So… Nobody won.
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For now, I’ll give it to Peter420 though I feel like Sony just isn’t interested in giving any spotlight to Xbox games.
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I think it’s more on Microsoft not wanting to do it because they know it won’t go over well with their fan base. From the Sony perspective, why wouldn’t you want THEIR games on YOUR show?
Microsoft showing games on the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct in April is far less likely to cause a backlash or an uproar because Xbox fans (and PlayStation fans for that matter) just don’t look at Nintendo like they do the other high end console competitor.
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Well said.
I just know that within my circle of die-hard Xbox friends, none see the Switch as a direct rival and putting games on the Nintendo system was just like how Xbox had RARE make GameBoy Advanced games. SONY on the other hand we do see a direct competitor in the console and PC AAA big budget sector to Xbox Studios. Outside of those I know a lot of people who couldn’t care what games come out on what systems
I just like XBox to look back to the past and give us more reasons to be on XBox with how forward-thinking Xbox was with LIVE features on the 360, Xbox Live Arcade, Gamepass on the XBox One, backward compatibility program and frame rate boost on the XBox One.
I like to see more of that though I will credit Xbox with great features like Quick Resume, HDR support for older games and I also really dig their dynamic backgrounds. Hopefully, we have some forwarding features in the Next box along with kick-bottoms hardware
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Because it’s advertisement for Xbox and a gateway drug to Game Pass.
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I’m not sure Xbox cares that much about the uproar. I go with King on the ILP if any Xbox game was shown it would have drowned out everything and been the talk. That to me gives more marketing push so I would think Sony seeing this decided not to.
Perhaps, but this last Sony State of Play did have 2 games that are GamePass Day One titles from third parties.
Expect more of these games to take gamepass deals is what i would say in this State of Play. Cause i noticed a pattern of many indies ir AA studios going to Xbox first then Playstation in recent years because of how they handle Indie and AA games in general.
Like the Third Party Patner Preview is one thing many folks like mostly cause it mixes great games from well known publishers while showcasing smaller games that could have escaped people’s radar.
Same for IDXbox Showcases.
I hope the Hellblade 2 rumor for PS5 is true, would be nice for it to come now that things are a bit dry there, I just say that because I want these games to do as well as possible and make as much money as possible so the studio stays intact.
As for my hope that we see some PS games hit Xbox this generation, I doubt we see that happen anytime soon, they just had a pretty significant quarter in terms of hardware sales and I’m sure they think any extra sales they may need they can just get from PC, I hope Xbox embraces the PC/Console hybrid rumor for next gen and allow Xbox to run Steam as well next gen, it seems like the only viable way forward for Xbox and it would make sense given who owns the Xbox brand.
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I would like to revisit some quotes from Phil Spencer during the recent Xbox Era interview that confirm or clarify Xbox’s multiplatform strategy rumours.
And obviously not every screen is equal. Yeah, like there’s certain things we can’t do on the other closed platforms that we can do on open platforms, cloud – it’s different. But games should be the thing that we’re focused on. And the strategy that we have allows us to do big games, while also supporting our native platform from hardware to the platform and services that we have and that’s going to be our approach.
(…)
But yeah, I would love to make all of the money for all of the games that we ship right, like obviously we make more on our own platform. It’s one of the reasons that investing in our own platform is important.
(…)
It’s why us embracing Windows and embracing Cloud has allowed us to grow. One of our fastest growing regions for us right now is Asia and it’s not because we’re selling more consoles in Asia, but through cloud and PC, we’re finding more users year over year than in any other place. The fastest kind of platform is Cloud
To summarize: Phil Spencer discusses how their strategy is tailored to different types of screens, acknowledging that “not every screen is equal.” He explains that their focus is on open platforms like PC and cloud, which are growing rapidly, while also supporting closed platforms like competing consoles on a case-by-case basis. He emphasizes that games are the primary focus of their strategy, allowing for the development of major titles while still supporting in priority their own hardware, services, and platform. (where they more money).
Phil Spencer emphasized in his interview with Destin that not all Xbox games will be available on other consoles.
He also said it a year ago during last year’s Xbox Developer Direct about the case-by-case strategy and not to think that, i quote: “these 4 games were a not a sign that everything else will follow, that is not the case.”
He reiterated this point during the Xbox Era interview, stating that “not every screen is equal,” and explained how their strategy differs depending on the type of platform. He noted that their approach primarily focuses on open platforms like PC and cloud, rather than closed platforms such as competing consoles.
