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[Sinfulgore]

If you listened clearly to how Phil spoke on this, you’ll note he referred to “places” and xbox not being first, and “winning” or not.

He also said that even an 11/10 Starfield wouldn’t lead to a shift of console ownership and people “selling their PS5s”.

This latter point is to me exactly the problem with MS and Xbox. Xbox set the conditions for a win - console dominance - and have failed on their own terms.

There is no need for anyone to sell anything - any company interested in making money from gaming just has to get the content out there, and MS has more ways of doing that today than they’ve ever had.

Yet Phil referred to people selling their PS5s. That was his reference to “winning”. Not people buying an xbox or even just buying an MGS game - he specifically said selling their PS5.

If MS had set up xbox as a division interested in peaceful coexistence with the rest of the gaming marketplace, they’d be in a uniquely powerful position today - they’d be set to host all the major game content on their cloud service going forward. They could and should be making deals with Sony, Nintendo and the major 3P publishers to host all that content and take a slice of their action.

Instead, they’re trying to put other first parties out of business while coercing customers to their services through acquisition. That’s what winning means for xbox - dominance. And that’s why their most vocal cheerleaders are obsessed with console warring.

Technically there are "places" obviously. You can take the total hardware sales of PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch consoles and list that number from highest to lowest. My point was that this metric is meaningless and only fanboys care about it, which sometimes include Microsoft and Sony employees.

Maybe in the past but current Xbox doesn't care about console dominance, they wouldn't release their first-party games day and date on PC if they did. Current Xbox is all about profits and you can make way more money on subscriptions like game pass than selling new hardware every 5-7 years. Microsoft is clearly working on building a game pass library, with all these acquisitions, so when Xcloud is ready to release to the public it will have every game a casual gamer would want to play. Sony and Nintendo would never make deals with Microsoft to host their content and there is nothing Microsoft could do to put Sony or Nintendo out of business. We finally live in a time where Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are three unique platforms and not just three flavors of the same thing. It actually makes sense for someone to have a switch lite for offline portable gaming/access to Nintendo's games, a Playstation 5 as your main console, and be a member of Gamepass Ultimate. Gone are the days when you to have pick a side yet for some reason the console war mentality still exists.

Most, if not virtually all, major companies care about being #1 or at the very least making as many sales as they possibly can.

And for the rare few that don’t for some bizarre reason, you can be rest assured the shareholders do.

Regardless, it’s a stupid thing for a major representative of a company to say out loud. I never heard of the CEO of Dairy Queen admitting they‘ll never reach the sales of McDonald’s or Burger King. Bad PR is, well, BAD.

Being #1 and making as many sales as possible are two entirely different things. Being #1 is a meaningless metric, especially in this context where we are talking about products at different price levels, the cheapest Switch is half the cost of the cheapest PS5 for example. All major companies care about is profits because it's not a fair comparison to compare the sales of two entirely different products like a PS5 and a Nintendo Switch.

I do agree that it's not the kind of thing a company should say in public but I would have assumed what he said was common sense. PlayStation is a much bigger brand than Xbox worldwide and with Xbox being split into two platforms(PC & Console), the Xbox will never have the market share of Playstation or Nintendo just like MacOS will never reach the market share of Windows.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Yet Phil referred to people selling their PS5s. That was his reference to “winning”. Not people buying an xbox or even just buying an MGS game - he specifically said selling their PS5.

This definitely made me think about how he could have said it differently.

He definitely could have said "buy an Xbox" to access our exclusives. Which sounds a less worse for the competition.

To get someone to sell their PS5s you need to take away the reason why they bought the console in the first place. For those of us that enjoy Sony 1st party games that would probably will never happen. Just like there are those of us that buy Nintendo games just for 1st party games. But for those that enjoy 3rd party titles that could be a problem if they are taken away.

Not going to much into this but I remember they said something about making Sony like Nintendo. Basically making the playstation a platform that people buy just for 1st party games. I dont like this at all if this is their plan.

