I think the XSX is the best console but in the same time it will be the worst Xbox launch in term of 1st-party and games that make you want to buy the console (since Halo Infinite delay). This current launch is like day and night when compared with the OG Xbox and Xbox 360 launches.
What MS needs to is to show why their product is the most powerful console. Show gameplay and visual showcases.
And also have the cheapest console and push Xbox All Access with a good marketing.
Also, they need to spend A LOT MORE in marketing (and a better marketing). I feel like their marketing is basically non-existent in Europe while I always see tons of PlayStation and Nintendo ads.
Agree with this a lot. To be fair to them, the comparisons with other versions won’t be possible until games and consoles are on sale, no company will want to alienate any of their audience by allowing their game to be shown to be lesser on any other platform. Unfortunately, they just don’t seem to have anything first party to show off, and when they did, the cross gen policy seems to have bitten them.
I give a shit how the console is launching. I get no money for any sold Xbox, I do not care how many they sell, I do not care if they are 1st place, 2nd place or 3rd place. I personally also did not expect high profile games will be ready for launch shortly after COVID-19 started.
All I care about if my requirements for next gen will get fulfilled. And they are:
Loading times checked
Better and consistent frame rates Checked
Complete BC for this gen checked
Gaming for me is a hobby. If a certain games comes 6 months later or not is not critical to me.
The only real concern I have is not get my XSX in the first wave.
Xbox one X is very desirable for those who understand what it is, for the mass market it’s still another “failed” Xbox One with all the same estigmas that name bring.
Now, it’s very possible Ms is unable to separate SX from Xbone too, and that is a direct barrier of their smooth transition target, so it’s definitely possible they are not able to free themselves off the bad taste xbone left. Particularly I think they had all the elements on their hands this year, they had a new console that’s the most powerful, they have a bunch of games and they have much more support than ever but still managed to fall into the same Xbox is lesser/ has no games etc narratives.
Playstation just have an immense mindshare and consumers that are willing to defend that position at almost all costs, so it will be very hard to them to change the narrative. Specially if they keep giving ammo to them.
But I think that’s solely a marketing issue, and that’s something they definitely shouldn’t be in with all the stuff they have going for them.
Yeah, agree with “failed” there. Even if we ignore the incredible progress that xbox made following the terrible bad feeling at X1’s launch, xbox one has hosted some great games and made money for it’s owners. The idea of first, second or third place is largely a fanboy construction and not particularly relevant. As noted above, by someone else, I’m not bothered about who “wins” I’d just like to see some great games available for the most powerful console.
I think that if they can demonstrate superior fidelity then that becomes the selling point for the brand, it’s why I find the S a confusing, muddying prospect.
If they had the software and could say “if you want to play this, you can play it on this or this machine”
As is, they’ve got to make power their USP as they don’t have the software to make their case for them, unless Gamepass can plug that gap, and that seems to have a few different points of view.
Not gonna necessarily address the things stated in the op at this point, but here are some of my thoughts about the current situation especially as someone who is “interested in/follows” video game sales:
Yes I think Xbox launch loses a lot without Halo at the helm and they clearly were rallying behind it a lot.
No I think gamepass is very much a potential system seller , especially in the environment were are in, there are a lot in the market who very much don’t want to spend a ton on games on top of buying a fancy new box.
I think overall the importance of Launches and Launch Line ups are overinflated as part of the enthusiast hype cycle especially for launches happening during the holiday season,I’m much more concerned/interested in what the scenario looks like 6-8 months after launch.
With that in mind I think it’s really frustrating now more than ever all the cards arent on the table for how price, skus, and first year outlook is like .
As it comes to “competition” while I don’t believe it to be a zero sum game, I am of the belief there is very few things that could have happened to “sway” the vast majority of folks who were interested in PS from changing, not because of “locked ecosystems” or whatever but simply brand power and regional aspects . It would take a notable mess up on Sony’s part to sway things and they just havent had one especially not one mainstream buyers care about.
However similarly, outside of the enthusiast space, don’t think there has been anything that microsoft has done that has been a major mess up, halo comes closest and I don’t think that’ permanently or near-permanently loses them customers. Not at the level of other notable mess ups prior to console launches.
I think being the “Best place to play multi-platform games” (namely fifa/cod/madden/nba) on one end and “The cheapest place to play next gen games” on the other end is more compelling than people think.
As someone who follows sales I think the term “system seller” is often nebulous, often gets labelled retroactively, and people are historically bad at predicting what will be one and to what degree. People yelled til they were blue in the face that BoTW or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe wouldn’t be, that Smash wasn’t, PUBG Xbox was a system seller and folks dismissed it as one before release, Fortnite came out of nowhere and was a system seller for every platform it was on and that was multiplatform. Stuff like Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon have almost definitely sold more xboxes than people think. Things may not look like “system sellers” at the moment but that’s not set in stone, same for the opposite.
Lastly and controversially…I think it’s fine if most folks outside of enthusiasts don’t find a compelling reason to want these new systems for the first year or two, that’s often how it is every gen and it’s more than just about “exclusives” but price, games still being available on older platforms, and also games being expensive (and looking to be even more next gen potentially).
That’s a good point and adds to why I’m not so sure Gamepass is the system seller some people think it is.
Jimmy will quite often be on Fortnite, maybe Apex Legends or some other F2P game. Parents looking to save a few $£€ might be more inclined to not get any games at all - the ones Jimmy’s friends are playing are all free anyway, and they’ll pick up some V-bucks later.
