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[Jose92]

Amidst rumors of Xbox potentially transitioning to a full 3rd Party model, the question arises: was the pursuit of a gaming subscription model worth it for Microsoft, given their significant investments in acquisitions and day-one releases?

Many argued that it was sustainable and feasible for Xbox to release AAA games on Game Pass from day one, projecting an expansion of the install base and subsequent growth in subscriptions and game sales. However, the recent Insomniac leak suggested that releasing games on subscription services could negatively impact game sales. Moreover, Mat Piscatella's recent statement about subscription saturation on Xbox consoles and the mediocre sales and quality of several recent Xbox exclusives further complicates the scenario.

Looking ahead, especially with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft stands as one of the largest gaming publishers. The question lingers: was the focus on Game Pass a strategic misstep, and could Xbox face a fate similar to the Windows Phone? Uncertainties about the future trajectory of the Xbox platform persist.

Fyi: I have all the consoles.

 

[64bitmodels]

yes

 

[Clintizzle]

Yes.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

 

[Mr Moose]

Day one on PC and Gamepass, yes absolutely. Xbox is a console, not PC plus other shite even if the background tasks say Xbox (is it called game bar or something?).

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Yes. Total mistake to put day 1 AAA on the service. Totally devalued their games.

That’s not to say a Gamepass lite wouldn’t be great for older titles at like $7.99 a month $39.99 a year.

 

[lh032]

their downfall started from xbox one era, gamepass is a failed strategfy is the final nail in the coffin

 

[adamsapple]

Is this an out of season April's Fool joke?

 

[BeforeU]

lmao wtf? Gamepass is all they want to push, and eventually thats whats going to make them ton of money
Look up Microsoft earning from any quarter since last 10 years. 365 and azure subscription makes them gazillion dollars, microsoft is ultimately a software company
As technology and internet speed progresses even more, input lag and graphic fidelity from local and cloud processing will only get better
They are building a gigantic catalogue which eventually everyone will want on their platform, think next 15-20 years down the road
It happened with software, data, movies and music. Gaming its taking longer because of too many bottleneck, but I assure you IT WILL happen. And Microsoft will be on forefront with monopoly.

 

[Jesb]

Their downfall was terrible management.

 

[Bry0]

No it was Kinect. It was always Kinect.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Threads like this are the problem. Sean Stricklan said it best, you are an infection!!!!!!!!

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

it delayed the inevitable

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

.

No. Just, no.

Good Lord like what is going on around here anymore. What is it with these constant panic/ doom threads. Get a grip.

 

[Mr Moose]

lmao wtf? Gamepass is all they want to push, and eventually thats whats going to make them ton of money

It's already flatlined.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I think it was a combination of things. I'm not on the Xbox death squad until they go 3rd party which I also don't see happening anytime soon but I could be wrong.

I do honestly think that it started with the terrible launch of Xbox One at a critical moment in time, and then the push for Play Anywhere because it eliminated the need to have a Xbox at all if you had a PC. This was always during/right before the time that PC blew up due to Twitch and streaming platforms.

 

[phant0m]

No, but it didn't help. The true downfall was XGS' inability to produce an exclusive AAA hit in the last 7 years other than Forza Horizon.

There's a handful of smaller/indie games like Ori and Cuphead but that's it. No one gives a shit about Gears and Halo anymore. Starfield was the last shot and it was mid, even as someone that enjoyed it.

Meanwhile PS has TLOU, God of War, Uncharted, HZD, R&C, FF VIIR, Spidey, plus all the PSVR stuff for those into that.

For many people they can only pick one console, which one are you gonna pick based on the above?

 

[BlackTron]

.

No. Just, no.

Good Lord like what is going on around here anymore. What is it with these constant panic/ doom threads. Get a grip.

Panic? Doom? The downfall has already happened. Now we are just discussing it.

 

[BeforeU]

It's already flatlined.

because the tech is still not there yet. I have tried it on a Samsung TV. Its just doesn't feel the same. But when it works, its magic. I am betting when the tech matures, they are going to do even deeper consumer push. Right now beside some xbox fans and hardcore games, no one knows whats a gamepass. When its available on apple tv, firetv, their own cheap streaming device, in developing countries when internet speed gets better. This will be the netflix for gaming.

 

[Sleepwalker]

No, the Xbox One was.

