I mean, this is nothing but wishful thinking (mine included), I think we all expected Xbox to be the first digital-only platform as they’re much better positioned to do so and Sony only beat them to it.
But remember Sony is one of the makers and creator of Blu-Ray discs, if they’re abandoning their own market that means the cost for Xbox to have a drive and keep producing discs next-gen just went up, and seeing how Xbox is currently all about cost-cutting physical games are truly over for both platforms.
@Questionable_Duck Can’t you read into some sarcasm? Some have literally used the exact same phrases in a not sarcastic way lol
And I never said Game Pass is the sole cause for all this mayhem, but rather yet another mismanagement that failed to deliver on MS execs expectations, they bought most of the studios they’ll close on the basis of having consistent content on Game Pass but games weren’t consistent nor appealing for the most part of the service’s audience.
They seem addicted to lie, why making a statement they’re not reducing their investment in gaming when they’re about to have the biggest cuts ever for their gaming division?
@fatpunkslim I do agree there’s a big chunk of fanboys from other brands that will make up anything to try and picture Xbox worse than it actually is, but this whole situation is not just a rumor, Asha herself said tough decisions are coming (corporate speak for layoffs) and there’s been more than one credible sources that this is one of the studios at risk of closure (and there’s plenty of reasons for that tbh) so to still claim that the people looking for a job are not being laid off but rather ‘leaving the studio’ and nothing else is happening it’s either disingenuous or extremely naive.
Not all criticism is about dramatizing, I remember being called out of being “dramatic” for saying that becoming multiplatform would irreparably damage the brand and look were we are, I remember all your comments still trying to deny what was going on to ending up justifying it and later on flip-flop again and championing exclusives, that’s were my criticism is aimed at, it’s not the first time you and others faithful to the brand do all sorts of backflips to either deny and later justify whatever Microsoft does, and perhaps, just perhaps, if we’ve had been louder in criticizing all of Phil’s questionable decisions we wouldn’t be here discussing people losing their job.
And I’ve said many, many, times in all 3 websites, one brand’s mistakes or failures doesn’t justify the others, I’ve had my fair share of issues with both users and authors on the ‘Push website’, there’s blatant fanboy behavior from the staff there and as you can expect they don’t like being called out, last week they were gloating on Xbox layoffs, now they’re justifying Bungie’s, a few months ago they were gloating on Sony abandoning PC ports but last month they’ve been crying about Xbox keeping some exclusives.
I’m tired boss. Our entire hobby is becoming unsustainable before our eyes, $800 for a Series X is completely mental, and this will only get worse as younger generations are priced out of console/PC gaming altogether, audience will keep shrinking and companies will continue to hike prices in an attempt to maintain the same revenue.
@Questionable_Duck I really don’t think that’s any indication, Phil wasn’t always an advocate for being multiplatform, if anything he repeatedly promised a lineup of exclusive games from 2013 to 2024 and I still think his hand was forced on this matter by Microsoft higher ups (ahem Satya) and only now they’re seeing how much it hurt the brand and are attempting to reverse course with a new face being Asha.
I do agree that all we can do is wait and see what their actions truly are, I wouldn’t go to make any claims regarding the brand for the next few months, I feel everything is on the table and this new vision will be very different to anything of the previous 25 years, if that’s better or worse remain to be seen.
@Questionable_Duck So the difference is that Asha promised it instead of Phil?
At this point Microsoft statements’ don’t hold any value, regardless of the spokesperson, look at Aaron Greenberg claiming it wasn’t a last minute move to cancel PS5 version even when the official trailer with the logo leaked out, that’s why I insist its ridiculous to rally behind these statements and claim “Hey I told you so, they’re exclusives!”, and worst those claims coming from the very same people who not long ago were claiming nonsense like being multiplatform was ‘the right path’ for Xbox and the brand was ‘healthier than ever’.
My personal stance has always been that Xbox needed exclusives and disagreed heavily even with the “only 4 games” so I ultimately feel this is a good move but it’s also coming way too late, wouldn’t surprise me really if they pivot yet again if Helix isn’t successful enough for their metrics or whatever Satya’s new itch is.
@RBRTMNZ Ever since the “only 4 games were announced” the brand is facing an unstoppable spiral of death, many of us warned it the day it was confirmed and we were called other brand’s fanboys, and now that reality is setting in the ones who defended and excused this multiplatform pivot now prefer turning deaf ears and blind eyes to all this situation until it’s “confirmed”.
