NeoRatt

@Weebleman
I was just pointing out the data and the shown findings would not hold up to any level of scientific peer review.

Not upset, just making an observation on the quality of the data/article.

@Weebleman
May be true, but a better way to present the data then would've been just to say the platform totals without a graph aligning launch on PS and XB.

BTW. Alinea Analytics provided the numbers not the "folks who made it".

@Fiendish-Beaver
To me consoles are losing purpose and relevance.

People have been buying consoles as a cheap, easy connect to TV, and easy to manage device instead of PCs. Especially, in the last two generations consoles have become more and more like PC architecture and increasing in price (lol. I was buying new PS3's and XB360's for $99 - $199 at the end of that gen - good luck finding a console that price now new). And at the same time Windows is becoming friendlier to people who only want to play games on their PC.

So what is evolving is, "Why buy a console once a PC becomes just as easy as a console to use?". And by the way there are tons more games on PC... Oh! And by the way I have 100's more options in purchasing a PC then a console to go higher end on gaming. Oh x 2! And I can replace my rig whenever I want because there is constantly new ones coming out. I suspect MS is going to encourage PC OEMs to ship "Console PCs" Essentially, lower priced PCs that boot to their unified XB Console PC OS and based on the SOC partnership they have with AMD. Essentially the next version of the Asus ROG Ally X interface.

Also, networks will continue to get faster and more ubitious. As this happens I think a lot of games will shift to cloud. They still have issues to fix on cloud gaming but when they are resolved that will change how many vendors distribute games and hopefully get rid of a lot of the annoying constant updates and downloads of games. Then MS will partner even more with TV manufacturers to include the XB Cloud Streaming more and more.

5-10 years from now consoles as we know them today just won't be relevant.

@Weebleman
So why are they releasing the info? If you are going to release information comparing things then it should be appless to apples comparisons. If you are not trying to make the comparison with all the adjustments to install base, taking into account that the product was available elsewhere for 1.5 years, and a factor for fansbase then the comparison is useless, doesn't say a thing, and is senseless.

This article is not an apples to apples comparison.

1) Both versions did not launch on the same date.
2) The XB install base is much smaller than PS.
3) This is a PS franchise. Sales should be higher on that platform.

@TheGameThrifter
There is no positive spin on what this quarter brought from a financial view.

I am all for engagement and hours played though. To me, that is a better measure of success as a gamer then how much money they took from me for games and hardware. But I would suspect that even these numbers fell.

The money will come if the content and hardware are good and fairly priced. The problem is that CoD was less then stellar this year and they got cocky with the price increase for Outer Worlds 2 and increasing GamePass pricing with Ubisoft+ Classics. I know as a platform holder they may have decided to try and help Ubisoft using GamePass, but that was a mistake. I would say drop Ubisoft+ Classics from GamePass and go back to the pricing they had before. First party games on GamePass will be enough to sell the service.

On the hardware side MS did not do a half-cycle/late cycle refresh of XB Series hardware this generation. The drop is expected for me. I didn't buy any XBoxes recently but did pickup up a PS5 Pro last two years because I want the best PS device and I can afford that. But zero reason to replace my perfectly fine and functioning XBoxes. Xbox Series is seriously great quality hardware. I can't even complain that the fans have become noisy (most consoles and PCs become noisier over time) because they haven't.

This is the new mantra for game subscription services:

You have to buy our service to play on our network and the games because we are doubling the selling price of games. But, we also need you to bleed more by buying the premium version of the game at; well. The cost of what you used to pay for games before subscription services.

@FraserG
I want XB to focus on the gaming performance of the next console.

I bought all my games digitally and have where possible since 2012. If they can give me more performance for that $35 they save in not giving me an optical drive, I would gladly buy it, and buy an optical drive if I want one.