 

[sachos]

I’ve listened to the whole thing so it’s not like I‘m missing context: He outright said that he doesn’t believe Xbox will out console their competitors even if Xbox makes great games.

How is that NOT admitting defeat? Especially when the history of this industry is full of examples that prove him wrong?

This is what is happening to me too, feels like im being gaslighted. I keep reading some people saying that "people are taking Phil out of context", i've went and watched the segment a couple of times more. I can not see how it does NOT at the very least look bad.
The most glaring thing to me is that the interviewer actually only asked about Xbox consoles and what would they be doing with them going forward and Phil instead of talking about his platform goes on to talk about everything else out of nowhere.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This has been exhausting.....

I think there is a good chance MS ends up in a pretty positive light by the end of the year.

Starfield doesn't need 60FPS or even a pristine performance; based on Bethesda's track record, they have been able to achieve gaming culture-defining games with Fallout and Skyrim. (this is exactly what xbox needs).


forza...it should be a great game. High 80s,
even '90s on Meta is quite feasible.

and of course Hellblade 2. the "cinematic" amazing graphics should achieve 80s on meta as well.

three big games in span of time of about 6 months.

if MS is able to do that. is going to shutdown all if this negativity.

 

[sachos]

 

[MasterCornholio]

Gamepass fan?

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

This has been exhausting.....

I think there is a good chance MS ends up in a pretty positive light by the end of the year.

Starfield doesn't need 60FPS or even a pristine performance; based on Bethesda's track record, they have been able to achieve gaming culture-defining games with Fallout and Skyrim. (this is exactly what xbox needs).


forza...it should be a great game. High 80s,
even '90s on Meta is quite feasible.

and of course Hellblade 2. the "cinematic" amazing graphics should achieve 80s on meta as well.

three big games in span of time of about 6 months.

if MS is able to do that. is going to shutdown all if this negativity.

Lots of assumptions here and things would need to go pretty perfectly for what you are describing to happen

But certainly on the rare chance that it does play out that way it would give them some great momentum

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Lots of assumptions here and things would need to go pretty perfectly for what you are describing to happen

But certainly on the rare chance that it does play out that way it would give them some great momentum

well, that is the assumption. if MS is not even able to deliver on those 3 games in a span of 6 months.....fuck them....fuck them gooooood.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

well, that is the assumption. if MS is not even able to deliver on those 3 games in a span of 6 months.....fuck them....fuck them gooooood.

It’s concerning that they considered Starfield to be much earlier in development than Redfall

I dunno, I got a feeling it’s gonna get pushed, and if not, it could be another cyberpunk fiasco

 

[kungfuian]

I think Xbox console gamers are just having a hard time coming to terms with the reality that they are no longer at the center of Microsoft's gaming ambitions. The writing has been on the wall for some time and seems pretty obvious to those paying attention. Many of us have been saying it for a long time but it usually comes off or is taken as console war Fanboy nonsense.

The whole thing reminds me of how everyone reacted when Nintendo went the direction they did with the Wii instead of continuing to compete with Microsoft and Sony directly. This is just the first time Microsoft is coming out and being more honest with their console gamers, and I think it's a reality check for people who have been deluding themselves into some other scenario.

Plain and simple, the console market is very competitive, with well-established market leaders, and has two small of an install base to reach the goals they have for their cheap easy access cloud subscription service.

I would expect to see them even further untether their success from the console space over the coming years; which from a traditional perspective is going to look like they lost the console war. But I just think this is them finally going their own way.

As far as Phil's comments regarding high quality games he isn't necessarily wrong although it comes off as him saying that good games don't matter and given their current situation has very bad optics. I honestly don't think that's what he was trying to say and in context stating that a few good games aren't going to make a huge difference in the console space is correct.

If you're a gamer who plays on the Xbox platforms it's time to start being realistic about the future of their platform. All the Doom and gloom aside I honestly think it will be interesting to see what comes of it when they are no longer trying to directly compete in a space they've been getting their ass kicked in for such a very long time.

