Microsoft might legit publish more games on PS5 this year than Sony does." Gamers react to PlayStation State of Play, and the strange times Xbox f...

[Windows Central]

Sony had its semi-regular State of Play showcase yesterday, and PlayStation gamers hoping for a roadmap received a lot of third-party multiplatform titles instead. Did Xbox bow out too soon?

Microsoft might legit publish more games on PS5 this year than Sony does." Gamers react to PlayStation State of Play, and the strange times Xbox f... : Read more

 

[fatpunkslim]

It's more of a "State of Third Party" than a "State of Play" these days. It's been ages since we had a genuinely good State of Play event. They even managed to remake another game that didn't need it, which is unbelievable!

Xbox, on the other hand, has more multiplatform AND exclusive games than PlayStation, which is quite remarkable. This clearly shows that console sales are driven by marketing and media perception, rather than the games themselves.

As a result, PlayStation gamers end up buying very few games, making it a default console for casual gamers who stick to titles like FIFA, Fortnite, and Call of Duty. Just take a look at the poor sales of Astrobot , which, despite receiving a huge marketing campaign, still struggled in the market. Not to mention the sales of Final Fantasy and others.

Why invest in a console for just two exclusive games a year that end up on PC anyway? Xbox is a great console, thanks to Game Pass—the best service out there. With Play Anywhere and the best backward compatibility, Xbox provides more exclusive games than PlayStation, even if some are released on other consoles after a few years. I'm not willing to wait four years to play the next Forza Horizon.

Upcoming exclusives like Avowed, South of Midnight, and Mecha Break look amazing. It feels like they're the only ones creating exciting new games!

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

None of this really seems like a negative in the gaming industry to me. Neither Playstation nor Xbox consoles are likely to go anywhere soon (you don't typically get rid of a consumer business pulling in 10 billion+ USD overnight), and now more games than ever are available to more gamers than ever. Sony's first party efforts don't prop up the industry (though I suspect we'll soon all benefit from the news of closer to day and date PC launches). We're still getting some of the best stream of games ever. I'm very happy as a gamer that everything interesting at the state of play is coming to Xbox. Just like I'm sure PS gamers were happy 3/4 interesting games were going to Playstation. PC gamers are happy to be getting everything. And Nintendo Switch owners will be... maybe happy to buy the Switch 2? Idk. Nintendo does NOT have the best historical track record with sequel consoles.

The industry feels like it's evolving. For PlayStation it feels like it's involving around them without their consent and yet they still have to watch as their reality changes. Their first party had dried up. Their third parties are supporting all platforms day one. And their "direct" competitor (not even really anymore because they are playing different games) is doing very well on the PS store (and they only keep 30% of that success). As a consumer there's nothing I really feel worrisome over. I mean, speaking of expensive PC hardware what about expensive console hardware? After the PS5 Pro, the PS6 price terrifies me. Xbox is the last one seemingly okay with subsidizing prices. I don't expect that to hold next generation. So we'll have the high performance PS6 and Next Xbox probably pushing $600 and Nintendo continuing to have console hardware a generation and half old for $300 to $400. I will gladly take more games than ever releasing on more hardware. You don't know how happy I am that a Digimon Story game is coming to Xbox day one.

 

[Papictu]

I have already had several conversations here and I think you already know my opinion, I am completely devastated by the state of Xbox.

Where I live, in Spain, here Xbox has disappeared, in all stores only Nintendo and Playstation systems are for sale, the only way to buy an Series S or X here is in Amazon.

In a move that seems to me a shame, it seems that Microsoft has abandoned the users who purchased an Xbox Series, I am angry and sad.

I don't know what the next Xbox will be like, but I hope it's really something good, or it's going to be hard to turn around the self-destructive inertia they've started on their own platform.

On the one hand, because they have broken the image and trust of users, will it be worth buying "Xbox Prime" if Xbox Series has ended so badly? I think it is an inevitable question that the few users who will consider buying it will ask themselves.

And on the other hand, if it evolves into a kind of PC, how will it work? if Steam or Epic are on "Xbox Prime" will we have separate libraries per store? if I unlock an achievement in a Steam game will it count in my Xbox profile? will the friends list be a mix of all the stores?

My head is a mess, I can't not be pessimistic with everything they are doing, which I really hope they have some plan and this makes sense at some point, and that it's not that they are killing the Xbox platform, which is what it looks like right now.