I am expecting MS to have a very high end, mid, and entry level console next generation. High end competing with a higher end gaming PC, mid being equal to PS6, and entry level being similar to a next generation version of Series S. I also expect MS to license the XB OS to third parties so that we see Dell Alienware, Asus ROG, HP Omen, Acer Predator, etc XB certified "consoles".

The advantage of consoles is their simplicity to configure and put on a TV. I think MS wants to commoditize that so that no one talks about PS vs XB vs Switch anymore, and the conversation becomes who has the best OS, games, and subscriptions.

@Sindayl
I disagree with your comment that the last 12 years have not been as bad as people put it out to be.

I will agree that the last two years has been solid. But, if you look back beyond that to the launch lineup for XB1, the only reason Microsoft still has a following on XB was its constant purchase of studios and publishers since 2014 when they bought Mojang first for Minecraft, the Gears franchise forming the Coalition studio, then the six studio purchase in 2018, then DoubleFine in 2019, then ZeniMax in 2020, and finally Activision Blizzard in 2022.

The original MS Game Studios has been a train wreck this past 12 years. And that is putting it super politely.

"We're very excited about the franchise and its potential. So I will certainly see a lot more of it in the coming year"

Translation:

"We like what we see, but it won't be done this year."

Sad to see game developers loser their jobs. This is how the gaming world turns right now. Studios closing is a regular occurence unfortunately.

Storage has been a bad topic for me for a while now. There should be a option to go up to 72 TB for gamers that want to pay for it. I know a lot of gamers could do with a lot less and can't afford more but I can and there are no options for me to get there. It would take about 60 Tb for me to download and have every game I have ever bought on my console. And I would be willing to spend quite a bit to make that happen.

@Elbow
My dad passed away from cancer in November this past year and my wife passed away from cancer a few years earlier. Imagine if all the money that goes into marketing, politics, wars, drugs, alcohol, etc. and we re-directed all the AI resources to finding a cure for cancer how long would it take to solve this problem that piece by piece takes all the independence, dignity, and then their lives away from them.

The world's priorities are severely skewed away from what is really important.

@Weebleman
If I buy a low end 4K TV and a 4K firestick I can XB cloud stream. There is no way a used Series S is cheaper than a 4K firestick that often goes on sale.

I know a few people that cloud stream. They are total casual players that don't want to pay to buy a console and don't subscribe to GamePass for the one or two SP games they play each year.

SORRY CORRECTION - These people have low end GamePass subs so they can stream they told me.

@Weebleman
How about the people that can't afford to buy a console and the games but have a perfectly good TV that can stream games if they just invest in a controller?

This is all about creating entry points for people. On the low end I can stream my games on compatible TVs, on the high end I get a performant device that can play games locally.

Also, there is the problem of storage. With games beinng 100+ GB, sometimes it makes sense to stream things you don't play often.

I will buy the next generation of consoles based on their specs vs costs. If they try and give me a meh device for $1,000+ dollars I will ignore it, but if they give me a technically advanced device I may be willing to spend more for it.

A nvidia 5070 ti cost over $1,000 alone. And a 5090 runs in the $4,000 price range. If XB ships something that compares to their performance then that has to be taken into account as part of the purchase.

I see them as shipping a low, mid, and high end console.

Can't really judge price without specs.

@TheGameThrifter

• Console prices were a reaction to commodity and tariff costs.
• There have been feature and quality updates: https://support.xbox.com/en-CA/help/hardware-network/settings-updates/whats-new-xbox-one-system-updates. You are factually incorrect.
• Yes game pass prices went up. That is disappointing. I still feel I get more bang for my buck with XB then with PS5 and Switch 2 though so I can't complain.
• Most major publishers have had rounds of lay offs the past two to three years. This is nothing new and I expect it will continue as well.
• I doubt they cancelled games that were going to be 10/10 type games. They weren't sitting there saying, "let's cancel these amazing games".
• I am not sure as a gamer how marketing strategies affect me. I play games and use my devices. Marketing strategies and marketing budgets change often based on a lot of things.
• True they are pushing that many devices can play XB games. I see nothing wrong with that and I myself use cloud streaming, my PC, Asus ROG Ally X, and XSX/S to play XB games based on what hardware/network is available to me. There is nothing wrong with that. I really don't understand why there are gamers that think XB should only have games on a single console device. There is nothing holding any of the companies back from shipping games on PC, cloud streaming, etc.
• Game prices have been climbing for a while now. Thank the inflation gods of Biden and now Trump.
• There are many games they released this year that were much better then ok. I wouldn't give any 10/10 but I saw a lot of solid 8.5 to 9.5 games. Personally didn't feel any were under an 8.

