Why Have Microsoft’s Xbox Consoles Fallen Short in the Console War

Bidness Gaming: Fate has not been kind to the Xbox, but then, Microsoft did not always make the best marketing decisions either.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Seems to me that Sony has finally gained back all the fans they lost in the beginning of PS3.

[gamer1138]

I think what it shows is the majority have no allegiance to one console or another, they go with what is considered the "best" console or what is more popular. The Wii is a completely different situation. Nintendo tapped a market that the consoles had never really captured before. The problem now is those casuals have now moved to freemium smartphone and tablet games and they will never come back.

[miyamoto]

and gained even more on top of that ... PS4 also got the biggest market today: the post smartphone mobile gamers.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Original xbox was cut short on purpose and it was their late entry into the market but had a good reception. Xbox 360 was a smashing success and the Xbox One is doing well despite an initial massive stumble. So...not really sure how they make the lead in statement that they are?

[Herbalistic]

MS had no choice but to cut the original Xbox life being as they weren't making $$$/paying crazy fees to Nvidia

[OC_MurphysLaw]

But that doesn't change the reality of the OG Xbox having been received well by gamers and media given its short life span.

[dcbronco]

Its said gamers even bother reading an "article" like this. They won't get paid by me. Xbox One is selling better than 360, similar to what ps3 sold. No one says PS3 sold poorly. Compared to PS2 yes, but that is a stupid comparison. The original Xbox lost lots of money. Microsoft expected to on it and the 360 actually. They were surprised that they became profitable in gaming so quickly. They thought it would take three or four generations. Xbox One is already profitable and the 360 was starting in 2007-08. Microsoft has done more than well in gaming.

The real problem in gaming is how little outsiders thing of gamers. Only religious people and members of political parties get pimped as much with buzzwords. Whether its Al Sharpton hollering whitey wants to kill you or George Bush telling you they hate you cause you're free or Catholics priest telling you to look at the miracle while they give your ten year old boy a reach around, people need to learn to do a little research and thinking and learn to stay off corners.

It's cold outside.

[XisThatKid]

That comment above gave me gas.

[WelkinCole]

x360 was not a smashing success.

PS1, PS2 and Wii were smashing success.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

It sold over 80k lifetime so far...that is a smashing success considering the competition.

[FallenAngel1984]

It'll be impossible for an Xbox console to ever come in 1st place because it isn't as strong a global brand as PlayStation.

In Asia the Xbox brand does very small numbers, and is only modestly successful in the Sony dominated European region. The only place the Xbox brand is consistently competitive in is North America.

[Aenea]

Well, there was a time when PlayStation wasn't a strong brand yet either when the PS1 was just introduced. They still managed to become what they are today.

Nothing is stopping Xbox doing the same thing in a few generations.

Though I've always felt Xbox to be a hobby thing for MS, more of a "ohh, let's try to make a console and see how that goes!", I'm actually surprised they are still trying. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong, I would actually be happy if there would be 3rd console competing for the same users, who knows, if Nintendo finally manages to get a reasonably fast machine out that 3rd party developers love too we might see more and more changes for both Xbox and PS to compete with Nintendo again...

[star_lancer]

Not to take anything away from Sony, as the PS1 was a great console, but Sony came into gaming at a time unlike any other. While both Nintendo & Sega were strong players, both were making mistakes that would prove costly. Sony was in the right place at the right time.

When MS entered the market, Sony was dominant like neither Nintendo or Sega was when Sony started.

It's a credit to MS that they've come so far facing greater competition than Sony did when they first started.

[quenomamen]

" Nothing is stopping Xbox doing the same thing in a few generations."

MS and their shenanigans sure put the brakes on it, before launch. This en was theirs to loose, and they lost it.

[rainslacker]

"Nothing is stopping Xbox doing the same thing in a few generations."

True, nothing can stop the possibility. MS probably increased the time it will take to do that with their initial policies though. 360 gained ground by being the first next gen console of last gen, and there were a lot of good things about the console which helped it survive when Sony released the PS3. The biggest benefactor to MS last gen though was likely the PS4 price tag. While there was value in the price, it's still a pretty big barrier to entry for many. Sure $500-600 isn't that much in the grand scheme of things, but when you could get a 360 for $200 cheaper, and it was just as good overall, or better in some ways, why wouldn't one go that route unless they are the hardcore.

Anyhow, due to the circumstances of how last gen started, MS grabbed a lot of people who want the newest thing, but even these people are likely to still only have one console per gen, and so Sony lost a lot of sales because of this.

