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[FrankWza]

As usual the same rules don't apply.

They don't. Nothing is stopping xbox from doing this. They just don't want to. PlayStation and Nintendo can't buy Activision because they aren't backed by microsoft. This has been discussed a million times. This isn't a 1:1 situation and there's no hypocrisy. The question you should be asking is, why doesn't Phil do these deals?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I think he's actually 100% correct. People do have a ton of their digital library in the PlayStation ecosystem and for most normies the switching cost (since they won't buy both) is too great.

Xbox had the most influential games of that generation (Halo). Had a solid cadence of great releases. Was so distant behind the PS2 it was laughable.

The only way Xbox gets momentum back in the console space is to release a year ahead of Sony, and accept coming in $100 more to keep the console comparable from a performance perspective and giving them room to cut later on.

that is the wrong mentality.

The only thing that matters is to produce Great AAA Games at a constant fashion.

 

[Max_Po]

They don't. Nothing is stopping xbox from doing this. They just don't want to. PlayStation and Nintendo can't buy Activision because they aren't backed by microsoft. This has been discussed a million times. This isn't a 1:1 situation and there's no hypocrisy. The question you should be asking is, why doesn't Phil do these deals?

its been 9 years, clearly Phil is full of shit and has no eye for potential.

he just wants what is selling big ... removed from other platforms and only on xbox so he can dance in his underpants to the upper managment and looks like a winner.

There is fucking 0 innovative idea in this guys bones and a few weeks ago he was offering COD on 10 year deals.

Seriously, the interview is a slap in the face of Legit Xbox fans. Their portfolio of acquired studios is much bigger than SONY at this point and he is saying that making good games won't matter. The upper management should immediately replace him and Aaron Greenberg.

 

[Oppoi]

I have nothing to add I just enjoyed the promenade through this thead so much I had to write something. ^^ xoxo xbox I guess haha

 

[Captain Toad]

Instead of buying Activision for 70b, they could have spent 1b on each to get 1 year exclusivity and be on gamepass for all these: Hogwarts, FF16, Elden Ring, and other AAA games I'm forgetting that made an impact.

You want them to spend a billion dollars for a year of exclusivity for each game?

I think the AB deal has made people forget how much money a billion dollars is.

 

[Fredrik]

But hasn't that whole thing been disproven by the statistics of people that actually use backward compatible games? Most people don't want to play their library, they want new games. The whole "They already have a digital library" feels like a red herring to me. Granted I can't find any newer studies but I can't imagine the landscape has significantly changed. https://www.vg247.com/new-study-finds-that-gamers-dont-really-use-backwards-compatibility

No statistics at least among my friends staying in the same ecosystem is the norm.

And I don’t understand the reasoning.

One friend was absolutely devastated when he heard that MS bought Bethesda because it’s his favorite dev. Still bought a PS5. What’s weirder is that he’s not even playing most of Sony’s games, mostly play FIFA and NHL. Why not just buy a Xbox?

Another friend hate first person games and love third person action adventures, still bought a Xbox and gets angry and frustrated every time I talk about a Sony 3rd person game. Why not just buy a PS?

I understand that it can be too expensive to have multiple consoles but why choose the wrong one?

 

[Rentahamster]

Why did he frame it as "no one's going to sell their PS5 if Starfall is an 11/10"? I'm sure a lot of people are more than happy buying both consoles.

 

[ADiTAR]

You want them to spend a billion dollars for a year of exclusivity for each game?

I think the AB deal has made people forget how much money a billion dollars is.

The point was it would have benefited them way more spending money on exclusivity deals than one franchise.

 

[Fredrik]

That's likely not true.

How so? Much bigger userbase, more positive PR and tone on social, could even try to make it run on last gen consoles too and the next Nintendo console for the ultimate userbase.

Same thing with Starfield and the next The Elder Scrolls. I don’t think MS and Bethesda understand the consequences from what they’re doing.

