Some gaming companies are starting to question whether it's worth it for them to continue supporting Xbox consoles, a new comment from gamesindustry.biz's Chris Dring concludes.
Appearing on another episode of the outlet's 'Microcast', Dring spoke about GDC 2024, and some of the discussions about Xbox that cropped up at the conference. Dring says that multiple game makers, including "one major company", are beginning to question why the team bothers porting to Xbox.
"The phrase one major company — who released a big game last year — said 'I don't know why we bothered supporting it.' [Xbox]"
The podcast's segment on this particular topic has been clipped and posted to social media, so we'll drop that down below if you'd like to hear more of Dring's words on Xbox's current position.
The journalist doesn't name any of the companies that provided this information, and for now this should all be considered as reported/rumoured info considering none of the companies have gone public themselves with such comments. It's also worth noting that any "falling" or "flatlining" console sales mentioned here are from a European perspective.
Earlier this year, the same source reported that physical Xbox games were no longer being stocked at certain European retailers due to low physical sales in the region. We'll have to see how all of this plays out in the coming months and years, but Microsoft definitely has future hardware plans involving Team Green either way.
What do you think to these comments? Tell us your thoughts down below.
[source youtu.be]
Comments 124
I bet they’re not the only one. I mean there’s already a few 3rd party games out there not available for xbox. It’s not a good sign is it
i have serious doubts about buying the next xbox "console". you just never know what phil and team xbox will do. i don't think they know.
i could say i would buy the next xbox for 1st party games on game pass but we never know how much longer game pass will last. plus we where promised a first party game on game pass every quarter. well first quarter of 2024 is up and we have nothing.
According to the mirror article on Push Square, Dring also stated that Microsoft will be putting pretty much every exclusive on the PlayStation too. Obviously I have been saying the same myself for weeks now, ever since the first 4 games were announced as making the leap. I have no doubts in my mind that Starfield will cross over later this year, once the 12 months period from its initial release has ended, and its DLC it out.
I really don't know how Xbox will exist as a console when it has only timed exclusives because gamers are prepared to wait for an exclusive to drop on their preferred console if they know that it is coming. Thus people will happily buy a PlayStation to play one time Xbox exclusives, whilst also gaining access to Sony's library of exclusives. It would be a win/win. I honestly believe that more and more people will jump the sinking Xbox ship next generation, and that includes those that might consider themselves as die-hard Xbox gamers.
I don't think that Microsoft will follow Sony into introducing a Pro model this generation because they will instead introduce their next generation model earlier than usual in a consoles cycle. It makes sense to forgo a Pro if the next console is going to be your last as calling it 'next generation' is more likely to entice sales than a Pro would.
All this is particuarly sad news for me personally as someone that has had an Xbox as their primary console since the OG, including all mid-generation refreshes. Unfortunately, I think the future for Xbox is exceptionally bleak right now...
The problem is everything MS is doing makes it less and less attractive to actually own a Xbox….i mean if you have no exclusives why bother with the console when your competitors have exclusives…..i mean how many games have come out on Xbox that are good that aren’t on PS5 recently vs the other way around ill bet you the ps5 wins this battle and from what it seems they don’t care and are even now going to make their own games available on the competition meanwhile their competitors aren’t….at this point MS should either rethink their strategy of releasing games on PS5 and PC(day 1) or just go 3rd party cause ill be honest I’m not sure if ill buy another Xbox after the last two gens have kinda kept me from playing some of the best games that Sony and Nintendo makes themselves….but the same really can’t be said for people who bought a ps5?
This is worrying. However they can bounce back with the right tactical plan.
Nintendo proved it can happen with the transition from Wii U to Switch.
For me it's the lack of killer exclusives, the must have games and sharing some of the best with others. Is this to lessen the shortfall financially or to try and tempt other players to Xbox?
Xbox have bought a lot of devs with not much to show so far. Hoping that will change soon.
Betting on Xbox but its a gamble.
@Nic-Noc20th-C
Problem is that Nintendo own IPs that have an insane install rate compared to the other two so people will buy their consoles just for those IPs alone.
The only way Microsoft can pull a turnaround that large is to make Call of Duty exclusive but there's absolutely no chance of that.
Their anti-consumer moves as of late really doesn't help matters.
as flip floppy as xbox is, i wouldn't be shocked if phil dropped a short tweet saying welp, its a sad day indeed but we have decided not to make next gen consoles. bye.
now the question is ps6 or pc. i want to say ps6 for me but im sure sony would make the price close to a gaming pc.
@Mreeezie
PC isn't a console and games are built on PC's in general.
@MomsSpaghetti He truly lived long enough to become Don Mattrick.
Whilst I agree the direction Xbox is going in is worrying…
This is all according to one random chooch who is also known to dislike Xbox. So… yea.
Dear Microsoft,
Make your next console seamlessly run the PC versions of games so that way this whole "no point supporting Xbox" goes away.
The original point of the Xbox was so that people making PC games could easily make a console version. That vision seems to have gone away. I thought the GDK was supposed to streamline Windows and Xbox development, but that doesn't appear to be the case (especially when the GDK on PC is apparently only for games meant to be on Game Pass).
If you still choose a "closed system" then figure out a way to get back the basic principles and make Xbox development so trivial that PC versions can quickly get converted to Xbox versions so that this kind of argument is moot.
Sincerely,
Me
Kinda sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point.
@Fiendish-Beaver the thing is the games didn’t blow up the charts. Well one did and is. These were test games. I truly do believe more games are going to PS5; I just don’t think it’s every game.
As I thought Seas of Thieves is the one doing the heavy lifting. Which tells me they will most likely be looking to move more of their GAAS style games over.
Dring also mentioned in the same podcast MS is less focused on GP which no they aren’t. They are doubling down on that. They just aren’t adding ad much third party content to the service. Looks to me liked they’d rather use their own first party content now for the service.
Again I do think more games are going but I’d exercise caution at taking everything he said as gospel.
Also while Xbox slipped considerably in EU it was actually the console that slipped the least in Feb in the US.
This story again? Where's Microsoft's official press release on the matter? "What's that? There isn't one"?
Nope, like always, "I got nothing better to do than run my mouth for clicks" fanboy speculation. If any of you were alive back when Sega Dreamcast flopped, you'd realize that Microsoft has nothing in common.
But nonetheless, some of you love to act like old grumpy people..."feeling good, when others are down"... so, enjoy yourselves, with your childish speculation. But hey, maybe you'll be right in 70 years, after the world government collapses! Keep dreaming!
Potentially going more software route as that is where the bigger money is. But IF true it would be a shame.
