Xbox's Recent Multiplatform Releases Selling Well On PS5, Fallout Sales Also Get A Boost

It would be nice to now see Microsoft be completely transparent about what it going to happen with all the other exclusives (old and forthcoming). Obviously, we know they won't. They will fudge the issue allowing leaks and rumours to fill the void instead, which does way, way more harm to the brand than simply being honest and straightforward. But, I guess that's Microsoft for you...

Public Heads up for U.S. folks;

Walmart has Gotham Nights for 10 bucks, it's kind of weird but you have to specify the Series X version

Sony owners really did like those AA Xbox Games despite making out otherwise, PS5 hasn't had a single full AAA First Party Current gen exclusive since just the one title for the whole of 2023, time for Microsoft to put Redfall on there.

@themightyant @Fiendish-Beaver i agree they need to be more open about it. The leak was the CEO and Amy Hood of MS said no game is off the table to other platforms and they have a code name for that project now. So maybe they do have a way of rolling it out. The Rumors of Halo MCC and Gears of Wars Marcus Fenix collection coming to PS5 is everywhere right now. So it looks like plenty more to PS in the coming months.

I agree with what you say, @themightyant (you do then to talk sense 😉). That said, comments such as "Starfield is not one of the first four" is a non-denial denial (NDD). If asked a direct question about a game, as they were, just be honest. Tell us that the game will be going to the PlayStation once the 12 months after its release has passed (and one the DLC is out), rather than palm us of with an NDD! People need to understand the strategy so that they can make decisions regarding what they do when it comes to buying consoles, buying games, subscribing the Game Pass. Being vague helps no one. Indeed, it could prompt people to make the wrong decisions, such as buying a PlayStation instead of an Xbox in the belief that a game is going to that platform, when in fact it never was. Or indeed, investing in an Xbox, and then realising that doing so was pointless. You don't want to start building a library on one platform, only to find that you should have bought the other one instead.

However, the worst of being so vague is the constant rumours and leaks, which paint a picture that is far less favourable than the truth ever will...

We may find out some truths come the reveals on the 9th of June, @HonestHick, but in all honesty, I highly doubt it. So often we see reveal trailers that would have you believe that a game is going to be exclusive to a particular platform, only for a few hours or a day later to find out in fact it's on each. Xbox are particularly bad at this, and we've seen this arise on a number of occasions over the past couple of years.

However, the worst will be the speculation on Team Blue (and that not a dig at them) because they will not believe that a game is not coming to them unless they are specifically told otherwise. You cannot blame them, in all honesty, because when Microsoft are so vague with their responses, others will try to fill in the gaps, and that harms Xbox in the long run...

The good news, sadly, is that with Microsoft making money this way, they may be motivated to actually improve the quality of their games. In fact if this keeps up, expect them to suddenly start caring about how their games review lol

How did hi fi rush sell on ps5? I haven't seen any statistical data but I'm assuming the trend of well received game that few people played remains true.

@Sifi I’ve never seen a comment from you where you haven’t brought up Sony. 🤔

@themightyant but this issue is it will of course sell well why wouldn’t a new outlet help ? But I feel it will do more harm than good long term because people will look at laptops and pcs and just live off steam not gamepass

@themightyant @Fiendish-Beaver I think the problem is whether transparent or not, "case by case" isn't a policy. It means randomly shifting policies based on the up to the moment winds of business. Consumers aren't going to react kindly to any kind of investment in a platform or ecosystem that's either non-transparent with nebulous direction, or transparently states they have a nebulous direction and will change continuously depending on what benefits them that week. They need a policy and they need to stick with a policy. Square enix floated on the nebulous mysteriously non-transparent policy for years and look where it got them, they're now very transparently multiplat.

Statement's like "they couldn't give concrete answers because they genuinely don't know" only highlights rather than allays the problem. The indication is they don't actually have a policy, or a path, or really a direction, they're just going to experiment on their customers and keep changing directions to whatever works right now, and customers get jerked along for the ride. Nothing says "avoid this platform" quite like an admission it's directionless and volatile.

you summarized it well here:
"They are in last place, their business strategies aren't working and they have to pivot again and again.