We don’t need MS execs to confirm this will be the biggest cuts Xbox has ever seen, it’s painfully obvious this is a make or break moment for Xbox overall, and I insist, it didn’t have to be this way if only they sticked to one plan across the entire generation instead of pivoting time and time again, and no one should’ve defended Xbox giving up exclusives to the point of releasing Halo, Gears and Forza on PlayStation, that’s to me the pivotal moment Xbox lost its way and yet many here defended it avidly.
I understand the pitch and I’d rather see the studio being independent or with another owner than closed, but it’s just such a misleading thing to do, showing a game to fans fully knowing they’re about to divest/close the studio without any certainty the game will ever actually exist.
And they opened yet another Pandora’s box, now with every showcase or trailer we’ve got to question if the game we’re seeing is meant for us or it’s a pitch to sell the studio, shame how they already tainted an otherwise very good Showcase.
@ILuvGames It’s sad that many don’t see it this way, there’s a fine line between being hopeful for the brand and having toxic positivity labeling everyone who thinks differently as another brand’s fanboy.
Many turn deaf ears to this but we should’ve been louder in questioning Game Pass profitability and long-term sustainability, we should have questioned Phil Spencer’s decisions way more harshly, and no one, no one, should’ve excused or defended the multiplatform pivot to see them release Halo, Gears and Forza on PlayStation, but again, I remember all the comments here defending the pivot even claiming delusions as PS players ‘financing’ the games for being on Game Pass for Xbox players, and the same people who called me a fanboy back then when I said this would be an unstoppable spiral of death for the brand are now mad that many of us don’t trust a yet another promise…
To be clear I don’t believe this “rumor” and while being too little too late I do believe having some exclusives is the right move, but I pose a very simple question, how is this any different from 2022-2023’s promises that Starfield would be an Xbox exclusive?
@McKeownPlayz Is that really how poor your argument is?
I bought it day one at launch, back when we were promised “a consistent lineup of exclusive games”, that’s how big of an Xbox hater I am, in fact I hate Xbox so much that a year later I got the Halo special edition Series X that I still keep and treasure to this day and was my primary console until 2024. Why 2024? Because of the “only 4 games”, needless to elaborate why I distrust them so much ever since…
@McKeownPlayz I am here because I own an Xbox and that gives the right to share my opinion or voice my concerns doesn’t it? As consumers don’t we have a right to criticize the brand? Must we behave like a cult were we have to defend every move or pivot that Microsoft makes? Because that sounds way more like forcing opinions on others than criticizing the brand for continually fail to deliver their promises.
The amount of people trying to turn this into console warring is ridiculous, this has nothing to do with PlayStation or its fanboys the truth of the matter is that Microsoft just can’t be trusted, it’s meaningless if this rumor is accurate or not, no one, and I mean no one, not even Asha herself can be sure of what Microsoft will decide to do in 6 weeks, months or years.
@CaptainCluck Are you seriously calling Double Fine a bad studio? All to defend Microsoft’s moronic decisions like buying these studios in the first place?
Sorry but I’m just done reading justifications and excuses for Microsoft, all I read is “poor Microsoft that has to fire the thousands of people they spent billions to acquire and left years in mismanagement hell, poor, poor Microsoft.”
Yes the business needs a ‘reset’ but would anyone care to acknowledge how we got here in the first place? Are all XGS “bad studios” or maybe, just maybe Xbox/MS had the worst possible administration for their studios for 8 years? Oh that’s right, instead of managing them they allowed them to do whatever they want as they saw those studios as Game Pass fodder and continued on a buying spree thinking the all-hands bet on Game Pass would pay out, but now the ones who cheered ALL of that today claim “it hurts but has to be done”, facepalm…
@Camble_Refuge Many will arrive here claiming “it’s tough but has to be done” without even questioning what got us here in the first place, ignoring all their previous comments cheering for Microsoft to keep buying more and more studios or money hat third-party games, hell some are still suggesting it even with this dire state of the brand…
But wait, yesterday some were calling BS on a report of Microsoft looking to restructure Xbox and the same day comes Satya outright saying Xbox needs to be profitable almost as an ultimatum… aren’t things clear enough? This is the last chance.
My expectation is that the ‘reset of the business’ as they call it will be that Xbox will slowly become a wholly owned subsidiary which will manage its own pockets without much intervention from Microsoft, for good and bad, hence why we’ll see the biggest cuts ever for the division as a last effort for efficiency and profitability, but if Xbox fails to stand on their own two feet without any subsidy from Microsoft they can and will take drastic measures as reported a couple days ago.
@HonestHick You contradict yourself, how are they going to have a profitable sustainable business by paying off huge loads of money to third-parties to keep a game off PlayStation instead of let’s say making Senua exclusive?
But sure believe what you want to believe, I’m with @Balaam_ here, part of me wishes Microsoft would go ahead and force Xbox to stand on their own two feet to see how long their last and how long the apologists of the brand will endure claiming nonsense.
