Microsoft just announced that its CEO, Steve Ballmer, will retire within the next 12 months. He'll remain in his current position until Microsoft finds his replacement.
Uncover the spending behind Xbox's Game Pass subscription. Discover how Microsoft invests a billion dollars annually in securing third-party games for the service.
Good.
Now that you´re releasing games and making big money from every gaming platform, you should double that amount and give us even more day one third party games!
You’re delusional beyond belief. Businesses wise it doesn’t make sense and sooner or later they’ll be raising prices again to cover that billion they’re blowing every year.
As someone else said earlier today, they are past the growth stage, it’s been stagnent for last 3 years, they are now in the money making stage, prepare to be goosed for as many dollars as possible for the least amount of content. It may not be bad now, (actually it is) but it will be soon (even worse) this year you got hellblade and starfirld and a load of other games that could be bought in bargain bins for about $5-30 and for that you pay them monthly
To add I honestly don’t know how you put up with the barrage of Xbox negativity (which is deserved). I put it down to:
A) you are being paid
B) you may have a problem thinking clearly
C) prefer rooting for the underdog, that’s a legit thing too. English people do it by default
Yeah Aussies also love an underdog as long as that underdog isn't Xbox as they were too of the game with the 360 then lost their minds
3 straight years of missing Gamepass targets. Some people are just blinded by their own idiocy. Will be interesting to see if COD does anything this fall
He is a troll. Designed to stoke people up on here. We know this.
It’s quite funny.
Yet people still allow the troll to derail an entire topic. I don’t understand how moderation allows it.
I literally just skip the comment. This may be the best comment obscure ever made. I don’t know because I didn’t read it. I have read to many thread derailing post from this person to ever devote any time to reading another.
I wish everyone would ignore the trolls so we can have a genuine discussion. Stop feeding it and it will go away. Even just hitting the disagree button feeds it. Thats what it wants. This is the last post I will ever post about obscure because I am feeding them now.
Legit question to Mods. After such a long history of being a troll, how has this poster not been banned?
Is he though or does he just blindly love Xbox in the same way Sega fans loved the Dreamcast even though it was clearly dead they thought it could be redeemed
Ok yeah he's saracstic and does troll but I enjoy seeing what he comes out with it would be boring here if we never had conflicting opinions
Are you insane? You want them to double the amount when the Xbox is already struggling and losing money 🤔
"Are you insane? You want them to double the amount when the Xbox is already struggling and losing money"
As long we get the games I couldn´t care less about a trillion dollar company losing money. That´s their business to worry about. I only care about the games.
And "struggling and losing money"? Really?
"Microsoft reports Xbox’s revenue is up 61% in Q4 FY24 thanks to Activision"
https://venturebeat.com/gam...
61% more revenue and BO6 is not even out yet.
MS will make a sh!t ton of money with that game alone in all platforms. So 2 Billion yearly invested in their *core* business is nothing!
So yeah, I want them to double the investments on Gamepass. Period.
"So yeah, I want them to double the investments on Gamepass. Period."
That ain't going to happen. Just because you want it 😂
They'll do that, after creating 4 more higher-priced tiers and making the one that currently includes everything only contain games that have been on the market for 4 years.
"Gamepass Ultra to the MAX: Now only $299 per year!"
They are trying to get a return on abk and Bethesda they won't double day one we're lucky we are still getting them now that day one has been removed from base tiers
They want to make money not give it away
Sorry O_O, I tought you where loosing it, but i now come to the conclusion that you realy lost it.
The coping from you is not on a stellarr level....
Homie got 77 dislike and his brain rot will still help him think that he’s right.
I like how they twist cannibalising game sales into "invests".
No lifetime sales with MS, they'll F-up gaming the same as streaming services have done to the movie industry and it's workforce.
Out of interest do you think those 3rd parties signing the deal are unhappy with the severence and have a gun to their head?
Bro probably has a PS+ sub and has library full of Epic launcher free games.
lol
Pretty much. There's a lot of hate on this site for Gamepass, but put games on the different tiers of the PS subscription, and whenever they get that free day one release, it's an entirely different tune. No talk about how this choice is killing devs.
Do we think they're unhappy?
Umm...YES...?
They literally need to be paid up front to put games on the service. It's become a way to gain a foothold on the platform.
Do you think Atlus would launch on Game Pass otherwise?
"Out of interest do you think those 3rd parties signing the deal are unhappy with the severence and have a gun to their head?"
I think you mean severance... and I've noticed you don't know what it means either, MS aren't firing the third-parties they're purchasing from.
"Bro probably has a PS+ sub and has library full of Epic launcher free games."
I'm not a console gamer, but yes I do have Epic with a library full of free games... but guess what Epic rotating free games every week doesn't do. It doesn't destroy lifetime sales and cut workers out of residuals. Then you bring up PS+ a service that also doesn't destroy lifetime sales as their model allows for new releases to earn.
