The traffic is in game guides and game news the amount of people that care about this stuff is actually miniscule compared to the millions that just log in and enjoy their free time on Fortnite etc.
But I dig into it because I want to advocate for Xbox users, since the hardcore Xbox/Windows/(Windows Phone, rip) community basically gave me life prospects on the back of this career. I’m still annoying everyone at Xbox when I can about getting something akin to platinum achievements. I’ll bring that up in LA again too lol.
And I agree, the project of cross platform applications of Xbox ecosystem has an internal codename and the hybridized nature of the next Xbox sounds incredibly exciting to me if they can pull it off. Xbox first but with Steam Deck-like PC openness, but also designed heavily for TV and controller first, etc. etc. Assuming Sony doesn’t block access to their games on the third party stores on the new PC-like Xbox consoles, it’ll lead to more variety for everyone on all platforms, and maybe even competition in sales, features, and value, etc.
Is that overly optimistic? Maybe. But I decided to take a wait and see approach and go along for the ride, rather than dwell on things that are set in stone now and can’t be changed.
I don’t think it’s about them selling more consoles but more about the market. Despite all that’s said Sony doesn’t sell that many consoles or gather that much of a user base. I think if Xbox really pushed it they can outsell Sony but that will just come with more headaches especially from regulators. The best thing they can do is to expand the market and make room for others. They are doing this for example with cloud gaming.
My guess is they have stumbled on technology that can unify the formats in one box and have consoles exist as digital platforms like Steam or storefronts.
My guess is if this works Sony and the whole industry will follow giving gamers the option of buying a single box with all storefronts or platforms.
Unfortunately a single format is a pipe dream - even Windows which has long been the default PC platform for years had many games using Direct X, and many not, and the format Microsoft require for their store is unpopular compared to the default structure most games have used since the start.
In reality the unified platform you talk of is Windows - and given Xbox already basically runs it then I suspect most of the challenge is licensing and ensuring games run optimally given the limitations of a console spec.
But I agree, console sales are not a priority, my argument was it’s not something they can win but they’ll still provide as it’s a dedicated audience and if they do the PC stores it may take off anyway.
I think everyone has spent years demanding PlayStation Studios level photo-realistic games from Xbox - not realising with Game Pass (although that does provide a very decent regular income to Xbox) and the much smaller install base if Xbox made them they’d struggle to break even - particularly as even Sony struggles to on theirs with such a big install base and no Day 1 subscription service.
If it takes going multi-platform to allow for Bethesda to finally kill those loading screens in their games, for more graphics that push our consoles like Hellblade 2 and to still allow Xbox to take risks like Pentiment, then I’m all for it as I’ll get to play them on Game Pass (and buy the DLC / premium edition if I really like them) on my Xbox - and in time possibly have a wide selection from Steam etc too…
As I said maybe they’ve stumbled on some new tech here as Sarah’s word was technological leap also Jez talks of a cross platform project.
The licensing thing always surprised me how they couldn’t get it. I’ve always thought if all the Xbox library was available on their PC store with Gamepass it would rival Steam and make them a powerhouse.
I agree on the consoles considering it’s produced at a loss and winning the console war would just burn more cash resulting in heavy loses something Microsoft hates.
Also even if the formats are not unified if all stores come under one box it would push to adoption for a format that works like phones have.
Unfortunately it’s the pissed of crowd that are the loudest here and can get influencial enough to stir trouble. Just look at 2013 and Phil talking about being beholden to investors certainly makes the messaging here very much in need of careful marketing. The media not understanding things will every chance they get lambast Xbox.
Sure, keeping in mind I’m dismissive of any news in relation to this, but it comes down to negativity bias. There has just been so much farming, tweets, media, bad takes on this topic it blurs together, and everyone gets lumped into the chicken little category (perhaps unfairly), so I either dismiss it or I have become the frog getting boiled in water where I no longer care (and have no control over it anyway)
Again its not an attack on anyone, but I was rather shocked how, in the past, I would have an emotional reaction to such a tweet, whereas now I just read it and have the same reaction I do to say ‘A Current Affair’ where they reel out the same tired headlines.