But with a rumoured handheld, that would be 3 devices/specs any 3rd party developer would have to get it running on. And that’s costly if it isn’t going to make much of a RoI
You know, considering how massively mismanaged xbox has been for the past 10 or so years, it's almost impressive that they've lasted this long. Someday someone is going to make a FASCINATING documentary about just how dysfunctional and incompetent things were behind the scenes. I feel like we don't know the half of it...
Without source its actually impossible to know context. Perhaps it's a publisher who printed too ma y physical copies when xbox players are far more likely to buy digital.
I feel like this is the start of round two panic/fear mongering for clicks that we want through a couple months ago.
Every tangible non rumor points toward MS doubling down on xbox ecosystem.
@PROPS Amen brother. Too many chicken Littles running around claiming the sky is falling.
This is why "don't judge us by console sales, judge us by gamepass subscribers" kills the Xbox.
It doesn't matter if you have 100 million gamepass subscribers, if console sales are low then there is little appeal to make games for the Xbox
Here's a novel idea for Xbox, release some exclusives, give folks a reason to buy an Xbox.
Every series console they've sold to date has been done so on hope and Starfield, time to pay off having all those studios.
What a load of bull great publisher wanting to alienate Xbox players there is literally millions of us on Xbox I'm sure it viable to release on it but I suppose those profits have to be made look how many have been sacked from these companies to make a profit
@Weapon_Wheel I can't remember the last time I seen an advertisement for the consoles maybe before and just after the release and that's about it but I do get bombarded with tiktok & temu adverts all the time on places like YouTube.
@ShadowofTwilight
That's one of things that Xbox should be working on and should have been working on through the years.
It's never too late. They have the talent to produce the goods.
All those nintendo IP started somewhere from scratch. They were just ideas and went on to become bigger things.
Then you find out that 3rd Party Publisher released a broken mess of a game that didn't sell on Xbox because Xbox customers aren't wasting their money on broken, unfinished games when they have 100's of games on Game Pass and 'new' games coming every week.
There is a lot of competition for Publishers and on Xbox, you'd imagine that the majority have GPU with 'few' Console owners actually buying games on release unless they live up to expectations at launch. WB for example have had two 'terrible' launches (Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad) so maybe had very few sales due to competing with Game Pass and all those 'free' games Xbox customers can play instead of spending $70 on a broken mess - not justifying the 'cost' of porting to Xbox for so few Sales and/or tiny player base to buy MTX/DLC etc...
Make games that people want to play and they'll 'buy' on Xbox too. I know Sony have PS+ but that offers 'old' games and not really competing with 'new' releases in the same way. Having brand new games day 1 in game pass that week/month some 3rd Party 'mess' releases isn't going to help them sell their terrible games...
I agree with most, the games are where the issues are, no games = no marketing. you can't market the series x without a game coming up, if I saw a advert somewhere for series X showcasing games that came out last year, I wouldn't take notice. Really, they would definitely be better off remastering some old games, ala like Halo MCC. Not ideal by any means, but it gives something for gamers to look forward to and would run from a lower budget. The back catalogue is huge! And also very good. Xbox has been the same for years now, unfortunately no plans and no direction.
I'm actually worried about what this means for Game Pass. Assuming MS hardware is discontinued, what would be my incentive to get GP? Sony and Nintendo will keep their services, will GP become a perk (like EA)? I'm assuming neither is letting standalone GP service on their platform. PC GP has been in the gutter, so that ain't a way forward..
@rustyduck I'll be honest, I've stopped buying 3rd party on Xbox just because I'm wondering if it's worth the investment.
There has been some WILD left hand turns lately, and I know the Xbox faithful like Spencer but I don't trust himwith this being my 1st Xbox..
An actual used car salesman, butters everyone up so when the hidden fees show up you are too surprised to be mad.
The next Xbox needs to be a prebuilt gaming PC that simply has Xbox branding.
I agree with what you say, @mousieone, and I know that at the moment I have nothing to base my suspicions on, but I'd be truly shocked (and delighted!) if I'm wrong.
For me, the moment Microsoft put Gears of War, Halo and Forza on the PlayStation, the point of owning an Xbox is gone completely. I understand the financial reasoning for putting the likes of Starfield on the PS5, but once you no longer have those 3 core games to entice you into buying an Xbox, then many (maybe even the majority) will make the leap to the PlayStation.
Personally, I own all 3 consoles and a high-end gaming PC, so I have all bases covered, so in many ways, none of this should concern me, but that is far from the case...
Sony has 80% of the entire market share in Europe, Xbox has 20%. Is it really surprising Xbox's sales are growing so slow? Monopolies tend to snowball.
It's up to Microsoft to take steps to market its brand in Europe. Sony shows the pS log on every UEFA Champions League game, capturing millions of teens and young adults. Xbox had ads on London bus stops about how Call of Duty would be more accessible. Can't even compare.
Removed - inappropriate
@EquiinoxGII Took the family on vacation last year to Poland, Austria, Prague.... Guess who I saw awesome adverts for everywhere, Nindy and PS. I don't recall a single MS decked out tram, bus or otherwise
I didn't read all the comments, but a dissatisfaction upon Xbox consoles seems clear.
I have no idea what xbox future brings but when you know that all your "exclusive" games are going day-one on pc and then on the competitor hardwares, well... the conclusion is clear.
maybe at this point MS could go full publisher.
it could be better.
This is what happens when you have some like Phil giving no clear direction or blueprint.. his focus seems outdated as well with his heavy indie push for a 500 buck machine
@TheLastHarbinger and Nintendo has?
Gotta love a good (almost click bait?) doom and gloom Xbox article, especially without sources to add context to claims.....
There’s a lot of other insiders calling BS on Dring. And this is why I don’t even play attention to these people any more.
@rustyduck I'm a bit in this boat really. I have the Series S currently and get GP 'free' as part of my phone contract. Alongside the rising prices of GP and the unlikelihood that things like GP will be given out so freely in future, I can't really afford to spend GP prices on top of Netflix et al. And the truth is GP gets outvoted over TV and music streaming every day of the week.
@awp69
Apart from Corden (not at GDC and has been wrong a lot), eastwood (also not as GDC and a known pathological liar), I've not seen anyone call him out. Who else has been?
Also why hasn't this story, which actually is sourced, about likely plans for Final Fantasy 16 to come to other consoles, been reported here?
https://x.com/hazzadorgamin/status/1772271383088693533?s=46
One guy suggests that Xbox is done, and everyone loses their minds.
Some people never took or passed a basic economic class. Such doom and gloom without any real reason.