@HonestHick That doesn’t make the slightest sense, they’re struggling to make their own first-party games exclusive because ‘the business is not in a good place’ as Asha herself said, and only if it gets better they’ll try to do more.
What would be the point of throwing money they don’t have into third-party deals to keep a game off PS5? To sell the consoles they’re unwilling to fabricate? Also, most third-parties would outright reject any said deal as they’d be losing a lot of sales by not launching on PS5, and because of that any potentially acceptable deal would be astronomically expensive to try to make up the lost sales on other platforms. Not even a 3% chance of happening and no industry is too big to leave for Microsoft, just look at Windows Phone or Skype, billions spent for being nonexistent nowadays.
With the numbers revealed a couple days ago by Asha herself it isn’t hard to believe this is how bad things actually are, Phil Spencer was actually saying the truth when he claimed Microsoft would get rid of Xbox if wasn’t able to acquire ABK, and even with that gone through they still might be willing to get rid of it.
And as good as a standalone Xbox could potentially seem, no brand can survive with 3% margins and no one else will subsidize it for as much as 20 billion, unless they do the biggest cuts ever seen in the industry significantly trimming the business, which is already heavily rumored to happen in the upcoming weeks, it’s all lining up.
I already could play it included with Game Pass (paid for until July 2027) but I’m very, very curious about that PS5 Pro version, lately there’s been a noticeable upgrade in recent games with the new PSSR.
3% margins, $20 billion in platform subsidies plus an $80 billion acquisition…
And some here have had the audacity to claim over and over again that Xbox was “healthy” or “on the right path”, last year they were defending the multiplatform pivot and saying Phil was god and today it turns out exclusives are good and Asha is “the chosen one”, like come on…
Yes it’s a good thing that she is being transparent and frontal about it but maybe we should have questioned Phil Spencer decisions way more harshly to leave the business as he did, I think all this is ultimately proof that Game Pass isn’t as sustainable as they told us it was, so maybe, just maybe, start scrutinizing this execs instead of outright believing what they say or worst, defending them.
@Banjo- And how can you be sure they will not backtrack (this time)? Like really how is any of this any different to the promised Starfield exclusivity back in 2022/2023? If game sales on Xbox don’t pick up the pace or Helix has disappointing sales in the first year who’s to say they’ll not pivot yet again?
Also not too long ago you were advocating for everything being multiplatform and now you’re advocating for exclusives, when they pivot again will you do so as well?
I really don’t know how to feel about this, on one hand it’s great to have some return to exclusivity as the platform otherwise would continue to dwindle, but I fear this might be too little too late and it poses many questions like: Are sales for both games only on Xbox and Steam going to be enough to cover the costs of them? Will any of those studios be at risk if they don’t reach sales targets?
Also, I understand the case-by-case basis, but there has to be some consistency, just today it was bizarre to see Gears E-Day announced as a console exclusive followed by Halo on PS5 just 5 minutes later, while also presenting brand new Xbox Game Studios games still releasing day one on PS5.
With no discernible pattern how is anyone supposed to believe exclusives are truly back? How is this any different from 2023’s promises of Starfield being exclusive? And perhaps the biggest question is how long will it take them to pivot again?
It’s not only tough but a borderline impossible position, revenue from Xbox sales and Game Pass is not nearly enough for Xbox to be sustainable on its own and that was a problem even before they became multiplatform, however I heavily disagree with how she said “Xbox is becoming a platform” as it has been a platform already for 25 years and decisions from the last 5 years is what left the platform mortally wounded.
I still want “the return to XBOX” to happen but I honestly don’t see any path for it, they cornered themselves with most of their PC revenue coming from Steam and PS5 ports slowly taking over Xbox’ own revenue while having trained the Xbox audience for almost a decade to not buy games and “wait for it to be on Game Pass”, how could anyone reverse all that?
I know this is mostly because PS5 sales collapsed due to the price hike, but this goes to show that if Xbox actually cared to have more available consoles, competitive pricing and have EXCLUSIVE games people would still show up, this could’ve happened with Doom The Dark Ages, Indiana Jones, Halo CE and Fable being exclusive and Xbox as a platform would have been very competitive specially since Sony has only managed to launch a couple of exclusives in the last few years (Yotei and Saros), but it’s way too late for that.
I don’t know why it always is broken for me, whenever I’ve tried to use it with FH6 it gets me a no signal screen until I get out to home and restart the game again.
Most Xbox ‘content creators’ have become downright insufferable, faking an outrage out of this is so pathetic as last year they were all clapping for “transparency” when Phil started this trend in last years’ showcase.
