, but retains profitability

They will be perfectly OK selling far less consoles than trying to race to the bottom on cost. Because software will be the major driver of profits, not hardware, they won’t leave hardware cold turkey

This is exactly what I want.

If they work the model so it makes profit from day one, it doesn't matter if they sell 10 million or a hundred million. Every one of those purchases plus game purchases and gamepass is pretty much profit.

That's what they need to do.

Just going to be interesting if Sony allow them on their platform. I don't think games like hi fi rush will need an xbox login, but surely ms will be pushing for one in anything multiplayer relayed, which I think Sony will be against.

Maybe they go arm streaming stick box for the new series "s" type model and the high end one costs whatever they want. Just means developers have to port to one version, the higher end one and then the streaming box just streams it.

It makes almost too much sense.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I think the complication to a plan like this would be the risk of negatively impacting the Windows side of the business. Xbox basically becoming a Windows gaming PC minus the bullshit of dealing with Windows could potentially crater the Microsoft based desktop and laptop markets. They make a ton of money licensing the OS to manufacturers.

They can include a markup for the OS themselves. Should only make it better for them if non gamers buy their PCs and they steal market share from dell or hp

 

[DenchDeckard]

Just to add, put hi fi rush everywhere, please MS and then green light a netflix show ffs.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Just going to be interesting if Sony allow them on their platform. I don't think games like hi fi rush will need an xbox login, but surely ms will be pushing for one in anything multiplayer relayed, which I think Sony will be against.

Sony has no reason not to as long as MS makes a concession on the XBL requirement

Most GaaS titles are service agnostic, like Fortnite, so MS should forget about caring too deeply about XBL

 

[Forth]

2024 is the year we finally start seeing Xbox's grand ecosystem strategy!
There is no strategy, they're changing everything because their hardware isn't selling.

 

[bender]

That’s why I said they go super high, customizable, and powerful.

It differentiates their product more, makes it a lot more niche, but retains profitability

It differentiates itself by entering a market crowded with tons of other manufacturers?

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

It differentiates itself by entering a market crowded with tons of other manufacturers?

It’s essentially the steam machine concept with better execution.

It keeps them in the hardware game for their hardcore fans. It is not expected to sell incredibly well

 

[Heisenberg007]

It is if they get decent margins on the hardware. That’s why I said it would be sold at a premium. It won’t be a big driver of their business compared to third party, but I think they’ll want to keep their hardest core fans still engaged with their entire ecosystem

The end goal is to eventually phase out hardware entirely and go to the cloud, but in the here and now they need to remain relevant

But think about it ... If they start seeking profit for each console unit sold (they'll have to at that point if the total userbase has shrunk to less than 25 million), their console will end up at $800 MSRP.

Sony will be offering the same-powered console at $500.

Why would anyone buy an $800 console that doesn't have any exclusive games and that also won't have Sony games. But buying a PS6 will give them PS exclusives + Xbox games _ the most third-party games at $300 less price.

This will not work.

 

[GHG]

I don't understand why some people are so desperate to have "xbox" branded hardware? People are proposing $800 hardware? DenchDeckard mentioned he'd take hardware that Microsoft are making a couple of hundred dollars of profit on?

Please make it make sense. At that point just build or buy a HTPC.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Here's what Xbox should do, and it's quite simple.

Drop the exclusivity bullshit. You just bought a $70B company and you are contractually obligated to bring it to Playstation AND Switch now, for a VERY long time. Why allow Activision, a series that is wildly popular, to be multiplatform, but let you new IPs like Hi-Fi-Rush be sent out to die just because it's on a very small userbase relative to what it could be released on? Makes no fucking sense. Your console is getting outsold in Europe massively (they have like what, 5% marketshare if that???).

1. Xbox "hardware" becomes more specialized and niche and comes in two form factors that have access to the full suite of Windows and an Xbox UI that are GamePass launchers as well.

• A "Steam Deck" style Series S type console that is NOT obligated to play every game, but can play what will run on it across the entire PC universe. Can either be handheld alone or docked. Sold at a premium.
• A "Gaming PC" style Series X that is both more expensive than any console we've seen before ($800-1000+), but that has upgradeable components (GPUs, etc).

