Because of Microsoft machine gunning themselves in the foot in 2013. It certainly wasn’t exclusives that were pushing the PS4 in 2014, and 2015 only had Bloodborne. They committed commercial suicide at the worst possible time.
Definitely makes sense within their strategy. Port some older games to create extra revenue streams and interest in those games. Launch newer ones first on Xbox/PC. The cost of developing AAA games now makes it impossible to keep them on one platform, a problem that will only get more impactful in the future.
Not sure a pure handheld system would be a great idea but a Switch competitor would. Nintendo have hit the sweet spot of practicality that’s allowed them to appeal to all age groups, especially adults (where the money is) who relish being able to jump between handheld and home usage. If they can get a Series S into that form factor with decent battery life and pricing it could be a real winner.
Good luck. Some people absolutely can’t get their head around what MS is doing or the way Gaming is heading. They’re still stuck to their boxes and seem to think Hardware not being the sole focus for Xbox means Xbox Consoles are dead and Microsoft treats Console gamers badly and so on and so forth
Sony IIRC reported that they weren’t making a loss on PS5 hardware but it wasn’t clear whether that was just related to hardware or the overall cost including distribution, marketing R&D etc. When Spencer talked about Xbox taking a loss he was including all that (though it’s hard to see them spending much on marketing).
That’s standard though and has been through the history of the industry. The platform holder takes a loss but looks to make it back on game sales, third party licensing fees, peripheral sales, subscriptions etc. Even losing money on hardware, having 50-60 million people in the ecosystem is a massive business.
When you see the figures like this it’s very odd that some people think Xbox will be quitting Consoles. An average of 7 million systems a year tied into a wider ecosystem is a very viable business.
Yeah they should split it. For all that a few hysterics whine about the Series S there’s not even that many games where you would see much difference in such a listing. But they should definitely give consumers the correct information.
I agree, that’s a fair summary. I’ve also got a Series S for my son and that’s hugely impressive for its price. Really hoping these rumours of a handheld with similar power level are true.
This is what politicians do. With Sony still under fire for Concord and the PS5 Pro announcement generally going down like a bucket of cold sick it’s a good time for XBox to ‘bury some bad news.’
I’m same as you, I’ve been around since the 8-bit Computer days and see Game Pass as great value. People are always going to be disappointed at price rises and getting less return for their spend but it’s still a very good deal. The variety is brilliant, it has loads of big hitters and a smattering of interesting Indie games too. As someone who jumps around (in recent months I’ve played some Jedi Survivor, Doom Eternal, Hellblade 2, Forza, FC 24, Yakuza and Starfield) it’s a great value proposition.
The whole thing is very odd. The current systems don’t feel anywhere near maxed out yet they’re trying to sell a high ended option without seemingly a clear understanding of what it will offer.
The upgrades last gen made perfect sense given the uptake of 4K TVs at that time and the XB1 especially being pretty weak-XB1X was a brilliant upgrade.
Sony don’t exactly have Xbox snapping at their heels either so it’s not like they have market share to protect.
I’d be really disappointed if Xbox solely targeted blockbusters. One of the best things about their recent output has been interesting stuff like Pentiment, Hifi Rush, Grounded and Gears Tactics
The game released in 2005 so the pitch would have been probably 2003 or 2004. Before the Wii, Kinect, Move etc and around the time of tentative experiments with plastic plug ins like the Eye Toy and Donkey Konga. Not that much of a surprise they didn’t see the potential for success. Not sure many of us would.
Keeping making Consoles isn’t a difficult decision for them at all. That’s why they’ve been very clear that they’re carrying on making hardware. They’re a key part of their strategy. They pull in Game Pass subscribers, they facilitate licensing fees from third parties which is a big revenue stream, they generate peripheral sales, they tie people into the ecosystem through Online play. Absolute no brainier.
Rational for him. Their main revenue stream is basically a subscription anyway. As was obvious from day 1, Gamepass will work really well for some publishers and business models, and not for others.
The only way your argument would make any sense is if every single game that was good but didn’t receive any marketing was a success. Which doesn’t happen.
Seems to be reviewing well, averaging 81% on Metacritic with a lot of the top reviews being from multi format sites. Think there was always going to be a slightly divisive element to this one. Looking forward to giving it a go.
