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[Esparadrapo]

Wasn't that debunked for being an inflated number due to XBL conversions?

Not really debunked since they are actually Game Pass subs. What was really poking at some people's ribs was that the last known figures in 2022 were +11 million for XBL and 25 million for Game Pass. Meaning that they lost +2 million subs in two years.

In other news, RIP bnet. Their market share against Steam seems to have collapsed. Last game I bought there was D2R and no one in my friend list logs in anymore.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Not really debunked since they are actually Game Pass subs. What was really poking at some people's ribs was that the last known figures in 2022 were +11 million for XBL and 25 million for Game Pass. Meaning that they lost +2 million subs in two years.

In other news, RIP bnet. Their market share against Steam seems to have collapsed. Last game I bought there was D2R and no one in my friend list logs in anymore.

Fair enough.

If you label everything GamePass, then yeah.

Even so, 34M + expected 5M increase still barely reaches 40M.
It would likely be a peak at most and 50M is the best-case scenario they'll ever reach, which I still don't see happening as Xbox as a platform-holder is basically dead.

 

[ricardo_sousa11]

Finally people getting tired of the same game over and over

 

[DenchDeckard]

Vast majority for Game Pass is on console. Steam is the behemoth on PC.

It doesn't have staying power on the PC. I know that will be their push, since they've all but abandoned consoles and the new narrative is PC, PC, PC... but as long as there's Steam, that is arguably an even harder nut to crack than the console arena.

Steam is a behemoth on PC, but you simply can not say that there arent a massive amount of gamepass users on PC, that is factually incorrect.

Yeah, GP is such an amazing business-model that it forced MS to buy ABK and Bethesda and to become a 3rd publisher just to stay relevant.

I dont think Gamepass forced MS to buy ABK. How could gamepass be the driver when they bought them and then didnt REALLY do anything to push gamepass with it. They want to own ABK and have revenue from King and Acti/Blizz. It's not that hard.
They absolutely are the largest third party publisher, no denying that.

Ok, let's counter some of the insane takes in here with a take. There is absolutely the possibility that MS lost software sales on xbox platforms and PC due to gamepass, but they could have gained a huge influx of gamepass users. From that pool a certain percentage will keep Gamepass, spread word of mouth around it and as the vault edition upgrade has been number 1 on the sales chart for a while...many, many sales on that upgrade there. There is a massive chance that there isa significant revenue stream from this avenue and traditional sales are no longer the only metric. Its obvious, looking at the industry that traditional sales alone are not carrying the budgets of these games. Even for Sony, hence why they are looking to try various tactics to improve revenue on their expensive games.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Steam is a behemoth on PC, but you simply can not say that there arent a massive amount of gamepass users on PC, that is factually incorrect.

I dont think Gamepass forced MS to buy ABK. How could gamepass be the driver when they bought them and then didnt REALLY do anything to push gamepass with it. They want to own ABK and have revenue from King and Acti/Blizz. It's not that hard.
They absolutely are the largest third party publisher, no denying that.

Going by Phil Spencer, GamePass was "untenable" if it remains "irrelevant" on mobile:

Phil Spencer says the Xbox business will become ‘untenable’ if it remains ‘irrelevant’ on mobile | VGC

The Xbox boss claims the Activision Blizzard deal is primarily about Candy Crush…

www.videogameschronicle.com

And then we look how most revenue of ABK comes from mobile:

Activision Blizzard revenue by platform 2022 | Statista

In 2022, Activision Blizzard's console segment generated 1.75 billion U.S.

www.statista.com

 

[clarky]

Yeah, GP is such an amazing business-model that it forced MS to buy ABK and Bethesda and to become a 3rd publisher just to stay relevant.

That wasn't gamepass. They had non existent 1st party software for a couple of years then what they did release was terribly mid, mainly. Thats what caused all this.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

That wasn't gamepass. They had non existent 1st party software for a couple of years then what they did release was terribly mid, mainly. Thats what caused all this.