I write this completely aware people do care and it might be a me problem. I’m not smart enough to dissect that
(Also, I forget real people read this stuff, and I don’t want to be a dick to them personally)
Yeah I can’t deny that I had a visceral reaction to news about ABK, about Bethesda, about the multi-platform releases etc. - I think having just bought the Series X I felt invested, and disliking Sony’s money-hatting and nickel-and-diming compared to Game Pass it felt like maybe the “good guys” would finally win.
However I’ve come to realise (with help from sensible people on here and in Xbox-leaning media) that wishing harm to PlayStation just hurts my partner and friends who are PS-first gamers, without actually improving my own experience - and if anything I’d love more people to experience Forza Horizon 5, and if we get some PlayStation games back or even better the Steam library that improves my experience so I’m happy.
There’s no strategy Xbox could do that would guarantee “winning” the console war, so doing something different is a good thing and all 3 players will have more differentiating factors that will make gaming more interesting and give us all more options…
i feel kinda the same way. in december when i first started hearing about this, i was like “wtf, no way” and let that reaction kinda lead my thinking on it. it felt like more of microsoft doing microsoft things, but ive warmed up to it as ive learned more, and mathematically it makes sense, at least right now on paper.
ive written in the past how i think microsoft is too data-driven, which might seem like a contradiction, but i dont think “data” can fully encapsulate the human experience, how humans will react, and how the markets will react. if big data could make 100% accurate predictions all of the time, youd think microsoft would’ve had more success in general in some verticals. sometimes gaming should just be about doing cool shit – but too often microsoft is like “well nobody clicked on this so we’ll throw it out”
i like to think of mass effect as a good example of this. EA previously talked about how only 20% of players play as renegade shepard in mass effect, right? now the data there would suggest that, well, the money spent on those renegade options, VA, cutscenes, etc. was wasted money – since nobody would see them. that’s what EA was implying there. that’s why it felt like in andromeda, choice was very scaled back.
but the data only measures how people feel when they click on something. i could be wrong, but i feel like they underestimated how it feels when someone DOESNT click on something. my renegade/paragon choices felt good because i chose them. even if i never click on the other options, … the fact i was given a choice is what makes it more fun.
you could extend that to stuff like xbox achievements, avatars, hecc, even stuff like picture in picture and the sidebar. xbox game dvr too. microsoft sees low engagement for these features, but id argue that even if people don’t engage with stuff like that directly too often, they create fun memeable experiences and moments that make your platform visibly more fun to the masses looking in – how do you measure that with data? you can’t really. that’s why sometimes i doubt microsoft’s behavior and choices, because i know they are overly data driven, and that data has led them down into potholes before.
they were 100% right in predicting that we were moving to an all-digital future, with TV tie-ins, cross-media, all that shit, they predicted it 100% right. but they didn’t predict the reactions to pushing that the way they did. because they made it seem like a lot of it wasn’t going to be a choice.
so some of my reactions are around this idea that im not sure microsoft is fully in touch, and perhaps their data isn’t as good as they think it is – but MAYBE IT IS?! microsoft says gen-z wants more openness and detests the friction of platform exclusivity. people don’t even want to sign up to use apps and games, etc. which is why there’s so much anger and debate over how apple restricts services from being able to onboard people off-app to save money.
lets see what happens if they can get a really affordable Xbox “gaming PC” with full-fat Discord running in the background and ability to share stuff directly on TikTok etc. it’s certainly on-trend, but execution remains to be seen. im along for the ride either way!! one thing im particularly excited for is the games lineup, which sounds like it could finally be delivering in a way people have hoped for. clockwork revolution
Sony have the opportunity to kill Xbox consoles off and kill competition in the console space by not allowing their games on this hypothetical new Xbox. Why would they? Better to not allow it from their perspective surely? Yes they have moved towards PC now but to allow their games on Xbox seems like a step too far. We know how Sony operate, they don’t ‘play nice’ like Xbox often does. If they have the opportunity to kill Xbox (consoles) they will. Whether that matters or not in the long term is unclear, as you often say the business isn’t in selling consoles and Xbox would continue to release their games on PC and PS and basically become a publisher with maybe some niche hardware.