@TheGameThrifter
I saw nothing wrong with this past year as an XB console owner. They did better than both Sony and Nintendo which I also have their latest consoles.

@Fiendish-Beaver
As a gamer I rate the companies I buy hardware from on the quality and performance of the hardware and I rate them also on the quality of games they ship. To me, all the other stuff is jusy noise.

From a hardware aspect I have several Series X and one Series S and have had zero hardware issues with them since they were bought and I feel the performance of them have met my expectations.

From a games perspective Microsoft didn't ship any 10 out of 10's in my books but I played a lot that I would give 8.5 to 9.5 this year. I can't say I saw the same number of quality games come out from Sony for my PS5s and Nintendo for my Switch 2.

In my books XB did great this year. Yes, things are no longer exclusive, but I look at that as MS ensuring they get the revenue to keep making the great games with the studios they have kept open. Hardware costs are what they are, some companies choose to swallow increases, XB passed them on to the consumer. As for GamePass I was disappointed in the price increase but, I can't honestly say that MS is ripping me off with all the day one MS games and even third party stuff like Claire Obscure 33 on GamePass day one as well. If you forgo buying four or five games at full price per year GamePass is still a bargain. You can look at the cup as half full or half empty. But all in all I have enjoyed XB gaming this year.

@GameOverScreen
I have been through all the XB generations and before that many other console generations.

My take. The 360 generation was the era of the most obvious innnovations in games. The graphical and capability leaps seemed massive. But now innovations are a lot more subtle. For example, moving from HD to 4K is not as obvious of a change when you are sitting 12 ft back from your TV. Also, game world sizes have massively increased and interactivity with the environment is becoming more detailed. But they are mostly just building on game mechanics and gameplay that was invented in previous generations.

I don't think of these newer generations as less innovation, I just think the innovations have not been as obvious. To me, there are a lot of great games from this year, you just have to look at things from a different angle because innovation is different now. Lots of problems that existed and were solved in the 360 era are basic game stuff in 2025. Things like online, profile, gameplay mechanics, graphics, sound, etc. All solved things now. The innovation now is in small graphical details like facial expressions, interactivity, quantites of things, size of things, and interactivity with the environment. I don't look at it as lesser, I just see innovation differently now.

This is very sad. Vince was an inspiration in an industry that is often stale and built on sequels.

My condolences from my family to his.

Obsidian to me is a shining light and was a steal for XB to purchase. They have delivered nothing but solid games since joining XB and I think the financial backing of XB has helped them really grow.

I don't really care what MS financial targets for XB are. I care only that they are:

1) Committed to gaming on XB.
2) Make great games year after year.
3) Provide a great gaming network/profile/achievements.
4) Are committed to a strong entry of next gen console(s).
5) Their prices for consumers are in line with other publishers, console manufacturers, and subscriptions.

I have always preferred Forza Motorsports and Forza Horizon over the GT games. But it has been disappointing to hear the downsizing of Turn 10 and the fact they are no longer focusing resources on Motorsports. It makes me feel like they don't care about its future.

And given that they have made zero announcements about the future of Motorsports with a reduced size to Turn 10 and nothing new coming I think they will just let it die.

Like others, I think Fable has the most potential. Gears E-day may take some awards around art and sound. Forza Horizon will probably dominate the racing category. Halo has potential in the shooter category if it is done right but I have not seen it as much different then an upgrade from the original yet.

