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If MS left the console business, could anyone fill the void?

Could anyone step into Microsoft’s shoes?

  • Apple

    Votes: 59 15.0%

  • Epic

    Votes: 5 1.3%

  • Google

    Votes: 4 1.0%

  • Samsung

    Votes: 11 2.8%

  • Tencent

    Votes: 10 2.5%

  • Valve

    Votes: 126 32.0%

  • Tencent

    Votes: 6 1.5%

  • None (it’s too late)

    Votes: 173 43.9%
  • Total voters
    394
REDRZA MWS

REDRZA MWS

Member
Nobody has to fill this fantasy of MS not making anymore Xbox’s. As to that also, every windows PC plays MS’s games natively.

PC alone MS has a larger install base than Sony and Nintendo combined.

It’s Nintendo who should have gone 3rd party a long time ago. Best developers and game makers in the world working on Hardware equivalent to a toy. Stop firewalling your best of class games behind outdated, gimmicky hardware.
 
D

Darsxx82

Member
proandrad said:
Microsoft can still make a comeback if they play it smart for next-gen. They need to stop the stupid 2 console series s/x crap. If they want to have the more powerful console they need to be make it a large gap where it is undeniable, with no multi platform games ever being close in visual comparisons. If they decide to be the cheap console, they need to be really cheap to move massive volume, so devs are forced to make their games on Xbox first and scale up to PlayStation.
Click to expand...


That Xbox can be competitive again in the console market? Of course, it would have all the potential to do so. But a time has come where the prestige of the XBOX console brand has been squandered so much that it would require spending many billions just to gain market share but not profits. It is clear that MS is no longer in that objective. Its growth requires that its games be on all screens and not on a maximum user base of ~80 million. At this point I think that the ideal situation to combine the interests of MS and that of Xbox and its users is to unite the Xbox hardware with the Windows PC and stop looking at Sony and the times it sets for its PS consoles.

If your strategy is multiplatformity, then you no longer have the option of competing with a PS console, but you do have the option to offer a product that is attractive to a large number of users that makes it profitable and improves your prestige and that of your ecosystem. A powerful hybrid console/PC where its games were better, day one, more accessible + Gamepass would be the product that would make the most sense with its new strategy. Or at least that it made sense to continue releasing hardware.
 
Mr.Phoenix

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Darsxx82 said:
We are talking about the strategy of acquiring Third Party exclusives as a weapon to compete in the market.... I repeat, this strategy has been impossible to bear for decades because the costs to achieve it are too many and the third parties are not up to the task either.


That is to say, a new competitor without a first party structure and power finds it impossible today because that strategy of buying third party games is impossible. Even more so for a user base of 0.
Click to expand...
While I generally agree with the rest you said... and in cases where I don't, I could still see reason in your take... this one though I had to comment on.

That is not what I am talking about. I am talking about doing what sony and MS did. MS didn't just go and try and acquire third-party exclusives. MS got Bungie and in turn Halo. The courted third parties to also support their game. They got RARE, a studio that was struggling at the time...etc. Sony did the same with the likes of Psygnosis and Wipeout. But more importantly, at the time, just offered a better third-party deal than what Nintendo was offering.

I never said it would be easy, I literally described it as trying to capture lightning in a bottle. It would be the equivalent of something like apple coming into the market and having something like Fortnite as an exclusive when the game was new. Not an easy set of circumstances to accomplish.
 
HogIsland

HogIsland

Member
We need SteamOS for all PCs, but we also need some weird PC shortcomings resolved:

- HDMI-CEC on discrete gpus (automatically turns your tv + receiver on and to the correct inputs)
- power on from a bluetooth controller
- software updates via low power state
 
HogIsland

HogIsland

Member
REDRZA MWS said:
That’s the day I’ve been waiting a long time for. Add Nintendo too. The major three console makes won’t have the cost of research and development, manufacturing or shipping costs. PC’s shit on their expensive hardware (for a console). They could ALL make great games and a ton of profit.
Click to expand...
all 3 should make their own steamOS hardware. even mod it with their own exclusive features / ui tweaks if they want like samsung and motorola do to android phones.
 