 

[Stare-Bear]

MS have been poor since the later stages of 360

Guess who became head of game studios around that time?

 

[MasterCornholio]

Lots of assumptions here and things would need to go pretty perfectly for what you are describing to happen

But certainly on the rare chance that it does play out that way it would give them some great momentum

That would be pretty great for them. However it remains to be seen how many systems they will push. Regardless having three great games is never a bad thing.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

It’s concerning that they considered Starfield to be much earlier in development than Redfall

I dunno, I got a feeling it’s gonna get pushed, and if not, it could be another cyberpunk fiasco

After this month of catastrophic PR the Xbox brand is in a worse position than it was back in 2013 (at least they had games).

Right now xbox is as worth as a turd in the street. Until the showcase happens; Xbox is in free-fall.

If playstation has a showcase around the same time +- 2 weeks. and they display their big dick with mind blowing gameplay...

...Fucking Bill Gates himself must go to Bethesda and code the game himself to guarantee this year's release.

i don't think Xbox fans can resist much longer...the brand is in life support.

 

[[Sigma]]

First off, FACTS!!! Secondly and sadly, Gamepass fan seems to be a real thing.

 

[gypsygib]

They almost beat Sony in the 360 generation because they had by far the best games but tripped over themselves with RROD, repeated broken replacements, and lack of value from Xbox Gold.

Me and all my friends got fed up and just switched to PS3 afterwards as busing it to Purolator was costing us an hours wage at the time. I still bought a remodeled 360 (forgot the name, the black cool looking angular one) because I loved Gears, Halo, Fable, and Mass Effect.

Then they stopped focusing on games and went all in with Kinect, let their series slide by losing their biggest developers to EA and Activision, and stopped innovating with new IPs. Everyone went PS4 without a second thought after Kinect and pay to play online while sony was giving games away. Then went PS5 or stopped playing games, or in my case, got into PC gaming.

Sony copied their playbook by the end of the 360 gen because it worked so well while MS focused on a device that had less control than a dpad.

 

[ProtoByte]

I watched the full interview with Jaffe's commentary. I'd read and watched the exerpts everyone else had before, but getting the full thing and seeing Spencer's demeanor was something else. Not that the words themselves aren't astonishing.

Jaffe tore Spencer a new one. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[Banjo64]

Did he invested in MS stocks too?

The King doesn’t need to entertain the peasants.

 

[Heisenberg007]

After this month of catastrophic PR the Xbox brand is in a worse position than it was back in 2013 (at least they had games).

Right now xbox is as worth as a turd in the street. Until the showcase happens; Xbox is in free-fall.

If playstation has a showcase around the same time +- 2 weeks. and they display their big dick with mind blowing gameplay...

...Fucking Bill Gates himself must go to Bethesda and code the game himself to guarantee this year's release.

i don't think Xbox fans can resist much longer...the brand is in life support.

This is actually an interesting thought. What should Sony do (from their POV) to go for the kill?

1. Wait for Xbox to have their Showcase first. Then bring out their Showcase and show games like Death Stranding 2 and Spider-Man 2 and TLOU Online that looks way better than whatever Xbox has shown. (this is what Sony has usually done recently)
2. Or ... go first. Show Spider-Man 2 mindblowing gameplay footage and announce a September release date. This will force Microsoft to release Starfield in September. And if Starfield is broken and not ready for a release, that can get Sony another Redfall and another massive win.

I was with strategy #1 until now. But now I think strategy #2 actually makes more sense.

Phil just said that Starfield was even earlier on in production than Redfall, so there is a VERY high probability that it is even more broken and unpolished than Redfall.

What is everybody's thoughts on that?

 

[ProtoByte]

He also didn’t really give Sony credit for why they are as successful as they are

He passed it off as them always making exclusive deals when he went out and bought Bethesda for $7B to take away from PlayStation which is way bigger than any of the timed (or non timed) deals Sony does

So hypocritical of him as usual, and seemingly can’t admit that the primary reason they are in their position is great exclusive games from their own first party rather than these side deals

Yep. As "honest" and "candid" as people are taking Phil to be here, it genuinely seems like he's not being honest with himself.

