On Xbox's growing pains, and its strange future

fatpunkslim

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Microsoft, by stark inverted contrast, announced boldly and proudly that it would be violating decades of gaming convention to deliver console games marketed and advertised as Xbox exclusive to competing platforms. It did this via a curated "Xbox Business Update" podcast, which I think still has people perplexed even now.
What ?

How can you say that? This is totally false, how can you use terms like “violating” to exaggerate your point in this way? You know very well that Xbox was forced to make this podcast because of the false rumors that were circulating! Phil Spencer didn't come proudly to say that there were 4 games going to other platforms! On the contrary, he took great care to say that this was not a sign that everything was going on other consoles! He repeated it several times but obviously you only extract the terms that scare you like "experience" (ouuhh, I'm scared!) and you hide the things that should reassure you.

He later explained that these games were not exclusive games with all the fanfare that goes with them, which excludes all the brand's emblematic games! What you are saying is completely false or you have a very blurred vision which prevents you from seeing the truth. You let yourself be influenced by the commentators and not by the truth of what was said or done, that's the problem!

And then in this podcast he repeated the word “hardware” 20 times! 20 times ! How can you say that Xbox doesn't take console players into account? Sarah Bond even indicated that new console products were going to be announced this summer! And then, he didn't stop talking about portable consoles afterwards. I don't understand what you're saying!

People are not confused! You confuse people with the anti-xbox haters on Twitter and certain anti-xbox YouTubers and a certain anti-xbox press, and also the people who pretend to be xbox fans just to throw trolls and there are a lot of them, that These people are not Xbox fans! Take a step back, what you read on social media is not reality!

Even the press has now understood, well most of them, that Xbox was not going to send all their games to other consoles, but only a few old ones exclusives like Sea of Thieves or Groundes, old service games which have 5 or 6 years old. No one expects Hellblade 2 or Indiana Jones for example to come to other consoles, not for a lot of years anyway. You know that the players are not patient.

In fact, you write an article to expose your fears, but you don't realize that you are harboring these non-legitimate fears. You are relaunching a debate that has no place! Go out and get some fresh air, because you're totally wrong!

You haven't understood one essential thing, you are centralizing Xbox's desire for openness on consoles but that's wrong! The degree of openness is not so much on competing consoles which remain limited to a few crumbs (no emblematic games of the brand and very old games) but on the cloud and the PC.

look at what he said about cloud gaming (look the transcript of xbox update):
I think that's a technology I'd love to see applied to more platforms. But it is this view that people are going to play Xbox in multiple places, whether it's play the games you want with the people you want anywhere you want, whether it's content, community, and cloud, whether it's when everybody plays, we all win-- we've had different taglines different strategy kind of words that we've used, but always with this view that Xbox is a platform for creators who want to reach the most players.

If you understood the Xbox strategy, you would understand that their strategy is based on 3 pillars which were well defined by Phil Spencer:
Xbox as a hardware platform, Xbox as a publisher of great games, and Xbox as a platform for the world's best creators.

you see, he said “hardware” again! Xbox is a console, games and to keep the developers happy, we distribute them to as many people as possible. But these 3 pillars must coexist and not cannibalize each other.

Xbox knows very well that if they start sending games like halo (but how can you think that, it's crazy!), gears 6, forza, etc... it would kill Xbox consoles. They are well aware of the importance of exclusives, even if this notion has evolved and is no longer reserved only for consoles. Same with Sony, the notion of exclusivity is also evolving, the PC is also part of the equation now. The CEO of Sony is very open on the issue and he does not seem to rule out the release of PlayStation games on Xbox. He never said the opposite in any case and he never said that it would only be on PC. You see here too, we can make assumptions.

It's a question of balance and boundaries that should not be crossed. And Xbox didn't cross it. You base your rhetoric on assumptions, third-party comments and fears that are not based on facts.

If Xbox didn't care about exclusives, answer me this simple question: "Why does Xbox bother to negotiate exclusive games with third-party publishers? (stalker 2, ark2, etc...)

Why ? It doesn't make sense, Xbox knows very well that exclusive games attract players to a platform and to the Xbox ecosystem.

With all the Xbox exclusive games coming out in 2024 like Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Ara, Age of Mithology, Towerborne, South of Midnight, the new flight simulator, the Starfield DLC, you really think Xbox fans care of pentiment, or hifi rush, or old games services? I tell you again, this is not the reality for the majority of Xbox players.