Mephisto40

Mephisto40

Member
F6vvakC.jpeg
 
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finalflame

finalflame

Banned
Apple and Valve are the two companies with enough resource and expertise. Valve would obviously have a much bigger advantage.
 
Gamer_By_Proxy

Gamer_By_Proxy

Member
Apple definitely could. They already make a killing off gaming, they make quality hardware, they have a gaming subscription, they got streaming. Etc.

They may even be able to make games more interactive by communicating with other Apple products. Games could do things to your phone or watch. Etc.

But, not sure they could do a custom OS that would play all the games.
 
TheGodfather07

TheGodfather07

Member
Can any company do better than Microsoft? Yes, but I don't think anyone can actually compete with Sony and Nintendo. People are locked into those ecosystems. Nobody is gonna be able to do a Sony and break into the industry. The PS1 was the perfect storm at the time. A kind of phenomenon you don't see often.
 
C

CuteFaceJay

Member
Steam deck while chilling on sofa. Not even bothered booting up consoles for past 2 years and ended up scrapping the gamepass 1 year ago. I feel Valve have already filled the void tbh.
 
March Climber

March Climber

Member
asdasdasdbb said:
Steam Box was a flop though.
Click to expand...
I wasn't talking about the Steam Box. No one cares about nor remembers the Steam Box.

This would be like you talking about how successful Sega was early on and I suddenly bring up the SG-1000 as a rebuttal, when the Genesis was what everyone agrees upon as the true star of the show.
 
midnightAI

midnightAI

Member
In my opinion, no-one could, at least currently

Why do people keep saying Apple? they tried once and failed badly, it isnt just about the hardware, never was. Do Apple have a load of internal game development studios I don't know about? Or are you expecting them to repeat what MS is doing and just buy up a load of developers/publishers.... because that's working out well

Sony and Nintendo just have way too much brand awareness/mindset currently.... in the console space. Valve/Steam is just associated with PC's, cant see them making any impact either. Microsoft are essentially giving away games for free and they cant get near Sony/Nintendo so I doubt anyone else could do it, however, I still hold out hope for MS but we just can't predict what they'll do next.
 
A

asdasdasdbb

Member
Kacho said:
Steam Boxes only gave you access to a fraction of your game library due to Linux. With Steam OS that’s mostly a non-issue now.
Click to expand...

I assume the portability is a big part of the Deck's appeal though. Not sure if they would be able to have the same sort of success with a more powerful console like box.
 
HogIsland

HogIsland

Member
asdasdasdbb said:
I assume the portability is a big part of the Deck's appeal though. Not sure if they would be able to have the same sort of success with a more powerful console like box.
Click to expand...
It doesn't matter if it is more or less successful. They have to do it to herd a bunch of cats (gpu vendors, developers, publishers, peripheral makers, etc) in the right direction.
 
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Azelover

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
It would probably just go to Sony.

Apple doesn't know anything about gaming. Their success with mobile was a total fluke. They haven't designed a game yet, they know nothing about the medium. They just rode a huge wave that was incoming at a very specific time.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
REDRZA MWS said:
It’s Nintendo who should have gone 3rd party a long time ago. Best developers and game makers in the world working on Hardware equivalent to a toy. Stop firewalling your best of class games behind outdated, gimmicky hardware.
Click to expand...
Porting games to multiple platforms makes optimizing them harder. I'm not arguing Nintendo has some of the best devs and some of the most polished games but maybe the fact they only have to target a specific hardware helps?

They shouldn't go 3rd party, IMO they should close the gap a bit with the others when it comes to performance.
 
A

asdasdasdbb

Member
nkarafo said:
They shouldn't go 3rd party, IMO they should close the gap a bit with the others when it comes to performance.
Click to expand...

That's obviously going to be tough with a portable.

And the price of the console is a big deal obviously. I am almost wondering if the Switch 2 is going to be $399 and that's with LCD and no bundled Dock.
 
Astray

Astray

Member
hinch7 said:
I mean they own the majority of the PC market with Windows. Have ABK and other big IP's under their bent and their own store fronts.

There's nothing stopping them from making their next 'Xbox' a PC with their own storefront and on the front page and offering better value as they cut out other middlemen (Steam etc). But still allow you to install other stores on their machine - its a PC after all.
Click to expand...
With them being very busy building the Xbox's marketshare, Microsoft has completely missed the boat on making the PC a viable place to monetize in the way Apple does with iOS, this isn't something they can just roll back by having a store be the default on a bunch of PCs, because then you'll have people skipping the store and going elsewhere.

