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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Microsoft is unhappy with the state of the Xbox (should Spencer be substituted?)

Machina said:

I don't think Microsoft's goal with Xbox nowadays is console hardware market share. The hardware side of Xbox seems almost ancillary now.

On the one hand I find that disappointing, as someone who enjoyed the fierce competition of the PS360 era and also enjoys geeky sales stuff like looking at market share graphs, but on the other hand it saves me having to fork out for new hardware when I can buy all of the games I want on PC.

You'd be right, their main goal is mostly to do with their ecosystem, to be using Gamepass, sign in with MS via your PC, mobile or console, wherever, whenever. 

MS has certainly made it easier to just get your stuff on PC/Xbox, but as a result, it's made their console side less reasonable to go for (unless you're really low on the budget to afford a PC, like our current time-frame).

Still, I feel like their ecosystem will greatly outlast their physical side, at the end of the day.



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Well many are saying that Gamepass is the greatest value in gaming and yet they lose week after week to PS5 and the 6 year old Switch. Cant blame them for being frustrated.



Spencer will stay around at least until the Activision deal is done, regardless of which way it goes. That will give him the rest of this year. If Starfield isn't a big hit, then he'll probably be gone once the dust settles on Activision.



Of course MS isn't happy with XBox. They're used to dominating markets, not sitting in third place for 20 years.

A few years ago, I thought MS was positioning the XBox brand for a sale. Instead they doubled down on gaming. But, a sale is certainly still a possibility. The other tech titans that want to get into gaming might be interested in buying it.

Last edited by VAMatt - on 30 April 2023

The funny thing about this whole thing is that he was actually talking about the 1st party output, which is exactly what Phil Spencer has said before (in two different instances)

Phil Spencer Says 'It's Been Too Long' Since Xbox Last Released a 'Big First-Party Game' (vgchartz.com)

"Our commitment to our fans is that we need to have a steady release of great games that people can play on our platform, and we didn't do enough of that in 2022, there's no doubt," Spencer told IGN. "And fundamentally, that's on me. I'm the head of the business."

But somehow the media translated that into "Microsoft is not happy with the Xbox segment and might shut it down at any moment". Which is quite the bizarre conclusion given that they keep fighting to invest $70b into said segment.

And about their 1st party output, they have already announced 8 games and 5 DLCs (for existing games) for this year, so it looks to me that they are working on the issue.



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Chazore said:

Looking back on history, Sony just reminds me of that one guy in class that literally sits back and waits for others to slip up, then doesn't do the bad things those people in class did to avoid making the same mistakes.

Nah. This take had been incredibly bad for a long time, and still is. Because it makes it sound like Sony has been given a free pass, when in reality they've put in a lot of work to get to where they are. 

Sure, MS botching things, for example, helps. But Sony have continued to invest in their studios, and their game engines. They've continued to cultivate relationships with studios old and new. They've continued to invest in their ecosystem. They've continue to invest in regions of growth. They've continued to work towards releasing blockbuster games on a consistent basis.

Sony also make mistakes. But they wouldn't be where they are now without having put in the work.



Just gonna say that it feels like Xbox has been in a perpetual state of, "just you wait; the good stuff is just beyond the horizon!" since the 360 era closed. Despite the occasional pearl it doesn't feel like that's changing any time soon no matter how many studios they acquire. Maybe this time will be different.



twintail said:
Chazore said:

Looking back on history, Sony just reminds me of that one guy in class that literally sits back and waits for others to slip up, then doesn't do the bad things those people in class did to avoid making the same mistakes.

Nah. This take had been incredibly bad for a long time, and still is. Because it makes it sound like Sony has been given a free pass, when in reality they've put in a lot of work to get to where they are. 

Sure, MS botching things, for example, helps. But Sony have continued to invest in their studios, and their game engines. They've continued to cultivate relationships with studios old and new. They've continued to invest in their ecosystem. They've continue to invest in regions of growth. They've continued to work towards releasing blockbuster games on a consistent basis.

Sony also make mistakes. But they wouldn't be where they are now without having put in the work.

Agreed. I remember watching a video about the history of the PS1. Kaz Hirai said that Sony researched a TON about the numerous consoles that tried and failed to get into the gaming market in the 90's (TurboGrafx-16, 3DO, Phillips CDI, etc). They learned from people's mistakes as well as their successes (Sega's fight against Nintendo during the early 90's) and worked hard to do better.

All of that research and hard work brought them to where they are now.



TallSilhouette said:

Just gonna say that it feels like Xbox has been in a perpetual state of, "just you wait; the good stuff is just beyond the horizon!" since the 360 era closed. Despite the occasional pearl it doesn't feel like that's changing any time soon no matter how many studios they acquire. Maybe this time will be different.

That depends on your tastes in games. I mean, I can totally see how someone who is a 3rd person action adventure aficionado might look at Sony´s line up and think that it is the greatest thing ever, but not everybody is a 3rd person action adventure aficionado.

And I guess there is no denying that Microsoft games haven't been able to convince as many people to get an Xbox, but when we take a look at PC (A.K.A the only place where Microsoft and Sony's games compete directly with each other) we can see that Microsoft's games tend to do a lot better there (and people play them for a lot longer) so I think the issue is not with the games per se. 



twintail said:

Nah.

Gonna have to agree to disagree then.



Step right up come on in, feel the buzz in your veins, I'm like an chemical electrical right into your brain and I'm the one who killed the Radio, soon you'll all see

So pay up motherfuckers you belong to "V"