Goopy it’s not rocket science to think that consoles are important but not as important as bringing in gamers. Because gamers and games are where the money and engagement is. If they buy the console, all the better. Series X will make use of its power, it’s silly to think otherwise. 

Its like Sony’s way is the only way and anything open minded  or out-of-box is so strange and foreign. It all revolves around 14 studios making only core games (with more acquisitions rumoured) so really...you have no reason to actually complain. 

Look I get what you're saying. Of course all platform holders want to reach more people. Sony tried it with the Move stuff as well and they also have PsNow. But I got a feeling that anything MS does is a win by default in your book. So let me try some reverse psychology here. Just imagine if Sony announced that all of their flag ship exclusives will be cross gen and they will release them day one on PSnow, which is also on pc and Switch. How is that not weird and a complete u-turn from their usual strategy that has worked perfectly fine for almost 3 decades now? Also, doesn't it sound like a terrible way to move p5's, and how does that not suck for people who want to play games designed specifically for the new hardware? 

GP is fantastic right now and offers good value. But at the start of a new gen, focusing on reaching more players with GP is great for MS and people who don't want to upgrade, but it has zero benefits for anyone who is excited about next gen and wants to see tech move forward. Next gen isn't supposed to be a big audience from the start, it's basically a reset where platform holders are supposed to be building a new audience. And they should do that with next gen exclusives that create a desire to migrate and a console that has a tolerable price for max market penetration. 

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PS Move, Kinect produced casual games. Everything MS doing now revolves around core games. Cmon I thought you accepted the difference. 

Your analogy doesn’t apply to Sony because they do what they do very well. They prevent the competition from getting a decent piece of the market thus forcing them to think outside the box. That’s why Switch is underpowered and going the portable route. That’s why Xbox is now more then a console brand, so they can compete around Sony as well as with them.

So many people established here that cross gen games dominate the first year, that quality matters more then critically average tech demos. And we will still see a difference on Series X.

Think of it this way....anyone who is sticking with XB1 for the next couple years, PC gamers, PlayStation gamers who play on PC as a guilty pleasure...they never intended to buy a Series X this year. And yet MS found a way to get money from them. That’s the genius, making money from people that previously didn’t want to give you money. 

GP is fantastic right now and offers good value. But at the start of a new gen, focusing on reaching more players with GP is great for MS and people who don't want to upgrade, but it has zero benefits for anyone who is excited about next gen and wants to see tech move forward. Next gen isn't supposed to be a big audience from the start, it's basically a reset where platform holders are supposed to be building a new audience. And they should do that with next gen exclusives that create a desire to migrate and a console that has a tolerable price for max market penetration. 

Again, the cross gen games dominated exclusives in 2013/2014. That would suggest many people migrated over just to play improved 8th gen versions which were often treated as the lead.

Therefore maybe a viable solution is MS just creating more definitive experiences on 9th gen and marketing them as such.

Games like Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5 are fine on a base X1. But I have a X1X because that's the best console experience for them. Hence, these are Gamepass titles that take advantage of my hardware upgrade purchase.

All we really know about X1 games for 2020/2021 is they will function and should look decent, whether they are 1st or 3rd party. While the Series X versions in comparison will much more closely resemble a high end PC experience. Which may or will include higher resolutions, better performance, better textures, improved or additional affects, faster loading and perhaps more detailed assets/geometry over all. With all that considered, how can you argue Gamepass has no benefits for users upgrading? That's exactly why I may buy a Series X at launch.

Again, the cross gen games dominated exclusives in 2013/2014. That would suggest many people migrated over just to play improved 8th gen versions which were often treated as the lead.

Therefore maybe a viable solution is MS just creating more definitive experiences on 9th gen and marketing them as such.

Games like Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5 are fine on a base X1. But I have a X1X because that's the best console experience for them. Hence, these are Gamepass titles that take advantage of my hardware upgrade purchase.

All we really know about X1 games for 2020/2021 is they will function and should look decent, whether they are 1st or 3rd party. While the Series X versions in comparison will much more closely resemble a high end PC experience. Which may or will include higher resolutions, better performance, better textures, improved or additional affects, faster loading and perhaps more detailed assets/geometry over all. With all that considered, how can you argue Gamepass has no benefits for users upgrading? That's exactly why I may buy a Series X at launch.

Hardly anyone buys a next gen console to play the same games, just better. If that was true, then why did so few people upgrade to a mid-gen console? People buy them because of the promise of new games that take a dramatic leap from what we've seen before. If the first wave of next gen games suck and the new cross-gen cod comes out, then yeah, they will probably still buy cod, and they know they will get a true next gen cod later. That just depends on the quality games. But don't you think a next gen GTA6, HZD, GOW, Halo etc. would push a lot more consoles than any cross-platform title? 

