Microsoft Is Continuing Its Quiet Plan To End The Console War

Microsoft is continuing to push Xbox Live, not as the service used for online gaming on Xbox consoles, but rather something much larger.

[TopherMan]

"Microsoft is clearly still making hardware: we'll see the new consoles at E3 this year, and I don't think that we're going to see the end of hardware platforms or local computing in gaming anytime soon. "

"They've been converging for a while now, to the point where the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 play a broad swath of the same multiplatform games with relatively similar graphics, distinguished mostly by platform-level services and an array of exclusive games that don't ultimately make up a huge portion of the library."

Oh....is that why Microsoft bought those studios and invested in The Initiative?

So Microsoft is going to continue to make and sell consoles and continue to develop and sell games. Yeah.....all the earmarks of the console war ending. /s

[OB1Biker]

They really think we ll see the consoles this E3? I'm not sure about that.

[rainslacker]

At least they didn't bring a new war to the PC users with their Windows Store. Epic did, but MS seems to be so insignificant there, that they already put their games on Steam because no one wants to use their store. At least they're not making their games exclusive to their store for the most part. Maybe Epic took note of how when they were, they were still failing, and decided to try something different.

[sampsonon]

sony, please do not allow MS to infect your console.

[ILostMyMind]

Agreed so much with this.

[Traecy]

Co-sign your thoughts.

[krauley]

totally agree, if ms gets into the sony platforms i am done with gaming.

yeah im serious

[gam3r_4_lif3]

Please MS do this just so we can see the last from the toxic annoyace known as krauley

[krauley]

@gam3r_4_lif3 cool

[BioDead]

If this comes true I have to quit playing then, just becouse Microsoft will destroy the Playstation with all its shittines... maybe it is their plan "to end console war" after all? Secondly I don't understand why Xbox even exist? I always said I could by xbox if it has great games or exclusives, but it only got few and not worthy of buying a whole console. Microsoft is trying to win users by making the most powerful consoles, but what the hell you do with it without any games? And the cross-platform games on it are just slightly better looking/performing than on PS4.

I'm not a fanoboy of either companies, I'm fanboy of games and indie studios and only way to play them currently is with PS4. (And dont start to comment any list of xbox games since I know them already and 10 good games wont cut it versus PS4 library)

[gam3r_4_lif3]

About 1% or less of games are exclusives you idiots do now that right? If you had an x1x I would assume you would use it for the great MS exclusives and all multiplat games which run better look better and load faster on the X1X. But you toxic shitheads are not gamers so none of that matters to you

[BlackTar187]

I'm not gonna get into the whole not gamers yaddaYaddad

I will say if 1% is all exclusives makeup then damn, cause exclusive in that one percent make up a decent amount of the top 10-15 games on the console on PS consoles. They also make up a decent amount of the top 10-15 of a console generation.

[Platformgamer]

i agree 90%
i don't mind if gamepass goes on ps4 (and ps5), but instead of xbox live and achievments it works with ps plus and trophies.
then i can sell my xbox one S.

[rainslacker]

I doubt game pass will go on PS4/5. Sony can do that on their own with PSNow. If MS wants to put their games on PSNow, with ports, then I'm fine with that. They'd be required to have trophy support. MS can keep achievement support, but it's questionable if Sony would allow them to have so much XBL connectivity. It's not against compliance standards per say, as companies can run their own services through PS platforms, but Sony might make an exception to the extent by which they can access those services when it comes to MS. For instance, right now cross play may be prohibited.

[Dragonscale]

They won't. Ms have tried but Sony has too much sense thank god.

[Mr_Writer85]

Wow some proper fanboy drivel being typed here 😂

[yomfweeee]

They're ending it by becoming a non-factor?

[crazyCoconuts]

"seemed to pivot in a new direction: winning the console war by making it irrelevant.". First, that's not the definition of winning. Second, consoles are clearly not going to be irrelevant in the next 5 years. And becoming a dominant force on other company's mobile platforms is going to be no walk in the park. Not sure I'd summarize this as MS executing on some brilliant plan at this point...

[derek]

Does Forbes simply function as a mouthpiece for Microsoft?

