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Forums - Sales Discussion - Amazon US August monthly bestsellers and general Amazon based discussion

binary solo said:
Nuvendil said:

Yeah, but the problem is they aren't number 1 anymore, not even close.  And the worse it gets, the more expensive and elusive third party deals and marketing rights will get.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if Fallout 4 is the last Bethesda Game Studios game to have an MS marketing agreement if this continues and that would be a huge blow now that CoD's deal is also gone. 

Their dire first exclusives situation is of their own making though.  They let their exclusives lineup and emphasis decay throughout the second half of Gen 7 while Sony and Nintendo shored theirs up (difference being Sony didn't take amnesia pills like Nintendo and completely forget how to market and build hype :P ).  And now MS is paying the price.  They're trying to get back in it and diversify, but that takes time and time is what they don't have too much of.  And it doesn't help that Sony is doing the same thing with games like Horizon, Deep Down, and Bloodborne.   

I don't see why MS can't still get marketing exclusivity rights, especially for games with high USA/UK appeal. They'll just need to pay more for those rights. What they will never get is a multi-plat to go exclusive like RoTR. No publisher in their right mind is going to diss the PS4 user base with an existing IP. MS will have to purchase exclusive new IP, but even then publishers will want to be able to put the IP onto PC as part of the cost of missing out on seeling to that PS4 user base.

Meanwhile, aside from FPS, Sony wouldn't have too much difficulty in getting console exclusivity for some existing IP if they really wanted to, or full exclusivity for new IP. I hope they don't do the former, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did that for one or two more existing IP in the future.  Would be kinda karmically funny if Sony snagged console exclusivity for the next Tomb Raider game. There's a danger Sony could do that if RoTR doesn't meet sales expectations on Xb one.  


Sure MS can just burn even more money on the Xbone to get those marketing deals but eventually it gets to the level of futility that the greater MS corporation will see no point.  And I think Sony stealing away CoD marketing exclusivity and the competitive scene (and creating a pseudo Madden bundle to boot) show that Sony is looking to push Xbox to that point. 



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Nuvendil said:
binary solo said:

I don't see why MS can't still get marketing exclusivity rights, especially for games with high USA/UK appeal. They'll just need to pay more for those rights. What they will never get is a multi-plat to go exclusive like RoTR. No publisher in their right mind is going to diss the PS4 user base with an existing IP. MS will have to purchase exclusive new IP, but even then publishers will want to be able to put the IP onto PC as part of the cost of missing out on seeling to that PS4 user base.

Meanwhile, aside from FPS, Sony wouldn't have too much difficulty in getting console exclusivity for some existing IP if they really wanted to, or full exclusivity for new IP. I hope they don't do the former, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did that for one or two more existing IP in the future.  Would be kinda karmically funny if Sony snagged console exclusivity for the next Tomb Raider game. There's a danger Sony could do that if RoTR doesn't meet sales expectations on Xb one.  


Sure MS can just burn even more money on the Xbone to get those marketing deals but eventually it gets to the level of futility that the greater MS corporation will see no point.  And I think Sony stealing away CoD marketing exclusivity and the competitive scene (and creating a pseudo Madden bundle to boot) show that Sony is looking to push Xbox to that point. 

The anti-Xbox faction in MS was pretty much shut down during the 360 era since 360 was doing well and had good buzz around it, once RROD was sorted. But I think the anti-Xbox faction voices might start to get louder over the next few years if Xbox essentially fails in all significant markets other than USA and UK.



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

binary solo said:
Nuvendil said:

I don't see why MS can't still get marketing exclusivity rights, especially for games with high USA/UK appeal. They'll just need to pay more for those rights. What they will never get is a multi-plat to go exclusive like RoTR. No publisher in their right mind is going to diss the PS4 user base with an existing IP. MS will have to purchase exclusive new IP, but even then publishers will want to be able to put the IP onto PC as part of the cost of missing out on seeling to that PS4 user base.

Meanwhile, aside from FPS, Sony wouldn't have too much difficulty in getting console exclusivity for some existing IP if they really wanted to, or full exclusivity for new IP. I hope they don't do the former, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did that for one or two more existing IP in the future.  Would be kinda karmically funny if Sony snagged console exclusivity for the next Tomb Raider game. There's a danger Sony could do that if RoTR doesn't meet sales expectations on Xb one.  

The real issue here is revenue.  You see Microsoft has money, but Xbox Revenue has been in free fall since the price cut and unbundles.  Thats why you see the revival of 399 and even 499 SKUs.  And don't forget they did get Tomb Raider  And I'm sure they paid some major cash for that.  But in truth, there is nothing Microsoft can do to take the lead from Sony so why bother.    Why spend a boat load of money on cash deals when you can generate more reveune from Halo, and the onslaught of bundles.   There is no likely scenerio where Sony fails to beat Microsoft.  Sony jcan do more with those deals than Microsoft can. 



CosmicSex said:
binary solo said:

I don't see why MS can't still get marketing exclusivity rights, especially for games with high USA/UK appeal. They'll just need to pay more for those rights. What they will never get is a multi-plat to go exclusive like RoTR. No publisher in their right mind is going to diss the PS4 user base with an existing IP. MS will have to purchase exclusive new IP, but even then publishers will want to be able to put the IP onto PC as part of the cost of missing out on seeling to that PS4 user base.