Microsoft can’t exit the console business and become third party after their Activision purchase. If they did, PlayStation would “in theory” have a monopoly. Thus killing Microsoft’s third party strategy. Sony could dictate pricing and how much they get from sales on all Xbox products (including hypothetically game pass on PlayStation). Microsoft couldn’t realistically pull their games off of PlayStation (and Xbox consoles if they don’t exist) because the loss of players would crush them. Only putting their games on PC (maybe Nintendo) wouldn’t have enough power to justify their billion $ purchase. Also, we’ve seen in the last two years alone how much turmoil there is from third party studios. If Xbox was a third party, they’d have to significantly downsize even more.
Developers at other third parties are definitely trying to send a message to Xbox by skipping their console upfront. They clearly don’t want to develop for two different Xbox’s and jeopardize their game and timelines. That’s fair. But they are also harming themselves by doing this. They are literally foregoing the potential returns from Xbox players and I have no idea if their financials support the decision. It absolutely works for devs that have the money to skip, but smaller game studios with smaller budgets HAVE to develop for all consoles to make it work. They need players.
I agree the Xbox brand needs to grow to be sustainable, but abandoning a console because they are putting their “exclusives” everywhere is silly from a consumer side. It literally feeds the fire for Sony becoming a monopoly. If the Xbox players get the game first, it’s a benefit. Xbox also has gamepass another benefit that Sony can’t replicate, because Xbox players get day one access to games on a subscription price. That’s the value of Xbox. Just enjoy playing games and let the execs figure out how to sell more consoles in Europe.
I think the thing that drives me nuts the most on Xbox is the lack of sales on their store compared to the other systems. I prefer buying games on my Xbox but so many of the games i have on my wishlist on Deku Deals hardly, (if at all) go on sale for Xbox compared to Sony, Nintendo or even Steam. Unless it's Rockstar, Capcom, Ubisoft or Activision, games don't go on sale as often as other platforms.
Like all insiders this guy seems full of nothing with no sources. He's said both that devs aren't interested in Xbox, and that devs aren't interested in PS5 Pro. I think we can all pretty much guess that both are somewhat true for both claims, but also that it's pretty limited. For PS, the Pro is a poor decision and from the leaks doesn't even help some of the worst problems and hits at a time when it's not particularly beneficial.
For Xbox, It's a catch-22 isn't it? Herman Hulst (Sony) has already pretty much point blank said they can't keep making big games only for PS, it doesn't make enough money relative to cost anymore. For them, they're going PC+PS. They probably would have gone Xbox, too (Sony execs other than Kutaragi intended to publish on Xbox when the OG Xbox launched after all), if Xbox had enough market share to make it worthwhile but it doesn't. Xbox kind of needs to expand their market to PS to make big games profitable since that's probably 40% of the market. But then how do they keep 3rd parties engaged in their hardware if everything is on PS?
Meanwhile even publishers probably don't want a PS hardware monopoly. Once PS is monopoly then there's nothing to stop them from charging 40%, 50% etc on royalty split. After all, there's no other option. And then publishers are right back in the same hole with no way out.
It may seem hopeless, and the grass is always greener on the blue side of the fence but things aren't rosy over their either. Jim set PS way back, and their exclusivity stable is pretty darn lean these days either, coming mostly from moneyhatted 3rd parites rather than own development, and there's a general sense the generation stalled in both camps.
If there's any takeaway right now it's that console gaming is dead and PC+Nintendo is the only platform, really. And mismanagement killed it.
What I expect MS to do (but probably wont) is to just switch Xbox hardware into dedicted cost effective gaming PC builds in cute boxes. Problem solved. I mean with devices like Deck and Ally we have proof that low power affordable devices can be gaming PCs. If any company benefits from ending "console vs PC" and making it the same thing, it's MS. The hardware/launcher convenience of consoles, the simplicity of single platform development for devs. Sale of economy sales of commodity single config hardware in the PC space. Nobody really loses from that other than that a purpose-built bespoke Playstation may outperform it on most games. OTOH "exclusivity" would be little more than a storefront timed affair outside Nintendo.
Xbox has halve the ps consoles out there and most likely xbox owners are buying more games because most of them don't have to pay 70$ for every first party game. There is not a single big published out there who would ever say "why should i brother for 50% more customers?".
@GamingFan4Lyf This is precisely everything I've been saying for ages! The whole point of Xbox was Windows. It's Project DirectX Box for crying out loud!
The whole point was cementing Windows gaming and the dominant monopoly of DirectX on game development during the rise of PS1 into 2 and OpenGL replacing it, and opening the door to Windows losing its choekhold on what was at the time PC/Western gaming.
PC has always been the goal of Xbox. PC genres has always been the goal of Xbox. People praise the 360 as the "good" generation, but I think it's the bad one. It's the one that made them lose focus on the vision of merging PC and console gaming and instead engage in replacing Sega as another bespoke console.
90% of what Phil keeps saying tells me they've rediscovered their PC hybrid purpose of consolifying the PC instead of trying to "win console wars" except that they keep focusing on bespoke hardware. Valve gave them the template they need. The question is if they're smart enough to follow it.
Rumors talking about next gen being Intel based and their focus on Deck and Ally while rumors of their own handheld circulate tell me there's at least a 50% chance they are, but we won't see it for years.
@ShadowofTwilight Well, even the guy in the article who tweeted about this was questioning it. Saying it would be nice to actually have sources.
https://x.com/hazzadorgamin/status/1772323229606232549?s=46
I’m tired of believing any “insider” who doesn’t name sources. So much of it isn’t true. So until we see something with names and publishers there is nothing here for me.
@thefly0810 I generally have similar games wishlisted on PS or XB and haven't found sales to be particularly divergent between them. They just run their sales at different times, and PS store tends to run more smaller sales. It may be publisher dependent, my tastes tend to skew Japanese. My general findings are whichever machine I want to buy a game on, it's the other machine that has it on sale when I want to, lol.
@fbnaulin its a build up of all the fails and broken promises since about the time they bought bethesda. all downhill. they didn't even put old cod or stalker games on gp. dead island 2 is the only bright spot for me.
we have one xbox game with a date for 2024. ONE.
The thing I noticed about xbox fans is that they often say "I'll wait for it to come to gamepass".
Buy the damn game if you like it lol.
@rustyduck To be fair, that's one more game with a date for 2024 for xbox than PS has right now which has nada until April '25 at the soonest.
Of course PS has the paid third party thing going on. I'm not sure the Matrick Tomb Raider trick is really something to celebrate though.
@CutchuSlow "I'll wait for it to come to game pass" is just the xbox equivalent of saying "not that interesting to me" or more importantly "looks like a sub-par game that will likely have to go on GP to make ends meet." It's not that people don't buy games they really want, it's a comment about games they don't really want. You see the same thing on the PS side with "sounds like it'll be on Plus in 6 months" etc. It's just more memey with Game Pass.
