I’m curious about the game pass thing, because even if they WERE to announce some kind of scaling back of day one game pass releases (which I will stress - nothing to indicate they will) there should still be a sizable drop of Activision content at some point. I do half wonder if they are holding off on gamepass content till the FTC drama has 100% concluded in federal court, in which case we might still not get an update.
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If a Nintendo Direct happens, would that be before Xbox podcast? What time are Directs usually?
Speaking of ABK, I wonder when they are finally gonna shine some light on when the older games start hitting Game Pass. Also wonder if that rumor about no CoD (I assume future ones) won’t be on it day one, is true and if they might address that too.
The source behind the initial rumor has been consistant from the off that Microsoft won’t port every game and would still have exclusives, so this isn’t odd.
We can already tell from the games rumored they aren’t exactly a high priority.
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I doubt it. If the Switch 2 will be able to handle these games, MS will port them over and for PS5 probably. This theory honestly sounds more like fanboy wishes.
Speaking of Spyro, I truly hope that tease was about a new game. Loved the collection and I want more!
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There might be something about gamepass, but who knows. If the plan is to scale back day-and-date, which I’m skeptical of, at least right now, I can’t imagine they would say that at this event; maybe announcing CoD won’t go day-and-date into gamepass, but not the omission of future first party games also. Announcing you’re porting some of your exclusives (one key differentiator of your platform) AND stating you’re removing the day-and-date inclusion from gamepass (the other key differentiator of your platform and service) would legitimately be the death of Xbox.
As for ABK content, maybe they’re holding onto it, but I do think a big part of the delay is they couldn’t really start until around the holidays, when lots of people were out, and lots of games didn’t have Windows versions and I would imagine they want to release games once for both console and Windows, not separately drops. I obviously know nothing and could be mistaken, but announcing a drop of games in the “business update” would seem tone-deaf to me. There’s definitely going to be information in the update that the Xbox diehards aren’t going to like to hear, but if Xbox thinks dropping old ABK catalog is going to make amends for that, they’re dumber than we think lol.
Nintendo Directs are usually earlier in the day and the Xbox podcast usually drops earlier in the afternoon, so the Nintendo Direct most likely will come before the “business update.”
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Then I really don’t see Nintendo dropping news about Xbox games coming to Switch. That would just be odd before MS/Xbox announces it officially.
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A few things for me would probably keep Xbox as my main platform, but I’ll probably still be wary.
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They need to guarantee me that I should not be concerned about third parties abandoning their platform if this causes their hardware sales to falter further.
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I need to be reassured that if things do go wrong, my digital content isn’t suddenly going to have a shelf life or be stuck on some ancient hardware in 10-15 years. I know how ridiculous this may sound to some, but that’s literally a hardware gen or two away.
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This is a must no matter what. They need to be clear, transparent, and actually tell us what’s going on and what gamers should expect. Microsoft/Xbox’s messaging has been atrocious on almost every front and we need answers. I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt for long enough, its time for them to show up.
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The cherry on top? Tell us whether the plan to let us stream our personal game collections has been cancelled or not. It was supposed to happen years ago, got delayed, and then not a peep since (that I’ve seen). Again, we need answers.
I disagree to an extent.
First off, if Xbox has dug themselves into a hole to the point that they need to do a podcast to get messaging across, then there’s a problem.
Second, a lot of less hardcore gaming folks aren’t going to probably listen to a full podcast. So Phil, Sarah, and Matt’s words better be solid and leave no wiggle room for doubt, because otherwise outlets can and will probably use that against them.
Sure, I’m super interested to hear the three of them have a full conversation on the topic, but they have to nail it right and it has to be a plan they stick with. Zenimax wasn’t acquired that long ago and they’re backpedaling on what they said (if the rumors outside of Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Hi-Fi Rush are in any way true).
I’m all for multiplatform gaming, but I need consistency and to be able to believe what is being said.
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No, its Xbox failing to do two things imo.
