@Fiendish-Beaver Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout New Vegas 2 are two such games that can move the needle for Xbox.
Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution alone aren't gonna move the needle for Xbox in a significant manner, but they will incentivize Xbox players to stick with Xbox. Apparently, during the Phil regime, this was something that Microsoft had struggled doing. Many Xbox players started to play on other platforms after the start of the multiplatform initiative. I don't remember where I saw this mentioned, so I could be misremembering in this regard, but still.
"there needs to be enough and they need to arrive on a regular basis, and, absolutely crucially, people need to be buying them"
I agreed with you up into the "people need to be buying them part, which we all know doesn't happen on Xbox." No, Xbox players do buy games; most games are not on Game Pass. If no one bought games on Xbox, then no one would bother porting them. Sorry if this sounds a little bit harsh, but I think the "Game Pass has conditioned Xbox gamers to not buy games" narrative is just nonsense. Besides, even if they did play the games on Game Pass, that would still be a win for Microsoft.
Indeed, in order for this exclusives-driven initiative to be successful, Microsoft needs to release a steady pipeline of exclusives like they did during the 360 generation. People may not buy a system for one game, but for several games? Maybe they will.
There is just one important bit you didn't mention, though: the exclusives need to be high-quality, and they need to have enough mainstream appeal to sell systems. We haven't seen Microsoft release a single system seller in more than a decade. That is why, as you said, the exclusives initiative didn't work in 2024 and earlier. Because the game simply weren't good enough.
If all we get are divisive titles like Halo Campaign Evolved, Keeper, Kiln, and Starfield (even though I liked that game), then of course it isn't gonna move the needle for Xbox. But if Gears of War: E-Day, Fallout New Vegas 2, and others are masterpieces, then they could actually sell systems.
@FuzzieGinge88 I'm not sure you understand how a platform holder makes money. If they put all of their games on PlayStation w/ no compelling incentive to play them on Xbox, that would have been a great way to kill the platform all together. Exclusives convince people to buy into the ecosystem, and they can also convince existing Xbox owners to stick with Xbox, rather than jumping ship to other platforms.
Asha said it herself, that 80% of the Xbox business makes its revenue from players on Xbox consoles. Not PlayStation, Nintendo, or even PC players.
And besides, PlayStation hasn't done anything to save Xbox's financials. Almost all of the games they've put over there have flopped. Even Halo is doing unimpressive numbers on PS5. Gears likely wouldn't have sold that well on PlayStation, either.
@TheGameThrifter That's a good thing. I think it would be more concerning if Fable and Halo sold gangbusters on PlayStation, might have convinced Xbox to walk back on the pivot to exclusivity. At least now I think Xbox will realize that the juice isn't worth the squeeze. Xbox first-party games, especially the singleplayer ones, should only be on Xbox/PC to keep the Xbox business healthy
@8th_Observer Yes, going fully open would have been an objectively bad idea, and would have just killed the Xbox ecosystem as we know it. If you have Steam on your platform, then there is literally no compelling reason for most developers, especially indie ones, to put games on your storefront. You can say goodbye to achievements, Play Anywhere, and all the things that make the Xbox ecosystem unique if Xbox goes fully open
@IllusiveMan What Asha and Matthew Ball have said so far has been pretty clear and straightforward. It's always Matt Booty who has been talking out both sides of his mouth. It's like he's still stuck with the previous leadership's mindset
@Fiendish-Beaver E-Day and likely Clockwork Revolution were kept as exclusives, not to attract new players, but to retain the existing Xbox player base. 80% of Xbox's revenue comes from the money that people spend on Xbox consoles, according to Asha Sharma, and it seems the amount of money that people spend on Xbox has declined since the start of the multiplatform initiative.
I don't think Microsoft actually expects tons of people to go out and buy an $700 Xbox for E-Day, but they do expect existing Xbox owners to stay in the ecosystem. As Matt Booty said, exclusives are meant to serve as a "reward" for people who have stuck with Xbox all these years
@themightyant You cannot play Genshin Impact or EA Sports offline like you can Gears of War: E-Day. Gears has always been primarily about the campaign, the multiplayer was never as popular as, say, Halo's.