[King_Noctis]

Because they write articles about MS among thousands other topics?

[S2Killinit]

They are moving quietly to end consoles. I’ve been saying this forever now.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

It's not their market to end HAHAHA, they're a bit player - making up the numbers. If they want to release updated STEAM machines every few years, more power them.

That's a sure way to failure, it would be like buying PC from Wal-Mart - better off building your own.

[chiefJohn117]

And we're still waiting and it hasn't happened yet lol (and it won't) you people don't get sick of repeating the same crap over and over? Been saying it for the past 10 years and gonna be saying it for the next 10 give it rest

[S2Killinit]

Ive actually been saying it ever since theyve made big movements toward that goal, so it hasnt been 10 years. But as to what type of company they are; ive had a bad feeling about them all along. Now, i can see that i was right.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

chiefJohn117 - Do you remember Lord Phil saying he wants an end to traditional console cycles?

10 yrs - another slight exaggeration there.

Are you aware or just ignorant to the fact ms has released more console variations this gen than new ips or what could be considered a true exclusive.

[chiefJohn117]

Lol releasing more consoles= ending consoles 😂 is this the twilight zone?
Help me understand
You say they're plan is to get rid of consoles they A. Confirm next gen consoles, B. Release a mid gen console just a year and a half ago and have committed to consoles.

Old boy in what world do you live in where any of this signals the end to consoles? This is the delusions I be talking about. Gonna be saying the same thing 10 years from now. Give it a rest already sound ridiculous. See ya at e3 while y'all continue your imaginary things I'll be playing halo infinite on the Xbox Anaconda as you act like the console doesn't exist and MS is scheming to remove all consoles from history.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

chiefJohn117 - I actually disagreed with that ya peanut. Ending console 'cycles' is not ending consoles. You lot really need everything spelt out for you.

You really aren't the brightest spark mate.

[chiefJohn117]

"They are moving quietly to end consoles"
Where TF does it say console cycles? See what I mean the imagery stuff these people come up with the main topic and OP is about ending console this fool talking about console cycles lol are you slow or just trying to change the subject cause you know yall have no argument. I'm guessing both

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

chiefJohn117 - S2 wrote that HAHAHA, THAT'S WHAT I DISAGREED WITH. If you read and understood my comment - I referenced a statement Lord Phil had made regarding ms not doing traditional console cycles anymore.

You seem to lack the basic cognitive dexterity to keep up. And I ain't no scholar myself.

The future is looking bright /s

[S2Killinit]

@chief
If you want to follow this company into the demise of consoles, by all means, but I for one am not following you there. The writting has been on the wall for quite some time, if you dont see it, that’s on you. They couldnt dominate consoles the way they wanted to, so instead of competing by making games, they are focusing on making consoles less and less relevant by focusing on PC, gaas, and services. If you told me that this was going to be MS’s report card at the beginning of the generation, I would have thought you were crazy. Can you imagine how underwhelming this generation would have been had Sony not continued to push for games? I hope MS fails miserably with their business strategy as they did this generation, otherwise they will drag console gaming into being just another way to buy services. Cable gaming.

[chiefJohn117]

Old boy your entire post is irrelevant. You responded to my comment about S2's. He's one of those people that been saying MS is gonna bring Doom and gloom for the past 10 years. Whether you you think it's a slight exaggeration is irrelevant cause there have been. Even if it wasn't 10 is still irrelevant to the point. Then you bring up more irrelevant stuff about mid gen consoles WTF DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE TOPIC OF THE CONVERSATION? it likes talking about jiffy getting rid of jars of peanut butter and bringing up jiffy coming out with new peanut butter candy lol like How TF is that relevant?

What is the point of your reply to me? And how is it relevant to me and S2 discuss about MS trying to stop consoles? 0 , ya you're definitely not a scholar that much is obvious

[S2Killinit]

@chief
Soon you will have the “option” to upgrade your service to the “premium” package. And if you want sports gaming you can get the EA sports bundle. If you sign up with a long term 2 year contract you will get a discount.

Then you will be here to tell us how great it is to have these options to play your services anywhere. Mark my words.

