Xbox creator believes modern Xbox's "narrative around being more powerful is not helpful today”

Xbox creator Seamus Blackley speaks on the current marketing attempt to push the brand as the "most powerful" console available.

[ABizzel1]

It could be helpful only if the results actually show consistently across the board and has undeniable exclusive content to back it up. That hasn’t happened.

What has happened is the weaker platform of the two Xbox has outsold their high-end console allegedly 3:1, which paints the story that most Xbox gamers don’t care about performance. The concern, however, is if they give up the performance crown, then they basically give the battle to PlayStation for the 3rd party market/gamer for free.

They had a $299 console and a $499 console. But would only releasing a $399 Series SX console have worked any better for them, with it being 20% - 30% weaker in GPU performance than the PS5?

I don’t know, but getting off the same cycle as PlayStation like Nintendo did, would probably help Xbox find a healthier balance away from direct competition. Dropping AMD and going full Intel or NVIDIA could help Xbox develop its own software niches that could help them with hardware sales. Going more PC-Console like, will provide Xbox a niche for the family (Game & Work/School). They have a few areas to go hardware wise, the issue is what do they do about software and services now that they’re everywhere.

[Scissorman]

To your first point about the weaker console outselling the more powerful one, it really illustrates how badly MS misread its audience.

I believe folks like Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Aaron Greenberg, listened a little too closely to folks online who convinced them that having the most powerful console would somehow cause Sony's loyal install base to flock to Xbox consoles. They followed memes and influencers rather than the market. Phil Spencer rejoiced in an email when the PS5 specs were revealed, thinking that the Series X with its extra terra flops was going to be the deciding factor for the consumer, when in reality, the market had already abandoned Xbox previous generation. Xbox fans online slammed the PS5 for costing the same as a Series X while being a technically inferior machine. This sentiment is what MS execs were looking at. Now we see that not only did the general consumer not care about the slight power advantage the Series X had over the PS5, but Xbox's own audience settled for a cheaper, lower-spec machine, so the terra flops and spec comparisons didn't matter to them either.

[XBManiac]

They listened to their own navels and bank accounts, not the real world that would pay their bills. Where is the power advantage, when the real differences are VR, haptics, happy developers and marketing support? Xbox Series should have been far more powerfull to compensate and outperform PS5.

[Abear21]

They want Gamepass subs so a cheap console makes sense, making devs have parity in their games across their SKU’s does not make sense

[Profchaos]

It's also worth noting that during the PS4 era when Xbox was known as being weaker than the PS4 that caused some significant embarrassment internally and that drove the push to always have the most powerful system.

Although there's no modern console this time so they are in a weird position where they are going multi plat supporting a pro system while building next gen to leave gen 9 behind asap

[abstractel]

It doesn't matter if you have the most powerful console when you also release the weakest console in the generation, one that has held this whole generation back significantly. Had Microsoft released X only, I think we'd be seeing a much different picture today. They didn't, so Sony, despite their missteps this generation, outclassed Microsoft. Microsoft could have had such a different path because of the momentum they had with the Xbox360 where they capitalized on Sony's mistakes but chose instead to produce two generations of consoles that were inferior.

To suggest that their option is to try and do a Nintendo sounds bizarre to me. They don't have the nostalgia factor that Nintendo has. I don't think multi-platform is the way to go either for them if they want a successful console. What worries me is I think Microsoft will go somewhere in the middle for the next generation, more powerful than the Switch 2 but much less powerful than the PS6 which will hurt developers which in turn will be bad for everyone.

I hope I'm wrong.

[XBManiac]

4:1 (Xbox users care about money) They have now a $299 console with no disc drive option, a $349 console with no disc drive option, a $449 console with no disc drive option, a $499 console with disc drive, a $549 console with disc drive... against two models of PlayStation... Xbox is a mess.

[S2Killinit]

At this point they don’t have the most powerful console either, because that is PS5PRO. Seems like this article is a little late.

MS basically released their xbox Pro at the beginning of the gen, which leaves them where they are now.

[Eonjay]

So many different angles discussed here. The Xbox was marketed back in 2001 as the most powerful console and that was a part of its DNA and maketing approach; even being picked back up with the Xbox One X and was even part of the intial maketing for the Series X. Like Blackley suggested that approach can come back to bite you today as the cost of being the most powerful and the meaningful results are not really aligned. And even if they were, that cost is automatically reducing your potential market capacity. AI assisted tools like Frame Gen and Super Resolution are really going to remove any real utility from being the 'most powerful'.

I think this is really gonna help keep console prices in check going forward.

