Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Comments On Indiana Jones PS5, And Microsoft's Plan Moving Forward

"It's definitely true inside of Microsoft that the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery that we have to give back to the company - we get a level of support from the company that's just amazing in what we're able to go and do."

To me, this is the key part of this statement. Xbox has a much bigger target on its back from Microsoft proper. It needs to appease the financial gods. Going multi-platform is the only way it can do that without some serious consequences to Xbox by corporate.

Seems pretty obvious to me that Phil isn't making the big big decisions anymore

@GamingFan4Lyf Yep. Definitely has 'Microsoft moved the goalposts' vibes. Although that's maybe understandable after a $70 billion acquisition...

So what does that mean Phil tell it what it is Phil stop talking in codes tell us there’s no reason we need an a xbox then … why even get game pass the big games wil drop on PlayStation added with ps plus and ps exclusives ?? It’ll weaken game pass if people just get ps plus and wait for Xbox favs

Wouldn’t be surprised if these Xbox investors don’t even have an Xbox they probably buy PlayStation for the kids on Christmas

@StylesT I disagree. He’s a part of the machine. If he’s not making decisions then why is he still there? They're way past rolling back this strategy. Time to accept he’s just a part of it, willingly.

Lying Phil comes back at it, y’all remember how just 6 months ago he denied Indiana Jones to be coming to PS5? It wasn’t part of the initial 4 games but a port isn’t decided and done in a few weeks, back when he said that he fully knew there were already plans to making the port and yet he affirmed it wasn’t planned just mere months ago.

He lied straight up to our faces, and it isn’t MS forcing this upon him, if he wasn’t okay with this strategy why is he still the head of MS Gaming?

And yes, the strategy will work for Microsoft, they will get their revenue, but us as users are left with a dying platform that more developers deem pointless to develop for, and with a shrinking user base it’s only going to get worse, the only thing left to do is abandoning the sinking ship with our digital libraries sinking with it…

thats great for you Microsoft I wont buy an xbox next generation

Console exclusives are dead. Dead for Microsoft since Xbox One (Play Anywhere), dead for Square Enix, the former paradigm of auctioning video games and dead for Sony that is willing to release everything for Windows and who knows what else. The only company still doing console exclusives is Nintendo.

@IOI 6 months ago he was asked if any of the 4 games were starfield or Indiana jones. He said none of the 4 are starfield or Indiana Jones. A few days later they named the 4 games as being Hi Fi Rush, Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Pentiment.

Where is the lie?

@Kezelpaso @GamingFan4Lyf Yeah you don't get to spend that much of your business daddy's cash and not have them breathing down your neck to make good.

@TheSimulator I don't think that Xbox users are willing to jump ship just because some Xbox games are available on PS... The alternative to an Xbox is a handheld PC or gaming PC. That's also true for Playstation, now that they port their games to Windows.

@GamingFan4Lyf
I read that as a subtle way of saying Microsoft have taken the reigns from him and he's just a mouthpiece. Going on about "giving back to the company" is a shrewd way of saying "Microsoft wants to see a profit that we're not delivering"

Don Mattrick shot Xbox in the foot. Rather than treat the wound, Phil Spencer rubbed feces in it and nurtured the ensuing infection.

I simply want to know if building a library on Xbox is a sensible thing going forward.

A year has gone by and I still have no clue.

Ok........ guess I'll just continue not buying anything for Xbox, unless it's getting delisted

Own all 3 platforms this gen. I'll be owning just 2 next gen. Can see no reason to own an xbox anymore. Xbox as a platform is on the way out.

When they acquired Activision, they also acquired their shareholders.

@Banjo- Agreed. I believe every user-base needs to accept this, and it's ok. I still prefer xbox for many other reasons, not because of game exclusives.

I think it's important this minimum level of transparency and communication. Specially in current times of commotion in Xbox.

Users have been mentally setted to value console units sold and exclusives as the only and successful way to operate in this business. It has been a lot of years and propaganda to accept that culture, and that's rapidly changing.

@WhiteRabbit when Phil showed up they had 3 main exclusives and it was rumored that microsoft was contemplating shuttering xbox all together. Now they have roughly 30 internal studios and hundred of IP Including dozens of the biggest IP in gaming. You still get the same great games xbox used to make and some of the games happen to be playable on other consoles as well. I will take the later route everytime.

Personally I'm happy with where Phil took xbox. They went from "xbox has no games" to xbox is the biggest game publisher in the world.

@umeandgames Exactly! If I had issues with Xbox, I'd just get a handheld PC or gaming PC, but I don't have any (important) issues with Xbox. I don't mind Xbox games being elsewhere if it benefits Xbox Game Studios. 99% of all that is faked outrage coming from PS/Nintendo fans.