So Gears may have some live service elements, but it doesn't really fall under the "large live service" category. It's not really "large," per se.
@Oneluckyfarmer That's fair. I guess it just depends on the quality of the internet people have. With Internet like yours, playing Fallout 5 through the cloud may not be such an inferior experience compared to native play
If I were Asha, I'd make all the games exclusive, including the Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters. You need to give people a reason to buy your hardware, and that's not gonna happen if you let major games like these come to PlayStation and Switch 2 at launch
@IllusiveMan I may be ingesting a massive amount of hopium here, but I think there's a good reason why Xbox hasn't announced any plans on physical with Project Helix. If they did confirm that Project Helix would have physical discs today, it would be a lot easier for Sony to backtrack on their physical plans, making the entire point of Xbox earning a W null and void.
I think it would be smarter of them to announce physical support right when Project Helix is fully unveiled. With PS6 finalized by then, it certainly wouldn't be easy for Sony to change course.
Do I think this is going to happen? No, I don't expect Microsoft of all companies to save physical media, but I'm just speaking in hypotheticals.
@themightyant The idea is that the amount of physicals sold on Xbox would increase thanks to people from PlayStation jumping ship. Don't know how many people would actually do that with a $1500 console, but I have seen PlayStation gamers online say they would switch to Xbox if they keep physical media around
@swedetrap Avowed did absolutely nothing to sell Xbox consoles, when it was an Xbox exclusive. A new Fallout game made by Obsidian would probably sell at least a few Xbox consoles.
@GuyinPA75 Bro most of these games flopped on PS5, Game Pass isn't to blame for that. In fact, Game Pass is one of the only things that has been keeping Xbox afloat these past few years
@Fiendish-Beaver Okay, I may have made a mistake there with my statement. Candy Crush Saga on its own may not have 500 million daily players, but it's possible that the Candy Crush franchise as a whole does, per month at least.
We don't know how many active players Candy Crush Saga currently has, but the last public report was around 293 million players per month in 2017. I imagine it's increased by then.
It has been downloaded at least 2.7 billion times, though. So I wouldn't be surprised if a billion people have played it already at least once.
@Balaam_ Nope. You're forgetting that Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls will still be invested in, along with new IPs (if what Asha Sharma said in her last memo is to be believed)
@Tasuki No, I think you're the one who is unfamiliar with how business works. I believe you also think a bit too highly of yourself, given how you're quick to call everyone gullible for not agreeing with you.
Do you seriously think Microsoft cares in the slightest about getting into people's good graces, if they want to do something that they know will get bad PR?
If Asha's goal was to get rid of Xbox, she and Microsoft would have said so from the very beginning. They're not gonna waste all that time and money for PR, if they were secretly planning to axe the brand from the very beginning.
Do I think Xbox is forever safe? No. But I also don't think that, if Xbox gets shut down, it was all planned out from the very moment Asha took up Phil Spencer's role.
@Tasuki Once again, this is what you want to think, not what is actually true. Think for one second why a CEO brought in to kill a platform would start off by announcing a campaign to bring the return of said platform?
Also, it's not surprising you immediately fell for this rumor (granted, I did too), even though Jason Schreier has confirmed that it's not true. Obsidian is safe for now.
Before I say anything on this topic, let me get two things out of the way first: A. I doubt Microsoft is ever going to return to physical games since they're probably gonna make Project Helix digital-only and B. I personally don't own any physical games, so I don't have as much stock in this whole debate.
All that being said, I think it would be a smart move business-wise to keep physical games on Xbox because, even though no one currently buys physical Xbox games, the idea is that Microsoft could take some of PlayStation's user base away from them by keeping physical media around.
So yes right now, only like 5-9% of games on Xbox are sold physically, but maybe after 2028, 10-15% could be sold physically depending on how many people jump ship.
The answer is yes, they will, but it would be really funny if they kept physical releases around for a few years longer than Sony has.
The irony of all this, though, is that many PlayStation guys were adamant that Sony cared about physical media and that Xbox didn't at all. They thought, because Sony releases their games completely on-disc unlike Microsoft, that physical media would be around way longer for PlayStation than it would be for Xbox. How the turns table.
