PresetError
Neophyte
First of all, sorry for opening another thread about Xbox on this forum. There are plenty of them and some are fairly redundant. If any mod considers this is the case of my thread please move or delete at will but I've got to tell you something.
I was watching this Spawn Wave video (by the way, I'm not a super fan of the guy but his video is pretty interesting as a reflection on Microsoft's business model with Gamepass).
And as I was watching the part where Spawn Wave says that Microsoft doesn't care anymore about selling consoles but they will keep making them as long as the internet bandwith standards don't allow a good cloud gaming experience, I was wondering if this is a good explanation or even a plausible excuse.
I do have wondered many times why Microsoft keeps manufacturing hardware when they are so obviously in deep with "play on any device" and "the Netflix of videogames". The first logical answer would be: because they don't want to give up on any part of the gaming market. Is it really true, though? Xbox executives keep saying console sales don't matter.
Why invest in a system as expensive (on paper) as the Series X, then? Why months and months of agressive marketing selling the "most powerful console" that "eats monsters for breakfast", etc. ending up in a showcase heavily focused on the Gamepass and not on the hardware power like the one we saw july 23rd? Are they really so clumsy and inept? I don't think so.
What I think is the Series X has the sole purpose of diverting attention on the fact Xbox as a platform is targeted at casuals. Let me explain...
There is nothing wrong about being a casual. There are tons and tons of casual gamers out there. In fact, the business model of Gamepass and xCloud relies on the sheer amount of potential costumers. Hence the famous "2 billion gamers" line Phil Spencer likes so much to point out. The problem is... inside the gaming culture nobody likes to be labeled as a casual. Everybody wants to feel they belong with the cool kids.
That's why the Series X exists and has been marketed that way. That's why Phil Spencer has been talking so much on the media about what gaming is, what gaming should be and everything Xbox being thought around gamers while trying to redefine what a gamer is and what a gamer wants. The XBox brand wants to be perceived as a cutting edge, hardcore and exclusive platform while targeting people who plays games on their smartphones, tablets and low end PC's, or finds attractive the option of having 100 random games available to consume like fast food on Gamepass, not really caring about their quality because they are so cheap and keep them entertained.
Let me know what you think about my theory. I feel like I've finally seen the light. All of a sudden everything Xbox has been doing lately makes sense to me.
I know, I know... TL/DR.
I was watching this Spawn Wave video (by the way, I'm not a super fan of the guy but his video is pretty interesting as a reflection on Microsoft's business model with Gamepass).
And as I was watching the part where Spawn Wave says that Microsoft doesn't care anymore about selling consoles but they will keep making them as long as the internet bandwith standards don't allow a good cloud gaming experience, I was wondering if this is a good explanation or even a plausible excuse.
I do have wondered many times why Microsoft keeps manufacturing hardware when they are so obviously in deep with "play on any device" and "the Netflix of videogames". The first logical answer would be: because they don't want to give up on any part of the gaming market. Is it really true, though? Xbox executives keep saying console sales don't matter.
Why invest in a system as expensive (on paper) as the Series X, then? Why months and months of agressive marketing selling the "most powerful console" that "eats monsters for breakfast", etc. ending up in a showcase heavily focused on the Gamepass and not on the hardware power like the one we saw july 23rd? Are they really so clumsy and inept? I don't think so.
What I think is the Series X has the sole purpose of diverting attention on the fact Xbox as a platform is targeted at casuals. Let me explain...
There is nothing wrong about being a casual. There are tons and tons of casual gamers out there. In fact, the business model of Gamepass and xCloud relies on the sheer amount of potential costumers. Hence the famous "2 billion gamers" line Phil Spencer likes so much to point out. The problem is... inside the gaming culture nobody likes to be labeled as a casual. Everybody wants to feel they belong with the cool kids.
That's why the Series X exists and has been marketed that way. That's why Phil Spencer has been talking so much on the media about what gaming is, what gaming should be and everything Xbox being thought around gamers while trying to redefine what a gamer is and what a gamer wants. The XBox brand wants to be perceived as a cutting edge, hardcore and exclusive platform while targeting people who plays games on their smartphones, tablets and low end PC's, or finds attractive the option of having 100 random games available to consume like fast food on Gamepass, not really caring about their quality because they are so cheap and keep them entertained.
Let me know what you think about my theory. I feel like I've finally seen the light. All of a sudden everything Xbox has been doing lately makes sense to me.
I know, I know... TL/DR.
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