This parasocial relationship between MS execs and “fans” needs to stop, it’s ok to listen to fans but don’t run the entire brand on that basis.
@fatpunkslim I very much agree, lately I’ve seen the wave of Xbox ‘content creators’ (who just a year ago still had Phil Spencer as god and defending the multiplatform pivot) now claiming Asha is the best ever because she changed the logo and wrote XBOX all in caps…
And don’t get me wrong, I like those things, I like having updates on consoles again and the new logo looks cool, but this is not nearly enough to repair the damage they’ve done to themselves, consoles are still not selling, hell they aren’t even being distributed, in my city it’s been since November that we last saw a Xbox Series X or S on shelves, there’s still A LOT of work to do and big decisions to make (specially on the exclusives matter) before claiming that ‘XBOX is back’.
This is a good strategy to get more people into Game Pass and hook them with some games, if they can add this tier to Netflix as was rumored it'd be a massive win, however the starter and essential tier should be one and the same, there's already too many tiers with the service, Starter, PC, Essential, Premium and Ultimate, there should be 3 at most imo.
@themightyant Some people just choose to live in their own reality where their favorite brand is the best in every way and immune to criticism while the others are the devil incarnated, it’s actually funny to read some of the same arguments used both for and against the same brands across the 3 websites.
I mean it’s not a deal breaker however it is slightly annoying I have lots of game completed with 1000/1000 gamerscore but don’t show up as completed because of DLC or update achievements, I’d only ask for these to be a separate list as Sony does with trophies.
Asking for rewards like discounts for completing a game is completely unrealistic.
@J_Mo_Money What good has Microsoft’s wealth done to Xbox? It didn’t save Xbox from losing players, losing exclusivity, closing studios and firing thousands of people in the last few years. I’ve been hearing this argument ever since the 360 days “Xbox will be fine because MS has a lot of money” and well just take a look at the brand now, a shell of its former self because of Microsoft’s pressure and insane 30% profit goals, it was getting so bad they were forced to reverse course on several things with Asha.
And I’m not saying other brands are faring better, literally the entire industry is facing unprecedented challenges, but what I’m trying to say is that Xbox isn’t shielded by Microsoft from all the problems that face the gaming industry, we just had Xbox numbers last month and they’re nothing to cheer for.
Comments 870
Re: 'Xbox, Now's Your Chance' - Fans Debate Whether Microsoft Should 'Take Advantage' Of Physical Games
I mean, this is nothing but wishful thinking (mine included), I think we all expected Xbox to be the first digital-only platform as they’re much better positioned to do so and Sony only beat them to it.
But remember Sony is one of the makers and creator of Blu-Ray discs, if they’re abandoning their own market that means the cost for Xbox to have a drive and keep producing discs next-gen just went up, and seeing how Xbox is currently all about cost-cutting physical games are truly over for both platforms.
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@Questionable_Duck Can’t you read into some sarcasm? Some have literally used the exact same phrases in a not sarcastic way lol
And I never said Game Pass is the sole cause for all this mayhem, but rather yet another mismanagement that failed to deliver on MS execs expectations, they bought most of the studios they’ll close on the basis of having consistent content on Game Pass but games weren’t consistent nor appealing for the most part of the service’s audience.
Re: Xbox Issues Statement After Pulling Out Of Project Fantasy
They seem addicted to lie, why making a statement they’re not reducing their investment in gaming when they’re about to have the biggest cuts ever for their gaming division?
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
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Re: Report: Xbox Has No 'Blanket Plans' To End Funding For Third-Party Game Pass Titles
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Re: Xbox's State Of Decay 3 Studio Could Be In Trouble Right Now
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Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
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Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
@fatpunkslim I do agree there’s a big chunk of fanboys from other brands that will make up anything to try and picture Xbox worse than it actually is, but this whole situation is not just a rumor, Asha herself said tough decisions are coming (corporate speak for layoffs) and there’s been more than one credible sources that this is one of the studios at risk of closure (and there’s plenty of reasons for that tbh) so to still claim that the people looking for a job are not being laid off but rather ‘leaving the studio’ and nothing else is happening it’s either disingenuous or extremely naive.
Not all criticism is about dramatizing, I remember being called out of being “dramatic” for saying that becoming multiplatform would irreparably damage the brand and look were we are, I remember all your comments still trying to deny what was going on to ending up justifying it and later on flip-flop again and championing exclusives, that’s were my criticism is aimed at, it’s not the first time you and others faithful to the brand do all sorts of backflips to either deny and later justify whatever Microsoft does, and perhaps, just perhaps, if we’ve had been louder in criticizing all of Phil’s questionable decisions we wouldn’t be here discussing people losing their job.