@StylesT I think that Microsoft likes Phil as a figurehead, but you're right. I don't think he's making a lot of decisions anymore.

@BacklogBrad You really think 6 months ago there wasn’t ANY plan to port Indiana Jones to PS5?

The lie is that although it wasn’t a part of the initial 4 games he knew perfectly well there were already plans to port it to PS5 as every single port has to be planned and done with several months or even years in advance, and yet he chose to name Indiana Jones as a game not coming to competing consoles, here we are just half a year later with a 180º turnaround on that statement, how could anyone believe a single word that comes out of his mouth? It’s not even the first time Phil gets caught in a lie and yet some people keep excusing him…

@IOI personally I do think there were plans for this back then. The point is Phil didn't say there weren't plans back then. He simply said it wasn't part of the initial 4 games.

You misinterpreting his words doesn't make them a lie. He is often criticized for his avoidance of concrete statements on this but he leaves himself room to change plans. Had those 4 games bombed on ps5 then he could have pivoted strategy. Had there been the mass xbox exodus that online commentators falsely claimed there would be then he could pivot. He never said it wasn't ever going to go to ps5.

He will continue to use vague statements about future plans. He realizes how fluid business is and that is a sign of a good leader.

@WhiteRabbit you came to an xbox site to talk about xbox games. They must be worth something.

He says that the Xbox player base is bigger than ever and sure when you add XBO and XBX|S combined, yes that makes sense. Though this completely overlooks the fact that most AAA games going forward are targeting PS5/Series only, so One install base is irrelevant there. Third party publishers treating XSX as an afterthought (or something that can be ignored entirely) is the crux of the issue. Having more customers than ever is moot if they’re not on the hardware that they need to be on to maintain the health of the console platform. If the hardware doesn’t sell enough the publishers will lose interest; example Wii U.

"It's just going to be a strategy that works for us"

...and, you know, not our xbox buying userbase.

xbox consoles have never been more irrelevant than ever, they failed to compete in the traditional console model market by delivering good exclusives and they had to buy the whole industry to stay in the foreground as a 3rd party publisher now and by making xbox consoles and the brand even more useless

I disagree with how he is moving forward, and it's Consoles up as an XBox or Consoles in general - i give it 2 👎👎

The strategy is fine, in fact Sony and Nintendo will be forced to do the same at some point in the future if they don't want to disappear.

The problem I see is that Microsoft being the first to open their platform in this way, communication and clarity should be a priority, but it seems that they don't care about the fan base, there is almost no communication, the messages are contradictory... this is hurting the brand and its most loyal users.

Maybe the loyal users are very few, they won't notice us in the global numbers, and maybe the next Xbox, or the ecosystem in general, will be a great success thanks to the masses that are not even aware of the news and only care about COD, but I still think they should take much more care of the communication with their fan base, they are the ones that have kept the platform alive in its worst years.

Sony’s strategy has also shifted and that really has made a PC the golden ticket for everything.

Day one games on GamePass, Sony exclusives and games that will never be on console. All on PC. No need for an Xbox or PlayStation.

Can’t say it’s just Xbox that’s expanding beyond their own hardware.

@WhiteRabbit you say you are dunking on Phil, xbox, and microsoft but it seems they are getting the last laugh when they cash these checks from PS users who seem desperate to play these best selling ps5 games.

@TheSimulator woah woah that's a HUGE leap. It will be on PS but you'll pay $70 for it. NO way any of the MS games end up on PS plus dude.

I think Microsoft is in this for the long game and intend on acquiring more studios. After everything that happened with the Activision/Blizzard/King acquisition, Microsoft probably doesn't want to go through that again so they are looking to make compromises by bringing titles to other platforms and use these as examples as justification to continue their acquisitions.

Once they got their fill, I can see them redirect and place importance on exclusives. Whether this would be on consoles or subscription services like Game Pass.

@Cakefish Exactly right.

If the hardware isn't selling, then third party developers will skip the hardware. Wii U is a great example. If the Series console isn't gonna sell, then 3rd party games will start to skip it. One of the Phantom Blade Zero developers were right whether you like to admit it or not when he said "Nobody cares about Xbox".

@Fenbops He’s a puppet. A workable puppet.

@themightyant The issue is that games will go onto PS5 Pro, PS6 so others will bet better versions of supposed Xbox exclusives. Thats the issue I have with it all.

But Phil Spencer is a liar.

@Grippie Even after the acquisitions, a number of Xbox owned games have come to PS Plus. Just saying that it's not at all out of the question.

@BacklogBrad the publishers Xbox gobbled up were already publishing. You gain nothing from Xbox becoming a bigger publisher.