And even if some people are worried like you, you should turn your articles in a more positive way, because Xbox is doing very well despite the rumors and the ill-intentioned people who are against Xbox. You can't use such violent terms like "violating" to tell more lies, or at least distort your truth. This is not a constructive way of thinking.

If you like xbox and xbox games, you should consider other perspectives.

Thanks for reading
 
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Jez Corden

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What ?

How can you say that? This is totally false, how can you use terms like “violating” to exaggerate your point in this way? You know very well that Xbox was forced to make this podcast because of the false rumors that were circulating!
i know very well this business update podcast was planned for months, and that it was brought forward because of the rumors.

>"He later explained that these games were not exclusive games with all the fanfare that goes with them, which excludes all the brand's emblematic games!"

like i explained -- today it's 4 games, tomorrow it could be halo. we don't know. i'd like to know what the red lines are, as would many other people i speak to. the comments on twitter on this piece suggest that perhaps you're not aware of some of the opinions on this.

>"Xbox knows very well that if they start sending games like halo (but how can you think that, it's crazy!), gears 6, forza, etc... it would kill Xbox consoles. "

this is an assumption, you know? we dont know for sure what their red lines are. i want them to tell us.

>"If Xbox didn't care about exclusives, answer me this simple question: "Why does Xbox bother to negotiate exclusive games with third-party publishers? (stalker 2, ark2, etc...)"

i never claimed they don't care about exclusives. i just want them to be clear about the criteria. strawman argument.

>"Take a step back, what you read on social media is not reality!"

like i said in the article. i dont claim to speak for everyone, just my community. whom i know very well. im not "anti xbox press," i dont even own a playstation.

>"You haven't understood one essential thing, you are centralizing Xbox's desire for openness on consoles but that's wrong! The degree of openness is not so much on competing consoles which remain limited to a few crumbs (no emblematic games of the brand and very old games) but on the cloud and the PC."

i'm not sure what you're saying here, could you explain more?

>"And even if some people are worried like you, you should turn your articles in a more positive way, because Xbox is doing very well despite the rumors"

i guess you didn't read the article in full, because i said all of this in the piece.
 

fatpunkslim

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What ?

How can you say that? This is totally false, how can you use terms like “violating” to exaggerate your point in this way? You know very well that Xbox was forced to make this podcast because of the false rumors that were circulating!
Hi, thanks for your feedback !

> i know very well this business update podcast was planned for months, and that it was brought forward because of the rumors.

>> Ok maybe ! and it would probably have been better to explain that before. Explain they were just a few old service games that had reached their full potential in order to maintain the license. Or small games that were never created with the aim of being exclusive games. By saying that, I'm just summarizing what Phil said!

But being in a defensive position and being forced to justify oneself in the face of rumors made it difficult to understand the message. If there is an error it is surely in the timing, unfortunately we are at a time where we must anticipate possible leaks in order to avoid fake news. The thing is, a lot of people stayed on this fake news and didn't see the xbox business update or even hear about it. The reach of fake news is often greater than the truth.

But in any case, you do not respond to the fact of this exaggeration:
“boldly and proudly that it would be violating”. I didn't feel that way at all while watching the podcast and I don't feel like that's what comes across.

I don't claim to have the same knowledge as you about the market. But what I felt in the xbox community after the xbox update was: “all this for that?” And then a strong criticism of the media system which contributed to all this headless mess. We must still remember that we had reached an insane point: Xbox is dead, all xbox games will go on playstation (starfield, gears, halo, ..), rumors subsequently denied by nate the hate among others who admitted to having created this rumor from scratch. but it was too late, everyone was talking about it and I'm sure that a lot of people still believe this fake news.

I don't see this decline in your speech, this decline on the media system, on the Xbox tax which seems to me to be a reality, on the haters and influencers who use these stories to create views. However, this seems to me to be an essential angle to address.

like i explained -- today it's 4 games, tomorrow it could be halo. we don't know. i'd like to know what the red lines are, as would many other people i speak to. the comments on twitter on this piece suggest that perhaps you're not aware of some of the opinions on this.
Twitter is not necessarily the best platform for developing a constructed idea, but so be it.
Yes it would be practical to have a clear red line but it is very complicated. Which publisher can afford to mark a red line on precise criteria? Is Square Enix saying, ok this game will be multi-platform but this one won't? We don't know! Jim ryan once said that spiderman would never come to pc. Well, reality denied it. Is it complicated to commit to the years to come and on what criteria? Let's take the example of Starfield, maybe in a few years, 4 or 5 years, the game will be released on PlayStation because this game will no longer represent anything for Xbox and for the Xbox community, which is true today may be not true tomorrow, and because many other games will be released by then like indiana jones, gears 6, fable, perfect dark, a new halo I don't know,... How to draw a line on things that are difficult to control and predict?

