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[Craig of War]

Damn and some people said it would fail but then it reach 20 million and then they said it will never reach 30 million it looks like it will be way over 30 million subscribers by the end of this year when Starfield and Halo comes on it day 1 it.

 

[Krizalidx11]

And Sony just gave them MLB on Gamepass, it's a game that matters to Americans, no one outside of US will buy it btw

 

[sol_bad]

Is that pretty much the whole Xbox user base?

 

[too much eslim]

I know it's a great value and nothing against those who enjoy the service, and I know it's been discussed at length, but I'm just not in favor of a "Netflix" model for gaming. I like to "own" and play my library at my leisure, and I also think that a subscription service will ultimately be a negative for the industry at large. It will gradually erode into a more "disposable/throwaway" mentality towards development and content imho. Passion and real creativity will ultimately die on the altar. (at least in terms of "mainstream" offerings)

Do like 20% of games?

 

[eyesabitdull]

So this is what it's come down to?

Xbox hasn't come out with a new game worth talking about since the launch of the new generation and so we're just going to talk about gamepass numbers over and over?

Fuck me man.

Gaming is in such a shitty place right now.

 

[Matt_Fox]

So this is what it's come down to?

Xbox hasn't come out with a new game worth talking about since the launch of the new generation and so we're just going to talk about gamepass numbers over and over?

Fuck me man.

Gaming is in such a shitty place right now.

What a strange and blinkered take?

Sony: The PS5 is the fastest selling console they've ever put out
Microsoft: Subscription up 5 million in 3 months
Nintendo: Reaching 80 million milestone for Switch

The state of gaming has never been stronger, it deserves celebration not miserable negativity.

 

[MadPanda]

Is that pretty much the whole Xbox user base?

Not really, as XBL Gold has had at least double of this number. Plus this isn't only about Xbox consoles.

So this is what it's come down to?

Xbox hasn't come out with a new game worth talking about since the launch of the new generation and so we're just going to talk about gamepass numbers over and over?

Fuck me man.

Gaming is in such a shitty place right now.

Who hurt you?

 

[CuteFaceJay]

That's pretty decent.

 

[lh032]

so what is the actual profit here? so far microsoft did not show the financial report on gamepass, all we see here is subscription count.
I mean you can say alot of things on the subscription count since you can sub with 1 dollar as well.

Not trolling, just curious.

 

[Menzies]

so what is the actual profit here? so far microsoft did not show the financial report on gamepass, all we see here is subscription count.
I mean you can say alot of things on the subscription count since you can sub with 1 dollar as well.

Not trolling, just curious.

I don't think they'll give us that level of granular transparency tbh - the main thing is if the division overall runs an operating profit.

I think people often look at Game Pass as a business model siloed, but it is very much supported through their usual revenue streams of digital game sales, DLC, MTX, Minecraft etc.

 

[Boss Mog]

I'd be curious to know how many of those are $1 subs. I wouldn't be surprised if it was way more than half.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

I'd be curious to know how many of those are $1 subs. I wouldn't be surprised if it was way more than half.

This is same as saying pc games are unprofitable cause of piracy.

Gamers take care of companies that make good games or are generous. You should see how much extra people pay for humble bundles.

 

[Boss Mog]

This is same as saying pc games are unprofitable cause of piracy.

Gamers take care of companies that make good games or are generous. You should see how much extra people pay for humble bundles.

What does any of that have to do with knowing the percentage of $1 subs among those 23M?

 

[TBiddy]

I'd be curious to know how many of those are $1 subs. I wouldn't be surprised if it was way more than half.

What are you basing that on?

 

[ZywyPL]

So GP current userbase is already half as big as PS+ userbase after 8 years and 120M consoles sold, without any big games, nor lot of XB consoles sold... I think what drives GP success the most (at least for now) is not GP itself, what it does, what it offers, but the 70-80€ price tag of the games available elsewhere. The game prices have simply reached the point which many people cannot justify anymore, hence are leaning towards F2P games and now GP more than ever before. The reality is people on forums can criticize services like GP, Netflix etc. as much as they want, but at the end of the day the majority will decide what they prefer, what's better model for them.

so what is the actual profit here? so far microsoft did not show the financial report on gamepass, all we see here is subscription count.
I mean you can say alot of things on the subscription count since you can sub with 1 dollar as well.

Not trolling, just curious.