@Friendly my gamepass subscription disagrees.

@BacklogBrad which in turn becomes more expensive. 2 price hikes within a year.

@Friendly cheaper than buying the games at $70. How long until those get another price hike as well? Publishers like sony and square Enix have been pretty public about profits on big titles not being high enough.

@BacklogBrad but Brad, you already have a backlog?

Most games are way cheaper than 20 dollar after a few months anyway. A comparison with 70 dollar day 1 games isn’t a fair one imo.

But sure. You get to pay more for more games on gamepass now that Xbox is a larger publisher. As long as you’re paying for the subscription, though.

@TheSimulator that's a bigger leap than the ones you can do with 0G in Starfiled
actually that's just biased twitter rumours

Crying about more games coming to more people is small d energy.

@Friendly but for the gamepass comparison it would pretty much have to be compared to the $70 games right? With ultimate you get games from those publishers day 1. You dont have to wait for the $20 sale that could take months or years (some cases never happens). Unless you are on the usually sketchy steam code sites, you are paying $70 at launch.

It might not be a universal benefit but as someone with a gaming pc, rog ally, and internet capable of cloud gaming, I love gamepass and will play there whenever possible. The flawless cross saves has me playing games all over the house and outside it.

I’m curious if a PS5 version of Starfield will be announced after Shattered Space releases in September. If I recall correctly the rumor was that it would be announced after the DLC launched, and the majority of the “take it with a grain of salt” rumors have turned out to be true.

They’re really out here saying “It just works” again.

Sacrificing the future for the present. Isn’t the winning flex they think it is.

I'll wait till Spring, post many reviews, then maybe I'll get it for PS5. I'm done with Xbox support tho. This is a big pile of double speak.

@BacklogBrad seems like Sony is laughing the hardest, taking a 30% cut of MS developed and published games put on the PS store for doing absolutely nothing but existing and dominating Xbox over, and over. Literally free money for their competitor that is driving Xbox consoles out of business.

@Jenkinss MS gets the other 70% instead of a random publisher. Their biggest competitor that is falsely claimed to be going out of business is getting the majority of the money. Xbox also gets the clout that comes from being able to say the nearly annual best seller on Playstation (call of duty) is an xbox game. Headlines pointing out that Xbox has more best selling games on playstation than Playstation won't look great.

Hopefully people aren't taking my praise of xbox as hate for playstation I have ps4 and ps5 and love both. Personally, I am most curious about the future of playstation. We know xboxs plan. Sony was pretty open that their big games cost too much and don't make enough. Where does that lead? Smaller budget for games? That might hurt their reputation for making top tier games. Focus on live service? Those flop regularly and it could take away from those big games. Go multiplat as well? Get the same unreasonable backlash from the selfish fan bases online.

I am assuming these are actual xbox gamers being upset but as someone that owns all current consoles and pc, I have a ton of reasons to be excited for xbox right now.

@IOI When Spencer said that about Indy and Starfield he was clearly talking about the 4 games that were ported back in February...

Did they ask In the interview anything about a next generation Xbox console.
I wish they had, but I guess Phil did not mention that himself.
If not, would not have hurt him to do so and give Xbox fans some sort of reassurance.

@Banjo- You nailed it with the exclusive thing. I got to thinking awhile back - about first party titles, dev costs, install bases, etc.

With Xbox and Sony maintaining this “most graphical power possible” angle in the industry, the dev costs are just going to continue rising, even for first party titles. How do you adjust for that? Charge the consumer more and more until it hits a breaking point that they won’t pay? Or do you increase your audience allowing for more sales? The answer is the latter, and the exact reason why Sony finally started porting to the PC.

You can’t force your own install base to grow any faster really, but you can take a bite out of someone else’s install base by tossing titles on their platforms to increase awareness of your own presence. Even Sony is doing this with Lego Horizon, and I’m willing to bet there will be more of this stuff in the future for both platforms.

Nintendo I don’t see following this suit. Maybe with older titles in an NES/SNES type collection like Rare Replay is, but I highly doubt we’ll see Mario jump over with latest entries. Nintendo’s brand is big enough and strong enough to drive itself. Nintendo is much like Disney in that regard, hell they even have their own theme park now.

That’s something that you really couldn’t do with Xbox or Sony first party IPs. I mean you could build a theme park outta either one, but I highly doubt either would be as profitable. Not to mention to do it right, certain sections wouldn’t be family friendly - aka Halo, Gears, God of War, etc lol.

TL;DR yeah like it or not, the main way these companies can continue to grow is by diversifying their brand to increase their recognition and demand. The larger your audience, the more money you can potentially make. Let’s just hope they reinvest back into the brands, and make great games we want to play instead of just pocketing the extra cash.