To quote my previous post:

Going by Phil Spencer, GamePass was "untenable" if it remains "irrelevant" on mobile:

Phil Spencer says the Xbox business will become ‘untenable’ if it remains ‘irrelevant’ on mobile | VGC

The Xbox boss claims the Activision Blizzard deal is primarily about Candy Crush…

www.videogameschronicle.com

And then we look how most revenue of ABK comes from mobile:

Activision Blizzard revenue by platform 2022 | Statista

In 2022, Activision Blizzard's console segment generated 1.75 billion U.S.

www.statista.com

Edit:

Eh, he was talking about Xbox in general, but Xbox as a whole is based around GamePass, so my point still stands.

 

[Esparadrapo]

Fair enough.

If you label everything GamePass, then yeah.

Even so, 34M + expected 5M increase still barely reaches 40M.
It would likely be a peak at most and 50M is the best-case scenario they'll ever reach, which I still don't see happening as Xbox as a platform-holder is basically dead.

My best guess is that they took the last chance they had to brag about Game Pass figures with the 34m back in February because it was already in a heavy decline. The thing with it is that they can't push any hard figure anymore and have to limit themselves to PR oneliners like "biggest increase in a launch" and such or the actual numbers will slip.

 

[yazenov]

Black Ops 6 sales down 15% from Modern Warefare 3

Black Ops 6 sales were down 15% on MW3, which is a huge disappointment for MS considering the following factors.

MW3 was one of the worst-rated games in Call of Duty's history, and its sales were down considerably over MW2. Modern Warfare 3 was a cheap glorified DLC which resulted in a sales disappointment and was destroyed by the reviews from critics and user reviews. MS fucked around and found out.

Here are the UK monthly charts for the MW3 release month :

However, despite efforts from Activision to position Modern Warfare 3 as a full sequel to last year's game, fans were not so convinced and first three weeks of sales for Modern Warfare 3 are just under 38% lower compared with last year's Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty couldn't stop video game sales dipping in November | UK Monthly Charts

Over 4.55 million video games were sold during November in the UK, a drop of 3% over the same period in 2022. This is a…

www.gamesindustry.biz

It's not looking good for the COD franchise. MS ruined another IP and Bobby Kotick cashed out like a bandit.

 

[Neofire]

Gamepas is a cancer....

 

[ToneyJ]

“Best performing COD game”

L M F A O

 

[Mr Moose]

Wasn't that debunked for being an inflated number due to XBL conversions?

Yes, you need Game Pass Ultimate for CoD, 34M included 9M of Gold to GP.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Gamepas is a cancer....

Cool, so Game Pass isn’t!

 

[PixelatedBeast]

Gamepass is winning at the moment, but as someone else already pointed out, its like a 50% drop in total sales from 2 years ago. This wait and see approach is a big risk, especially since Sony's method of getting people to buy the game shows a higher level of commitment.

Finally people getting tired of the same game over and over

Dont let Fromsoft fans hear this...

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

Black Ops 6 sales were down 15% on MW3, which is a huge disappointment for MS considering the following factors.

MW3 was one of the worst-rated games in Call of Duty's history, and its sales were down considerably over MW2. Modern Warfare 3 was a cheap glorified DLC which resulted in a sales disappointment and was destroyed by the reviews from critics and user reviews. MS fucked around and found out.

It's not looking good for the COD franchise. MS ruined another IP and Bobby Kotick cashed out like a bandit.

Indeed, this is the lead and I feel it's getting overlooked by the bickering on the sales split.

Sure looks like the a significant downfall of the franchise is happening and I love to see it

Sick and tired of this fucking game.

 

[Woopah]

To quote my previous post:


Edit:

Eh, he was talking about Xbox in general, but Xbox as a whole is based around GamePass, so my point still stands.

I wouldn't say Xbox's gaming business for mobile is based on GamePass. It's not going to be a driving force of revenue in that segment.

 

[ComputerBlue]

So is it best performing or is it performing poorly? lol

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Black Ops 6 sales were down 15% on MW3, which is a huge disappointment for MS considering the following factors.