Meanwhile, aside from FPS, Sony wouldn't have too much difficulty in getting console exclusivity for some existing IP if they really wanted to, or full exclusivity for new IP. I hope they don't do the former, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did that for one or two more existing IP in the future.  Would be kinda karmically funny if Sony snagged console exclusivity for the next Tomb Raider game. There's a danger Sony could do that if RoTR doesn't meet sales expectations on Xb one.  

The real issue here is revenue.  You see Microsoft has money, but Xbox Revenue has been in free fall since the price cut and unbundles.  Thats why you see the revival of 399 and even 499 SKUs.  And don't forget they did get Tomb Raider  And I'm sure they paid some major cash for that.  But in truth, there is nothing Microsoft can do to take the lead from Sony so why bother.    Why spend a boat load of money on cash deals when you can generate more reveune from Halo, and the onslaught of bundles.   There is no likely scenerio where Sony fails to beat Microsoft.  Sony jcan do more with those deals than Microsoft can. 

Outside the USA no, there is no win condition available for Xb one, inside the USA the win condition is pretty tight. However if MS has any ongoing ambition with Xbox as a hardware brand (rather than Xbox App on PCs, tablets and phones), then this generation more or less needs to be written off from a profit perspective and the sole aim should be to remain relevant as a global (excluding Japan) brand. If MS chooses to focus on revenue and profits for this generation then I think the chances for Xbox one 2 are very slim. If MS chooses to maximise install base, be as relevant as possible and snag some useful exclusives (at this point RoTR is about useless as an exclusive) they have a chance of doing a decent reset for the next generation, whatever the next generation might look like.



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

binary solo said:
CosmicSex said:

Outside the USA no, there is no win condition available for Xb one, inside the USA the win condition is pretty tight. However if MS has any ongoing ambition with Xbox as a hardware brand (rather than Xbox App on PCs, tablets and phones), then this generation more or less needs to be written off from a profit perspective and the sole aim should be to remain relevant as a global (excluding Japan) brand. If MS chooses to focus on revenue and profits for this generation then I think the chances for Xbox one 2 are very slim. If MS chooses to maximise install base, be as relevant as possible and snag some useful exclusives (at this point RoTR is about useless as an exclusive) they have a chance of doing a decent reset for the next generation, whatever the next generation might look like.


I get your point and I see where that would be a viable option, but in the business world, running negative profits on the hope of maximizing next gen kinda went out of style when Xbox 360 failed to return profits overall.  I think maximizing revenues is the best way to approach this at this point.   I think the problem with planning for next gen is that you are right:  No one knows what it looks like yet.  Caution is the best way to go.  Remember, the USA isn't a sure thing even if they do lowball it. Sony still has the top trump card.  A mere $50 price cut would probably put the USA out of reach for Microsoft for the forseeable future.  So if there is no guarentee that they can improve their marketshare, they should focus on profits and revenue.  That is far easier to manage and much more predictable. 



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CosmicSex said:
binary solo said:

Outside the USA no, there is no win condition available for Xb one, inside the USA the win condition is pretty tight. However if MS has any ongoing ambition with Xbox as a hardware brand (rather than Xbox App on PCs, tablets and phones), then this generation more or less needs to be written off from a profit perspective and the sole aim should be to remain relevant as a global (excluding Japan) brand. If MS chooses to focus on revenue and profits for this generation then I think the chances for Xbox one 2 are very slim. If MS chooses to maximise install base, be as relevant as possible and snag some useful exclusives (at this point RoTR is about useless as an exclusive) they have a chance of doing a decent reset for the next generation, whatever the next generation might look like.


I get your point and I see where that would be a viable option, but in the business world, running negative profits on the hope of maximizing next gen kinda went out of style when Xbox 360 failed to return profits overall.  I think maximizing revenues is the best way to approach this at this point.   I think the problem with planning for next gen is that you are right:  No one knows what it looks like yet.  Caution is the best way to go.  Remember, the USA isn't a sure thing even if they do lowball it. Sony still has the top trump card.  A mere $50 price cut would probably put the USA out of reach for Microsoft for the forseeable future.  So if there is no guarentee that they can improve their marketshare, they should focus on profits and revenue.  That is far easier to manage and much more predictable. 

One thing's for certain, Xbox is not in an easy position to have a clear vision of how to achive long term success and profitability. It's not right to call doom on it, but it's also head in the sand material saying things like its outpacing 360 in the same timeframe so everything will be fine.

What's the deal with PS4 hardware? The Taken King bundle is the top sku now. Arkham Knight bundle seems to be out of stock, and the other sku's don't seem to be picking up the slack.



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

PS4 hardware disappearing off the charts. Xb one now has the best selling currently available sku on the hourlies, and PS4 only has one currently available sku in the top 100 (Arkham Knight bundle), and it's only available from 3rd parties.

Is everyone waiting for MGS?



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

binary solo said:
PS4 hardware disappearing off the charts. Xb one now has the best selling currently available sku on the hourlies, and PS4 only has one currently available sku in the top 100 (Arkham Knight bundle), and it's only available from 3rd parties.

Is everyone waiting for MGS?


PS4 really, really, really needs to start stocking its bundles better.

Xbox bundles last forever, but Sony seems intent on letting its really popular bundles simply disappear into the abyss.

Also, is there any indication of the existence of a PS4 CoD bundle? That, I assume, would sell a ton. 



I think an announcement of a price cut and some new bundles are imminent. That is why we are seeing all skus apart from the new Destiny one dwindling. I think that is also the reason that the Destiny special edition is $399, and the Battlefront bundle has not been priced or made available for preorder.



Batman PS4 bundle back in stock.