MS: 1st party Xbox games will be cross-gen for "next year, two years"

[Mr Puggsly]

goopy20 said:

You have to admit that a lot of the things MS are doing don't sound viable if they plan on selling as many Series X boxes as possible. Traditionally platform holders use their 1st party exclusives to push console sales and that kinda works. Console generations aren't a new concept and no ps4 owner will be upset or disappointed if the exclusives on ps4 start drying out. The masses desperately want to upgrade to a new console with the promise of new games that are a radical departure of what's possible on their old console, as long as it's not more than $499.

With MS they aren't doing that. Instead they are making all their exclusives cross-gen so there's no real need to upgrade. The console itself looks like a mini pc that no single person on earth will be able to stick under the tv. And, probably the weirdest thing, they aren't just releasing their flagship exclusives on pc, they are practically giving them away for free through their $1 GP promotion. All in all it sounds like a terrible plan to launch a mass market console, but I guess we'll have to wait till MS reveals a price before it all starts to make sense. 

You said "traditionally" and ended with "kinda works." This suggests you aren't entirely confident about traditional logic.

That's because you are smart enough to know launch exclusives have had a tendency to underwhelm critically. Cross gen games also dominated in 2013/2014.

The 8th gen felt like gen 7.5 in many ways. Meanwhile BC is highly requested and perhaps more popular than ever. Console generations aren't new, but maybe people don't case as much per se. Especially when 7th gen games have done great on 8th gen.

When I look at software sales and what is most active, the masses opt for online stuff and old IPs. That doesen't suggest they want content that is radically different per se. I suspect 9th gen gamers are gonna do the same. Also, it takes a couple years for the masses to jump over traditionally. Which is why so much planned content is cross gen.

The software sales numbers don't really suggest people went to the 8th gen for Knack and Killzone. Especially when CoD and BF crushed them. Clearly playing upgraded versions of games also has significant appeal early on.

Many millions of people have bought 7th gen games on 8th gen consoles. Why? Because it's generally a better experience.

The Series X can also lay on its side.

Gamepass is also about getting users engaged with MS's output and other notable 3rd party games. They don't get millions of active subscribers from monthy trials.

What exactly needs to make sense in price? The Series X will likely be expensive at launch. Millions will buy the Series X regardless, many more will stick wth X1 as prices eventually comes down. The people sticking with X1 can atleast access new notable 1st party games for a period, along with countless 3rd party cross gen games.

Last edited by Mr Puggsly - on 27 February 2020