And we’ll see the downsides of exclusivity very soon, at the Starfield Direct and later launch. Warriors will work overtime defending or trying to find and highlight every negative there is. Fans could just play and enjoy their game but will spend more time than they want just listening to warriors throwing shit at each others favorite games and plastics. No crystal ball needed, it’s always like that, has already started. The idea that they’ll reach more players through exclusivity and cloud or whatever is a pipe dream. They’ll reach less players and more people will be negative.

 

[Topher]

They don't. Nothing is stopping xbox from doing this. They just don't want to. PlayStation and Nintendo can't buy Activision because they aren't backed by microsoft. This has been discussed a million times. This isn't a 1:1 situation and there's no hypocrisy. The question you should be asking is, why doesn't Phil do these deals?

In the face of a two trillion dollar company that attempts to buy big publishers in the billions, buying exclusives a game at a time really does seem quite tame, doesn't it? Personally I despise moneyhatting exclusives regardless of who does it. Folks like oldergamer really do not care as long as Microsoft benefits. It is bizarre and sad.

 

[JTCx]

Why did he frame it as "no one's going to sell their PS5 if Starfall is an 11/10"? I'm sure a lot of people are more than happy buying both consoles.

because he's a console warrior.

 

[OuterLimits]

I can feel my team played better, but if the scoreboard says the other team scored more points, my team didn't win.

It was remarkable that Sony almost came in dead last that generation after such a dominant lead the PS2 had. Plus, Sony was hemorrhaging cash in a large amount almost the entire generation. It was a brutal period for them. Personally though, I quite enjoyed the PS3 and the wide variety of games that Sony 1st party studios released. Especially later in the generation.

 

[Wimbledon]

I would like Microsoft to sell Halo to Sony, please. I at least want a company to attempt to make great games or set some standards. Heck give it to Nintendo, I'm getting tired of seeing subpar games out of Xbox and his comments are just so defeatist.

I couldn't careless about a console war i just want Microsoft to make great games, if that's not the focus for YOUR GAMING DIVISION. Then just sell the division, or at least your IPs to people who do care.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Really hard to predict that, who knows?

But looking at splits for FFXV where I can find them:

https://www.psu.com/news/final-fantasy-15-ps4-sales-stomp-all-over-the-xbox-one-version/

4-1 (PS4 vs Xbox One) first week in the UK.

https://www.gematsu.com/2016/12/media-create-sales-112816-12416

690k vs 4K first week in Japan.

So I can’t see how Xbox was doing much for the sales and that’s part of the reason why FFXVI is exclusive.

Yeah, I totally get the console exclusivity. It's not putting it on PC day one that has me confused. I'm interested to see how it does.

 

[ParaSeoul]

Pretty sure he's said this for years

 

[Astray]

Zenimax/Bethesda acquisition occurred mid 2021, that's last week in developer timeline and RedFall was already in production. The only thing Phil could've done differently in this situation was to delay the game, but that doesn't solve the drought.

He could have killed it, and it probably would have been a better use of time/resources.

As it stands, Redfall got released and we are all still in "wait for Starfield" mode.

 

[sendit]

He’s saying he can give you a Starfield with a Meta of 11 out of 10 and you’ll still go out and buy a PS5 pro instead of Xbox. Be honest to yourself and everyone else.

Nah, I would still buy it on PC. They gutted the Xbox consoles by doing day 1 releases on PC.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Why would dominating the market be more worthwhile than just being profitable? I guess it doesn't matter though since Microsoft already dominates the market since they own both Xbox and Windows.

Microsoft envisions a future where gaming profits are significantly higher and they want to be in control of that. They also want the world more reliant on Windows and Azure.

Xbox was always about getting windows into the living room, but now that the living room isn't as big a target as it once was, they're shifting priorities to the cloud. They missed local control of the mobile market, but they desperately want to be the backend of the cloud market.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Because the problem there is what if they make COD exclusive and because it’s only on Xbox the franchise takes a big hit? You might damage it forever. So Activision has to want to make that deal for starters.

