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[Noxxera]

Useless thread and question. Xbox will come out with games as usual. Xbox isn't going away anytime soon if that's your fear. Nothing to fear.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Sure, but the road for all three converge down the same path either way.

Perhaps, it's certain that one of them will be forced to do so sooner rather than later.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

They squandered all of the good will of the 360 generation.

Peter Moore and his team fought tooth and nail to get developers to launch games on xbox.

 

[rofif]

Thinking of Xbox as just a console is not the goal of Microsoft. Xbox (and its game pass) is a platform. It’s up to the consumer how they want to approach that platform. That could be PC, console or the Cloud. I don’t think MS will care how you play the content you subscribe to, just that you subscribe.

I can totally see a day when Microsoft takes their Xbox brand to PlayStation and/or Nintendo and become a subscription service. They’ve done it with their Microsoft Office software already.

Of course microsoft talks about xbox as a platform... because they couldn't sell their consoles after 360.
If they sold 150mil of xbox one, they would praise home console today and be all in it.
But they were not able to deliver games.

and they smelt a rat (bigger money) elsewhere than consoles which they failed at.
So obviously all their rhetoric will be "yeah we are looking in the future and it's services and cloud. The old style is old style and competitors are stuck in the past". That's EXACTLY what you would say loosing in one industry and transferring to another industry.

And I hate that. I hate that they will take their sinking ship and manipulate traditional gaming industry and home console market... to try and skew it in their "future" direction in the process of them getting there.

 

[SHA]

Count their future contents and you'll see.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Perhaps, it's certain that one of them will be forced to do so sooner rather than later.

First mover advantage. It probably helps too that Microsoft Azure is the leading provider of global cloud services along with Amazon AWS.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Of course microsoft talks about xbox as a platform... because they couldn't sell their consoles after 360.
If they sold 150mil of xbox one, they would praise home console today and be all in it.
But they were not able to deliver games.

and they smelt a rat (bigger money) elsewhere than consoles which they failed at.
So obviously all their rhetoric will be "yeah we are looking in the future and it's services and cloud. The old style is old style and competitors are stuck in the past". That's EXACTLY what you would say loosing in one industry and transferring to another industry.

And I hate that. I hate that they will take their sinking ship and manipulate traditional gaming industry and home console market... to try and skew it in their "future" direction in the process of them getting there.

Ehhhh. The industry is better with game pass, imo, as a consumer. I want this direction.

I’m all for fewer boxes under my tv. I look forward to an all cloud gaming future where it’s all done through apps on the tv or vr headset.

 

[DanielG165]

They’ll come out with games and continue their services as usual, while expanding in other areas. If one only took NeoGaf as a basis, they would legitimately think the Xbox division was going bankrupt or something.

 

[gaming_again]

If Xbox revamped that atrocious dashboard and hideous Windows-style UI, I would consider it for Gamepass. But I can't stand looking at that terrible interface any longer. It's just ugly as sin.

I prefer being able to see all my games at once in the library rather than having to scroll sideways on the ps5.

 

[mystech]

I think Microsoft will play the long game as the rumors suggested. They have some big hits that are supposed to come out this year (like Hellblade 2) which should get them through 2024 plus they can use their directs to try to build hype for their 2025 games like Fable.

They can limp their way through 2025 and then come out with an early next generation Xbox in 2026. It’s a strategy that helped them with the 360 and it might just work for them again if they do it exactly right. What will really matter at that point is building enough momentum to lessen the impact when the PS6 arrives in 2028 (or maybe Sony gets aggressive and pushes it to 2027).

 

[jroc74]

Lets keep it real...this gen is done and dusted for Xbox. Its kinda wild 2 gens in a row things didnt go as planned for MS. Sony will release a PS5 Pro that will just help extend the momentum they have, Nintendo will launch their next gen console...

Maybe next gen will be better for Xbox and MS, whenever they decide to start it.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Of course microsoft talks about xbox as a platform... because they couldn't sell their consoles after 360.
If they sold 150mil of xbox one, they would praise home console today and be all in it.
But they were not able to deliver games.

and they smelt a rat (bigger money) elsewhere than consoles which they failed at.
So obviously all their rhetoric will be "yeah we are looking in the future and it's services and cloud. The old style is old style and competitors are stuck in the past". That's EXACTLY what you would say loosing in one industry and transferring to another industry.

And I hate that. I hate that they will take their sinking ship and manipulate traditional gaming industry and home console market... to try and skew it in their "future" direction in the process of them getting there.

