Gary Swaby at The Koalition writes: On this week's episode of The Co-op podcast we spoke a lot about the recent news regarding Microsoft. Their sales have doubled since E3 and the price drop of the Xbox One; and unfortunately they've also shut down their entertainment division aimed at delivering original TV content to the console. Around 18000 people lost their jobs which is unfortunate, but it shows Microsoft is changing focus. Does this mean that Microsoft's new approach is all about games? Does this also mean that they'll win the majority of the gamers moving forward? Let us know what you think after listening to our discussions.
Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"
Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”
Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever
Nice one ☝️
This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.
No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.
Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.
Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?
Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.
Microsoft's future in the video game space is murky right now, so let's break it all down.
Not anytime soon. But they're on that path.
One thing not mentioned in the article is Microsoft's money bags. If Sega had Microsoft's money, they would have still been around as a hardware manufacturer. Xbox as a platform only survives because of the money bags. They can continue making consoles for the core and port to PC.
The multiplatform strategy is only the result of arrogance and misguided leadership that blew up in their face. They thought gamers would jump on Xbox in droves if they knew that many of their favorite games would be only on Xbox. But that's not happening at all. Sales didn't increase. They decreased. Why? Because the dumb asses thought giving away these expensively made games in a cheap service would also turn the tide.
Gamers on other platforms are willing to buy quality. They don't need to be handed nearly free games in a service that aren't even finished and sometimes average in their development. Gamers buy Nintendo games. They buy Sony games. Microsoft groomed their base to not buy games. Even the quality ones. It has always been their plan to go digital. But most gamers still like single player gaming. Still like physical releases.
Microsoft's problem has always been that they don't produce high quality games at the same output as Nintendo and Sony. Actually, they should be producing quite a lot more because they're worth over 2 TRILLION. How they don't have more is ridiculous and no excuse. Buying publishers to take away from competition only backfired. Because it still takes millions of dollars to continue to make those games from the publishers they snatched. Their only choice was to crawl back to their competitors to help sustain those developers because Nintendo and Sony platforms were the ones buying games.
Am I sorry for Microsoft? Hell no! They deserved last place for putting in the least effort. They deserved the fallout for buying up the industry and didn't make a single blip on the radar against their competitors where they now need those same gamers they took away games from to support them. Part of it may have been to cash in on their competition. But the result is the slow death of their platform. They may go 3rd party. They may keep making hardware. I don't give a shit about them to worry about it. I only give a shit about the destructive nature of their industry moves that only negatively affect gamers. They could sell and drop out of the industry and I wouldn't blink. Probably laugh. But not blink. They deserve whatever comes to them. At least Sega put in the effort when it came to games. They just had poor leadership. Microsoft has poor leadership and barely makes memorable games. That's a killer combination. And not in a good way.
Not sure about that. It's been two decades and I still think about Power Stone, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Seaman and others, but I'm not sure I'll remember Xbox Series X/S games in a few years from now... Maybe I'll remember about the franchises that the Xbox brand spawned, but I don't believe that the Xbox Series lives up to the late Dreamcast or even to the Xbox name itself. I do have great memories about the 360 with Blue Dragon, Gears 2 and Lost Odyssey though
No, Dreamcast was ahead of it's time and most still have very fond memories of it that had one. It also had some good games on it even in it's short lifespan. Xbox has none of these qualities.
Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox will be discontinued in April and has confirmed that weekly streaks will also be coming to an end.
NPD just answered with a "no". Why are we still having this discussion? The trajectory of each is pretty much set now, and with the Xbox marketing cuts, they won't be making any great inroads into EU. Japan is a write-off, I think we can all agree. Also, there was another story this morning about the larger mobile-patent purse strings that props up the Devices and Services Division being cut. Which explains why we didn't see any "megaton" exclusives announced at E3: the money well is no longer unlimited.
At best, MS is fighting for 2nd place now. And world-wide, they haven't even passed the Wii U yet.
Why should the XBO be the leading console? It's a weaker console with a unclear message to costumers.
Every multiplatform game is looking and performing slightly worse then the PS4. And there is so far not a system seller game on it.
I agree with bicfitness and _LarZen_ here. Why are we even still seeing articles like this? It's obvious by now that the WEAKER, LOWER PERFORMANCE hardware with LESS GAMES is failing! A "new direction" won't help for at LEAST a few years...it takes a significant investment in time and money to make new games, and new EXCLUSIVE games are the ONLY thing that could convince most buyers to get an Xbox One over a more powerful, better performing PS4!
Stick a fork in Xbox...they are DONE!
You have to crawl before you walk! Things take time and, there are still some feelings of betrayal present from potential supporter as well as past supporter alike. This whole situation with Microsoft is going to take time, but I do commend Microsoft for realizing mistakes were made, and that they are making an evident and visual effort to try to correct those mistakes.
Unless m$ somehow learnt how to master the arts of magic,they are in the battle of 2nd / 3rd place this gen