@Banjo- All these decisions won't really effect the most hardcore but Microsoft can really run a business counting on just fanboys sticking with the brand.

If you're someone like me who always buys all the consoles I see no reason to buy the next Xbox. Having a PS6 and Switch 2 is a safe bet for playing everything next gen.

Some of us were warning that this would be the fallout of the Activison purchase — you don't get to throw that kind of money around as a division and still keep full autonomy. Unlike Nintendo or even Playstation (which keeps Sony in the black), Microsoft is doing just fine without the Xbox brand. They've shuttered bigger divisions for less, and we know they've attempted to shut down Xbox on at least two attempts. This was purely for profit scaling, and as soon as that deal closed corporate wanted to see a return on their investment. I think they gave Phil and co. a few months to crunch the numbers and make a case, but at this point Xbox is a distant third in the hardware competition. And since the Xbox console install base is considerably smaller than the competition, MS decided to look beyond to get their ROI.

I still think you can look to Microsoft's PC model to see where Xbox is heading. They'll probably do one more hardware box, but you won't NEED it as they'll open up the ecosystem. Kind of like how Microsoft is more than willing to sell you a laptop or tablet, but it's more important to them that you just buy Windows and install it on whatever device you use. Does this mean you need an Xbox soon? Probably not, especially if you own multiple consoles. But they'll be willing to sell you a box if you'd prefer it. They're predominantly a software company, after all (it's even in the name — Microsoft). Which will well-position them for gaming’s inevitable hardware-free future.

That's the future of Xbox at this point, which will surely be folded in under Microsoft Gaming Studios. What matters now is that you're buying Call of Duty and Doom and Halo or playing Candy Crush. They don't want exclusives, they want your money and the quarter-over-quarter growth must continue upward.

It’s funny that he says it’s a strategy that works for them, because a strategy that works for me moving forward is simply not buying an Xbox. I think I’ll start seriously considering building a pc to go along with my PS5 and the upcoming Switch successor.

"that works for us" = doesn't destroy the Xbox brand.

They are in a turning point where by next generation they may or may not have a Xbox console. Or it be the "last test" if it needs to exist unfortunately.

If sales don't happen it's all hands on deck for full 3rd party. I doubt anyone can convince me otherwise.

That 70bn deal was too big for Microsoft to not notice. I guess this is just how its going to be moving forward.

Our ecosystem is going to die. But I am here until that eventual death.

And with all this going on the USA Xbox consoles had good sales for July 24 and with dollar sales up 48%.
Not that I can work that out, but the USA really seems to like Xbox even in this current strategy.

First, everyone waa claiming MS was abandoning consoles. Now we have a next gen already in works and a possible portable.

Then everyone is complaining MS is opening up its IP to other platforms will ruin the franchise. MS releases expanded sales and increase player counts.

Wrong on two for two so far, but yeah Xbox is dying. 😂 🙄.

Bless y'all's hearts.

Xbox consoles 278k for July 24 in the USA
Well above the Switch and not far behind the PS5.
They just need to learn how to get across in Europe.
If they matched that in Europe percentage wise to PS5 sales in Europe then they would be doing ok.
Of course the PS5 would be ahead but Xbox would then be second and a lot closer in Europe.

@OldGamer999 it’s because of EA college football.

@OldGamer999 I don’t think they have a chance in Europe or Japan, Xbox just doesn’t do well in those markets. I can’t see that changing, PC and PlayStation dominate in Europe and Xbox games are coming to both now anyway.

You’re right though, Xbox sales are pretty strong in the US and I’m interested to see if COD on Gamepass leads to increased sales in the UK, or not.

A lot of empty words. A lot of words that make him look like a liar worming around other words he said in the past that he's now counteracting. But the key words here are the direct admission (wrapped in a lot of bubble wrap) that he's ultimately appeasing corporate expectations and that's what's driving these decisions. We all knew it. But he finally said it. Even if he had to pretend he wasn't saying it.

If we extract the statement to remove the "slimy corporate things" from it, we get "Satya and Amy said jump, and I know not to ask how high."

@Fenbops
I think because of the USA sales we will see a next generation Xbox. They do ok in the UK some months as well.
If their USA market fell out then I don’t think we would see a next generation Xbox.
Anyway let’s hope we definitely get a next generation Xbox.

@BacklogBrad nothing you just said is a reason to be excited to own an Xbox. It might be spun as a reason to be excited to be a Microsoft shareholder, but even then not really.

@Fenbops
I know, but they definitely could try harder in Europe. I mean in the Xbox360era most in the UK had an Xbox console and they where massive back then.