Xbox’s strategy is much more nuanced than some believe; it’s not all or nothing but somewhere in between. Xbox is aware that they make more money with their own ecosystem, services, and hardware. And They are also aware that it is in their best interest to prioritize open platforms like PC and especially the cloud.
And factually, that’s exactly what we see currently, with a few old exclusive games being ported 8, 4, or 5 years later like Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires, etc. (Indiana Jones is an exception because it’s a Disney license). We can clearly see there are still exclusive games and that several exclusive games are announced such as stalker 2 , Avowed, South of Midnight, Mechabreak, Replaced, Contraband, State of Decay, Gears, Fable, etc.
It’s logical, what brings the most is PC and cloud, and their own ecosystem, where there are no 30% commissions, as he said in the interview. It’s logical that they continue to prioritize their own ecosystem, it’s just good business sense.
It should be noted that Phil Spencer wants to be more transparent about what will or will not be released on other platforms, as he mentioned in the interview, which is also a good thing and will avoid false speculations.
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Thanks for the recap.
Cannot stand what am seeing on social media. Its like they want Playstation to increase the price of everything and become a monopoly. Like, can these folks not see that whatsover as to why that is a horrible thing to say and demand?
Then these “playstation users” wonder why many on PC, Xbox and Nintendo users dislike them and most of their community for their absurd takes on an evolving industry that cannot operate they way it did years ago.
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Hilarious how people swore up and down we’d see one or even multiple ports at the event last week, and now that not happening is somehow proof that Sony is winning even more than if that had happened? Lmao
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I just wonder if their hardware sales going off a cliff and PS5 doing over 9 million in a quarter is a sign of people switching over due to releasing their games on all platforms, or if it’s a sign because MS just isn’t trying to market their own console? The early Xbox Series sales were quite good if I remember, and I’m wondering what it is that made it slow down to a halt over a year ago or so.
The price could definitely be a reason why as Series X is almost always more expensive than PS5 and is never discounted.
I do agree with you though that Xbox still has some form of exclusivity and that it’s still case by case, at least it does seem like it is for the time being. I wonder if there will be some change in strategy with the new Xbox generation, but then it wouldn’t make any sense as per Phil, gamers are now stuck to specific ecosystems.
Sometimes I also wonder if a lot of Xbox gamers are still on Xbox One gen, but we know that Sony’s MAU have gone up a lot and they say 40% or so of PS5 owners last quarters were new to the PS ecosystem, which has me worried might be previous Xbox owners jumping ship.
If PS5 ends up selling more consoles than PS4 and MS less Series than Xbox One, we’ll know the industry is consolidating towards 1 console manufacturer.
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Phil pretty much said they are seeing a lot of growth mostly in Cloud followed by PC he also said there’s been huge growth in Asia. One thing to note is they are still losing on every console sold. I think it was 200 on every X and 100 on every S. That’s about a billion dollars in loss for every 5 million series X not to even factor shipping and other costs. selling 100 million series x would cost them over 20 billion dollars in loss. I would imagine they may be focusing on instead making sure their Cloud is effective as every customer there is paying a full 20 dollars. Personally, I just don’t think they are trying to sell too many consoles to balance out the finances much better, I could be wrong, but it sounds more like the same situation the OG Xbox was in. I do know they tend to sellout of their stock in certain retailers around here and I think Forte said so a s well. I think things should be much clearer by the end of the year. This would be the first time since 2021 that Xbox would really have a cadence of strong games so I think that would help a lot. Look at Ninja Gaiden Black that seems to have done well mostly on Xbox and I think it would follow with the rest. I wouldn’t worry of consolidation happening anytime soon.
You’re right, in their quarterly statements they’ve said directly that margins have been improved by stopping their focus on console sales as the main growth metric.
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I don’t believe for a second that Xbox is losing $200 dollars on every Xbox Series X sold in 2025 more so with the switch to 6nm and if that were the case it makes Xbox move to back away from the Brooklin model ever more baffling
My main issue is I keep reading how MS is ahead of the game and how it’s a different market, but what If we had this site back at the Xbox One reveal no doubt people here would have said similar things back then?
How voice chat, smart class, Kinect, HDMI in, massive investment in multi-player games, less focus on In-House studios and more on 1st party deals were all the way forward and how XBox is ahead of the game in the new era
And that turned out to be an utter disaster for Xbox in the end. Sure, not in terms of profits since I would imagine the Xbox One is Xbox’s most probable console they’ve ever made and the One also sold in good numbers.
