With the advent of game pass and virtually all of their exclusive games coming to PC as well, there has been less reason than ever to actually own an Xbox console.
I don’t think I’ve cared about Xbox games since they had actual compelling exclusives. The likes of blue dragon, lost odyssey, and even rare’s early offerings.
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Sony seems to have a finger on the pulse of what people want out of a console. The ps5 is hilariously successful.
Nintendo is in a corner eating paste and doing their own thing, potentially releasing a console maybe as powerful as the decade old ps4 in the year 2023-2024. And it will do great because Nintendo stans only care about gameplay. Even if that gameplay is being held back by the hardware.
Microsoft does seem really interested in bringing their own brand of gaming entertainment to the masses. When I think Microsoft, I think halo, gears of war, calla duty. There is certainly a brand image, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But as I mentioned before, with most, if not all, of these coming to PC as well, Xbox has no “exclusives.” You can’t be exclusive if you release on multiple platforms. Period.
Since I don’t see them dropping PC support any time soon, I can see them shedding the dead weight that is the Xbox console. Keep Xbox game studios as their brand but go the sega route and just start selling on other platforms. Microsoft hasn’t been the console market leader in a long time, and in some countries like Japan- never.
TL;DR: Xbox consoles are dead weight and haven’t been the market leader for over a decade. That trend doesn’t look like it’s going to change in the foreseeable future. So if you can’t beat ‘em, join em.