Hard to tell how it's going overall for MS, because GP subs are one thing, and in theory all of those 23M people can be 1$ subs, but there's also a second layer of revenue from all the DLC, MTX etc. for the games available on the service. And honestly I don't think they'll ever share the detailed numbers, they will most likely just report the quarterly/annual revenue and profits under Xbox division and that's all, no hardware no software sales, just the overall result of the division.

 

[Godot25]

So this is what it's come down to?

Xbox hasn't come out with a new game worth talking about since the launch of the new generation and so we're just going to talk about gamepass numbers over and over?

Fuck me man.

Gaming is in such a shitty place right now.

I think, that that's exactly what is interesting about this whole situation

That Microsoft gained 5 million Game Pass subs despite the fact, that they didn't launch single first party game.

It points out to two things:

• GamePass is just great service with or without first party
• We can expect huge growth in moments when first party content will arrive.

But if you want to be butthurt then there is nothing stopping you

 

[Godot25]

I'd be curious to know how many of those are $1 subs. I wouldn't be surprised if it was way more than half.

You keep saying that since april 2020 when numbers started rising sharply. And I wonder how it is possible, that 1$ deals expired for plenty of people and number of subs is still rising.

Very strange indeed...

Today I even saw a conspiracy theory, that 23 million is number of people who have or had a Game Pass in history of service. Meaning that Microsoft is including lapsed subscribers in total subscribers count. Which is frankly ridiculous and it shows how much this success of Game Pass ire some Playstation fanboys. Which is sad, really.

 

[KingT731]

Not really, as XBL Gold has had at least double of this number. Plus this isn't only about Xbox consoles.

MS hasn't announced the number of Gold subs in nearly a decade. The last time it was mentioned was during the peak of the 360 years(2010) when they said half the XBL users had Gold(25M XBL users so around 12.5M) and have since only reported MAU. Based on the XB1 console sales (you don't need Gold for PC) estimates would put Gold subs around 25-27M which would fall in line % wise with the rate of PS+ subs as well (a bit under half the base).

Anecdotal part here but most of my friends(both IRL and Online)who game primarily on Xbox have switched Gold for Game Pass Ultimate. So I could see these numbers being accurate.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Hasnt gamepass got its own dedicated thread?

 

[TBiddy]

Hasnt gamepass got its own dedicated thread?

Yes. And if you had read that, you'd know that "Notable Announcements" can get their own threads. Feel free to click "Ignore Thread" if you don't like this one.

 

[Boss Mog]

You keep saying that since april 2020 when numbers started rising sharply. And I wonder how it is possible, that 1$ deals expired for plenty of people and number of subs is still rising.

Very strange indeed...

Today I even saw a conspiracy theory, that 23 million is number of people who have or had a Game Pass in history of service. Meaning that Microsoft is including lapsed subscribers in total subscribers count. Which is frankly ridiculous and it shows how much this success of Game Pass ire some Playstation fanboys. Which is sad, really.

I keep saying that? It's literally the first time i ever asked that question.

What are you basing that on?

It was a really good deal. I'm not against Gamepass, I'm just generally curious to know how many of those 23M are 1$ subs.

 

[Godot25]

I keep saying that? It's literally the first time i ever asked that question.


It was a really good deal. I'm not against Gamepass, I'm just generally curious to know how many of those 23M are 1$ subs.

I didn't meant you in particular. More like broad Playstation GAF community.
April 2020 - 10 million subs? Nah, they got 1$ 1 month promotion
September 2020 - 15 million subs? Nah, they got 1$ 1 month promotion
December 2020 - 18 million? Nah, they got 1$ 3 month promotion
April 2020 - 23 million? 1$ promotions again

I wonder how it's possible, that numbers are rising and people are just using that 1$ promotion and not extending their subscription (according to the logic of some people). It's really strange stuff

 

[Boss Mog]

I didn't meant you in particular. More like broad Playstation GAF community.
April 2020 - 10 million subs? Nah, they got 1$ 1 month promotion
September 2020 - 15 million subs? Nah, they got 1$ 1 month promotion
December 2020 - 18 million? Nah, they got 1$ 3 month promotion
April 2020 - 23 million? 1$ promotions again

I wonder how it's possible, that numbers are rising and people are just using that 1$ promotion and not extending their subscription (according to the logic of some people). It's really strange stuff

It wasn't just a month though people could get gamepass for up to 3 years if they bought live gold subs and used the deal.