Buying a Sony or Nintendo platform to get Xbox exclusives would only make sense if all Xbox exclusives were on those platforms. However they aren’t and there is no sign of such a thing happening.
Good to hear. Personally I’m sceptical about how big the leap will actually be but they’re clearly planning on releasing new hardware, despite some of the bizarre claims elsewhere that they’re leaving the hardware business.
Comments 509
Re: Xbox Boss Says Everything Is On The Table When It Comes To PS5 Ports
@SleeplessKnight
Because of Microsoft machine gunning themselves in the foot in 2013. It certainly wasn’t exclusives that were pushing the PS4 in 2014, and 2015 only had Bloodborne. They committed commercial suicide at the worst possible time.
Re: Xbox Boss Says Everything Is On The Table When It Comes To PS5 Ports
Definitely makes sense within their strategy. Port some older games to create extra revenue streams and interest in those games. Launch newer ones first on Xbox/PC. The cost of developing AAA games now makes it impossible to keep them on one platform, a problem that will only get more impactful in the future.
Re: Xbox's Long-Running Strategy Series Could Be Next To Jump To PS5
This is an obvious choice as a PC game that was on PS2 long before Xbox anyway. Can’t see any need for fanboy upset over this one.
Re: Rumour: Xbox May Be Gearing Up To Reveal Handheld Device In 2025
Not sure a pure handheld system would be a great idea but a Switch competitor would. Nintendo have hit the sweet spot of practicality that’s allowed them to appeal to all age groups, especially adults (where the money is) who relish being able to jump between handheld and home usage. If they can get a Series S into that form factor with decent battery life and pricing it could be a real winner.
Re: Xbox Hardware Revenues Down Again Despite Content & Services Growth
@TheEstablishment
Good luck. Some people absolutely can’t get their head around what MS is doing or the way Gaming is heading. They’re still stuck to their boxes and seem to think Hardware not being the sole focus for Xbox means Xbox Consoles are dead and Microsoft treats Console gamers badly and so on and so forth
Re: Stalker 2 Dev Confirms Performance Targets For Xbox Series X|S Versions
Wow, fair play to the devs. Phenomenal job.
Re: One Lucky Xbox Owner Could Become A Millionaire With Microsoft Rewards
@OldGamer999
I’m not sure the two things are connected very much
Re: Talking Point: Which Xbox Games Have The Best Box Art?
Seems really obvious but the original Halo on the OG Xbox. Forza Horizon 4 is nice with all the leaves. The recent Flight Simulator is good.
Re: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Delivers 'Mixed' Results On Xbox One, Says Digital Foundry
@Medic_alert
Agreed, beautiful design. Just looked classy somehow.
Re: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Delivers 'Mixed' Results On Xbox One, Says Digital Foundry
The One X really was a lovely system
Re: Xbox 360 Classic Halo 3: ODST Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary
Only played this a couple of years ago as part of MCC and loved it. Superb game.
Re: Xbox Shares Roadmap For Various Upcoming 'Day One' Game Pass Titles
Flight Sim, Indiana Jones and Avowed for me. Might give COD and Stalker 2 a try as well
Re: Xbox Series X|S Console Sales Estimated At Under Half Of PS5 In New Report
@PsBoxSwitchOwner
Sony IIRC reported that they weren’t making a loss on PS5 hardware but it wasn’t clear whether that was just related to hardware or the overall cost including distribution, marketing R&D etc. When Spencer talked about Xbox taking a loss he was including all that (though it’s hard to see them spending much on marketing).
That’s standard though and has been through the history of the industry. The platform holder takes a loss but looks to make it back on game sales, third party licensing fees, peripheral sales, subscriptions etc. Even losing money on hardware, having 50-60 million people in the ecosystem is a massive business.
Re: Xbox Series X|S Console Sales Estimated At Under Half Of PS5 In New Report
When you see the figures like this it’s very odd that some people think Xbox will be quitting Consoles. An average of 7 million systems a year tied into a wider ecosystem is a very viable business.
Re: Space Marine 2 Player Claims Xbox Is 'Misleading' Series S Owners With Incorrect Info
Yeah they should split it. For all that a few hysterics whine about the Series S there’s not even that many games where you would see much difference in such a listing. But they should definitely give consumers the correct information.
