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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Microsoft Considering Expanding Xbox Live to other platforms including Nintendo Switch

d21lewis on 06 February 2019
aiwass said:
KBG29 said: 
It takes time to rebuild, and Spencer has been doing a great job in the time he has had. XBO X was a great boost to Xbox's image. Game Pass for Xbox One after the announcement of 1st party games Day One has turned a lot of heads. Bring Game Pass to PC was the next step. Forza Horizon 4 has set the example for what Microsoft Studio's will deliver going forward. You will have Gears, Forza, and Halo on everything from 1080p on xCloud to 8K on Windows. While the new studios begin to go head to head with Sony and Nintendo delivering even more industry leading 1st party exclsuives.

People are taking notice. When I talk to people in the real world, the tide has definitely started to shift. People that made the move from 360 to PS4, are asking about next, gen and talking about going back to Microsoft. 

I guess time will tell, but right now, between the New Studios, Backward Compatibility, Game Pass, Play Anywhere, and XBL for All, Microsoft looks in very good shape to take back a huge chunk of the market in the transition to next gen.

Sure... it may take some time. But just how long? It's been five years since this guy took over. All I've seen is promises of next year being huge for Xbox! Year after year after year. And what's been delivered since then? Sea of Thieves? Backward compatibility, Game Pass, Play Anywhere, etc. is all well and good, but it just screams of desperation and half-hearted attempts at winning over consumers. Is it so hard to make games? Those features bring nothing new. The purchasing of new studios may possibly be a step in the right direction, but Microsoft hasn't had the best history with this sort of thing. Time will tell.

Seems like Microsoft might slowly be phasing out serious, competitive gaming hardware. With the poor and increasingly low sales of the Xbox One family of consoles, it would make a lot of sense and be a good way of saving face to just release some kind of streaming box with a few exclusives to sweeten the pot, with no real intention of competing with PlayStation or Nintendo. Offer some of the non-gaming amenities Microsoft seems to like to push along with it and you have an Xbox that's carved out its own corner and doesn't have to worry about competing with the big boys.

I just want to point out that M$ is arguably one of "The big boys". They've beaten Nintendo's GameCube (Xbox launched at the same time) and Wii U (Xbox One launched a year after). They virtually tied the PS3 (Xbox 360 had a year's head start). True they've never won a generation and maybe never will but they've consistently held their own and managed to make money... aside from the OG Xbox that was pretty much planned to sell at a loss.



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slab_of_bacon on 06 February 2019

The more I think about this deal, the more it seems like a natural progression given the current state of the industry.  Nintendo will get to wet its beak in another market while reducing their liability.  Microsoft will never quit producing the Xbox line as this deal only strengthen their goal to  use it as a home entertainment nucleus.  By diversifying their offerings they will be able to solidify their goals and pave the way to move more software in the future.  Both Nintendo and Microsoft will benefit from this but I still can't figure out who it will the most. 

 



Feel free to check out my stream on twitch 

Cerebralbore101 on 06 February 2019

A lot of people seem to think that Nintendo is going to allow MS to charge people money for XBL Gold on Switch. That is not happening. Minecraft already forces you to sign into XBL to play crossplay on Nintendo Switch, but you need Nintendo Online to play it. At best, all this means is that MS will start publishing more games to Nintendo Switch in the same way that they published Minecraft to it. Nintendo will reap the Nintendo Online subscription fees, as well as platform royalty fees. MS is basically just surrendering to Nintendo and planning on being a 3rd party publisher for Switch, same as they are a 3rd party publisher for PC. 

From Mojang's FAQ on how to crossplay Minecraft with Nintendo Switch owners...

Q: Do I need to pay a subscription fee like Xbox LIVE Gold to play online?

A: Online subscription fees are determined by the platform you play on, so an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription is not required for Nintendo Switch players but a Nintendo Switch Online subscription will be required for multiplayer when that service launches. A free Microsoft Account is recommended for players to get the most out of this version of Minecraft.

d21lewis said:

I just want to point out that M$ is arguably one of "The big boys". They've beaten Nintendo's GameCube (Xbox launched at the same time) and Wii U (Xbox One launched a year after). They virtually tied the PS3 (Xbox 360 had a year's head start). True they've never won a generation and maybe never will but they've consistently held their own and managed to make money... aside from the OG Xbox that was pretty much planned to sell at a loss.

They beat Wii U, but Switch is on track to surpass XB1 lifetime sales by the end of 2019. That's pretty sad. 



Cerebralbore101 on 06 February 2019
S.T.A.G.E. said:

Ahhh..i see. They are showing their true colors and trying to circumvent the competition if they cannot squarely beat them. They are using the windows method of trying to monopolize the os/online method. It’s pure revenue and notoriety for them because of their competitors incompetence.

 

this is exactly why Sony has had Microsoft at an arms length for years. They knew this day would come.

Yeah, meanwhile MS is going to try to spin it as "SONY WON"T ALLOW CROSSPLAY!!! WHAT TYRANTS!" In reality it will be that Sony won't allow developers to force players to sign into XBL to play games on Sony's Network. Or to put it another way Sony doesn't want a competitor mucking with PSN's user interface, making it more inconvenient to use. 



RaptorChrist on 06 February 2019

Achievements are cool and all, but I haven't cared much about them for years given that I play games on lots of different platforms, so the numbers don't really mean anything. If there were a single service implemented into every gaming platform it could be pretty awesome, but I just don't see that happening.



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d21lewis on 07 February 2019
Cerebralbore101 said:

A lot of people seem to think that Nintendo is going to allow MS to charge people money for XBL Gold on Switch. That is not happening. Minecraft already forces you to sign into XBL to play crossplay on Nintendo Switch, but you need Nintendo Online to play it. At best, all this means is that MS will start publishing more games to Nintendo Switch in the same way that they published Minecraft to it. Nintendo will reap the Nintendo Online subscription fees, as well as platform royalty fees. MS is basically just surrendering to Nintendo and planning on being a 3rd party publisher for Switch, same as they are a 3rd party publisher for PC. 

From Mojang's FAQ on how to crossplay Minecraft with Nintendo Switch owners...

Q: Do I need to pay a subscription fee like Xbox LIVE Gold to play online?

A: Online subscription fees are determined by the platform you play on, so an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription is not required for Nintendo Switch players but a Nintendo Switch Online subscription will be required for multiplayer when that service launches. A free Microsoft Account is recommended for players to get the most out of this version of Minecraft.

d21lewis said:

I just want to point out that M$ is arguably one of "The big boys". They've beaten Nintendo's GameCube (Xbox launched at the same time) and Wii U (Xbox One launched a year after). They virtually tied the PS3 (Xbox 360 had a year's head start). True they've never won a generation and maybe never will but they've consistently held their own and managed to make money... aside from the OG Xbox that was pretty much planned to sell at a loss.

They beat Wii U, but Switch is on track to surpass XB1 lifetime sales by the end of 2019. That's pretty sad. 

Switch and PS4 are two of the fastest selling consoles in the entire history of video games! That's like putting a great basketball player up again LeBron James and Michael Jordan and then saying "Oh, this guy sucks."

Of course he sucks compared to those guys!