If we stop for 2 seconds from making assumptions and base ourselves on the facts only. Xbox is already the leading provider of PlayStation games, so far nothing new to see Xbox games on PlayStation. The thing is that these games were already historically multi-platform. The new thing here is that these 4 games are old xbox exclusives. If we base ourselves on the typology of these games, we can deduce possible future games. It's not a question of making assumptions on the simple fact that Xbox sends games to other consoles but of seeing which games they are, which is much more factual.
Are these system seller games?
Are these emblematic games of the brand?
Are these big single player games?

By answering these questions, you have your answer for Halo! In any case we start from facts.

You could retort me by saying, yes, but then why didn't he say that these won't be emblematic games or big games or system seller games? You are right, he could have been clearer and more direct on this point, but I simply think that he did not anticipate the need of some to have a clear and definitive line.

That said, he gave clues by saying that these were games that were not made to be exclusive games "with all the fanfare that goes with it", which still already indicates that there is a line , 2 levels of exclusive games, exclusive games because they are important for the brand and that we want to highlight, and the others!

He also said several times that this wasn't a sign that everything was going on other consoles, that's not the case! and also in interviews afterwards.

If Halo infinite multiplayer goes to other platforms, I wouldn't see any harm in it. On the contrary, the game needs new players and if that means new content and maintaining the game, I say yes. Concerning halo infinte multiplayer being on playstation, it could even bring players back to the future xbox exclusive single player, which would be a very good move. Like spencer said: "We think there's a good brand value for Xbox there. So four games, no promise beyond that". On the other hand, sending the next halo to PS5 wouldn't make sense because like you, I think it's important to keep exclusive games that carry the brand. But like I said, based on my understanding of the Xbox stratégie and simply the facts, that won't be the case in my opinion.
 

fatpunkslim

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>"Xbox knows very well that if they start sending games like halo (but how can you think that, it's crazy!), gears 6, forza, etc... it would kill Xbox consoles. "

this is an assumption, you know? we dont know for sure what their red lines are. i want them to tell us.
It's not really a guess but it's based on Spencer's statements and the facts, currently there are no iconic games from the brand or big system seller games on other consoles. The day that happens, all my beliefs will disappear but nothing makes me think otherwise.

But yeah, a clarification on this point would certainly be useful. Even if I doubt that you will be satisfied with the answer because it will remain case by case, based on the situation of the game at time t. It's complicated to say that this or that game will never go to such and such platforms, Phil Spencer is not Jim Ryan, he is just showing intellectual honesty by not commenting clearly on this or that game.

But at least drawing a broad guideline on the criteria for choosing the famous case by case would already be that!

>"If Xbox didn't care about exclusives, answer me this simple question: "Why does Xbox bother to negotiate exclusive games with third-party publishers? (stalker 2, ark2, etc...)"

i never claimed they don't care about exclusives. i just want them to be clear about the criteria. strawman argument.

talking about games like halo, forza, south of midnight, perfect dark, starfield, which could go to playstation. I understand that you think that Xbox doesn't care about exclusives. If you think like me that Xbox knows very well that exclusive games (relatively exclusive because they all come out on PC and the cloud) are important for the Xbox ecosystem, the consoles and even the gamepass, why imagine for a single second that it could be the case?
The 4 games that were released on PlayStation have nothing to do with these games and do not pose any problems regarding trust in the brand. I spoke just before about starfield but projecting myself over several years and assuming that this license would no longer represent anything.

What can damage brand trust most of all are false rumors, extrapolations and misinformation. And also a lack of anticipation in Xbox communications.

Maybe for my part, I tend to underestimate the problem of trust in the brand and maybe on your side you tend to overestimate the risks. The truth is surely somewhere between the two.

>"Take a step back, what you read on social media is not reality!"

like i said in the article. i dont claim to speak for everyone, just my community. whom i know very well. im not "anti xbox press," i dont even own a playstation.

