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Machiavellian on 17 April 2023
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VAMatt said:
Machiavellian said:

I disagree, MS isn't looking to get out of creating their own hardware instead they are looking to get out of depending on hardware sells as the sole means of revenue in games.  In other words, MS doesn't want to depend on the sales of Xbox hardware for revenue when there are billion of other devices out their that can play games.  Why limit your market just to a console when you can at least attempt to allow users to play on whatever they have on hand.  It also leverages the strength of MS as a company including their cloud stack.

There is zero chance that MS wants to remain in a money losing business like video game hardware.  The only reason they are in it now is to sell software.  But, they are now actively and openly trying to make it so that hardware is irrelevant.  

There are no companies on planet earth that want to make consoles. It's just that a few companies decided that was the best path to generating lots of software revenue.  All of those companies would prefer to not have to deal with rhe hardware anymore.  MS seems to be the one with the most ambitious plan to get out of it. 

What make you believe that consoles is a money losing position.  That is not how the business works.  The reason you can sell hardware at a lost is because people can only purchase games and play on your system because MS gets their cut no matter who is selling the game on their platform.  In order to maximize your own revenue stream, you need to do both.  You need your own mobile hardware that is not tied to Android or IOS, that you can sell your subs to and also maximize your profits from your own store front.  MS will continue to make their own console just like they continue to make their own Hardware because it keeps more customers in their eco system dependent on their hardware and software.  They also want anyone who want to play their games but are still locked to other environments like IOS, Android, Nintendo and Sony systems. Its about maximizing all your revenue streams, not just limiting to just one.

This is why MS has added their cloud initiative to GP, because it gives them flexibility to maximaze GP no matter the hardware someone is using but like Nintendo, they need that sweet spot on the mobile front that gives a bigger screen then your largest phone and allow you to take your games easily anywhere you go.  A switch like Series S would do exactly that and cover all bases.