MW3 was one of the worst-rated games in Call of Duty's history, and its sales were down considerably over MW2. Modern Warfare 3 was a cheap glorified DLC which resulted in a sales disappointment and was destroyed by the reviews from critics and user reviews. MS fucked around and found out.

Here are the UK monthly charts for the MW3 release month :

Call of Duty couldn't stop video game sales dipping in November | UK Monthly Charts

Over 4.55 million video games were sold during November in the UK, a drop of 3% over the same period in 2022. This is a…

www.gamesindustry.biz

It's not looking good for the COD franchise. MS ruined another IP and Bobby Kotick cashed out like a bandit.

MS will probably try a different strategy for the franchise each year without commiting to it long-term and will end up destrying another franchise, adding it to Halo, Forza Motorsport, Gears of War, etc

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I wouldn't say Xbox's gaming business for mobile is based on GamePass. It's not going to be a driving force of revenue in that segment.

Fair enough, but that's not what I was saying either.

Xbox is currently focused around GamePass and since it's stagnant, possibly even declining, Spencer stated that they would need to expand to mobile for it to be sustainable.

Seeing how large of a chunk of revenue ABK gets from mobile (like 51% of revenue of COD comes from mobile), it's pretty clear that GamePass has directly influenced Xbox to go after ABK.

Obviously, it's not just mobile, but that wasn't my claim either.

 

[sainraja]

That wasn't gamepass. They had non existent 1st party software for a couple of years then what they did release was terribly mid, mainly. Thats what caused all this.

Even that reason supports the idea that the purchase of ABK/Bethesda was mainly driven by Game Pass. If you want to keep pushing day-one games as a key benefit of Game Pass, you need to have good first-party output.

And it is totally understandable. If they’re going to be all about subscriptions, they need solid software to deliver. Their push towards Game Pass hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, which is why we are having this conversation to begin with.

 

[clarky]

Even that reason supports the idea that the purchase of ABK/Bethesda was mainly driven by Game Pass. If you want to keep pushing day-one games as a key benefit of Game Pass, you need to have good first-party output.

And it is totally understandable. If they’re going to be all about subscriptions, they need solid software to deliver. Their push towards Game Pass hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, which is why we are having this conversation to begin with.

As a platform holder you need good first party software regardless.

But yes obviously one of the drivers of all these purchases is gamepass. Even without it, if they were going to stick around past the xbox one they had to do something, they had like what 4 studios pre 2018? Pathetic, no wonder they are fucked now.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

As a platform holder you need good first party software regardless.

But yes obviously one of the drivers of all these purchases is gamepass. Even without it, if they were going to stick around past the xbox one they had to do something, they had like what 4 studios pre 2018? Pathetic, no wonder they are fucked now.

They are fucked with all those studios they bought as well.

At least as they stand now. Becoming another EA is the most logical and profitable way to go for Xbox.

 

[clarky]

They are fucked with all those studios they bought as well.

At least as they stand now. Becoming another EA is the most logical and profitable way to go for Xbox.

Xbox is in a weird spot all of their own making for sure.

I was convinced at one stage Bobby was being lined up to to take over but the idiot is still running the circus over there somehow.

 

[sainraja]

As a platform holder you need good first party software regardless.

But yes obviously one of the drivers of all these purchases is gamepass. Even without it, if they were going to stick around past the xbox one they had to do something, they had like what 4 studios pre 2018? Pathetic, no wonder they are fucked now.

If their only aim was to increase their first-party output. I think spending 70 billion is a bit excessive. They could have achieved that without spending that much money. So both of those goals can be valid reasons, but GP was the main driving force, in my opinion.

 

[Woopah]

Fair enough, but that's not what I was saying either.

Xbox is currently focused around GamePass and since it's stagnant, possibly even declining, Spencer stated that they would need to expand to mobile for it to be sustainable.