@NishimaruX I know, I just think it's kinda silly. People can call me stupid all they want, but I don't think Game Pass is primarily to blame for what's about to happen at Xbox
@IllusiveMan Literally who even talks like that...? Not even the biggest Xbox fanboys on this site are that brash
And, for the record, I know you want to blame all of these layoffs and Xbox's woes on Game Pass, but the fact of the matter is A. Game Pass is Phil Spencer's product, not Asha's and B. The real problem plaguing Xbox is the lack of system sellers and high-quality video games that sell millions of copies. Not Game Pass.
We have seen time and time again that games that are poised to do well always sell well in spite of Game Pass (Clair Obscur, Forza Horizon 5/6, Persona 3 Reload, Grounded) while games that are poised to flop always flop in spite of Game Pass (South of Midnight, Hellblade 2, Kiln, Keeper).
Maybe this is intentional? Perhaps Microsoft wants to make the PS5 version of the game inferior in some ways, so that if the game flops on PlayStation, it will give Asha further justification to go exclusive with future titles
@IllusiveMan Yes, they're different people, and if the goal at Microsoft was to go multiplatform, Phil would still be CEO of Xbox.
I do agree with what you're saying about multiplatform stuff though, I never thought it was a good idea.
I also see why you think it's hard to trust Microsoft. I don't really trust them either, but at the same time, I think the change in leadership actually has some significance and is not just for show. Like I said, we just need to wait and see if Microsoft will actually commit to this strategy in the long run. They have a habit of abandoning things mid-way.
@IllusiveMan There is a difference because it's different leadership. And said leadership evidently doesn't have interest in doing what the previous leadership did.
If Microsoft wanted to go fully multiplatform, then why did they bother getting rid of Phil and hiring Asha? Shouldn't they have just made Sarah Bond CEO instead?
You don't replace the leadership to do the same exact thing that the previous leadership was doing. Asha has made that clear, I'd argue.
Now, will I be so bold to claim that E-Day will never come to PS5 or that Microsoft won't change course on their exclusives strategy in the future? No, because if this exclusives move fails, then I could see them going back to multiplatform. But right now, I don't think they have any interest in putting E-Day on PlayStation.
It all just depends on if Microsoft is willing to stick it out for the long game. Matthew Ball's words in this sense are promising, since he stated that Xbox is willing to sacrifice some sales to strengthen the platform.
@Tasuki That's what you want to believe, it isn't actually true. Of course a CEO of a company has power to change things. You think Satya was the one that wanted exclusives and Copilot removed from Xbox?
@Weebleman Well I guess you could say they're still deciding what games to make exclusive or not, so they haven't fully decided their exclusivity strategy just yet. So technically speaking, you could argue that it's not a complete contradiction
Though Matt Booty said there wouldn't be any strategy updates during the showcase, and yet there indeed was... So there's that, too
Comments 637
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Previews Are Saying About Gears Of War: E-Day
@Fiendish-Beaver Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout New Vegas 2 are two such games that can move the needle for Xbox.
Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution alone aren't gonna move the needle for Xbox in a significant manner, but they will incentivize Xbox players to stick with Xbox. Apparently, during the Phil regime, this was something that Microsoft had struggled doing. Many Xbox players started to play on other platforms after the start of the multiplatform initiative. I don't remember where I saw this mentioned, so I could be misremembering in this regard, but still.
"there needs to be enough and they need to arrive on a regular basis, and, absolutely crucially, people need to be buying them"
I agreed with you up into the "people need to be buying them part, which we all know doesn't happen on Xbox." No, Xbox players do buy games; most games are not on Game Pass. If no one bought games on Xbox, then no one would bother porting them. Sorry if this sounds a little bit harsh, but I think the "Game Pass has conditioned Xbox gamers to not buy games" narrative is just nonsense. Besides, even if they did play the games on Game Pass, that would still be a win for Microsoft.
Indeed, in order for this exclusives-driven initiative to be successful, Microsoft needs to release a steady pipeline of exclusives like they did during the 360 generation. People may not buy a system for one game, but for several games? Maybe they will.
There is just one important bit you didn't mention, though: the exclusives need to be high-quality, and they need to have enough mainstream appeal to sell systems. We haven't seen Microsoft release a single system seller in more than a decade. That is why, as you said, the exclusives initiative didn't work in 2024 and earlier. Because the game simply weren't good enough.