 

[Godot25]

It wasn't just a month though people could get gamepass for up to 3 years if they bought live gold subs and used the deal.

But some of the people are twisting it like "You can get 3 years of Game Pass Ultimate for 1$"
Which is not true. Because you also need to grab a 3 years of Gold before that (3x60$) and then use a conversion for 1$.

And mainly. People who are using conversion trick for 3 years of Game Pass Ultimate are unlikely to stop subbing to Game Pass after those 3 years, because after three years they will be invested in ecosystem.
So...Gold users are using a conversion method for GPU subs, which is exactly what Microsoft wants (Microsoft wants people to sub to GP instead of Gold. That's the reason why the wanted to raise a price of Gold to make it nobrainer to rather sub to Game Pass). And people who are using 1$ promotion for new subs are probably sticking long term (that's why number of subs is increasing day by day).

So, everything is according to plans...

 

[Alright]

the 70-80€ price tag of the games available elsewhere. The game prices have simply reached the point which many people cannot justify anymore, hence are leaning towards F2P games and now GP more than ever before.

The problem is, the games aren't worth the price tag (subjective) because the games that are released are shit, riddled with bugs, unplayable or full of MTX and Predatory lootboxes.

Take Avengers for example; a very fun single player game that turns in to an MMO lootbox-fest.

Now we have Cyberpunk releasing broken on two consoles, barely playable on next gen and pretty decent on a powerful PC.

The trust in the industry is gone and all MS are doing is a race to the bottom, while grabbing all of those Mobile-gaming whales on the way down. It's a self fulfilling prophecy.

Don't get me wrong, i love GP, but i love it because the industry is so shite. Hell no will i pay full price for games anymore, or even buy games any more. Why bother? I would rather sift through 10 games of possibly shit, for a £1 a time, vs spending money on a game that is probably shit for £40.

Here's the kicker; Nintendo and Sony will keep doing what they're doing, because it works. There's a chance that Sony are trying to step in to the American market to take a piece of the pie, but they will have their foot slammed in the door if they try.

Think of this; What happens if Gamepass (the netflix of gaming) is as successful as Netflix? Memba what happened when Netflix got successful? Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime etc etc etc.

Apple, Amazon, Google and even Facebook are sat on the edges of the arena, waiting for MS to do the ground work. If MS are successful with GP, they will be eaten alive by the other three.

The last time our industry was at a crossroads like this was in the mid 360-gen, when traditional gaming (casual vs hardcore) was pushed aside to chase the wider audience.

What's happening now is that the 'casual' audience; the COD/Fifa players, are being pushed aside for MTX, Lootbox loving, ftp playing, fickle mobile players.

TL;DR: Pessimism

 

[TBiddy]

Apple, Amazon, Google and even Facebook are sat on the edges of the arena, waiting for MS to do the ground work. If MS are successful with GP, they will be eaten alive by the other three.

None of these companies have any presence in gaming. Also, what?

 

[ZywyPL]

So this is what it's come down to?

Xbox hasn't come out with a new game worth talking about since the launch of the new generation and so we're just going to talk about gamepass numbers over and over?

Fuck me man.

Gaming is in such a shitty place right now.

It's just yet another proof that most people don't care whether games are cross-gen, next-gen only, 1st or 3rd party, exclusives or multiplatform.

 

[cromofo]

If the sub conversion was such an issue, MS would've already pulled the plug on it. The fact that after 4 years it's still possible to do, makes the "i bet half of those are $1 subs" concern even more retarded.

 

[Boss Mog]

But some of the people are twisting it like "You can get 3 years of Game Pass Ultimate for 1$"
Which is not true. Because you also need to grab a 3 years of Gold before that (3x60$) and then use a conversion for 1$.

And mainly. People who are using conversion trick for 3 years of Game Pass Ultimate are unlikely to stop subbing to Game Pass after those 3 years, because after three years they will be invested in ecosystem.
So...Gold users are using a conversion method for GPU subs, which is exactly what Microsoft wants (Microsoft wants people to sub to GP instead of Gold. That's the reason why the wanted to raise a price of Gold to make it nobrainer to rather sub to Game Pass). And people who are using 1$ promotion for new subs are probably sticking long term (that's why number of subs is increasing day by day).