I think there is a danger in saying too much when your strategy is constantly shifting, "

Exactly. Why should any consumer EVER jump into an investment into a platform ecosystem that's in that state? They shouldn't. That's a problem. MS has big pockets. They need to plot a course, inform consumers, and ride that course sink or swim. You can't find a strategy to be profitable or sustainable if you can't actually clearly state potential customers what your strategy is or what they're buying at all. When did Elon Musk start running Xbox?

You can say that most consumers are blissfully unaware of this, but most consumers aren't buying Xboxes. This is in part because Xbox isn't able to tell them why they should actually buy an Xbox, because MS hasn't actually decided what the reason should be for buying an Xbox yet. When they figure it out, they'll let people know. Maybe. At least Sony and Nintendo provide a policy and direction. It may be an awful policy, and a choking direction, but at least you know where you're going, even if it's into debt.

@Fiendish-Beaver @NEStalgia from the rumors that are starting to leak about hardware and software from MS. It looks like they will be a 3rd party software publisher so many if not all games will come to PS and other platforms, and it looks like they will allow other hardware makers to make Xbox’s. So we will have a lot of Xbox options in hardware like a pc. If that comes true and it’s shaping up that way. That will be the explanation we are asking from them. But of course those plans will slowly take shape.

@themightyant im hopeful thats the case. Time will tell of course. I just hate to see them not be in a better position that they didn’t have to do this. But here we are.

@HonestHick steambox please 🥺

@Decimateh never say never. It could happen. Steam and MS working together could be really big and great. I would give it a look for sure.

@HonestHick same the amount of metrodvanias I could play 😍😍 I could actually be playing ender magnolia and biomorph instead of waiting for console release 😭😭😭 I hope they do do something would be sick

@Decimateh you are spot on buddy. There would be no wait times. Not to mention all your games in one place. Which i like. So it will be an option for me no question.

@Fiendish-Beaver MS won't do that because they reserve the right to port any game they wish at any time. Phil & Co. said legacy titles would be supported, legacy series and new IPs would be handled on a case-by-case basis. That is as clear as it can be stated. People wanting an answer for each individual game's platform status into infinity are unreasonable.

The answer is case-by-case. Yes, some games & series are more likely to go to PS or Nintendo than others. Some may be a "no way in hell" answer to porting. There is no "everything from studio/publisher X but nothing from studio/publisher Y" answer to give.

Contrast that with Sony buying exclusivity ad hoc from third party studios and publishers. They purposely obscure the extents of the contracts, put a hush on the studios, and keep PC/Xbox players in the dark. Why are more people up their a@@?

I think Xbox may have been way too forthcoming and approachable for their own good.

@HonestHick I'm not sure, about those rumors. My thinking is more favorable to xbox, but less sensible. I still think Xbox will play the Square Enix until 2024 role of nobody ever knowing where or if their games will be. So PS fans can't be comfortable not having XB/PCs, and XB/PC fans always get disappointed never having exclusives.

Hardware...IDK.... what you describe would make Xbox into Steambox which failed catastrophically because that's an impossible path to manage. It does somewhat gel with their copilot + laptop policy where they have the MS Surfaces, but also have the close partners with HP et all with their versions presented along side it. Will "Xbox" just become a certification like "Copilot +" Maybe. I can see that being a cool idea that fails in the market as casual consumers that want a games box don't want to go PC specs shopping, and PC enthusiasts just want their own builds and total control. I always thought Steambox would have done a lot better if it was not an "open" spec.

It's an interesting plan at least, but one that would definitely tell me to just go PC. If I'm going jumping half way in, I'll go all the way. But who knows with modern XB rumors.

IDK about Steam and MS working together. Gabe and the other founders are ex-Microsoft themselves, and the original leaked Half-Life source code was riddled with tons of anti-Microsoft comments. I think Gabe is quite a bit happier without MS in his life, lol. Not to mention he basically already sits on the platform monopoly MS only wishes it could have.

If MS can make a little extra money on some smaller games and breathe new life into live service games by bringing them to other systems, all the power to them. Way too many people are looking at this industry like years past and let’s face it, the gaming industry has changed and it is not like it was in the past. That’s why even Sony is getting on board with faster PC ports and I have no doubt there will be internal discussions happening at Sony regarding bringing some of their live service games to other platforms like Xbox.