Moving on back to your original quote, nothing is stopping MS, however, competition is putting speed bumps in the road. ON top of that, MS put in a pretty big ditch, which they had to fill back in with gravel, and one day, they'll pave it over and things will be back to normal. THey will do this by continuing their current direction of being more gaming and customer focused.

The caveat is that the competition is going to be trying to do their own thing to gain even more ground, and so MS has to try and curb that momentum from it's competitors, or hope they make some mistakes which make their console more attractive than the other guys.

[DarkZane]

"Nothing is stopping Xbox doing the same thing in a few generations. "

Wrong. Playstation will always be a stronger brand than Xbox. They won't do the same mistake as they did with the PS3 ever again.

Let's be realistic, even if the Xbox One terrible announcement didn't happen, the PS4 would still be beating the crap out of the Xbox One with almost identical numbers (the Xbox One might have an extra million in sale if they were lucky).

[FallenAngel1984]

Indeed the PS1 had a modest start with it having tough competition in North America against the N64 and in Japan against the Saturn while it went unopposed in Europe. After FFVII released it became a dominant console in every market.

Sony was able to make PlayStation a dominant global within the first 3 years of its initial inception. Microsoft's Xbox brand has been active for 15 years and it's still nowhere as big. It's impossible for Xbox to ever replicate this level of success.

Nothing Microsoft can do can make their brand a strong force in Asia. Not even a megaton game like FFXV to move a lot of XO consoles in Japan. Europe on the other hand has always been a PlayStation stronghold for four generations already, and that is unlikely to change in the future.

The only place Xbox remains competitive in is North America where it usually sells over 1/2 of its userbase. PlayStation on the other hand is the only brand that consistently sells 1/3 of its total install base in North America, which shows how strong it is in other markets.

Third parties aren't going to just flock to a Nintendo console just because it's powerful, look at the GameCube and Wii U as proof. They care most about having a larger install base that is known to buy a lot of third party games, and that's what the PlayStation and Xbox ecosystems offer.

[star_lancer]

PS1 didn't face the level of competition that MS faced when they started. When PS1 was in it's early years, Nintendo was stubbornly sticking to cartridges, and Sega had made numerous mistakes like 32X and choosing a difficult-to-program-for chipset for Saturn that made it appear inferior.

Sony came into the market at exactly the right time, and the struggles of Sega and Nintendo helped PS1 become what it is.

[FallenAngel1984]

PS1 still initially faced tough competition in the sales area against N64 in NA and against Saturn in Japan. It had the benefit courting a lot of third parties, but sales didn't dramatically take off globally until 1997 when FFVII was released.

Yeah Nintendo and Sega were making bad decisions at the time, but a lot of credit should still go to Sony for making a strong brand. Many other hardware manufacturers such as Panasonic, Phillips, and Apple also tried to enter the market in the same timeframe but failed. Sony was the only one to really succeed.

[Wh15ky]

@starlancer

PS1 was such a success because it appealed more to older teenagers and young adults. In doing so playstation had created it's identity.

The nintendo/sega fans of the nes/master system, snes/megadrive generations had matured and with that a new market was created. Sony managed to capture that market far more so than nintendo or sega.

Xbox has fallen short because it has failed to create it's own identity. The xbox is just microsofts playstation.

[Automatic79]

@FallenAngel

Xbox is also successful in South America.

[chaosx]

They were beaten by a better PR team. Sony played a perfect game this time round , every chance they had to one up microsoft they did. The concept MS pitched for the XB1 originally was a much bigger idea than Sony's " heres a faster console with better GPU" and that was there undoing. They wanted paradigm shift and the consumer wanted cellphone upgrade.

[BitbyDeath]

^^^ That's bait.

[rainslacker]

I would say it was more everyone wanted a cellphone upgrade(using your metaphor), but didn't want a paradigm shift that didn't benefit them in the least.

Outside of the whole TV stuff, what concept was really that big on the system...and how was TV that big a thing for a game console anyways? Or are you talking about the no used games and forced internet connection?

Sony's paradigm shift was all about games. The social aspect of the system became it's biggest touted feature, and every feature talked about was about games in some way.

If the paradigm shift of a gaming console is moving away from games, then I fail to see how that is a much bigger concept. All I see it as is a concept that has nothing to do with gaming, so why should I care about it in a gaming console?

Maybe people really are as stupid as you posit though. Maybe they just didn't understand that being screwed over on one's consumer rights and freedoms is actually a good thing if we can use voice commands to change the channel.

[CaptainObvious878]

If by bigger ideas you mean not being able to trade games with friends and needing the internet to play single player games among others, then yes, MS had the biggest ideas ever.

I find people like you excusing MS disgusting draconian policies by saying 'they were trying to do something different', pathetic.