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Employees 'Completely Confused' About New Xbox Strategy, Says Insider
@SleeplessKnight
I agree, that’s a fair summary. I’ve also got a Series S for my son and that’s hugely impressive for its price. Really hoping these rumours of a handheld with similar power level are true.
Re: Rumour: Microsoft Employees 'Completely Confused' About New Xbox Strategy, Says Insider
The higher ups at my company don’t tell me what the strategy is either TBF. Though I think the overarching strategy has been clear for a while.
Re: Xbox Is Cutting 650 More Jobs, Confirms Phil Spencer In Letter To Employees
@GADG3Tx87
This is what politicians do. With Sony still under fire for Concord and the PS5 Pro announcement generally going down like a bucket of cold sick it’s a good time for XBox to ‘bury some bad news.’
Re: PS5 Pro's $699 Price Was 'Easier Decision' Due To Lack Of Xbox Competitor, Says Analysis
Anyone who thinks Xbox should leave the Console market, here’s your future
Re: The Xbox Game Pass Conversion Ratios Have Gotten Worse This Week
@BrandNewOldSchool
I’m same as you, I’ve been around since the 8-bit Computer days and see Game Pass as great value. People are always going to be disappointed at price rises and getting less return for their spend but it’s still a very good deal. The variety is brilliant, it has loads of big hitters and a smattering of interesting Indie games too. As someone who jumps around (in recent months I’ve played some Jedi Survivor, Doom Eternal, Hellblade 2, Forza, FC 24, Yakuza and Starfield) it’s a great value proposition.
Re: Reaction: PS5 Pro's Extortionate Price Justifies Xbox's Lack Of A New Console
The whole thing is very odd. The current systems don’t feel anywhere near maxed out yet they’re trying to sell a high ended option without seemingly a clear understanding of what it will offer.
The upgrades last gen made perfect sense given the uptake of 4K TVs at that time and the XB1 especially being pretty weak-XB1X was a brilliant upgrade.
Sony don’t exactly have Xbox snapping at their heels either so it’s not like they have market share to protect.
I just don’t get it.
Re: Roundup: The Reviews Are In For Razer's 'Wolverine V3 Pro' Wireless Xbox Controller
@NEStalgia
😆 In my case, not buying a £200 Controller helped
Re: Reaction: Xbox Focusing On 'Blockbuster Games' Should Be No Surprise After The Failure Of Concord
I’d be really disappointed if Xbox solely targeted blockbusters. One of the best things about their recent output has been interesting stuff like Pentiment, Hifi Rush, Grounded and Gears Tactics
Re: Phil Spencer Talks About Two Activision Games That Xbox Missed Out On Signing
The game released in 2005 so the pitch would have been probably 2003 or 2004. Before the Wii, Kinect, Move etc and around the time of tentative experiments with plastic plug ins like the Eye Toy and Donkey Konga. Not that much of a surprise they didn’t see the potential for success. Not sure many of us would.
Re: Roundup: The Reviews Are In For Razer's 'Wolverine V3 Pro' Wireless Xbox Controller
Two.
Hundred.
Pounds.
Re: Rumour: Black Myth: Wukong 'Memory Leak' Has Caused Xbox Series X|S Delay
Doesn’t this run badly on PS5? Fair play to MS for catching the issue during certification
Re: Rumour: Xbox To Announce 'Big' Game For PS5 Next Week
@OldGamer999
Keeping making Consoles isn’t a difficult decision for them at all. That’s why they’ve been very clear that they’re carrying on making hardware. They’re a key part of their strategy. They pull in Game Pass subscribers, they facilitate licensing fees from third parties which is a big revenue stream, they generate peripheral sales, they tie people into the ecosystem through Online play. Absolute no brainier.
Re: Rumour: Xbox To Announce 'Big' Game For PS5 Next Week
Probably Starfield.
Not read the comments yet but I bet there’s some top quality temper tantrums being thrown.
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of Crash Bandicoot On Xbox Game Pass?
Great games and the remasters are excellent. I already have the collection on Switch but it’s a very welcome addition to Game Pass.
Re: Take-Two CEO Says 'Rational Decisions' Result In No Day One Xbox Game Pass Releases
@GuyinPA75
“ Why isn't EVERY publisher putting EVERY game on indie...I mean game pass, then?”