And I’ve said many, many, times in all 3 websites, one brand’s mistakes or failures doesn’t justify the others, I’ve had my fair share of issues with both users and authors on the ‘Push website’, there’s blatant fanboy behavior from the staff there and as you can expect they don’t like being called out, last week they were gloating on Xbox layoffs, now they’re justifying Bungie’s, a few months ago they were gloating on Sony abandoning PC ports but last month they’ve been crying about Xbox keeping some exclusives.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
I’m tired boss. Our entire hobby is becoming unsustainable before our eyes, $800 for a Series X is completely mental, and this will only get worse as younger generations are priced out of console/PC gaming altogether, audience will keep shrinking and companies will continue to hike prices in an attempt to maintain the same revenue.
Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
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Re: Xbox Layoffs Seemingly Begin As Devs Reveal They're 'Open To Work'
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Re: Xbox Creates New 'Exclusive' Label For Eligible Games On Console
@Questionable_Duck I really don’t think that’s any indication, Phil wasn’t always an advocate for being multiplatform, if anything he repeatedly promised a lineup of exclusive games from 2013 to 2024 and I still think his hand was forced on this matter by Microsoft higher ups (ahem Satya) and only now they’re seeing how much it hurt the brand and are attempting to reverse course with a new face being Asha.
I do agree that all we can do is wait and see what their actions truly are, I wouldn’t go to make any claims regarding the brand for the next few months, I feel everything is on the table and this new vision will be very different to anything of the previous 25 years, if that’s better or worse remain to be seen.
Re: Xbox Creates New 'Exclusive' Label For Eligible Games On Console
@Questionable_Duck So the difference is that Asha promised it instead of Phil?
At this point Microsoft statements’ don’t hold any value, regardless of the spokesperson, look at Aaron Greenberg claiming it wasn’t a last minute move to cancel PS5 version even when the official trailer with the logo leaked out, that’s why I insist its ridiculous to rally behind these statements and claim “Hey I told you so, they’re exclusives!”, and worst those claims coming from the very same people who not long ago were claiming nonsense like being multiplatform was ‘the right path’ for Xbox and the brand was ‘healthier than ever’.
My personal stance has always been that Xbox needed exclusives and disagreed heavily even with the “only 4 games” so I ultimately feel this is a good move but it’s also coming way too late, wouldn’t surprise me really if they pivot yet again if Helix isn’t successful enough for their metrics or whatever Satya’s new itch is.
Re: Xbox Creates New 'Exclusive' Label For Eligible Games On Console
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Re: 'It's Going To Be Pretty Brutal' - Jason Schreier Reveals More On Upcoming Xbox Layoffs
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Re: 'It's Going To Be Pretty Brutal' - Jason Schreier Reveals More On Upcoming Xbox Layoffs
@RBRTMNZ Ever since the “only 4 games were announced” the brand is facing an unstoppable spiral of death, many of us warned it the day it was confirmed and we were called other brand’s fanboys, and now that reality is setting in the ones who defended and excused this multiplatform pivot now prefer turning deaf ears and blind eyes to all this situation until it’s “confirmed”.
We don’t need MS execs to confirm this will be the biggest cuts Xbox has ever seen, it’s painfully obvious this is a make or break moment for Xbox overall, and I insist, it didn’t have to be this way if only they sticked to one plan across the entire generation instead of pivoting time and time again, and no one should’ve defended Xbox giving up exclusives to the point of releasing Halo, Gears and Forza on PlayStation, that’s to me the pivotal moment Xbox lost its way and yet many here defended it avidly.
Re: Report: Xbox Already Planned To 'Sunset Or Split With' Ninja Theory Before Senua Reveal
I understand the pitch and I’d rather see the studio being independent or with another owner than closed, but it’s just such a misleading thing to do, showing a game to fans fully knowing they’re about to divest/close the studio without any certainty the game will ever actually exist.
And they opened yet another Pandora’s box, now with every showcase or trailer we’ve got to question if the game we’re seeing is meant for us or it’s a pitch to sell the studio, shame how they already tainted an otherwise very good Showcase.
Re: Xbox CSO Shuts Down Rumour About Exclusives, Insists They'll Happen Every Year
@ILuvGames It’s sad that many don’t see it this way, there’s a fine line between being hopeful for the brand and having toxic positivity labeling everyone who thinks differently as another brand’s fanboy.