[S2Killinit]

You mean believe in whats happening right in front of me? Yeah, no joke. And why dont I blame others? Because they arent the ones who went a whole generation believing games werent all that integral to a successful console.

[chiefJohn117]

See that you was right based off an article? 😂

[chiefJohn117]

Tell me how are they cause the demise? Please tell me what they're doing Sony or Nintendo isn't? Old boy bringing up irrelevant random stuff acting like the Pro never existed or like it didn't come out before the X did. People hear Ms working on cloud gaming and yell "OH NO" the bat an eye at PsNow which was even on TVs!!! No console needed is on PC! like it's not the same thing lol. So what's their plan that will be the end to all our happy gaming Almighty foreseeing one? MS finally supporting THEIR W10 PC platform and that's Doom for there console? Gotcha, funny cause had halo not been on pc I wouldn't have even owned an Xbox but I gotcha. A bundle of game for a subscription soo basically what EA access, psnow, game fly, etc was already doing = them ending console? Make sense/s. Cloud gaming/ gaming on the go = them ending consoles. Smh

[chiefJohn117]

Seriously do you truly believe this stuff? And why don't you feel the same about other console makers doing the exact same thing?

[chiefJohn117]

And having the option so bad how? Wow I can go buy Madden and NBA live for $120 or I can sub for $30 and play both (plus many more games) for the year. OMG THE HORROR 😱 NOOOO WERE DOOM I get the option to save $90 and play a hundred other titles for the year and cancel anytime I want, gaming is dead somebody save us. Roflmao

Actually I will let you know how I'm enjoying the option. Gonna feel good to buy halo $60 then sub to Gamepass and get to try out the games I was sure of/ didn't want to spend a lot of money on and save hundreds doing it while you be buy anthem $60 wishing you never bought it when I got to play it practically free with hundred other games for under just $5 that I used reward points on 😆

[chiefJohn117]

Whatever man I'm done wasting my time on this paranoia propaganda.I have played over 50 games this gen and have spent under $500 total (could've been more games but simply don't have the time). Last gen I played around 25 and spend over $500 doing it. I'm perfectly happy with what this gen offered me and exciting for next gen as I believe both the ps5 and next Xbox will be even better. If you haven't enjoyed this gen and feel like you been ripped off or "the other guys" are ripping their customers off and trying to cause death to console gaming that's on you. If you feel like a $5 option to access a bundle of games is the end off gamong, thats on you. If you feel 1000s of games on a console magically don't exist that's on you. I feel like Woody trying to convince Buzz he's a toy lol. See ya 10 years from now

[ILostMyMind]

So will they release their "exclusives" on PS4 or what?

[RosweeSon]

Nope they don’t have any.

[Father__Merrin]

Can't wait for Microsoft to go mutiplat

[timotim]

They already are. Even if we just count PC and console...that is multiple platforms. Let's not forget that Minecraft is on every platform known to man and published by Microsoft, and that Xbox Live has already begun to show up on mobile devices...

How much more multiplatform do you want them to get? Sony platforms?

[RememberThe357]

"Sony platforms?"

No shit.

[rainslacker]

More than one game that started out being published by another company on another platform would be a good start. Given the discussion over cross play, I thought consoles were all that really mattered in terms of what people think about.

[fsfsxii]

I can't wait until i get to play gears on Playstation

[darthv72]

Does Xenogears count?

[fsfsxii]

RPGs suck anyway lol

[King_Noctis]

Then you’re gonna have to wait for a very long time if not eternity it seems.

[S2Killinit]

I dont think many people are waiting on gears anyway.

[Vanfernal]

Forbes...

[AllMightyFox]

must be easier than actually making games people want to play, cause I sure haven't seen Microsoft doing that !!!

[FallenAngel1984]

Making your self less of a factor isn’t ending the console war

[rainslacker]

It kind of is if they make themselves irrelevant. I mean, we'll still have Nintendo and Sony unless another party shows up, but even now, those two groups aren't at each others throats nearly as much as Sony vs. MS. MS like to make a lot of noise though. So even on the off chance they end the console war, or leave the console market, chances are they'll still try to push their wares on everyone regardless of if the consumer cares. Maybe it'll shift to PC more, then PC gamers get the joy of listening to MS talk about how awesome MS is. Somehow I doubt they're going to get a rabid following on PC like they did in the console space though. MS outside Xbox ,isn't really the most loved company, and they spent years pissing off PC gamers in all sorts of ways.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

ms is the new Sega? I dont think so.