Seeing how large of a chunk of revenue ABK gets from mobile (like 51% of revenue of COD comes from mobile), it's pretty clear that GamePass has directly influenced Xbox to go after ABK.

Obviously, it's not just mobile, but that wasn't my claim either.

Understood!

 

[DenchDeckard]

Black Ops 6 sales were down 15% on MW3, which is a huge disappointment for MS considering the following factors.

MW3 was one of the worst-rated games in Call of Duty's history, and its sales were down considerably over MW2. Modern Warfare 3 was a cheap glorified DLC which resulted in a sales disappointment and was destroyed by the reviews from critics and user reviews. MS fucked around and found out.

Here are the UK monthly charts for the MW3 release month :

Call of Duty couldn't stop video game sales dipping in November | UK Monthly Charts

Over 4.55 million video games were sold during November in the UK, a drop of 3% over the same period in 2022. This is a…

www.gamesindustry.biz

It's not looking good for the COD franchise. MS ruined another IP and Bobby Kotick cashed out like a bandit.

It's the best cod in years. How can you make a statement like ms killed cod when it's blatantly the best cod package since black ops 2.

Maybe you don't have all the info or something but this cod is performing extremely well.

Uk sales and sales in general are no longer the deciding factor on if a product makes money. It's one major contributing factor but there is also other major contributing factors to these kinds of games. Especially cod.

 

[pasterpl]

I agree I just don't think they are going to keep these people on GP. Also they don't want 40-50 million. We've seen their projections, they want 100 million.

Yes’m they want 100m by 2030.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Yes’m they want 100m by 2030.

Ah, the "you'll own nothing and be happy date." Must be a coincidence all these WEF membership companies have the same date for the same foreclosure on things.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Ah, the "you'll own nothing and be happy date." Must be a coincidence all these WEF membership companies have the same date for the same foreclosure on things.

You do know that we own nothing right now? Especially if you are buying digital.

 

[DeepEnigma]

You do know that we own nothing right now? Especially if you are buying digital.

 

[Topher]

You do know that we own nothing right now? Especially if you are buying digital.

Are you seriously equating purchasing digital with subscriptions now?

 

[mayham2199]

Yes’m they want 100m by 2030.

Yep 5 years left and 60 million to go. Something tells me they aren't going to reach that number. I'd be impressed if they reached 50 million by then.

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

It's the best cod Xbox in years. How can you make a statement like ms killed cod Xbox when it's blatantly the best cod Xbox package since black ops 2 Xbox 360.

Maybe you don't have all the info or something but this cod Xbox is performing extremely well.

Uk sales and sales in general are no longer the deciding factor on if a product makes money. It's one major contributing factor but there is also other major contributing factors to these kinds of games. Especially cod Xbox.

Where have I heard something like this before I wonder...

 

[m14]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

Hence their Gaas-strategy.

 

[onQ123]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

But a few weeks ago you was waiting on GTA6 to boost Xbox Series S sales

 

[LordOcidax]

People acting surprised that everyone on xbox ended up going and subscribing to gamepass? What the fuck is going on in this thread.

The entire point of this purchase was to drive gamepass growth.

Microsoft subscription services is where they make their money, they want 40-50 million players paying $20 a month in the long term goal.

People acting surprised Xbox physical sales collapsed is bizarre take

When Microsoft/Activision announce Black Ops 6 earnings this thread is going to be epic.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

 

[m14]

But a few weeks ago you was waiting on GTA6 to boost Xbox Series S sales

I wasn't waiting on anything, just pointing out the uncomfortable truth (to some) that the Series S will provide the most cost effective way to play GTA6.

That has nothing to do with Sony being dependent on third party titles.

 

[onQ123]

I wasn't waiting on anything, just pointing out the uncomfortable truth (to some) that the Series S will provide the most cost effective way to play GTA6.

That has nothing to do with Sony being dependent on third party titles.

So you're ignoring the fact that PlayStation games been selling 10 - 20 million copies?

You're really detached from reality

 

[Woopah]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

How are you getting that from this data? There's nothing here showing how reliant Sony is.