Many turn deaf ears to this but we should’ve been louder in questioning Game Pass profitability and long-term sustainability, we should have questioned Phil Spencer’s decisions way more harshly, and no one, no one, should’ve excused or defended the multiplatform pivot to see them release Halo, Gears and Forza on PlayStation, but again, I remember all the comments here defending the pivot even claiming delusions as PS players ‘financing’ the games for being on Game Pass for Xbox players, and the same people who called me a fanboy back then when I said this would be an unstoppable spiral of death for the brand are now mad that many of us don’t trust a yet another promise…
To be clear I don’t believe this “rumor” and while being too little too late I do believe having some exclusives is the right move, but I pose a very simple question, how is this any different from 2022-2023’s promises that Starfield would be an Xbox exclusive?
Re: Xbox CSO Shuts Down Rumour About Exclusives, Insists They'll Happen Every Year
@McKeownPlayz Is that really how poor your argument is?
I bought it day one at launch, back when we were promised “a consistent lineup of exclusive games”, that’s how big of an Xbox hater I am, in fact I hate Xbox so much that a year later I got the Halo special edition Series X that I still keep and treasure to this day and was my primary console until 2024. Why 2024? Because of the “only 4 games”, needless to elaborate why I distrust them so much ever since…
Re: Xbox CSO Shuts Down Rumour About Exclusives, Insists They'll Happen Every Year
@McKeownPlayz I am here because I own an Xbox and that gives the right to share my opinion or voice my concerns doesn’t it? As consumers don’t we have a right to criticize the brand? Must we behave like a cult were we have to defend every move or pivot that Microsoft makes? Because that sounds way more like forcing opinions on others than criticizing the brand for continually fail to deliver their promises.
Re: Xbox CSO Shuts Down Rumour About Exclusives, Insists They'll Happen Every Year
The amount of people trying to turn this into console warring is ridiculous, this has nothing to do with PlayStation or its fanboys the truth of the matter is that Microsoft just can’t be trusted, it’s meaningless if this rumor is accurate or not, no one, and I mean no one, not even Asha herself can be sure of what Microsoft will decide to do in 6 weeks, months or years.
Re: Double Fine Reacts To Xbox Closure Rumours With Single Emoji
@CaptainCluck Are you seriously calling Double Fine a bad studio? All to defend Microsoft’s moronic decisions like buying these studios in the first place?
Sorry but I’m just done reading justifications and excuses for Microsoft, all I read is “poor Microsoft that has to fire the thousands of people they spent billions to acquire and left years in mismanagement hell, poor, poor Microsoft.”
Yes the business needs a ‘reset’ but would anyone care to acknowledge how we got here in the first place? Are all XGS “bad studios” or maybe, just maybe Xbox/MS had the worst possible administration for their studios for 8 years? Oh that’s right, instead of managing them they allowed them to do whatever they want as they saw those studios as Game Pass fodder and continued on a buying spree thinking the all-hands bet on Game Pass would pay out, but now the ones who cheered ALL of that today claim “it hurts but has to be done”, facepalm…
Re: Report: Multiple Xbox Studios In 'Active Negotiations' With Microsoft To Avoid Closure
@Camble_Refuge Many will arrive here claiming “it’s tough but has to be done” without even questioning what got us here in the first place, ignoring all their previous comments cheering for Microsoft to keep buying more and more studios or money hat third-party games, hell some are still suggesting it even with this dire state of the brand…
Re: Compulsion Games Might Be Getting Shut Down By Xbox, Says Report
The bloodbath begins…
Re: 'We Have To Turn This Into A Sustainable Business' - Microsoft CEO Discusses Future Of Xbox
But wait, yesterday some were calling BS on a report of Microsoft looking to restructure Xbox and the same day comes Satya outright saying Xbox needs to be profitable almost as an ultimatum… aren’t things clear enough? This is the last chance.
My expectation is that the ‘reset of the business’ as they call it will be that Xbox will slowly become a wholly owned subsidiary which will manage its own pockets without much intervention from Microsoft, for good and bad, hence why we’ll see the biggest cuts ever for the division as a last effort for efficiency and profitability, but if Xbox fails to stand on their own two feet without any subsidy from Microsoft they can and will take drastic measures as reported a couple days ago.
Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
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Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
@HonestHick You contradict yourself, how are they going to have a profitable sustainable business by paying off huge loads of money to third-parties to keep a game off PlayStation instead of let’s say making Senua exclusive?
But sure believe what you want to believe, I’m with @Balaam_ here, part of me wishes Microsoft would go ahead and force Xbox to stand on their own two feet to see how long their last and how long the apologists of the brand will endure claiming nonsense.
Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
@HonestHick That doesn’t make the slightest sense, they’re struggling to make their own first-party games exclusive because ‘the business is not in a good place’ as Asha herself said, and only if it gets better they’ll try to do more.
What would be the point of throwing money they don’t have into third-party deals to keep a game off PS5? To sell the consoles they’re unwilling to fabricate?
