GotGame: One of the biggest rumors that could have the largest impact on the game industry from the consumer and retailer perspective is the story that the next XBOX will not allow users to play used games. You may take all of this with a grain of salt, but it is interesting to take a look at what it could lead to if consumers are not allowed to purchase used games.
Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.
Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.
Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.
"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."
That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
INDIE Live Expo, Japan’s premiere online digital showcase series , will debut never-before-seen games & content updates across more than 100 titles on May 25th.
We need to make a stand as consumers and just say no to this. Taking away even that small part of our right to do what we want with our own game, which we purchased with our own hard earned cash, is a line that no company should cross.
No boycott in the history of gaming has ever really worked so I'm not expecting a boycott on this to work either. I just want people to stop and think about their own rights and question whether they are willing to part with those rights just to keep their favorite conglomerates shareholders happy.
EA, Activision, Ubisoft... tread carefully.
Simple I don't buy used games... Never have and never will. I respect people option to buy used games, but I myself would rather support the developers that make these games. Most of the time you can find these games NEW for cheaper than you can get them used so I really don't see a point.
No i wouldn't and the console itself will fail because games don't stay in store all the time so basically if you buy a console 1-2 years later after its released you will miss out on games..... Why doesn't anyone see this negative.
I dont think they're going to do all this banning of used games deal. I do think they're going to make it extra to play online with used games and go through great lengths to make it a hassle getting used games online somehow.
Any fanboy will, and then they'll justify it like a beaten spouse.