Yes of course, i know you're not an "anti xbox press, I just think that you have an exaggerated perception of things and that in the end some of your articles are counterproductive and can even aggravate your own fears. The turn of certain sentences, the title of the article and certain assumptions are not really positive. Afterwards, I understand that in reality you are addressing Microsoft with your articles and that you want to alert them to the danger of making bad decisions. And I respect that! The thing is that your article can be misinterpreted and caricatured by certain people with bad intentions or just stupid ones.
>"You haven't understood one essential thing, you are centralizing Xbox's desire for openness on consoles but that's wrong! The degree of openness is not so much on competing consoles which remain limited to a few crumbs (no emblematic games of the brand and very old games) but on the cloud and the PC."

i'm not sure what you're saying here, could you explain more?
I'm just saying that when we hear Xbox say, "play anywhere, every where you want, etc..." they are not talking about competing consoles but above all about the PC and the cloud and of course their Xbox consoles. Many people focus on consoles, but the overall console market is flat, or even declining. Even PlayStation did not achieve these sales targets and their margin has never been so low according to their latest financial report. It is not in competing consoles that Xbox will succeed in reaching many more players.

Sarah Bond said it: “We have double-digit growth rate on PC and cloud”, the fact that she says that is not insignificant. This is the direction they are taking above all, in addition to the Xbox consoles. Nothing indicates that they want to send all their exclusive games as has been repeated many times and even less their big exclusive games on competing consoles like halo.

There is media drift and a poor understanding of this “play anywhere” message. Spencer clarified it as my quote proves, saying that he is talking about the cloud but obviously that is not clear to everyone.

In fact we are entering into a deeper problem which is the excessive simplification of the media which wants to go ever faster and which ultimately caricatures the original information.

Xbox's strategy is hybrid: exclusive games, Xbox consoles, PC, cloud, portable consoles soon, some games on competing platform. It's easy to caricature, it's not all or nothing, it's not binary. But for most media, binary is easier and faster.

>"And even if some people are worried like you, you should turn your articles in a more positive way, because Xbox is doing very well despite the rumors"

i guess you didn't read the article in full, because i said all of this in the piece.

I admit that the way you started the article set the tone. And even if afterward you actually talk about more positive things, the general tone still remains. You make a lot of exaggerations, extrapolations and you ask a lot of questions with a generally negative angle.

My comment is already very long, I'm not going to comment on everything you said in the article but you tend to see the mote glass empty every time. Console sales are on the same level as the Xbox One, the difference with the PS5 is only 23 million. In December 2023, 50 million PS5s sold (and not 54 million which includes stocks, another lie) compared to 27 million for Xbox. All these stories of 3 ps consoles for an xbox console or 2 ps consoles for an xbox console are false. I'm just saying that you shouldn't take everything that's said in the press at its word. For publishers who would not make Xbox versions, more rumors, the few examples you cited are not representative, they are very small games. There are no fewer games on Xbox, we would need figures to be able to say that or even think that. I even have the impression that there are more. Square Enix for example is making more and more games for Xbox, that's a fact, not a rumor from a journalist. With production costs increasing, the need for profitability, third-party publishers see less and less interest in making games exclusive to a single machine. Sales of final fantasy, the last of which, generate few sales on PlayStation. If you wanted to make a balanced article and not just with a pessismistic vision, you could have talked about it and given as an example Final Fantasy IX Remake which will be released on Xbox.

Why would the stores on Xbox be the end of the Xbox ecosystem? Another way of looking at things would be that there would be more choice on xbox consoles and more interest for players to have an xbox console! Yes but they would buy their games on Steam and therefore the devs would not make xbox versions. What if the next Xboxes were so close to a PC that there would even be no need for an Xbox version? no more need for console ports! it would be great for developers and for Xbox and for xbox gamers! We can make lots of assumptions whether pessimistic or optimistic, I would just have appreciated if you were less perssimistic and more optimistic, even if in the end you have a more positive angle. But I doubt most people read you until the end, just like my comment :)
 

Papictu

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I'm 35 years old and I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember, and after so many years the only thing I can say is that I don't understand anything in this industry.

Video games are something passionate and irrational. You can’t sell them like you sell productive software; being on more platforms isn’t necessarily better in the long term. What gamers buy is illusion, and that illusion arises from a blend of factors (software, hardware, achievements, marketing…) that create an identity with which gamers resonate.

Xbox lost a part of that identity after Xbox 360 and has been trying for years to create a movement that resonates with players again. Perhaps the issue is that sometimes they take successful steps, and other times not so much. I believe Xbox Series S/X is a highly competitive product, but it also had its low moments, such as an "empty" 2022.

I don’t know if Microsoft has understood this, but all I know is that my excitement for Xbox is lower than ever. Perhaps Microsoft is killing the Xbox that I know and love, or maybe I’m just too old to understand these times. I hope it’s the latter case.
 

