Xbox Head: We Are Doubling Down On Gaming, Not Abandoning It

Earlier this week, DFC released a report stating that Microsoft’s E3 show this year was evidence that the company was on track to leave the console hardware business eventually, and that all of its announcements at E3 this year were indicative of this move. Even at the time, I found the report to be a bit odd, especially given that Microsoft had just announced two new consoles (including one directly in response to the criticism leveled at the Xbox One), as well as multiple new games in the pipeline.

[Mystogan]

That article saying that they're leaving consoles is pretty damn stupid. Anybody with half a brain after seeing that E3 conference would think that they're more invested in consoles than ever.

[Eidolon]

I think this writer doesn't understand the definition of a console, simply a device dedicated to playing video games, but Xbox is still more than that. But essentially, they're trying to bridge the gap between PC and console, it seems.. which I think is great. I would honestly rather buy a Scorpio than a PC with the same performance, and I would love for some major PC exclusives(mostly RTS and indie) to come to console with Dx12. It's actually great for MS at this point. PC is also going to be receiving some previously Xbox exclusives and MS is going to profit from PC only owners. Sure they might lose out on console hardware sales eventually, but software sales is where it matters.

Xbox will never outsell Playstation in hardware, but who the eff cares? If you want it, buy it, it's happening, don't go by sales. MS is basically, MAYBE(it seems), moving out of the business of exclusive console games, and if that IS the case, what will sell the consoles is just down to convenience and features, and Xbox has had that in the bag. Windows is heading towards the steamlined-ness of Xbox dashboard and features, but I think Xbox will always be steps ahead of PC as far as convenience. Same reason people would buy a streaming device over an equivalently priced PC with much better performance and capabilities, they just want to STREAM, and these devices make that easier and are dedicated to it.

@GameNameFame
Sounds to me like they're expanding PC and Xbox. Xbox is coming to PC, PC is coming to Xbox. Just giving consumers more options, no one can say how it will play out, but it has to be good, I'm thinking. You really think MS and Xbox are going down because of this?

[Riddler89]

I been wanting RTS games to come to console for some time but there fps crazy... hopefully we can see games like total war Come to Xbox in the future now

[TheCommentator]

Eidolon, I ddn't think the writer understands anything. It wasn't even Phil who said MS was doubling down on gaming. It was that Deacon fellow that Phil was tweeting with at the time.

Come on, Gamingbolt, can't you even report accurate information based off of a few simple tweets anymore?

[Kleptic]

The big question with scorpio remains how the 'service' works exactly. Will it be a traditional Xbox with it's own OS/dashboard, XBL, etc. Or will it be almost a steam machine type thing for the win 10 game/app store? It's unlikely to be a full PC, as in, I highly doubt scorpio will be able to access other distribution services like Steam, Battlenet, Origin, etc., but I also don't think it's going to be another 'xbox console' in the sense of what the first 3 were.

There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding that. Xbox exclusives are over...everything is coming to the win 10 store, too...but what about XBL? How is MS going to keep console users behind a paywall but let win 10 users open? They have zero chance getting anywhere if they try GFWL again, where PC users basically buy in to XBL...but I also can't see them letting one group play the same game online for free, while charging the other...nor can I fathom them dropping users costs for XBL on Xbox one and/or scorpio (although, that would be disruptive enough that they just may try it)

It's all just a really odd situation...I've said it a few times; this is definitely the weirdest generation i've ever watched unfold...

[ONESHOTV2]

Kleptic--- everything made sense until you reached the second half. let me ask you do you own a crystal ball can you see into the future ? i dont get you people sometimes why talk about things you know nothing about i'm no fanboy but i had to get that out.

now to your exclusive argument i dont want to repeat this but you do know MS owns windows plus it's store right so i want to ask you what exclusives is MS losing when they release their games on a platform they own ? if their games were on steam that would be a different story but that's not how it is .

just put this into your brain MS is making money either way if you buy your games on the xone or windows store they are not losing any profits. i guess you can't please everyone if you dont want to support the devs that create the games then dont buy it no one is holding a gun to your head. i'm asking some of you loyalist to just calm down and look at the bigger picture i shouldn't have to tell you guys what to look for.

[GameNameFame]

"You really think MS and Xbox are going down because of this? "

Who said anything about MS going down? Jeez. Rhetoric here is just amazing...

You guys are talking about a same concept as SteamBox. Same product so many xbox fans has ripped on and scoffed at. MS has essentially left console market. MS just slashed value of owning a Xbox One. Xbox fans changing the meaningless goal post really dont help either.