The fact is that Microsoft has signed just as many, if not more exclusivity deals, and some of those games actually suffered in the long or short terms for it. The 360's early lead can be credited in large part to moneyhats.

The fact is that 30% of PS5 owners did not own a PS5. That is because Sony has built up a reputation for producing great games. The idea that the "digital library" is some massive wall that can't be overcome now, and couldn't have been preempted over the last 10 years is ridiculous.

 

[FeralEcho]

As someone who loves all 3 console makers and have utterly enjoyed my tine as a series S owner especially because of their BC initiative all I can Say is Holy fucking shit at this interview.He sounds fucking broken, there's no optimism in his voice or words. I am genuinely worried for the future of gaming seeing shit like this from one of the camps.Playstation has always been a powerhouse in the gaming landscape because of the competition Xbox or Nintendo(less so) gave them.With Xbox not pushing hard for high end experiences I feel PlayStation will stop trying so hard and get comfortable doing the same experiences over and over again or veer into money grabbing GAAS games ugh

Remember the PS3 days and how Sony turned that generation all around after Xbox bodied them in the begining of the gen,they focused on great experiences and fantastic new IPs and turned the mindshare around. That's the mentality Xbox needs to have right now but Phil seems to miss.Sure Starfield being a "11 out of 10" game might not make PS5 only owners sell their console to get an Xbox but 10 Starfields of the same quality would make PS5 owners ADD an Xbox to their collection.

Amazing games do sell consoles,you just need more than 1 every 2 or 3 years Phil.To me it's absolutely sad to see him basically say we ain't even trying anymore.What the actual fuck is going on. It also makes me really worried for their current projects If thats the faith he has in his own brand.Insane interview.

 

[MasterCornholio]

As someone who loves all 3 console makers and have utterly enjoyed my tine as a series S owner especially because of their BC initiative all I can Say is Holy fucking shit at this interview.He sounds fucking broken, there's no optimism in his voice or words. I am genuinely worried for the future of gaming seeing shit like this from one of the camps.Playstation has always been a powerhouse in the gaming landscape because of the competition Xbox or Nintendo(less so) gave them.With Xbox not pushing hard for high end experiences I feel PlayStation will stop trying so hard and get comfortable doing the same experiences over and over again or veer into money grabbing GAAS games ugh

Remember the PS3 days and how Sony turned that generation all around after Xbox bodied them in the begining of the gen,they focused on great experiences and fantastic new IPs and turned the mindshare around. That's the mentality Xbox needs to have right now but Phil seems to miss.Sure Starfield being a "11 out of 10" game might not make PS5 only owners sell their console to get an Xbox but 10 Starfields of the same quality would make PS5 owners ADD an Xbox to their collection.

Amazing games do sell consoles,you just need more than 1 every 2 or 3 years Phil.To me it's absolutely sad to see him basically say we ain't even trying anymore.What the actual fuck is going on. It also makes me really worried for their current projects If thats the faith he has in his own brand.Insane interview.

I'm not really worried about Sony because they have been in a really bad spot before and learned from their experience. Also they probably are looking at what the competition is doing and learning from them as well.

If anything Sony still recognizes the importance of having good games and I don't think they will throw that away. They know what does and doesn't work when it comes to selling hardware.

 

[emivita]

This is actually an interesting thought. What should Sony do (from their POV) to go for the kill?

1. Wait for Xbox to have their Showcase first. Then bring out their Showcase and show games like Death Stranding 2 and Spider-Man 2 and TLOU Online that looks way better than whatever Xbox has shown. (this is what Sony has usually done recently)
2. Or ... go first. Show Spider-Man 2 mindblowing gameplay footage and announce a September release date. This will force Microsoft to release Starfield in September. And if Starfield is broken and not ready for a release, that can get Sony another Redfall and another massive win.