I honestly wish MS kept their original policies in place for people like you to have to suffer through.

[nitus10]

Basically Sony's perfect game was to basically not change anything except they did state that you would need a PS+ subscription to play on-line, although they did offer incentives for people to do this.

Microsoft proposal of Kenect requirement and draconian DRM coupled with their at the very least confusing second hand policy did not sit well with most gamers.

[BitbyDeath]

PS4 has actually innovated quite a lot-

Virtual Reality;
Shareplay;
Sharing images/video via controller
Playgo;
Live with Playstation.

Paying for PSN wouldn't count as an innovation as MS was first to force that on people.

[joeorc]

@nitus

Agree , except there is still some inline multiplayer gaming that is still an option to play without PlayStation+ requirement.

"they did state that you would need a PS+ subscription to play on-line"

While true for most games that need such required prerequisite's, they did not leave that as the only option available for gamers. Yes its limited in what was left for free online multiplayer gaming options available.

There was still options, so it was not completely off the console for free online multiplayer gaming.

Example

They in fact did have online multiplayer online games that were still even to this day free 2 play. So it was not cutting off all free online multiplayer cold Turkey.

DCUniverse
Warplane
Planetside2
Etc.

So its not All required PSN+ for all game's , there is an open option to play online multiplayer without having to pay for online multiplayer.
& with share play with such games that employed such, it was also another way to play without having PlayStation +

[BitbyDeath]

The exclusive games are all still mostly American focused.
Quantum Break doesn't look too bad though.

[Deltaguy]

The xbox fanbase from the 360 years consisted of "dude bros" these are the casual gamers who will switch to a new console without batting a eye..couple that with the horrible unveiling leaves you with lackluster sales and bad word of mouth..the xbox one is a great console that needs better word of mouth...

[MCTJim]

sigh, Story quality WTF and like this website-NO

[BattleAxe]

'Bidness Gaming'

No need to read this article....they can't even spell 'business' properly.

[Lenrulesdaworld]

Thank God these are opinions and not factual or the Xbox would no longer exist.

[kotaku77]

Because Sony has the slightly better console and Microsoft committed a lot of mistakes (the launch was an epic failure!!!). That damaged the Xbox brand image, and though now they corrected a lot of what was wrong the damage is already done...

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Secret Sauce. turned into Whack Sauce.

"Deal with It"

(⌐■_■)

[Khaotic]

It's sad how asinine comments like yours gets so many agrees, one day some of you with brains will look back and say, holy crap was I the biggest dbag moron ever or what. And those without brains will still be flipping burgers saying how everyone that doesn't like what they do are stupid.

Which are you gonna be?

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Sorry the truth offended you.. Phil.

[Khaotic]

Ha still flippen burgers

Looked at your profile I was more right than I knew .

[Errorist76]

I believe MS already lost a lot of trust during last gen, not only with their terrible failure rates in the first 360 years but also because of the jack of support during the last years, when Sony was still supporting the PS3. This lacking launch presentation many just took as a welcome opportunity to let off steam.

[DigitalRaptor]

Partly because of their strict western (read: North American) focus, and refusal to commit to improving the acumen that would lead to a broader global appeal.

Partly because their grand corporate schemes do not sync with what core gamers want.

Partly because of a lack of trust based on the decisions they've made over 3 generations.

And really Xbox is not as popular a brand as some people think it is.

[joeorc]

@DigitalRaptor + 11h ago
"Partly because of their strict western (read: North American) focus, and refusal to commit to improving the acumen that would lead to a broader global appeal"

This a 100000000000% over if there ever was a % that d@mn big.

Microsoft does not really cater to for is console brand.

For one many such regions may not have English as its main language, or have such strong internet network structure that to Microsoft, and their starting massage for the Xbox one was "well there is the xbox360" for those consumers. With in the case of Nintendo & Sony. The console market both offered not just the new console's released, but also

There was handheld gaming online network connected handheld gaming consoles that offer a cheaper option & also keep supporting past console's of in the case of Nintendo.

DS, DS Slim, DSI, DSIXL, Gameboy Advanced, Gameboy Advanced SP.
Wii.

Sony's case.
Playstation 2 at the time if the ps3 in other markets was still selling and being supported even up to 2012..that's well into last generations cycle , Sony sold an addition of over 16+ million ps2 consoles during that cycle.

Than had the PSP, PSP slim, short lived but still supported with digital downloaded PSP games for tge system for even the PSPGo . and all this time still the PS3 even with rough start still support an additional console. With the PSVita than launching later with strong Eastern market support PSVita is still supported heavy in Asia market for gaming support for new games. Now you have the PS4 strong market performance world wide for support by developers & publishers.

