Xbox's Sea Of Thieves Has Reportedly Sold Over One Million Copies On PS5

It just shows that if you release a good game, people are willing to pay for it. Even if it’s been out a while.

You can understand Microsofts approach to all this now and how it makes money.
If the console user base is there in this case many PS5 consoles then the sales could be there.

The future I think sits with Sony and Nintendo making consoles and having their console exclusives and Microsoft putting more games on those consoles as the consoles numbers are there so the money is there.

How far Microsoft take this, I.e leaving the Xbox hardware business remains to be seen.
I think Microsoft’s issue with that is GP as over 50% GP subs sit with Xbox consoles.

But in the end I can see Microsoft ditching Xbox hardware and Game pass. Unless they want to just keep that contact with the Xbox fan base.
But only if the profit is there to do so.
Or GP becomes a could based streaming service only on other devices like TVS which is all ready available.

It went from

Sony fan - Ha Xbox Has No Game

Sony Fan - When Do We Get Xbox Games?

Taking off platform fees would make quite a dent though right. Wouldn’t it be 30%? So that $40m in revenue then becomes $28m; which is great don’t get me wrong. But you’ve also given $12m to Sony for doing absolutely nothing which they will now use to get some more exclusives. Horray!

No surprise. It’s one of the better more fun online games to play with friends. News flash HALO online would be popular on PlayStation as well. That doesn’t mean an exclusive IP should be sent over. The last of us would be popular on Xbox as well so would uncharted. Doesn’t mean Sony would ever port it over. As they NEED people to buy into their hardware business. I hope Microsoft keeps upcoming and new IPs on Xbox. I truly don’t want everything to be sent over. As if that’s the case my series X will just be for emulation duties hence forth. Would be unfortunate as it’s the more powerful current generation console.

Compared to the massive success it is on Xbox and PC, this number isn't that big. It looks like extra revenue, but Xbox exclusives on PS doesn't seem to be what some people anticipated. It doesn't seem to change the gaming landscape much.

I think that the next generation of consoles will be the last generation of consoles. There will never be a PS7. The next generation of Xbox will be massively AI powered and Windows based. It will be able to access Steam, Epic and PlayStation stores. Once we have the idea a set top PC under our TVs, all manufacturers like Asus will build them.

@__jamiie Handheld PCs are more significant than they seem. They are a bridge between consoles and PCs. People still love user-friendly gaming devices (consoles), but if Microsoft, as a consolidated hardware manufacturer, releases their own handheld PC/console and they allow access to other stores, it would benefit them in the long term. They were the first to port (Xbox One) games to PC, so they might be the first to allow that. It seems risky, but no so much since Xbox (and PS) games are available on Windows, anyway. Plus, restrictive consoles' time may be running out and being first in the queue would be a huge benefit.

From "Xbox: It's good to play together"
Then: "Xbox: Power Your Dreams"
To: "Xbox: We Run a Business".

Money is made in software not hardware sales. Makes sense. Good job MS ✌️👍

@Banjo-
And this maybe the issue for Xbox.
Currently for me they are sitting in the middle of no man’s land.
A low console base outside of the USA.
Game pass sort of stagnant
Cloud base gaming system.
Games developed for Series x and s and pc and cloud based systems, takes time and costs.
Putting certain games on other consoles.
A disillusioned fan base, including me.
No big new high quality AAA games for a long time.
Loss of trust among gamers.

I don’t mean it in a bad way but it’s like a Jack of all trades but definitely not excelling in any direction. Almost dancing around in many pockets of the industry but just not settling down and giving the Xbox brand that true direction and mass public appeal and momentum. And something for the fan base to say ok, we see your direction and we stay or we go.
I’m totally on the fence, have my series x and GPU until March 2025, but have no assurances or positive vibe about a next generation Xbox.
Also not trust at all.

This is good news. I am still curious what the number is for Hi Fi Rush. I have the feeling that one continued to underperform in sales.

So far the "brand damage" is limited to niche comment sections. As more people are getting a taste of the great games xbox has to offer the brand will expand.

@OldGamer999 Money is in software and subscriptions and both are very healthy. It's not in hardware and Microsoft, unlike Sony or Nintendo, has consoles that run Windows and makes desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. The ecosystem is already there, Sony doesn't have that. Microsoft covers the whole PC and console spectrum with the same OS, without upgrade and port fees, plus Cloud. They are the biggest publisher in the world after Tencent. They are in their best position ever. All that Sony has is the critics' favour regarding their cinematic games, but even those are not topping the charts and not selling enough copies on PS5. That means that most PS owners are casual players and not die-hard Sony fans. Unlike Nintendo for now, PS has become just another gaming platform, isolated but not as profitable as expected, so the very Sony is in a more difficult decision and that's why the are copying Microsoft. Firstly, the online and games as service and now the Windows ports. Remember, the best-selling games are not Sony's or Microsoft's exclusives, but Fortnite, FIFA, Madden, GTA, Minecraft and Call of Duty, the last two owned by Microsoft. The future of Microsoft and Sony is basically the same, but Microsoft is already there. The future of Nintendo depends on the success of their next hardware.

Im glad they got to extend the player base and make more money, the dev team must be re energised. I would expect that 1 million was the top end of their estimates, but I doubt we will ever know what they expected..

@Banjo- what did “some people” anticipate in terms of sales? This was a test from MS as even they didn’t have any idea of sales except for estimates which I’m sure 1m for this game would be at the top end of their projections?

Remember this isn’t a AAA game, is old and hasn’t been out that long. I would have thought Rare would be quite happy with those numbers.

The likes of Indy and Forza I’m sure would perform much better.

"it doesn't seem to be having a material impact on the growth"

This is something we might not see until the next generation. Anyone that's already bought a Series S/X isn't going to immediately sell it because of these exclusives moving platform. But this does absolutely nothing for the strength of Xbox as a platform, Xbox gains nothing except money and maybe improving and building an IP.. that is now multiplatform. Sony also gets money (for much less work), and they also get a brand new previously exclusive game. On paper, this is better for Sony than Xbox, at least until Xbox can leverage the additional money they made.. but let's say it's $40 million, Sony takes 30%, so they get $12m, Xbox now has $28m. That's only a net difference of $16 million. If Xbox reinvests that into Sea of Thieves(or other multiplats), that absolutely benefits Sony more than Xbox.

Sony gets $12m for 'free' which they can spend on exclusives that Xbox won't get. And Xbox spends $28m on multiplatform games that Sony does get. It's a win for Sony shareholders, it's a win for Sony players, and it's a win for Microsoft shareholders. The only people not winning from this are Xbox players. Xbox players gain absolutely nothing from this. Oh, but Microsoft will reinvest into Xbox games? Right... But Sony also receives those benefits when the games go multiplatform, so there is no net positive difference for being an Xbox player.

Before this, Xbox players had the benefit of access to Sea of Thieves. That was the net difference between Sony and Xbox players.
After this, Sony players have the benefit of access to Sea of Thieves (something they didn't have before) and potentially Sony funded exclusives from 'free' money. Xbox also has additional money, but if that is spent on multiplatform games, it's a net neutral benefit for both platforms players.

This has only increased the value of the PlayStation platform. The next generation will be extremely critical for Xbox, this may have done more damage to the Xbox platform than they realise, but they just won't be able to see it until the next generation.