I was with strategy #1 until now. But now I think strategy #2 actually makes more sense.

Phil just said that Starfield was even earlier on in production than Redfall, so there is a VERY high probability that it is even more broken and unpolished than Redfall.

What is everybody's thoughts on that?

Go with strategy #2 to simply show confidence of what it's gonna be shown. Gamers will immediately acknowledge that. Thirst for games is real now and their showcase especially if first would have a LOT of eyes.

 

[Serouj2000]

From "we hear the players, games are coming, i promise, yeah absolutely promise, we gonna do games, just wait, give us time, promise you guys, trust me bro"
to " even if we had great games, it wouldnt to anything "


xDDDDD
hope he gets yeeeeted the fuck out and replaced by someone who actually cares. what the fuck.

To be fair, the only two consoles that had a turn around due to great exclusives are the PS3 and 3DS.
Everyone else, where do I even begin.
Wii U? No dice.
Gamecube? Nuh-uh.
Dreamcast? Dream on.
OG Xbox? Go home, MS. You're drunk.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

This is actually an interesting thought. What should Sony do (from their POV) to go for the kill?

“Kill”? I hope they really don’t think in those terms. They’re way ahead in hardware sales and have been for the previous gen, too. They’ve just achieved a hardware sales record. Their console is finally on shelves pretty much everywhere. They have the best exclusives on the market as far as production values go. Plenty of highly desirable games are already guaranteed to come, more will be announced before the summer. At this point Sony doesn’t even have to make an effort. There’s realistically nothing they should worry about. 2023 is set in stone. Kicking Xbox while it’s down would not change things.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This is actually an interesting thought. What should Sony do (from their POV) to go for the kill?

1. Wait for Xbox to have their Showcase first. Then bring out their Showcase and show games like Death Stranding 2 and Spider-Man 2 and TLOU Online that looks way better than whatever Xbox has shown. (this is what Sony has usually done recently)
2. Or ... go first. Show Spider-Man 2 mindblowing gameplay footage and announce a September release date. This will force Microsoft to release Starfield in September. And if Starfield is broken and not ready for a release, that can get Sony another Redfall and another massive win.

I was with strategy #1 until now. But now I think strategy #2 actually makes more sense.

Phil just said that Starfield was even earlier on in production than Redfall, so there is a VERY high probability that it is even more broken and unpolished than Redfall.

What is everybody's thoughts on that?

Going last is always better, you could react and shuffle/save things to craft the most powerful/effective messaging.

is not like Sony has no pressure at all; people are expecting something similar to the live orchestra E3 presentation.

but going first could be interpreted as a sign of confidence...Sony is in such a powerful position that I don't think either option is going to make a significant difference (for them) in other words: Sony is competing with itself.

Now....if I remember correctly, in the first PS5 Showcase ever. What was the first game we saw?......GTA V. (I remember thinking "this is kind of weird")

Rumors said Sony was seeking Starfield exclusivity as well.

we know Silent Hill and FFXVI/VII have exclusivity

there are rumors about some kind of exclusive Metal Gear, marketing deal with Mortal Kombat and we can assume just how successful and big was Hogwarts's marketing and exclusive content for Play Station.

don't you find quite interesting how Phil keeps bringing these deals everytime he talks?....i just wonder if sony is actually going to pull off some kind of exclusivity with GTA VI.

 

[DenchDeckard]

How long has Pepsi been battling coca cola? Has Pepsi ever won?

Are they successful in not being number one?

Also, the blind taste test we all know what's better.

 

[Crayon]

How long has Pepsi been battling coca cola? Has Pepsi ever won?

Are they successful in not being number one?

Also, the blind taste test we all know what's better.

RC Cola. Best deal in cola.