@Eidolon

Lol. You are the prime example.Do you understand how Xbox makes its money?? It takes cut of third party revenues. MS dont get revenue for "bridging the gap between PC and console". First party exclusives are never major source of profit for consoles either.

It is always third party revenue cut. If MS is incentivizing more people to get PC over Xbox, then they LOST REVENUE. MS gets no cut of third party revenue of PC. So if your new goal post is somehow "more revenue for Xbox" it is dead dead dead wrong.

@ONESHOTV2

"just put this into your brain MS is making money either way if you buy your games on the xone or windows store they are not losing any profits."

Is that what you tell yourself to go to sleep? Exclusives are never significant source of profit for console makers. The real money always came at revenue cut from third party developer.

Guess what MS gets ZERO of that on PC. So yea. MS do lose money on Xbox.

Instead of blaming "loyalists". You really need to take your head out of the sand

[Eidolon]

You should work for MS and feed them your knowledge, GameNameFame.

Steam Machines was same shit, smaller form factor, it did not provide the convenience and standard features of a console. Xbox One and PS4 also provided equivalent performance for cheaper.

[GameNameFame]

@eidolon

MS already knows what they are doing. they are stepping on xbox to get leg up on windows 10.

If you listen to actual MS conference call, you would know MS is doing everything to push windows 10 at cost at anything.

[Eidolon]

Oh, so that's why they're releasing 2 new Xbox consoles! How is that helping Windows 10, though? I don't get it..

[GameNameFame]

@eidolon

Lolol. Just like steambox!

Also, did I say MS is ONLY doing things that helps windows 10? Lol. Those are unrelated items

[BattleAxe]

@Eidolon

"I would love for some major PC exclusives(mostly RTS and indie) to come to console with Dx12"

Great post! I agree, and I think that we could see cutting edge PC games, that may not be able to run with less than 6Tflops of processing power, end up as possible console exclusives on Xbox Scorpio.

[Kleptic]

@ONESHOTV2, was that a reply to me, or someone else?

the Xbox One, or any xbox console, does not have exclusives any more...EVERYTHING is coming to windows 10 users on PC that have windows 10. Are you saying otherwise? I didn't say they were losing exclusives, and I pointed out that these games are coming only to a controlled windows 10 store, not steam...that comment had nothing to do with whether or not MS makes money 'either way'...This was, what MS considered, to be the most important bullet point of E3 along with scorpio...

this is a discussion about the future of MS and specifically closed Xbox hardware...there is pretty clear writing splattered all over entire buildings, let alone walls, that it's more questionable than ever...

@gamenamefame

yes...3rd party software sales make a majority of profits for console makers...this was never the case for PC gaming, though. PC games were no different than any form of windows software. There was a license fee for using the windows logo in advertising, and some other costs depending on how the software was distributed...but windows has always been the android of desktop OS's...Its mostly open, but with a bit of policing, and the advantage of 1st party software development generally fuels the user base...

this windows 10 store is different...This will probably be treated as a gaming environment were MS does get a cut of sales through royalties per sale, but also covers distribution bandwidth, etc. which is what Steam does....both of which are more in line with console business models than traditional disc based PC gaming. Back to the windows/android example; anyone can make software for either...but you have two choices...distribute it yourself...or let them do it...for android you have to agree to some royalty payments and fees to be loaded into the play store...and I bet this windows 10 store works almost the exact same way...

anyway, xbox is spreading out to work on more than a single console each generation...This is all a move towards a service, and less a tightly closed and controlled hardware/software suite...and honestly, it's about time...

[Eidolon]

IDK what you're arguing here, of course they're pushing Windows 10, they're also heavily pushing their gaming platform(software and hardware), Xbox.

[GameNameFame]

@Kleptic

"for android you have to agree to some royalty payments and fees to be loaded into the play store...and I bet this windows 10 store works almost the exact same way... "

Wrong analogy here.

1. Distribution is NOT same as platform. Xbox takes cut on for distribution AND platform royalty. Platform royalty is where the money was at. There is no platform royalty on PC.

2. Most third party games wont even be available on Window store. Ever. Because EA, ubisoft has their own stores.

3. Most people dont even shop on Window store to begin with.

Don't try to substitute distribution fee for platform royalty. Completely different things. Also, Spencer said he is working with Steam to bring the Xbox games. So there is that too.