I think it is a wonderful thing to bring the game to a large number of people. But it would be bad news for the Xbox console hardware and its users. Fewer people buying Xbox consoles means fewer third-party games will be released and localized.
It is not surprising that a market that Capcom and Square Enix are willing to leave alone will be left alone by even more developers.
I think Microsoft should do something to try to sell Xbox consoles.

@Jenkinss to each their own I guess. Not sure what else to do when an online commentator isn't excited about the same things as me.

@OldGamer999 I think Xbox just has had a stable presence in the US since the beginning. A bit more marketing overall (still next to none now but lots back in the day), it's just more of an extablished, entrenched, omnipresent brand here than presumably anywhere else. Probably more attributable to Peter Moore and a lingering effect than anyone else, really.

I agree, Xbox is actually extremely healthy in the US. The problem is being healthy only in one market is still certain doom on a corporate level. No console can exist with 3rd party support selling in one country. (Then again the Wukong Steam sales beg to differ lol.) I think as long as they have a hook in the US though, they have a solid business to a degree.

@fizban3332 I don't believe the did a stock swap, IIRC they gave them the cashout value of their shares, so those investors may have chosen to reinvest in MS at MS prices, or not.

@Banjo- It's not about xbox users jumping because games are on PS5. It's about there not being enough Xbox users to begin with and at this point selling new customers on it is nigh impossible. Which will make life for users worse in time (or make the platform irrelevant totally.) Thus jumping now before it gets worse isn't a bad plan.

Seems my plan going forward is not bothering with Xbox again. Has the least amount of software across all consoles, even if we include the backwards titles that're on a timer and don't include the shovelware on everything but Xbox. Personally can't even say the hardware is reliable - pack-in controller got drift faster than my Joycons with less play and I constantly have random issues with the console itself compared to my 360 or One.

@NEStalgia
Exactly where I am with Xbox do I totally jump ship now, series x is my preferred console and my GPU runs out March 2025.
The problem Microsoft has created future Xbox console uncertainty and to invest more in its eco system especially buying third party games seems a risk.

If we undertook a risk analysis on this I don’t think it would favour Xbox consoles future in a good light I’m afraid and risk advise would probably be not to invest more in third party games on Xbox consoles, but do it in PlayStation consoles and Switch.

that's a lot of marketing speak to say we'll go where the money is, and clearly it's not on their own platform. Time to jump ship.

@OldGamer999 I think the worst thing Xbox has done isn't actually the strategy, or even the constantly changing strategy. It's constantly lying about it and changing what they said before so that their credibility is now shot, and when they tell the truth about their plans you can't trust it's true. They've reiterated over and over that preserving your digital library is the key. That's why I bought in in the first place. But do they really mean that? We can't know anymore because the trust the consumer has in their statements is 0 now and that's their own fault.

I think if the debate is between Xbox and PC, it's a no brainer at this point. Xbox is shaky, and PC is the obvious path forward where you lose nothing (other than mountains of cash and 6 cubic feet of room space) and gain everything.

But when the debate is XB or PS it's a lot more unclear. The outlook for being a PS consumer may not be any better than being an Xbox consumer as a library investment. We know those two don't play nice, and if MS makes good on their hollow promises it may still work out to be the best bet. Or not. It depends on what Xbox does vs what they say and what PS does when they have unlimited power.

Apparently Sea of Thieves has sold 1 million on PS5.

Yeah... seems this is the trend for MS and Xbox.

@NEStalgia
Yep it’s definitely a conundrum Xbox vs PlayStation console future wise.
But I think we can almost guarantee a PS6 but I’m not sure about an Xbox Z.
That’s my conundrum what to invest now and moving forward eco system wise and third party games wise.

I can see Xbox being arseholes and saying no next generation Xbox but you still have cloud streaming gaming GPU so you haven’t lost that much. But you would lose your third party games as they might not cloud stream obviously.
But no thank you no game streaming for me I want the best quality all bells and whistles when I game 4k and the lot.

@NEStalgia
Sometimes I even think of chucking it all in Xbox and PlayStation wise and sticking with Switch and then Switch 2 only as long as Switch 2 is fully backward compatibility digital and physical.

@OldGamer999 Yeah, before I decided for sure on the PC jump, I'd considered going all PS as well. But the more I thought about it and thought about how Sony would behave without a real competition (remember raising the PS5 price, an unprecedented move in console history, everywhere except the one country Xbox is viable) I don't actually feel any more secure with money invested into PS than into Xbox. Xbox MAY go belly up and get out of making consoles. Or Xbox MAY transition into Windows based devices of various shapes. Or Xbox MAY do what you said and make everything cloud based. OTOH an unchecked Sony WILL mug you at gunpoint the moment they know all your base is belong to them.