Bottom line, this is not the gaming market of old. Games are more expensive, take longer to develop, and you have things like sub services so even the way games are being played is changing. Adapt or die is the way I look at it and that’s what many gaming companies are doing and I have no problem with it.

Now if MS starts bringing titles like Gears, Halo, Forza, Fable, etc. to PS…well, that’s when I no longer support what MS is trying to do as those moves would absolutely threaten the possibility of future Xbox hardware. I don’t think they will make those games available to other systems, but only time will tell…

@Sifi I think Redfall would do well. It's been updated numerous times and is real good now.

It would be great if my Series X controllers will work for PS6

@NEStalgia yeah good point Gabe don’t seem to be running back to MS, at least not as openly as Jimbo ran into retirement. I think MS should just sell a Xbox and keep some of the games to its platform only but they are hellbent now on being a 3rd party publisher with still making hardware. Thats something we haven’t seen before that i am aware of. We all grew up in the times of certain games were why you bought the hardware. You like Mario? Get a SNES, more of a Sonic guy, get you a Genesis. You like Final Fantasy and Tekken get a PS1. So this thing of Halo and Gears and Forza being on PS just seems so new and risky. It’s not cheap to plan and test and then build and ship consoles. So why even do it if the software is going to be given out and give players a reason to say i can wait and get some or most or even all of the MS games on my PS with all of Sony’s exclusives. Which really mean Spider-Man and Horizon, i kid i kid! 😅

Just not sure about this but the leaks and rumors and even hints from Phil say’s they might go 3rd party even with Hardware and i just don’t know i care for that. I don’t care much for HP, Asus and Dell. They are ok… but not someone i want building my Xbox. DANG YOU Sony for just not making a good controller, or shall i say comfortable. Now if MS really wants to help Sony and be everywhere they should make a Xbox controller with the PS logos and PS6 will be my favorite console ever, at the very least my favorite PS console ever.

Replayed Hifi on PS5 after playing via a free gamepass trial on xbox.i’ll probably play Avowed on xbox using another free month and if i like it, may actually buy and have a reason to replay when it moves on over

Interestingly, xbox has 6 of the top 20 bestselling games for April in the US. They really went from "has no games" to top publisher in a heartbeat.

@BacklogBrad hifi rush, hasn’t done as well, and has quickly received a price cut.

@HonestHick I think some inverse logic back to the START (START....Microsoft....see what I did there? ) of Xbox. Is Xbox "going third party" "unlike all prior consoles" or is Xbox "going back to PS" which is where they always were since long before Xbox started and was intended to bring PC games to the console world and lock development back to Windows? Again in some ways I think it's sort of Xbox: Mission Accomplished. They werent really setting out to become console kingpins. They set out to crash console's party, break it, and lock down PC gaming. So if they're going back to PC....then.... it worked. The enemy is now SteamDeck/SteamOS the next real competitor to Windows gaming.

In that light it all makes sense, and it makes sense that the new Xbox would really be PCs, if the first Xbox was really a PC (Seriously, it was a Pentium III Coppermine, Rambus ram, the whole 9 yeards running an NT kernel.) So we could see it as treading new ground, or we can see it as going right back to where it started, MS breaking Sony and keeping Nintendo where it was so they can secure Ubisoft, EA, Activision's dependence on Windows PCs.

The only thing I don't get about that strategy is how they'd intend to keep it from failing the way Steambox did. What makes it different or more successful? And why not just get a regular gaming PC? What makes the Xbox by HP different from an Alienware gaming PC?

@BacklogBrad To be fair to critics, it's easy to have most of the top selling games if you just buy the companies that make the top selling games

@NEStalgia exactly whats different about it? I don’t know. To much mystery around what they are doing or not doing. I don’t like the uncertainty tho.

Everyone wins, PlayStation gamers get to play the games, Microsoft gets full revenue from PlayStation gamers and GamePass subscribers get to keep gaming for a fraction of the price.

