Makes me wonder if the next emerging market is AAA games on mobile. Smartphones are getting stronger , and I could see in the near future of this becoming a major market for revenue . Also, pc market seems to be growing , so it’s going to see how publishers respond to those emerging markets . I think console market size somewhat plateaued , but always room for growth due to next generation of gamers eventually getting a console or pc
Wasn’t RE8 releasing on the new iphone ? I recall people here making fun of them for that though lol.
Unless this is something completely different like Nintendo did with the Switch…what would this accomplish? A third SKU whose power wont be used because developers will prioritize PS5 over this new console? Seems like a nightmare for devs.
Yeah , resident evil , assassin’s creed and a few other AAA games will be releasing k. iPhone 15 pro . I think this is going to be something to look out for . Also , why Microsoft pushing hard for a mobile store imo
I think trying to release these big games on phones is cool, the fact that tech has gotten to the point where such a thing is even possible is incredible
But I think the only way to make that work is what @Zappy5 was saying, 1 unified store that if you buy a game it works across everything, pc, console, tablet, phone and if not quite possible at the time at least a cloud version for phone until next years more powerful phone arrives or whatever, I dunno, I don’t do mobile gaming lol
Having completely separate ports for full price on mobile is never gonna work
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Yeah, I agree with this line of thinking. Hopefully they can break the duopoly but easier said then done.
I think Apple has positioned themselves to have a unified store because purchasing a game on iTunes will give you access to the game on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. I think Microsoft needs to find a way to link xbox purchases to mobile, pc, streaming, and of course Xbox. Unsure how Microsoft can do that, but I think that has to be their goal
Unreal Engine 5 is scalable. This would be a next-gen Xbox with better hardware & better implementation of UE 5 than the PS5. The same applies to most game engines tbh.
I think having a shorter generation makes total sense. Refresh that hardware properly every 5 or 6 years. This was discussed here recently, i.e. release a next Xbox in 2026, then another in 2032 etc. It means the PS6 would be power king for a few years, then Xbox, then PS7 etc. It would also torpedo PlayStation’s “pro” console every time (for example the PS5 Pro would get blown out of the water by next gen Xbox two years later).
I think the first mistake MS made with the Xbox brand was releasing the successor of the 360 too late. It could have been done in 2012.
A shorter more cyclical upgrade route makes sense logically but the problem is how does the market view it? People are used to buying a new console every 7 or so years and we are seeing console sales right now potentially tanking across the board. Introduce a ‘hey we will offer console upgrades on a regular basis’ concept and the market may just decide there is much less need to upgrade.
And then if Sony comes along with the usual ‘new gen’ smokescreen a few years later and makes it seem exciting and more exciting than an incremental upgrade it’s a problem.
I look at valve who are resisting upgrading the steam deck specs to say the rog ally level because their belief is hardware generations must be transformative. I mean it’s more complex in handheld space as you are looking at battery life which in fairness still effectively ties you to the steam deck spec anyway. But still.
Xbox releasing iterative console specs - on more frequent upgrade basis makes logical sense. But I’d question whether the brand has built the desirability and market penetration to support that model. If a new Xbox becomes ‘another thing’ and no longer an event does it just sit on shelves?
Well, we don’t know the definitive answer, do we?
All we can assume is the Series X & S sitting on shelves whilst their numbers plummet for 4 more years (beneath the Xbox One) whilst Sony has a PS5 & PS5 Pro on the shelves wouldn’t do Xbox much good either.
Yeah, there’s some Dreamcast vibes in such a plan. But that’s also how the 360 was born. Sega couldn’t maintain the demand for software & couldn’t resist the PS2 (the first mass market DVD player). Xbox meanwhile has Activision Blizzard, Bethesda & everything else.
We’ll see. But I’m okay buying a new Xbox in a couple of years time. Even more so if it’s a literal new piece of next-gen hardware & not just a refresh.
I’m more of the view that Xbox desperately needs to rebrand as a PC brand and make fixed spec pc type boxes to go under TVs, handhelds etc and stop necessitating the need for dedicated console hardware.
Those November numbers are the first time I’ve really seen hardware numbers for Xbox that are not just a ‘concern’ but a real fundamental problem in the here and now.
And I’m not convinced there is a magic fix for them in the console space. Not in the traditional way.
Oh I agree the numbers are bad. In fact they’re very bad across the board, PlayStation included. The console market isn’t growing, at least not compared to something like 20 years ago. I think that has to be a huge concern. All 3 major console manufacturers (but especially Sony & MS) are competing for a pool of customers who’re loyal console owners… but they’re not expanding those numbers. November’s results in the US say a lot in that regard.
Personally I think they’re just too expensive for what they offer, which means impulse buyers & casuals aren’t jumping aboard right now (& the Series S has failed to penetrate properly).
As there’s no miracle solution, MS might as well try something different, right?
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That’s the thing, the last hope for turning it around is a consistent stream of great games. Because I’m struggling to see any other options.
MS, I suspect are willing to do one more console cycle. With the hope that they will see a turn around then.
And I’m mainly talking about the US and UK here because I don’t see the situation in main land Europe ever changing. That war is lost.
I think the game for expensive dedicated consoles all round might be up. PS5 and Series X are good consoles but what do they offer that is genuinely new and exciting?
A list of games that are nice but the market is changing. And changing rapidly. People are playing Fortnite and cod and you don’t need expensive consoles for that.
I think genuinely that consoles now have a limited lifespan in the form they exist in. Nintendo will be fine because they have carved out a niche. But the others need to innovate. When the biggest market shows declines in an offer fueled month the writing is on the wall for the longer term market prospects.
I think a pivot makes sense from MS who simply do not need console sales to be successful in the market but they should double down on that idea now. Sony are in a tougher position here simply because their business is far less agile and has no buffer.
With the Xbox sales decline in Europe of 26% year on year for November I’d say it’s full blown crisis time. Irrespective of comparison to PlayStation the numbers for Xbox are edging towards OG Xbox levels. They seem to have completely loss market position all over the place.
I’m not sure what options they have to recover it. I don’t think games pipelines will make a difference. Unless they have he next zeitgeist game that is so big it can’t fail I’m not too sure what would save it.
A new gen console I doubt will change market reaction. For me now is the time they need to do something radically different. Declines in console sales in November would be alarming but declines after your first real official sales on the hardware are beyond that
3rd party, party time
Nah they have no interest in that. I mean if they wanted to go third party they could have done so a long time ago without the investment. It makes little sense for Microsoft.
But they do need a shake up. Xbox needs a rebrand and needs to be something different.
They need something that truly differentiates them from PS, I do think CoD marketing and GP could help a lot but that’s at least a year away so who know but as it stands Xbox is basically a Playstation but without the brand power and loyalty, right now GP isn’t enough on it’s own
They’ve essentially been the same thing that last 20 years with some exclusive games
I don’t like Nintendo but not only do they have loyalty and and legacy, they’ve made themselves completely unique to the competition, whether it was the wii, ds or now the switch
What if Xbox consoles transitioned into a Steam machines-like model? I know those flopped and MS would probably need to develop and implement a new OS with the intended unified shop in them but this I think would solve many problems, starting with Xbox devs having to develop for pretty much PC only.
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I mean what can they realistically do ? If a region (rest of the world outside of NA) has outright declared your hardware to be unappealing and you’re also heavily losing ground in your strongest region, there’s not much you can really do.
Just have to tie COD to Xbox as much as possible and hope it produces results. I think it’s clear at this point that while Gamepass is an amazing product for people within the Xbox ecosystem, it’s not enough to be the focal selling point of Xbox to new buyers.
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