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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Xbox is becoming the unsung hero of this generation

curl-6 on 03 May 2021

All that's well and good, but as someone who's got their eye on the Series X, I just want great next gen games.

I want Halo Infinite to come out and live up to the 360 and original Xbox entries, I want Hellblade 2 to come out and be as great as the first game, I want Gears 6 to come out as great as Gears 1-3, I want exciting, fresh new experiences, not old games now playable in high res/framerates.

As someone who skipped Xbox One but loved the original Xbox and 360, I want Xbox to be great again.

Last edited by curl-6 - on 03 May 2021

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drkohler on 03 May 2021
SvennoJ said:

Problem with XBox is, you can play all the exclusives on PC, with fewer restrictions (free online) ..

This pretty much saves MS from another sales fiasco like the previous gen was. With current PC graphics card prices, even entry-level gaming PCs cost (at least) twice as much as a SeriesX. We are just a few weeks into this generation of consoles and the sales figures already fell to 2:1. Without the semiconductor shortages, it would likely already be another bloodbath for MS.



smroadkill15 on 04 May 2021
SvennoJ said:

Unsung is a poor choice of words as, well at least on Eurogamer and here, it gets sung high praise on a daily basis :p It's not overlooked by consumers either as it's just as sold out here as the ps5 is, can't get either. (You can get the little one online, not that much interested in the gimped one by early adopters)

Problem with XBox is, you can play all the exclusives on PC, with fewer restrictions (free online) and more options. So why buy a box if you can put that money towards upgrading your pc or spend a bit more on a gaming laptop. Assuming most people have a pc or laptop. Buying a XBox feels redundant.

Xbox still doesn't have the same mindshare as the only 2 consoles regardless of it selling out. Things may change when the games start dropping, but for now that's not the case. 

I don't think releasing games on PC day one has or will have that much of a impact on console sales. On a gaming enthusiast sites like this, we see that opinion a lot, but outside of that, the average consumer doesn't care about PC gaming, and only uses their PC for every day use like work. Most consumers are not willing to spend the upfront cost to get something with similar specs as what current gen offers. Even if Sony started releasing their games day 1 on PC, I doubt it would change much. 



Alistair on 04 May 2021

Microsoft has only had 3 generations, sure the beginning of the Xbox One was a disaster but it wasn't "the worst". They sold more Xbox Ones than Nintendo sold SNES worldwide, hardly a failure (and very profitable for Microsoft, no Wii U situation here).



mutantsushi on 04 May 2021

^ Atop that there is also the aspect of paid online play which many people would find absurd to pay twice for even if the cost isn't prohibitive (which it would be for many).
And then of the people who don't mind the price of two consoles, many might ask why not by a stronger gaming PC which they could get for the same price?
In earlier gens, the price of advanced graphics computer was high enough that 2 consoles were still very price attractive, but that no longer is the case.



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spynx on 04 May 2021
smroadkill15 said:

While Sony and Nintendo continue to be the top selling consoles(for good reason of course), Xbox continues to fly under the radar of most consumers. It doesn't help that the Xbox One was a lackluster system overall. Way too much controversy during the beginning of the generation and lack of heavy hitter exclusives made the Xbox One a system most consumers overlooked last gen. 
Fast forward to current generation, Xbox has been making all the right moves. I think it's safe to assume Xbox has become the most consumer friendly between the 3 console manufactures. Several examples include:

Xbox has the widest range of BC games of any system reach back to the 6th gen, and they are committed to adding more BC titles in the future.
Have been adding FPS boost to select titles, and as of today have 97 titles that enable that feature. 
Game Pass continues to grow, and offers the ability to play hundreds of games on it's platform. Many of which are newer titles, and 1st party games get added day 1. It's the best value in gaming. 
Offer cloud saves without any kind of paywall. 
Offer multiple ways of playing games via Cloud, PC, and Console, and accessing your save progress on any device is seamless. 

What about the 1st party games? Well, there is still work to be done. With Xbox now having 22 1st party studios(23 if you count XGP), they out number any other console maker by a wide margin, but it hasn't shown yet. With Halo Infinite delayed, Gears Tactics was the only 1st party game to play at launch, and there hasn't been much since then except for a few 3rd party exclusives. But for those who have a Series X|S, most will agree Game Pass has filled that void for now. With that said, It's only a matter of time before the games start dropping, and once they do, it's going to be hard for consumers to overlook.  

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AJNShelton on 04 May 2021
Alistair said:

Microsoft has only had 3 generations, sure the beginning of the Xbox One was a disaster but it wasn't "the worst". They sold more Xbox Ones than Nintendo sold SNES worldwide, hardly a failure (and very profitable for Microsoft, no Wii U situation here).

Actually, Nintendo made profits on the Wii U hardware sales (cause Nintendo never sell at loss), unlike the Xbox One hardware where it was sold at a loss, during pretty much its entire life



Kristof81 on 04 May 2021

I'd add to your list DevMode. RetroArch works like a charm on the XBSX, including PS2 emulation. So technically current MS consoles run more PS1 and PS2 games than Sony's do. Not to mention that it makes NSO's classic games range look laughable. With DevMode, two three generations of BC, Game Pass and xCloud, this makes XBSS/X the most versatile out-of-the-box console in history. MS really ticked all the boxes this time. All they're missing are some absolute killer 1st party titles.

Last edited by Kristof81 - on 04 May 2021

AJNShelton on 04 May 2021
shikamaru317 said:
SKMBlake said:

Actually, Nintendo made profits on the Wii U hardware sales (cause Nintendo never sell at loss), unlike the Xbox One hardware where it was sold at a loss, during pretty much its entire life

Where are you getting that notion from? I remember IHS did a hardware cost analysis of Xbox One when it released, they determined that it cost about $471 to build, including Kinect, and the Kinect itself cost $75 to build so when Kinect got dropped 8 months after launch and the console price was dropped to $400, it would have still been selling at cost with the $400 price tag. A year later, the price was dropped to $350, which again should have been selling at cost, due to the fact that hardware production costs drop over time. A year later the new Xbox One S released at $300, IHS did estimate that the standard 1TB S model was selling for a loss of $24, but offset by the 2TB S model selling for a profit of $70. Probably safe to say that the later Xbox One S price drops would have been selling at cost or only a small loss due to decreasing manufacturing costs over time. I don't think I ever saw a cost breakdown on Xbox One X, so maybe it sold for a loss, but it also likely accounted for less than 10m of XB1's 50m+ sales. 

Well you pretty much answered your question.

And regarding the One X, we have this article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-06-15-xbox-one-x-selling-at-a-loss#:~:text=Microsoft%20will%20see%20a%20loss,sales%20of%20its%20upcoming%20console.&text=The%20money%2Dmaking%20part%20is%20in%20selling%20games.%22

Which also states that the Wii U was sold at a loss, so I am wrong on this one



Dante9 on 04 May 2021

No heroism here, just business. They're trying to patch up their lackluster exclusive portfolio by offering access to old games, so BC it is. It's also comparatively easy for them to do techwise, so why not. And Game Pass, well, for them that's just a new way of making money and if it seems to be a good deal for consumers as well, then I guess everybody wins. It's just going for a big mass and a steady flow of money instead of high price points. The competition will jump on that if the concept proves to be viable in the long run.