 

[fatpunkslim]

I have already had several conversations here and I think you already know my opinion, I am completely devastated by the state of Xbox.

Where I live, in Spain, here Xbox has disappeared, in all stores only Nintendo and Playstation systems are for sale, the only way to buy an Series S or X here is in Amazon.

In a move that seems to me a shame, it seems that Microsoft has abandoned the users who purchased an Xbox Series, I am angry and sad.

I don't know what the next Xbox will be like, but I hope it's really something good, or it's going to be hard to turn around the self-destructive inertia they've started on their own platform.

On the one hand, because they have broken the image and trust of users, will it be worth buying "Xbox Prime" if Xbox Series has ended so badly? I think it is an inevitable question that the few users who will consider buying it will ask themselves.

And on the other hand, if it evolves into a kind of PC, how will it work? if Steam or Epic are on "Xbox Prime" will we have separate libraries per store? if I unlock an achievement in a Steam game will it count in my Xbox profile? will the friends list be a mix of all the stores?

My head is a mess, I can't not be pessimistic with everything they are doing, which I really hope they have some plan and this makes sense at some point, and that it's not that they are killing the Xbox platform, which is what it looks like right now.

Stop trolling please ! We've all figured out that you're not an Xbox player, no need to pretend, you're wasting your time!

 

[fjtorres5591]

Consoles are edging towards the edge of their economic viability: their price/performance is overlapping with "last year's" gaming PCs.
This is often ignored in the media because they always focus on the latest and greatest (most expensive) hardware.

The real world, as STEAM's annual survey reveals, does not live at the bleeding edge. And that means that an $800 console, with its locked-in store, console exclusives and mandatory subscriptions, may end up pricier than a lower end gaming PC without the monthly fees and with access to most of the hyped console games.

This is reflected in the popularity of handheld gaming PC and the pining for a STEAM OS living room box. And if the XBOX does indeed evolve Windows compatibility it will definitely remain relevant even if indeed STEAM or somebody else produces a living room console. Otherwise...

As to Sony, well, as I've said before; they zigged when they should've zagged and invested their funds in "less than optimal" ways. Which is leaving them, for the next 3-4 years, with one first party exclusive a year and forcing them to hype third party games they pretend aren't multiplatform to feed their fanboys' delusions. (yesterday's dog and pony show had exactly *one* first party, a remake that is also coming to PC).

Back during the FTC trial, among the leaked goodies there was one particularly amusing email where one XBOX exec, obviously irritated by Sony's anticompetitive practices, wondered why MS didn't just spend Sony out of the market. The obvious answer being that in addition to being anticompetitive and anticonsumer it would bring in unwanted regulatory trouble. Plus, it was and is bad business. 4% profit margin versus 12% says it all.

And yet, MS is in fact spending Sony out of the business--the software and services side, where the money is. Instead of money hatting games away from Sony, MS simply put its money to work *creating games*. 100 studios that are only now starting to flood the market and GAME PASS, in particular with cost-controlled AA games, chasing engagement (and money) rather than pandering to the aging game media still clinging to the no longer workable economics of the old days.

Every day, more and more data comes out and it is becoming clear that high end, pixel pimping games are no longer viable on a single platform no matter how big. 70% of the spending might be on PC but PC alone is not enough for the highest end projects to subsist on, to say nothing of the living room consoles. And even then, it took ALAN WAKE 2 18 months to reach breakeven. At least they are still alive. Almost daily now we hear of studios shutting down, trimming staff, cancelling or delaying projects.

XBOX on the other hand is prospering. They went to PC 10 years ago.
They went LIVE SERVICE even earlier, depending on how you look at their online games. They spent big but they not only bought future games, they bought *current* cash cows and tons of IP. Just yesterday, I realized MS now owns PROJECT GOTHAM and the other IP from BIZZARE CREATIONS. Makes me wonder what Playground Games might do with PROJECT GOTHAM. Or maybe METROPOLIS STREET RACER (not sure if MS or Sega owns the ip.) MS now has a horde of ip and the studios to monetize them.

And to top it all, MS is turning their competitor platforms into farm teams feeding cash to keep their 100 studios fully funded and producing.

"What's mine is mine, what's yours is...also mine."
(Negotiation is over.)