Like I said, GP is great but we won't see any true next gen exclusives on it until we are halfway through next gen.

I never bought a console at launch. I always waited for the first price drop or redesign and buy all the games I wanted that came out from launch till present. 

But I will buy a Series X day 1. I want the Halo Infinite custom console but also the best version...otherwise I’ll feel like I’m “settling”, even on my Xbox X. And I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this. 

Hardly anyone buys a next gen console to play the same games, just better. If that was true, then why did so few people upgrade to a mid-gen console? People buy them because of the promise of new games that take a dramatic leap from what we've seen before.

I know hardware is always evolving and it's only a matter of time before main stream pc catch up and high-end pc's will play next gen console games at native 4k, 60fps and a bump in graphics settings. But nobody, including MS, knows how long that will take. It's very likely that Amd and Nvidia's new mid-range gpu's will piss all over the RTX2080 Super, but it will probably depend on the prices if we'll see main stream pc's catch up quickly or not.

Like I said, my only problem with GP is that it will prevent pushing next gen graphics right out of the gate like a traditional next gen console would. In it's currents state GP is great because everybody and their grandmother has a pc that can run 99% of the games on it. That simply isn't going to be the case when the next gen consoles boasting RTX2080 gpu's will be the lowest common denominator for AAA games, at least not in the first couple of years. Most 3rd party games will be cross-gen and the big franchises that'll skip current gen like GTA, AC, BF won't be on GP from day one. Those kind of games usually come to GP years later, if at all. So the only games on GP that could've potentially pushed next gen consoles would have been MS's day one exclusives. But since MS already said their going to be cross gen for the first 2 years, that isn't happening either.

Console and software sales have been rapidly in decline for MS, so I totally get why they're looking for different business models like GP/Xcloud and them not trying to get in another format war with Sony and Nintendo. Especially, when they envision a future where there's no need for dedicated consoles/ pc at all, and MS is convinced they'll eat the whole pie and become the netflix of gaming.

MAybe some people think I'm rambling madman spouting conspiracy theories here. But don't take my word for it, I'm just quoting Phil Spencer... 

XBOX BOSS PHIL SPENCER ON THE FUTURE OF GAMING: ‘THE BUSINESS ISN’T HOW MANY CONSOLES YOU SELL’

The head of Xbox just unveiled a new console, but Phil Spencer isn’t too worried about selling you one. “I don’t need to sell any specific version of the console in order for us to reach our business goals,” he told me in an interview yesterday, the day after Microsoft held its annual E3 keynote.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/11/18661247/phil-spencer-interview-xbox-project-scarlett-xcloud-e3-2019

Hardly anyone buys a next gen console to play the same games, just better.

I'm actually pretty hyped to play a cross gen game like Halo Infinite on Series X. I mean this is coming from a person that bought a X1X just for more polished and 60 fps experiences.

I got the X1 at launch and bought the exclusives. They were okay, but the masses were more savvy. Most bought cross gen games because they were better content.

Hi, you must be new. This is VGChartz. Had you been aware of this site around 2013/2014, you might have noticed numerous cross gen games trounced 8th gen exclusives. I keep repeating this and it evidently keeps going over your head. So I guess I haven't said it enough.

Why didn't more people jump to mid gen consoles? Not an entirely invalid question, but the answer is common sense. The mid gen upgrades weren't a significant enough upgrade, unless you REALLY want higher resolutions and more stable performance. Many of the upgrades we expect from 9th gen isn't really happening on mid gens or as significant. Also, as the mid gen consoles launched people already started thinking about next gen, especially with each passing year.

For what it's worth, Sony has suggested the PS4 Pro has done quite well. Which would again suggest there is an audience for playing the same games but with better resolution and performance. Anecdotally I know numerous people who either considered upgrading or did buy a mid gen upgrade.

Even if the 9th gen exclusives are good, I guarantee many will still flock to CoD and other cross gen titles. It's like comfort food but now utilizing better specs. You also have to consider people will want to play Sony's upcoming PS4 titles on PS5... because they will be a more definitive experience. This is a fact.

Even if PS5 had amazing launch content, price is still going to deter many from jumping quickly. At the moment though, it looks like Sony's most impressive 2020 content is on PS4 and will be cross gen. 2021 is uncertain, big notable games typically have delays or long development. Based on trends, by 2022 9th gen exclusives will be more common and hardware prices may go down, thus encouraging people to get a 9th gen box.

Gamepass won't have true exclusives until halfway in through the next gen? That's speculation. What if some 3rd party 9th gen exclusives comes to Gamepass in 2020 or 2021? Then your prediction would be wrong. What if MS makes 9th gen exclusive in 2022? Then again your prediction would be wrong.

Either way, we will inevitably see cross gen games that look and perform significantly better on 9th gen in 2020/2021. If they have exclusive features or content on 9th gen is unknown.