 

[Jose92]

lmao wtf? Gamepass is all they want to push, and eventually thats whats going to make them ton of money
Look up Microsoft earning from any quarter since last 10 years. 365 and azure subscription makes them gazillion dollars, microsoft is ultimately a software company
As technology and internet speed progresses even more, input lag and graphic fidelity from local and cloud processing will only get better
They are building a gigantic catalogue which eventually everyone will want on their platform, think next 15-20 years down the road
It happened with software, data, movies and music. Gaming its taking longer because of too many bottleneck, but I assure you IT WILL happen. And Microsoft will be on forefront with monopoly.

I am talking here about Xbox as a hardware platform. It’s just a shame consoles are fading away.

Cloud gaming is still far away not everyone has access to high speed low latency internet.

 

[rapid32.5]

no, still not a single AAA game has been delivered this generation, maybe Forza Horizon 5, but driving is not for everyone. Distributing your exclusive games to other platforms is a guaranteed last place next gen.

 

[Pelao]

I don't know, maybe, but it was an excellent move for me as a user.
The quality of the games is nothing to write home about, but I've played a lot of good stuff that I wouldn't have thought of buying in the first place.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

no, still not a single AAA game has been delivered this generation, maybe Forza Horizon 5, but driving is not for everyone.

We’ll they did release Neogafs number 5 game if the year

 

[Ozzie666]

Look lets be honest, the idea has merrit, but the way MS do it is flawed. The same day and date release of exclusives is just bananas, that's a lot of profits to give up. The service should be good without MS exlusives on day 1.

Now, Gamepass will influence how MS develops titles going forward. Hellblade 2 is a perfect example. Different experiences, shorters, cheaper. The traditional development budgets don't work without more return on invesment through actual game sales. Gamers are going to suffer here, with feature missing and short cut developed games. Just to prop up the service.

People need ot stop suggesting Sony release games day and date of release, absolutely suciidal. Unless you have bags of cash to support the downfall.

 

[Power Pro]

Not the initial downfall, but is definitely contributing to the downfall of the brand.

Look, I own an Xbox Series X, I want to know my console is worthwhile to own, and if you're like me and don't want to devote your money to a subscription service where you don't own anything, the Xbox has kinda sucked in terms of offering anything else really worth owning the console for. I feel like I own simply for two reasons: it's actually really nice hardware, and backward compatibility.

Game Pass has gone the way I knew it was going to. They were gonna try lure a bunch of people over with all their crazy deals, and upgrade offers, and then try to snag em with raising the prices, which is exactly what has happened. In my case, unless I got it super cheap, I don't stay subscribed to Game pass. I refuse to keep paying those prices, and I think games don't work good in a subscription model. There are too many games you can buy for the price of a month of game pass, and not only do you get at least a month's worth of gametime out of it, but you own the product.

Clearly they're reached a ceiling on people who are willing to subscribe to the platform, and they've only just lost tons of money by not getting sales out of all the titles that were day one on game pass. Doesn't help though that a lot of Microsoft's exclusive titles have not even been appealing enough to attract new subscribers. Their line up of games has really been abysmal.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

.

No. Just, no.

Good Lord like what is going on around here anymore. What is it with these constant panic/ doom threads. Get a grip.

Sony haven’t announced any upcoming games so it’s left some with little else to talk about

 

[poppabk]

Let's wait until we

It's already flatlined.

Roughly $3 - 4 billion in revenue per year isn't exactly flatlining. They probably want better, but it's not exactly chump change, and a lot more consistent than needing hit game after hit game, especially as they have struggled with that.

 

[Jose92]

Threads like this are the problem. Sean Stricklan said it best, you are an infection!!!!!!!!

It is an opinion hence why I tagged it as an opinion, you can agree or disagree.

 

[BeforeU]

I am talking here about Xbox as a hardware platform. It’s just a shame consoles are fading away.

Cloud gaming is still far away not everyone has access to high speed low latency internet.

well then its a matter of perspective. May be for Microsoft this was always the end goal? when Xbox ultimately lives on the cloud and its just a subscription service.
So when we look back 20 years from now, yes you are right, gamepass probably will be a downfall for Xbox hardware, but not Xbox brand.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Panic? Doom? The downfall has already happened. Now we are just discussing it.

What downfall? What are you actually talking about

 

[phant0m]

because the tech is still not there yet. I have tried it on a Samsung TV. Its just doesn't feel the same. But when it works, its magic. I am betting when the tech matures, they are going to do even deeper consumer push. Right now beside some xbox fans and hardcore games, no one knows whats a gamepass. When its available on apple tv, firetv, their own cheap streaming device, in developing countries when internet speed gets better. This will be the netflix for gaming.

tech is actually there, it just needs to get cheaper/more accessible. GeForce Now Ultimate is fucking incredible. I've been using it a bunch on my Mac lately and it looks and feels just like playing the game on my desktop PC. Even competitive FPS are very playable.

