Support NeoGAF

[Dr_Ifto]

"Make Sony nervous and innovate". Now that's funny. The only thing that I imagine has worried Sony is the purchasing of pubs. Otherwise, nothing else they do is making anyone nervous. They have the lowest install base and sell the least amount of software. Nintendo and Sony need real competitors and Xbox hasn't been it.

Basically stating that they need to get better, so that Sony was in check.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

It's not the rebrand that really threatens EA FC, it's a new competitor and more importantly a new competitor WITH the FIFA name AND marketing.

Is there a competitor though? Outside of Konami being given a boat-load of cash to make a rival to FIFA again, who could make one that could take on EA FC? It will take years as well, unless those in charge of the FIFA videogame franchise are smart and approach some dev that has already got a good footy game and ask them to re-skin it as FIFA 24 or whatever.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Honestly, Xbox could just exit our market and very few people would even notice at this point. They might as well not exist.

It's absolutely incredibly how they managed to fuck up the success the 360 had, with bad decision after bad decision. I doubt even Sega fucked up this bad. They simply had less money.

Sega had games just made to many bad decisions.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Heres the truth--There is very little reason to own current or (future) Xbox consoles with gamepass around. PC market is and will continue to grow which eats into Xbox consoles when you factor in gamepass.

The more people who turn to PC gaming the less the need to own a Xbox. Just get PC gamepass for $10 a month or free* with Microsoft rewards. Don't be surprised when Microsoft announces they will exit the hardware market within the next 5 years.

While I agree people are partly not buying Xbox consoles because of Gamepass PC, Gamepass is not the answer for Xbox's troubles either, as it has a ceiling and has stopped growing in subscribers or is actually losing subs, according to NPD's Mat Piscatella these last few months. It's becoming increasingly clear that gaming in the future being mostly a subcription service is a fantasy in Phil Spencer and Xbox bosses' heads, as it's removed from reality.

Starfield is a great example, a sizeable chunk just bought the game because of mods, 90% of which are not available on Series/Gamepass. I think there was no subscriber growth in September for Gamepass despite SF release, which is quite remarkable.

 

[Reckheim]

I think there was no subscriber growth in September for Gamepass despite SF release, which is quite remarkable.

According to Circana there was a 'bump' in gamepass subscribers.

Ultimately, getting a bump doesn't mean much; its all about retention.

I would absolutely love to see an update on sub growth across the entire industry; doubt we'll ever see the real picture.

 

[Heisenberg007]

According to Circana there was a 'bump' in gamepass subscribers.

Ultimately, getting a bump doesn't mean much; its all about retention.

I would absolutely love to see an update on sub growth across the entire industry; doubt we'll ever see the real picture.

True. For all we know, that "bump" was people using the free 14-day trial to finish Starfield with no intention of continuing their subscription and ever paying the monthly cost.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Is there a competitor though? Outside of Konami being given a boat-load of cash to make a rival to FIFA again, who could make one that could take on EA FC? It will take years as well, unless those in charge of the FIFA videogame franchise are smart and approach some dev that has already got a good footy game and ask them to re-skin it as FIFA 24 or whatever.

The deal between EA and FIFA just fell through. It'll take some time for someone to step up and for a new deal to be made with FIFA and then the respective club leagues.

 

[Reckheim]

True. For all we know, that "bump" was people using the free 14-day trial to finish Starfield with no intention of continuing their subscription and ever paying the monthly cost.

or just subbing for a month and cancelling once done with the game. Its a great service, but so easy to take advantage of.

you're essentially renting a brand new game for $14, and maybe getting to play some other games you might of missed since the last time you used the service.

I don't see why anyone would stay subbed to the service personally. But I feel that way about all subscription services (i.e netflix). Consume the media you want to consume and unsub.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Basically stating that they need to get better, so that Sony was in check.

Sony is doing fine. Doesn’t really need to be in check.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Its funny that the biggest cheerleader in there laughs at you stating facts. I still doubt spencer releases anything on ps5 at this point though.

You took your time.

The problem is or at least my problem is I take everyone seriously and find out the hard way that people are out here just trolling.

I like to have good discussions and I've always been interested in the business side of this as well as other industries.

For me it isn't about which box is better, I could care less. For me it's about who is making good or bad decisions and why are they making them, how does the market respond.

 

[Zekra Dezivad]

Last month Dring wrote:

However, Xbox Series S and X struggled, with sales down nearly 12% compared with the same period in 2022. This will likely be a different story come September, with a new hardware SKU and the launch of Starfield expected to boost sales.

Now September came:

Nintendo Switch sales were down 28% compared with last September, while Xbox Series S and X sales are down 35% for that four-week period.

He didn't mentioned the new SKU in the article so I guess it didn't perform very well. I think they should focus more on Series X at this point

 

[Woopah]

I'm shocked at how down Xbox is across continental Europe, Starfield did basically nothing for hardware (I guess because PC gaming is big in Europe, 80% of Starfield's sales were on that platform).

 

[Woopah]

Where’s Switch in terms of PS2 numbers?

Can’t be far off.

In Europe? Very far off.

Switch should be close to 33 million. The PS2 is over 55 million total.

In terms of shipments it was at 33.5 million at the end of June. Switch will see more than PS2 in the Americas and Japan, but probably not Europe and maybe not Others

Yeah honestly the best thing for Phil to do is strike a deal for GamePass on PlayStation

Xbox audience seems to have either moved to PC or PlayStation, and that migration is just getting worse with no end in sight

I highly doubt PS would allow Gamepass on the system. Being a platform holder is still the best route for MS.

Are they? then explain to me why they don't care whether their hardware and software sell because of the magical GAMEPASS....

Makes no sense to me

They definitely care about hardware. Software they care about to an extent, but less so if they can replace software revenue with subscription revenue.