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DonFerrari said:

Ok so you made a leap of faith between signing support with 250 devs to making exclusivity deal with 250 devs? Got it.

About Xbox not doing anyone favor by hanging around I think at least 15M people disagree with you. Because since all xbox games can be played on PC if they decided to buy the console is because they prefer this solution for any number of reasons they may have.

Leap of faith what? 

Console hardware isn't necessary anymore. Sony and Nintendo will continue to hang around because they sell enough to justify. Xbox hardware is selling really well but its not justifiable for a mega corporation that makes $40billion a QTR. Its what i call "A unnecessary need"

Otter said:

Without the hardware 90% of their subs will vanish over night, so for now they need it. Xbox Live can only thrive on dedicated hardware, Gamepass meanwhile can be hardware agnostic but isn't big enough yet for them to rely on.

You have to lose to gain. GP is a threat because MS still have dedicated hardware that their competition has to compete with. Take the competition out and it's all money and gains for Nintendo, Sony and Xbox. What they lose they gain back with more numbers.

Machiavellian said:

Where exactly are you getting this data that MS has wanted to exit the hardware business.  Where are you getting this data that they even want to exist the hardware business now.  You keep making this claim but there is no data I found MS making or even suggesting such a claim.  

The 2 articles you listed actually do not support your opinion if unless you just take them totally out of context.

There is a lot of Ifs in your post which is basically just gambling.  Why would MS need to gamble when they are already making the money now.  IF GP is marketed right.  If GP gets to 100 million subs, If GP can be put on Sony and Nintendo Platform, IF MS can sell their software more than double the biggest publisher does.  If XCloud is viable, If people are willing to transition to Xbox games in the cloud over fix hardware.  If MS will not lose GP subs instead of expand it.  Think about it, how many people will want to keep their GP sub if its neutered on competition consoles.  I mean every point you make is based on a lot of Ifs to happen.  What your opinion does not provide is any concrete data to support it.  There is no data that shows GP will grow if MS exit the hardware market.  There is no data that MS software will sell better on Sony platform then it does on their own platform.  There is no data that suggest Sony or Nintendo will allow GP on their platform.  There is no data that shows GP suddenly jumping to enough subs that it can replace the revenue MS makes on hardware.

If you are truly looking at this from a business perspective what metric will MS have to hit first in order to make all your ifs happen.  Do MS wait until they get to a certain subscription size.  Do MS wait until they have a deal in place with Sony and Nintendo.  Do MS wait until they can port their games over to the competition platforms.  Do MS wait until the net infrastructure can handle them going full XCloud for delivery of their games.  Or do you believe MS can just bam!!, We are dropping hardware and going full GP and hope as hell things just magically work out.  There is a lot of ifs that seem to really need to happen for even a consideration on such an exit plan.

Your entire response answers your own questions. These "What Ifs" are extremely possible. 

You ask what metric does MS need to do first? Like in every business, you slowly fade out the un-necessaires and push the narrative harder and harder, year on year increasing its traction.

You guys are not seeing it and it's really odd. They don't have to lose current customers/subs. Xbox will most likely follow the Stadia route moving forward, if you own a Series Console cool, however you can just stream your games on devices moving forward. You can still keep your old hardware but moving forward, like all console systems, they become obsolete and pointless in years to come. 

Its nothing about dropping hardware instantly and forcing people straight away. It's called "phasing out" Exactly how digital media took off. It only was pushed and pushed and pushed until it became the standard across everything. The way the future is looking, Xbox will eventually seize hardware manufacturing and just focus on multiplats/Services. They have the infrastructure advantage, something Sony and Nintendo don't have, and MS know this.

Last edited by Azzanation - on 12 May 2023