I'm gonna guess she has not used AI at least twice a day for at least an hour, which got her fired.
Honestly, what actually surprised me is that they didn't use to have COO. HTF did they manage to get anything done?

@FraserG @Sol4ris there is a difference between wanting to save a studio and being legally forced to "try" to do so. It's incredibly hard to prove a party hasn't tried to do what's within their best effort.

Looking from the sides and listening to Union talk, it doesn't seem like MS is interested in saving the studio, they are happy to just ride out the commitment. Which is fine enough, within their right and business-wise might even be a smart move. Let's just not pretend like MS is gonna come in and save the day now, if they wanted to do that they would have done it as soon as 90 days started to count down.

That is going to be one tough ROI conversation...

I'm quite sure her public statements have been written by AI. One can literally see the pattern, when previous "we'll be saved by" decision falls out of context, and new contradicting one takes center stage.
Then comes the reconciliation phase, when you make a stupid blanket statement that somehow keeps both without truly backing either.

Very unfortunate.. many weird decisions were made with Hellblade 2 which I feel brought us here. That experiment was barely a video game, and it's hard to sell whatever it was they were building.

Funnily enough, I feel like Resonance: A Plague Tale was doing what Hellblade 2 should have been much better. And Senua looked like it would have gone in that direction too. Oh well, hopefully they all land on their feet and maybe even get to build spiritual successor under a different name..

@pepsilover2008 probably. Also, swaping is not a "new" technique, it's been around since forever but didn't make practical sense in these scenarios due to slow HDD.
Modern drives indeed make it more interesting. One would expect PS5 to benefit even more from such process.

I'd say it is a significant improvement, as seeing it in action - perceived image is much more stable. So, discarding QSSR as unimportant is copium in my opinion. But, I'm sure MS will come up with their own version soon, as this console generation has been quite equal when it comes to graphic capabilities evolution.

Eh, not a great name.. or at least I need to get used to it. Reminds me of the Mythic Quest and all the absurdity (or reality) of the situation.
However, I don't really care about trophies, achievements or any of that c*ap, I'm here to play.

@FraserG to be fair, it's more like they are exchanging blows trying to outfail each other than it being Xbox by default.. but it made me grin

Not a huge GTA fan, so I'll only get Zelda day one, and monitor GTA sales and reviews.. But Nintendo games typically have unreasonably healthy long term sales that don't really fall of the cliff after week one, so I wouldn't necessarily say GTA release date matters that much. It's gonna sell like hotcakes regardless, year after release it'll probably still be on top 10 monthly sales list.

Interesting how many people were calling Cloud gaming such an advantage and benefit over last couple of years.. for the actual usage numbers to literally obliterate that assumption and prove it to be just marketing hype and a curious oddity.

@Schonks I don't want to be rude, but whomever finds it challenging (or not plug and play enough) to install an NVME in PS5, has some serious challenges surviving in year 2026. It takes more steps to make a morning coffee using a classic espresso machine. I truly believe that is beyond the "it's not the process, it's you" point.
And nobody will ever convince me a proprietary closed ecosystem format is better than an open multipurpose and common format of same performance.

@oopsiezz yes and no, PS5 2TB drive will still cost you 250$ or similar. Way more for premium brands. That is currnt state of the market unfortunately.

However I did get a lesser-known brand 1 TB drive that is still alive and well for 135$ back in 2021. That shows Sony's decision was sound IF memory and storage market hasn't gone to... and prices continued to drop naturally as they historically did.

I'm sure other consoles will eventually increase in price, but right now you would be crazy to buy an Xbox..
Surely they can't be thinking somebody will actually pay that much for a 6-year-old console?

Literally nobody asked about my two cents, but I'll give them regardless

Sharma has not been leading Xbox nearly long enough to be able to either succeed or fail. She is most likely at the stage where she is finishing assessing the real and deeper state of Xbox (whatever good or bad that might mean).
Everything she is currently saying is just internal and external PR, and she is not doing that great in my opinion. Through a long career, I have worked with many leaders, the worst of whom used acronyms and catchphrases to sell quarterly/yearly targets. However, none of that still means anything. It's a "feeling" based on historical evidence. What she actually does in the next year is going to determine if Xbox does well or poorly.
Her one externally visible move of firing and/or releasing thousands of employees adds to scepticism. It's undeniable that Xbox had some excessive weight, but she struck at Studios that actually made MS Games interesting.

For people saying at least no studios were shut down.. that is one way to look at it. The other is 4 studios were effectively taken off their problem list and MS sold off their assets and IP to investors that may or may not keep employees. Changing ownership and investors is very close to starting a new company as processes and communication channels inevitably modify. At the same time, those same employees don't fall into category of 3200 fired by MS.

Wth is going on, Switch 2 is same price as a cheaper version of Series S. That is no bueno.

@awp69 well, well, well..
Pretty sure it became a "mistake" after the backlash. Negative PR can't be fully nullified, but at least they are trying to control it

I see they decided to make new Halo an exclusive.. cause ain't nobody buying this game when offline mode requires 2 online subs
It's going to be really sad if studio ends up paying for this strategy with their jobs, as it seems to be a standard at MS these days.

"They need to find the Miyamotos, Tezukas, Sakurais, etc."

Not that easy to find one of those.. especially if you're not trying.
I don't want to tell anybody how to do their job, but neither of those guys would probably get a job in a modern Western company in year of our lord 2026. Which is exactly why on the opposite side of the spectrum Nintendo is thriving with a second generation of a mid tablet, while everybody else is fighting bankruptcy.

One just loves to see accountability margin.. I'm sure those are moral boosters.