 

[Exede]

I mean... i have nothing against a world where MS makes the hardware and Nintendo the software for a system

 

[Ar¢tos]

“Kill”? I hope they really don’t think in those terms. They’re way ahead in hardware sales and have been for the previous gen, too. They’ve just achieved a hardware sales record. Their console is finally on shelves pretty much everywhere. They have the best exclusives on the market as far as production values go. Plenty of highly desirable games are already guaranteed to come, more will be announced before the summer. At this point Sony doesn’t even have to make an effort. There’s realistically nothing they should worry about. 2023 is set in stone. Kicking Xbox while it’s down would not change things.

Yes, it's actually the perfect opportunity to internally delay games for extra polish or to have something to release "in case of emergency" later.
Spider-Man + 3rd party exclusives will carry them this year.

 

[Moses85]

He should take his Hat immi.

This was a declaration of bankruptcy for the brand.

 

[Banjo64]

How long has Pepsi been battling coca cola? Has Pepsi ever won?

Are they successful in not being number one?

Also, the blind taste test we all know what's better.

Pepsi co’s revenue in 2021 was $80b compared to Coke’s $40b - but just the cola soft drinks, yeah Coke kicks Pepsi’s ass. So a similar story to MS and Sony really.

 

[hyperbertha]

We don't miss anything.

Microsoft wants a lot of things, but it seems like they won't get any of it, that's what you don't understand.

Their consoles are not selling.
Their gamepass is not selling.
Their massive Activision takeover got blocked.
Their own leader Phil Spencer is looking defeated and even said that we might not see him for long.

I didn't deny any of those things. And do you speak for the entirety of gaf? Lot of people are saying they should go back to focusing on first party games, which means they are indeed missing ms's true intentions.

 

[Banjo64]

I mean... i have nothing against a world where MS makes the hardware and Nintendo the software for a system

I do. The thought of MS’s monopolistic, bland, creatively-bankrupt tendrils wrapping themselves around beautiful, joyful, passion-filled Nintendo makes me feel sick.

Mario Infinite when?

 

[Banjo64]

I do. The thought of MS’s monopolistic, bland, creatively-bankrupt tendrils wrapping themselves around beautiful, joyful, passion-filled Nintendo makes me feel sick.

Mario Infinite when?

In fact I’m 100% in the opposite direction. I’ll never own another Xbox but stick a native port of Sea of Thieves, Grounded and MCC on Switch 2 and I’ll buy that shit day one.

 

[Withnail]

Explain, why doesn't any company want to be in third place? What does being in third place even mean?

That's great for you but most companies don't care about being #1 in their field because it's a meaningless metric and in most cases it's unachievable.

It’s called opportunity cost. It’s higher for MS than it is for Nintendo or Sony because gaming is such a small part of the MS business compared to the money they make on cloud and enterprise software. MS needs to dominate to make it worthwhile.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Going last is always better, you could react and shuffle/save things to craft the most powerful/effective messaging.

is not like Sony has no pressure at all; people are expecting something similar to the live orchestra E3 presentation.

but going first could be interpreted as a sign of confidence...Sony is in such a powerful position that I don't think either option is going to make a significant difference (for them) in other words: Sony is competing with itself.

Now....if I remember correctly, in the first PS5 Showcase ever. What was the first game we saw?......GTA V. (I remember thinking "this is kind of weird")

Rumors said Sony was seeking Starfield exclusivity as well.

we know Silent Hill and FFXVI/VII have exclusivity

there are rumors about some kind of exclusive Metal Gear, marketing deal with Mortal Kombat and we can assume just how successful and big was Hogwarts's marketing and exclusive content for Play Station.

don't you find quite interesting how Phil keeps bringing these deals everytime he talks?....i just wonder if sony is actually going to pull off some kind of exclusivity with GTA VI.

Yeah true. Especially considering GTA 6 is going to be next-gen exclusive. How much PS5 is dominating the XBS, 60% of which is already Series S which harder to developer for a big game like this, I can totally see that happening.

And to be honest, that would be the biggest response for Bethesda/Zenimax/Starfield: no baggage, no risk, no spending $7.5 billion, but an exclusivity deal on a very safe game that would carry them throughout this generation.

