(Business Perspective) Does MS really need Xbox Hardware?

[Pemalite]

Machiavellian said:

Pemalite said:

Microsoft's hardware is the least of their issues, they have had the better hardware since 2017, almost 6 years now.

It's all in the software at this point.

Mobile and PC is where they need to appeal to people to adopt Gamepass, combined they are much bigger markets than consoles and tend to be more open for more innovation/flexibility to maneuver in the market.

Not really, the Xbox one was not only weaker than the PS4 but it cost more.  By the time they killed Kinect and shipped the OneX all the damage was done.  Even this Gen,  would not say that MS has the better hardware because as we have seen with most games, the PS5 still either comes out on top or on par.

And the Xbox One X came out in 2017. - Since then they have had better hardware than Sony.
Hence my point.

The Series X is the console that has the better technology when compared to the Playstation 5, many multi-plats have showcased that, are they significant differences? Not really, you need direct comparisons to tell and feel the difference, it's not like you are stepping up to a PC.

But they still have the better hardware.

Machiavellian said:

I also do agree they need to solidify their PC offerings and make sure their games perform unlike what we have seen from the latest crop of PC games including MS.  Mobile is where MS will be making their biggest push with GP but they still must develop those must have type of games in order to get that really rolling.  Redfall was a huge set back, especially when people will be comparing against what Sony has released thus far.

Their console game releases have been a shit-show, let's be honest.

Their PC support however has been fantastic, it's  like they have finally turned a new leaf and have stopped treating us PC gamers like 2nd class citizens.

All Xbox first party titles are getting PC ports... But they have started focusing on PC titles like Age of Empires, Flight Simulator again, which has been fantastic.
..And their PC ports themselves aren't bad either, far better in terms of port quality than Sony's efforts.

Machiavellian said:

Before I did not agree that the game should have been delayed but after playing it with all its bugs and basically AA looking graphics not to mention the expectations as a first party AAA game, Redfall should have either been shelved or not push back until whoever came to help was able to get the game in decent shape.  As the 3rd place console, those mistakes are magnified to the nth degree compared if it was Sony.

I think there is an expectation and pressure for developers to release on their expected release-schedule... In general.
We need to praise delays, Halo: Infinite for all it's issues is a technically better game because of it's delay.

Then we also have the advertising side of the equation, many games have mammoth advertising budgets which are dictated by advertising contracts which may not offer flexibility in advertising time frames... And considering the millions of dollars that movies, games and tv shows push these days for advertising, it's a big money sink in a games budget.
And the sooner you ratify those contracts, the cheaper your advertising budget and the larger the reach you have.

And you are right, Microsoft has far less room to screw up than Sony and Nintendo who have mindshare.