@CutchuSlow who invented and pushed game pass?
drops mic
@Fiendish-Beaver sure but I’m not sure those games are going over. I’m not sure of anything right now but the truth is neither is he. He is of course just guessing.
While things are dicey for Xbox right now. Judging everything by one podcast? Eh. I’m not happy with the direction but that’s pretty far fetched.
And the context is that podcast has always be less than positive towards Xbox.
The demise of the Xbox console franchise.
Since they didn't confirm who said those, they could be making it all up.
@CutchuSlow I don’t think Dring was making it up but what exactly is the context for big? A game with an audience that’s already PC oriented? Maybe it sells better on PS5 because the install size is larger but overall the game should be played mouse and keyboard?
It's painfully obvious that Xbox and Microsoft Game Studios will be a publisher/development umbrella only in the near future. The signs have been there for years but they can't admit it in the middle of a console cycle. The only hardware I can see Microsoft producing with regard to gaming is a compact PC of sorts but that's hardly worth it with the potential competition out there. It's not great for competition but this is the reality of the industry at the moment.
@NEStalgia but I've also heard them say it looks good. So why wait for it come to gamepass and not a sale, instead?
Yeah I've used gamepass to try games to see if I like it or not, n if I like it, I'd buy it. I no longer have gamepass now, though.
What I see is that right now more and more games that were exclusive to the Playstation getting a series Xbox release. I will admit the X1 is all but dead but the series Xbox keeps getting more games. Yes a handful of developers don't like the Series S, but they just have to reach out to MS like what happened with Baulder's Gate 3. Perhaps the sales on the Xbox aren't increasing but I believe the Playstation 5 is leveling off the same.
@mousieone well there's no proof. Unless the publishers come out and say it themselves. Tho I've noticed game sales are really low on xbox compared to others.
Is it true? Who knows. I did find Phil’s specific language about the first four games not being Starfield pretty curious. Not a lie, but not a denial.
Here’s Christopher Dring’s profile. Sounds connected and GDC did just take place o. San Francisco.
“ Outside of GI, Chris has been frequently published on The Guardian, Video Games Chronicle and Time Extension. He has acted as an expert in the games market for the BBC, CNN, Sky News and other financial media.”
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/authors/christopher-dring
I'm not techy so can someone explain why the next Xbox can't just be like a PC from a developer standpoint? I'm really enjoying Xbox and gamepass but it's looking like ABK was a poisoned chalice. Now that gaming is a key pillar in the financials vs a footnote shareholders and the board care about it and are likely the cause of the push to move software to other platforms. The messaging is crap as usual and it's hard to justify spending money on digital games when you might not be on the platform in the future. I don't like playing on PC so just give me something that I can plug and play into a TV and I'm good... just make sure it has developers support.
Hence the "can it just run PC games but not have the hassle of a PC ?" question. That way it's a non issue as PC will always have support.
I live in the US and feel like Xbox doesn’t advertise nearly as much as PlayStation and that’s a contributing reason for lower sales here.
This sounds unlikely? I've pretty doom and gloom on my Xbox from a personal point of view (regret not getting a PS5 frankly, very disappointed with Xbox's software polish, and Phil et al over-promising-under-delivering for years). But there is still a healthy enough market, and porting so easy given the similar architectures. You'd probably need a financial incentive not to bother porting any major game.
Seems a little odd this site calling itself Pure Xbox, why don't you change it to "Negative Rumours for Xbox" or something?.
Speculations aside, in my opinion Microsoft can placate a lot of concerns and improve their business outlook by:
1. Directing first-party studios to focus on a mixture of established franchises and genres that Xbox consoles are lacking — it makes no sense to focus on genres that directly compete with their most prominent third-party developers.
2. Abandoning the strategy of the budget (Xbox Series S) and premium (Xbox Series X) models and focusing on a strategy of family/party-orientated (Xbox Series S) and premium (Xbox Series X) models — Xbox needs to further build its own niche rather than competing with Sony and Nintendo on Sony's and Nintendo's terms.
I'm sure there would be a lot of disagreement about how to achieve these goals, but broadly speaking I think this would be the best approach for Microsoft at this time.
"A company said" and "a major game" are flawed ways of phrasing this.
1. It implies that every employee at the unnamed company feels this way. He likely received one person's opinion and is trying to present it as something more by saying the company feels this way. It sounds more ominous to allude to the entire company feels this way than "one employee says."
2. It gives no reference to what game, company, genre, etc. As we know some games like anime do not sell well with xbox audience. For some games, it is a perfectly reasonable action to skip xbox. He purposely leaves it vague to give an impression that it could be anyone of any size.
3. Balatro, vampire survivor, fall guys are all "major games" what does that term even mean? Callisto protocol and immortals of aveum were marketed like major games and they sold poorly everywhere. He intentionally makes it seem like any of the hundreds of releases could be questioning xbox.
Unless he clarifies himself, I would consider this a nothing story. There are ways of protecting your source without being so purposely vague. I think he is intentionally misleading people here.
lol Xbox is fine
@Sifi
You think only positive Xbox news should be reported?
That would be "PureXboxFanBoy".
@ShadowofTwilight
"I've not seen anyone call him out. Who else has been?"
You'd love it if it was true wouldn't you?
Read your comments on PushSquare, drooling at the thought.
@GeeForce
I have a negative opinion of the management yes, that's already been established.
Now, where are the insiders that have been calling him out please?
Also, wouldn't care either way as I own all 3 consoles and a Steam Deck, I don't really lose a whole lot other than my Xbox games (that are already very low compared to Switch, PS5 and Steam). Thankfully I could still play the old games on my original Xbox and 360 anyway.
A couple of years old, but seems appropriate for today.
https://twitter.com/Chris_Dring/status/1501607291312820225
@CutchuSlow Well there's two parts to that. I don't understand the whole "patron of the arts" mentality among a super tiny niche of games enthusiasts. Game Pass/Plus is a premium paid subscription service. It's not actually particularly cheap. It's a good value, but it's not cheap, it's more expensive per month than premium subscription games' monthly fees (eg FFXIV.) Just because it gives access to a big library doesn't change how much engagement time you have for it. You're not getting free games, you're paying a chunk of money for access to them. You don't need to "buy the game if you tried it on Game Pass and liked it" as some sort of show of support to a corporate produced consumer product, you paid for your rental of it. It wasn't charity. You paid. Transaction complete. So in that regard the "Game Pass gamers don't buy games that are on Game Pass" should be...expected and ok. You subscribe to rent them instead of owning them. You lose access when you stop paying. That's fair. It's a rental. Not a free alternative, it's paying to rent games instead of own them. And it's also avoiding the retailer cut of physical games and the resale loss of games. A lot of people on the PS side that champion "I buy all my games! On launch day!" then also seem to go on and say "Physical!" (minus 35-45% sticker price to the retailer and mfr and distribution) "On sale!" (in UK, launch games don't do sale sin the US - indication of above wholesale discount) and then go on to say "I trade in my copy so it doesn't cost me that much to buy new at launch" (ok, now we halve the margin, or less....) And then we're back to pennies on the sale. Suddenly the monthly revenue on GP looks downright high-margin. I.E. Net return into the platform store via sub may not actually be less and may actually be more than some of those "I buy and trade everything physical" PS side people that'll eagerly and hypocritically without a hint of irony condemn rental subs.