Also, most third-parties would outright reject any said deal as they’d be losing a lot of sales by not launching on PS5, and because of that any potentially acceptable deal would be astronomically expensive to try to make up the lost sales on other platforms. Not even a 3% chance of happening and no industry is too big to leave for Microsoft, just look at Windows Phone or Skype, billions spent for being nonexistent nowadays.
Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
@MrStark And how many times Phil Spencer said the same thing? Did it happen?
Re: Microsoft Has Considered 'Spinning Out Or Restructuring' Xbox, Claims Report
With the numbers revealed a couple days ago by Asha herself it isn’t hard to believe this is how bad things actually are, Phil Spencer was actually saying the truth when he claimed Microsoft would get rid of Xbox if wasn’t able to acquire ABK, and even with that gone through they still might be willing to get rid of it.
And as good as a standalone Xbox could potentially seem, no brand can survive with 3% margins and no one else will subsidize it for as much as 20 billion, unless they do the biggest cuts ever seen in the industry significantly trimming the business, which is already heavily rumored to happen in the upcoming weeks, it’s all lining up.
Re: Halo: Campaign Evolved Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Ally X
I already could play it included with Game Pass (paid for until July 2027) but I’m very, very curious about that PS5 Pro version, lately there’s been a noticeable upgrade in recent games with the new PSSR.
Re: Xbox Leaders Outline Five 'Realities' That Will Be Addressed Over The Next 100 Days
3% margins, $20 billion in platform subsidies plus an $80 billion acquisition…
And some here have had the audacity to claim over and over again that Xbox was “healthy” or “on the right path”, last year they were defending the multiplatform pivot and saying Phil was god and today it turns out exclusives are good and Asha is “the chosen one”, like come on…
Yes it’s a good thing that she is being transparent and frontal about it but maybe we should have questioned Phil Spencer decisions way more harshly to leave the business as he did, I think all this is ultimately proof that Game Pass isn’t as sustainable as they told us it was, so maybe, just maybe, start scrutinizing this execs instead of outright believing what they say or worst, defending them.
Re: "It's Hard To Say" - Xbox Boss Isn't Sure The Activision Blizzard Deal Has Paid Off
Activision ended up swallowing Xbox rather than the other way around…
Re: 'It Doesn't End With Gears & Clockwork' - Xbox Reporter Teases More Console Exclusives
Removed
Re: 'It Doesn't End With Gears & Clockwork' - Xbox Reporter Teases More Console Exclusives
@Banjo- And how can you be sure they will not backtrack (this time)?
Like really how is any of this any different to the promised Starfield exclusivity back in 2022/2023?
If game sales on Xbox don’t pick up the pace or Helix has disappointing sales in the first year who’s to say they’ll not pivot yet again?
Also not too long ago you were advocating for everything being multiplatform and now you’re advocating for exclusives, when they pivot again will you do so as well?
Re: Matt Booty Explains Xbox's Plans For Exclusive Games Going Forward
I really don’t know how to feel about this, on one hand it’s great to have some return to exclusivity as the platform otherwise would continue to dwindle, but I fear this might be too little too late and it poses many questions like: Are sales for both games only on Xbox and Steam going to be enough to cover the costs of them? Will any of those studios be at risk if they don’t reach sales targets?
Also, I understand the case-by-case basis, but there has to be some consistency, just today it was bizarre to see Gears E-Day announced as a console exclusive followed by Halo on PS5 just 5 minutes later, while also presenting brand new Xbox Game Studios games still releasing day one on PS5.
With no discernible pattern how is anyone supposed to believe exclusives are truly back? How is this any different from 2023’s promises of Starfield being exclusive? And perhaps the biggest question is how long will it take them to pivot again?
Re: Xbox Boss Wants To Create The 'Number One' Gaming Company By 'Resetting The Business'
More actions, less talk. Feels like we’re back again at when Phil kept saying “next year is the year of Xbox” and it never happened.
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
It’s not only tough but a borderline impossible position, revenue from Xbox sales and Game Pass is not nearly enough for Xbox to be sustainable on its own and that was a problem even before they became multiplatform, however I heavily disagree with how she said “Xbox is becoming a platform” as it has been a platform already for 25 years and decisions from the last 5 years is what left the platform mortally wounded.
I still want “the return to XBOX” to happen but I honestly don’t see any path for it, they cornered themselves with most of their PC revenue coming from Steam and PS5 ports slowly taking over Xbox’ own revenue while having trained the Xbox audience for almost a decade to not buy games and “wait for it to be on Game Pass”, how could anyone reverse all that?