The argument against is that they may finally fall foul of regulators - the EU in particular is getting very interested in closed ecosystems, and if one player is opening up but the dominant one is making anti-competitive moves they may find the EU taking a look (particularly as with the UK now gone, Sony probably has 90% of the EU market vs Xbox as it’s always been a weak area for them).
I’ve no doubt they’d fight it just like Apple does, but they likely can’t afford the massive penalties if they lost, whereas Apple can
In the 40 years old history [of PC], there’s been no cases that I’m aware of developers blocking software because they don’t like the manufacturer. If Microsoft comes up with a specialized PC and Sony blocks their software because they perceive it as a threat to PS5, regulatory agencies might have a field day.
Not to mention that while Tencent is often mentioned as the biggest gaming company in the world, 70% of its (gaming) revenue is in China… Microsoft is the biggest publishe elsewhere and far away the biggest 3rd party publisher on Playstation. Sony might want not to be dicks to their biggest partner.
TBH I think this is mostly click baiting from Jez, he will change his mind again within 48 hours.
Even in a scenario where Xbox release all their games on PS at full price but also create new hardware which supports multiple stores including Steam which would be the more enticing hardware?
PS6 where you can only play games released on Playstation.
Or Series X2 where you can play all the Xbox games, PC Games and PS games (via Steam)?
Plus you can easily access GamePass to get access to games significantly cheaper.
I already own all the PS exclusives I’m interested in on Steam right now, apart from maybe a few of the InFamous games, Uncharted 1-3 and Spider-Man 2.
I think he’s explained his reasoning in this thread pretty well - and what he knows of what’s going on inside Xbox.
I understand what he means too - it’s not Xbox fans, it’s the general gaming media that have generally been against Xbox since the One release (and to be honest it felt like many during the 360 era were through gritted teeth - “oh poor Sony” whenever Xbox had an exclusive game yet no comment when Sony have done so much more since) and while complaining about PlayStation’s business practices many gamers have stuck with them regardless.
Unfortunately given the bias against Xbox (some of which yes is deserved due to poor messaging and poor output at crucial times), Xbox can’t win the console war so is looking at alternatives which to me feels like a risk worth taking (both on multi-platform in order to get the investment for making these games we get via Game Pass, a possible handheld and the PC stores on Xbox).
As Jez says, maybe they’ll turn out to be too far ahead of the game like they were with always online / DRM (let’s face it, very few consoles aren’t constantly plugged into the internet now) and it might backfire with Sony claiming a huge console share next generation as the public don’t get the whole “PC stores on console” thing and gamers jump ship again - which might also impact the move to xCloud if most people’s games are locked into PS - but fingers crossed, as you say I think for most enthusiasts (which I suspect most of those who’ve stuck with Xbox still are) the new Xbox offers by far the better deal…
Yep the reasoning does make sense, I’m just unsure how reliable his information is.
I guess the other risk here is what if Playstation also open up their platform to other stores (very unlikely I know).
The main selling point then would be GamePass which with titles like CoD will now be a big incentive, however would it be significant enough to attract a new audience though?
I think Xbox would still need some of the other big top selling franchises on GamePass day one for that happen, e.g. EA FC, GTA, Madden, NBA 2K, WWE 2K, LEGO, Assasins Creed, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, Red Dead, Tomb Raider, Borderlands and Tom Clancy etc.
Realistically it’s going to be too expensive/difficult to get these repeatedly day one without further M&A’s.
It’s clear that the future of Xbox is multiplatform (imagine having said this last year with such conviction, lol) and I’m honestly over it, it’s whatever.
I’m just worried about how third party studios will react to it. Will we see some of them just deciding to stop making Xbox versions of games? That’s something I don’t want to see, as someone who favors the console.
(Also, I forget real people read this stuff, and I don’t want to be a dick to them personally)