If all we get are divisive titles like Halo Campaign Evolved, Keeper, Kiln, and Starfield (even though I liked that game), then of course it isn't gonna move the needle for Xbox. But if Gears of War: E-Day, Fallout New Vegas 2, and others are masterpieces, then they could actually sell systems.
Re: Roundup: Here's What The Previews Are Saying About Gears Of War: E-Day
@FuzzieGinge88 I'm not sure you understand how a platform holder makes money. If they put all of their games on PlayStation w/ no compelling incentive to play them on Xbox, that would have been a great way to kill the platform all together. Exclusives convince people to buy into the ecosystem, and they can also convince existing Xbox owners to stick with Xbox, rather than jumping ship to other platforms.
Asha said it herself, that 80% of the Xbox business makes its revenue from players on Xbox consoles. Not PlayStation, Nintendo, or even PC players.
And besides, PlayStation hasn't done anything to save Xbox's financials. Almost all of the games they've put over there have flopped. Even Halo is doing unimpressive numbers on PS5. Gears likely wouldn't have sold that well on PlayStation, either.
Re: Not A Good Look For Xbox As Halo: Campaign Evolved Plays Best On PlayStation
@TheGameThrifter That's a good thing. I think it would be more concerning if Fable and Halo sold gangbusters on PlayStation, might have convinced Xbox to walk back on the pivot to exclusivity. At least now I think Xbox will realize that the juice isn't worth the squeeze. Xbox first-party games, especially the singleplayer ones, should only be on Xbox/PC to keep the Xbox business healthy
Re: Xbox Could Still Lose Money On Series X|S Console Sales Despite Price Hike, Sources Claim
@8th_Observer Yes, going fully open would have been an objectively bad idea, and would have just killed the Xbox ecosystem as we know it. If you have Steam on your platform, then there is literally no compelling reason for most developers, especially indie ones, to put games on your storefront. You can say goodbye to achievements, Play Anywhere, and all the things that make the Xbox ecosystem unique if Xbox goes fully open
Re: Xbox CCO Says Not To 'Overly Fixate' On All Single-Player Games Being Exclusives
@Fiendish-Beaver But it isn't a "large live service game"...
Re: Xbox CCO Says Not To 'Overly Fixate' On All Single-Player Games Being Exclusives
@IllusiveMan What Asha and Matthew Ball have said so far has been pretty clear and straightforward. It's always Matt Booty who has been talking out both sides of his mouth. It's like he's still stuck with the previous leadership's mindset
Re: Xbox CCO Says Not To 'Overly Fixate' On All Single-Player Games Being Exclusives
@Mr-Cage For sure lol!
Re: Xbox CCO Says Not To 'Overly Fixate' On All Single-Player Games Being Exclusives
@Fiendish-Beaver E-Day and likely Clockwork Revolution were kept as exclusives, not to attract new players, but to retain the existing Xbox player base. 80% of Xbox's revenue comes from the money that people spend on Xbox consoles, according to Asha Sharma, and it seems the amount of money that people spend on Xbox has declined since the start of the multiplatform initiative.
I don't think Microsoft actually expects tons of people to go out and buy an $700 Xbox for E-Day, but they do expect existing Xbox owners to stay in the ecosystem. As Matt Booty said, exclusives are meant to serve as a "reward" for people who have stuck with Xbox all these years
Re: Xbox CCO Says Not To 'Overly Fixate' On All Single-Player Games Being Exclusives
@themightyant You cannot play Genshin Impact or EA Sports offline like you can Gears of War: E-Day. Gears has always been primarily about the campaign, the multiplayer was never as popular as, say, Halo's.
So Gears may have some live service elements, but it doesn't really fall under the "large live service" category. It's not really "large," per se.