Now let's take a look at Microsoft.

Outside of the very 1st Xbox, the xbox 360 adoption for the xbox360 really only clicked in s few regions around the world and mostly English speaking mainly at that. The market platform for the Xbox is targeted toward English speaking consumers only really in its core basis as a marketing platform for its brand, which is expected since Microsoft as a company is based in the United States.

But if you look above at both Nintendo & Sony Microsoft really has not done much to change that marketing message for world wide distribution of its platform, and reason is quite simple really. Microsoft up to this point has been really a single one console platform at a time game console company.

While both Nintendo & Sony has had multiple systems living room & Handheld game console in retail channels world wide st the same time. Microsoft really only had one living room console on the market at a time right now its now xbox360 & Xbox one so now there is two.

But again has really Microsoft deviate from the mainly English speaking markets first being the platforms only real targeted market for Microsoft's platform?

Example. When looking at Nintendo & Sony they have more than just Japanese developer & publishers out of Japan making heavy invested support for their platforms more than just a hand full. With Microsoft its mainly English speaking countries & if its 3rd party the same for Xbox, as a platform of course its expected. But still Sony & Nintendo are seen as more multiple region multiple language console brands while Microsoft's brand is seen mainly as really onlyba brand for English speaking consumers only.

[bestofthebest]

I think it just comes down to the ps4 being a more powerful console. The launch thing wasn't a big deal once they fixed the issues the bigger deal is that
almost all multiplats look worse on xbox.

[Lenrulesdaworld]

The games don't all look worse or almost all, they just don't hit 1080p res in some games and a few games have better textures. Most 3rd party games are actually close, where ps4 is best is fps, with it's unified ram & gpu. However just like lat gen with 360, it's enough to warrant gamers to pick the system with the least amount of issues. Most which DF must make aware for most people to notice.

[Tzuno]

Well they think at xbox a a whole box of fun and try to reinvent the wheel every year, let's be honest here consoles since the beginning of them have been all about games and games are what they need, they focus too much on other things and loose precious time games, games, games where are they?

[Italiano1234567]

Any Xbox console will never win any console war in sales because there focus seems to be mainly in the us and not the whole world.

[DragonDDark]

Even deals and some stuff are only in the US too.

[joeorc]

@Italiano1234567 + 11h ago
Any Xbox console will never win any console war in sales because there focus seems to be mainly in the us and not the whole world.

100% exactly.

Microsoft's console is seen as mainly a "English only speaking console brand" while Nintendo & Sony are seen more as world wide console brands for every country and multiple languages around the world.

[whoyouwit04]

Do this question really needs to be asked? It's the brainwashed sony fanboys and the bias media that's hurting the xbox. I mean look at what ign had to say about Microsoft new commercial they felt that they were bragging; what in the hell?

[Doabarrelroll]

Lol yep the fanboys and the media bias lol. You crapgamer cult members truely are pathetic. The only thing hurting MS was their plan to screw over gamers and your precious fanboy YouTube leaders who are embarrassing your community more than helping it with their lies, racism against Japan, calling all ps4 gamers terrorist, harassing kids in GameStop, stalking people at Best Buy etc.but keep believing your delusion and damage control

[lastking95]

The media has been bias rather you want to admit it or not. That ign article is laughable. What's there to damage control? So you agree with the article? Is the media hurting xbox? Maybe to a certain degree (people to this day think it can't play used games) but not to the point where it would change much.

[rainslacker]

If those two things were that important, then how did Sony manage to catch up, or surpass depending on what goal post you want to aim for? Last gen, fanboys and the bias media were unrelenting in their disdain for Sony. MS hasn't received the same disdain from the media this gen...more like indifference to it's existence...when you want to take a generalized view of everything and not bring it to the anecdotal. Obviously during the bad policies they were getting a lot of hate, but that was coming from all sides of the fence...even some rather staunch Xbox fans, because people don't like to be screwed over.

[lastking95]

Catch up? 360 outsold ps3 by 20 million in NA. It never caught up here. Japan and EU are what made it close. There's nothing the xbox brand can do to pass PS in those two markets. It could by 2x more powerful, cheaper and all ps exclusives come to xbox it still wouldn't sale more than ps brand there. True the policies and ignorance of Don made just about everyone mad.

[joeorc]

@lastking95 + 5h ago
Catch up? 360 outsold ps3 by 20 million in NA. It never caught up here. Japan and EU are what made it close. There's nothing the xbox brand can do to pass PS in those two markets. It could by 2x more powerful, cheaper and all ps exclusives come to xbox it still wouldn't sale more than ps brand there. True the policies and ignorance of Don made just about everyone mad.

