Well if your argument is MS needs to keep games on console so you dont pirate it... that's dumb. In that scenario PC gamers get less notable content from MS because people like you.

Maybe you dont care for their content, but they are putting notable games on PC and people are clearly enjoying it. Aside the big budget stuff, people also like the smaller games MS brings to PC like Cuphead and Ori.

This is the problem when people just think with bias. It makes you say stupid shit and add nothing to a conversation.

- Fix marketing, it's awful right now, even though there are some improvements in terms of messaging and creating cool stuff like gamepass, the shows like Inside Xbox actually do more harm than promotion IMO. Anyone who would watch this, would probably turn off from Xbox brand even more.
- Fix international appeal. They barely even try outside of US and Western Europe. Basically no presence of Xbox brand at all. No ads, no promotions, even no official Xbox local branches in some countries. And to make it even worse, in some cases (like Russia for example), it even got even worse this year when they closed the local MS Store and the ability to buy subscriptions directly. It all looks like they abandoned the market completely to Sony and Nintendo. And that's after Phil Spencer's words about trying to reach 2b gamers.
- Have a Series X price on part with PS5 at least. Better to be cheaper, but it is probably not happeniing especially if they have more powerful console. With the current positions on the market, Xbox can't be more expensive than Playstation even if it provides a better product.

I think they have already implemented a major part of their plan. CONTROL THE INFLUENCERS!

They created their own streaming service in Mixer a few years back. Over the last couple of years, they have gotten key game players to move to their platform. Today, their are more hours spent watching people play games than most of the gaming itself. So, I think a key part of their plan is to have all of the key influencers pushing their next systems by playing their games and multi-plats on their system. It probably won’t change the hardcore fanboys minds, but that is only a small percentage of the real market anyway.

If MS does some of the obvious stuff previously mentioned:
1. Be price competitive
2. Have a ton of exclusives unavailable on PS
3. keep game pass going
4. Buy more studios

Those 4 obvious things plus a bit of control of the influencers and they won’t start the generation in a hole like last generation.

I dont really agree with the marketing problem, but big marketing will come for the console launch. I dont really watch Inside Xbox but I feel its good. If people werent watching Inside Xbox they would stop doing it.

I actually feel Xbox games on PC is a great idea for international sales. A vast majority of consoles sales is in the western markets, Japan is the only exception. MS is not going to fight for the Japanese market either, Nintendo is stealing it from Sony as well.

I dont know how consoles do in Russia but I am guessing not great. If a MS store there closed its probably because poor sales. MS might have more success there with PC software sales.

When Phil said he was interested in other markets, well I am not sure what that means. Its more like west is the focus but you hope for the best in other markets. Sony for example doesent really care about Japan, they dont make games for Japan, they just hope 3rd parties help them thrive in Japan. Sony's primary focus is making games the west wants.

Therefore I would suggest MS keep raising the bar in software quality, continue putting games on PC and hope for the best in international markets. I think of it this way, any software sales MS gets on Xbox or PC goes in the same pot. So increased revenue from increased software sales means they can spend more on games. A game like Sea of Thieves may have have been saved by PC success.

Series X doesen't need to be priced at par with PS5 if MS undercuts them with Lockhart, ideally $100 less. But I agree only having a more expensive Xbox next gen would be bad.

If the rumors are accurate and PS5 is only 9TF. Then a 4TF Lockhart would be fine for playing the same games at a lower res. In theory Sony would be giving MS an edge if this happens, but vice versa if we just have a Series X at a higher price.

The way I see it one of Xbone's biggest failing was a lack of true killer apps.

Where PS4 and Switch keep delivering system sellers from BOTW to Smash Bros Ultimate to Pokemon and from Uncharted 4 to Spiderman to God of War, Xbox seemed to have little to no megaton system sellers of the same calibre. Hellblade 2 is a good start if it can live up to the original, but they need to build up their first parties to the point where they can deliver the same kind and quantity of killer apps Sony/Nintendo can and do.

I am gonna say something that has annoyed people in the past but I stand by.

Nintendo games does a much better job selling hardware than Sony. People arent buying Playstation and Xbox for exclusives any where near the rate of Nintendo. However, better software to increase hardware sales is not a bad idea.

I feel mistakes made early on are far more impactful on sales throughout the gen. Primarily, the high price to bundle in Kinect. Even if MS had a few adventure games like Spiderman or Uncharted, I think it would only boost sales a few million at best.

Bear in mind PS4 was trouncing X1 before any game you mentioned existed. Its not like they were tied and the gap grew with games you mentioned. Unless youre gonna tell me Knack and Killzone were killer apps.

Again, MS is making a lot of obvious choices in regard to hardware and greater focus on software. So keep doing that and hope they win people over.

On a side note, I think Xbox content was much better this gen then its given credit for. The only glaring hole in my mind was 3rd person adventure games, which is where Sony has thrived. However, MS had better games in other genres. Halo 5 and Gears 4 werent amazing but better than Sony shooters. Forza games were amazing this gen, better than GT Sport on its own. Sony moneyhat a fighter partly because they didnt make one. For me it was worth having both consoles for different experiences.

However, these are consoles heavily reliant on 3rd parties. People can get their fix in many genres on either Xbox or Playstation. Sony didnt have to make a good shooter because they can rely on CoD, BF and Destiny. Meanwhile MS didnt make great adventure games, but users still had the latest Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, etc.

Nintendo does a better job moving hardware with exclusives because they virtually have their own audience via unique games.

i would invest in exclusive games and market the hell out of it that you can only play these games on an xbox and not pc. the pc needs to be dropped asap its going to hurt them in a major way

You were very disappointed with the Zelda series for about 25 years? Wow, you have a very selective taste, even Ocarina of Time falls into that very disappointing period.

And how did Breath of the Wild gave you that old school Zelda feel? It plays completely different than Zelda 1, Zelda 2 and a Link to the Past. Shouldn't be "Minish Cap", "A Link Between Worlds" and the remake of "Link's Awakening" be better candidates for that precious "old school Zelda feel"?

Or a lot of Indie games similar to the old Zelda games?

I specifically mentioned this because it completely contradicts what they are trying to push - expanding their services to reach 2b players. They've made a certain move that alienates the entire market from their services. It doesn't matter if Xbox consoles have good sales or not in the region. It kills any potential that Microsoft has in terms of PC offerings mindshare or xCloud in the future. Because you would still get the same bad experience on these two. Which pushes users to competitors ecosystems who does not do such awful strategic moves in the region. Of course MS can resort to Steam first party software sales and completely leave the market but they will lose a ton of revenue in the result.

I'm not exactly sure what you're saying.

It seems pretty evident consoles aren't popular in Russia, therefore MS putting their games on PC means more people there have access to their games. With that logic I feel MS caters to markets that primarily do PC gaming more than competitors like Sony and Nintendo.

I am not sure what Steam 1st party has to do with anything.