The only two generations for Nintendo that console + handheld combined sold better than the Switch are Game Boy + SNES (somewhere close to 165m) and DS + Wii (which is the only gen when it was 250+m) and Switch might end up really close to the GB+SNES combo which in today’s gaming climate with mobile gaming being so popular is an achievement and an unexpectedly good outcome for the Switch.
And of course there is always the 1st party software sales of Switch that are absolutely crazy. So yeah Nintendo had an amazing generation with the Switch even if we view it as an easier win due to the combination of two different markets.
They’re keeping more since they sell more and most of it is digital now.
Launch aligned, Sony’s PS5 section has had more profits than PS4 one, this last quarter it made 65 billion yen vs 17 back in Q1 2017, yea Yen’s weaker now, but even acounting that, it’s considerably higher
Not sure if this is the right place to post this so do correct me if I’m wrong.
Question. Do we have any evidence or leaks that show the next Xbox will run Xbox and steam?
If this is true and it runs steam what are the benefits/drawbacks? Why would someone with a PC that runs these games then go pick up a Xbox they can already play more for cheaper. Same goes for the portable, why get the Xbox portable over a steam deck?
I just can’t really wrap my head around why this makes much a difference. PC player won’t migrate to Xbox, Xbox player could use this as a gateway to steam but that hinders Xbox.
I think it’s about the younger generations, since they are all choosing PC or Mobile over consoles. So having a console that can play PC games which would initially cost less is likely the gamble they’re banking on.
No there is no evidence other than Phil talking about third party stores on consoles, and even then he didn’t name drop Steam
He name dropped itch.io and Epic.
The benefit is it would provide a console like experience with PC like game compatibility. When their hardware sales dive they no longer have to worry about third party games skipping the platform because people can play the PC versions.
People would buy it over a PC only really to bring their library forward.
You say hinder Xbox, but Xbox appears to be headed towards being a more software oriented company so it’s a trade off they are likely willing to make.
Yes the numbers i posted are just about profits not revenue
True, at least on consoles, the play now seems to be about how to get more money from each user instead of trying to sell more hardware, which seems way harder.
Might not be about taking users from PC but about keeping the old Xbox users who already had a list of games bought on Xbox platforms and want to keep it or grow it.
And the idea could be to not lose support from third parties, since PC market is way too big and is becoming the main platform for some of the biggest developers already.
But the idea of a Xbox console that runs steam, is powerful and has a low price entry is unlikely. Console manufacturers can afford putting low entry prices because they’ll recover that money from the sales on their store.
Are we talking as shareholder or as a consumer here? I feel as a consumer you would want to know which games are being ported. If 80% of Microsoft lineup gets ported then it would logically not be the best investment when you can get a PS6 and save $500 + $20/month subscription. I don’t think market is shrinking, but moreso it has stagnated. However, for Sony the market hasn’t shrank and there are still 60m+ xbox users they can take from to grow. I think some of these problems about growth are Microsoft problems and not Sony or Nintendo problems.
I don’t think Microsoft should have this defeatist attitude because if they actually had their act together then they could still have a chance to grow by taking some market share from Sony. Plus, gaming marketing as a whole is always growing because there is always a younger demographic taht are getting introduced into gaming and at the moment most of them are being introduced to Nintendo, Playstation, mobile, and PC
It is weird to come from an industry event where Xbox dominated things coverage/spending-wise and see these same conversations again. I, again, fully respect your opinions but they are not shared by any of the people I met who are actually in this industry.
There was more ‘fear’ of “xbox dominating gaming” , because they own so much IP and are ahead of the curve on where things are going, than there was of any issues for the brand moving forward.
Think the problem is we’re into gaming so know all the exclusive games, the leaks and the worries about strategy.
If all of that mattered to the majority of the gaming audience, then with the Bethesda purchase, Game Pass, Xbox Series X being the most powerful and with Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 due in its first year, the Series X should have at least been level pegging with the PS5.
Instead, the PS5 is dominating even more, and it’s unlikely any play Xbox could make - even making Game Pass 5 quid a month for Day 1, or making almost everything exclusive - would have much of an impact (however much the teenage console warrior from years ago in me still really wishes they would, despite knowing that).
This may sound silly given the size of MS, but Sony have a dominant position which short of regulatory intervention is pretty impenetrable - they messed up at the start with the PS3 price after the dominance of PS2 but even with that screw up ended the generation with more sold that 360s.
Xbox then screwed up themselves with the One price (at a time when moving platforms wasn’t a big deal as no one expected their library to move with them) so business returned to normal for Sony, being the dominant player in high end consoles that gives it massive advantages.
They can make their consoles for less due to the economies of scale, third party exclusive deals cost them much less as the dev is only losing the smaller userbase (and first party games being exclusive isn’t such an issue with their huge available install base), and most of all they get the most mindshare.
People use PlayStation when they mean console, like people use Hoover for vacuum cleaner, most people in a group of friends are likely to have a PS, and most likely everyone with a PS4 will go on to get a PS5 or 6 as that’s the obvious choice for them.
If nothing changes, each generation more gamers will switch to PS as most of their friends are on it, it’s the best known, or their loved ones bought them a games console for a gift and inevitably they’ll think it has to be PlayStation - many reasons, and while a few dedicated gamers may swap to Xbox, it’s the likely trend in any market with a strongly dominant player.
That’s why I’m not sure any moves could have an impact more than a few % either way - as most gamers who don’t follow all this stuff just buy the next version of their console and continue to just play CoD, FIFA, GTA, Minecraft and Fortnite.
It’s I guess why Xbox seems to be thinking about going early next gen (like they did with the 360) and trying new things like a handheld, as the only way they can stop the inevitable dominance is by branching out beyond the traditional market…
Eh, the xbox series consoles started off hot, but cooled off after the barren 2022, and then Playstation never looked back once they got their stock in check and released more games. I feel the barren 2022 and lack of major AAA exclusives caused xbox sales to decline. Gamepass is a nice service, but it’s not a system seller. Microsoft had momentum when Forza Horizon 5 released and Halo had good early sentiment. It’s just that after that happened they sat on their asses and didn’t release much.
I think xbox fans need to stop having defeating attittude like xbox execs because when things are going well everybody is ready to celebrate. However, if they make actual efforts then people will give them a chance, but they seem to always shoot themselves in the foot whenever they get momentum. So, it makes sense why we’re here today because Microsoft had a chance early this generation, but they didn’t cover their tracks well. Sony are geniuses for covering their output by making third party deals and have them cover their backs when they have barren years. Them breaking a deal for Rise of Ronin and Stellar Blade helped cover their barren 2024 and having a flop like Concord doesn’t hurt much because they have deals they can fall back onto. There’s nothing stopping Microsoft from making these deals too because they’ve done it themselves this gen with Flight SImulator
an example of when things are going well and Microsoft having momentum early in the gen
“defeatist attitude” is a bullshit thing to say. Moving to where the majority of an industry’s customers are is smart, not defeatist. You want them to “win”. They want to earn the maximum amount of money possible.
At this point, just expect every xbox game to be a timed exclusive to the platform. If you want Microsoft to exist moving forward, they haven no choice. I’d rather they continue making game multiplatform than see them disappear along with a lot of great IPs.
Gamepass for me makes xbox worth it. As long as every xbox game is released on gamepass , I’m good. I don’t care if a game ends up on other platforms if it means we get more games on gamepass.