So I'll give over 50 years of income to to the OTHER green team. Who needs food and clothing anyway? Jensen's leather jackets are made of gamer people. At least my Steam library will work on the potato PC I'll be able to afford 20 years from now lol

I can't recommend anyone invest in Xbox with where they are and how things look, but I couldn't recommend anyone invest in Sony either. Flip a coin? Ask Phil? Flip Phil?

@NEStalgia
Perhaps Nintendo is the best choice then.

@Fenbops He is still there because every massive business needs a lamb to slaughter.

What Spencer, Booty , Greenberg and Bond don’t get is that 3rd parties will slowly stop putting games into Xbox. Why would they if Xbox are taking away any reason to own one?
They may as well put their games on PC and PlayStation 5 only where they know they will generate income. Some may put games on Game Pass but only if get can get the right price.

@OldGamer999

Let’s just hope Switch 2 is no let down, I’m strongly considering the same move once my gamepass runs out in 2026.

It over. It's now Microsoft Gaming.... RIP 2021 to 2024

@MjJmediablogger There is also that. Finally a voice of reason.

Was the point of spending $70bil then?

It would just been better to take that money organize your studios to produce games. Feeding the GP ecosystem isn't always worth it.

Looking at an xbox roadmap from June and 3 of the 22 announced xbox games at that time are now known to be coming to ps5 (COD being one of them). 13% of the announced xbox games are known to be coming to ps5, leaving 87% unconfirmed at the moment. (If we remove the contractually obligated COD it is 9 of 21 or 9.5% of announced games)

Why are people pretending that it's 100% of games going to ps5? Will more of those end up going? Certainly but what percentage is acceptable to the people who claim they are ditching xbox? What if 70% of xbox games are exclusive, what if it's 50%?

Xbox has way more 1st party exclusives than they did 10 years ago. People would argue until they were blue in the face that there was incentive back then to buy an xbox.

@Dm9982 Right. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if some Xbox games are elsewhere, it has happened since Xbox One. It's not "fanboys" supporting the system like others here said, but Xbox being great on its own. Great platform, service, hardware, game library, value, controller and compatibility, free remasters, free Play Anywhere, free cloud saves...

Since Square Enix's games and even Sony's games don't sell enough copies on PS5, how can anyone be more confident about Sony's future than Xbox's? Microsoft, as a hardware manufacturer and the biggest publisher, has the brighter future ahead and, of course, that includes consoles because, why would they stop making them? It doesn't make any sense commercially. They are a Windows device. The store and Game Pass are successful and profitable. As long as there are consoles, there will be Xbox consoles.

Nintendo's decisions will depend on the success of their future hardware. If it's as profitable as Switch, they don't need to change anything. Heck, they sell overpriced ports to the same users and they seem happy to buy them again. They sell a subscription for playing Virtual Console titles we all have bought. If their future isn't as dollar-green, we'll see. Mario has been on Android before. Anything is possible. Essentially, you are right, because Nintendo is not just a publisher, it's some kind of toy manufacturer, a theme park maker, a family-friendly seller, a Disney of gaming, but the console exclusivity will depend on how well received their future hardware is. Switch is a very special case, because is fed on sub-HD games, many of them ports sold full price like the most ambitious games of the generation. They have sold millions of humble tablets and small cartridges with very low budgets. Can that happen again and again, though? Nintendo will be fine, but it's impossible that they have another generation as lucky.

@MjJmediablogger Of all the immediate problems Xbox ecosystem has this one is going to begin to come to pass before all the other potential doom and gloom.

Slowly the current or next gen Xbox will turn into the Wii U with less and less 3rd party games... Unless consumers show up for sales, and with GamePass currently chopping the head off Xbox game sales the trajectory isn't a good one.

@BacklogBrad Your not wrong they do have more internally built games, but they either are one of three things:

1. Not exclusive forever for console and on PC.
2. Haven't reviewed very well versus similar older 1st party games in the past, so the sales and/or GamePass subs haven't translated on console.
3. More people are simply moving to PC over consoles where than can get all 3rd party games (over time typically), all 1st party Xbox games day one, and eventually get the majority of Sony 1st games.

This isn't just the decisions Xbox is making problems, it is related to other decisions by gamers and Sony themselves. 1/3 of it is totally out of their control.

@OldGamer999 Home of the $60 Game Boy remaster.... And 50/50 digital library retention between any 3 generations?

If Microsoft didn't buy Bethesda, which put a stop to Sonys little game of paying for a year exclusivity on Bethesda games,I. E Ghostwire Tokyo, Deathloop, they tried for Starfield, then this game could possibly of been a year long exclusive on the PS5.