A total win-win situation

@RIghteousNixon Now if MS starts bringing titles like Gears, Halo, Forza, Fable, etc. to PS…well, that’s when I no longer support what MS is trying to do as those moves would absolutely threaten the possibility of future Xbox hardware. I don’t think they will make those games available to other systems, but only time will tell…

This is my issues as well. If those titles are coming why wouldn’t most Xbox players just go PS? The rumors are all pointing to Gears Collection coming day and date to PS5. Now today i just seen a leak that say’s Gears 6 coming to PS5. Why would they do that? Gears 4 & 5 aren’t on PS5…. Well yet! The other rumor that is hard to swallow is Halo MCC is coming to PS5. Havent heard anything on Forza but my goodness what is left at that point? I’m good with Doom, Elder scrolls etc etc. but Halo, Gears and Forza i mean that leaves no reason to get a Xbox for many.

@Doomcrow It would be great if my Series X controllers will work for PS6”

I already said if MS would make the Series X controller for PS with the PS symbols and logo i would main the PS as my everyday console. Cause i love the Xbox controller so much more.

@HonestHick yeah idk that I put too much stock in any rumor these days. It's definitely a believable rumor as it's consistent with Microsofts laptop/tablet approach now, but that still includes Surface as it was, too. And it's a problematic rumor because even though it could be cool and even though it's believably consistent with Ms hardware in the mainstream premium market now, it leaves too many questions about who the market is. Unless like copilot + laptops is just a certification sticker that says it meets a specific criteria. But then it's a solution in search of a problem. PC gamers don't need Microsoft to tell them the minimum spec and casual players eyes will glaze over at the word minimum spec. "I just wanna play GTA, I don't know what the single thread boost frequency my Xbox has!"

Idk for now it's just rumors of rumors. But the uncertainty really does get tiring. What is Xbox? Outlook hazy try again later.

@NEStalgia yeah it really does get tiring. Sat and Amy Hood already said no games are off the table for other platforms. I think they really are going to bring Gears and many others to PS5 and i just don’t see how they expect to not feel the outrage. Players are going to jump ship even more if this is all true. Such strange days these days for team Xbox. I wonder what it’s like working there. Has to be wild.

@HonestHick It's a weird situation. On one hand I actually agree with them, exclusives do not sell consoles anymore. PS isn't selling due to exclusives anymore. That graph about their most profitable gen actually shows game sales down, and all the growth coming from add-ons (which I read as mtx, currency, cosmetics, battle passes, etc more than full DLC.) Mostly from the big evergreen PS3 era services. I'm sure Xbox sees mostly the same sort of trend. So in that light, they're not wrong that the exclusives literally don't matter outside a certain niche. But on the other hand, I think they think having better features and services will make people chose Xbox, but it's not like CTOs shopping for what cloud host will maximize their IT budget, the brand needs an identity that resonates and I don't think they get that because they don't think like that. OTOH, if it's not exclusives, and it's not features, I wouldn't have advice for them on what they're missing either. If Xbox's claim to fame is that it's a more affordable PC, it's hard to market, but that idea of just making it actual open PC with multiple competing "Xbox" models kind of misses the point of a console and has no market. Or none of that is true and it's the rumor mongers picking up that they're shopping different hardware designs and OEM partners. But they built the situation with a lack of a clear strategy people could plan on.

@NEStalgia heavy agree with all that. I think something they need to do is be more hip. That sounds vague and stupid all at the same time i know. Hear me out, this won’t be easy to make sense of haha. Apple has that it hip factor. Teens flock to iPhone cause android isn’t cool or hip as i am going with. All apple products carry that hip factor to them even in area where a PC is better for a certain task. Now some of that comes down to Apple has arguably the best marketing team in the world. But Xbox needs to find a way to make Xbox cool and rad and hip and all those buzz words again. Easier said then done and i have no clue how to do that turn around. I liked when they were the bro shooter. I liked those games and that i knew the 360 had that image. It was an easy sell to someone that loved shooters. They just kind of exist with us old 360 lovers at the moment. They need to do something that makes little johnny and little Tina feel left out if they don’t have Xbox like a iPhone and that probadly just made your head explode reading and trying to understand what it was that i was trying to say. Also it wouldn’t hurt if they tried to innovate every so often instead of follow.