 

[onQ123]

How are you getting that from this data? There's nothing here showing how reliant Sony is.

Hopium

 

[Mr Moose]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

It's alarming how reliant Xbox is on 3rd party platforms.

 

[mayham2199]

It's alarming how reliant Sony are on third party games. It certainly doesn't bode well for their future in a potential post console world.

That's the whole point of owning and running a platform. Selling the games and getting 30% of every transaction. Would you be shocked to know that without 3rd party games Steam would also lose all it's money?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

There is absolutely the possibility that MS lost software sales on xbox platforms and PC due to gamepass, but they could have gained a huge influx of gamepass users.

I mean, that’s the point. The issue is that there isn’t a realistically large enough number of GP subscribers to offset the revenue lost from game sales. GP always represents a reduction in maximum potential revenue.

 

[yazenov]

It's the best cod in years. How can you make a statement like ms killed cod when it's blatantly the best cod package since black ops 2.

Maybe you don't have all the info or something but this cod is performing extremely well.

Uk sales and sales in general are no longer the deciding factor on if a product makes money. It's one major contributing factor but there is also other major contributing factors to these kinds of games. Especially cod.

It's the best cod in years.

That's the problem for MS. Black Ops 6 was supposed to be the return to form in both quality and sales compared to the previous entry in the franchise, which was such a huge disappointment in sales and quality. Yet, its tracking below the cash grab that was Modern Warfare 3.
I guess releasing a shitty game that was basically a DLC and sold it as a full priced stand alone game last year killed any goodwill for the franchise.

Maybe you don't have all the info or something but this cod is performing extremely well.

Actually we do have data for the UK. Its not doing well compared to the previous COD titles. Its in a decline, despite the improved quality.

Uk sales and sales in general are no longer the deciding factor on if a product makes money

Sounds like you have been reading the script MS has provided.

• Hardware sales don't mater
• Software sales dont matter
• Gamepass increases game sales
• Engagement is oxygen

In this game's case, software sales absolutely matters. Its not a free to play title where they get money from mostly microtransactions. This is a full package game, and they need to recover the cost from unit sales.

UK sales is usually representative of the sales trends worldwide. In fact, it paint a better picture for MS in that region. Outside of the UK and US, the picture is much worst for MS.

 

[m14]

So you're ignoring the fact that PlayStation games been selling 10 - 20 million copies?

You're really detached from reality

And how many of those are among the most played PS5 games each month? Because that's what ultimately matters.

How are you getting that from this data? There's nothing here showing how reliant Sony is.

The fact that COD sells so well on PlayStation, a platform with no first party FPS offerings.
But don't take my word for it, just read the desperate pleadings of Sony's former CEO:

Jim Ryan: 'Our Business Would Never Recover' If Microsoft Degraded Call of Duty on PlayStation​

Jim Ryan: 'Our Business Would Never Recover' If Microsoft Degraded Call of Duty on PlayStation

Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan in the company's response to the UK regulator, the Competition [...]

www.vgchartz.com

That sure sounds a lot like reliance, no?

That's the whole point of owning and running a platform. Selling the games and getting 30% of every transaction. Would you be shocked to know that without 3rd party games Steam would also lose all it's money?

The difference being that Steam isn't a hardware platform, it's on PCs and there are billions of those in the world. Steam can lose any game and be fine. But Sony's console business is significantly less viable without COD.
And as for the 30%, where do you think the other 70% from each COD sale is going?

 

[clarky]

When Microsoft/Activision announce Black Ops 6 earnings this thread is going to be epic.

I'd be very surprised is they release specific earnings on COD.

 

[clarky]

The fact that COD sells so well on PlayStation, a platform with no first party FPS offerings.

Destiny 2 and Marathon soon or are you forgetting about those for some reason?

 

[m14]

Destiny 2 and Marathon soon or are you forgetting about those for some reason?

Destiny 2 was released years before the takeover and on multiple platforms. As for Marathon, we'll have to see how the game turns out, but it has no solid release date.