So, everything is according to plans...

When I used to be Live Gold I bought subs for no more than 30 bucks, never 60. Also there is no ecosystem in Gamepass. With Playstation + you get to play the game you add to your library and it's yours to play forever as long as your sub is active, giving you incentive to resub but with Gamepass, it's like Netflix, games will come and go and you will no longer be able to play games you had installed if they left gamepass. MS says you get a discount on buying those games but you still need to buy them to play them once they leave gamepass.

 

[Alright]

None of these companies have any presence in gaming. Also, what?

Luna, Stadia, Occulus and Apple app-store = have no presence in gaming?

 

[Godot25]

When I used to be Live Gold I bought subs for no more than 30 bucks, never 60. Also there is no ecosystem in Gamepass. With Playstation + you get to play the game you add to your library and it's yours to play forever as long as your sub is active, giving you incentive to resub but with Gamepass, it's like Netflix, games will come and go and you will no longer be able to play games you had installed if they left gamepass. MS says you get a discount on buying those games but you still need to buy them to play them once they leave gamepass.

Yeah. But that's true for every service. I always bought PS Plus for half of official price. But my point still stands. Nobody is having 3 years of GPU for 1$.
And of course people will be invested after 3 years. DLC's are not part of subscription. And few people are only playing Game Pass games. They are probably buying a lot of other games. So they are paying for GPU and giving Microsoft additional revenue through other purchases. And many people are also buying games that are leaving service because of 20% discount which is additional revenue.

And if there is someone who for example have Playstation as a main platform and buying all of their games on PS5, but also "only" have Game Pass on Xbox with no additional purchases, it's still more then 0$ that Microsoft would have from those players without service like Game Pass.

 

[Mattyp]

Think of this; What happens if Gamepass (the netflix of gaming) is as successful as Netflix? Memba what happened when Netflix got successful? Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime etc etc etc.

Apple, Amazon, Google and even Facebook are sat on the edges of the arena, waiting for MS to do the ground work. If MS are successful with GP, they will be eaten alive by the other three.

ah yes, the largest company will be eaten by smaller ones with no game ips or assets. Disney to Netflix is in no way a comparison,

We remember stradia right?...? Right.

 

[Godot25]

Luna, Stadia, Occulus and Apple app-store = have no presence in gaming?

I think that Google have their own problems. They recently closed their first-party studios and they cannot hold a ground 1,5 years after launch. Luna? You mean by Amazon who cancelled more games then produced? And i'm sure people who are playing console games are interested in Apple's offer .
And Facebook is still VR only.

So again? Which one of them is right now a real threat to Microsoft?

 

[Bernd Lauert]

When I used to be Live Gold I bought subs for no more than 30 bucks, never 60. Also there is no ecosystem in Gamepass. With Playstation + you get to play the game you add to your library and it's yours to play forever as long as your sub is active, giving you incentive to resub but with Gamepass, it's like Netflix, games will come and go and you will no longer be able to play games you had installed if they left gamepass. MS says you get a discount on buying those games but you still need to buy them to play them once they leave gamepass.

You... literally just described the ecosystem. People buy the games they want to play if they're not on Gamepass anymore. Some people even buy the games when they're still on Gamepass.

 

[Kev Kev]

Xbox fans after reading this story on 4/20:

 

[Alright]

ah yes, the largest company will be eaten by smaller ones with no game ips or assets. Disney to Netflix is in no way a comparison,

We remember stradia right?...? Right.

I never said they would get eaten by the 'smaller' ones (without looking, i'm pretty sure Apple makes more money from the App store than MS does from Xbox. I would be very happy to be wrong)

Let's say, Microsoft smash it out of the park this gen and pull a 360. They sell 100 million consoles and Sony sells 100 million consoles.

Microsoft sell those 100 million based on the hugely popular GP. MS load it with content and they reach an amazing 60 million subscriptions and make $5 billion a year from it.

Do you reckon Apple et al will sit around and clap their hands, nod their heads and say "well done MS" ? No. They're going to want to eat in to that pie.

The problem now is, Microsoft are competing with Amazon. (Memba when Phil said they're not competing with Sony, but they're competing with Google and Amazon? I memba. )

Now you have four companies, fighting over a GP like subscription, all American tech companies, all offering the same deals and fighting over the same market share.

