Yeah the next Xbox if indeed one makes it to market will face a massively uphill battle and will be at real risk of becoming the next Wii U/Dreamcast.

There's no more room for mistakes; they will need to come out swinging with a strong software lineup and keep the hits coming, or it's curtains.

Consoles aren't going anywhere.

Yea I guess that's true. I still think we see one more and I do believe they are going to try and come out early like everyone is predicting. I think things will go even worse for them with a new console honestly and I think it's possible it's their last. By the time their next console has reached EOL they will be much more multiplat than they are now and with Sony, Steam, and switch stores to sell to I can see them deciding that hardware is no longer worth it. 

The only caveat to this is maybe they keep a smaller series s like device constantly on the shelves just to have something out there. Maybe a handheld instead of the series s like device. 

The M2 made it to products. - Arcade boards, Multi-media players, vending machines, kiosks and more.

That was an addon. Not a console.

That was an addon. Not a console.

Microsoft's biggest issue is that it's naming scheme is terrible.

Xbox and Xbox 360 were great names that set the consoles apart.

Xbox One/One S/One X/Series S/ Series X are not great names and doesn't really distinguish significant differences to Mum/Dads buying a console for their kids.

It also doesn't help that for all intents and purposes... Xbox and Playstation are the same hardware, so there really isn't any significant rendering feature that sets them apart and strikes up a conversation.

Microsoft cannot just copy Sony, it needs to be different and offer something compelling and unique.

The Xbox Series X is probably going to be my last Xbox console, I only have a dozen games for it and don't have any desire to turn the machine on... More so if they throw optical drives in the bin making my entire physical library useless.

Yeah their naming conventions are terrible and definitely part of the problem, though I really think the biggest thorn in their side is their complete inability to put out a consistent stream of quality software.

Back in the 360 days they had tons of killer exclusives. Now they haven't had a real system seller since forever, and their release schedule resembles the Sahara.

People buy a Switch to play stuff like BOTW, TOTK, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Mario Bros Wonder, Pokemon, etc. They buy a PS5 to play stuff like Spiderman 2, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and the version of multiplats that all their friends have. Meanwhile on Xbox... *Crickets*

I don't see something like that ever happening at all tbh.  There's no benefit to letting GP on their platforms.The 3 console manufacturers make quite a bit of money from that 30%. Plus Nintendos reliance on their own 1st party over 3rd parties makes most leverage Microsoft would have useless. Maybe they can blackmail sony into letting GP on there cause of the popularity of COD, but even then sony is less reliant on 3rd parties then in the past.

Not Dreamcast. Still has a dedicated passionate fanbase. Making new games, and accessories.  Porting Atmoswave games. Keeping its games online to this very day. That kind of passion will never exist with any Sony or Xbox console. I get you mean sales but DC never really did die. Fans keep it alive as a thriving platform.

MS has plenty of money and still pumping the money into places that are just losses. They will keep making hardware, even if the only reason is to prevent 20m or so console sales for their competitors. Eventually MS can buy another big publisher or multiple small studios and increase the % of their pie little by little. Already MS is much bigger than Nintendo or Sony in the PC space, which unlike the stagnation of console gaming, has been growing.

Yes but I can see them branching out to other hardware makers to make the system.

Microsoft's main strength has been with software and integration with services.

Cutting the cord on a home console would seem wise if the fifth Xbox does similar numbers (or especially worse) than the Xbox Series X/S. 

However, Microsoft has nearly endless coffers. They can lose billions on Xbox and still want to keep pumping out hardware. 

Unless the next system sells 50 million units (or especially 60 million and up), I see Microsoft going third-party with most software and licensing out certain SKUs of PCs with the Xbox branding, an included Xbox controller, and a subscription to Game Pass in the box. 

Someone can counter-argue with me if they want, but I feel like Xbox since 2017 has had pretty much the opposite situation Nintendo has since 2017 with Switch.

Xbox One X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X are all pretty state of the art hardware for their goals. Series S not as much, but it is compact and meant to be more entry-level. However, Xbox has been struggling with software since around that time, if not before. The Microsoft-published games and third-party console exclusives are not drawing people in like they should, and most would rather play multiplats on PlayStation and PC. Xbox is too focused on hardware and subscriptions, and not enough on software. 

Nintendo has weak hardware. Docked mode has been weak on Switch since Day 1, and handheld mode has been weak since around 2020-2021. 

However, Nintendo software sells like hotcakes. A lot of Nintendo titles are selling disproportionately well on Switch even when compared to DS and Wii.