Very interesting, they literally got away with the robbery.

I'm starting to like Asha more and more. She's really pushing to shorten the feedback loop and adjust business FAST.
However, Kojima I'm becoming certain wouldn't be the most favorite colleague amongst peers

New boss making changes FAST! I like it and do believe not many people are still interested in CoD.
However, as always,, same people applauding GP value when CoD was added are now celebrating it's removal online..

Just wanted to give my appreciation for the 6 months review. We really need more of these, as how we use devices evolves over time and occasionally people get surprised about unexpected usefulness.
I don't own an Ally, but as a Switch 2 user I find the main point spot on: you get used to the hardware and adapt. And then it becomes a non-issue.

@ilyn it's mindblowing to think about. There was a moment in time where we freely abandoned our freedom to not be bombarded by ads IN OUR OWN PROPERTY, basically for free. And the whole thing barely registered, we as users did it silently.. (not just an Xbox thing,)

@Rowleyfan2001 maybe, maybe not. It's a project based contract, you are hired to work on a product that has a start and eventual end date. Definitely should be compensated compared to traditional long-term employment, but everybody accepting a work on an upcoming live service game should have known what they were signing up for.

Damn, I just lost so many Xboxes at once due to no fault of my own.. what if I bought a TV because it was an Xbox?
Worst. Campaign. Ever.

I miss the days (arguably Nintendo is sort of still there) when these announcements were "more games, better, now" instead of all this modern PR newspeak.
Nothing against the Project Helix, I just wish gaming went back to being fun and simple.

Announcing the new console on a random Thursday.. okey dokey.
Not for me, bought a decent new PC recently (just in time before the RAMageddon), but good luck to them.

@themightyant library I feel is a big part of consumer decision making process for the next gen. However, MS has done a full generation of desentivising building a personal library through GP, which makes it much easier for users to jump ship from Xbox vs. other way around. This might bite them in the end.

Use Copilot to write and pad your resume, as you'll soon be needing it. Exit strategy is key

So.. at first I skipped the full interview because in general I don't always agree with everything Seamus says.
However, I got back to it today. Damn, I feel like he's spot on, very good take!

This is an Xbox campaign would have killed any brand, let alone already struggling one. It's not just failing to chase the customer of tomorrow, but also ultimately not having anything special to offer (much of MS cloud offering in the space is actually worse compared to competitors).

Valve should offer Phil a job.. or maybe Nintendo.

To be an intern paid to pad her gaming resume..
Seriously though, she does not have to be a huge gamer to be a good leader. Familiarization and domain understanding is enough, addiction is not a requirement.
Reggie is a great example, as I think he proves it's not about being most active gamer, it's about understanding what you are leading, selling, to whom, and what's the "unique catch" (aka. where your value truly is).

@betterthings that literally doesn't make sense. That line can only be conjured by forcing AI to use expression ray trace in your public speech/message, because you think that makes you sound like you know something about gaming. RT has probably been mentioned around the office no other explanation I can think of, honestly.

I've said this about Asha's message elsewhere, but it mirror's Satya's.. this crap is being generated by AI.. that's how soulless and meaningful these statements are

So this might not end up being a year of the xbox, brand has been stronger, and nextbox maybe ain't biggest technical leap in the history of console gaming?
On a serious note, never thought Phil was the most competent leader, he was often insincere and manipulative in public messaging.. but at least he had personality.

@Exerion76 you unfortunately have an unclear understanding of the situation. This is not about regular user protesting and voting with their wallet. As many of RAM chips as can be produced, they are already sold. It's about consumers trying to pay as much as AI bross can, to compete and get scraps to open market. Not buying won't impact producers, they are already maxing out their output.

P.S.
On topic, it's not easy to explain away a 1150USD handheld purchase. What are they thinking, my quite decent desktop PC cost 1050 euro during BF2025 (9060XT 16GB, 32GB DDR5 system).

@Gabrie I find this to be very mature take!
@fatpunkslim whatever MS might say, in practice they are still pushing AI too much, to a point of seriously jeopardizing quality and end user satisfaction with their products and services. By doing so they are risking way more than just money they pumped in, they are risking user confidence which is a long and gruesome process to rebuild.

I don't find this to be at least surprising. However, if service tiers allow that, I can see a future where GP get's PC version of these games, but not Xbox console version (install base is seriously shrinking).
Just my 2 cents.

I gave this game zero chance of success, and it seems it defied the odds and I was in the wrong. Good for the team (which has some bangers in their CV). I'll give it a go

@CallMeDuraSouka and the trophy for the most appropriate profile picture for the message thread goes to.... just awesome

@FraserG I'd argue due to the nature of the game (and content) GTA 6 will not win GOTY. It's very obvious GTA will be a hit and a joy to play (took their sweet time polishing), but my money is on GOTY being a safe established decent to everybody awesome to no one game.

Only game I was interested in before and after the direct.. looks very good.

Great 3-month review! Very often this is exactly info missing, past initial impressions if and how has device become the part of reviewers day-to-day. Good stuff.
Personally, I also tend to forget these handhelds can genuinely be a usable PC for majority of the users. Not everybody requires a workstation, and for a LOT of workflows they are just as good as a docked laptop.

Year of the Xbox, and it's the first one I'm totally ok with experiencing through PS5 and PC.
But seriously, it's shaping up to be an amazing lineup.

Going by this poll, people seem to have too much money. No other explanation for the results...

@Brigurugi this! GT7 is so much better for just being loved by it's players. Wonderful game indeed, every design decision in game has been made for the love of cars and that translates to player community too.
Unusually low percentage of people with "problems" trying to solve them through online bullying and general douchiness.