Chuck a successful Xcloud in to the mix and all of a sudden you have Luna and Stadia back in the game.

"New, from Amazon, the Alexa stick! It streams Amazon video, plays amazon games - which are free if you own amazon prime, it comes with a controller and offers full, third party support" (Remember, the game only has to work on Azure and AWS for it to be streamed. EA and Acti will port their games to AWS in a heart-beat. Doubly so because Apple happens to use AWS as well...)

All of that is massively off-topic, but none of this is surprising. People on this very forum have been telling me how gaming is going to streaming. As soon as it does, Microsoft are competing with...Amazon and Google.

That's before we dig in to VR where Facebook has positioned itself as one of the market leaders.

If you like 1000's of dross indie titles, always online GAAS, predatory mechanics and the 'mobilisation' of console gaming, then the future has never looked so bright. If not, well, you're SOL

 

[Alright]

So again? Which one of them is right now a real threat to Microsoft?

The ones that Microsoft have even said, they're competing with; Amazon and Google.

Do people even listen to what industry leaders say? Or do people just ignore and consume?

 

[JCK75]

I don't know why people keep asking if it's making money.
we don't know how many people have standard and how many have ultimate so going with ultimate pricing that's over $2 Billion per year coming in, the last bit of data we have on say Steam is they had $4.3 billion in revenue in 2017
I'd say Gamepass is in a pretty damn good place financially especially since gamepass is filled with first taste crack offerings (My son got to play Minecraft dungeons for free, but I eventually felt the pressure to cough up the cash for the DLC)

 

[Godot25]

The ones that Microsoft have even said, they're competing with; Amazon and Google.

Do people even listen to what industry leaders say? Or do people just ignore and consume?

I heard what Spencer said.
But from the moment he said it Google closed their first-party studios and Amazon released and unreleased Crucible and cancelled LOTR MMORPG game.

So, as I said. They have their own problems right now

 

[Smoke6]

Yup. People got their 1$ 3 months deal and for many people that deal already expired and somehow number of subs is still increasing.

It's like maybe that 1$ deal is a hook a many people will stay subscribed after that because it's a great service. Imagine that...

Man fuck outta here with that shit dude! Peoples till posting about that $1trick and I sure hardly many of you here are paying full price for this service at all!

Still 24mil subs even at full price is not good he’ll Netflix has over 300mil subs and still holding on!

these threads get old when basic maths and logic about the companies history tells you otherwise. Let’s just be real for a moment, if MS wasn’t down last gen this wouldn’t even been a thought of a service at all!

this is the lifeline they’re trying to use and justify to stay around and I swear if Sony wipes the floor with them this gen gamepass is either going up or out!

sells trump subs for many facets of business and this is one that won’t benefit from a rental service line this at all!

 

[Alright]

I heard what Spencer said.
But from the moment he said it Google closed their first-party studios and Amazon released and unreleased Crucible and cancelled LOTR MMORPG game.

So, as I said. They have their own problems right now

They do have their own problems, but what's Stadias biggest problem? Impact in the market. They didn't have the force to penetrate in to ground that hasn't been broken. Google just don't have that weight.

Microsoft though, they could easily break that ground, but when they do, the rest will be coming in like a wrecking ball.

Just like Netflix. They sunk a huge amount of money in to create this 'new' market. Once they turned a profit and owned 100% of that market, the rest came out of the woodwork. Seriously, list all of the streaming services that you can now get:

Apple tv
Amazon
Disney
Hulu
BBC Iplayer
ITV player
Channel 4OD

and they're just the ones i can think of off the top of my head. Now replace those with gaming services.

Microsoft know what's coming. They've even said as much.

 

[Godot25]

They do have their own problems, but what's Stadias biggest problem? Impact in the market. They didn't have the force to penetrate in to ground that hasn't been broken. Google just don't have that weight.

Microsoft though, they could easily break that ground, but when they do, the rest will be coming in like a wrecking ball.

Just like Netflix. They sunk a huge amount of money in to create this 'new' market. Once they turned a profit and owned 100% of that market, the rest came out of the woodwork. Seriously, list all of the streaming services that you can now get:

Apple tv
Amazon
Disney
Hulu
BBC Iplayer
ITV player
Channel 4OD

and they're just the ones i can think of off the top of my head. Now replace those with gaming services.

Microsoft know what's coming. They've even said as much.