So Phil is using MAUs to assure himself that everything is fine huh? Well, I'll tell you that this MAU will never spend another cent on Xbox. I'm not renewing my Gamepass when it ends in January, and I sure won't buy another game through any of their stores. Hope those engagement numbers seem worth it as your profit per user steadily drops.

I hope we see the reveal of the New Switch before the end of the year so I can decide if I want to jump on that.

"It's just going to be a strategy that works for us"

I'll say it again, it's a good thing Bethesda and Activision are staying third party. I hope that's what this entails. That said, it's definitely not just going to be just those. Phil flew too close to the sun and his wings made of dollar bills began to burn away, and he's dragging the hardware legacy down into the abyss with him.

I think we're going to see the end of Xbox as a console due to Phil's actions. Not right away, but slowly. I hope I'm wrong, but that death bell will be ringing wildly if any of the Big 3 get ported.

@kuu_nousee i don't agree with xbox games falling into one of the 3 categories you defined. There are plenty of cases where all 3 are false. Halo infinite and forza horizon 5 come to mind. The third one isn't really a category a game can fall into as it's more of a statement on pc gaming growing.

@Banjo- It depends on how you define "the ship" anymore. Is the ship Xbox Game Studios or the Xbox console hardware? Phil's choice of "platform" is really telling. If I had the option to play all Xbox games via Game Pass on a PlayStation I would. Would this hypothetical situation mean I jumped ship?

@BacklogBrad Fair for now. But as of this moment no game is an exception for Microsoft to turn un-exclusive.

The fact is everything Phil has recently this year said about first party specific games not going to other competing platforms turned out to be untrue. Specifically Indiana Jones.

I hate to be the one to say this but I think everything is up in the air for Xbox currently. And I mean EVERYTHING.
They lied also about no more price increases of GamePass and we are twice over now for changes/price increases just this year.

Even though Sarah said they are building the most powerful console (again) it doesn't mean it will release. It likely will, but again they keep changing their mind so often we probably won't know it's actually happening until leaks of production has started or Xbox announces it officially.

It's a weird time for Xbox, hopefully they can turn this into some positive at minimum with some record sales of games.

@OldGamer999 last time i seen the Xbox was only like 6 million behind the PS5 in the US. So it’s fairly close. It’s worldwide that PS just tramples Xbox in sales. Making the gap really big. This announcement won’t hurt Xbox as Indiana Jones wasn’t going to be a system seller. So it don’t hurt them much, but Xbox needs a true system selling game to see if people still care about the brand or will just pass on that game.

Like others have said elsewhere, Phil needs to stop making Xbox’s problems appear to be industry-wide problems.

Also after spending $100 billion surely they must be more sure than “just think this [strategy] will work for us?”

@Pabpictu not a chance of ps uses pc as well and Nintendo will always sell worst case real east games on ios store which won’t happen either . If you think Nintendo will ever release a super Mario ok Xbox or ps. You gotta be smoking something good … god of war will never be on Xbox either so it looks like Xbox will just be the one bending over

@InvaderFromSpace yea seems going pc or gaming laptop might be the move now and I had Xbox since the first release smh

@BIG3 which is why I been said the should’ve went after Ubisoft and blizzard that alone would’ve been less than 20 billion

@Banjo- if Xbox games are on PlayStation you get that with ps exclusives which sounds like a better deal for console players

@Grippie yea you don’t think there won’t be Xbox game discounts on PlayStation store ?

From the selling point (strategy) i can understand, but i get the disappointment from many.
You always want great exclusive games that you cant get anywhere else (except pc)
Same feeling i have with Nintendo. Of they started bringing their games to ps5, pc, xbox i would stop buying their system. Next step for team xbox would be bringing, perfect dark, Killer Instinct, banjo kazooie, and conqer, to the Switch 2. For selling point that would be good for the corporate business at Microsoft, but not good for selling their own consoles.

I'm always happy to see games get multi platform releases. More people get to play them, and more sales for a developer helps fund new titles, or more development resources in a live service like Sea of Thieves.

When you've not got people stuck on your platform because that's the only place to play one franchise then you actually have to work to improve the hardware, retail experience, and pricing.

@Banjo- The alternative to a console is not a gaming PC, thats just nonsense. Consoles have always offered a reasonably high level of entry at a acceptable price where as PC's offer superior settings but you can be damn sure you will pay for it. Some people they will move to a PC but the chances are more likely that they would have been spending that money previously on multiple consoles.

SS users (the majority of Xbox's sold) are not going to swap from a £250 console to a £1500 PC as the natural next step.