Let me guess, you think traditional physical game retail would still be thriving if it weren't for MS/Xbox. The rapid downfall of game disc sales is definitely not due to everyone having high-speed internet access and the convenience of being able to purchase and play games almost instantly from the comfort of home.

 

[rofif]

Ehhhh. The industry is better with game pass, imo, as a consumer. I want this direction.

I’m all for fewer boxes under my tv. I look forward to an all cloud gaming future where it’s all done through apps on the tv or vr headset.

I see where you are coming from. This is the usual casual pov but you are here, on a gaming forum.
You are an enthusiast. You must see what's happening. how can you not?

GP only now looks ok because m$ is using their money to pay for games and to pay for their 1st party games on there. but without it, there is no way polished AAA games can be developed and only dropped in there.
Just as Netflix. movies downsized so much, we don't get small/medium movies. We either get netflix ultra cheap "indie" movies or super expensive cinema movies that lost all their soul because they must make ALL THE MONEY.
Where are the 50mil movies like... idk... Panic room. This is not a movie that would be made today with this budget and earn it back. And movies also don't get 2nd win from dvd release/physical. That's why they can't make it

 

[Killjoy-NL]

First mover advantage. It probably helps too that Microsoft Azure is the leading provider of global cloud services along with Amazon AWSAWS

Seeing is believing.
Let MS first get people to want their product.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

I see where you are coming from. This is the usual casual pov but you are here, on a gaming forum.
You are an enthusiast. You must see what's happening. how can you not?

GP only now looks ok because m$ is using their money to pay for games and to pay for their 1st party games on there. but without it, there is no way polished AAA games can be developed and only dropped in there.
Just as Netflix. movies downsized so much, we don't get small/medium movies. We either get netflix ultra cheap "indie" movies or super expensive cinema movies that lost all their soul because they must make ALL THE MONEY.
Where are the 50mil movies like... idk... Panic room. This is not a movie that would be made today with this budget and earn it back. And movies also don't get 2nd win from dvd release/physical. That's why they can't make it

People who get the most value from their spent money are casuals now?

 

[Killjoy-NL]

People who get the most value from their spent money are casuals now?

Isn't GP already hitting a ceiling at ~30M, with most subs coming from Xbox?
Even PC isn’t off to a good start then and their console installbase is dying.

 

[Negotiator101]

It's the obligatory Xbox is doomed thread Xbox is over 20yrs established its not going anywhere please people use some common sense when writing these threads.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Isn't GP already hitting a ceiling at ~30M, with most subs coming from Xbox?
Even PC isn’t off to a good start then and their console installbase is dying.

What does install-base have to do with my point about value-oriented gamers that like GP being labeled as casuals?

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

It's the obligatory Xbox is doomed thread Xbox is over 20yrs established its not going anywhere please people use some common sense when writing these threads.

It’s only the 2nd one for the day though

 

[rofif]

Let me guess, you think traditional physical game retail would still be thriving if it weren't for MS/Xbox. The rapid downfall of game disc sales is definitely not due to everyone having high-speed internet access and the convenience of being able to purchase and play games almost instantly from the comfort of home.

idk. maybe ? who knows really. but it would be healthier for sure.
We saw Sony document in insomniac leak. WE KNOW FOR A FACT, 1st party sony games are selling 60-70% physically. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

Like I've said above - look where movies are with dying physical media. There is no 2nd wind on dvd sales and netflix or cinema alone is not enough to cover smaller/medium movies. Movie is either earth shattering in the cinema or a cheaper show that catches on in casual space on netflix.

People who get the most value from their spent money are casuals now?

They are casuals.
And while they do get "good deal TM" now, it's short sighted for the industry.
If gaming is your main hobby and you are enthusiast, looking for a "great deal TM" is not your priority.
I am happy to pay 60-70 for a good game rather than eat what they give me in gamepass.
it's basic economic logic man. It shouldn't even be controversial opinion. GP works because m$ is pouring money into it. infinite money. It's on a timer.

 

[SHA]

The PS5 has already been outperforming Xbox Series very comprehensively over the last two years. Once a PS5 Pro is out, and Xbox has nothing similar to counter it with, I can only imagine the PS5 running away with it even more - especially because I imagine key multiplatform games such as GTA6 and even the next Call of Duty will end up being best on PlayStation by default because of the PS5 Pro (at least as far as consoles go).