It will be a good year for XB gamers, but at the same time I don't see a ton of creativity yet and taking the games to a next level deserving a GOTY win. Might get nominations, but no win.

The wild card might be Activision and Zenimax studios. None of their games have been featured yet for 2026. There may be a hidden something in the next CoD or Blade if they both come out next year.

@IronCrow86
Blizzard has never been known for timely delivery. Whatever project they embark upon it gets done when it gets done at Blizzard.

It took 11 years to deliver Diablo IV after III was released. How many studios get 11 years to work on and release sequels? I know of only GTA as a series that gets as much or more leeway.

I like Spencer. To me, he is breaking down barriers for gamers. Under Spencer's leadership XB has focused on accessibility, delivery of the Series X and S consoles which I felt did a lot to create an enthusiast and entry level market again, and acquired/built XB Studios into one of the largest set of studios in the world.

Yes, XB has changed directions a few times, downsized studios, and has gone multi-platform. Gaming studio downsizing has happened with every publisher so this is not new. The direction changes I think were inevitable, and let's face it, XB alone could not fund all the studios they have and the regulators who approved the deal XB made for Zenimax and AKB would have taken action had XB made all those titles solely exclusive to XB.

At some point XB has to stand on its own and Spencer has made that happen through the changes made. I expect that after the next gen starts Spencer will step aside and allow someone else to stay on a stable course he is creating.

I was disappointed PD was cancelled. But at the same time, I doubt the people seeing and playing what was developed were saying, "this is a complete innovative master piece". I would suspect that there were problems and to fix the problems would cost significant sums of money just to release something that was probably average.

I want PD back but I also want it to be special.

Lot's of good stuff coming and lots of studios that have not revealed upcoming titles. I like that a lot. Let the studios do the work quietly until they are truely ready to share within 6 months of release.

@Balaam_
I think the quality was there. I enjoyed all the first party releases this year. I would not say any were average or below average. I don't think any were exceptional either though. I would rate everything on the whole as very solid.

I think they should have more campaign stories set in different eras to rotate through rather than just Modern Warfare and Black Ops. They need to get more creative on what story to tell and how to tell it.

@themightyant
I don't see what is wrong with calling it the best graphics. To me, there is graphics and art direction in games. You can have amazing graphics but not the best art direction. And that appears to be what you are saying. Graphics is technical, art direction is more lighting, mood, ambiance, and subjective.

Best technical achievement would be more than just graphics to me. An example, for a future technical achievement would be to have every single building, room, and object in a game set in a city to be fully interactive like the real world. Games aren't there and can't get there today, but that would be something else if they made that happen.

@GuyinPA75
Agree completely and I did see the MMO screenshots.

To me, mistakes were made on both sides. MS should've let them make an MMO, but I think Bungie was too quick too jump away as well. Kind of like the kid that takes the ball away and won't play.

In this case they were probably threatening to shut down the studios so the leadership bought the studios and are going to run them as indies.

To me, Bungie died when they left Microsoft. They were the ultimate Halo studio. Both handled this wrong. MS should've gave them more creative freedom (ironically they do that with their studios now), and Bungie should've realized that they were most in their development comfort zone as a Halo developer.

I have enjoyed Destiny, when I play it, but I feel like it should be a Halo game with Master Chief. Just swap all the character models with Halo character models! LOL. I would totally play any Destiny game as a Halo game.

I would also expect that MS legals made sure that Bungie would in perpetuity ship their games on XB as long as MS has XB around on day one. I find it hard to believe they would've allowed Bungie to leave without still supporting their platform.

This is a feature that should've been here a decade ago when cloud saves started.

@swedetrap
I agree.

Launch games are an introduction to the new features and capabilities that will be available in each generation. Perfect Dark Zero showed how shooters were going to evolve on consoles considerably (Co-op, graphically, sound, and game mechanics). Ryse, showed how action-adventure games were going to change in the XBO generation.

