Its not hard for sony to beat Microsoft at marketing when Microsoft have not started there next gen marketing campaign yet.
I have seen some brand tie-in promos for Halo that have still gone out, even if the game is now MIA. I obviously don’t know how a deal like that works, but I guess if the ads don’t run someone might be in breach of contract which is why they went out anyway. Presumably any promo branding on energy drinks and doritos that was planned has to be ordered months in advance too, so we’ll probably see more of it.
I can imagine most of Xbox’s marketing was going to be hung on Halo, and without it they’re probably trying to regroup.
I honestly feel like I can’t say anymore incase someone jumps up and accuses me of concern trolling.
They are certainly in an interesting position, where the game they were hyping up as the big flagship launch title is now delayed. I think at this point, they should focus on showing what Smart Delivery games will look like on the Series X. Show me Gears 5. Show me Horizon 4. Show me Valhalla. Show me The Avengers.
EDIT: By the way, the title of the thread has changed yet again.
Opinion: Consoles still matter. Launch window sales still matter. Therefore launch window exclusives still have value. Just not nearly to the same extent as they did previously. Not in the big picture.
The part that can’t be under-estimated though is how effective viral messaging is. When competition is empowered by hordes of loyalist that can dominate Youtube algorithms, messaging needs to be on point. Right now it’s not and it’s creating a headache for those of us who are excited about next gen but have to step over the carnage of plastic wars to get there.
That said, viral messaging works in both directions. I’ll continue to remind everyone that Epic’s company value exponentially grew and they gained enough money to compete as a platform this gen. All this from a game which originally started as a commercial AA failure. To the mainstream, Epic was nothing weeks after Fortnite launched. Now they are a household name. Content will continue to be king however it’s the mega hits that drive platforms. Good games like Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break don’t. Good games provide the variety and quantity keep people there once the mega hits bring them through the door. Microsoft is better off investing most of their resources towards content they own and delaying until that content can have real impact. It’s more important than paying for 3rd party exclusives that aren’t mega hits or rushing their own stuff.
In the big picture, we’re transitioning to a significant paradigm change. First to 10 million doesn’t determine whether Xbox as a platform explodes or reaches their goals next generation. If in 2021 Xbox studios are prepared to demo better, Halo is great and messaging is on point, the subdued launch will be forgotten by the masses.
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I saw a Digital Foundry video which showed Gears 5 running on Series X and the stuff they were pointing at as being the big changes just wasn’t significant enough, imo. It’d be really easy to talk it down.
I think if they packaged together a lot of things, how quick changing game is, showed something that had a marked and noticeable improvement, whatever the flashiest games they’ve got deals on, etc, they might put something together that fans would like, but I think they need to get a deal sorted on a game that they can market around if they want to seem appealing to a wider audience.
Getting Cyberpunk optimised and running on series X first would probably do it. If they could say “we couldn’t wait so we’ve partnered with CDPR to help get Cyberpunk up and running on Series X, using the full power of Series X (whispering: and ignoring PS5 for 6 months), AND DID WE MENTION SOME EXCLUSIVE DLC?!” - then I think some people would be furious, but a lot of people would feel like they’ve got something to look forward to.
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While there could be more big games for xsx
They have a lot going for them.
Flight sim is stunning + coming to xsx.
All these great games are coming to xsx with some exclusivity
They have the most powerful (xsx) and the cheapest (xss)
Gamepass is great and clearly it sells to people judging by its sub count.
It’s just mind boggling to me that xbox is launching a next generation console and there isn’t even 1 big AAA exclusive day 1…
And that’s coming from someone that’s been xbox since the OG!!
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Easy, yes. Factual? No. The DF showcase of Gears 5 with very little dev time applied was a “WOW!” factor for me. I find it hard to believe anyone being honest with viable constraints would deliberately downplay this for any reason other than FUD.
They have done that with Quick Resume (showing multiple games) and the load of State of Decay with - if I recall - zero optimization of game code.
Is it buried under all of the other vitriol? Yes! But what you’ve asked for has been done.
With that in mind, and framing within a constructive feedback mentality, what else are you hoping for? More examples of the same? Or a mix?
For example, I’d love to see MS note (and show!) an X Enhanced game running in BOTH performance and visual enhancement modes. Especially if it can and would be done will no need for developer involvement.
Edit: A thought I intended to share but a work discussion derailed me. How much of this blasé response could be from the home equipment inadequacies? Poor streaming? 1080p sets with poor motion capability? I think the dedicated set ups companies used at E3 type events helped bypass this by ensuring the tech was shown “properly”. The same stream (Halo Infinite, for examle!) looked significantly worse on my 10 year old 1080p plasma TV then my LG OLED. And the plasma TV was top tier in it’s day!
Sea of Thieves next gen update is all we need 
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When im playing the 9 launch games that im looking forward to on the Xbox Series X, I will let you know if their launch is in trouble. My two month early answer is a massive no. 
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How many changes on the thread title are we expecting to see?
I mean, there was just another one.
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What do you mean by exclusive AAA ? The Medium is exclusive I think and AAA. That’s one. Do you mean first party ? Yes, there is not a really good first party game juggernaut like Halo or Gears or even Forza. It is what it is… I’m disappointed too, but like I said in another thread, we can’t only rely on big AAA games anymore. They are so far in between. I maybe played two this year…Doom Eternal and Resident Evil 3 Remake that I bought day one…That’s it. Maybe I’ll add 3 Yakuza games and Ace Combat 7 via gamepass, but that’s a year old game and ports.
The vast majority of games I played are small games, indies, GAAS, remasters, last year multiplayer games. And I will continue to play them on Series X, that’s why BC is really important this time. At least for me.
Not to single you out, I was just making my point.
AAA are important and Xbox is not in a good position at launch in that regard, but they have BC and enhancements and impactful games that could still bring the attention they need until the next year big push.
And Cyberpunk 2077. Don’t forget that the best way to play the GOTY is on Series X, folks ! It’s the RDR2 on Xbox One X scenario once again ! 
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AAA is hard to quantify but I think most people would consider The Medium AA. It’s also, I believe, a timed exclusive not a full exclusive.
Microsoft have been saying that they’ve got the first AAAA studio, so that’ll be interesting to see what that’s all about!
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Yeah, I think for existing Xbox owners, BC is a major perk. I never thought it was of much importance but this gen, I’ve revisited quite a lot of games from 360 and enjoyed them more than I thought I might.
I will say that I think The Medium could be AAA. I don’t really care. Gears Tactics is AAA and I don’t care either. I only care if it is a good game and has value. That’s what really matter.
And no one take the term AAAA seriously… it is only used internally at Microsoft. So what is your point ?
Can we please stop changing the name of the thread
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Well, that the number of As is a fairly meaningless term, that was my point. Sorry it wasn’t clearer.
Triple A normally means that a layer of polish is evident that comes with a huge budget and lots of staff, but there’s not a banding where you get told that if they have 10 more employees they’ll be triple A or something! That’s why I say its a sort of meaningless term. Looking at Bloober Team’s previous releases, I’m not sure they would be what most people would consider AAA, but I guess they might have scaled up a bit more now.
No beef!
BTW, here’s someone else talking about making a AAAA game: https://screenrant.com/dead-space-creator-next-game-striking-distance-studios/
Looks like AAAA could be everywhere soon!
Huh, I’m surprised I missed it. If anyone else missed them, here they are.
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You’re incoherent and hard to follow…And you prove my point. And there is no AAAA games…