Steam has managed to build its dominance because they (as ex-Microsoft employees) understood the value of monetizing PC gaming better than Microsoft did, and they essentially became a parasite on the Windows ecosystem (from Microsoft's POV). Microsoft actually tried multiple times to fight Steam, with the latest attempt being PC Game Pass.

I actually predict that in time, Microsoft will slowly stop supporting Steam in the way they have been doing lately, and they will likely lean on something like Battle.net or build a launcher of its own, they have massive IP moat of their own here (COD and Minecraft alone on the same launcher will do insane business with MS getting %100). The need for what the Xbox store app is rn will largely be over whenever Xbox consoles get sunsetted. I suspect Steam sees this coming, and this is why they are investing heavily in creating a viable Linux-alternative.

Thavash said:
Don't care if I get laughed at or down voted.
We've dreamed about this for years.
With MS not interested in games, and Sony clueless about what gamers want, now is the time for Sega to make a comeback.

1) Get the backing of some Venture Capital funding
2) Cut a deal with AMD or Intel who are desperate to unseat Nvidia
3) Get those teams in Japan working again
4) Focus on A and B , not AAA. Take a chance on some fun new concepts
5) Physical disks
6) Just aim for a niche, not market domination
Click to expand...
Respectfully, this is wishful thinking, Sega won't be able to command consumer investment into a prospective new ecosystem when they have a history of cutting and running now. Not when the competition is this entrenched..
 
Kerotan

Kerotan

Member
Those other big companies are probably delighted MS wasted so much money and resources on their failed 25 year venture.

Billions to become a playstation publisher. They would have made far more money doing that from the start. Imagine prime halo, gears and Forza on playstation.
 
RetroGamingUK

RetroGamingUK

Member
Thavash said:
Don't care if I get laughed at or down voted.
We've dreamed about this for years.
With MS not interested in games, and Sony clueless about what gamers want, now is the time for Sega to make a comeback.

1) Get the backing of some Venture Capital funding
2) Cut a deal with AMD or Intel who are desperate to unseat Nvidia
3) Get those teams in Japan working again
4) Focus on A and B , not AAA. Take a chance on some fun new concepts
5) Physical disks
6) Just aim for a niche, not market domination
Click to expand...

1) From who, morons?

2) AMD get plenty of business from Sony and PC already, Intel are a trainwreck

3) Those teams are gone, Yu Suzuki has pretty much retired, Sonic Team’s Yuji Naka left and is in jail

4) Arcades are dead, so there won’t be arcade ports which is what SEGA were primarily known for

5) Nice, if they can manufacture them cheap enough

6) You need to sell 10s of millions of consoles to get third party support and take that 30% cut, a niche console wouldn’t be worth it
 
Last edited:
Muffdraul

Muffdraul

Member
For me personally, the Xbox void disappeared from the map a long time ago. Back when the first Xbox was in the preview stage, I was all set to completely ignore it. After the miserable failures of the 3DO and the CDi, I had a bad attitude toward big tech corporations thinking they could buy their way into the gaming industry. I ate a lot of crow on the amazing success of the Playstation, but I saw that as a fluke and was right back to it with the Xbox. Only reason I ended up buying an Xbox was when I discovered their new exclusive 4th Panzer Dragoon game wasn't being made by a bunch of newbs who were handed the license but that studio Smilebit was actually mostly made up of ex-Team Andromeda members. I thought, well shit, now I ~have~ to get an Xbox after all. Ironcially, Panzer Dragoon Orta ended up being a forgotten footnote, I spent all of my time playing JSRF, Munch's Odyssey, Gunvalkyrie, and Halo. The Xbox totally proved itself to me as a worthwhile console, but in my living room it was still a runner up to my PS2 and Gamecube.