[Eidolon]

If consumers want an Xbox/MS exclusives, they will 1) buy it on the Xbox store on PC, or 2) buy an Xbox and buy it on Xbox store. MS striking a deal with Steam to distribute Xbox/MS games could be good for MS and Steam, like you said, no one shops the WINDOWS store, but what about Xbox Store?

[GameNameFame]

@Eidon

Except first party games is not where Xbox division ever brought most profit on. Most of the profit is on third party revenue cut (platform royalty).

So less consumer buys Xbox and buys PC instead, MS has missed out on all the future game purchase royalty they wouldve had on Xbox.

No one is saying this is bad for MS. It is just bad for Xbox division, but good for MS( they have a long term goal that isnt really gaming related).

[starchild]

@GameNameFame

Microsoft having their games on both Windows and Xbox won't have the effect you think it will. PC and Xbox have always shared a lot of exclusives going all the way back to the original Xbox. Games like Halo, Halo 2, Chronicles of Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay, Jade Empire, Half Life 2 and Knights of the Old Republic were some of the Xbox's most defining games, but they were also found on PC. There are plenty of examples from the 360 generation too. But none of this stopped millions of people from choosing to game on Xbox consoles instead. Do you really think a few more Microsoft exclusives a year is suddenly going to cause a mass exodus of console gamers to PC? If you do, please come back to reality.

And as for all that wonderful third party revenue you are talking about, I hope you realize that if a mass migration of console gamers to PC did occur it would be just as damaging to Sony. Once all these console gamers switch to PC they are generally also going to be playing their third party multiplats on PC too, which means that Sony's consoles would basically become boxes to play exclusives on. Sony would lose all that third party licensing revenue and their business would no longer be sustainable.

Luckily for Sony, Microsoft and gamers none of that will happen. Most console gamers will continue to game on console and won't care what is or isn't available on PC.

[Eidolon]

Also, you say windows Store... they're integrating Xbox and Windows.. I look at the Xbox store and there is tons of EA and ubisoft games.

[Kleptic]

GameNameFame:

I agree it wasn't the best analogy, but I should've mentioned I was more speaking on how the windows store would function as a distribution service only...not a 'platform'...It's kind of a given that a windows OS can't function as a closed gaming platform, or if attempted, would be rejected...only that software can be linked to a certain dist. channel.

As far as 3rd parties...I would never jump to conclusions on that...

Steam is the PC distribution gatekeeper...EA, Ubi, etc. do have their own channels, but there is no argument that they're all struggling to compete against Steam on their own...

EA and MS already have working distribution relationships...Early Access or w/e they call it, etc. I don't find it it that unlikely that 3rd parties opt in to a linked situation between xbox consoles and win 10 store as an all encompassing thing. It's not like the win 10 store couldn't eventually have simple plug ins or something that then launch an origin client to buy/play a specific EA game...I just mean Steam is the one they're all after...I have little doubt MS has been money-hatting as many 3rd party pubs as they can over the past year...I mean Peter Moore runs EA now, he used to run Xbox...I promise something is cooking on the win 10 store and 3rd party offering side...trades with azure and some EA content being available on win 10 store and not just origin is far from unlikely...

[thekhurg]

They're leaving the traditional console industry and instead going to an ecosystem format. They've realized they can't compete with the main players and have shifted their focus.

[UltimateMaster]

How about releasing games only on Xbox One?
That'll eventually give people a reason to pick up the console.
And it will stop insulting your Xbox Only fanbase. They are getting ripped apart by the PC fanboys.

[freshslicepizza]

i have a little secret to share. there is a small group out there that are very vocal about xbox and want the divsion gone. they will regurgitate such nonsense that ms stakeholders want them to drop the xbox but in reality it was only one guy who no longer works for them. they also implied there would be no other console after xbox one. my how things come crashing down on them.

microsoft also had doubters claiming they would do the same half assed attempt they did many years ago supporting the pc. now they are eating crow but likely taking the lead on the forums now that microsoft just killed the xbox brand.

so instead of being happy microsoft just opened up more options to play their games on the rhetoric is still stuck on what microsoft is doing wrong. ironic isn't it?

[GameNameFame]

@starchild

So you are referring to time period (Original Xbox) when Xbox and PC shared games?

You do know that Original Xbox did poorly in sales. It was the Xbox 360 who started to have its own exclusive that did very well.

So your own example proves you wrong. Not to mention the fact that, you are basically stating games have no effect on console sales. You do know it is "gaming" console. Ofc games or exclusive games have huge role in it.

