Dory16
Banned
There will be at least 2 ways of defining winning and losing in the console market from next generation on:
In sum, provided that MS's now obvious targets for the next generation (which they are well on track to meet) are in fact met:
Give me your thoughts. Fanboys allowed but tone it down, thanks
- Selling the most consoles: this has been the traditional success barometer until this generation. It may be a legitimate one in many regards but I think that Microsoft is defining a business model that will make this count irrelevant. With xcloud not requiring a console and Game Pass being accessible also on PC, with Game Pass itself receiving more an more games from publishers at increasing frequency, Microsoft has multiplied the revenue streams way beyond the cash received in exchange for a box sold. Combined with the fact that mid-gen refreshes now happen every 3 years, backwards compatibility becomes more important than ever to make sure that the count doesn't reset and the subscriptions just keep adding up. My main point here is that MS seems to have put itself in position to leverage ecosystem adoption in a way that comfortably mitigates selling fewer consoles than other manufacturers. You don't need to buy their box to be their customer. They will find you where you like to play. Chances are it includes your PC or your phone or tablet. You're Sony only? Wanna try Hellblade 2 with your dualshock 5 controller on your laptop screen when you're bored of Godfall? How about a gamepass/xcloud trial for a week? No, you're not dreaming. Those 100 other AAA games from the last 3 generations are available to you too. If you subscribe at the end of your trial for 14$ a month. On the go or on your 65'' inch "playstation only" gaming TV. And every future Xbox game studios exclusive comes day one for free from then on.
- Being the most ubiquitous gaming brand. The brand that other gaming companies have to partner with in order to stay up to date with their customers expectations in terms of services (cloud infrastructure). The brand that game publishers have to come to in order to maximise the value of their IPs beyond what would have otherwise been their natural lifecycle (FF, Kingdom hearts and Yakuza on game pass anyone?). The brand that the most hardcore gamers who can't or refuse to spend over 800 bucks on a gaming machine but still expect the best gaming technology that money can buy have to come to. A brand capable of competing with any other company in terms of providing the "best" exclusive games (best will always be a matter of taste, they just have to keep this one close and cover all tastes ).
In sum, provided that MS's now obvious targets for the next generation (which they are well on track to meet) are in fact met:
- having the (more or less clearly) most powerful console
- Releasing a minimum of 3 AAA exclusive games A YEAR, only one of them being either Halo, Gears or Forza
- Rolling out xcloud at the same or comparable quality as stadia but with the power of game pass behind it for a low subscription fee
- seamless backwards compatibility all the way back to the xbox 360
- More smart and tactical marketing decisions such as the game awards reveal going forward
- Ensuring that every mid-gen refresh maintains the "most powerful" advantage
Give me your thoughts. Fanboys allowed but tone it down, thanks
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