For clarity, I think Gamepass is great and when the 1yr gold cards started disappearing I snapped up a Gamepass Ultimate card to top up my account to 3 years again in case they were disappearing too (looks like they did). For me it’s a great service, but I’m already on the platform.
Completely agreed. The system is the most powerful console and it will play all of my existing games even better, and I’m getting some great third-party exclusive content (a lot of which is on GamePass Day One). I really am at a loss with what people want when they say GamePass isn’t good enough yet… what are you even wanting then? It has nearly every XGS title on there, tons of great indies, and plenty of great AAA third-party titles, and I can’t think of another service that comes close. All of that is for 10 bucks. Hell, after this year I’d pay that just for the first-party titles, given how solid they have been and clearly will continue to be; the fact that there are another 150 titles to boot makes it a no-brainer, and immediately makes me skeptical of naysayers at this point in its lifecycle.
That’s a slightly disingenuous take, I said that I think that Gamepass is great, I’m just saying that it does little to enhance a new console when you can play all the games on the older console too.
I think it’s hard to say the launch is in trouble when we don’t have all the details yet. Not having Halo at launch is a blow for sure, but price will probably be the most important factor for most (filthy casual ) people heading into 2021.
Also, consumers are fickle and often unpredictable. If MS can effectively market their Xbox All Access program, I think Xbox’s will fly off the shelves, especially if there’s a more affordable model that undercuts PS5 and XSX by $100 or more.
Just my thoughts. I tend to be optimistic about things.
I think all access could be a winner for them too, and I also agree that it’s bizarre that we’re so close to launch (we assume!) and nobody wants to say how much or precisely when, and as mentioned, where’s the footage of Series X running games? I’m only certain about having seen one game running on Series X hardware (unless I’ve forgotten).
I disagree, given the relatively low uptake of the Xbox One (compared to the PS4), I think Game Pass is just the key to sway new potential customers as they immediately have access to hundreds of games they haven’t experienced. Given that you can’t even buy an Xbox One in most markets right now, I think the case has been made on that point for new buyers recursively. Also, there are several games that will be on GamePass and not playable on the Xbox One, so I’d be careful with the use of disingenuous there; assuming everyone who’s going to buy the Series X owners are Xbox One owners ignores a massive percentage of the audience, especially during launch when those trends haven’t even presented themselves.
I do think Gamepass is a system seller because you just buy a console and can instantly have hundreds of games at your disposal. Im just saying the importance of launch lineups is being overblown because Sony is dropping Spider-man who absolutely looks like a DLC game pushed to be a standalone.
Literally bought an xbox one day 1 and spend the following months just playing Battlefield 4 and fifa until stuff like Titanfall and Watch Dogs (yuck) dropped.
I think people are working themselves into hysteria about not seeing games running on Series X. It’ll run games. They’ll look good. I understand the concern, I’m just not bothered by it.
As for price, I think MS desperately wants to undercut Sony on this and will wait for Sony to go first. Flip side, I think Sony knows this and by waiting, are hoping MS will blink first so they can decide how much they’re willing to lose on the console (assuming it’s as expensive as people are theorizing).
It’s annoying for us, but 2020 has made everything weird.
I think the main issue is that they managed to get caught up in the generation talk instead of showcasing their advantages. They are following a pc/phone cycle where all your games and apps are the same and you just upgrade to have the best performance /graphics. Xcloud will fill the gaps when the hardware is no longer able to run the game locally. With the difference that’s handled for you. You don’t need to configure the game to take advantage of your machine, the system does that for you.
They are also extending that ecosystem from beyond the console so if you want extreme performance you can go above the optimal performance /cost of the console and have unlimited performance on Pc (as much as your pocket allows it anyway)
That’s a very strong proposition and one that offers many advantages to the consumer, and it’s superior to the outdated approach of starting over every gen. If they kept the messaging simple and objective they could have come up better PR wise, but somehow they messed that so hard that Sony is the one seen as the gamers champion despite having the same business first approach as ever.
That is one thing, I guess, if Microsoft are launching in other countries for the first time (I’m sure I read that the Series S might be aimed at markets that are more price sensitive, as opposed to a paralell system in existing markets. In those places where consoles have been historically prohibitively expensive, I can see gamepass being a big driver. In the USA/UK/Europe, not so much - you make a good point about people who have skipped this generation of Xbox having a lot to catch up on, Sony did hoover up a lot of Xbox players at the start of this gen, who presumably would be up for catching up on Halo or Gears or Alan Wake fans trying Quantum Break (that was one of the titles that I really wanted when the X1 was announced.
Ehh… it’s a tough argument you’re making really there. The vast majority of titles will be on Xbox One, certainly the XGS games appear to be either a long way off or cross gen - assuming MS stick to supporting Xbox one for 2 years after Series X launches. I’m not sure how many third party games will be exclusive to next gen Xboxes, but I’d be surprised if Gamepass hosts more than… (plucking a number out of the air…) 3 at launch. Perhaps disingenuous was the wrong word there, let’s say generous instead, no offence intended.
You’re right, it will be interesting to see how many people Microsoft convince to jump ship from another platform, and being honest, I think that we all know that predominantly means Sony. This seems like a hard task when Sony get applauded every time they break wind, and to be fair to them they have had a number of very high scoring games this gen and appear to be attempting to offer more of the same.
) people heading into 2021.