See right here is exactly why this brand suffers in the world wide thinking , because of its such narrow focus in the market it really as a platform has not really grown all that well on a world wide scale.

You stated Sony never caught up. But think about this for a sec.

In the United states all last cycle how many systems did Microsoft have in the retail channel aside from the xbox360? There was no other systems other than xbox360.

Meanwhile Sony & Nintendo had
Multiple systems in the retail channel at one time.

Its very simple today when Microsoft talks about "Xbox"

They are talking about xbox360+Xbox one why?

Because this It's the very first console cycle where Microsoft has more than one single system in the retail channel @ one time.

Both Nintendo & Sony have had more than one system in retail channel selling to consumers now for more than two cycle generations in a row!

Many gamers such as your self seem to look at Microsoft as a toll position in the United States from last cycle because of how well the xbox360/did in the market for Microsoft in gaining a better foot hold in the console market, but the reality of the situation is far from Microsoft being in the toll position as some on here seem to think.

First point is while Microsoft has indeed grown its Xbox brand, it has not gained substantial console brand strength yet to even claim a market leadership role even in the United states yet due to the fact Even Microsoft counts Xbox as more than just the Xbox one by itself its counting Xbox as a whole with Xbox 360 included.

If such is the case ; and it is by Microsoft's own admission Microsoft is facing a 8-2 in favor of the Japanese branded console platforms in the north American market vs Microsoft's two Xbox platforms in the north American market.

That is just the reality of the situation not just in the United States but every country world wide where game console market is released into world wide regions.

Even in its strongest market last cycle ..

Sony had
Ps2
PSP
PSPGo
Ps3

Vs

Xbox360

All game console systems released into retail channels still on shelves from each company at the time last cycle at once. Even today Sony now has

PS3
PSVita
PSTV
PS4

Vs

Xbox 360 & Xbox one

It was not Sony having to catch up with Microsoft for market brand strength it was Microsoft having to catch up with Sony.

The number of systems released in retail channels take up shelf retail space, many brick & mortar stores had multiple sku's of xbox 360 systems last cycle to put the impression or implying that out of game console systems of Xbox being the larger brand name in the united states. Which by media & promoting marketing you could see influence to seem that way. But again the reality is Sony last cycle had the PS2, PSP, PS3 , PSPGo all on the shelf at one time in not just in united states & North American market but world wide.

While Microsoft had multiple sky's of the same single xbox360 system.

[PsyMonk3y]

Microsoft after such success with the 360 got greedy and arrogant and tried to screw their fan base over thinking they'd get away with it but instead killed their brand and the trust they had built up with their loyal customers.

XboxOne was a huge PR disaster.

[FN4GM]

Its just not as good a console as PS4, its as simple as that, we dont need articles to discus it cause you're never going to convince some people of the facts, I feel bad for those stuck with xbone and have no choice, I can understand those kids trying to sell people on it, they have no choice, but the ones who have the ability to purchase what they want and still only bought xbone well that's on them, they chose the inferior console.

[II__BONE__II]

The ONLY reason and I mean "ONLY" reason the 360 Started off with better sales last gen was because it launched a YEAR in advance.
Gamers were getting the itchy for a new console and the 360 came out first so everyone bought it up.
Had the PS3 launched at the same time at the same price and coming off the success of the PS2 the 360 would NEVER have stood a chance in hell.
Not to mention the 360 sales got a sales boost from the direct result of the RROD.
Toward the 2/3 mark of last gen people started realizing what MS was like and the PS3 sales actually caught up to or even passed the 360.

[Budrazor]

Could anyone tell me what would happen if MS folded the Xbox division? I would like to see the answers I get to this question. There are a lot of haters that would like to see this happen. I'm thinking that would be bad for gaming and gamers in general.

[JRPG-FAN]

Gaming would die and we would all be playing mobile phone games.

[DragonDDark]

Umm... ps4 is still there...

[nitus10]

No thanks. The only time why I play the odd game (Solitaire or Angry Birds) on my mobile phone is when I can't sit down in front of a larger screen such as my HDTV or Monitor. Basically hand held and mobile gaming has zero appeal for me.

Anyway if the XBox brand died there is always Nintendo's as well as Sony's consoles and in the unlikely event that they disappeared then there is always the PC.

[PsyMonk3y]

Gaming would be a Sony monopoly and gamers would be held hostage until another company decides to create a competing console.

Possibly pc gaming would become more popular.

Gaming wouldn't die.

[BitbyDeath]

Someone else would step up cause their is money to be made and people like money.

[DivineAssault]

PS4 would have to face PCs & even Nintendo.. No one system should exist.. At least 2 need to compete for innovation and unique IPs

[DigitalRaptor]

Another company would step in and take their place.