Obviously that doesn't factor in the whales that buy $300 of new video games a month. But the whales are always less than 5% of the market whether it's retail whales or mobile mtx whales. Normal consumers buy 2 games a year, 8 a generation. If we take the "I buy and trade physical" customer at that average, 2x games, $70, - an optimistic 30% retail+mfr+dist cost, divided by 2 (trading them- second hand sale is $0 to the platform store) we get a net $49 /yr into the store for the average consumer. GP is $216.
That's the real reason for "$70 games". The retailer percentage cut, mfr costs of physical, retail trade in losses, and low # of copies sold to most consumers in general, the platform is lucky if it makes 2 bucks on the price hike. And why it's detrimental if it stifles total sales to try to milk a few bucks off each sale. And we've seen a general downward trend in total sales since then.
But the other part is still, if it's a game that's not on game pass, and it's not necessarily a game likely to come to game pass, people still buy it if it's a game they want to play. "I'll wait' generally either means I don't like it THAT much to prioritize over other content, or it's just playing the meme. And in a world of $70 games, really, you need to REALLY want it to pay that.
@GeeForce No I think 'Real' News" should be reported Good or Bad not 'Rumours'.
XBox does no marketing, and expects YouTubers to be enough, it's not.
Is it surprising when in general they are struggling to shift consoles? They even purchased Bethesda and at first chose to keep those games recently as exclusive under the hope that something like Starfield would get more people buying a console but that didn't work. The reason third party publishers are usually successful is their games sell well even across all platforms on their own they usually aren't system sellers. You are essentially removing half of the value of what you paid for. Rather than making new games and marketing your system to get people to buy it they went the route of relying on a subscription service and relying on the work of others in the past to get new users. It wouldn't have been so bad if last generation they had a larger marketshare. So these persistent rumours don't surprise me and I can imagine many publishers even larger ones are struggling for sales on Xbox due to most of the focus being on gamepass.
@rustyduck Said for years now that Game Pass is incredibly overrated and insanely overpriced for what it offers.
But if you're a gamer that enjoys game boy level quality and style games. Then game pass is absolutely for you.
"A major third party company, who's name ofcourse i won't disclose, said something that is trending right now and is garnering clicks and engagement".
Ah huh....
@Weapon_Wheel I literally cannot remember the last time I saw an Xbox advert in the UK. I remember seeing Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One adverts all the time.
Now it seems like Microsoft has either given up or just assumes Xbox will sell on its own with no marketing the way that Windows and Office does.
@Sifi
As long as rumours are reported as such and not as fact.
For example this story is headlined on PushSquare as "Xbox Planning to Release the 'Majority' of Its Exclusives on PS5", without the quotation marks.
Which IMO is far worse than how the rumour is being reported here, I'm sure you will agree.
Just go 3rd Party Xbox, let go
By "one major company — who released a big game last year" I am guessing Larian and Baldur's Gate 3. The game came out on Xbox almost as an afterthought, after Phil and others kept asking for it on Xbox. It barely got any promotion there.
Without names and numbers this rumour is BS. Developers won't be happy with only Playstation. Sony then can do what it wants.
@Fiendish-Beaver Xbox could just become a PC you stick under your TV that happens to play games. Microsoft could then open it up to 3rd party storefronts like Steam, GOG and Epic.
If they did make it like a PC it would then be compatible with all Sony’s PC releases. There’s definitely a market there.
@Weapon_Wheel I just need plug n play. That handheld option also is enticing if you can play gamepass natively on the device without a network.
@NEStalgia That's not technically true regarding upcoming PS Studios lineup. No new major IP releases between April 2024 and March 2025 doesn't mean nothing's happening. Just means it's smaller IP, new IP and remasters/remakes. PS5 can still have a good lineup.
@Krzzystuff Given all your Xbox library will be in the cloud later this year (not just Game Pass games), I feel they'll approach it that the next gen Xbox is literally just a Xbox branded PC that can play PC games natively and Xbox games in the cloud.
@Marxally I doubt it. The game is in the most played and still doing well. They also would have canceled the physical.
I'm just soooo surprised reading all this. I don't read Xbox news a lot and I'm just very happy with my Xbox. All I do is play great games and enjoy Gamepass. I think reading less or no news of all of these insiders and just play games makes you less worried about Xbox's future...
@NEStalgia ok yeah I understand. I won't buy anything at £70. If it's 60, I'll think about it, maybe get it on sale. Depends on the game, I'm very picky.
I've switched to PC now, so all my games are digital now.
@Grumblevolcano I'd be completely happy with that kind of future.
@NEStalgia Really enjoy reading your comments and replies to folks, friend 👍
@rustyduck GREAT POINT - ‘plus we where promised a first party game on game pass every quarter. well first quarter of 2024 is up and we have nothing’ 👏👏👏👏👏
@Fiendish-Beaver Definitely understand your thinking on people jumping ship next gen. What saves Xbox at least for me is the controller. I absolutely despise the Playstation controller. Off center sticks beyond annoying and uncomfortable for me.
@NEStalgia i agree. Trust me when i say you won’t see many if any Xbox gamers saying they will just wait for GTA6 to come to GP. That is a game that will sell and many others would to if we could just get some damn games this gen. There hasn’t been many standout’s yet to get. So people just double down on playing more COD, Fortnite and FIFA. Look at me i am almost at 800 hours on Diablo 4 cause since it launched there hasn’t been much to take me away from it. Especially if it’s $70 dollar and waiting for patches to even work correctly. I am waiting on a sale for Cyberpunk 2077 now that it’s complete and runs well. I will buy the ultimate edition with the DLC and take a D4 break. I also agree that with how popular PC gaming is and the fact Xbox was suppose to be alongside PC from the start. Let’s get back to that. Heck even myself that is about as hardcore Apple as it get’s is considering a PC at this point. Can i built my own? Probably not but i will get a pre build on sale from Alienware and call it a day. Heck sometime a pre build now is not even much more in cost. Thats kind of a first from what i know.