Nobody ever said that would happen. Different games, different business models, different publishers, some it will work for and some it won’t.
Re: Take-Two CEO Says 'Rational Decisions' Result In No Day One Xbox Game Pass Releases
Rational for him. Their main revenue stream is basically a subscription anyway. As was obvious from day 1, Gamepass will work really well for some publishers and business models, and not for others.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Handheld System Will Sit Alongside 'A Series X Successor'
A portable Series S would be brilliant. Thousands of games able to run straight away.
Re: Rumour: Xbox Handheld System Will Sit Alongside 'A Series X Successor'
@Friendly
The Tweet is a third party quoting Corden. He never mentions ‘add on’
Re: US Sales Figures Reveal Interesting Stats About Xbox Series X|S & Hellblade 2
@GuyinPA75
They want subscribers and sales, I thought that was pretty obvious by now.
“ majority of games on Game Pass are level of quality of game boy games”
I genuinely snorted at that. Well played.
Re: US Sales Figures Reveal Interesting Stats About Xbox Series X|S & Hellblade 2
So in the US Xbox Console sales aren’t as atrocious as some media narrative’s would have you believe.
Thats also not a bad return for a niche game like Hellblade 2, given it was on Game Pass as well.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox Fans, How Are You Getting On With Microsoft Rewards In 2024?
Pretty much stopped TBB
Re: Hellblade 2 Apparently Failed To Crack Top 100 Game Sales In Europe Last Month
@Doomcrow
The only way your argument would make any sense is if every single game that was good but didn’t receive any marketing was a success. Which doesn’t happen.
Re: Hellblade 2 Apparently Failed To Crack Top 100 Game Sales In Europe Last Month
@Doomcrow
That really isn’t how it works
Re: Forza Horizon 4 To Be Delisted On Xbox And PC In December 2024
@shoeses
I remember them saying it in 2022, over two years before it will be delisted. Which would make what they said correct.
Re: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 Is Launching Day One On Xbox Game Pass
Good move for MS. There are still a lot of players out there that haven’t jumped to PS5 or XSX. Might see them pick up a few.
Re: DOOM: The Dark Ages To Be Announced At Xbox's Showcase, Claims New 'Exclusive'
@ValentineMeikin
Exactly. All they gave away was COD which they were always going to do and Cloud Gaming which was small beer. They didn’t have to give anything else.
Re: DOOM: The Dark Ages To Be Announced At Xbox's Showcase, Claims New 'Exclusive'
The year 2024 and people are still obsessing about exclusives. As if a game is somehow more enjoyable if other people can’t play it.
Re: DOOM: The Dark Ages To Be Announced At Xbox's Showcase, Claims New 'Exclusive'
@ValentineMeikin
The only concession MS made to Sony as a result of the ABK deal and court case was COD
Re: DOOM: The Dark Ages To Be Announced At Xbox's Showcase, Claims New 'Exclusive'
Really hope this is true. Should be something pretty special.
Re: Review: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Xbox): An Incredible Spectacle That Lacks An Essential Hook
Seems to be reviewing well, averaging 81% on Metacritic with a lot of the top reviews being from multi format sites. Think there was always going to be a slightly divisive element to this one. Looking forward to giving it a go.
Re: Talking Point: Is Sarah Bond Hinting At Eventually Moving Away From Xbox Hardware?
Working really hard here to encourage and get a few clicks off the doomlords who believe they’re going to quite hardware 😆
Re: Xbox Doubles Down On Highly Ambitious Plans For Next-Gen Hardware
@Grumblevolcano
Buying a Sony or Nintendo platform to get Xbox exclusives would only make sense if all Xbox exclusives were on those platforms. However they aren’t and there is no sign of such a thing happening.
Re: Xbox Doubles Down On Highly Ambitious Plans For Next-Gen Hardware
Good to hear. Personally I’m sceptical about how big the leap will actually be but they’re clearly planning on releasing new hardware, despite some of the bizarre claims elsewhere that they’re leaving the hardware business.
Re: Xbox's New Microsoft Rewards Quest Gives You 1000+ Points Per-Month
@Th3_Highlander @Lowcut
Thanks 😊
Re: Xbox's New Microsoft Rewards Quest Gives You 1000+ Points Per-Month
What’s the maximum you can get in a month now? Is it enough to pay for GPU?