Just like history has dictated in the past, and it wouldn't be a bad thing. Competition would still exist. The only ones it would affect would be those who desire Xbox exclusives, and those properties would move on to other consoles or PC.

If any of these companies were to fold their gaming divisions, Microsoft's would be the least mourned. If you don't feel this to be true, ask gamers across the globe what they think of Xbox vs. the other brands.

[DivineAssault]

Because all their focus is on sports & shooters.. Sure, its ok to like those genres but there needs to be more personality to it.. Nintendo & Sony have unique styles while Microsoft all western.. To each their own but i like variety & value when i make a console investment.. They used to with sega & bioware but thats all over with

[Dewitt]

Nope, refuse to entertain the trolls on here.

[Smokingunz]

Kudos to machchalbrother and why o why you guys made the best comment and stated true facts unlime these idiots on here.

Another lame article from anti Microsoft and fan loving N4g smh...its a shame really. This site bashes the xbox brand and the sony fans dont know what they are talking about and delusional. The fact of the matter is xbox 360 outsold the ps3 and is a better system sorry. Google the sales xbox360 84 mil ps3 80 mil i guess sony fans cant count lol.

Xbox360 did everything right, compared to the original xbox which sold somewbere arou d 24 mil compared to 360's 84 mil and ps2 coming from 159 mil(because it was on the market longer) only showed that the 360 took a large base of playstation fans lol. Playstation has a bigger i stall base and more fans because it been out years before the xbox and Microsoft knkwing this came out earlier with the 360,designed a great and better machine,bought all of Sony's exclusives lol,introduced online,achievements,dowoads,dl c,impeccable avertisement and system bundles.sony copied this blueprint for the ps4.if u pay close attention sony is doing everything Microsoft did with the 360 with the ps4. They even went as far as hiring MS advertisment personnel (i think he left MS) so please stop bashinv the xbox brand and acting like PlayStation is god because its not, please also accept the fact that the 360 revolutionized gaming in the 7th gen and they beat the slow ps3 all around.

As for the first xbox, MS signed a nessed up deal with a certain graphic card comoany where as MS would not see profits/money thats why the dropped the original xbox and started development on the legendary 360 lol.look that up people.

As far as the xbox one MS made the same mistake sony did with the ps3, they got cocky. Fresh off the 360's success and happy that they beat sony and their ps3 they came out with the xbox one and the silly DRM is what hurt them,not to mention losing their marketing and comercial personnel. I believed if MS had kept the same engineers and marketing personnel from the 360 era they would've been fine.

At the end of the day Xbox one is still a great system.

[Azzanation]

SO the 2nd best selling console this generation and also out pacing there incredibly successful 360 and this article exists?

Hmm I might pass reading it.

[Tobsesan]

Its outpacing the 360 and the people who own it, love it. Dont know what all the trolls here talk about. Never had so much fun with the games since Ps1 era.

[FoxyGotGame]

I only recently picked up an Xbox One and I think it's great! I like both PS4 & X1 equally, but for different reasons.

Guess I should feel fortunate that I missed all the low points leading up to the systems 2nd year. The Xbox One I know is from 2016, not pre 2013, 14 or even 15. I have no hang ups with Xbox One. MS fixed a lot of things and the Console is currently the system it could have been at launch. Hey I'm Happy with it ))))

[DigitalRaptor]

Do you have a source for those people owning it loving it? Like a % figure?

Why is it that whenever we want to discuss the realities of the position of these consoles and brands in the market, you wish to deflect this and blame it on trolls rather than those simply offering you history lessons. Does it hurt you loyalists that much to deal the facts head-on, without resorting to asking us to hold hands and sing songs around a campfire, and ignore interesting industry-related discussions?

It's okay for you to enjoy your Xbox consoles in whatever generation in whatever manner, but if you were balanced, you wouldn't feel the desire to keep your head in the sand in regards to what the Xbox brand represents. It's really funny to see the Xbox fanboys on here playing the victim in regards to their console, when in reality this article is not calling the Xbox out as a bad console in each generation. It's just heading on certain realities, that the other brands are stronger and in many cases, better due to things only Microsoft can take the blame for.

[Tobsesan]

"when in reality this article is not calling the Xbox out as a bad console in each generation"

read all the comments here and on other articles about XBOX. Everyone pretends like its the worst console ever made because its not the #1 best selling console. But if you talk positive about Xbox you get downvoted. I just cant see why i would care which one sells more. I still get my games and both are doing great. Its not like one of the consoles sells as bad as the Wii U does...

[DigitalRaptor]

That sounds like a sob story to me.

