Microsoft Will Focus Primarily On Xbox Live Usership, Not Console Shipments

[Dr.Henry_Killinger]

zero129 said:

I think you dont realize just how much MS is going to be pushing the Windows 10 App store. What exclusive games have valve released recently?.

With MS they will be able to get all the new games coming to steam plus their own exclusive games, and if you think games like Halo, Gears, Forza etc wont bring people to the MS store well i dont know what to say.

Now what if MS starts buying 3rd party exclusive games for their app store? after all people will be able to play them games on a number of devices something steam cannot do at this time. Dont get me wrong id never leave steam cos im locked into their store with all my games. But that still doesnt mean i wouldnt buy games from the Ms store if they had better deals (Something MS can offered to do) .

Comparing the Ms store to Internet explorer is also a bad thing to do since its nothing alike.

Also MS has seemed to of learned from their mistakes with the Games for Windows Gold.

Well steams user base will only be growing on PC MS's user base will be growing on PC/ Consoles/Phones/tablets/ maybe even Smart TV's.

I think your looking at this short term instead of the long term, i also think that you dont realize that once MS Switchs back to PC fully they are going to go at it hard, you will see the MS store being advertised on TV you will see Exclusive games for the MS store being advertised on TV, you will see MS buying exclusive games along with their own exclusives to keep them away from steam. New users will buy a windows 10 device and use the Ms store since its right there in their face and if it has the same new games they want to play as steam does then they wont feel the need to install steam as like you said their needs will be fullfilled. Also one other thing is that all them stores can co exist on PC and users will use them for the exclusives the same way users use origin for EA games. Now im not saying MS will completly over take steam, But i do believe if they play their cards right and with the right deals they will come very close to their userbase numbers and will be the 2nd biggest digital store on PC.

Like i said people said the same thing about the PS3 and X360 that Ms would never stand a chance against Sony and we all know how that worked and if they didnt have to make such mistakes with the X1 i bet you that the PS4 and X1 would be very close in userbase numbers too.

You're right, I am looking at it short-term, but only because long term seems like such a stretch without more information. Regardless, your assertions are fair so...fair enough.

That being said, I don't think comparing this future scenario to PS3 vs 360 is apt. The PS3 made a slew of mistakes, including higher price point after already releasing later. In contrast, Steam is essentially the poster boy of PC Gaming Software, their only sin is quality control and their refund system is addressing that,  pushing the OS just doesn't seem significant enough to me, b/c this isn't MS's first foray into online vending. IIRC Games for Windows predates Windows 8, which is when MS introduced their app store, and Games for Windows is 5 feet under right now. Intresting to note that it started 3 years after Steam did.

To me at least, it looks like PS2 vs Xbox.

#Addendum: Apparently, Steam extends to mobile's iOS and Android as well. I don't think it support mobile games, and the AS/GP may impede this, but if threatened by Live moving in on PC, then it certainly is a possiblity. There already many games on both steam and mobile seperatly, implementing cross buy and other further unification features might result. If we consider Portal 2 on the PS3, Steam and PS might also come to a PC agreement for more cross buy games, even if these were multiplats or at least valve produced multiplats. But hey, I'm just throwing out ideas.

Certainly very contestable, but guarateed to lead to considerable evolution in PC gaming, and its trickle down effect into console, which as evident in this generations consoles, will be much quicker.