Not the same scale but Rise of the Tomb Raider being Xbox One exclusive did a lot of damage to the franchise.

I think people ignore the brand cost of some exclusive deals. I'd never do a deal with a console with a limited user base.

Multiple examples. Sometimes it takes forever for an IP to recover and sometimes an IP never recovers or never gets off the ground as a result of these deals.

It's a really risky decision and fewer and fewer companies are willing to do it with Microsoft. That's what he is saying here. He knows he can't make the same deals as Sony with PS5 exclusivity.

If Sony starts its own PC Storefront, it'll run into somewhat similar resistance to deals for exclusivity on its store.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

They would get more money if a game like FF16 was on all platforms day 1 like Elden Ring and Hogwarts etc, and the IP wouldn’t be constantly used as a punching bag on social because a lot of that comes from people just not wanting to play the game on PS5.

These deals don't happen in a vacuum.

Square Enix will look at how much FF15 did on Xbox One and compare it to the user base on XSX/S and evaluate a likely range of revenue.

Sony takes a look at that and decides whether it can cover that.

Square Enix gets to pocket the money and focus on just the PlayStation rather than two console platforms (really 3 in this case).

One could argue that it limits growth, but you have to evaluate whether that growth potential is higher on PS5, so a more polished game will sell better versus if there is growth within the FF fandom on Xbox. Square has enough data on that to make a solid decision now.

FF13, FF15, FF7, FF7 Remaster, FFX/X-2 Remaster, FFXII, Crisis Core...

All of these games are data points to how viable FF is on Xbox.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I would like Microsoft to sell Halo to Sony, please. I at least want a company to attempt to make great games or set some standards. Heck give it to Nintendo, I'm getting tired of seeing subpar games out of Xbox and his comments are just so defeatist.

I couldn't careless about a console war i just want Microsoft to make great games, if that's not the focus for YOUR GAMING DIVISION. Then just sell the division, or at least your IPs to people who do care.

The combination of the failure of the Halo TV series as well as the ill-received release of Halo Infinite, Microsoft has damaged that franchise significantly.

You compare that to maybe God of War Ascension and Sony made the right call to outright reboot the franchise.

The problem for Halo is that a reboot/remake probably doesn't save it. The way online FPS are shifting the money isn't as much in single-player experiences and they already released the master chief collection. But that's really kind of where Xbox is when 3 title releases really define the entire Xbox legacy.

Because Sony successfully rebooted God of War, I could totally see them remake God of War 1-3 and even throwing in some content from the portable titles and Ascension. With the TV show, they kind of have a green field environment to play around with. Halo really dropped the ball with the TV show. I think maybe releasing an animated series on Netflix might be a way to kind of save face there, but it looks like they're doubling down with season 2 of the live action series.

 

[DenchDeckard]

These deals don't happen in a vacuum.

Square Enix will look at how much FF15 did on Xbox One and compare it to the user base on XSX/S and evaluate a likely range of revenue.

Sony takes a look at that and decides whether it can cover that.

Square Enix gets to pocket the money and focus on just the PlayStation rather than two console platforms (really 3 in this case).

One could argue that it limits growth, but you have to evaluate whether that growth potential is higher on PS5, so a more polished game will sell better versus if there is growth within the FF fandom on Xbox. Square has enough data on that to make a solid decision now.

FF13, FF15, FF7, FF7 Remaster, FFX/X-2 Remaster, FFXII, Crisis Core...

All of these games are data points to how viable FF is on Xbox.

But then they are also cutting off PC for launch day, that's potentially millions of sales.

This deal will not be cheap for Sony, but I think they are the next purchase for them anyway. It just makes sense. Square needs saving and trimmed all the fat. Sony can support them and deserve to, as long as they keep games coming to Nintendo platforms....Or they are probably fucked.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

But then they are also cutting off PC for launch day, that's potentially millions of sales.

