Millionski

@Fiendish-Beaver my ps5 PRO (I got one on the release) was the only console out of all I own that had issues with wi-fi. It was losing connection all the time to the point it started to bother me. After spending almost 1000 CAD on it - it was not the experience I was expecting.
Then I was not impressed with PRO updates. It always seemed like I had to google/youtube whats the difference vs base ps5. If difference is not noticeable right away, then whats the point.

Lastly I did not need the 2TB drive while the absence of disc drive was noticeable.

Overall I was dissatisfied for what it offered at this price point and returned it. Base ps5 + SX is enough for me this gen.
Tho maybe upcoming PSSR patch will make things different as well as devs doing a better job.

@wittedbugle to add to that Phil quote, console-first users were historically always starting next gen fresh when games were not cross-gen. It was never a thing to buy a new console to play old games. It was a PC thing but you are benefiting from your hardware directly.
And of course I dont understand what stops a person from keeping the xbox s/x and then buy ps6 and get new games there while still using xbox when needed.

@eduscxbox 1) “microsoft is not trying to win over PS and switch” - this is bad for us xbox console players that we ve been for 25 years. Only since 2024 and even 2025 it suddenly became irrelevant where you play and that everythint is an xbox.
2) there was a poll on purexbox - these are irrelevant as they show opinion of loud enthusiasts (that we are all in fact are). Average player does not sit on gaming forums. So you can call it survivorship bias.
3) steam os in fact has a better experience- there is steam deck and steam Os handhelds like lenovo legion. Desktop experience wont be any different. In fact you can try it with bazzite (essentially an unofficial steam os) already. Sure could be minor issues here and there on release but they dont need to solve fundamental issues that windows have.
4) if you are on series s that you got because it was cheap/or as gift for example and you arent heavily invested in GP or PA, then in a year or so switch 2 will be a solid option as it has comparable specs (slightly less power but has newer tech like dlss) and its getting MS games and multiplatform games but as well offer unique experiences due to exclusives, joycons and hybrid form factor.
5) library - most people dont have sizable library. Again you are looking at enthusiasts and projecting on the whole market. There was a ridiculous stat that average console player has less than 10 paid games per generation and doesnt have subscription. These people will easily jump to ps6 when they see xboxPC price.
Overall yeah I agree for diehard hardcore fans if you are heavy into GP and PA - sure xboxPC is your choice. However with the asterisk - if you have a sizable xbox console library that is not PA (which is 80-90% usually of yiur library btw) - there was no official quote that these will work natively on your xboxPC. All we know they “are committed to backward compatibility” but its a vague statement.
6) you are commentint many times as investor or MS manager saying in the lines of “microsoft doens want this or that or they will earn money by this or that”. It seems you are tryint to defend them at all times.
7) to your last paragraph- the problem is thats a lot of IFs and us wanting vs reality. Sure give me OS that is as stable as console xbox OS, has access to all PC features and all xbox games natively run on windows - I will be the first in line for xboxPC - but lets not fool ourselves as its just too good to be true …

@Fiendish-Beaver @IOI a fun thought but If I buy steam machine this year it will have “play anywhere” with all the steam titles I own on my xbox rog ally running steam os (bazzite)…

@IOI my problem is similar to @Fiendish-Beaver as I am heavily invested into xbox. Tho its not in the sheer library but I have 2 xbox SX on 2 floors and utilize the cross-save feature alot. I also have GP till 2027. I dont collect discs and dont like to double dip (aka buying same game on multiple devices/stores) so I will be maining xbox until then extracting value from GP and games I already owned. And its a solid year for GP if you have it prepaid at good prices.

I even bought xbox rog ally x and was planning to embrace all the Play anywhere and the whole ecosystem - I legit gave MS every single chance as I am an open minded and like the idea overall - but man thats the core problem - its just an idea or vision for future. For now windows on handheld even certified xbox rog ally - its a terrible experience despite the possibilities it provides. I wanted to return it but I decided to install bazzite os (similar to steamos) and its been amazing so far. Minimum faff or issues and asus built an amazing handheld from hardware standpoint. That was my personal final nail in the coffin when I realized that neither GP nor Play anywhere was important when the experience is annoying and frustrating- again its just me. Its also in my eyes even worse for handheld because I get it when you sit at the desktop with MKB and mess around but not when you have 20 min to play during a day on a handheld abd you just want it to work seamlessly.
Now this made me question - hold on if xboxPC will just be windows PC with FSE simular to ally - how am I supposed to deal
With these issues with controller from the sofa? Like its common when only touch screen works on ally and you need to tap on some error to close it…

@eduscxbox I think you are missing the point (and same with MS) that xbox potential customers are mostly people with an xbox today or who had it in the past. The backlash to the brand is really high right now so whoever is with Nintendo or PS or with steam - they wont bother with all these xbox-PC.
By introducing all these xboxPCs at high prices you push existing customers away to the competition. You have a PC OS with better experience- steam Os that is launching this year. You have playstation and nintendo already (and switch 2 also could be a good option for someone who played on series s).

