How can next Xbox consoles improve sales? Share your ideas

Gaming
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So first of all, I think other platforms as PC and mobiles will survive longer than consoles, however it looks like we will get at least one more Xbox gen.

But things need to improve, how would you make sales better?

A new controller with new functions?

Big timed exclusives?

Open the ecosystem?

I would make content console exclusive, and wouldn’t release it in others. This, I reckon, won’t happen and more and more games will be coming to other consoles.

So, what are your proposals in this scenario?

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I think they could make content console exclusive and it still wouldn’t do that much in turning around sales in the near term.

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Realistically the only thing which has historically distinguished consoles are their exclusives.

Now that Xbox has many of the most talented studios in the world and are technically primed to make their games exclusive, they’ve decided not to.

Therefore I’m not really sure if there is anything they can do (even having a open platform) to take the #1 spot.

I think their best hope now is to focus on becoming the #1 streaming and subscription service, however even when you look at streaming services like Disney+, Netflix and HBO they are all reliant on their exclusives to bring in customers.

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Don’t think it’s just about streaming and subscription, it’s about having your content available to wherever you are including console, PC, handheld, mobile, and streaming.

No other platform holder is as close to offering something comparable.

Or course, such a strategy is not going to push console sales.

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5

In terms of platform yes, however I don’t think this is a incentive to buy a Xbox console which was Antonyo’s question.

If anything I would say having their games on other devices (some of which I may already own) is a reason as why not to buy their console.

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6

Yeah, that nor streaming are going to benefit console sales. It’s kind of a backwards looking question.

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I agree, I honestly don’t think there’s anything they can do with their current approach.

That XBone era really screwed their momentum.

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8

The real question is ‘What can Xbox do to keep console viable with continously declining sales’ haha

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Consoles just need to lead the way for Microsoft Store and Cloud versions to do well. If you can make one version of a game for Xbox and get a console, PC, and cloud audience out of it then you’ll keep seeing the 3rd party support they’ve had lately. It’s far better than people seem to remember, with decades old franchises showing up for the first time ever.

It’s a massive, multi-front approach where consoles matter a lot, but less than they used to. I have no clue if it will work, but improving console sales will be a happy byproduct of their plans working, I think.

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I feel this is a waste of time, Xbox knows how to increase sales they just aren’t that interested. They aim to reach more people through more accesible and cheaper means. Consoles are not going to ever reach enough and will certainly never come close to the 3 billion aims.

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Marketing alone won’t help. Unfortunately a big portion of success is dependent on media good will. The only way they can get that to a level that had it like in the 360 days is to put out a way more capable console than the competition. For the ganes in my opinion they are already on the right track by producing more interesting games thane the main compitition does.

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I don’t think they can. They’ll sell 50m units life time for the next Xbox console give or take and that’s it. They will have their Xbox Portable that should sell units in regions where mobile/handheld gaming reign supreme.

Microsoft has their direction and that direction above all else is too make more money and they can accomplish that by releasing their games on Sony/Nintendo platforms. Indiana Jones is going on PlayStation six months give or take after it releases on Xbox and Doom The Dark Ages is day one.

At this point, just increase the value proposition with Game Pass and make that the focus to where people who’ll want to buy and play their games will look at them as being a $70 purchase each compared to playing them via Game Pass as will perhaps re-think it and go the Xbox route.

Microsoft is simply trying to get Game Pass everywhere and in every possible way to access it so that’s what they should do and is pretty much what they’re doing anyway.

Since the whole exclusivity thing is kinda done, just go all in with eliminating it. I know people will go nuts if it happens but Halo Remake should release on PlayStation 5 day one with the entire game intact (campaign, multi-player and forge) and build up the IP to being the biggest that it’s ever been.

I am someone who believes that the IP’s are worth much more than any exclusivity on a console because every console has an expiration date where as the IP’s don’t unless the IP holder doesn’t renew ownership of it.

So basically, the more games they release on PlayStation, the more revenue Microsoft will gain but for consumers, it’s more money they’ll have to spend if they don’t own an Xbox. At some point, it will become cheaper to just buy an Xbox and subscribe to Game Pass.

As long as Microsoft has Game Pass with their games on it day one with a few third party games a year as well being for me and still have Ubisoft+ as an individual option, I personally am good with sacrificing exclusivity in exchange for getting what I want the most. Games day one on Game Pass because this actually benefits me.