And you think that they can penetrate market without exclusive content? Than you are optimist.
I gave Stadia benefit of the doubt. I tried it and it works fine. But without exclusive content there is literally no reason to invest to that ecosystem.

 

[Godot25]

Man fuck outta here with that shit dude! Peoples till posting about that $1trick and I sure hardly many of you here are paying full price for this service at all!

Still 24mil subs even at full price is not good he’ll Netflix has over 300mil subs and still holding on!

these threads get old when basic maths and logic about the companies history tells you otherwise. Let’s just be real for a moment, if MS wasn’t down last gen this wouldn’t even been a thought of a service at all!

this is the lifeline they’re trying to use and justify to stay around and I swear if Sony wipes the floor with them this gen gamepass is either going up or out!

sells trump subs for many facets of business and this is one that won’t benefit from a rental service line this at all!

1. that's true for every gaming sub service. But again, it doesn't change the point that nobody is "paying 1$ for 3 years of GPU" which is parroted by some people around here
2. Maybe try to find out how much subs Netflix had when it was on the market same time as Game Pass is (almost 4 years). Also, you are conveniently not talking about a fact, that GPU is one of the revenue stream in gaming for Microsoft and not only revenue stream in case of Netflix and subscription
3. Also, it that 1$ conversion was hurting Microsoft so much they would figure out how to disable it after 4 years, right?
4. Yes. Microsoft would probably not make Game Pass if the were a market leader. But it's great service and it's clear that this Microsoft's plan will work. Because we are only at the beginning and it's already working. Numbers of subs is climbing and higher it gets, the better service we will have. And Outriders and MLB deals are a proof of that.

 

[Alright]

And you think that they can penetrate market without exclusive content? Than you are optimist.
I gave Stadia benefit of the doubt. I tried it and it works fine. But without exclusive content there is literally no reason to invest to that ecosystem.

A few years ago i would have agreed, the landscape has changed though.

Microsoft have lacked exclusive content for a while now. Sure, they still have their franchises and they've bought studios but they're still selling all of their new consoles. The lack of exclusive content - and I mean that in the broad sense of the term, isn't hurting them right now.

Add to that the recent articles regarding how AAA content from Sony is 'bad', how full priced games are bad (some replies in this very thread) and how the perception is changing, be it naturally or manufactured, to one that exclusive content isn't a big deal anymore.

So now that exclusive content is less important than it was a few years ago, all Google have to do is offer 3rd party content at a better price than Microsoft. Playing Stadia on Google Chrome vs paying £350 for a console, is going to be a big difference. That's not ignoring the 'hook' that these tech companies still need to use to differentiate themselves from one-another, which, used to be, exclusive content.

Unfortunately for western gamers, the big Ameri-tech companies aren't aiming for western gamers, they're looking to position themselves to sell in Asia. They've stated the importance of Asia to each one of their respective businesses. The Asian market is a hot bed for mobile(phone) gaming and mobile(on the go) gaming. How hard would it be for Apple to make a mobile gaming device, or to have the Iphone 14 powered by their ARM processors (or whatever technical mumbo jumbo) to make their next phone a serious gaming device?

Chuck Google Chrome on your Apple Iphone to stream Google Stadia via the Appstore, which is all delivered by Amazon WWS and all of whom offer a GP service, and Microsoft will be reliving the Zune/Windows Phone days.

 

[TrebleShot]

3 or 4 good games and many many mediocre ones being played by 23m people.

McDonald’s is popular but it ain’t steak.

 

[MOTM]

Maybe. I don't touch PlayStation so

Of course I'm 'anti-xbox'. It's frustrating as fuck going from day one OG xbox to this tripe now.

The xbone was shit and a bad idea, but at least they had an idea and a direction, albeit a stupid one.

Now though? look at this and other threads. Wall to wall of Gamepass, Xcloud, buying studios and Just wait.

Microsoft have no identity in the market and if anyone here can't see that relying on gamepass success and it being a huge success, will spell the end of xbox.

I don't need to bring up Halo, but I will. The fuck have they done to that game? Grappling hooks and zooming about?

All this talk of amazing games coming. Where is Condemned 3 or Alan Wake 2? Why cancel scale bound? Why was crackdown 3 so shit? Why cancel Fable and then bring it back?