Re: Todd Howard Remains Tight-Lipped On Plans For Future Xbox Exclusives
@Oneluckyfarmer That's fair. I guess it just depends on the quality of the internet people have. With Internet like yours, playing Fallout 5 through the cloud may not be such an inferior experience compared to native play
Re: Todd Howard Remains Tight-Lipped On Plans For Future Xbox Exclusives
@Oneluckyfarmer If you want an inferior experience, then sure, you can stream it
Re: Todd Howard Remains Tight-Lipped On Plans For Future Xbox Exclusives
If I were Asha, I'd make all the games exclusive, including the Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters. You need to give people a reason to buy your hardware, and that's not gonna happen if you let major games like these come to PlayStation and Switch 2 at launch
Re: Todd Howard Remains Tight-Lipped On Plans For Future Xbox Exclusives
@Markatron84 To be fair, Skyrim is the only Elder Scrolls game that launched on PlayStation day-one. And Starfield did well enough on Xbox/PC alone.
Re: Metacritic Unveils Its Top 20 Games For The First Half Of 2026
@awp69 Most looking forward to E-Day when it comes to Xbox first-party releases. Hoping it reviews well!
Re: Random: Xbox Owner Goes Viral After Wild Gecko 'Appears' Inside Their Series X
@Balaam_ Terrarium Edition is an instant buy!
Re: Xbox Sends Out Brief Statement Regarding 'Inaccurate' id Tech Reports
@Nakatomi_Uk If it's bad, it's true. If it's good, it's damage control/PR.
Re: Black Ops 1 & 2 Now Live On PS5, Here's Some Early Footage Compared To Xbox
@oopsiezz I think you can thank Phil Spencer for that
Re: Video Game Retailer Urges Xbox To 'Stand Behind Consumer Choice' By Supporting Physical
@IllusiveMan I may be ingesting a massive amount of hopium here, but I think there's a good reason why Xbox hasn't announced any plans on physical with Project Helix. If they did confirm that Project Helix would have physical discs today, it would be a lot easier for Sony to backtrack on their physical plans, making the entire point of Xbox earning a W null and void.
I think it would be smarter of them to announce physical support right when Project Helix is fully unveiled. With PS6 finalized by then, it certainly wouldn't be easy for Sony to change course.
Do I think this is going to happen? No, I don't expect Microsoft of all companies to save physical media, but I'm just speaking in hypotheticals.
Re: Video Game Retailer Urges Xbox To 'Stand Behind Consumer Choice' By Supporting Physical
@themightyant The idea is that the amount of physicals sold on Xbox would increase thanks to people from PlayStation jumping ship. Don't know how many people would actually do that with a $1500 console, but I have seen PlayStation gamers online say they would switch to Xbox if they keep physical media around
Re: Report: Xbox Cancels Avowed 2 And Puts Obsidian To Work On New Fallout Game
@swedetrap Avowed did absolutely nothing to sell Xbox consoles, when it was an Xbox exclusive. A new Fallout game made by Obsidian would probably sell at least a few Xbox consoles.
Re: Xbox Game Pass Reportedly Drops To 30M Subscribers, But Has 'Started To Grow Again'
@Balaam_ Who said they had lost 10 million subscribers? I don't recall anyone ever saying or even implying so
Re: Obsidian, id Software & Others Confirmed To Be Affected By Xbox Layoffs
@Llamageddon That I can agree with
Re: Obsidian, id Software & Others Confirmed To Be Affected By Xbox Layoffs
@GuyinPA75 Bro most of these games flopped on PS5, Game Pass isn't to blame for that. In fact, Game Pass is one of the only things that has been keeping Xbox afloat these past few years
Re: Three Aims Detailed By Asha Sharma For The 'Most Significant Restructure In Xbox History'
@Fiendish-Beaver Okay, I may have made a mistake there with my statement. Candy Crush Saga on its own may not have 500 million daily players, but it's possible that the Candy Crush franchise as a whole does, per month at least.
We don't know how many active players Candy Crush Saga currently has, but the last public report was around 293 million players per month in 2017. I imagine it's increased by then.
It has been downloaded at least 2.7 billion times, though. So I wouldn't be surprised if a billion people have played it already at least once.