But the PS5 Pro isn't the only thing Xbox has to contend with going forward, this is also the year that the Switch 2 apparently launches. The original Switch almost strangled and suffocated the numbers Xbox had been putting up until the end of 2016, and Xbox never recovered - and now the Switch 2 is almost here. This one could be even worse for Xbox than the original Switch was, because based on rumours, this time Nintendo's hardware doesn't have to sit out of major third party support and AAA games, the Switch 2 is, allegedly, strong enough to get most major games (probably not all of them, but most of them), including Microsoft's own Call of Duty - at that point, the Xbox starts to lose out on the one thing that has kept it going, which is that it is a good... well, that it is an alternative to PlayStation. If Switch 2 starts to fill that role, then between that and PC, I can see Xbox being even more crowded out than it already is right now, when Switch has very little overlap with it.

Honestly, based on this, I don't know what the path forward for Xbox is this generation. I think starting the next generation early is not a bad idea in and of itself, in that at least it's a fresh roll of the dice that gives them some chance of getting a do-over, but they keep failing because of specific internal issues that just rushing to launch a new generation will not fix. Their marketing is terrible, their global availability and localization is terrible, they don't have a steady stream of games, let alone a steady stream of praised and beloved games, and they have gone out of their way to remove any reason to buy an Xbox console, short of you wanting an Xbox console specifically to begin with. I don't think a new generation solves that - either they clean house completely, top down, and get new people in charge, or, and this one is probably likelier judging by the rumours, they take the route of third party publishing. Not saying the discontinue Xbox, they won't (and probably shouldn't), but I can see Xbox becoming more of a Surface style project for them, a showpiece hardware product that shows the intended best version of their software, but you can still get that software elsewhere.

Anyway, I don't know, I don't think the Xbox Series is strong or secure enough to survive a dual onslaught of a PS5 Pro and a Switch 2. What does GAF think?

Start a generation like the 360.

 

[rofif]

Start a generation like the 360.

Exactly. i bought 360 because it was great at the time and had amazing games.
Then I got ps4 because it had great games and exclusives. I never had sony console before. I followed games.
I would have no issue getting xbox if it had amazing games.

 

[Js562]

Nothing has changed just keep it going. I'll still be playing on it. Microsoft has a lot of money they stay moving.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

They are casuals.
And while they do get "good deal TM" now, it's short sighted for the industry.
If gaming is your main hobby and you are enthusiast, looking for a "great deal TM" is not your priority.
I am happy to pay 60-70 for a good game rather than eat what they give me in gamepass.
it's basic economic logic man. It shouldn't even be controversial opinion. GP works because m$ is pouring money into it. infinite money. It's on a timer.

So by your completely idiotic logic, anyone who plays on consoles is a casual because they are not willing to be a true "enthusiast" and spend thousands on the latest PC spec rigs.

 

[rofif]

So by your completely idiotic logic, anyone who plays on consoles is a casual because they are not willing to be a true "enthusiast" and spend thousands on the latest PC spec rigs.

Get real or get fucked because you are a clown who can only post gifs ridiculing other people opinions.
We don't need you on this board or anyone conversing like this.

I have nothing to say so let's post a funny gif and offend the guy. You are an idiot.

Enthusiast is not only about spending money on highest end rig. You can be games enthusiast and still prefer gaming on consoles.
You mix ethusiasm with preference and platform choice

 

[mdkirby]

The PS5 Pro really won't make much difference, the real issue for xbox imo is that they fucked up the xbox one gen, which was the generation where everyone started properly building their digital, backwards compatible libraries. Which have only continued to be expanded this gen, as the gap continues to widen. It makes it a very hard sell to get someone to switch, so they can for many people only ever be a 'second console', which whilst affordable for many, is also not affordable for many others. I do expect Xbox to become ever more device agnostic for streaming games...and if gamepass doesn't seriously pick up on subscribers, possibly go third party. Hard to know what impact several years from now all their acquisitions will have.

 

[Segslack]

Switch 2 will generate a lot of excitement. I don't see it changing the landscape a ton. Nintendo has been killing it for years. Nintendo will equally humiliate Sony and MS devs when they get their hands on PS4 level hardware, further emphasizing to most people that power is not what's holding back good games.

PS5 Pro is a complete non-event. It won't sell that much. It won't change anything. It's a niche product for a small number of enthusiasts.

If PS5 Pro is a niche product, Xbox Series is even more a niche product.

