Xbox Business Update Podcast | Xbox Everywhere Direction Discussion

[cheapchips]

The Xbox as a concept is dead, just the brand remains.

The Xbox concept was to get Windows into the living room. They might actually succeed with full Windows on the next iteration of hardware.

 

[rntongo]

So it's official now. There are no more XBox exclusive games, they are just a third party publisher and studio. The Xbox as a concept is dead, just the brand remains. They've already lost the handheld market to Valve and if Steam were to introduce a subscription tier that provided discounts or access to games they could be in real trouble with Gamespass.

Hate to say but I called it.

 

[iroboto]

There are no more XBox exclusive games, they are just a third party publisher and studio. The Xbox as a concept is dead, just the brand remains

They are a third party publisher and in house development shop; They have a console platform, they are on TVs, they are on the cloud, they would have had an Android store. They have a handheld coming, they have all sorts of accessories, they are on PC.

I don't understand what you mean that the concept is dead and just the brand remains? You think Sega and Xbox are operating in the same fashion?

 

[cheapchips]

It's probably worth quoting Spencer talking about hardware, if anyone's only looking at headlines and didn't watch the actual interview.

Let's say it: our own hardware, I think it's fundamental about what Xbox is. It's not lost to me that 'box' is in the name of our brand. In the position that I'm in, I look at hardware as a critical part of what we do, but not trying to gatekeep the games off of other places for the benefit of it.

Let's go build innovative hardware that people want to use to play, whether that's in their hands, whether it's on the television, or even other places.

Quite how they innovate in hardware when they're just tied to whatever AMD are remixing is bit of a question.

 

[Nisaaru]

What's there to innovate anyway for console HW? Consoles have a TDP/price budget which limits technology they can use anyway. I don't consider switching between AMD/NV or Intel GPUs as innovation.

I surely don't want the kind Nintendo interprets as one as they are gimmicks to sell sell subpar products to their druggies

 

[iroboto]

What's there to innovate anyway for console HW? Consoles have a TDP/price budget which limits technology they can use anyway. I don't consider switching between AMD/NV or Intel GPUs as innovation.

I surely don't want the kind Nintendo interprets as one as they are gimmicks to sell sell subpar products to their druggies

At the very least if they are not competing on library anymore, at the very least their services should be better, their hardware and accessories should be differentiated. How you access your games could be better. The various inputs could be different.

There is a lot to differentiate on. At the core of it, they need library or no one wins. But I think what will be plain, perhaps for both platforms, is that we will no longer see subsidy for hardware.

 

[BoardBonobo]

Hate to say but I called it.

According to the survey 3 of us called it

 

[BoardBonobo]

They are a third party publisher and in house development shop; They have a console platform, they are on TVs, they are on the cloud, they would have had an Android store. They have a handheld coming, they have all sorts of accessories, they are on PC.

I don't understand what you mean that the concept is dead and just the brand remains? You think Sega and Xbox are operating in the same fashion?

They are a third party developer, though it could be argued that this isn't by choice - they have to recoup the 70+ billion they spent on trying to win, and yes in house development is there for the current generation of Xbox. So they have a console which is more or less dead in the water now. Tracking behind Xbox One in sales, which itself was a disaster. I've never seen any TV related Xbox content so I can't comment on that. Everyone is on the cloud these days so I 'm not sure what that really counts for, you can play cloud hosted games on the PS Portal now and that is just getting better. And their failure to get the Android store in place seems to have thrown their whole plan out the window - causing this admission that they are just a publisher.

Their handheld will be DOA if they launch it with Windows and not a game and handhled friendly OS, besides they are already late to this party (the same they were with mobile).

And now that you point it out, there are probably more similarities between Xbox and Sega, especially the coniptions they went through before bowing out of the hardware market, than there were a week ago.

 

[iroboto]

So they have a console which is more or less dead in the water now.

Not true at all. Is your statement greater than 50% likely. But I’d hardly call that guaranteed.

Tracking behind Xbox One in sales, which itself was a disaster.

Still only at 1/2 way through the generation, this could change.

Everyone is on the cloud these days so I 'm not sure what that really counts for, you can play cloud hosted games on the PS Portal now and that is just getting better

That’s hardly true. But okay. Not everyone has the cloud infrastructure to support mass players on mobile phones, TV screens, PCs and console’s globally , if you want to say PS portal is the equivalent of that OK.

Their handheld will be DOA if they launch it with Windows and not a game and handhled friendly OS, besides they are already late to this party (the same they were with mobile).

There’s no evidence of this, the market is entirely nascent. To declare a winner already is pessimistic.

And now that you point it out, there are probably more similarities between Xbox and Sega, especially the coniptions they went through before bowing out of the hardware market, than there were a week ago.

Sensationalism. Different time and place and MS is a juggernaut compared to what Sega ever was. It has completely dwarfed Sega in every metric.

Take 30 seconds to ChatGPT. Even if it’s not entirely accurate, it sure it more correct than your statement.

Sega's console sales have historically lagged behind Xbox. The Sega Genesis sold approximately 35 million units, while the original Xbox sold around 24 million units[1][5]. In terms of revenue, Sega's gaming segment generated about ¥95.6 billion ($628 million) in the first half of FY25, while Xbox hardware revenue was approximately $2.872 billion, constituting only 13% of Microsoft's total gaming revenue of $21.525 billion for FY24[2][4]. Microsoft focuses more on software and services, which account for 87% of its gaming earnings, contrasting with Sega's reliance on game sales[2].

Citations:
[1] https://www.ign.com/articles/best-selling-video-game-consoles-nintendo-playstation-ps5-xbox
[2] https://www.tweaktown.com/news/9972...de-just-13-of-annual-earnings-from/index.html
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_generation_of_video_game_consoles
[4] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/segas-half-year-results-driven-by-22-rise-in-games-revenue
[5] https://venturebeat.com/games/heres-who-won-each-console-war/
[6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1382046/sega-sammy-annual-game-revenue-segment/
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles
[8] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/11/gaming-games-consels-xbox-play-station-fun/

Xbox will have another console following this generation. It doesn’t suffer from piracy issues. They still make the bulk of their revenue from services and will continue to do so.