PS4 being the most popular console of this gen, you should be used to more people liking the PS4 and snubbing the XB1 by now. And people are entitled to think what they want about the XB1, whether they think the biggest games going to PC means there's no point in investing, or the super slow game installs, or the bad user interface. Or whether they still hold mistrust against MS for their own reasons, they're entitled to it because it's all founded.

You only get downvoted as an Xbox fan if you troll. I have been downvoted for saying negative things about XB1, MS and Xbox fanboys before, and it goes both ways.

But do you want to know the true reason why some people rub it in your face, perhaps? It's because last gen, the same Xbox folks were doing the same thing, and now apparently, the things they valued last-gen have turned on their heads, so why not bring it up? PS3 was "dead last" according to these people despite its steady catch up after launching a year late, and NPD and sales mattered, multiplatform superiority mattered, and timed/console exclusives mattered. Now it's forbidden to mention or not important to talk about. The same people trolling and acting as though Sony was bowing from the market last gen and doomed to bankruptcy. Then there was the insane decisions MS has made over the years. If you want reasons for any negativity, there you have it.

[Smitty2020]

The Xbox one is losing this generation because they made so many mistakes from the start they pissed me off with what they tried to do that's why many 360 consoles like my self jumped ship

[kingmushroom]

I never owned a Xbox and was ready for the new Xbox to really impress me but then Microsoft just went a different direction, one i did't like. I was hopping for the 720 and to be really impressive, maybe next gen i guess.

[Mrveryodd]

Xbox is a success at my house , i have a cheap laptop plugged into hdmi in which is usless for games , but great for anything else . I think it is bloody awesome. And i doubt whatever Msoft did or did not do , most here would still hate them.

[sadsatan]

simple. the dropbox sucks lol

[Gwynbleidd]

Aaand another flame bait article all the fanboys can revolve around, yay! Come on N4G we can do better!

[jairusmonillas]

Xbox 360 only got lucky because PS3 was 1 year late, $600 price, complicated cell technology. If PS3 was released at the same time with 360 and had the same price with identical specs with 360 then PS3 would've beaten 360 because of PS2's success.

[Matology]

Article wins it fanned the flames.

Sits back and watches kids fight over plastic and coding.

[gamer7804]

The Marketing fiasco when it was being launched was the main factor in it not selling as well as the PS4. Many people got caught up in this despite it being retracted before it launched and jumped ship anyways. "The mob is fickle brother...".

[sdplisken]

Simple because Sony makes better games and hardware than Microsoft
Ps2 curb stomped the original Xbox
PS3 still beat 360 even with an insane price tag and ppl buying multiple crapboxs due to RROD plus 360 launched earlier
Ps4 is wiping the floor with the xbone on a global scale
Have a nice day

[Brettman2008]

PS3 was overly complex and difficult to code. Xbox 360 hardware was far superior.

[sdplisken]

Ps3 still was more powerful and put out 1st party games last gen that looked miles better than anything on 360.
Oh and the hardware wasn't SHIT and died every 5 min with RROD and disc scratching issues.
PS3 wins still again in games, hardware, and sales. Try harder

[Eonjay]

Microsoft was never going to win.

[jokerisalive]

PS4 is simply to far ahead and doing too well covering all its bases with games from 1st and 3rd party. The XB1 has done a remarkable job of turning things around since Spencer took over for the 'clown' that was Mattrick. I feel MS can still do well in second place if they continue to grow the Xbox brand year over year as they have claimed to be doing as of late. Sony is just to popular and to established globally for MS to ever be a real threat to the PS brand. I have both and enjoy them for what they are but I will also say that I do prefer my PS4 over my XB1 and there are plenty of people who will propably agree and disagree with me but thats what makes choice so cool. We all win in the end.

[Night99]

The only thing that matters to me is that Xbox One is doing amazing right now.

Yes the introduction and releas was a disaster and very rocky but since than Microsoft is just doing everything right. They dropped the unnecessary crap like Kinect and improved everithing a lot, like the new Xbox one Interface is now way faster than the PS4. They delivered the features every gamer requested like Backwards Compatibility, we even get to play the beloved Red dead Redemption on XboxOne now and plus they heavily invested into old and a lot of new exclusive IP's way more than Microsoft did within Xbox360 era. The XboxOne is right now on a much better way than the Xbox360 ever was, even the Hardware is amazing this time, no RoD and very quiet.

I am extremely satisfied with the path XboxOne is hading right now, the only things I still would want is a new Banjo Kazooie a new Conker, maybe a Lost Odyssey 2 and Skyrim for Backwards Compatibility, it would be so damn cool if 1 or 2 of this games happen, one can still dream :D !