From Sony's POV, if Rockstar and Take 2 actually agree on this, that'd be the best move forward.

 

[Heisenberg007]

In fact I’m 100% in the opposite direction. I’ll never own another Xbox but stick a native port of Sea of Thieves, Grounded and MCC on Switch 2 and I’ll buy that shit day one.

Get a Steam Deck like me / or ROG Ally. That seems like the best middle-ground solution for everything: Steam games, PC games, Xbox games, PS5 remote play, emulation for retro games, and portability. $399 only.

 

[Poltz]

If I bought a Series X over a PS5 at launch I would be LIVID.

 

[GigaBowser]

Master Chief was my role model

 

[mcjmetroid]

Jesus Christ could you imagine if Reggie came out and said this or Jim Ryan.

 

[rofif]

Microsoft doing well has ONLY made Sony be better. Anyone crossing their fingers to see them fail is daft beyond help.

Sony has always been my main console since 1995. But I've always made a point to support Xbox. I'm old enough to have been with them at their absolute cockiest and it's pretty easy to draw a lot of parallels to those days.

With an $800 CAD VR2 , a Premium subscription that is loaded with "buyers remorse" afflicted subscribers, every major exclusive being a 3rd person action game with a lesbian in it, their total lack of effort with State of Play presentations (remember the PS4 E3 presentations?!) ....

I'm always wishing for a stronger positioned Xbox.

I prefer more expensive ps stuff rather than having to buy another console, keep it hooked up and support with games.
Xbox can die already. It’s a sad twitching corpse since Xbox one days and it only reminds me of 360.
It serves nobody now to have exclusives on a failed console that nobody wants.

 

[Puskas]

I dunno know, Philly. Good games do sell consoles.

The only reason I even bought a XB1S was beacuse of FH3. Poured over 320h into it so I was happy with my purchase.

Shame that neither FH4 or 5 was interesting enough for me to get a Series X.

 

[rofif]

We don't miss anything.

Microsoft wants a lot of things, but it seems like they won't get any of it, that's what you don't understand.

Their consoles are not selling.
Their gamepass is not selling.
Their massive Activision takeover got blocked.
Their own leader Phil Spencer is looking defeated and even said that we might not see him for long.

Lol he even said that he earns too much money. Like what the hell. What kinda of move is that

 

[Heisenberg007]

“Kill”? I hope they really don’t think in those terms. They’re way ahead in hardware sales and have been for the previous gen, too. They’ve just achieved a hardware sales record. Their console is finally on shelves pretty much everywhere. They have the best exclusives on the market as far as production values go. Plenty of highly desirable games are already guaranteed to come, more will be announced before the summer. At this point Sony doesn’t even have to make an effort. There’s realistically nothing they should worry about. 2023 is set in stone. Kicking Xbox while it’s down would not change things.

But direct competition in any business is usually a zero-sum game. A single-console-owner who picks Xbox will not be picking PlayStation, and vice versa.

Sony will try to decrease Xbox market share as much as it can, because it'd directly benefit their business and shareholders. If they missed these opportunities, that'll instead of a negative impact, no matter how small. But as we saw during the PS3 generation, complacency can quickly snowball into massive generation-long setbacks.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Go with strategy #2 to simply show confidence of what it's gonna be shown. Gamers will immediately acknowledge that. Thirst for games is real now and their showcase especially if first would have a LOT of eyes.

True, makes sense. At this point, gamers really are thirsty for seeing more current-gen exclusive games. But going 1st often means the thunder gets stolen (or at least the news and media mindshare) when the other company shows their content a week or two later.

 

[Kumomeme]

This has been exhausting.....

I think there is a good chance MS ends up in a pretty positive light by the end of the year.