Luuthian

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Long but good article, basically sums up how many actually paying attention probably feel. By sheer size of article alone it kind of reflects all the anxieties of the exosystem right now.

I really think in the long run though we’re overthinking this because we, the users, have so much more at stake than Microsoft does. That is emotionally and financially. But the truth is MS already got our old gamer money. They want new money, but not how a 30+ year old gamer expects.

There was that report a week ago that outlined how 28% of all gaming last year was 7-9 year old games. Only the Switch bucked that trend. So that’s likwly why Xbox has switched gears. They want to be a platform for games that are themselves platforms (FIFA counts here too really). Why? No risk to MS and they get a cut forever. Let someone else take the risk of making live service games. Xbox can sit on the sidelines, distribute, and reap it all. They don’t need to risk $400 million on a game that might not succeed. They want to be Apple and the App Store.

People will question why and the answer is easy… only 8% of people last year spent time and money on new games and non-annual games. 8%. Look at that number and weap. New games, especially single player games, is a bad business for a company of Microsoft’s size.

Everyone groaned when Apple said they were the largest “gaming” company on the planet but here we are… the warning signs were there the moment they said that. Everyone wants to be Apple now. Xbox will grow horizontally as a means to distribute. The long term hope is you will play Fortnite (and so on) through an xbox platform, not a PlayStation or PC.

It’s sad but reality is often cold. This is why I personally made the Switch back to Steam and PC late last year. Indies and smaller companies still provide the experiences I’m looking for. I haven’t looked back. No reason to, Sony and Microsoft won’t look back at the few of us who go, they’re busy looking forward in the foght for Gen Z and Gen A’s micro transaction money
 

fatpunkslim

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@Luuthian: I wad thinking that jez corden was pessimistic but you are worse lol . I really dont' think so, Listening to you, Xbox with all its studios are going to do nothing, no service games, no single player games, nothing lol.

Phil spencer and Xbox has always had great respect for the Xbox studios by giving them great freedom, sometimes even too much. With all Xbox studios, they are able to have a wide variety of different games, from narrative single players, to FPS, to action RPGs, to simulators, to strategy games, and that is exactly what they do. Just look at the games coming out in 2024 which show this diversity very well.

And it's logical, it's part of their strategy, to reach as many players as possible, it also involves offering more choice. It is also a differentiating element for them, because Xbox is the only manufacturer and even publisher to offer such a wide offer. When you compare the first party PlayStation games with a very single-player narrative focus and now also an assumed shift towards service games, it's day and night, Xbox offers an unparalleled diversity of games and even makes up for it in the single-player games. narratives by also offering more games of this type.

And making a service game is no less risky than making a solo game, quite the contrary. Even if today games like Fortnite dominate, or great successes like Sea of Thieves, there are very few chosen ones and places are difficult. Solo games should not be seen only as games with direct profitability, they are also games with indirect profitability because they can carry a brand, make people adhere to an ecosystem and that is more difficult to quantify but just as important. for a brand like Xbox. Speaking of which, gears 6 will be announced and shown this summer :)

and then a service game, doing microtransactions, it's not bad, it depends on how it's done! It's not a game type but just an attribute. when you look at the most played games in the world, we see this diversity, you have construction games (minecraft), fps (call of duty), action adventure games (GTA), battle royal (fall guys), sports simulations (fifa), etc....

All businesses know that you minimize risk by diversifying. This is a bit like the mistake that PlayStation made by focusing heavily on one type of game, and the latest financial report showed that it is not profitable, hence this shift towards service games. Even if they canceled certain service games, they still reduced their budget by 60% on AAA in favor of 6 service games. Which also seems to me to be an error.
you see this diversity strategy at Xbox not only in the games, but on the screens, it's the same spirit. be on console, on PC, in the cloud, on TVs, handled consoles, on mobile, etc... And Xbox has given itself the means to do it.

But if you want to diversify too much, you have to be careful to keep distinctive elements by pushing the cursors a little on this or that type of games, by pushing the cursors on a certain type of screen (which you can adjust over time). The objective is for the brand to keep a personality and remain recognizable.

Ok, in terms of fps, Xbox is the best. Ok, To play in the best conditions, an Xbox console is the best place (this was said by Spencer what I just said). There is also a question of balance or rather imbalance.

And then the video game market evolves, what is true today will not necessarily be true tomorrow. You have to be careful not to rush too far in one direction at the risk of not being able to get out.
This is also what Jez Corden meant in his article when expressing his questions about the future. you have to keep some room for maneuver to be able to adapt
 
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Luuthian

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“I was thinking that jez corden was pessimistic but you are worse lol .”

