Future of MS Exclusives? (Win10 & Xbox One...things)

[Silent_Buddha]

Then why do Microsoft need Xbox at all? If the goal is to reach as many potential customers as possible, walk away from hardware and sell your games to as many platforms as is commercially viable, just like Activision, EA, Ubisoft and everybody else.

You already answered this in a previous post.

That's because the service is the platform. The O/S and device upon which is runs isn't important. But exclusive games are a means to an end - to make the platform on which the game is available more enticing than platforms where the game isn't available.

The same used to be true for productivity apps but again, now you to put productivity apps on the platforms you're customers chose to use, not just the platforms that you want them to use.

The Xbox Live/Windows "service" is all that is important. Yes, you offer your products on other services (iOS/Android) because you aren't competing in that service market. And those services aren't necessarily in direct conflict with your service. There's some overlap but no real direct conflicts. And for services/platforms you compete directly with (Linux/MacOS) they don't offer all that much competition except in niche software markets.

You get people using your product on those other services and then entice them to come to your service via offering more feature rich versions of your product on your service. In this case the Windows Service (or platform, but remember, MS has stated it wants to move to Windows as a service).

This has a potential to backfire except for one thing. Almost everyone is doing this. Offering apps on iOS/Android but when available offering much more feature rich and full featured programs on Windows.

What's the point? Similar to iOS and Android locking people into their respective storefronts, MS would like to get people more involved in their storefront.

What does Xbox have to do with all of this? It's just another portal into that service's (Windows) storefront.

It's obviously still a work in progress. Xbox applications (especially games) aren't generally fully featured cross-hardware (not cross platform as the idea is for all Microsoft hardware to run on the same Service/Platform) UWP apps.

Of course, there's no certainty that what Microsoft is currently trying to accomplish will ever materialize. However, that's currently the direction Nadella has the entire company moving in.

In this respect, Steam/Valve is actually a much more dangerous competitor to Microsoft's plans (which include the Xbox) than PlayStation/Sony as they operate on the same Service/Platform and are the preferred storefront for games and are increasing their efforts to get general application developers and media companies to sell their products through Steam as well.

As such, Microsoft sees cooperation with Valve as having far more profit potential (both short term and long term) than taking an adversarial approach to Valve.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

The Xbox Live/Windows "service" is all that is important. Yes, you offer your products on other services (iOS/Android) because you aren't competing in that service market. And those services aren't necessarily in direct conflict with your service. There's some overlap but no real direct conflicts. And for services/platforms you compete directly with (Linux/MacOS) they don't offer all that much competition except in niche software markets.

I also see the mobile phone gaming space as a different market to traditional game consoles but nobody is talking about that. Windows is still a platform and Windows as a service is actually about the IT support industry, not users.

Microsoft and Nintendo are direct competitors in the same gaming space. Do you really think Microsoft allowing Ori or Cuphead to be published on Switch would entice Switch users to embrace Microsoft platforms or services? I'm not seeing it. I think the greater gaming community really only cares about access to the games they want.

 

[iroboto]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-hopes-for-videogame-turnaround-with-xbox-one-x-1509976801

Paywall - quotes from article via Resetera:

Microsoft in September promoted Xbox chief Phil Spencer to executive vice president, reporting directly to Chief Executive Satya Nadella rather than Windows chief Terry Myerson.

In an interview, Mr. Spencer said his new role is designed, in part, to give him more latitude to reach gamers on any device, rather than using “gaming to make Windows more successful.”

That means, one day, more Microsoft first-party games could appear on other platforms, he said, such as Apple Inc.’s iPhones or perhaps even Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4, as its building game “Minecraft” does.

Mr. Spencer acknowledged console sales are important, but said Microsoft is more focused on growing game software and services. He said the company measures the success of its gaming business by revealing the number of people who use its online service Xbox Live, for example.

@DSoup
@DrJay24

Going cloud. As Satya has been moving all of MS.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti..._medium=social&cmpid==socialflow-twitter-tech

 

[mpg1]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-hopes-for-videogame-turnaround-with-xbox-one-x-1509976801

Paywall - quotes from article via Resetera:





@DSoup
@DrJay24

Going cloud. As Satya has been moving all of MS.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-06/microsoft-boosts-video-game-investment-as-focus-shifts-to-software?utm_content=tech&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cmpid==socialflow-twitter-tech

Problem is the services they measure their gaming success on only seem viable on closed platforms like consoles. So console sales are directly linked to the success of Xbox Live...

What gaming services are they going to sell on PC?...only thing I could see is something similar to GeForce Now or LiquidSky...

Edit: actually come to think of it...they could try to tie Xbox Live requirement to specific first party games released on PC...then other publishers follow suit

 

[iroboto]

Problem is the services they measure their gaming success on only seem viable on closed platforms like consoles. So console sales are directly linked to the success of Xbox Live...

What gaming services are they going to sell on PC?...only thing I could see is something similar to GeForce Now or LiquidSky...

Edit: actually come to think of it...they could try to tie Xbox Live requirement to specific first party games released on PC...then other publishers follow suit

just sell the service of game pass right/ or game Pass Streaming rather.
Live is an old income model. Game Pass is the new income model.

 

[mpg1]

just sell the service of game pass right/ or game Pass Streaming rather.
Live is an old income model. Game Pass is the new income model.

Is it really though?...I am sceptical that Game Pass would ever be able to hit Xbox Live level of revenue.

 

[iroboto]

Is it really though?...I am sceptical that Game Pass would ever be able to hit Xbox Live level of revenue.

game pass/streaming model for users that aren't on xbox hardware.
its additional revenue, xbox hardware isn't going away.

 

[mpg1]

game pass/streaming model for users that aren't on xbox hardware.
its additional revenue, xbox hardware isn't going away.

If they tie it to streaming then yeah I could see it...

 

[DrJay24]

They used Minecraft as an example. A game that was on the PS4 before MS bought the game. Yep, that really makes their case. Sony has way more games on Windows, so Sony has been moving towards games as a service for decades.

 

[iroboto]

They used Minecraft as an example. A game that was on the PS4 before MS bought the game. Yep, that really makes their case. Sony has way more games on Windows, so Sony has been moving towards games as a service for decades.

I think the idea is that, following the rest of MS, they want to move to away from physical attachment. That's the core of their strategy here. Anything, anywhere, at any time.

 

[chris1515]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/pl...home-for-their-next-open-world-rpg-game.7545/

https://twitter.com/x/status/933286955978252288

It seems the new Playground games is an Open World AAA RPG for Microsoft... Many clues reading the resetera topic...

 

[AlNom]

Fable Horizon: Zumba Defense?

 

[iroboto]

Fable Horizon: Zumba Defense?

hehe, I think this is their second studio from what I understand. Their success has allowed them to grow. Good idea to reach into another area, I think people can lose passion working on the same thing all the time.

I imagine Xbox fans hoping this is a 'new IP' exclusive. hmm, i dunno, may or not be. They have been discussing the fact that they can do multiplatforms as well. Quite like Insomniac.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I doubt they'd make an xbox exclusive mmo.

 

[chris1515]

I doubt they'd make an xbox exclusive mmo.

It is not an MMO. It is an Open World RPG

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-and-hellblade-devs-for-open-world-action-rpg

They hire top talent and the second team is 200 peoples.

Playground Games hires GTA V, Metal Gear Solid and Hellblade devs for open-world action RPG