I think they can only find some audience in the cloud but its too early for that, probably a decade too early for this technology to replace native gaming.

And since you are so concerned about their profits - sure they will likely have slim margin form each xboxpc sold but we all agree they wont sell many units. The software side - not many seem to be interested in $30 game pass. Then you are losing audience who were paying directly on consoles as now most people on xbox pc will be going to steam and other store fronts and MS get 0. Play anywhere will cease to exist the moment series consoles stop getting new games as any pc handheld has “play anywhere” for all titles if you access them from desktop pc.
Again only cloud is an additive.

I kinda see them becoming successful with cloud and publishing but not PC and obviously not consoles

@Fiendish-Beaver to your #61 comment. Spencer wanted exclusivity and GP. He actually understood the business and need for both. GP was priced aggressively at that time and all bethesda games were exclusive after acquisition.

However, 1st is gone now, 2n will be dead in several years in its current form. Prob just as cloud access and maybe 1st party but no 3rd party.

Satya and Amy only care about publishing now as its the only stable revenue driver.

@Weebleman @Fiendish-Beaver @IOI its insane that pretty much xbox series X is the last proper xbox. With such console hardware results, 0 marketing and such - its just clear - we are never getting another xbox console. Let it sink.

Sure we will have some xbox-branded hardware but it will be running windows or be cloud-based. I dont know why people keep thinking there is some hybrid or designated game mode on windows or else in development where clearly all they do is FSE and cloud improvements. Next gen will work exactly like rog xbox ally and we are lucky if we can get series emulator to migrate our libraries but I dont think they will bother as they push PA for that.

@eduscxbox how console is different:
1) yes running “custom” OS - not full windows with an overlay on top.
2) a subsidized device that keeps the price low.
3) every game in store will run without any tweaking and is guaranteed to work (sure might be at less fps/resolution than capable PC but it will be playable at the very minimum) and also run natively with a controller.
4) unique features whether dualsense features or even quick resume on xbox SX that is not in windows.
5) exclusives. While its also true that PC exclusives exist but these are usually in indie sector. In the AA or AAA space exclusives are only with PS/N and previously xbox consoles

Just because Satya said that its the same thing now - it did not became true. We still see 300M+ market for consoles hardware even if its not growing or “future” - its thriving.

@eduscxbox extending your logic further - so my PC is also ubisoft-box, capcom-box and Playstation (as I can acces their games in steam) and so on?

@eduscxbox you can buy a pre-built PC or even laptop. This market is huge right now.

And to echo @weebleman why are we calling these devices an xbox? Because MS said so or because logo will be slapped?
You dont even need crystal ball that many people on PC will use steam as main store. So if someone buying “xbox” just to play in steam big picture - what is MS benefit and what is a benefit from it being an “xbox” to player.

@OldGamer999 I agree. XboxPC will be for fans or people who were on xbox but were interested in PC - both are niche audiences.

The thing is consoles by definition exist and still popular because they are not a PC and because it provies a different experience. The only reason we we are even talking pc hyrbids or merging these 2 universes together is success of steam deck and steamOS as they got really close to bridge the 2. Yet try playing something without green mark from the store or a game not optimized for a controller and welcome to PC tweaking and messing around.

@eduscxbox I also think it will happen but what will it offer as FSE getting a PC rollout this year and you can always hook up the controller of your preference? It will be also likely not subsidized like a console

Overall, I think this is THE reason to be concerned with xbox. Its just not getting the best/optimized versions anymore despite solid hardware of series X, and a bunch of games are delayed or skipper altogether.

Was surprised to see steam deck above xbox to be honest. This is an amazing device but sold only 4-5M. Why would devs put it above xbox with 35M? The only reason I have is its fairly simple to optimize since most are optimizing for PC in general.

@Fiendish-Beaver I think its irrelevant whether they release pcbox or not in the grand scheme of things. Average console player will be simply priced out. I think average casual console player will simply stay with current consoles till good 2030+ and then just go to PS6 when it goes on sale for black friday.
PC enthusiasts already got their 3-5k rigs and pcbox will not outperform it.
We will also have steam machine as an option and potentially 3rd party steamOS PC that will provide a better console like experience and more qualify for pc-hybrids than xboxPC.

Then there is an audience of xbox fans/loyalists who will buy it just because its their fav brand - I think thats the target for MS but I doubt we will see more than 10-15M of those sold. Which is fine (steam deck is only 4-5 for example) but I am convinced this device will not offer anything unqiue or competitive because that is not their strategy anymore.