 

[Gaiff]

The complete lack of reasons to own an Xbox has killed it.

 

[Mr Moose]

Let's wait until we

Roughly $3 - 4 billion in revenue per year isn't exactly flatlining. They probably want better, but it's not exactly chump change, and a lot more consistent than needing hit game after hit game, especially as they have struggled with that.

Source? Going to need something from 2023 and it being profit.

 

[Punished Miku]

I got Palworld today. Xbox ruined.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

It is an opinion hence why I tagged it as an opinion, you can agree or disagree.

There’s like a sudden raft of obsessively negative/ over the top threads about Xbox leaving the console business. Which isn’t happening. Show me the receipts.

It’s nonsense fanboy whining. Nothing more

 

[Three]

The downfall of xbox consoles, probably yes. when the head honcho is calling gamepass "our new platform" in internal emails, telling you "we're not driven by console sales" when the generation was starting, and has his title change from head of xbox to head of MS gaming it's clear they dont care as much about the console anymore. This doesn't matter though because MS gaming is not xbox consoles.

 

[havoc00]

I don't know, maybe, but it was an excellent move for me as a user.
The quality of the games is nothing to write home about, but I've played a lot of good stuff that I wouldn't have thought of buying in the first place.

100%

 

[phant0m]

Let's wait until we

Roughly $3 - 4 billion in revenue per year isn't exactly flatlining. They probably want better, but it's not exactly chump change, and a lot more consistent than needing hit game after hit game, especially as they have struggled with that.

I think he's mean stopped growing (new subs are flat), not that it's dead.

 

[poppabk]

Source? Going to need something from 2023 and it being profit.

Somewhere between 25 and 30 million subscribers paying $10 - $17 a month. And I said revenue - no-one has any idea about profit except MS.

 

[THE DUCK]

Nope. It only helped them sell more units and keep revenue steady. Plus it's the long game, buying Activision proved that in spades.

It's a GAF pastime to slam it, regardless of its success or benefits to gamers. It's all bad no matter what. There could be 80 million subs and they'd say it loses money and it killed gaming.

The irony is, it's us hardcore gamers that benefit most from gaming subs.

 

[poppabk]

I think he's mean stopped growing (new subs are flat), not that it's dead.

No-one has said that though.

 

[Rawbutt Jellybean]

Not presenting a compelling lineup for 15+ years was the problem.

 

[BeforeU]

Source? Going to need something from 2023 and it being profit.

There are 34M gamepass subscribers by end of 2023, average price $12. why does it need to be profitable? lol look at Netflix and Amazon when they became profitable.

 

[Mr Moose]

Somewhere between 25 and 30 million subscribers paying $10 - $17 a month. And I said revenue - no-one has any idea about profit except MS.

Source for the $3-4B revenue? Profit is important, if they aren't making a profit from the service then it's pointless.

There are 34M gamepass subscribers by end of 2023, average price $12. why does it need to be profitable? lol look at Netflix and Amazon when they became profitable.

There is? Where is that info from?

 

[Three]

Nope. It only helped them sell more units and keep revenue steady.

How when they're tracking below XB1 numbers?

 

[Jose92]

No-one has said that though.

[Mat Piscatella (NPD)] - Subscription growth has flattened, and sub services accounts for only 10% of total video game content spending in the US.

10% Explains a lot.

www.neogaf.com

 

[Represent.]

Yes. also shit exclusives. All that money and they couldn’t make good games on a consistent basis. They never had the talent or drive. Absolutely garbage game output and cookie cutter game devs

Look at shit like avowed yesterday. That’s supposed to move consoles?

It’s looks like a 6/10 game at best

Trash. No system sellers. Gamepass was the nail in the coffin, now their whole fucking audience scoffs at the thought of actually buying games

 

[BeforeU]

Source for the $3-4B revenue? Profit is important, if they aren't making a profit from the service then it's pointless.

There is? Where is that info from?

How Xbox Is Changing the Nature of Exclusivity - IGN
Xbox Game Pass Growth Is Slowing Down, Analyst Says (gamerant.com)

bruh for real? with that logic we would never have any innovation lmao

 

[Holammer]

I want to say yes, but it's actually no.
Xbox was already in trouble and Game Pass is an attempt to gain market share. MS got deep pockets and they're willing & capable of throwing money at the problem.