@Marxally
Was the delay on BG3 not because the developer was initially struggling to get the game running on Series S?
@GuyinPA75 you sounds like me buddy. As much as i think the Dual sense is the “best” Sony controller ever. It’s still not all that comfy in hand. All the dual Shocks cramped my hands and i don’t care for the stick placement, being convex vs concave and the triggers aren’t as good as Xbox’s. So controller wise i am a big Xbox fan and can’t wait for the revised one rumored to hit this year.
Once the rumors weren't squashed about hi fi rush going to Playstation, I knew it was the beginning of the end, this is the unfortunate, inevitable road that i said would happen.
Sales will dry up because why buy a console that has even less exclusives than it already has? Microsoft has done a dogshit job over the last 8 years providing us with exclusives, and now that they're on the dawn of having good releases, they're going to start putting them on Playstation - shameful.
When sales, which are already pitiful (45% at best of Playstation) fall off a cliff, 3rd party support will follow. It will follow naturally, and it will follow unnaturally. Sony can currently buy exclusivity cheap. How cheap will it be when developers are already on the fence to develop for Xbox at all because the playerbase is so tiny?
When 3rd party support tanks further, those pitiful console sales will tank even further. This is a doom loop.
Microsoft knows this. They do not care, because they've already planned to abandon Xbox console. This was decided before they chased ABK. $69B was spent for mobile developers to break into ios and android, which make many magnitudes more gaming revenue than PC and console combined, where Microsoft can't seem to win anyway. They've given up, they're throwing in the towel. You saw Phil Spencer on the kinda funny podcast. What benefit do you, an Xbox player get, from $69 BILLION dollars? A few multiplat games on game pass? Think about it.
I'm depressed, this wasn't the future for gaming I wanted.
@HonestHick I'd be amazed if prebuilt really can compare in price to custom, but with the parts prices gouging I probably shouldn't be surprised. I've built enough gaming rigs to never want to do it again, lol, not because it's challenging but the shopping and analyzing hundreds of reviews on each component to find out the hidden incompatibilities etc is a part time job. Heck, a full time job you do in your spare time. Though back then liquid cooling was all the rage and was a PTIA. That fad seems to have died. Thankfully. It was stupid from the start. All I need from gaming is for Xbox to finally make the Steambox a reality and I'm all set. I don't need a 4090. I can't afford a 4090. Make it small, cool,quiet, cheap and let it run anything. If they can sell me an Xbox to play TLOU Remaster Remake Rremastered Remake Remaster at 4k60 on in 2031, I'm all set. It'll at least tide me over for the remaster. I'm salivating for that Xbox Deck already though. Sounds like it won't be soon. I was hoping that was the 2024 hardware announcement.
Did have to laugh at the handheld article though were Phil pretty much put right out there that the worst part of PC gaming is Windows. That's worth a good hearty laugh.
@Grumblevolcano Playstation doesn't really have "smaller" IP that they actively use, and they're not equipped thus for for small scale releases in house. That may change, but I think it'll take more than one year to reform studios for smaller scale output. And I'm not sure that'll happen until they bump Herman out, too. What remains of small studios is used as support studios, port studios, etc right now. Of the ones that aren't totally dysfunctional. That's the legacy of the bobblehead.
If they happen to release something small scale, that would be remarkably surprising. And I don't know that "new IP" doesn't count as "major IP". I'm pretty sure they're treating new major IP as major IP (like SSM's new game etc.) They want to build those games into hyped new (non-licenced) big IP, so I don't think they'd be downplaying that content if they had it coming this year, they'd be ramping up the "next big thing" talk about it. They killed the studios that worked on "IP" that was a small one-off, not likely to become an oscar winning film sort of deal. Remakes and remasters? Of course! That's what modern Sony does is remakes and remasters of remakes and remasters. I don't think that counts as a measurable first party release for 2024 if it's a rerelease of 2014 games. PS6 launch title will be TLOU Remaster Remake Remastered lol. Given all the cancellations I think it's a fair assumption they're looking at 3rd party buy-ins and remasters for a year. I'm not sure they have a choice, really. Will they fix that long term? I'm sure. But not in 2024.
@Bundersvessel Thanks!
@NEStalgia of course he said that windows is butt. HAHA
Yeah with a good sale price many pre builds are only like 5% more and with the insane GPU prices sometimes even cheaper. I’ve been doing a lot of reading into it. Yeah i would love for Xbox to just be a PC that works and i don’t have to mess with it. To be able to play the few Sony games i do like on a PC box alongside MS’s games would be the end game for me. One thing i think is sure. MS didn’t just pay all these devs and battle court cases around the world to be like we are out of the industry or stopping hardware. The handheld Xbox would be a day one for me. That could really be the ultimate second SKU for them and then have the powerful console alongside it. I just want the quieter revised controller that was a May 2024 rumor. Not so sure we see the handheld for a while.
So the circlejerk of Xbox is falling is happening again because of one quote. We get these every few months just clickbait.
We know that Xbox management hasn't been top notch and it fumbles the brand quite often. No need to keep pushing it over and over again. Let's see how this plays out in a year.
Interesting Polygon article covering some of the Microsoft mentality. Here are Phil’s quotes from the article.
https://www.polygon.com/24108700/phil-spencer-interview-2024-xbox-exclusives-layoffs
Yawn. Too busy with playing games to worry about this kind of thing. If Xbox and Gamepass is still a thing in the future then great, if not then I'll play on something else. Honestly, if someone didn't spend anytime on social media (which is a great idea for anyone, let's be honest) then all this 'controversy' wouldn't even register on your radar.
Here's what I actually think the plan is, @RadioHedgeFund; Microsoft were initially intending to do what they always do which is to make a mid-generation console refresh. However, with the Series selling so poorly, and the S seen as both a hinderance and a blessing, things have not turned out as Microsoft expected. They have lost so much ground to Sony that they know they cannot properly compete in the console business any longer.
So, what Microsoft have now decided to do is scrap the mid-generation refresh, and instead release a better version of the console as the 'next' generation in 2026. What Microsoft will also do is release their own version of the Switch. A hybrid handheld console, which will then become their main focus in the years to come. Thus the next 'high-end' console will be the last they make, and they will become a third-party publisher, but with a 'high-end (powerful) handheld hybrid console to differentiate themselves from their competitors in an attempt to corner an untapped part of the market.
All guess work on my part, but I think that will be the direction Microsoft takes...
@NEStalgia "What does Sony consider to be major IP?" is the big question in all of this. In any case, considering the PS Studios lineup is averaging 1 game a month there's probably a Playstation Showcase around May which'll reveal what's happening after April. So far 2024 for PS Studios on PS is:
Wonder who the big publisher is? Square Enix maybe? What Japanese or niche game came out on xbox that wasn't normal....star ocean, ff titles, Sega atlus or maybe Vanillaware?
