I always find people interesting and wonder who they are arguing with.  Who on the forums thinks the S2 is badly priced at $450?

I think was only part of the reason Xbox failed.

Xbox was only once ever able to compete with Playstation, its not like that should be the expected outcome to begin with.

But even so, it all started to go bad with the announcement of the Xbox One, the brand was definitely damaged then, and at the same time the Playstation brand had gotten up completely, just like what allowed the 360 to compete with the PS3, and just like the PS3 the XBO did course correct during the generation, the problem is, the Playstation brand is simply a lot more powerful and worldwide spread than the Xbox brand, so it gotten way better results out of this too.

After that, the Xbox Series actually released in a way better position than the Xbox One, so why even then I expected the XBS to sell less than the XBO regardless? Mostly 2 things.

1. being that Playstation would simply keep growing the lead as its naturally expected as history had already proved by then, if they don't screw up they are simply the most appealing option to begin with.

2. even as the XBO was able to course correct, it was abundantly clear Xbox Studios were not being able to release games that even came close to Playstation during the whole generation, Playstation Studios quality and reception was sky high and Xbox was having a lot of trouble having a single hit like they had during the 360 era, I can't remember a single time a Xbox Studios game was an actual GOTY contender with any chance of being the winner, ever since the XBO started and up until now.

Microsoft diluting their exclusives because of them existing on PC didn't even come to mind compared to those 2 things above, actually the drop in perceived quality and reception on their exclusives, aside from Forza, specially Horizon, probably meant it was even less relevant because people just weren't showing enough interest in those games to begin with. I think Gamepass being on PC was a bigger reason to be honest. The interest on Xbox was already failing for multiple reason aside from their games not being 100% exclusive to the Xbox. Over time it surely became a reason too, but I think it was just one of them, and not the biggest one to be honest.

Denuvo doesn't lock you out from a system, it just protects from piracy.

Go buy 5 years old Nintendo games for 80$ console peasant and let PC Master Race to buy games for 10$ on Steam Sales. :D

I honestly think that had little to nothing to do with it.  The lack of games and brand identity is what killed xbox.  Halo Infinite came out in 2021... and since then we have gotten...  oh nothing from the Halo franchise.  Well, we are getting a remake of the original, which was a remade already via Anniversary, so we are getting a remake of a remake of the original.  And Infinite, well it was good, but not great.  

I don't think peopel are avoiding xbox because "omg their games are on pc" but rather are avoiding it because the console just lacks quality games to peak interest.  Meanwhile Nintendo has Mario, Zelda and Metroid.  Playstation has Horizon, GoW, Spider, Ratchet.  Xbox just is boring.  

When a game needs 10 patches, it's better to have a service that auto-download them and install them.

Also Steam is notorious for their Steam Sales with huge discounts.

For those two reasons pc gamers have come to terms with digital sales.

Except that isn't accurate.  Most PC gamers loathe multiple launchers and multiple accounts.  I have not bought a single Ubi game in a decade because of their stupid launcher requirement.  Same with EA, though I think they might have dropped it, I don't recall.  And multiple accounts, yeah, I avoid those as well.  I don't want to have to remember passwords for Steam, EA, Ubi, Sony, Blizzard, Rockstar, MS, etc, etc.  I absolutely prioritize games that don't require additional accounts.  I absolutely will not buy games that require a separate launcher.  There is a reason Ubi is doing under fast.  So, nobody is treating Sony differently than they treat other companies.  

So you'll miss the games you like because you need to set up a free account or have another launcher?

I really can't understand it, if they charged for it, sure, would make a lot of sense, but come on...

Were people not gaming on PC before Steam?

I have found memories of my desktop filled with game icons from all over the place, and even the launcher for Gunbound is still ingrained in my mind and looking at it would make me happy right now lol. Or logging in websites to play games on an internet page because they interested me.

I understand having all in one place is desirable, but avoiding games because of it?... it literally cost you nothing.

@BraLoD @Chrkeller

I disagree.

Sony tried all they could to block the ABK deal, because the thought of COD, a single title, leaving Playstsation scared them shitless. They managed to force a contract forcing COD to support Playstation for at least 10 more years.

Series XS did quite a few things better than PS5, and Sony did screw up on multiple fronts that Xbox could capitalize on, but none of their mistakes were close to being as terrible as a "complete lack of exclusives" which sealed Xbox's fate.

Sony's 1st party sales in the last few PS4 years hit 50-60 million annually on a 75-110~ million installbase. PS5's 1st party games are selling a lot less on a larger and more popular platform, partly because their output has been poor-ish (compared to PS4) due to the live service mess they got themselves into.

Xbox's output wasn't the best, but it was decent enough to make a difference if they went with traditional exclusives. If hypothetically Call of Duty, Forza Horizon, Obsidian's games etc released exclusively on Xbox (even against PC), then they would have sold tons of consoles and kept rhr platform healthy. Conversely, if Sony released everything they had on PC day 1, PS5 sales would have been much lower. Why is this controversial?

I'm now reminded of this Xbox fan here who challenged me with the argument that COD didn't need Xbox exclusivity to significantly increase sales YOY. He argued that marketing and GamePass inclusion in addition to Starfield were going to be enough to cause a big increase post acquisition. Well... these didn't even register as farts in the wind. Because most people kept buying them on PC and/or Playstation. Granted Statfield underwhelmed everywhere.

Xbox slowly became the definition of "redundant". I of course agree that other factors played their roles too. But the complete lack of exclusives was definitely the primary cause. No matter how good Microsoft's output gets, it will not save Xbox without exclusivity.

Absolutely nobody on the forums thinks that. You have to go to Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, or Reddit for that kind of nonsense. But it is a position that not only exists but seems a popular take. 

I would be shocked if it is a popular take, given it is a dumb position.