vgZero: 'TurboGrafx-16. Neo Geo. Atari Jaguar. 3DO. CD32. Pippin. PC-FX. You may or may not recognize these as the names of past video game consoles. Now given that information, you can probably deduce that these consoles have one obvious trait in common: failure. It is not an easy thing to break into the cutthroat industry of video game hardware production, especially when rich and powerful companies like Nintendo, Sony, and Sega have already mastered the craft and established themselves as world leaders in the industry. Around the turn of the millennium however, there was an opportunity. With the failures of recent consoles like the Saturn and Dreamcast, Sega was quickly plummeting into irrelevance (eventually driving them out of the hardware business altogether) while Nintendo’s own presence in the industry was weakening thanks to mediocre sales of the Nintendo 64, leaving Sony and its PlayStation brand as the undisputed leader in the home console market. This scenario potentially left room for someone to step in and pick up the slack with their own home console, however it would require a company with some name recognition, a great amount of foresight and willpower, and above all, lots and lots money. Who better, then, than American technology supergiant Microsoft? There was a great deal of doubt and uncertainty when Microsoft launched the Xbox in 2001, but a decade later as we celebrate the console's tenth birthday the Xbox brand has established itself not only as a worthy competitor but on the leading edge of the home console business.'
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.
It feels like the video game console is at a crossroads. With Xbox Series X and S floundering in the ‘console war’, Sony suggesting PlayStation 5 is approaching the second half of its life after missing sales targets, and uncertainty around the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, there is growing concern that the traditional video game console business could be under threat.
It's obvious that MS is leaving the console biz. MS may have tons of money, but that doesn't mean they want to keep losing money on the gaming division to prove a point. Thanks Phil
Good article and this is not a duplicate. The link that @Maximus Prime shared is just a small portion of the full interview. This post is the full interview.
Times are changing quick, the same ol way the industry been is changing. Where people play is changing.
“What I think Phil is doing is setting up some smoke signals that we're thinking very differently”
I’m surprised how slowly Microsoft is moving toward Xbox as a software platform. They usually don’t care so much about upsetting their customers with unpopular changes like they do with every other version of Windows.
This "console market hasn't grown narrative " is overblown. The market has grown just not as fast as say smartphones. But so what? There is still money to be made in the business and just because Microsoft has failed doesn't mean the entire industry is facing sudden collapse. Gaming will be fine, every industry has to go through periods of restructuring. AAA games are made becuase its what attracts gamers the most and is where they spend the most money. (Demand/supply) Microsoft abandoning hardware should have happened years ago, they clearly lost interest at a base level in producing games and/or paying 3rd parties to back during the tail end of the 360 generation. Tired of hearing about the future of gaming, just make great games and/or invest in one's made by other to attract people to your platform.
"All signs point to the hardware becoming less and less important to Microsoft."
Less innovation and competition. People act like if MS went away life would be better but it would just mean you have one less choice as to where to spend your money. If Sony became the defacto home console provider and Nintendo the handheld, then these companies could limit what you get and you would ultimately have very little choice but to support them if you want to play games.
I was a video that suggested that Steam could potentially get into the console market if Xbox ceases to exist. They already had the Steam Machine(?), and they have the Steam Deck for the portable market. I’m not in the pc space at all so I wouldn’t know if that would be a realistic statement.
No Xbox future I am going to guess Microsoft will go down the path Sega choose and be a publisher/game developer with their in house studios. Or sell off their in house studios and just go back to making os for PC's. I highly doubt the second part. Microsoft like any company wants to make money. So if Microsoft did say pull the plug on Xbox I see them going down the path Sega went. And utilize Xbox as a brand and not just as a console. I can see the name of XBox being mainly a brand after that. And maybe with the game you see published by or developed by Xbox studios.
check this one out. a longer history. http://venturebeat.com/2011...