 

[BennyBlanco]

DOOOMMMMEEEDD i tell ya

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/microsoft-msft-worlds-most-valuable-company

 

[Rockman33]

Release great 1st party exclusive games. Which appears to be what will happen this year.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Get real or get fucked because you are a clown who can only post gifs ridiculing other people opinions.
We don't need you on this board or anyone conversing like this.

I have nothing to say so let's post a funny gif and offend the guy. You are an idiot.

Enthusiast is not only about spending money on highest end rig. You can be games enthusiast and still prefer gaming on consoles.
You mix ethusiasm with preference and platform choice

I think I hit you in your feels. I'll let you take a breather "enthusiast" LMAO.

 

[rofif]

I think I hit you in your feels. I'll let you take a breather "enthusiast" LMAO.

bravo! You didn't even post a funny gif this time!
Is it your birthday today? Did you hit 11 years old ?! nice. gratz

 

[FoxMcChief]

DOOOMMMMEEEDD i tell ya

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/microsoft-msft-worlds-most-valuable-company

 

[Sanepar]

It is simple. They will buy more studios more publishers and you will need to play on their platform. Simple. Doesn't matter if in a pc, tv, console, cloud or whatever.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

bravo! You didn't even post a funny gif this time!
Is it your birthday today? Did you hit 11 years old ?! nice. gratz

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

DOOOMMMMEEEDD i tell ya

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/microsoft-msft-worlds-most-valuable-company

Too bad this success doesn't mean shit for Xbox as a platform. The console is still struggling and MS making tons of cash on their other ventures isn't helping it.

 

[NickFire]

I think PS5 Pro and Switch 2 are completely irrelevant to Xbox's future. The damage has already been done before either was ever announced.

Not for nothing, but Xbox's way forward might be staying the course. As long as it turns a profit or protects MS Gaming's ability to negotiate with non-Xbox platforms, then it has some value for MS.

To me, the big question is where does MS Gaming go from here? I think big changes are coming, but I'm looking at it more from the perspective of how long can justify excluding so much content from their biggest potential console audience.

 

[Metnut]

Microsoft can’t really worry about what Nintendo and Sony have coming up. Keep an eye for competitive purposes sure, but trying to plan responses to all of that is a waste of time.

For the first time in a lonnnbg time, MS actually has a promising bench of exclusive games coming in 2024. They need to work with the devs and ensure that a repeat of the Redfall and Starfield situations doesn’t occur.

If MS releases 3-4 exclusive smash hits in 2024, and does it again in 2025, it won’t matter what the other companies. Gamers will find where the premium content is and find a way to play those games.

 

[DForce]

DOOOMMMMEEEDD i tell ya

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/microsoft-msft-worlds-most-valuable-company

Yes, a product/division can fail despite the overall company's success.

Stadia failed, but Google did not.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

What does install-base have to do with my point about value-oriented gamers that like GP being labeled as casuals?

Because GP is aimed at casuals. Hence all the PR mumbo-jumbo about 2 Billion users market and great value blabla.
Your rethoric is exactly following MS' bulletpoints for GP.

Just saying that GP isn't that attractive outside the core Xbox installbase.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

What’s the way forward for Microsoft? Hmmm… I have no idea.

Bring back the team behind the Xbox 360. Those guys understood the needs of the fanbase.
Get rid of Spencer, Greenberg and co.

 

[Baki]

The PS5 has already been outperforming Xbox Series very comprehensively over the last two years. Once a PS5 Pro is out, and Xbox has nothing similar to counter it with, I can only imagine the PS5 running away with it even more - especially because I imagine key multiplatform games such as GTA6 and even the next Call of Duty will end up being best on PlayStation by default because of the PS5 Pro (at least as far as consoles go).

But the PS5 Pro isn't the only thing Xbox has to contend with going forward, this is also the year that the Switch 2 apparently launches. The original Switch almost strangled and suffocated the numbers Xbox had been putting up until the end of 2016, and Xbox never recovered - and now the Switch 2 is almost here. This one could be even worse for Xbox than the original Switch was, because based on rumours, this time Nintendo's hardware doesn't have to sit out of major third party support and AAA games, the Switch 2 is, allegedly, strong enough to get most major games (probably not all of them, but most of them), including Microsoft's own Call of Duty - at that point, the Xbox starts to lose out on the one thing that has kept it going, which is that it is a good... well, that it is an alternative to PlayStation. If Switch 2 starts to fill that role, then between that and PC, I can see Xbox being even more crowded out than it already is right now, when Switch has very little overlap with it.

