Xbox is a great brand with incredible games and legacy, and a company like Amazon could hit it hard with its unique thinking, reinvigorate a fanbase gasping for entertainment, and really give its competitor a head-to-head fight. It already has designs on video games with its fledgling Amazon Games Studios set-up, but this could be a real entry into the big league.

With Forza 7 out a month earlier, the Xbox One X launches with no supporting blockbuster games. With Crackdown 3 pushed out of this year’s release schedule, the Xbox holiday line-up for 2017 ends with just one mis-timed blockbuster.

Sony has already had a strong year with an enviable line-up of critical and sales successes. In contrast, the Xbox One got Halo Wars 2 in February, a game no one really cared about. If only Microsoft hadn’t shitcanned Scalebound, a game that was already years in development. Or Fable Legends, a game that was perfectly playable in beta. Remember the Phantom Dust fiasco? If only Microsoft hadn’t closed its internal development studios year after year, from FASA to Lionhead.

Microsoft is hoping people will buy the Xbox One X on a promise that something will come out for it next year (even then, Crackdown 3 isn’t going to be the game to sell a new console.

So let’s call it. Microsoft doesn’t care about the Xbox business. It’s been slowly ramping it down for years. Phil Spencer is doing a grand job of being that enthusiastic exec on the front line, but his words are ringing hollow. It was only March when he said first-party games were “critical” for the launch of the Xbox One. And now the Xbox One is in a critical condition.

Back in 2014 shareholders wanted new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to sell off the Xbox business. He said he had no intention of doing so, even though he didn’t see it as part of the core business. He still seems to be on board with the idea that he can “connect the dots” around social gaming – but that’s ignoring the fact that places like Twitch and YouTube have already been extremely successful at bringing gamers together without being closed environments like Xbox Live or PSN.

So if Microsoft has all but given up on the Xbox One, what’s to be done? A sale. A sale of the Xbox business to an entertainment company that can turn it around and shake up the staid console market.

Amazon is already well invested in the entertainment production, distribution and sales business with Amazon Studios, pumping out original movies and TV shows. Imagine the team that saw the potential in American Gods and Preacher, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Tick, digging around the games community for blockbuster ideas and prototypes.

Or those who commissioned challenging movies like The Neon Demon, Manchester By The Sea and I Am Not Your Negro saying yes to equally exciting game pitches.

Don’t forget Amazon is also the owner of Twitch, the ESPN of esports. Or the largest streaming platform of games, where 45 million-plus people go to hang out and watch and interact every month. That’s a whole load of gamers ripe for the picking. Don’t forget it owns Comixology too, just to add to the geek credentials.

Amazon is also all about the cloud – the fabled computing system that’s been threatening to disrupt video game entertainment for a number of years, but has so far only tentatively nudged at the business with services like PlayStation Now. Imagine that tech finally being used for massive games, like the Crackdown 3 we were promised two years ago.

And Amazon has been manufacturing hardware with the Fire tablets, Fire TV, Kindle and Echo devices. Scaling that up to take on console manufacturing wouldn’t be so hard, would it? They also have the successful app store, the digital sales business, the absolute dominance of online retail.

https://www.vg247.com/2017/08/18/microsoft-should-sell-the-xbox-business-in-order-to-save-it/

MS this gen won't be able to go head to head with Sony. The PS4 has a huge lead and there's no way the XBO is catching up. If MS were to sell the Xbox brand to Amazon that isn't changing, they would still be way behind in sales compared to the PS4. Xbox is doing good and making a profit for Microsoft so I don't see why they would sell it anyway.

I think it's disingenuous to say that Microsoft doesn't care about Xbox.

To say that Microsoft doesn't care about Xbox hardware is another story. And you can see this with a lot of the other hardware they've put out in the recent past (shoutout to the Band and Lumia line).

If they could move every Xbox owner over to a Windows 10 PC environment playing Xbox games exclusively through the Windows Store, I'm sure they'd be all over that. In a scenario like that, I don't think Amazon could do better.

MS deeply cares about Xbox, they are just bad at managing it. Amazon no. Amazon would even be more clueless. Thier smartphone and tablet went nowhere. They tried with Fire TV to get in gaming and even bought Double Helix off heels of the success of Strider and Killer Instinct Revivals and now DH is a smaller case of what happened to Rare. Amazon is already sticking it to gamers in Canada and now the US with their retail service. I'm sorry but no. MS as clueless as they were in the early goings of console gaming had just enough experience with PC gaming they had some footing.

Sony worked with Nintendo in making the sound chip for SNES and of course developed the PlayStation under Nintendo which gave them footing. Nintendo had footing with Game & Watch and arcades. Amazon would be going in blind and make many of the same mistakes of early XBO. TV TV TV TV TV with Amazon Fire TV service on Xbox.

Xbox will never beat Sony or Nintendo as a whole for one simple reason. They cannot sell in Japan. Sony and Nintendo can sell well in any territory. They don't always do but they have the ability to. Xbox does not.

Not Amazon.

They bought/made a heap of studios to get into video games... And even after several years, not a single title even remotely interests me.

And that is sad... As they own Double Helix games which has Remnants of Shiny Entertainment which brought us one of the best games of all time... Sacrifice.
And who were the ones who did a reboot of the best fighting game (In my opinion!) of the generation with Killer Instinct.

I think Xbox is best in Microsofts hands. Microsoft has the resources and backing to make it successful.
They just need to pull their finger out and just do it.

Honestly I think their problem is messageing, to often 1 head guy says something, then its contradicted not long after by either another person, or a move they do.

And the 1st/2nd party management of studios. They need to take a few guys from each of their studios and ask them to work on new IP, and when they have something ready, take a few more guys from the main teams, and set them to work on the new thingy.

They should also reopen, or get/make more studios. They need more exclusives, that arnt just "timed exclusives". They closed to many studios, and they "needed" them, to begin with. Time to sh*t or get off the pot.

Thats the "get out of the console bussiness" strategie (while still being a software developer, selling halo/gears/forza for pc users).

The problem is theres a giant called "steam" standing in the way, and a team of smaller guys like "GoG" there already.

They need to work harder on keeping people on xbox consoles instead, right?

Why does everyone like making these hypothetical threads based on "Xbox dun bad" all the time? Maybe i'm misinformed but it seems like this topic has been covered a million times on my very short active time on this site, and if not in the form of a topic than it's definitely been discussed on countless threads.

No, Xbox will not do better under Amazon. Just like Nintendo will not automatically do better with Microsoft. Companies getting in bed together is not the answer to everything.

Pretty interesting thread a few days ago on gaf. A alleged microsoft insider claims the Xbox brand has never turned a profit. Thought it would add to this thread. Might be true. Might not. Interesting regardless.

It is true as far as I know, but that's talking about Xbox original + 360 + one. The first Xbox lost around 5 billion dollars and in the first year of 360 they had rrod. Which cost another billion. Since that point however things have turned around. It's doubtful that they have make 6 billion in the meantime but they are probably gettin there. Everything seams pretty profitable for the last 5 or 7 years but it's hard to tell with Microsoft exact numbers because they lump Xbox in with other products.