[Saijahn]

second best? as far as sales, sure, but as a console choice is relative to what the consumer wants.

so far sony has had a leg up with exclusives according to what i like in games, but this console generation is still just getting started. if ms can bring out some more stellar console exclusives maybe it would appeal to more people.

they've made great strides with the x1, as backwards compatibility, ea access, cross platform play, cloud based computing all continue to be implemented in future titles, the console will without a doubt see major sales movement.

[Godmars290]

One: the X1's reveal and the DRM/resale policies.

Two(more likely): The Xbox brand was never as popular as MS presented or its fans hoped. Issues like RROD with the 360, that the slim version of the console was more of a necessity to make up for design flaws, artificially inflated sale numbers. That plus the year and a half lead over the PS3, the market instability of the Wii after it released yet outsold the 360 early on, confused things as MS's PR exploited the situation. Believed their BS which then lead to the X1 reveal and the DRM/resale policies.

[WickedLester]

Xbox has only ever been relevant in two territories, the UK and the US. The X1 hasn't "fallen off" like the article suggests. It's doing exactly what it's always done, which is sell well in the US and UK and not so well anywhere else. It's out pacing sales of the 360 so how can it be falling off? The PS4 is just selling at a historically unprecedented rate, even out pacing the PS2. The bottom line is X1 and PS4 are doing well. One doesn't have to fail in order for the other to succeed.

[hiawa23]

Well, the Xbox platform has been my console platform of choice for 3 generations straight, so this so called console wars well, there is not one in my home. Given the success of the PS1 PS2, and Sony's home country being in the Asian part of the world, there is just no way MS was going to overtake Sony globally. Given the circumstances, or reality, the Xbox is doing as well as I expect, and with the X1 being my console of choice over the PS4 and Wiiu, MS is doing fine as my tastes go.

[Tsunade]

The article is about the performance in general, not about your opinion.

In general, xbox consoles have always fallen short no matter if you as an individual think is doing good.

[LastcenuryRob]

He still is entitled to his opinion no matter what you think or how the article was written.

[corroios]

Launch
Price
bad PR and too much talk about DGPU, DX12, Cloud, ESRam, CPU
underpowered
Kinect
(Forza, Halo and Gears arent enough)
didnt come out a year before the PS4
rezgate

[LastcenuryRob]

MS has done a great job with the X1...EXCEPT its introduction! That will go down as one for the ages as what not to do! The E3 intro and the negative media it brought for many months after without question cost MS millions of units...where those consumers mostly went to Sony and the PS4. Can't change the past, but MS has done an almost flawless job the past two years with the MS, its features, updates and exclusives. I just hope MS remembers this gen when it is time to introduce the next gen in three years or so.

[ocelot07]

I don't think it is due to the Xbox One being a "bad" stystem. It's a good console. Sure the whole resolution thing and some games running better and or looking better on PS4 has a little bit to do with it.

Yes they had a really bad launch and I think this is mostly the reason people went with the PS4 over the XB1. But for me personally I think dropped the ball back in 2010 when they released the kinect.

As soon as they revealed that silly thing. It was all they banged on about for a few years. They also made it there main focus. They made a total of 12 (none kinect) exclusive titles. Of them 12 titles included 2 Gears Of war titles, 2 Halo titles, 2 Forza titles.

At the same time they released 42 kinect only titles. That is really bad in my opinion and around 2010/2011 is the time Sony really opened my eyes with there exclusives and I started using my PS3 a hell of a lot more than my 360. Due to the simply fact Sony seemed to be pumping out really good exclusives.

Between 2010 and 2013. Sony released 56 exclusive (none move) titles. Which included the likes of Uncharted 3, 2x Gran Turismo titles, Heavy Rain, Last Of Us, 2x God Of War titles, Little Big Planet 2 ect.

They also only brought out 20 PlayStation Move titles. This us the main reason I went with PS4 at the beginning of this generation.

Microsoft has sort of got back on track when it comes to exclusives. But most of them simply don't appeal to me. Forza games I like but again 3 in less than 2 years is way to much. Crackdown looks great. That is about it for me. Games like Dead Rising 3 I have on PC.

[Petebloodyonion]

Sight!
Do we ask where the PS3 or xbox 360 fall short?
Because none sold more compare to the WII.

It's the same thing here
MS is far from selling short and is selling better compare to the Xbox 360.

Is the PS4 selling better?
Of course

Does that mean that other should fold cause they aren't first (Steam, MS, Nintendo, Nvida, etc.)?
Of course not.

[BlitzKing]

In all honesty I think PS4 UI is boring and you can't customize it. I prefered Xbox because the exclusives intrigue me.