Generations now no longer really exist for Microsoft hardware. It's just new smaller iterations available more frequently. The chassis may eventually need to be upgraded, but they will be pretty infrequent.

2. ALL Xbox Studios titles released on Playstation/Switch where possible.

3. Microsoft gets to "Gatekeep" their GamePass service to their own console (begrudgingly, since I don't think Sony will allow this). So they still get some sort of exclusivity type arrangement that entices people to buy their hardware.

But yeah, it's not sustainable to keep releasing all these niche Bethesda games (other than Starfield/Elderscrolls) and titles from Ninja Theory, Obsidian, etc. as exclusives. They are basically being sent out to die and the consumer isn't reacting to this by buying Xboxes, they are reacting to it by NOT buying Xbox or their games at all.

What's funny to me about all this, is that I didn't only see all this coming years ago, I just find it strange how some people still haven't noticed the patterns.

MS not showing their numbers, be that consoles or games sales, has been because those numbers aren't good.

Their pivoting to gamepass and day 1 releases on that platform, wasn't ever about them being for the gamers or making the "best deal in gaming" It was them shifting away from a console to a service model, ultimately feeling that they would be making more from there than they would ever have otherwise.

Now this pivot to multiplatform, is only because sub-service growth has flattened, and releasing on other platforms (Playstation) will be the only way for them to make any of this make sense.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I don't understand why some people are so desperate to have "xbox" branded hardware? People are proposing $800 hardware? DenchDeckard mentioned he'd take hardware that Microsoft are making a couple of hundred dollars of profit on?

Please make it make sense. At that point just build or buy a HTPC.

That's pure fanboyism right there. Seems like just the idea is causing certain brains to malfunction.

Guess that's the cost of ignoring the signs for 2 consecutive gens.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

Come on Phil say something.

When Phil would say something that would be going agains what Nadella has been saying, he would be paying a visit to Nadella's office, you can be shure of that....

 

[Ar¢tos]

Exclusivity 2.0
Games are released on competing platforms but are still named exclusives because they are made by 1st party studios and release 1st on Xbox/GP.

This new definition will settle down the most extreme fanboys.

shhhhhhh don't tell them!

 

[GHG]

Phase two of all this by the way is that the narrative will shift to Sony and Nintendo being "anti-consumer" for maintaining their platform exclusives.

Don't fall for it.

 

[Krieger]

What a career moment. Spending $80 billion just to destroy your own division.

 

[jroc74]

When Phil would say something that would be going agains what Nadella has been saying, he would be paying a visit to Nadella's office, you can be shure of that....

This is gonna be interesting to watch. If he does, some will take what Phil says as gospel...and the cycle will continue.

One of these days all Xbox/MS execs will be on the same page, at the same time, as far as messaging

 

[SJRB]

So what you're saying is that also releasing games on vastly more popular systems will be a plus for Xbox because selling more games will get them more money?

Man, the business acumen is off the chart. Who could've predicted this?

 

[Dorfdad]

I think it was brilliant move for Microsoft to buy activision. They saw the writing in the wall and know that gaming is a medium they need to be in, and the only way it will have a foothold is to acquire and become a publisher. This way they own the games people care about and can generate 3x rebuke from other platforms.

They keep referring to cloud but it seems they have zero improvements in this over the last 2 years. We’re still on 1080p services.

If they are serious they need a big jump in fidelity and infastrutre asap. Sonys new PS streaming is fantastic on PS5.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

How Xbox Is Changing it's Nature of Exclusivity​

Is more appropriate.

 

[Ar¢tos]

This is gonna be interesting to watch. If he does, some will take what Phil says as gospel...and the cycle will continue.

One of these days all Xbox/MS execs will be on the same page, at the same time, as far as messaging

We know from the FTC case that he wanted everything exclusive (as in, not on Playstation) , COD exclusive as soon as the marketing deal with Sony ended and that he was really pissed off that he couldn't take Minecraft from Playstation and now Nadella decides to go multiplatform (or start a process of going multiplatform in stages).
Hard times for Phil ahead, he'll probably quit silently.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

You’re not losing the race if you constantly move the goalposts, huh? But honestly, after Insomniac budgeting leaks the size of Xbox userbase alone looks unsustainable.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

We know from the FTC case that he wanted everything exclusive (as in, not on Playstation) , COD exclusive as soon as the marketing deal with Sony ended and that he was really pissed off that he couldn't take Minecraft from Playstation and now Nadella decides to go multiplatform (or start a process of going multiplatform in stages).
Hard times for Phil ahead, he'll probably quit silently.

