In the document I read (PX1145) Phil is specifically saying he’s NOT asking for relief, and he’s also saying that Amazon Luna and Google Stadia, unlike Xbox, are not dragged down by console subsidy in their P&L.
Hardware subsidy means that the consumer pays less for the console than it costs Microsoft to manufacture and ship it, not which division within Microsoft foots the bill.
If it came out of Xbox’s AM it wouldn’t be described as a subsidy from MS. It’s offsetting Phil’s P&L….it’s pretty clear,
No, it’s not clear at all. Phil’s wording implies the opposite actually:
“Amazon Luna and Google Stadia do not have the console strength we have giving us developer engagement, gaming community and catalog of content. But they also do not have the console subsidy on their gaming P&L that we have which could be an enabler for them. And other the other side we have Sony with PS5 and a very analogous hardware subsidy.”
If Playstation has a very analogous hardware subsidy to Xbox, which part of Sony is footing the bill?
Fair point I hadn’t read the further comments Phil made in depo that properly clarify the position . But I have now and seems I was wrong. Sorry.
The frustrating thing is that MS are clearly selling far fewer Xboxes than they could to try and preserve annual P&L for Xbox which ignores lifetime value….which is positive…seems a bit backwards…
I think MS see their console platform as a springboard into hardware agnostic gaming ecosystem, ie. ultimately they want to be the top dog on mobile and PC where the real money is (and maybe cloud in the more distant future) and the console is just profitable and big enough to forge relations with all relevant publishers and developers.
MS isn’t a company that justifies frivolous spending for rapid growth. Their gross profit margin is 33% and that’s because they’re very frugal with their resources, for better and for worse.
Pretty much the face I make every time I see them being mad for us Xbox gamers having a good time with an exclusive lol. So I glad I’ve shucked with MS since the OG Xbox after being a Nintendo fan since my childhood. The leadership there now has an incredible vision for the future and I’m there along for the ride! Keep them acquisitions coming!
It’s interesting in that also during deposition Spencer says they need to accelerate console growth if they are to hit their gamepass targets (also that if they can’t he would suggest they exit the business). I wonder how that stacks up to limiting hardware sales on an annual basis to maintain an acceptable AM?
The mods did do something about it on GAF. They banned me for defending Xbox lol.
Ok, im saying this as an observation from afar, and has nothing to do with promoting anyone. I see a bit of similarities in the gaming media and mainstream media when Trump came to power.
For the longest time there was a belief that certain US media outlets like CNN, NYTs etc were left leaning in their reporting. They would really push back against that and say they didnt have one and that they were centrist in their reporting. When Trump came to power those masks were pulled right off. They went balls out and didnt care anymore if people knew their biases.
I see the same thing with the Gaming media. For the longest there has been assu.ptions that there was a PS bias in the media. We would see their tweets, read their anti xbox comments, but they would still pretend they wernt pro sony. They didnt mind giving ok scores to FH5 because its not a big deal, but Starfield made alot of them not able to hide their bias anymore. They had to mark it down. The mask was pulled off.
The purchase, and subsequent exclusivity of Starfield, Indian Jones and ES6, has been a bridge too far for alot of them. That dude from IGN that reviewd the game said that if MS made Starfield exclusive, their would be repercussions. Now what place is it of his to say that shit?
Wow, just…wow.
I actually saw some users legit get banned from that. It’s insane. That’s when I knew I should stay away.
Neogaf has been doing that for a decade now. CBOAT, Bishoptl and others pretty much orchestrated the anti-Xbox agenda since 2013 and banned Xbox fans for no reason. It was a good day when the site turned to garbage after the resetera exodus. Not that that is much better.
Bish was the biggest clown of the lot. He thought it was his private playground where he could do whatever he wanted, and he did. Tyler was too busy living the life and the mids ran amoke. Then he got done, and all of a sudden he looked though what was left after the exodus and saw the bannind spree.
To fix it he actually did a good thing, which was to list the the post that caused the ban. Now they dont do that anymore, and they ban you for being a little too defensive of xbox.
I’m not that surprised. MS has a couple things going for them:
It’s going to be really bad today.
It’s still sleeping time over here. Give it 2 more hours. It’s going to get deadly…
Todays forecast: High concentration of SALT.
Huh, why?
CMA verbally indicated that MS has appeased them. I dont want to jinx anything because everything is crazy but buckle up.
What does this mean? Sorry it doesn’t ring any bells for me, haha.
We were supposed to hear something next week, but I’m guessing it wasn’t gonna be good news and Xbox isn’t having it? That’s my guess what it means.