[rainslacker]

The money will come by making the Windows store the only place to download software for the console itself. This is why Steam will never come to the console itself, because MS would make no money doing so. Licensing fees could be waived, although compliance will likely still be required, if MS can just make the money off the sale of the software, just like Steam makes it's cut off the sale of software.

This is in fact is the exact direction that MS is trying to go with WIndows 10 itself instead of relying on the sale of the OS which can be hit or miss between releases. They are giving away Windows for free, because they want to try and make UWP/Windows store more of a thing, in order to capitalize where the is an ongoing revenue stream over a OS purchase every 2-3 years. This model has been extremely successful for their two biggest competitors, Google and Apple, and it's plainly obvious that MS is headed in the same direction if you take off the fan boy blinders and look outside the console market.

In no way is MS going to lose money from software sales, and the licensing is not as much revenue as the actual sale of the game digitally(MS gets an added cut on top of licensing for digital purchases). MS is going to try and leverage the fact they have a console pretense, as well as a PC store front, to give themselves a larger potential userbase for publishers to release to.

However, going forward, for this to work, it would mean that the console itself will basically be a closed PC environment with compliance standards. SteamOS was a little more loose in how it worked, as it was licensed to hardware vendors. If MS goes that route, which I think they might in the future, then it will work exactly like SteamOS, and MS will finally not bother with the hardware itself, while reaping the benefits of the Xbox branded closed PC through licensing hardware standards, and significantly lower the resources required to release a console. Scorpio is just the first step to achieve that goal IMO, because if they tried to do it the same way as SteamBox, they'd fail.

I said a while back this was a possibility, and all this Scorpio/Win10 talk just makes me double down on that belief. MS isn't abandoning gaming. They are abandoning the hardware. They are just taking the long road to make sure it's a successful shift. People will disagree, but time will be the ultimate judge, so I don't really care. To much evidence of this track outside the Xbox brand itself, and all I see MS doing is leveraging the Xbox brand in order to promote Windows 10, not using Windows 10 to promote gaming.

[freshslicepizza]

@rainslacker

i agree with most of what you said but i am not so sure microsoft will abandon the hardware. yes most money is made on software and services and yes hardware is low-margin profits to them but they have a long long ways to go to compete and offer a worthwhile alternative to pc gamers from stores like steam and gog. their only leverage right now is their exclusive games that won't be coming to alternative stores and xbox live accounts which ties all of your history. how this will work on the pc is beyond me since they tried and failed miserably charging pc gamers to use xbox live.

which means to me they will continue to leverage and market the xbox as a more afforable entry point as opposed to pc gaming in a closed environment to keep console gamers happy.

[Gaming_Cousin]

I feel that they are more invested in Windows 10 than consoles. Hell they even force the updates on you

[Kleptic]

not trying to sound like a dick...but:

you're saying they 'almost' care more about what makes like 98% of their profits? I think the Sony vs. MS rivalry around this site has some forget that both corporations are in very different financial situations...Playstation is Sony's life line...it's literally helped hold them out of the gutter for over a decade...and is absolutely critical to its survival...

but MS? Xbox isn't even close to important, and has been deemed a waste of time on the business side of things...shareholders have been asking for its head since inception, and my guess is this win 10 integration is the cleanest way to go about it.

[GameNameFame]

@Kleptic

Exactly, MS is willing to step on Xbox, so that Windows 10 becomes more successful.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I don't disagree, but why should they?

W10 is still something they use to make money.

XB is still used to make money.

Why should they "invest" more into consoles when they can merely just do both?

Will investing MORE in console help MS as a company?

I support them going PC as it makes 100% sense to do so.

Large install base, MOST gamers FACTUALLY buy consoles to play 3rd party games

Software makes more money then hardware etc.

They made the right call doing this. Folks might feel burned, but they are not funding XB, their damn jobs are NOT on the line.

XB is still getting games by MS, maybe no longer exclusively, but that is pretty much irrelevant to MOST consumers. If you want to buy XB to play Halo, you can still do so.

Someone playing it on PC won't kill someone else.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Gaming Cousin- "Exactly, MS is willing to step on Xbox, so that Windows 10 becomes more successful"

? Nope. MS is merely not cannibalizing software sales to ONLY move XB when they can move that software for W10 too.

You can buy for XB or you can buy for PC.

If you see that as "step on Xbox" then so be it, but the goal for MS is to MAKE MONEY, not just ONLY release stuff for XB. It makes zero sense.

The damn money is going in the same pocket bud.