This deal will not be cheap for Sony, but I think they are the next purchase for them anyway. It just makes sense. Square needs saving and trimmed all the fat. Sony can support them and deserve to, as long as they keep games coming to Nintendo platforms....Or they are probably fucked.

Square Enix knows their PC sales better than we do.

I agree that Sony will likely buy Square Enix, I just hate the idea of it. They aren't worth the price.

 

[vkbest]

I'm surprised media not talking about the serious implication he was talking about in the interview. When he said Starfield 11-10 game couldn't make to people selling their already bought PS5, show what is their strategy, buying companies to isolate competence.

 

[FrankWza]

In the face of a two trillion dollar company that attempts to buy big publishers in the billions, buying exclusives a game at a time really does seem quite tame, doesn't it? Personally I despise moneyhatting exclusives regardless of who does it. Folks like oldergamer really do not care as long as Microsoft benefits. It is bizarre and sad.

And you have to assume xbox will try again. They just seem to be more interested in putting their key in a door vs doing any kind of building themselves. But yeah, it's definitely tame by comparison. It's not without risks though. Ff16 and FFVII gets you a Forspoken.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I'm surprised media not talking about the serious implication he was talking about in the interview. When he said Starfield 11-10 game couldn't make to people selling their already bought PS5, show what is their strategy, buying companies to isolate competence.

And on top of that, he releases statements like this:

Xbox boss: Sony wants to ‘grow by making Xbox smaller’

Sony is trying to protect its dominance, says Phil Spencer.

www.theverge.com

 

[Sethbacca]

And on top of that, he releases statements like this:

Xbox boss: Sony wants to ‘grow by making Xbox smaller’

Sony is trying to protect its dominance, says Phil Spencer.

www.theverge.com

"Won't someone think of the multi trillion dollar corporationnnnnnn!!! WOE IS ME"

Honestly, it's the most pathetic shit i've ever seen from a CEO of a megacorp. It might work for a smaller company, but it's literally one of the world's largest companies. Try harder Phil.

 

[saintjules]

 

[DeepEnigma]

You have to admit, the 360 selling almost as much as PS3 (and the PS3 only caught up at the end of the generation) was a huge result after the original Xbox.

Phil Spencer is wrong, I think a great stream of games, a shared culture of excellence and cultivating the studios it already owns would gain them marketshare, after all, that's what Sony did during the PS3 era. However, that would be in a medium to long term and MS wants results now, which is pretty much impossible as they haven't earned it.

Anyway, it's not a surprise, they abandoned the Xbox as a console concept years ago and now it's merely a launchpad for services such as GamePass. If MS could put GamePass on PS and Nintendo, I'm not even sure they'd bother to launch a successor to the Xbox Series X/S.

Pretty much all of this. They will have another box, however, if they don't phase into third party. It's a launchpad for their services revenue they're not ready to give up on just yet.

 

[Caio]

No, it's easy. It's numbers. Wii sold the most. PS3 sold the second most. Xbox 360, while close to PS3, sold the least.

But 360 was the most popular in NA, and won there, it deserves to be mentioned Furthermore, Wii lost its "magic touch" starting from 2010, and going down like a rocket in 2011 and 2012; this also shold be mentioned So, it depends from the year, and Territory, Wii was not the most popular in all Territories and along the entire Gen.

 

[Topher]

Pretty much all of this. They will have another box, however, if they don't phase into third party. It's a launchpad for their services revenue they're not ready to give up on just yet.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm starting to think Series may be Microsoft's final foray into console gaming. They started this gen very gung-ho about Xbox Series, but hearing Phil Spencer suddenly pointing to Xbox One losing as the source of their continued problems making headway in market share and saying there is no "win" for them in consoles makes me think Microsoft is souring on that side of their gaming business, especially when they are losing $100 to $200 on each console sold. I think a lot of folks are right that Microsoft is now putting more Xbox hardware into cloud than they are producing units for sale. I mean.....notice how dismissive Phil Spencer was about improving the console experience for Xbox gamers before he went into his console war tirade. As if he just did not want to talk about his console at all. I don't know......the end of that interview could not have been what any Xbox console gamer wanted to hear.