Re: Xbox Series X|S Sales Have Risen In The UK, Partly Thanks To Forza Horizon 6
I know this is mostly because PS5 sales collapsed due to the price hike, but this goes to show that if Xbox actually cared to have more available consoles, competitive pricing and have EXCLUSIVE games people would still show up, this could’ve happened with Doom The Dark Ages, Indiana Jones, Halo CE and Fable being exclusive and Xbox as a platform would have been very competitive specially since Sony has only managed to launch a couple of exclusives in the last few years (Yotei and Saros), but it’s way too late for that.
Re: Control Resonant Early Access Is Exclusive To PS5, Even Though It Costs The Same On Xbox
This is just bizarre, I will be buying it on PS5 but I’ll just get the standard edition, early-access for any game honestly feels like a ripoff.
Re: Opinion: Forza Horizon 6 Has Changed My Mind About Quick Resume On Xbox Series X|S
I don’t know why it always is broken for me, whenever I’ve tried to use it with FH6 it gets me a no signal screen until I get out to home and restart the game again.
Re: 'It Was A Miss, And I Own It' - Xbox CEO Hints At Removing PS5 & Switch Logos From Showcases
Most Xbox ‘content creators’ have become downright insufferable, faking an outrage out of this is so pathetic as last year they were all clapping for “transparency” when Phil started this trend in last years’ showcase.
This parasocial relationship between MS execs and “fans” needs to stop, it’s ok to listen to fans but don’t run the entire brand on that basis.
Re: 'We Are Building A Stronger Xbox' - Asha Sharma Updates Employees On Progress In 2026
“The shift from Xbox to XBOX” 🤣
Re: Epic Games Boss Calls New Xbox Leadership Team 'World Class', Asha Sharma Responds
@fatpunkslim I very much agree, lately I’ve seen the wave of Xbox ‘content creators’ (who just a year ago still had Phil Spencer as god and defending the multiplatform pivot) now claiming Asha is the best ever because she changed the logo and wrote XBOX all in caps…
And don’t get me wrong, I like those things, I like having updates on consoles again and the new logo looks cool, but this is not nearly enough to repair the damage they’ve done to themselves, consoles are still not selling, hell they aren’t even being distributed, in my city it’s been since November that we last saw a Xbox Series X or S on shelves, there’s still A LOT of work to do and big decisions to make (specially on the exclusives matter) before claiming that ‘XBOX is back’.
Re: 'Dear Asha...' - Xbox Fan Desperately Wants New CEO To Remove Irrelevant Ads From Dashboard
@CaptainCluck When you think you’ve seen everything then comes someone defending ads…
Re: Talking Point: One Year Later, What Do You Think Of DOOM: The Dark Ages?
I liked it but there’s too many areas in which is just a barren wasteland, Eternal was way more engaging.
Re: Discord Partners With Xbox For 'Starter Edition' Of Game Pass, Includes 50+ Titles
This is a good strategy to get more people into Game Pass and hook them with some games, if they can add this tier to Netflix as was rumored it'd be a massive win, however the starter and essential tier should be one and the same, there's already too many tiers with the service, Starter, PC, Essential, Premium and Ultimate, there should be 3 at most imo.
Re: Talking Point: Amidst PS6 Uncertainty, Do You Think Xbox Has Project Helix All Figured Out?
@themightyant Some people just choose to live in their own reality where their favorite brand is the best in every way and immune to criticism while the others are the devil incarnated, it’s actually funny to read some of the same arguments used both for and against the same brands across the 3 websites.
Re: Xbox's First 'Gamerscore Millionaire' Suggests How To Improve 100% Completions
I mean it’s not a deal breaker however it is slightly annoying I have lots of game completed with 1000/1000 gamerscore but don’t show up as completed because of DLC or update achievements, I’d only ask for these to be a separate list as Sony does with trophies.
Asking for rewards like discounts for completing a game is completely unrealistic.
Re: Talking Point: Amidst PS6 Uncertainty, Do You Think Xbox Has Project Helix All Figured Out?
@J_Mo_Money What good has Microsoft’s wealth done to Xbox? It didn’t save Xbox from losing players, losing exclusivity, closing studios and firing thousands of people in the last few years.
I’ve been hearing this argument ever since the 360 days “Xbox will be fine because MS has a lot of money” and well just take a look at the brand now, a shell of its former self because of Microsoft’s pressure and insane 30% profit goals, it was getting so bad they were forced to reverse course on several things with Asha.
And I’m not saying other brands are faring better, literally the entire industry is facing unprecedented challenges, but what I’m trying to say is that Xbox isn’t shielded by Microsoft from all the problems that face the gaming industry, we just had Xbox numbers last month and they’re nothing to cheer for.