Re: Three Aims Detailed By Asha Sharma For The 'Most Significant Restructure In Xbox History'
@Juanalf Through mobile games and PC. Candy Crush alone has 500 million players, so they're already more than halfway there to their goal
Re: Xbox Announces 3,200 Job Cuts And Four Studio Departures
@Balaam_ Nope. You're forgetting that Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls will still be invested in, along with new IPs (if what Asha Sharma said in her last memo is to be believed)
Re: Halo Studios Makes A Point Of Highlighting 'Physical Discs' For Campaign Evolved
@Banjo- Also there are actual tangible benefits to buying digitally on Xbox (cloud gaming, Xbox Play Anywhere) that are not present on other platforms
Re: Random: Xbox Helps Release New Version Of Banjo-Kazooie With Unique Features
They should bring these features over to the Xbox version, no?
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
@Tasuki No, I think you're the one who is unfamiliar with how business works. I believe you also think a bit too highly of yourself, given how you're quick to call everyone gullible for not agreeing with you.
Do you seriously think Microsoft cares in the slightest about getting into people's good graces, if they want to do something that they know will get bad PR?
If Asha's goal was to get rid of Xbox, she and Microsoft would have said so from the very beginning. They're not gonna waste all that time and money for PR, if they were secretly planning to axe the brand from the very beginning.
Do I think Xbox is forever safe? No. But I also don't think that, if Xbox gets shut down, it was all planned out from the very moment Asha took up Phil Spencer's role.
Not everything is some grand conspiracy theory.
Re: Journalist Claims Xbox Is 'Keeping' Obsidian Following Rumours Of Potential Closure
@Tasuki Once again, this is what you want to think, not what is actually true. Think for one second why a CEO brought in to kill a platform would start off by announcing a campaign to bring the return of said platform?
Also, it's not surprising you immediately fell for this rumor (granted, I did too), even though Jason Schreier has confirmed that it's not true. Obsidian is safe for now.
Re: Obsidian Is The Latest Studio Reportedly Attempting To 'Avoid Closure' At Xbox
They're basically shutting down every studio at Xbox
Re: 'Xbox, Now's Your Chance' - Fans Debate Whether Microsoft Should 'Take Advantage' Of Physical Games
Before I say anything on this topic, let me get two things out of the way first: A. I doubt Microsoft is ever going to return to physical games since they're probably gonna make Project Helix digital-only and B. I personally don't own any physical games, so I don't have as much stock in this whole debate.
All that being said, I think it would be a smart move business-wise to keep physical games on Xbox because, even though no one currently buys physical Xbox games, the idea is that Microsoft could take some of PlayStation's user base away from them by keeping physical media around.
So yes right now, only like 5-9% of games on Xbox are sold physically, but maybe after 2028, 10-15% could be sold physically depending on how many people jump ship.
Re: Report: Xbox Disc-To-Digital Feature Will Allow You To Digitise Your Physical Collection
@Gabrie Agreed, I hope they find some way later on to make Xbox 360 and OG Xbox games compatible with this program
Re: As PlayStation Announces The End Of Disc-Based Releases, Will Xbox Follow Suit?
The answer is yes, they will, but it would be really funny if they kept physical releases around for a few years longer than Sony has.
The irony of all this, though, is that many PlayStation guys were adamant that Sony cared about physical media and that Xbox didn't at all. They thought, because Sony releases their games completely on-disc unlike Microsoft, that physical media would be around way longer for PlayStation than it would be for Xbox. How the turns table.
Re: As PlayStation Announces The End Of Disc-Based Releases, Will Xbox Follow Suit?
@fabio1 Gears of War E-Day is still getting released physically
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@NishimaruX I know, I just think it's kinda silly. People can call me stupid all they want, but I don't think Game Pass is primarily to blame for what's about to happen at Xbox
Re: Marvel's Blade Reportedly In Danger As Xbox Considers Shutting Arkane Studios
@IllusiveMan Literally who even talks like that...? Not even the biggest Xbox fanboys on this site are that brash
And, for the record, I know you want to blame all of these layoffs and Xbox's woes on Game Pass, but the fact of the matter is A. Game Pass is Phil Spencer's product, not Asha's and B. The real problem plaguing Xbox is the lack of system sellers and high-quality video games that sell millions of copies. Not Game Pass.
We have seen time and time again that games that are poised to do well always sell well in spite of Game Pass (Clair Obscur, Forza Horizon 5/6, Persona 3 Reload, Grounded) while games that are poised to flop always flop in spite of Game Pass (South of Midnight, Hellblade 2, Kiln, Keeper).