 

[kurisu_1974]

Seems this character thinks that we need to sell our PS5 to enjoy a game on XBOX.

Does the guy know about the multiple HDMI ports on a TV set?

 

[FunkMiller]

Seems this character thinks that we need to sell our PS5 to enjoy a game on XBOX.

Does the guy know about the multiple HDMI ports on a TV set?

No, no. I have a Ps5 and a Series X, and I have to keep them in separate rooms otherwise they constantly try to attack each other.

 

[Thirty7ven]

(…)I don't know......the end of that interview could not have been what any Xbox console gamer wanted to hear.

Between a rock and a hard place. I see Series being in the 30 - 40 million at best, with piss poor software attach ratio. If they can’t keep buying publishers, it will be a weird place to be.

It all still rests on ABK. If it’s blocked for real then good luck Xbox management.

 

[xiskza]

I get his point but releasing day and date on PC was a dumb strategy, as well as releasing games day and date on Gamepass

 

[Plague Doctor]

Between a rock and a hard place. I see Series being in the 30 - 40 million at best, with piss poor software attach ratio. If they can’t keep buying publishers, it will be a weird place to be.

It all still rests on ABK. If it’s blocked for real then good luck Xbox management.

Real talk, the government bodies in question seem to be locked into blocking it. I know some posters believe in some mystical behind the scenes corporate hoodoo (whatever the fuck that means) will solve this, but its been aggressive to stop this from going through.

I honestly think they are fucked.

There isn't misgivings. They categorically are treating this like an antitrust issue.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

Phil Spencer just needs to step down. I think it happens after Microsoft exhausts the appeals process.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm starting to think Series may be Microsoft's final foray into console gaming. They started this gen very gung-ho about Xbox Series, but hearing Phil Spencer suddenly pointing to Xbox One losing as the source of their continued problems making headway in market share and saying there is no "win" for them in consoles makes me think Microsoft is souring on that side of their gaming business, especially when they are losing $100 to $200 on each console sold. I think a lot of folks are right that Microsoft is now putting more Xbox hardware into cloud than they are producing units for sale. I mean.....notice how dismissive Phil Spencer was about improving the console experience for Xbox gamers before he went into his console war tirade. As if he just did not want to talk about his console at all. I don't know......the end of that interview could not have been what any Xbox console gamer wanted to hear.

He did say that they want the xbox fanbase to always have a great experience with hardware...so it could go either way.

We are starved for real meaty content but as I've said, it matters so much what happens next month.

They've needed a win more than they've ever needed. This is it...simples.

 

[Captain Toad]

I would like Microsoft to sell Halo to Sony, please. I at least want a company to attempt to make great games or set some standards. Heck give it to Nintendo, I'm getting tired of seeing subpar games out of Xbox and his comments are just so defeatist.

I couldn't careless about a console war i just want Microsoft to make great games, if that's not the focus for YOUR GAMING DIVISION. Then just sell the division, or at least your IPs to people who do care.

If Sony bought Halo (obviously would never happen), the first thing Bungie would say is, "don't even think about asking".

 

[DeepEnigma]

If Sony bought Halo (obviously would never happen), the first thing Bungie would say is, "don't even think about asking".

Unless they get prideful and want to show MS/343 how to make Halo great again. But, that will never happen, Halo (IP) is not for sale.

 

[Topher]

He did say that they want the xbox fanbase to always have a great experience with hardware...so it could go either way.

We are starved for real meaty content but as I've said, it matters so much what happens next month.

They've needed a win more than they've ever needed. This is it...simples.

He said they would "continue to focus on making the console experience as great as it can be like the home page refresh and some stuff". And he said that while shaking his head. I mean......the guy asked him specifically about improving the console and Phil's answer was flippant at best.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Seems this character thinks that we need to sell our PS5 to enjoy a game on XBOX.