I still believe that they wanted COD as an exclusive to use as leverage when they would try and put GamePass on Playstation.

It's a double-edged sword though.

 

[Ar¢tos]

I still believe that they wanted COD as an exclusive to use as leverage when they would try and put GamePass on Playstation.

It's a double-edged sword though.

GP on Playstation would be technically weird, aside from streaming. MS couldn't use the Xbox versions of the games because of the different OS and Sony proprietary formats, so it would be Sony to give access to their versions on their servers to be downloaded by players as MS GP game and they would obviously charge massively MS for that. Then there is the account linking, save data encryption, etc. With GP being cheap and MS having to pay publishers too, they would just lose money.

I don't think MS really intended to have GP on Playstation, they just tried so they could say "Sony is mean to us".

 

[Killjoy-NL]

GP on Playstation would be technically weird, aside from streaming. MS couldn't use the Xbox versions of the games because of the different OS and Sony proprietary formats, so it would be Sony to give access to their versions on their servers to be downloaded by players as MS GP game and they would obviously charge massively MS for that. Then there is the account linking, save data encryption, etc. With GP being cheap and MS having to pay publishers too, they would just lose money.

I don't think MS really intended to have GP on Playstation, they just tried so they could say "Sony is mean to us".

Well, yeah, but that's part of why buying ABK would be much cheaper and beneficial for MS.
And it might press Sony into being more open to MS demands.

 

[Astray]

I guess we're at Stage 5 now huh?

STAGE 5: CAPITULATION TO IRRELEVANCE OR DEATH
The longer a company remains in Stage 4, repeatedly grasping for silver bullets, the more likely it will spiral downward. In Stage 5, accumulated setbacks and expensive false starts erode financial strength and individual spirit to such an extent that leaders abandon all hope of building a great future. In some cases the company's leader just sells out; in other cases the institution atrophies into utter insignificance; and in the most extreme cases the enterprise simply dies outright.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

When things don't go your teams way pretend that was the plan all along.

It’s “a strategy of curated, timed releases of former-exclusives”

 

[Hugare]

I laughed so hard at the title. "How Xbox Is Changing the Nature of Exclusivity"

By making it not exclusive anymore? Got it

 

[Hugare]

Phase two of all this by the way is that the narrative will shift to Sony and Nintendo being "anti-consumer" for maintaining their platform exclusives.

Don't fall for it.

People already have

"Why Sony does not offer exclusives day one on PS+ as MS does with Game Pass" is a thing already as old as time

People are dumb

 

[Forth]

Am I seriously expected to believe this strategy would still be happening if Xbox was the best selling console worldwide?
I absolutely despise this type of reporting.

 

[balls of snow]

Its trickling down to these mainstream outlets that its gonna happen and pretty soon too. Brace for impact.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Sony has no reason not to as long as MS makes a concession on the XBL requirement

Most GaaS titles are service agnostic, like Fortnite, so MS should forget about caring too deeply about XBL

Fortnite uses an Epic account though right. Maybe Sony will be open to an Xbox account on Gaas games/ Multi if Xbox does the same as these other accounts. Just sign into Xbox on booting automatically. I could see Sony allowing that, if they are allowing others.

 

[rofif]

It’s called loosing and changing strategy.
Just because bwm would fail in car sales and start making planes, doesn’t mean cars are now obsolete

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Fortnite uses an Epic account though right. Maybe Sony will be open to an Xbox account on Gaas games/ Multi if Xbox does the same as these other accounts. Just sign into Xbox on booting automatically. I could see Sony allowing that, if they are allowing others.

I'm not so sure.

"GP now twice as big as PS+" isn't good PR for Sony, I think.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I'm not so sure.

"GP now twice as big as PS+" isn't good PR for Sony, I think.