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
@Fishmasterflex96 I wouldn't be too confident, Sony will probably announce price increases before the end of this year as well
Re: "The Catalogue Was Just Nowhere Near Good Enough" - Ori Creator Likens Xbox Game Pass To A "Slop Factory"
@Balaam_ It's not surprising you would say that, given how much you value physical media
Re: "The Catalogue Was Just Nowhere Near Good Enough" - Ori Creator Likens Xbox Game Pass To A "Slop Factory"
@CaptainCluck Right, that's why Sony shut down Bluepoint and all those other studios of theirs. Because they put their games on Game Pass.
Let's not pretend as if many other companies around the world aren't also shuttering studios, with or without Game Pass deals
Re: Halo: Campaign Evolved Has Some Weird Xbox Account Requirements For Local Co-Op
Maybe this is intentional? Perhaps Microsoft wants to make the PS5 version of the game inferior in some ways, so that if the game flops on PlayStation, it will give Asha further justification to go exclusive with future titles
Re: Xbox Creates New 'Exclusive' Label For Eligible Games On Console
@IllusiveMan Yes, they're different people, and if the goal at Microsoft was to go multiplatform, Phil would still be CEO of Xbox.
I do agree with what you're saying about multiplatform stuff though, I never thought it was a good idea.
I also see why you think it's hard to trust Microsoft. I don't really trust them either, but at the same time, I think the change in leadership actually has some significance and is not just for show. Like I said, we just need to wait and see if Microsoft will actually commit to this strategy in the long run. They have a habit of abandoning things mid-way.
Re: Xbox Creates New 'Exclusive' Label For Eligible Games On Console
@Balaam_ Something tells me you would rather Microsoft port their games to PS5 so you can get those trophies of yours...
Re: Xbox Creates New 'Exclusive' Label For Eligible Games On Console
@IllusiveMan There is a difference because it's different leadership. And said leadership evidently doesn't have interest in doing what the previous leadership did.
If Microsoft wanted to go fully multiplatform, then why did they bother getting rid of Phil and hiring Asha? Shouldn't they have just made Sarah Bond CEO instead?
You don't replace the leadership to do the same exact thing that the previous leadership was doing. Asha has made that clear, I'd argue.
Now, will I be so bold to claim that E-Day will never come to PS5 or that Microsoft won't change course on their exclusives strategy in the future? No, because if this exclusives move fails, then I could see them going back to multiplatform. But right now, I don't think they have any interest in putting E-Day on PlayStation.
It all just depends on if Microsoft is willing to stick it out for the long game. Matthew Ball's words in this sense are promising, since he stated that Xbox is willing to sacrifice some sales to strengthen the platform.
Re: Treyarch Confuses Xbox Fans With Black Ops 1 & 2 Reveal For PS5
@Tasuki That's what you want to believe, it isn't actually true. Of course a CEO of a company has power to change things. You think Satya was the one that wanted exclusives and Copilot removed from Xbox?
Re: Xbox CSO Shuts Down Rumour About Exclusives, Insists They'll Happen Every Year
@NishimaruX Denying rumors made up by a pseudo-insider is empty talk to you? I don't know, makes sense to me
Re: Roundup: All The Biggest Xbox Reveals From June's Nintendo Direct
@FraserG Oh, that's great news!
Re: Roundup: All The Biggest Xbox Reveals From June's Nintendo Direct
@FraserG Did you confirm if Atelier is coming to Xbox? I can't find proof of it anywhere else yet
Re: Xbox Employee Responds To New Trailer Showing PS5 Logo For Gears Of War E-Day
@Weebleman Well I guess you could say they're still deciding what games to make exclusive or not, so they haven't fully decided their exclusivity strategy just yet. So technically speaking, you could argue that it's not a complete contradiction
Though Matt Booty said there wouldn't be any strategy updates during the showcase, and yet there indeed was... So there's that, too
Re: 'It Doesn't End With Gears & Clockwork' - Xbox Reporter Teases More Console Exclusives
@Fiendish-Beaver Me too, I can't wait lol, hope it actually lives up to the hype