Fair enough.  It's not that I'm not in the market, it's since this gen and looks like next gen also, there's nothing there that compels me to buy an Xbox console for my Xbox fix, especially if I can get my xbox fix through PC.  Now if Sony begins to release more of their exclusives to PC I'd be saying the same thing..

I think you are quoting the wrong post here. I made no refrence to thouse games, just the big one that MS and other big publishers rely on so they don't change much or at all.

And I do agree with you that they are expanding with those little games. Its much easier and less risky to go wild with small budget games. The only thing is that if one of those little games like ori gets good reception and its highly recomendable the game dosent sell much or even garners that much attention cuz while amazing for what it is the majority of gamers puts them against biger titles like COD or whatever else that steals most of the attention. So it makes waves for very little time unroll something big splashes and even if its mediocre it still outshines ori like resident evil 3 is doing. Its not the greatest game to some but it still sucking all the attention while ori got all that praise. 

And again I don't think MS is making a mistake here. Just saying that don't expect the 3-4 AAA games a year Phil was promising. Just dosent make sense as long as gamepass is a thing. Just one big game and a bunch of little ones that will be forgotten as soon as something big comes along if they are good. Most will go unnoticed by gamers.

One big game a year and a few small ones is not enough to entice people to sub lol. People always want to claim MS is going to poop out GamePass filler and limit big games on it but they never say how those strategies are supposed to actually help them push subs.

Netflix doesn’t release one big series and then stop for the year.

That list of exclusives looks so bad.

People for decades: Not enough 1st party exclusives!

Microsoft now: Have all the 1st party exclusives!

People: To many exclusives!

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

At best I would expect 2-3 AAA games a year from MS. At par with competitors. I believe there will be better quality control on exclusives now that more studios are working exclusively for MS.

Not every project needs or justifies a AAA budget. Especially games in more simplistic or less popular genres. So the B tier stuff is justified, some feel its among the best.

I think MS is pumping out more content because Xbox, PC and Gamepass combined allows their content to generate more revenue. MS can also do more with more studios, they aren't necessarily being spread thin.

In regard to Ninja Theory, they apparently develop some games with a small teams. So that might explain why they can do numerous projects.

What makes them look bad? Because they don't cater to your taste? 

I don't think there's anything wrong with MS going for a bit more diversity. And yes, Sony's been doing games like Death Stranding, Dreams too, which obviously don't appeal to everyone and probably won't sell 10m copies. The big difference, however, is that they've always been building new AAA ip's that appeal to the core console gamers, while MS spend too long focusing on just their 3 AAA ip's: Gears, Halo and Forza. As someone already mentioned, the mass appeal and critical acclaim of Gears and Halo isn't what it used to be and imo they need new AAA ip's to keep things interesting. Now MS is making a whole bunch of new ip's, which is great, but tell me honestly: Would you buy games like Wasteland 3, Bleeding edge, Gears Tactics, Ori, Grounded, Everlast, flightsim if they were full retail price? 

Thing is, on one hand I'm pretty excited about Series X when I look at the specs. However, I'm just wondering what games MS can come up with that'll truly showcase what the thing can do. With Sony they're a lot more predictable and we already know there'll be AAA blockbusters like HZD, Spiderman, new ip's from ND/ SM etc. But from what we're seeing from MS, I can't think of any of their studios that'll be able to make their own new AAA blockbuster and isn't a Halo or Gears, especially if they're all doing multiple projects. I mean from what we know there's Hellblade 2 and the rumoured Fable/ Perfect Dark reboots. Most people can't even remember Perfect Dark on the N64 while the 360 version was terrible, so why would anyone get excited about a reboot? The Fable reboot could be good, but people will obviously compare it to the Witcher and I'm not sure that's gonna work out for MS either. 

Halo and Gears when they launched, helped redefine the genre on consoles. For years now both have been, "yup it's more of what you expect". That's not a bad thing entirely if fans are happy. So then comes well ok if you don't let these series re-invent themselves at least. Then create a new IP that's as compelling as those once were. This is where I believe MS is truly struggling. They may not know-how and just hoping these studio acquisitions solve all. Not sure they will. Time will tell. I want all 3 to do well. Silly to wish any bad. It may be wishful thinking for me to hope for a console from MS to feel as special as Xbox and Xbox 360. Dunno yet.

Your topic is really redundant because Ori 2 just scored a 90.

MS doesn’t have to make all their games system sellers because unlike Sony, MS doesn’t have a console paywall for PC gamers. Plus the existing Xbox base. Its just a matter of appealing to their tastes. 

I wouldn’t buy all the games you listed. But then again I’ll be playing games on GP that I wouldn’t have even tried otherwise. Get it? MS found a way to persuade me to play different games. You sound like a stockholder....what do we care if the smaller titles aren’t system sellers. We should be happy Xbox has more games and genre diversity compared to having neither not long ago. And they will attract a more diverse audience to the brand. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t lol.

Your analysis of Xbox’s upcoming AAA is extremely shallow and pessimistic. We don’t know how they look or play and yet you judge. Huh.

If people don’t remember Perfect Dark then great, sounds like a fresh slate and new IP ;). Fable has unique charm that sets it apart. Can’t wait to see what a higher budget Hellblade can do. Obsidian AAA is gonna be amazing they are a talented studio. Then you got Forza Horizon, Motorsport, Gears and Halo AAA. Thats 8 AAA IP. Your topic is premature, ignores and downplays the AAA and dismisses smaller quality games as filler. In no way is this objective.  

Im optimistic a new gen means the staple IPs can have newfound success. Remember while PS4 exclusives sell great, most PS3 exclusives sold horribly. Market share has a direct tie to 1st party sales.