For you personally I am sure get ready to a lot of PC “faff” with the xboxPC. If you would try rog ally x today you would be for a huge disappointment with the “xbox” experience it provides, and as I said in other threads I dont think they are secretly brewing a different OS that will be on xboxPC rather than they are just actively updating xbox app on windows…

@Fiendish-Beaver I am convinced (regardinf xbox pc) while it might be a decent PC at its price point (i dont think they will subsidize tho) - it wont provide the same experience as a console even remotely. Only if they build entire new OS or designated game mode on windows (not FSE) - yet I have not seen a single rumour thats the case. And if we look at everything they do - they go full pedal into optimizing xbox FSE (xbox app) and cloud

There are so many issues when gaming on rog ally x (from someone who played console - important note) - launching multiple windows, not opening those windows, crashes, overall lag and unresponsivess, no stability to the point you dont know if things will work (in 50% cases simply minimizing the game, browsin store and goint back to game led to issues). And important note - you can solve eindows issues with a finger because many times buttons wont work - now how are you going to do tjat with a controller in hand sitting on sofa? I have a feeling MKB will need to be close by…

So my problem is not the existence of such pc box but rather than its just not gonna be good console experience….

They are selling the idea of “best if both worlds” but as rog ally has proven simply launching xbox app on windows <> console experience

Everyone noticed how there is nothing of such scale improvement coming to consoles?
Like all I hear is cloud overhauls, new features for xbox app FSE and game pass changes/additions.
I think the closed system xbox OS that is on series s/x is pretty much done.

I also noticed some people believe that xbox-PC will be something unique and a blend of console and PC…I see zero evidence of them doing that. What I am certain tho is you will be able to load into FSE from any PC going forward, essentially DIY xbox-pc if you connect a controller (there are ones with its own protocol like recent asus xbox one).
I am 99% certain xbox rog ally is how next gen desktop PC will operate with all windows bloat and your libary only available with play anywhere natively (the rest is cloud).

Is it the end of the world? No. But precedent is there.

PS5 is now base console for devs. While most wont care about nickelodeon games, I am sure many wanted to play day 1 games like BG3 or wukong. And where is xbox version of dispatch - another big hit from last year.

It starts to feel like xbox makes sense only if you are heavy into GP and play anywhere titles but its just a fraction of all games being released. The biggest and most supported library currently is with steam and PS.

@Fiendish-Beaver another important factor is that PS is like 1/3 of sony business and even more as they recently spun off the TV division. Their business model relies on consoles which is not the case at all with MS.

I think xbox-pc is indeed coming as they have agreements with AMD however they dont need any unique features. Moreover their strategy is that whether you play on pc or cloud you are getting same experience/features hence I dont think xbox-pc will be unqiue in any way as it goest against their messaging and strategy. The only reason it exists is to appeal to fanbase and provide something. They dont expect it to sell well and practically they dont care.
There is also a high chance of them “sidelining” xbox PC and outsourcing to Asus - is it coincidence they just showed their xbox-branded controller?

Rmember how just a year ago we were talking about that we are worred about xbox after next xbox? Funny how its pretty much certain at this point that Series X successor is not happening. They did not do anything with consoles in the past year yet I see every week windows xbox app or FSE improvements. So the xbox-pc/next gen xbox “console” as they call it is the same thing.

Now here is why I changed my stance completely with them - I recently got rog xbox ally x. Its an amazing hardware but man how bad is the experience- I wanted to return it affer a week but then I installed bazzite (steam os analog basically) and now we are talking. GP and PA and all these bells and whistles turned out to be less important (for me personally) that proper UI & UX and stability that steam os/bazzite offers.
And as a said above - look at how active they are with cloud/xbox app FSE improvements- do you think they do it just to release a completely different device running good ol xbox OS?

@Fiendish-Beaver congrats on ps5 pro.

I think you made the only right and logical move for yourself. You value console experience first, you dont care about anything PC and the xbox-defining features like game pass or play anywhere has no benefit to you. Plus you want stability and peace of mind.
Your choice is PS mate.

The only thing is I was not sold on PRO enhancements when console launched but maybe newer games utilize it further.
Personally if not GP till 2027 and the fact I game on 2 SX on different floors - I would go to Ps too.

Honestly even if xbox-pc will be more powerful there is no gauarabtee it will outperform ps6 due to optimization. Like ps5 games look same as more powerful SX. Moreover, the new xbox-pc will be targeting entry-level or mid-tier pc at best so likely a 1500 rig. There is a chance it wont be significantly more powerful than your current PC as I know you have pretty pricey one.

@ilyn @Fiendish-Beaver @Coletrain long time no see mates. I restored my account lol.

I think many people here are fooling themselves believing xbox-pc hybrid will be something unique and that windows will have some dedicated SX emulator or gaming mode, etc
In reality there is very high chance that it will work like xbox rog ally. Meaning basically regular windows that will load into xbox app. The only console feature I can think of will be native controller support via its own protocol (same as any console now or upcoming steam machine).
No one said that backwards compatibility will be native. I have a feeling they push xbox play anywhere exactly for this reason - your PA titles will work and the rest will be cloud streamed.