Were they perfect games? No. But they both were very good launch games that got me excited about what was coming in the generation. I also felt Kameo was under-rated. Playing co-op Kameo was a really fun experience for me and one of my friends.

To me this is all about choice. I travel a lot... Play anywhere helps me play on the road and on all the different devices I own. You may or may not use it, but it is to me a very important feature as I play on PC, XB, and my ROG Ally X.

I saw nothing wrong with his post. Gaming has got to stop bing like Highlander where there can only be one... Sony, Microsoft, Nintentendo, Epic, Steam, etc. Let them all fight for our dollars. It would be sad at the end of the day if there was no real choice. And just because XB only has 30 mln gamers does not mean it should die.

@80sGamer
I would've thought there would be at least a high and low level configuration for the Steam Machine. That's all I was really thinking with my post.

Given that the Steambox is releasing this many years after Series X/S I would've thought the specs would be significantly better across the board.

I am happy with my ROG Ally X but I think there is room for significant improvement in the experience as a mobile console device.

I know the price is steep, but I would still recommend it to people that would play quite a bit on mobile such as me.

@dreadful
I will agree that XB lost the console war. That happened when they revealed XB One. So no surprise.

But, I do agree not winning isn't a big deal either if done properly. There are many brands that do not lead in their category but have carved out a loyal following that is very happy with the brand.

My advice to XB:

1) Continue releasing games like this past year.
2) Have at least one new solid IP per year.
3) Continue to release gaming hardware on both the premium and lower end side to lower barriers to entering gaming and to provide enthusiast gamers with a strong hardware experience.
4) Partner with other PC gaming device manufacturers to release the same hardware under their brand to make gaming hardware more of a commodity item.
5) Continue to provide solid gaming services like GamePass and a strong gaming Network/profile.
6) Mold the console and PC gaming experience into one platform to lower the barrier to make games for XB by developers.

Obsidian is one of my favourite studios. They seem to always be pumping out new content. They may not ship every game as a 10 but their games are generally solid and fun to play.

I felt the story line with Cortana deteriorating was OK, but I did not like that she appearred to die in the game. To me Cortana and Master Chief have been hand and hand in the series. Having her separate from Master Chief I feel was not all that great.

The gameplay itself was fine but the story brought the game down in my eyes.

@Romans12 I think gamers should get used to longer times between releases.

Most games now have a live service component that makes them last at least 5-8 years. And with development costs as high as they are, I could see companies wanting their games to last at least 10+ years.

Gone are the game releases that happen every 12-36 months. Really the only game that is able to do this now is Call of Duty and they dedicate 3-4 studios to make this game happen every year.

I have enjoyed all the Gears games except Judgement which I felt was just a milking of the franchise.

But, I am even happier that Gears E-Day is going back to the roots and going to be a more horror experience. I have always loved that aspect of Gears.

Gears 4 and onward was trying to appeal too hard to more people. Sometimes what makes a game good is that it knows its fanbase and caters to it rather then trying to expand the fanbase with less grit and more politically correct stories/characters.

I stopped watching showcases long ago.

First, most games ship in a beta state so you have to wait 3-12 months to play a game with a solid experience from end-to-end. It is only worth seeing games that are shipping and whether they have a hope to be any good.

Second, you see games at these showcases and you get excited only to see them cancelled and they therefore were vaporware.

@LX_FENIX
I have no problem with them switching the game engine from proprietary to UE and remaking past Halo's in the new game engine to get familiar with the engine and to optimize it. Halo 1-3 were all great games at the time they were released. But, they have also aged and modern shooter campaigns have much better graphics, gameplay, and mechanics.

But, a large part of me also agrees with you. I would like to see a new Halo story. I hope they are working on that slowly in the background.

Peter has never really resonated with me. Smart guy I am sure but taking his ideas and realizing them into working games has never been his strong point.

It is easy to dream, it is not easy to take a dream and make it a reality.