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G2ThaUNiT on 21 April 2023
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super_etecoon said:

Hi all, I'm not an XBox gamer, but I am interested in what fans think of the current Microsoft mood. It seems to me the height of XBox fandom was during the middle years of the 360's lifespan. At that point almost everyone that I encountered in real life was playing on their 360 (even more so than people I would encounter that played the Wii). What was the point that the slide in popularity and positivity began to take hold? I certainly have a few theories of my own, but I'd like to hear where true XBox fans side on this issue. And if you don't think there has been a slide, by all means state that and why you don't think there has been one in terms of popular sentiment about the console.

By the way, as a Nintendo fan, I'm more than aware of what it feels like to have your company of choice take a few shots on the nose, and also that tides can change rather quickly in this business. Are you bullish about Microsoft's future in the console space over the next 10 years, particularly with the acquisition of Activision/Blizzard?

Hi there! For me personally at the height of Xbox being great, it's a tossup between the early years of the original Xbox or the late 2000's of the 360. But when Don Mattrick took over at the turn of the new decade, he completely overhauled the focus of Xbox that haunted the division for years well into Phil Spencer's tenure as head of Xbox. He pushed for the development of the Kinect, turned the 360 into more of a media device than a gaming device, opened up that Xbox Productions for content, and we saw less exclusives games by the end of the 360 generation.

And it ultimately led to his he failed launch of the Xbox One that turned out to very quickly be his demise. Unfortunately, it took years to undo the damage he did to Xbox. Not just in focusing back on games, but damage to the brand overall. 

There's been a lot of praise for the Series X and less so for Series S, but still welcomed by a lot of gamers for being an inexpensive entry point into gaming. There's just been so many bad PR moments for Xbox as a whole and of course, the lack of major AAA titles as a reason to buy into the ecosystem, aside from Game Pass. Starfield should be the turning point for Xbox this generation. A mainline Bethesda RPG is always a industry shaking event, not Fallout 76 lol, and with it being a brand new IP, they cannot mess up this launch. So the future is bright and the Summer showcase in June will have to bring it all to turn all the negative PR into positive. There are a LOT of AAA games we've known about for years. It needs to be time for Xbox to start showing more gameplay and release dates. There's been some fantastic AA games! Whether it's Pentiment, Grounded, or Hi-Fi Rush. The studios are showing they're talented and releasing great games, but it's the AAA that move consoles. Not to mention, you can't find a Series X anywhere lol.

Yeah I remember many calling for Nintendo to go the way Sega during the Wii U days lol. I wouldn't say it's that bad considering Xbox is still relevant outside of the console.