Honestly, based on this, I don't know what the path forward for Xbox is this generation. I think starting the next generation early is not a bad idea in and of itself, in that at least it's a fresh roll of the dice that gives them some chance of getting a do-over, but they keep failing because of specific internal issues that just rushing to launch a new generation will not fix. Their marketing is terrible, their global availability and localization is terrible, they don't have a steady stream of games, let alone a steady stream of praised and beloved games, and they have gone out of their way to remove any reason to buy an Xbox console, short of you wanting an Xbox console specifically to begin with. I don't think a new generation solves that - either they clean house completely, top down, and get new people in charge, or, and this one is probably likelier judging by the rumours, they take the route of third party publishing. Not saying the discontinue Xbox, they won't (and probably shouldn't), but I can see Xbox becoming more of a Surface style project for them, a showpiece hardware product that shows the intended best version of their software, but you can still get that software elsewhere.

Anyway, I don't know, I don't think the Xbox Series is strong or secure enough to survive a dual onslaught of a PS5 Pro and a Switch 2. What does GAF think?

PS5 expected to be 65M shipped by April. Hard to turn around momentum when so many people will own PS5s. It will come down to games but if they can start reliably releasing AAA bangers exclusive to Xbox, they can start next gen in a better place. The other option is to go Nintendo route and come up with an innovation that differentiates Xbox from PS and makes a compelling case to pick up an Xbox in addition to the PS5 you own. And no, GP at $210/year is not the answer to that.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Too bad this success doesn't mean shit for Xbox as a platform. The console is still struggling and MS making tons of cash on their other ventures isn't helping it.

Yes, a product/division can fail despite the overall company's success.

Stadia failed, but Google did not.

Yea dude, they just spent 70bn + millions in billable hours to lawyers last year to bow out of gaming. Xbox will keep chugging along because MS desperately wants it to. If this were a smaller company they would’ve tapped out after last gen.

 

[Mister Wolf]

It is simple. They will buy more studios more publishers and you will need to play on their platform. Simple. Doesn't matter if in a pc, tv, console, cloud or whatever.

That could work too. Honestly we haven't seen it come into fruition because of development time. If Avowed, Hellblade 2, and Indy all release to critical acclaim then they can build off that momentum entering 2025. I really hope they weren't stupid enough to make Indy a first person title.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

Yea dude, they just spent 70bn + millions in billable hours to lawyers last year to bow out of gaming. Xbox will keep chugging along because MS desperately wants it to. If this were a smaller company they would’ve tapped out after last gen.

They aren’t bowing out of gaming, no one is saying that. There are multiple avenues they can take and still make money in gaming. Their console isn’t one of those avenues though as it’s very much struggling and the $70billion they spent isn’t changing this fact.

 

[BennyBlanco]

They aren’t bowing out of gaming, no one is saying that. There are multiple avenues they can take and still make money in gaming. Their console isn’t one of those avenues though as it’s very much struggling and the $70billion they spent isn’t changing this fact.

So what are you suggesting? Theyll stop making consoles and leave everyone who built a digital library with their dicks in their hands? It’s nonsensical. Weve already seen their next console in the FTC leaks.

 

[Alebrije]

Don't worry , every device is an Xbox.

 

[nick776]

I've said the same thing in other threads--what chance does Series X/S have against a PS5/PS5Pro and Switch 2. If there were going to be a Series X Pro or the equivalent, that would be one thing. However, all the smoke seems to indicate there is not one. It's just another case of Xbox being late to the party, or missing the party completely. That is the reason for their current predicament (along with management).

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

So what are you suggesting? Theyll stop making consoles and leave everyone who built a digital library with their dicks in their hands? It’s nonsensical. Weve already seen their next console in the FTC leaks.

I'm not suggesting anything just noting that their current consoles are failing. MS pays people that are much wiser than me on these matters to figure out a strategy. I'm sure the rumors of them releasing games on PS5 and Switch is probably part of some wider strategy.


They might be going third party or maybe leaving the traditional consoles alone in favor of some kind of cloud/PC lite/console hybrid, no one knows.


All I'll say is whatever they are doing with the Xbox Series S|X consoles isn't working and they'll have to come up with a new strategy fast or they will fail again next gen.

 

[FoxMcChief]

#1 company in the world MS on their way to small time indie company Sony to make an “offer”

I just wonder what will happen, MS letting Sony have game pass, or Microsoft’s PlayStation acquisition.

 

[Urban]

It’s about games, not hardware.

+ people already build their online library with the PS4. Xbox lost the worst gen possible