There are pros and cons to everything. Streaming services like Netflix is no different than cable tv except it is on demand. Services like Netflix has made it so that more studios can get a share in the profit where they can reach more consumers worldwide compared to the old days where the masses will only watch a few new titles per month.
The only negative about streaming services is that it no longer makes any sense to sell DVDs and Blu-rays though it can be argued that those persons may have moved on to building digital libraries for the sake of convenience.
The reason Xbox is doing so poorly is because they are not doing enough to be competitive. Their output of AA and AAA exclusive titles are extremely low compared to the competition and they haven't had a game of the year nominee in years.
Releasing their games the same date on PC is also hurting their console and it would have been more strategic for them to delay those releases by a year similar to what Sony does to maximize profits.
Gamepass alone is not to blame for Xbox's current position because it can be argued that if the service didn't exist and they had the same gaming output as they have now, they would be in an even worst spot.
"Streaming services like Netflix is no different than cable tv except it is on demand."
It's nothing like cable. My comment isn't a guess lifetime sale of films has shrunk to a point it's almost gone and so has the revenue it generated, that is money from competing TV networks, cable/satellite and physical media sales.
Lack of revenue transparency with streaming has meant workers job security and pay has massively diminished, earnings from residuals is almost gone for example the writer for Squid Games because of streaming gets no royalties despite series earning $900 million for Netflix, before streaming he would have royalties form lifetime sales.
Or another example Willow the series was pulled and is no longer watchable here's why: “Willow” was one of nearly 50 titles that Disney+ pulled from its streaming library in May. Other titles included the series “The Mysterious Benedict Society” and the feature film “The One and Only Ivan.” Disney CFO Christine McCarthy explained that Disney was expecting to take a write-down in the June quarter of $1.5 billion-$1.8 billion by removing content from its streaming platforms. By writing down the value of the content assets, Disney can remove that from its balance sheet and reduce its tax bill." Also when you pull a show you no longer need to pay residuals to the workers.
Have you also noticed the drop in quality on sfx or thought some older films look so much better then they do now? This is because the industry now relies on cheap labour for sfx outsourcing abroad, more green screen instead of location shooting and a lot less real extras bring life to a scene.
Streaming in gaming is going to be far worse as we've seen with MS consolidating a massive part of the industry to try and make the service sustainable, lifetime sales being cannibalised by gamespass and a work force that has no unions like SAG is already paying the price.
All streaming does is remove income transparency, cuts the workers from the money and sets flat rates and removes consumer ownership... but CEO's and shareholders will still be ok as they benefit from the industry consolidation.
MrDead is absolutely on fire with the post.
Nothing else I have to add other than that.
@MrDead like I said pros and cons. Some of those issues can alleviated with alleviated with regulatory intervention to give more transparency to the industry but unlikely anytime soon with all the lobbying going on.
The issue with the squid game's writer can be attributed to the terms and conditions he agreed to. It happens often in business as no one really knows how popular something will be until you catch that lightning in a bottle. I remember reading about how Nintendo hardly made anything off Pokemon Go dispite Niantic making Billions.
I don't blame streaming services for studios finding was to reduce the cost of making films. That stuff would have happened regardless because of the greed of these corporations. We see that same cost reduction happening in every industry from food to Aerospace.
we know this, we have known this since last year.
this is not new or news.
Phil Spencer has sent a letter out to employees informing them that 650 jobs would be cut from Microsoft's gaming division.
‘Good guy Phil’?
The truth likely is that the decision was not his to make and is possibly a direct consequence of cutting costs following the ABK deal.
"Good guy Phil" is comical. You have to bleed green to see that. I'm only a matter of time until MS, that's right MS even in ages themselves from the industry.
Sad, people and even sadder and pathetic company.
If they keep this up, they won't even be able to go third party anymore after they stop making Xbox hardware.
game devs aren't being let go.
“As part of aligning our post-acquisition team structure and managing our business, we have made the decision to eliminate approximately 650 roles across Microsoft Gaming—mostly corporate and supporting functions—to organize our business for long term success.”
getting rid of some suits... now this news isnt so bad. Too many suits makes all the wrong decisions, esp the top dogs.
@darth they arent suits, they are people that work in administration, customer support and that kinda stuff
The original story is from IGN as they are the ones who got the memo.
https://www.ign.com/article...
Still sucks!
Replies(2)"The day we hear that Xbox is no more is vastly approaching."
Not sure Sony is doing any better with all that money lost on GaaS and all that worldwide backlash regarding the Pro.
@obscured: “ Not sure Sony is doing any better with all that money lost on GaaS and all that worldwide backlash regarding the Pro.”
.