[KillZallthebeast]

Usually its the people losing who want to find a quick end to a fight

[Rimeskeem]

Forbes..... I dont even bother reading anymore

[Uglyday]

Microsoft already ended the war at the start of this gen. They spend money trying to rewrite the history of their mistakes but seppuku ended this gen’s war long ago.

[terstomp]

Microsoft has learnt that there is easy high profits in subscriptions, hence the push for Xbox Live subscriptions.

[AnotherGamer]

didn't they kinda started it? I mean, pushing it hard years ago?

[NeoGamer232]

The console wars have been over for about 10 years now...

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will have been making consoles for at least two decades as of 2021. Anyone the thinks any of the three are going anywhere knows nothing about business.

For there to be a war, there has to be winners and losers. Currently, all three are winning in the console space and there are no losers.

[Stuart5756]

Let me guess, you is a XBOT!!!

[NeoGamer232]

My primary gaming device is XB for multi-platform games. I own almost every console released since 2005 and I play most of them. I have favourite games on all consoles.

[Stuart5756]

"Sega Enterprises' spectacular fall from grace during the course of the 1990s remains a tragic spectacle of overconfidence and woefully misguided business practice".

Sound familiar?

[Tross]

More like they’ve given up on winning.

[Sophisticated_Chap]

Thats right everyone, lets make love, not console wars. And while we're at it, maybe we can get Sony to stop censoring sexually explicit content :p

[Silly gameAr]

Fight the good fight my friend. Good luck to you and your friends that keep bringing that up. I wish you the best.

[AK91]

By not having a console anymore? Wait actually that does make sense.

[Flewid638]

The headline for this article should only mean "Games that rival what Sony normally makes will be shown by MS."

If you're not showing games, nothing else F'in matters.

[The7Reaper]

Funny how they didn't want peace during the PS3 and 360 era

[Tazzy]

I don't see Microsoft trying to end the console war that will never happen people keep track of console sales they won't stop I see Microsoft testing out how their games sell on other tech Cuphead has been a success on Switch.

[spambot0815]

Console wars are part of the entertainment, without them i would have no reason to give any attention to something xbox related.

[Platformgamer]

the only thing microsoft, and nintendo too, want is to destroy sony, not ending the console war.
that will never happen and both will kneel.
gamepass on playstation (without xbox live and achievments of course) and nintendo finally joining SEGA destiny will end the console war.

[Xavi4K]

Smart move from microsoft. Microsoft don’t really care about number of sales anymore that isn’t their business model anymore.

They care about subscription and games as a service where they want to distribute their games to every possible platform. Many rumors now suggest that they are cooking secret recipe that will allow xbox games to run on windows and no its not play anywhere titles the games they tested use xbox extension. So soon enough number of sold console will be irrelevant number of users of each echo system will determine the profit for each company.

Next generation should be exciting can’t wait to see what Microsoft got to show during this E3.

[william_cade]

Xbox as a console is fine, but there's nothing to do with it and now the shift to live streaming...they really hate making games.

[JesusBuiltmyHotrod]

lol

[CrimsonWing69]

Dude the war is what leads to the competition trying to outdo one another with exclusives. So, basically next gen is Sony going to steam roll Microsoft again?

Get over the whole, let’s just be friends. Actually make some exclusives that are better than Sony or at least on par.

[BlaqMagiq1]

By being the worst out of the three?

[Stuart5756]

'Lets not fight, lets be friends' said the weakling to the massive strong giant.

[bellome]

Microsoft Is Continuing Its Quiet Plan To End The Console War by becoming irrelevant in the console market.

You are doing great MS.

[Thundercat77]

Microsoft has never won a gaming Gen and Xbox is not a worldwide brand as Playstation so they are the least capable of ending a console war.

What a joke.

[Scatpants]

When you lose it you probably want it to end.

[bluefox755]

*Quietly back out of the console war.