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There are about 250 million PCs and over a billion phones sold each year. Give or take consoles at best sell between 40 to 60 million a year. I think if you want to sell more consoles you would have to move closer to your next platform being a PC or a smart phone it also so happens PCs and Mobile phones and devices are where you get the most gamers. The idea of selling a traditional console in my opinion is pretty much at an end. Sony is struggling right now tryong to maintain it and the Switch has lost its steam and is now torpedoing down unless there is a successor that can reignite that fire.

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Xbox need to make easy to understand what they do, what they can offer

#1 console naming

Most people in Europe don’t know the difference between a Xbox series s, Xbox one X and Xbox series X while the ps5 is straightforward for everyone

#2 Xbox console run as well as playstation next gen

For example most people were not aware that hogwarts legacy is also releasing on Xbox

You have to market the new console heavily at its launch so people understand that it is similar (or better) hardware than a ps6

For this point, Xbox did it well for me in 2020 for the Xbox series x, but there were not enough marketing work on the Xbox series s

#3 present a strategy which is easy to understand and keep it (console wise)

Even us, the guys more interested in gaming, doesn’t know the direction of Xbox, which lately has the tendency to change each year ( no plan for indiana Jones on ps5) , how can you convince someone to invest 300€+ in a xbox console that has a unstable leadership

#4 give some advantage to console player

Something that we maybe don’t really notice but console player are slowly loosing advantages, it is true for playstation players but for me it is slightly worse for Xbox player. I can agree to say that some Xbox games going multiplatform is not a deal breaker, but to have to pay way more for game pass on console than on pc (the gap increases over the years) makes really the console less appealing.

I am aware that they won’t let down paywall to multiplayer because of money. But they need to find something because more and more eyes are looking to computers or pc handled in their core fanbase

I really like Xbox for compatibility and confort, and the 300€ entry point, but let’s face the truth: it seems not enough to convince people to buy the device, it needs something else

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15

They can’t. They’re not desirable anywhere in the world but really the USA and even in their home turf they’re firmly in 3rd place.

Their best bet is to double down on their current strategy and just hope all of the storefronts get opened up eventually.

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Nothing they can do at this point to get them back into the competitive console space, at least nothing that’s realistic and could be worth for them.

In my opinion, focus on the software, learn and understand why stuff like FH5 and Grounded were huge hits, why HB2 or FM flopped, why Avowed is probably going to have a hard time to have good sales numbers on it’s release, in the end, get some people who study the market and what this one wants to make each release a very relevant one with big sales potential.

They can release that Steam Deck like console, i doubt it won’t be a niche thing, but any extra sales are GP subs and more money so that’s good too.

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17

Exclusives always get a lot of focus in these sorts of discussions but I’m going to go off a slightly different direction and I’m not quite sure how to put this…

There is a faction of the community that wants games to be “anti-woke”, they want boobie jiggle, no female MC unless they are hot, etc… You know those that are complaining about Fable and Perfect Dark’s character reveals. There is a lot of overlap here with games from Japan/Asia as I think Western games tend to be a bit more politically correct in this regard.

I believe Playstation caters to that demographic way more than Xbox does. If you are the type to want to see idealized girls almost naked in a game, you are going to buy a Playstation I think. Now discussion about these types of games and if they are good or not is another matter, but Xbox definitely loses market due to this. The problem is though, Xbox doesn’t gain support from the other side wanting more inclusive characters for not really catering to these games.

I’m not even sure if we should want Xbox to go after some of these games just to increase sales.

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One of the biggest things they could do is make sure devs aren’t skipping their console all together or staggering out release dates where Xbox gets the game months or years later.

I believe opening up the console to other marketplaces would be a big advantage. There are a lot of games these days that go PC first before hitting console.

Yeah, yeah I know about the cut they get from digital sales in their own store. If they figured out that Game Pass is console locked then it seems like it would be in their interest to get as many of their own consoles in the market, knowing some percentage of those will buy in their store and/or subscribe to Game Pass.

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Stop caring about hardware sales and just enjoy gaming on what ever devices you prefer

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20

Literally nothing. Could have a much stronger console, for cheaper, with a ton of exclusives. Still wouldn’t change things in any significant way. Phil was right, they lost the gen you couldn’t lose.

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