(Business Perspective) Does MS really need Xbox Hardware?

[Chazore]

NobleTeam360 said:

I'll just add on to this post. People point out that Xbox is needed for competition and/or to keep Sony in check but Xbox isn't competitive with PlayStation in most markets. Hence why Sony has been able to get away with increasing the price of its console and games in general. People also point to North America which yes, MS is competitive in that region with PlayStation but unless suddenly North America is all that matters; Xbox's competitiveness is a minimal reason for it to stick around and has largely had no impact in stopping Sony from raising the prices on consumers. 

Essentially, Xbox being competition to PlayStation isn't a valid reason in my mind for Xbox to be needed. 

I feel like people were way too honest in why they wanted Xbox to remain, only because they wanted to see Sony "winning" all the time, despite the fact that they haven't really had all that much competition since the 360 days, but even then, Sony came out better near the end of that gen.

I do believe that simply wanting a competitor around, just to make the other look good, while also outright refusing to buy from the competitor, just isn't asking for actual competition (And we saw this during the 2010's on this forum with the fans on either side going back and forth).

I'd agree, I don't think it's valid to want Xbox around, just so Sony stays "winning", because that's not really winning, that's just making them complacent and also not really competitive, when all you're doing is just buying from them.

Usually when people want competition to be good, it means they are incentivised to want to buy from both, not just the one. Take for example EGS, I wanted actual competition, healthy and fair competition, but instead we get a barebones client, and similar console exclusivity contracts, to strong arm people, not incentives, strongarm ppl into using their client (The free games are fine, but that's the only real positive point I can give, since EA did that once, but even giving out free games won't last forever, and when it ends you then lose that positive point).