One person’s pessimist is just another person’s realist 😅. Don’t mistake my words for “wah, xbox is giving up, wah.” You are right, they’re going to keep (slowly) making and publishing games like TES6 or Gears 6. Things aren’t going to change dramatically today. But one has to consider how they might change tomorrow.

Chances are good we’ll see a greater push to make games like Sea of Theives, Redfall, Grounded, Halo, etc. Games that have an ongoing multiplayer focus. There’s going to be some single player stuff in there here and there but I wouldn’t expect that’s the norm.

Gamepass is also likely up for changes the way the past few months have seen a lot of old games return instead of offering something new. Not every month can be a hit but it looks like they’re being more restrained in their spending now that subscribers have peaked.

Over time the focus appears to be less “lets be the singular best platform for a constant stream of highly anticipated games” and more “lets be a diverse publisher and portal to experiences largely aimed at newer generations with a strong focus on social experiences in our own games.”

That’s not giving up, but it 100% is a change in strategy. And not one that a person needs to own Xbox hardware to be a part of. I already bought a few of the xbox games I had on Steam, like MCC, and Steam offers a vastly more diverse library than Xbox does. I can play JRPGs that skipped the console! And crossplay is a thing! So why go back?

My only worry is over time this strategy erodes xbox to the pointt that they’re at the mercy of other platforms taking a cut… but we’ll see how it plays out I guess. There’s no going back now
 

fatpunkslim

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@Luuthian:

One person’s pessimist is just another person’s realist 😅
optimism or pessimism, especially in excess, is not synonymous with realism, quite the contrary.

Chances are good we’ll see a greater push to make games like Sea of Theives, Redfall, Grounded, Halo, etc. Games that have an ongoing multiplayer focus. There’s going to be some single player stuff in there here and there but I wouldn’t expect that’s the norm.

Reality shows that Xbox embraces diversity, Sarah Bond confirmed this again very recently, with a great focus on consoles. There will be no greater push towards more multiplayer games.

Again, just look at the 2024 games, do you see more multiplayer games? Once again, instead of basing themselves on concrete tangible things, people are basing themselves on wind which is contradicted by reality.

Gamepass is also likely up for changes the way the past few months have seen a lot of old games return instead of offering something new. Not every month can be a hit but it looks like they’re being more restrained in their spending now that subscribers have peaked.

It's obvious that you don't have the gamepass to say that. There are a few old games that have come back but it's far from being the majority, just look at the month of March in the gamepass and try to tell me that there are plenty of old games!! No way !

Over time the focus appears to be less “lets be the singular best platform for a constant stream of highly anticipated games” and more “lets be a diverse publisher and portal to experiences largely aimed at newer generations with a strong focus on social experiences in our own games.”
Here too, I have to disagree. It's false, base yourself on reality, look at the games in 2024, hellblade 2, indiana jones, flintlock, avowed, silksong day one in the gamepass, gears 6 which will soon be announced and shown, and then fable, blade, perfect dark, etc... it's not anticipated games? Please, give me a break!

That’s not giving up, but it 100% is a change in strategy. And not one that a person needs to own Xbox hardware to be a part of. I already bought a few of the xbox games I had on Steam, like MCC, and Steam offers a vastly more diverse library than Xbox does. I can play JRPGs that skipped the console! And crossplay is a thing! So why go back?

I don't see any radical change in strategy, Xbox has already been releasing its games on PC for years, Xbox is already the leading provider of games on PS, and we know very well that first party games which will go to other consoles will remain very limited, the games that I mentioned for example will not be part of it, we can start betting :)

You're obviously a PC gamer and that's great. Personally, I have a console and a PC, I mostly use the PC when the TV is on. But otherwise, I find it much more pleasant to play on console, notably with features that do not exist on PC such as quick resume which is really a game changer for me. There will always be players who prefer to play on consoles, rather than on PC. As Spencer said, the Xbox console will remain the best platform for playing Xbox games.

This is already the case but I also think that more and more players will have various platforms to play: on mobile, on PC, on console, on handled console, etc... And what Xbox does, these are the only to do it or at least they are much further ahead than anyone on: cross-platform, cross-gen, cross-save, backward compatibility, much more than PlayStation for example who are either late or not does not offer these features at all.

Xbox has the right strategy despite the evil tongues who take a dim view of the success of Xbox ;)
 

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