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Deliver quality exclusives on a consistent basis that the market cares about since the launch of the Series X|S. (No this isnt me saying they havent delivered any good games, i love Pentiment, Hi Fi Rush and Starfield).
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Make a meaningful impact with the Windows store on PC.
Each one of these has led to the stagnant growth in Game Pass subscribers.
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Make the next Xbox as close to a PC as possible, do that and you’ve just ensured third party support indefinitely regardless of how much hardware they sell
Also makes it as easy for devs as possible
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That’s the only point I think is impossible to guarantee. You don’t know what happens in 10-15 years.
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I don’t necessarily disagree, but they’re the ones that spent around $80 billion dollars the last half decade to support their platform. They’ve got to have an internal roadmap of some sort.
They have to give us something to reassure us about the future.
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They flushed Nokia down the toilet.
But gaming is bigger than Windows and it’s the only (kinda) social platform they have. Tried to acquire Pinterest and TikTok in the past. I think Xbox will be fine.
For me the only problem is your first point about third party. I hope they talk about it.
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True. Steam is the only store with a good library the rest are just bare bones. These storefronts need a campaign convincing publishers even if they have to publish themselves. As for Xbox they either need to bring the whole Xbox platform to steam or make every game on Xbox play anywhere. That way the windows store makes sense.
I do recall the last time Phil spoke to Jez he said that the teases will pay off. One of the teases just happen to be a Nintendo Switch in the room so perhaps there could be some Nintendo partnership for a Game Pass of some sort .
Well said other than Starfield there hasn’t been any meaningful exclusive even Phil said it in a letter to his team revealing that there was a 16 month gap between exclusives. They had a strong year in 21 with Halo and Forza along with many solid Game Pass titles. The Windows Store I think should either fully have Xbox built into it or all the Xbox titles need to become Play Anywhere, that way they can truly be compatible and all available on Windows.
It would honestly be really disheartening to see what lengths Phil and co have gone to get several games/teams that have been missing from the ecosystem (since inception or for a long time) just to see future support potentially dropped.
Here’s to hoping that won’t be the case. I really hope they pull this off.
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The consoles are already as PC as they can get. I would think to do what is needed they have to start from the PC front just like Steam and extend out. The Windows store should be bigger than the Xbox store but it isn’t. I think they would have to build the Xbox into the store or make everything on Xbox Play Anywhere compliant.
I do think if they could migrate the games or library to the Windows store that would be a good option.
The best way to make this impactful and really make this impactful is not to talk about just Xbox they need to talk about the gaming business at large and the way it’s going. Be very pointed and spell it out to the media that it’s not a console war it’s a bigger picture.
The media have to get the message to not stick the knife into Xbox they need to be writing about the industry and how Xbox is pivoting to be at the forefront for years to come.
They need to make the media question if PlayStation and Nintendo will also have to follow suit.
That will then take the sting out of the articles declaring Xbox has lost and instead turn it to are Xbox leading the way.
They seriously need to spin this properly using logic and facts. Admit that console is a main driver and really important but also be brutally honest and highlight how AAA gaming costs are rising and unsustainable and things do need to change.
Take the talk away from Xbox looking weak giving everything away and make it seem like it’s the most logical thing to do
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The only way to guarantee this is to add the support to PC imo.
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Honestly, that’s my #1 wish from MS. If they could figure that out, there is a high chance I’d switch to PC completely with a side of Xbox Handheld if that ended up releasing. I do play quite a bit of backwards compatible titles, a lot of which are only on consoles, and I’d really like to know all of that will keep working for me in the future. Playing some Ridge Racer 6 or Blue Dragon on PC would be awesome! I’m sure Ms has the software know how to make it happen.
I still think MS will have a hardware solution for us 10-15 years in the future, but having it available elsewhere than on console would be great!
I suspect the issue would be more on the side of licensing than any technical rationale. If the games are licensed for Xbox and all of a sudden you want to let them run on PC (effectively adding them to PC store I suppose) then that’s probably something that publishers would need to agree to.
I think they should do it either way, even if they don’t get everyone on board.
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