The next gen was when things really changed. The PS3 was great, but it often looked like shit on my SONY Bravia 1080p TV. Huh? Wtf, Sony??? Eventually I discovered the issue was that a lot of PS3 games displayed at 720p, and my TV had shitty built-in upscaling. I figured out I could force some games to 1080p if I went into the PS3 settings and disabled the 720p option, but there were a lot of games that couldn't be forced and would drop all the way down to 480p. Meanwhile, my Xbox 360 displayed everything at 1080p 100% of the time on that same TV. The console handled its own upscale and it was beautiful. So the 360 dominated that gen in my home when it came to any and all cross platform 3rd party games.

But then everything went to shit with the Xbox One. Sony corrected all their PS3 mistakes and the PS4 fucking killed. I bought an Xbox One without much thought, I just assumed it would basically be an Xbox 360 2, but it turned out to be nothing of the sort. There was the occasional neat indie game here and there, e.g. Ori. But everything Halo was a mess, Gears 4 was "eh, not bad I guess." It was just crickets.

Nevertheless, I bought an Xbox Series X. It's a hell of a piece of hardware, and I was hoping MS might turn their game situation around. They didn't. I haven't even bothered to re-play Halo Infinity on it yet, I ended up playing that at release on my XbOne, thinking how great it would be to replay it once I finally had a Series X and a 4K TV. Well, I've had those things for two years but still haven't felt the desire to replay it yet. Kinda surprising, I remember thinking it was pretty good when I played it two years ago. I guess the problem is that I also remember playing Halo games that were a fuck of a lot better than "pretty good."

Anyway, yeah... Xbox has been dead to me for so long, I have to scratch my head when I ponder some void needing to be filled.
 
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Nydius

Nydius

Member
I just don’t think the market today can support three consoles. There’s more competition than ever in terms of PC handhelds and mobile devices.

Google failed with Stadia, I doubt they’d bother trying a traditional home console market. I can’t see why Apple would bother. If they thought they had a chance they would have already tried. Microsoft existing in the market wouldn’t have stopped Apple from trying. Valve is probably content selling Steam Decks.

Looking at the current situation between the three console makers, I’m reminded a lot of the days when Walmart and K-Mart and Target were all competing for the same space. Target and Walmart carved out their specific niches but K-Mart was stuck in the middle trying to compete against both, with completely boneheaded management that ultimately doomed them.

Xbox is K-Mart in this analogy. Sony and Nintendo have their markets locked up. Microsoft desperately wants Xbox to compete with PlayStation but also tried to copy Nintendo’s successes, and is addled with clueless management.
 
StueyDuck

StueyDuck

Member
Something something China.

Could be tencent, netease etc.

Wukong showed they don't even need the west to break records so if they just Huawei a ps5 or Xbox (which they could probably do pretty easily) then I could see them entering the market.
 
FoxMcChief

FoxMcChief

Gold Member
GHG said:
Tencent or Valve.

I'd love for apple to have a serious go at the space because of the synergy they would be able to bring with apple music and apple studios, but can't see it happening because they are so reluctant to take meaningful risks these days.
Click to expand...
Yup. Recent could easily. But I understand why they wouldn’t. Everyone should keep an eye on China.
 
snapdragon

snapdragon

Member
pNEWFPG.gif

Only correct answer

("Realistically" once Sega gets its act together it would be cool seeing them partner with a larger tech company to fill the void Microsoft left and the console should be Sega in name only, sega would only have to worry about providing software for the system while samsung, amd or whoever would focus on the hardware)
 
RetroGamingUK

RetroGamingUK

Member
snapdragon said:
pNEWFPG.gif

Only correct answer

("Realistically" once Sega gets its act together it would be cool seeing them partner with a larger tech company to fill the void Microsoft left and the console should be Sega in name only, sega would only have to worry about providing software for the system while samsung, amd or whoever would focus on the hardware)
Click to expand...

Name one game SEGA have made in the last decade that would make people go out and buy a SEGA console if it was exclusive to that platform?

Bear in mind they’ve not been successful in the console industry since the Master System/Mega Drive days.
 
Last edited:
SEGAvangelist

SEGAvangelist

Member
snapdragon said:
pNEWFPG.gif

Only correct answer

("Realistically" once Sega gets its act together it would be cool seeing them partner with a larger tech company to fill the void Microsoft left and the console should be Sega in name only, sega would only have to worry about providing software for the system while samsung, amd or whoever would focus on the hardware)
Click to expand...
Season 5 Nbc GIF by The Office
 
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