And the worst of all, of all of the fucking rare game to remake, Xbox have decided to throw money at a studio to remake perfect dark! A remake of a 360 game (which tanked) that was a remake of a Nintendo game. All of the industry defining genres that Microsoft have been a part of for 20 years and they remake perfect dark? Why not appeal to Nintendo fans by remaking Viva Pinata, the game that everyone enjoyed? or Conker, that would fit in very well as another mascot for Xbox

Nahh, let's buy studios (let's hope their games are managed better than Halo) and spread some more or bollox on twitter about how amazing THIS E3 will be. Ignoring all of the genuinely amazing Ips sat on shelves collecting dust

sick of it

Everybody, look at this !

 

[Godot25]

A few years ago i would have agreed, the landscape has changed though.

Microsoft have lacked exclusive content for a while now. Sure, they still have their franchises and they've bought studios but they're still selling all of their new consoles. The lack of exclusive content - and I mean that in the broad sense of the term, isn't hurting them right now.

Add to that the recent articles regarding how AAA content from Sony is 'bad', how full priced games are bad (some replies in this very thread) and how the perception is changing, be it naturally or manufactured, to one that exclusive content isn't a big deal anymore.

So now that exclusive content is less important than it was a few years ago, all Google have to do is offer 3rd party content at a better price than Microsoft. Playing Stadia on Google Chrome vs paying £350 for a console, is going to be a big difference. That's not ignoring the 'hook' that these tech companies still need to use to differentiate themselves from one-another, which, used to be, exclusive content.

Unfortunately for western gamers, the big Ameri-tech companies aren't aiming for western gamers, they're looking to position themselves to sell in Asia. They've stated the importance of Asia to each one of their respective businesses. The Asian market is a hot bed for mobile(phone) gaming and mobile(on the go) gaming. How hard would it be for Apple to make a mobile gaming device, or to have the Iphone 14 powered by their ARM processors (or whatever technical mumbo jumbo) to make their next phone a serious gaming device?

Chuck Google Chrome on your Apple Iphone to stream Google Stadia via the Appstore, which is all delivered by Amazon WWS and all of whom offer a GP service, and Microsoft will be reliving the Zune/Windows Phone days.

Yup. I forgot, that Microsoft only has Azure datacenters and recently claimed, that they will build 100 datacenters/year
And of course, again you are ignoring fact that Microsoft also has a cloud service and you don't need to pay £350 for console to access Game Pass and Microsoft services. Yup, i know that streaming is only 720p, but Spencer said few days ago that Series X blades are already in internal testing and after deployment the tech will be better than Stadia's tech.

 

[Alright]

Yup. I forgot, that Microsoft only has Azure datacenters and recently claimed, that they will build 100 datacenters/year
And of course, again you are ignoring fact that Microsoft also has a cloud service and you don't need to pay £350 for console to access Game Pass and Microsoft services. Yup, i know that streaming is only 720p, but Spencer said few days ago that Series X blades are already in internal testing and after deployment the tech will be better than Stadia's tech.

I'm not denying Microsoft are doing any of that, quite the opposite. MS are doing what MS unfortunately do best; Come up with an innovative idea then flop on the follow through, open the door to a competitor who follows through better, and Microsoft are left in the dust.

The Ipod and Ipad could have and should have been MS' own tech, but they flopped it at the finish line. I do feel bad for them when this happens, it's cool to hate MS but sometimes they just deserve some credit.

Streaming tech just isn't focused on the West, it's focused on Asia. Generally, they have better wifi with more coverage than the west and more people who are focused on 'mobile' gaming.

I've no doubt at all that Xcloud will be the best of the best streaming service. I've no doubt that it will be the most popular and successful. But MS won't own 100% of that market for long.

And to tie all of that back to the OT: Microsofts success in the streaming content+subscription market, will spell their own 'downfall' for want of a less dramatic work. They will be fighting on two fronts with one department (xbox). Hopefully, MS are looking at diversifying their Xbox department with more hardware than just consoles: A 'firestick' for home streaming and a 'portable solution' for those on the go (Asia-centric if needs be).

 

[TBiddy]

Luna, Stadia, Occulus and Apple app-store = have no presence in gaming?

Explain to me again, how you expect Luna, Stadia, Oculus and App Store to compete with Game Pass?

 

[Alright]

Explain to me again, how you expect Luna, Stadia, Oculus and App Store to compete with Game Pass?

Read what i put to the other guy. It explains it.