I wonder how petty it comes across if they dont allow it. When you have games like Apex (EA login) Fortnite (Epic Account) Ubisoft games even SOny games on PC needing account logins. In theory you are just letting your customer base down if you dont allow an xbox game like Sea Of Thieves on the platform because it has an xbox account login.

Do you think it would be shit for Sony to not allow an Xbox game on PS5 that required an xbox account, if it's multiplayer and Gaas and using Microsoft servers?

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I wonder how petty it comes across if they dont allow it. When you have games like Apex (EA login) Fortnite (Epic Account) Ubisoft games even SOny games on PC needing account logins. In theory you are just letting your customer base down if you dont allow an xbox game like Sea Of Thieves on the platform because it has an xbox account login.

Do you think it would be shit for Sony to not allow an Xbox game on PS5 that required an xbox account, if it's multiplayer and Gaas and using Microsoft servers?

Contrary to Epic and EA, Xbox is still very much a direct competitor, even though they're crashing, right now.

People seem to forget that.

 

[Neofire]

If one reads in between the lines. You can see what MS is doing and I don't like it. Hopefully Sony and Nintendo stand strong on this. Now that they are getting trounced MS wants to switch back to "Every game on every platform" narrative.

 

[Portugeezer]

MS wants to hurt PlayStation by releasing Redfall on the platform.

 

[Godot25]

IGN maybe should have asked analytics here. They already know that Microsoft is already preparing PlayStation ports of Hellblade 2 and Indiana Jones
It's almost like Microsoft was already and will be releasing their games on other consoles. Minecraft Legends, Minecraft Dungeons, TESO, Fallout 76, Call of Duty are and will be on PlayStation and Nintendo. I expect Odyssey (Blizzard survival game) and Kestrel (ZOS online game) to be on PlayStation day one and some games (like 6 years old Sea of Thieves which is live service) sprinkled here and there.

But that's about it. People who thinks Microsoft will start porting all their first-party games on PlayStation are just delusional.

Also. Analysts are saying that Game Pass 33,3 million subscribers? Not bad for service that is "not growing"

It's almost like what Spencer was telling was true, and Microsoft is deciding exclusivity of their games on "case-by-case" basis

 

[Killjoy-NL]

IGN maybe should have asked analytics here. They already know that Microsoft is already preparing PlayStation ports of Hellblade 2 and Indiana Jones
It's almost like Microsoft was already and will be releasing their games on other consoles. Minecraft Legends, Minecraft Dungeons, TESO, Fallout 76, Call of Duty are and will be on PlayStation and Nintendo. I expect Odyssey (Blizzard survival game) and Kestrel (ZOS online game) to be on PlayStation day one.

But that's about it. People who thinks Microsoft will start porting all their first-party games on PlayStation are just delusional.

Also. Analysts are saying that Game Pass 33,3 million subscribers? Not bad for service that is "not growing"

Copium?

This was already to be expected ever since Sony said "no DRM" back in 2013.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I wonder how petty it comes across if they dont allow it. When you have games like Apex (EA login) Fortnite (Epic Account) Ubisoft games even SOny games on PC needing account logins. In theory you are just letting your customer base down if you dont allow an xbox game like Sea Of Thieves on the platform because it has an xbox account login.

Do you think it would be shit for Sony to not allow an Xbox game on PS5 that required an xbox account, if it's multiplayer and Gaas and using Microsoft servers?

People are overthinking this. They already allow you to link your xbox account on Minecraft for crossplay. It being optional and not a requirement is the only caveat.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

This is gonna be interesting to watch. If he does, some will take what Phil says as gospel...and the cycle will continue.

One of these days all Xbox/MS execs will be on the same page, at the same time, as far as messaging

One thing is shure...this is a boss over boss situation, and Phil has to do what Nadella tells him to do otherwise Phil will have a big problem if he would bring another message than Naddella...

 

[Badlucktroll]

Anyone think they are gonna wheel out Phil to say something about all this at the direct today?

 

[DenchDeckard]

People are overthinking this. They already allow you to link your xbox account on Minecraft for crossplay. It being optional and not a requirement is the only caveat.

It wont be an issue.

I am still convinced Microsoft are doing this song and dance to get ABK over the line next month for good, but no one seems to be clocking it.....