[XBManiac]

Xbox 360 was also the most powerfull console for a couple of years (and Xbox 360 games looked and played better than on PlayStation 3 for a while, as well as having experiences that were only on Xbox 360). All that was lost... and then came Xbox One... the end of Xbox started with Xbox One.

[jznrpg]

360 wasn’t more powerful it was easier to code for. Also those experiences that were Xbox only were bought and not made by MS and that’s why they are where they are at now. They didn’t come up with their own IP that gave them the know how to make great games. They paid for them and when XB1 wasn’t selling very well they had to pay even more to get exclusives which became less feasible.

[OlderGamer17]

I never forget the ridicoulus PR fraise..."its eating monsters for breakfast"🤗ԅ 13;🤗

[Knushwood Butt]

🍓

[Brazz]

It's about balance...
It needs Power, but also needs to be accessible in price, not too complex for production volume, the balance between profit/subsidy (incentivizing the purchase of the console) needs to be taken into account over time, etc.

Sony did better job with PS5 balancing all factors.

[XBManiac]

A console needs something that sell enough units to spark continued interest from developers and the rest of the industry, whether it's portability, power, unique experiences, community, or whatever else they manage to establish as a standard for the platform. Xbox Series has never had none of these things... Even the price has been ‘the same as the other option’ and now, on top of that, Xbox Series seems even more expensive.

[Abear21]

Sony ultimately made devs make two versions of their game (Pro and Reg) so it’s kinda the same.

Where M$ screwed up is their lesser version is literally holding the industry back.

[Popsicle]

Releasing a next gen console and then 4 years later releasing a more powerful mid-gen refresh of said next gen console is not the same as releasing a previous gen console at the exact same time as your next gen console and expecting them to achieve parity.

[XBManiac]

First Xbox was not only more powerful, but different (Hard Drive, hardware shaders, unified memory, LAN, etc.). The problem was the software, the price and the marketing team full of noobs and overrated people in the industry that thought the Microsoft name was enough to go in demanding of everyone without the slightest bit of humility. Xbox 360, the first 3 years, fixed many things... but 'The past always comes back and hits you harder' (Splinter)

[Abear21]

Moving to cloud—resolutions and framerate are subject to internet connection and vary wildly—so unless you have Series X and play local, which is in opposition to their business model right now, then resolution and framerate are going to suffer and should not be a priority to the Gamepass streamer.

[Charal]

It was especially not helpful to market at the same time for the most powerful console with X and the least powerful with the S and saying all games can be played on both.

[jznrpg]

It never was

[Ninver]

Well there's no point in claiming "most powerful console" when you don't have the games to back it up. It's that simple.

[Destiny1080]

phil stopped talking about power after the first 5 comparisons all went to playstation, xbox gamers were crying about needing to wait for the tools to be updated, pc gamers had there reality redefined, that 10 teraflops can outperform 12 teraflops

every aspect of the PS5 is a masterclass of engineering and i will include the controller and UI in that

[Reaper22_]

Masterclass of engineering?😆 nah, it's just a regular closed box piece of hardware.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

lol Seamus

[Profchaos]

He's absolutely right in the era the Xbox was bron graphics and the most powerful machine still mattered but after the PS4 it's felt largely negligible and the difference between the PlayStation and Xbox specifically has always come down to content available.

If you buy cod on PlayStation or Xbox today does it really matter than when you go through a door it drops 2 frames on a specific system.

Content is king and fidelity is clearly taking a beat seat it's still important but not as important as it once was

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Exclusives matter and imo always will.

[gold_drake]

its never helpful lol

people already dont like MS for reasons

[BlaqMagiq1]

And now Xbox can't even use that with the PS5 Pro in existence.

[LonDonE]

Exactly this, all the power in the world wont make the slightest difference without good quality consistently released games!! Nintendo has demonstrated this time and time again, they release under powered hardware but sell it at profit whilst the other 2 sell there consoles at a loss. What makes Nintendo money and moves units is the solid games.. no need for jaw dropping graphics.. just cold hard awesome playing bug free games.. If Microsoft only woke up and gave its customers consistent games they would move hardware, simple as.. but they don't seem to get this.

Sony has always done well due to its games.. this gen has been super strange with regards to great Sony first party ip but i feel that's more because they have no competition and are selling truck loads so no need to pee the third party off, let them release the games and Sony make a cut. If only Microsoft could wake the hell up but they wont so all xbox gamers should of moved onto pc by now..

[garos82]

the series X is only as powerful as the series S allows it to be

[Abear21]

If Rockstar can make GTA6 run halfway decent it will go a long way to helping Series S and Microsoft’s image as a whole. I don’t know if I’m more excited to play the game or to see how and if Rockstar can manage to pull off 4 great versions of the game (Series S/X and PS5/Pro) and what concessions will be made across those versions.