@Ilyn You don't know how many Series X and S have been sold. People that have Xbox and PS would still play on PS, but if they are not interested in PS5, the real nonsense would be buying another PS for the price it would cost without competition, when even now PS games are more expensive and the price of PS services and consoles has been increased, and lose access to the digital library, while being constricted by an even more restrictive Sony.

A handheld PC doesn't cost as much as you posted, games would be much cheaper than on PS and Microsoft would make their library, on top of Game Pass, available on Windows, without paying upgrade fees. However, Microsoft will make consoles as long as there are consoles, there is absolutely no reason to not doing so, when they earn billions yearly thanks to the store and Game Pass, even with fierce competition. Anyway, the next Xbox has been confirmed to be the biggest technological leap ever, so no point in discussing this.

"Sony and Nintendo will be forced to do the same at some point in the future if they don't want to disappear."

@Pabpictu

Sony already doing PC versions more and more and they don't have a choice if they want to keep growing (especially when First Party titles are on a low).

Nintendo however, is a special one. I don't see a future where their first party go multi-platform tbh. Even if Sony or MS will copy them (plug and play hybrid), their franchises/characters are very unique/creative (even if it's the x Mario game). They do explore the Mobile market from time to time. A market that keeps growing apparently (not a fan myself but I do play some).

I think Phil was pretty clear right now that there are no limits to what Xbox will release on PlayStation.

This is a bad decision that will result in more developers abandoning Xbox as if we don't have enough this already.

I'll jump to PlayStation that's the only platform users seems to never worry if a game will be released onto, even if the game comes from Xbox Game Studios.

@Banjo- It was heavily reported due to leaks in 2022 that the split was around 75% SS and 25% SX. Since then its been reported that sales on consoles since 2022 are closer but its still like 60% SS and 40% SX. Its worth noting that sales since 2022 are slower in general, so yes we do basically know the SS has outsold the SX by a substanial amount even if we don't have the exact figures. That said if you take the numbers on VGchartz as rough figues then the SS is about 69% of total Xbox sales.

"Anyway, the next Xbox has been confirmed to be the biggest technological leap ever, so no point in discussing this."

But if you really want to play the we don't know game then we absolutely don't know that the next xbox will be the biggest technological leap ever as no specs have been announced outside of hype talk.

In my opinion, Phil should leave XBox. If he's not making any decisions anymore, what is the purpose of his job?

@Ilyn Yeah, speculation, we are not going to go anywhere following rumours. I assume that you have a PS5 and don't have a Series S|X, so you wouldn't be interest and nothing I'd say would make you think differently. As a Series X owner, I don't see how possibly PS5 could replace it.

@Cakefish a console platform is CLEARLY not Microsoft's focus. The Wii U died 8 years ago (ten really) and things have changed considerably. Microsoft sees their gaming future as being outside of the console. Eventually all three console makers probably will, but Microsoft,being perpetually in 3rd place, is always ready to jump first.

@Mustoe Same and always quality games imo

@Gabrielmpf

I don't know if Spencer should leave, he just got a new book of rules from the top and he needs to follow them.

Overall they need to do some changes though. Revealing Indy for PS5 was a bit weird since they could wait and capitalize from the game being an exclusive. Who knows if it good bring some new players. On the other hand, the only reason they did do it, and this a maybe too far fetched, because if journo's see it releasing on PS, they wouldn't be so negative when reviewing the Xbox title. But a 6 months would've made more sense tbh.

MS is doing some weird stuff lately. The Xbox exclusive Towerborne turned into a Steam Limited Exclusive

Also, what's on MS wish list? Selling COD6 to as many PS players as possible or getting a whole bunch of new gamers subscribing to Game Pass?

MS/Spencer need to up their communication because they are all over the place. What's been said today can change tomorrow and vice versa!

@CallMeDuraSouka I mean, ultimately, a digital library with any storefront is a bad idea. One day, they will all close. Steam, PlayStation, Xbox. There is no such thing as an eternal storefront. Steam's likely not going anywhere anytime soon, but there will be a day that it does shut down. Far in the future, yeah, but it will still happen.

As per your question, it depends on if Microsoft can make a jump to streaming. I personally don't think so, because streaming-only is a purely awful idea for games, but they want that Netflix model bad. REAL bad. But your digital library, in that future, will be locked behind a Game Pass tier of some sort, even if you've purchased the games individually. Come the inevitable day there are no working Xbox consoles, the only option will be streaming the games you bought so long ago-- but you won't be able to just access them from the streaming library for free.

Very well said, even as a physical collector these very things leave me hesitant

Why don't Xbox just pull a Sega, stop making consoles and save money and time developing them.

Another option just make a handheld like the Rog Ally X, but insure its got a easy to use interface then you got all PC games, Xbox Games and even a handful of PlayStation games all in one place.