I’m more about brand loyalty and brand awareness and where Xbox lost so many of those 360 customers to the PS4 . Sadly as FacelessSamurai points out it looks like more and more people are now buying the PS5 console at the expense of Series sales and I fail to see how that is good for the Xbox brand.
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It’s a noisy minority of PlayStation fanboys trying to reassure themselves by making people believe that all Xbox games will come to their beloved console, and trying to hide the fact that PlayStation hardly makes any first-party games anymore, except for remakes. You shouldn’t think that all PlayStation players are like that; I know many who, once they try Xbox, never go back, discovering the enormous advantages of the Xbox ecosystem. At some point, these PS fanboys should ask themselves, why do you buy a console? Is it just to have a plastic box? Or is it to play games? And in fact, the one who makes games is Xbox, even PlayStation players buy more Xbox games than their own games. Xbox’s hybrid strategy of case-by-case and temporary exclusivity is very clever because it allows Xbox franchises to be introduced to players who know nothing about Xbox franchises.
For example, Forza Horizon 5 arriving 4 years later on PS5 is very well played. I can guarantee you that Xbox won’t wait long to release Forza Horizon 6 and it will follow the same pattern, with a release 4 years later on PS5. When you love a franchise, are you willing to wait 4 years? Of course not, the players who enjoyed FH5, and there will be many, will rush to get Forza Horizon 6, either by subscribing to Game Pass or buying an Xbox console, even the small Series S. It’s a win-win situation.
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I hope you are right.
But then Xbox fanboys (hate that term btw) can be just as bad with trying to kid themselves how SONY In-House games (that don’t involve a licence) are coming to XBox or how the PlayStation 5 isn’t selling well
Both those sections of fans get to me a little lately
I think you’re spot on BTW. I’m sure that while PlayStation gets FH 5 this year Xbox gamers get a new FH6 this year. That a model I think most sensible Xbox fans can not lose any sleepover and its a free way of getting PR from the Sony side while you ready the new game for Xbox fans
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First, you need to compare apples to apples:
- Xbox has not released a mid-gen console unlike the PS5 Pro, which skews the figures.
- An important piece of information is that PlayStation has a tendency to inflate its numbers. If you look at their financial reports, they never talk about console sales, but rather shipments to stores, which means they count consoles still in warehouses and not yet sold. They also count accessories like the PS Portal in the console sales.
- Even if PlayStation sells more consoles than Xbox, you shouldn’t believe the figures, very few media talk about it.
- Another point of difference is that Xbox is a more open ecosystem; all games are released day one on both console and PC. Given the increase in the number of PC players, it makes sense that Xbox console sales are ultimately lower.
- But if we look closely, and considering the lack of a mid-gen console, Xbox console sales aren’t doing so badly, the console player base remains quite stable.
- In reality, PS5 sales are slightly down compared to the PS4. In January 2025, according to VGChartz, the PS4 sold over 2 million more units than the PS5.
- The entire console market is in decline, not just Xbox.
It’s also worth noting that the PlayStation console is primarily a default console, a casual gamer’s console who knows nothing else and not much about video games. PlayStation rides on its marketing and image; many people (I’m not even talking about gamers) think that a console is necessarily a PlayStation.
But today, what industry professionals look at is not console sales, but the number of monthly active players, game sales, subscribers to game services, etc. What’s the point of selling consoles if the person only plays Fortnite? It serves no purpose!
Xbox has over 500 million active players, 5X more thans PS, a profit margin of 14% compared to PlayStation’s 4%, better player engagement rates, develops more games and sells more games, generates more revenue, has more subscribers, etc.
The real battleground is content; the winner is the one who sells games, not plastic boxes.
That said, Xbox continues its commitment to hardware and continues to make exclusive games, not putting all their eggs in one basket. The mistake some make is believing that Xbox releasing a few games on other consoles is a sign that everything will follow, but it’s false, factually false as we can see. Phil Spencer has reiterated several times that not all screens are equal as he said in the Xboxera interview.
When Xbox talks about multiplatform, they mainly mean PC and cloud, which are growing markets. Porting to closed platforms like competing consoles, which are declining markets, will remain case-by-case and temporary exclusives. In any case, as he also said in the interview, they prioritize their own ecosystem, where there are no 30% commissions to pay, even if they don’t spit on the 70% they can recover from the few old games ported to other consoles.
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Games Day 1 has been on PC for years that’s not the reason why XBox console sales are gone so flat Xbox Series console was very good 3 years into the generation as well with some saying in 2022 the Xbox Series consoles were outselling the PS5
The Activision deal changed all that IMO
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