A look at some of Xbox Live's numbers and why Sony may get in on the paid multiplayer service scene.
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.
A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.
I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.
I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons
I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.
Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.
At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath
I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.
Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.
As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people
Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much
Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region
Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.
I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games
Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo
The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.
well psn is optional. xbox live is mandatory in all respects to there services. i see more online intergration though for both party's.
Sony already stated that multi-player would be free for PS4.
Sony=Wanna play your games"ONLINE",access your apps like netflix etc..., go ahead it's free.
M$=Wanna play with your pals online,access netflix,youtube etc?To bad you you gotta pay us an extra fee on the side.
Because paid services like Live have proven to be superior.
It's like the difference between network TV and cable. The only people who complain about cable are people who don't have it. Cable always offers more than network TV because you pay for it. Last time I checked you can't get shows like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Vikings, Defiance, Tosh.0, Conan or Spartacus on network TV.
Sure with PSN you can play all your games for free, until the servers get shut down and the games are no longer supported. With Live you can at least know that all your games will be supported no matter the age with P2P. Yeah PSN does provide basic online functionality, but try voice/party chatting with friends while playing other games.
PSN+ is more or less just a game rental service because you don't get to keep anything when you cancel. Now you have Sony's Gaikai a pay service for old Playstation games. With PSN+ $50 and Gaikai at $? it will most likely cost more than Live.
"Why Paid Multiplayer Services Aren’t Going Anywhere"
Because humans are generally morons.