Starfield doesn't need 60FPS or even a pristine performance; based on Bethesda's track record, they have been able to achieve gaming culture-defining games with Fallout and Skyrim. (this is exactly what xbox needs).


forza...it should be a great game. High 80s,
even '90s on Meta is quite feasible.

and of course Hellblade 2. the "cinematic" amazing graphics should achieve 80s on meta as well.

three big games in span of time of about 6 months.

if MS is able to do that. is going to shutdown all if this negativity.

i believe they still has chances too.

not to overtake Sony but to change their current standings to much better one, in good way. a great position that still can earn them big recognizable spot in market and industry.

however it is depend on how they steer the course of their ship from this very moment on.

 

[rofif]

Seriously, can people shut up about PC detracting development efforts or console experiences? It is unsurprisingly not the case at all when it comes to game development, and usually there is quite heavy PC development inherently to the development of the console version, because surprise surprise you can't actually "develop" on a console.

PC is doing nothing to the console industry, it is quite literally an easy moneygrab with no effort but competent technical support from the developers. To think it is causing reduced development or distractions to consoles is very myopic in view, as is evidence of all platforms selling well despite supporting PC (except Nintendo). It is ridiculous to think Xbox is suffering because of PC, as it is very much a side piece that plays well into the development cycles and naturally works with Microsoft/Windows.

It's why Game Pass is a fucking good idea, and should not be reduced to scraps of titles released months after their main release window. It's a digital library service to convince people that they can safely switch platforms (and retain the old platform so choosing) without losing too many games. That's the entire reason behind Game Pass, it's a digital carrot on a stick to reduce the impact of switching to a new platform that you may not have titles on.

It's why I agree and disagree with Phil in his mentioning of losing the initial digital console era. While yes they did lose the PS4/Xbone era technically, Game Pass is that solution to providing a digital wallet of games at a snap of the fingers. Doesn't matter where you play, you are in their ecosystem. It's why I won't go back to PlayStation anytime soon, because I don't have the laundry list of titles like I do on Xbox with Game Pass.

Oh pc and other console versions absolutely detract from development. You can’t seriously don’t think that.
Taking dev time away, focus away, more money for more versions, tons of qa, cut for steam, no sub money.

 

[BlackTron]

I thought the thread title was hyperbolic, but holy moly, content it's somehow worse.

Why buy so many studios then? To close them?

Kinda, yes lol. MS is famous for this shit.

 

[Dcr1d3r]

Xbox division has been in free fall since Peter Moore left....you don't even hear from Aaron greenberg anymore!

 

[Bernardougf]

No you don't understand my point. When Microsoft isn't doing well , Sony is more likely to do things that take advantage of their consumer "loyalty". The effort Sony makes to make customers happy is far stronger when there is healthy competition in their wheelhouse.

I'm not advocating for Sony to become Microsoft. They sure aren't perfect. I want a very healthy Microsoft (and I'll support them) to keep a Sony I don't get continually frustrated with.

Nintendo has an monopoly on the handheld market right now (excluding steamdeck) specially in Japan go ask nintendo fans if they like nintendo or not .... ps2 was basically a monopoly either and it was the biggest and one of the better consoles to date.......Microsoft is alaways the one pushing bullshit, DRM with xbox one and now this SHIT GAMEPASS model made to flood us with mediocre games and to brake the industry but not them, sony made a ps3 too expensive because they invested in bluray and a complex technology and people to this day cry about that but forget that in the same generation we had freaking RrOD and people buying 3 xboxs to play their games, and sony course correct really fast pumping out games after games, ps4 was a beast of a machine dominating the market since the start and the games just kept on coming, no change in their attitude.. and behold we have the ps5 and nothing changed either even though ps4 was practically the dominant console equal to ps2... so stop this bullshit narrative that we need MS to keep sony in check .. fuck that.. we need MS to stop trying to change the fucking industry .. i personally want them far and gone from my hobby with their shit monopolistic cloud/subscription cancer ideas .. leave nintendo and playstation and especially our hobbie the fuck alone .. the xbox 360 was the last gaming hardware from MS since them they want and envision something else and they can surelly die alone in this hill... the interview of Phil Spencer says it all ...