Welcome back we missed you said no one 🤣
.
I don’t remember Sony cutting over 1900 employees then Less than 7 months later get a leak for another 600 to be on the chopping board but hey let’s equate that to a few people not been happy about a mid gen system refresh price 🤦🏿.
@obscured: “
They also casually forget that Sony have been laying off thousands of people too”
Yeeesh I got a better help discount code for you
Uh, thr Pro "backlash" is hardly something that's going to tank their business. Unless you've been living under a rock, there's no question that Xbox is in the gutter.
Quit pivoting to Sony because you don't like the subject matter. Their game division isn't in the toilet.
Well Sony isn't selling more copies of their games on a rival system yet so they must be doing alright.
Vastly approaching is a weird phrase… vastly is typically used to convey the degree of some size or length or time.
Vastly approaching makes no sense.
You mean rapidly approaching.
A combined $80 billion spent on consolidating a massive part of the industry, thousands fired all to line the pockets of the already wealthy and turn the gaming industry into a rental service.
FU MS.
MS is a publicly traded company. If you have a 401K you yourself might own MS stocks.
I'm definitely not a MS fan, but CEOs need to keep returns high to keep their jobs if nothing else. They don't get to transfer the salaries to their accounts.
I blame MS for failed strategies, poor execution, lack of vision, etc.
These layoffs are just the result of those things.
That's the weakest excuse for a giant monopoly I've ever seen... also companies like MS are more likely to damage people's 401k through monopolistic practices.
"FU MS."
I love how you act all enraged and bully when it´s MS firing people.
"It´s all about the workers" at least they´re Sony´s employees, right? If they´re Sony they can go f* themselves right? It´s all justified and the blame lies elsewhere on some widespread industry problem, right? Right?
We been seeing some of Sony recent bs moves and you know what´s coming, right?
I´m expecting you to disappear the same way you do every time Sony layoff hundreds of people or get a whole studio shut down.
You´ll do anything to avoid and hold them accountable. But that's OK. You´are not biased, right?
@obscured: “ "It´s all about the workers" at least they´re Sony´s employees, right? If they´re Sony they can go f* themselves right? It´s all justified and the blame lies elsewhere on some widespread industry problem, right? Right?”
.
Well Sony didn’t overreached and spend over 80 BILLION$ to acquire mayor 3rd party game developers and one MAYOR publisher the owner of the BIGGEST FPS just hoping to keeping it exclusive to their system and now having to fire thousands of employees to valance their books one more quarter.
Now Microsoft is beginning and going to kiss Sony dark ring and publish their “first party games “ on PlayStation. Regardless of who it is it’s wrong to do an acquisition and then fire people.
I applaud Microsoft for at least giving them a severance package and assistance getting a new job 👍👍.
Chill out kid... also why bring up Sony, have they just spent 80 billion to consolidate a massive part of the industry to the detriment of thousands of workers?
MS lines their pockets whilst firing thousands, such a shame you support this.
Gee someone here said Xbox would NEVER release 1st party games on Playstation or competing platforms again?! Never tired to see you eat crow again.
But but Sony bad...thats the normal damagecontroll from O_O. Dude its time to sing another song, this one is sounding like a broken record......
Not sure about the rest of the world, but here in Brazil we have a say that goes like this:
'May the last one to leave please turn off the lights'
What the heck is MS even doing right now?
Shaz from GL: “Amidst recent concerns surrounding Xbox, Phil and Co. need a win. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be it.”
When it comes to video game previews I’m of the opinion that journalists should maintain a position of CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM. Yes, note and share concerns about the game with readers but maintain a restrained optimistic stance until actually having reviewed it so that any negativity is based on the game’s quality and not the author’s prejudices.
Here the author writes “ I’m going to continue to keep my cynicisms intact, less so because of my trust in MachineGames and more so due to the dumpster fire that continues to be modern-day Xbox.” This example illustrates the need to follow this guidance.
Not worried about facial animations , but I do hope the gameplay is fun . Most definitely I will purchase this on PS5, if the gameplay is fun .
nice hit piece. I notice the writer didn't mention any of the journalists / creators who had good things to say. From what i hear, it has riddick: escape from butcher bay in its DNA. To me that sounds like something to be Optimistic about rather than pessimistic.
It’s odd to have a first person perspective for an adventure game with stealth and brawling. But’s not without precedent. Wolfenstein: New Order and Wolfenstein: New Colossus had a lot of adventure game elements. They were in the league of the greatest games ever, but they were both fun games. Indy looks fun too.
Yes, Indy looks like Todd Howard. Something feels way too off.
bye bye
https://encrypted-tbn0.gsta...
Go out on top or go down with a sinking ship?
You tell me.
YES! This has made my day.
Pick me MS. I mean how much worse could I do then what they have been doing?
good