Does the guy know about the multiple HDMI ports on a TV set?

Have you not been paying attention at all? Playstation and Xbox (much like their fanboys) are like matter and antimatter. Bring them together and they annihilate... it's fucking mayhem!

 

[graywolf323]

Have you not been paying attention at all? Playstation and Xbox (much like their fanboys) are like matter and antimatter. Bring them together and they annihilate... it's fucking mayhem!

it’s kinda sad that Xbox leadership actually seems to buy into this while claiming to be above the console war

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

it’s kinda sad that Xbox leadership actually seems to buy into this while claiming to be above the console war

It's the culture of MS.

As an organization, they've never been driven by the prospect of growing healthy businesses in new business sectors. If they're not completely dominating a market, they can never be satified.

So I'm not surprised by Spencer expressing this kind of thinking now. It's been clear to me for a while concerning how Xbox does business since the mid-Xbox 360 gen when they pivoted away from core gaming towards Kinect and the casual gamer.

 

[graywolf323]

It's the culture of MS.

As an organization, they've never been driven by the prospect of growing healthy businesses in new business sectors. If they're not completely dominating a market, they can never be satified.

So I'm not surprised by Spencer expressing this kind of thinking now. It's been clear to me for a while concerning how Xbox does business since the mid-Xbox 360 gen when they pivoted away from core gaming towards Kinect and the casual gamer.

oh I know, it’s just Spencer especially had always acted like he was above it but now that suddenly they’re going through a really rough period he lets the mask slip, it‘s not enough to make great games and sell as much as they can but people must want to SELL their competitors consoles in order to buy Xbox

CMA might have dropped the console concern in their final decision but I really have no doubt that Microsoft would be more than willing to eat the loss on CoD’s multiplatform sales to try to make this a reality

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

I would like Microsoft to sell Halo to Sony, please. I at least want a company to attempt to make great games or set some standards. Heck give it to Nintendo, I'm getting tired of seeing subpar games out of Xbox and his comments are just so defeatist.

I couldn't careless about a console war i just want Microsoft to make great games, if that's not the focus for YOUR GAMING DIVISION. Then just sell the division, or at least your IPs to people who do care.

You dont need to give a game to a competitor to make it better. They just need to ditch 343 as they have been delivering average HALO games since day one. Theres plenty internal studios that can do better work.

 

[graywolf323]

You dont need to give a game to a competitor to make it better. They just need to ditch 343 as they have been delivering average HALO games since day one. Theres plenty internal studios that can do better work.

yep and this is why I don’t understand the cult of personality that Phil still has around him, after Halo 4 & 5 the fact he still had 343i make Infinite…

 

[DeepEnigma]

You dont need to give a game to a competitor to make it better. They just need to ditch 343 as they have been delivering average HALO games since day one. Theres plenty internal studios that can do better work.

yep and this is why I don’t understand the cult of personality that Phil still has around him, after Halo 4 & 5 the fact he still had 343i make Infinite…

Agreed. Give them to id and see what they can do with it. Not Machine Games, especially after Youngblood.

 

[Ar¢tos]

But then they are also cutting off PC for launch day, that's potentially millions of sales.

This deal will not be cheap for Sony, but I think they are the next purchase for them anyway. It just makes sense. Square needs saving and trimmed all the fat. Sony can support them and deserve to, as long as they keep games coming to Nintendo platforms....Or they are probably fucked.

They said that they won't be able to release on pc right after the 6 months ps5 exclusivity period because of the amount of work it will take to port the game.
Now imagine if they were doing 2 extra versions (xsx and xss), all the debugging and optimization work, we would only see the game by the end of 2024/early 2025.
And for what? For them to break even (if that) on the cost of the Xbox versions?
I can see it not being worth doing Xbox versions of the game.

 

[geary]

This period is full of game releases and you still talk about that interview...Are we sure this is still a gaming forum? Certainly doesn't look like