@ShadowofTwilight Nintendo hasn't made premium consoles since the GameCube 20+ years ago. It's in a different league.
What I think the bigger issue is that if a developer doesn't bother with a Xbox version they right off the bat limit there potential sales, and I suspect that most developers realize that the series Xbox is a growing platform and creating games just for the Xbox will limit sales. And some developers will only release games for the Playstation and Switch no Xbox version. At the same time if a game can run on the switch there is no reason why a developer can't make a series Xbox version. And this " so called developer" is never named( perhaps it's Sony?)
@Rodimusprime13
Perhaps it’s Sony? The quote literally says "I don't know why we bothered supporting it", so it’s a game that was released on Xbox (although it must not have sold well based on the quote).
Outside of Destiny, which has always been on Xbox, the only other PlayStation property on Xbox is MLB The Show, and we all know why Sony allows it. MLB licensing rights.
I doubt it’s Larian, although the parity clause for Series X / S created a development issue that Xbox eventually backtracked on because…Xbox. (Not to be dismissive of the PlayStation “we believe in generations” before releasing multiple first party games in the PS5 gen on PS4.)
Probably why there is no mid gen Xbox upgrade. If there’s difficulty developing for X with S, imagine an X upgrade. Better to leave the Series system behind and start a new console generation. Or go third part dev/publisher.
After all, as Phil Spencer says, “Xbox is a place where I can find the great games I want to.’ Not console. Games.
@Fiendish-Beaver tbh what even Sony is finding is that a "high end handheld"is about as much power as devs can actually afford to make games for. Something Nintendo figured out in 2005 lol.
@GrandValkyrie probably not square, their biggest releases haven't even been on xb. And they're disappointed with ps total sales. not Sega they're close with Ms. Not ubi or ea, they sell great on xb. Larian is a good bet, is obvious they didn't really care about the Xbox release from the start. 2k/TT/Rockstar maybe, zelnick is totally in camp Sony. WB maybe? I mean they're pretty much insane in general. Capcom maybe. They're revered for some reason but they're kinda short sighted.
@TheLastHarbinger IDK if we go by cost, Nintendo is as premium as it gets lol
@Grumblevolcano Assuming Sony isn't totally incompetent in marketing which is admittedly a reach these days, if they had a game even somewhat noteworthy they wouldn't demure about it.
But yeah even your list doesn't contain an actual Sony game other than MLB and Concord which is funny they'd agree isn't major IP. And seriously are we counting a remaster of a 4 year old game as an actual release? Maybe in 2025 they can remaster Spiderman 2 for the pro and call it a new release 😂
I think Herman was honest. They've got nothing because he and Jim threw away years of development time chasing imaginary dragons. It'll take years to get back into form. Like Phil had to do after Matrick and still isn't there yet. They're entirely dependent on purchased content for the near future.
@lacerz I simply don't buy, "It to hard to develop games for the Series Xbox" when more and more developers are actually releasing games for the Series Xbox. I can see way more developers releasing Xbox versions of games for the Series Xbox then the Xbox One. The parity clause means developers have to make there games work on both the Series X and S, but it does seem that MS will allow certain games to remove features with permission from MS. The only major developer that doesn't release games for the Xbox is NIS America. Ubisoft, EA, Square Enix, Atlas, Sega all release games for the Xbox, so I am struggling to think of an another major game publisher.
@Rodimusprime13
Simply look at Metacritic.
601 PS5 games.
352 Xbox Series games.
Please retort. The popcorn is popping.
@NEStalgia I forgot about Larian and BG3, that's a big possibility there.
@GuyinPA75 Game pass is not just annoyingly retro game boy type titles and PS Plus has its issues with those type of games too. Your controller comment is spot on though. Even though I have a PlayStation controller from my PS4, it's an Xbox controller I use on PC. Xbox's controllers are just better and the new PS5 one is so inferior in design including to its PS4 predecessor.
In the UK when a much loved pet is dying we do the right thing a have them put down.
We don’t let them have a long painful suffering road to death.
Just get on with it Microsoft. Even I have given up on Xbox now and have been with you since day one when you were born. Sadly now my house hold is a zero Xbox console zone.
I dropped Gamepass a month or 2 back as I just don’t have the time to play so many games and since that I’ve hardly used my Xbox.
I do wonder what impact Gamepass has had on sales in the Xbox ecosystem, are people waiting now to see if a game they want hits Gamepass? What % of Xbox users have Gamepass?
Couple that with consistently underwhelming exclusives like Starfield (cringefest) and Forza, their games going to PC day 1 and I can see why Xbox consoles are staying on the shelves. I predict stories like this will become more common going forward and if Xbox keep releasing their exclusives on PlayStation I still predict the ecosystem becoming irrelevant no matter what hardware they bring out.
Microsoft is doing the right thing by quiting hardware and focusing on software, which is more profitable. Game Pass subscribers growth should be the main goal for XBOX, not console sales. Phil Spencer has stated that Microsoft is losing 200$ dollars for every console sales. It's more profitable for Microsoft to become a third party publisher by selling the games on multiplatform and having them on gamepass day one. By having gamepass growth and multiplatform sales at the same time, Microsoft can make a lot of money either from gamepass subs and full price sales for PS5/Switch, which have huge consumer base.
Having said that, Microsoft won't completely quit the console market because they know that there's a small percent of gamers who want to play gamepass on console. They will release a next gen console, which will be a powerful one, but that's it. There won't be two editions like S/X or a mid gen upgrade. It will be one powerful console for the 15-20 million xbox gamers who prefer consoles over PC.
Game Pass is the main service and the future for XBOX. Consoles might have low sales and playerbase around 10-20 million sale, but Game Pass had already 34 million subscribers in any platform(PC, console, cloud) and it's expected to grow to almost 100 million subs.
Microsoft SHOULD be going multiplatform. They need that extra cash to increase profit margin. They need to sales Halo, Gear, Starfield, Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty etc etc to PS5/Switch because there's a huge consumer base on these platforms, which have millions of users who don't have gamepass, so the only way to profit from them, is by selling the games at full price.
Game Pass and multiplatform is the future for XBOX to dominate the gaming market. It's the only way to increase revenue and profit to a new records. XBOX is the biggest publisher in the world at the moment with over 40 studios and 19.000 employees. XBOX studios have a diverse portfolio by making AAA games, mobile games, GaaS etc and they have multi-million dollar franchise which are extremely popular in any platform.
XBOX have so much content that it will be stupid no to appeal the whole gaming community because of some stupid "exclusivity strategy" ***** inspired by hardcore XBOX fanboys who don't understand business. More money, more profit, this is the way.
@Fiendish-Beaver I would happily buy a Switch-sized console that could play all my old Xbox 360 purchases. Fable 2 and Forza Horizon would make wonderful portable titles.
Forcing game developers optimize their games for the less-powerful-then-old-gen Series S is a mistake because it is difficult for the developers and makes them annoyed.
Also, promoting GamePass Ultimate as the main choice for XBox console owners, supplies players with plenty of games to play and they thus have hardly any time to play non-GPU games. That's why sales of individual games is naturally dramatically falling and developers who intend not to go to GPU don't find Xbox lucrative enough.
But I don't think it is something to worry because the players have wide choice from GPU anyway and simply don't have time to play every game that is released.
@GrandValkyrie if true, I wonder who the publisher is too...
Did Resident Evil 4 sell really badly?
Worse would be if Hogwarts Legacy sold poorly.
We'll probably never find out.
It's all rumour though
I think even if context fully given or not. I think it's a bit much. Depending the game and it's audience. I think small audiences matter. Also just noticeability as if Gamepass hasn't help that either or people be more picky like demos.
Companies wanting big turn around is just a joke. Think about the audience. They don't want to build up an audience they just want money. It's a joke. Even if a case of an anime game or something else or it's got censorship so it's limited appeal to a niche audience then a more wide spread one.
I mean the Xbox games stereotype of sports, racing and shooters can apply but it's not the case at all anyway. A lot of other mindsets can happen of what types of games, made by who and whatever else or what vibe fits the console.
But to me if I see a copy for any of the 3 platforms available because I have all 3 or I think it fits the controller I'm using because it has Impulse Triggers or it has Touchpad support or something I'm on the game. I could buy Terraria on anything. I bought it on Wii U for the Stylus support. Yes Wii U Gamepad features matter to me. Even if updates on other versions is probably more relevant having the older version doesn't bother me that much. It may but I mean got Minecraft many ways as well.
It's like with Meta Quest oh no AC Nexus didn't sell well. Oh Zombi U didn't sell well delay Rayman Legends. I'm sorry but how is a Zombie game (as particular as Zombi U is around the Gamepad then the PS4/Xbox One ports) for a different audience related to Rayman. They aren't. Sure I own both games but not everyone aligns with both games either let alone age rating. Well to Ubisoft twice it was a case of oh no not enough userbase, oh no not enough sales for completely opposite audience games but the sales numbers need to be good because that matters more than the audience. XD
Like how stupid can a company get of narrow vision I'd rather focus on the game suiting to make the sales not the sales itself because oh no the shareholders need another yacht and green in the report with few reds even by 0.01% or something. XD Obviously it's more than that to keep a company afloat but at the same time it is something else to try and push a company to be too big then go oh we pushed too far look at the mess we made from online passes to MTX to push their scale but still possible to make a joke about it they did this to themselves as much as set expectations for games for us customers.
The fact I can think about games and their behind the scenes to some degree is on me. I can still set my expectations low for many studios/publishers but at the same times sometimes I won't because they need to own up to it, not lie to me and make a compelling gameplay product not a safe generic one. I respect AAs because they can't do things AAA can more than I do AAA because I know their limits or in some AAs case it's their engine refinement laziness too so that's why the European AA studios janky games reputation becomes a problem. Compared to the good European studios that don't make janky games and have better polish in their products.
That's why I laugh at companies with such narrow focus on what they need not the other factors that come from it with a sequel and more of an audience going yeah I liked that I'll buy the next one. Ok that balanced enough. Ok I hated it. Oh ok putting it on PS+/Xbox Gamepass helped me recognise it this go around then not hearing about it before. Hey this physical copy, it's still new but the price is cheap and I came across it now.
Discoverability makes a difference. How far or what your marketing reaches for people.
It can't be a hit always out of the gate, if so lower the standards of the game. Make it less AAA/AAAA and more AA, or small team scale. Like it's not hard. But to them it is with their narrow focus.
Sometimes Xbox copies have helped me. I found a Valkyria Chronicles 4 Xbox copy. It's the 1.0 disk, which to me is rare on Xbox then other platforms and it's a series I like now, a genre I like and well while I may have found a PS4/Switch version I was happy I got the Xbox version I used my Xbox One a lot with that game.
I see many Indies physical I've never heard of either. I learn about studios from wikipedia, from articles, from discovery of physical media and digital eshops IF I look on them and browse say a bunch of discounts.
Sometimes Xbox third party copies help me. Sales wise sure I got the game when it was $5 preowned that didn't help Sega at all. But at the same time the next one I will buy it.
I did so when Disgaea 6 came out and bought up he prior entries I got it on Switch still new condition pricing I made my contribution to the series FINALLY then preowned all the time or retro game store level for some series.
I loved the Square demos, I bought those games. I got disappointed with Diofield in the second half but I still enjoyed the first half. Still enjoying Valkyrie Elysium. I waited for them to go cheap, I still paid the new price because I still wanted to contribute to them with my $28.
Balan I knew would flop. I played the demo, I still enjoyed it in the context I was buying it for. I paid $20 I knew it would flop so no higher price contribution would have helped the game anyway.
People have been losing their sh*t for easily a decade over the console wars. Microsoft is moving to end that by making gaming everywhere a reality and now the "fans" are losing it again. 🙄🙄🙄
MS will continue to make consoles and Devs talk smack anytime any game doesn't do well. MS is building a coalition of Gamers thru GP and cloud. Said service currently quadruples Sony's sad PSN service. If you wanna shoot yourself in the foot over a short term loss as a dev, I say go for it. With publishers raising game sales prices purely out of greed every chance they get, the cheaper, play anywhere service starts looking more attractive all the time.
Y'all throwing a tantrum over a rumor that doesn't even listen the devs by name. When the big players walk away from Xbox, be worried. When some podcast bro puts out a rumor with no names, ignore it. You'd think the tiktok generation would have figured that out by now.
I believe the issue is there is a huge number of games getting released every week so it's hard for a game to stand out. Without either the game being on game pass or being in a Xbox promo video game can get easily ignored. I personally don't know more than a small handful of third party games that don't get some Xbox release( outside of NIS America titles).
Godfall released exclusively on the Playstation, and the game was a flop. Once it got a Xbox release the game had some reasonable success.
One issue that is being overlooked is that consoles aren't coming down in price like previous generations. Perhaps it took awhile for prices to drop and cuts were small but they were there, now several years into this console generation the Xbox, Playstation and Switch have remained at the same price at launch. Then they want to release a next generation consoles when in my opinion there is little need.
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