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[GI.Biz | Opinion] How long can Microsoft float on goodwill?

Shut0wen

Member
They've floated on good will since XB1. People are still buying a console with very few games. Their exclusives have overall been mediocre in general. I guess to an extent gamers are starting to figure it out. Their sales are getting very low.
I agree there exclusives imo have dipped pretty hard but as someone who has a series s and ps5 i think both have suffered from this sony on one hard seems to push out the same hand holding cinematic games like god of war and the last of us while other titles which kinda change the formula like forsaken and horizon forbidden rest are both pretty meh, while forza 5 made me realise the new formula (which they got with forza 4) is incredibly stale, halo while the campaign was actually decent but not bungie level great while the mo straight out has no content, if anything nintendo sony and ms have been abysmal last year
 

Jaybe

Member
I don’t agree with the author characterizing Xbox’s decent performance in sales at the start of the gen as ‘good will’. MS did a good job market-wise releasing a budget console and the standard console that on paper is better specs than competition. Consumers knew what it was they were buying and it was good value to them.

I agree with this though:

The window for that software to make its appearance and make a genuine competitive impact on the generation is slowly but inexorably closing.

With FH5 and Halo Infinite out, the only mainstream AAA exclusive they have that will move the needle in console base and Game Pass now that it’s hitting a saturation point is Starfield. Xbox had released some AA bangers and purchased some quality third-party day 1 game pass exclusives but that’s all baked in. Even Redfall won’t do much in the console sales/game pass regard at this stage though I do hope it’s an awesome title.
 
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Esppiral

Member
Hi-Fi Rush makes up for a lot of disappointments.
buyyvzn.png
 

jorgejjvr

Gold Member
Yup

HFR is a good small title but a meaty GOTY it ain’t
Idk man, it's goty material to me right now tbh. Incredibly unique.

And liked posted above, pentiment, age of empire, monster hunter rise, GoldenEye, atomic heart, Wu long

Good games are coming to gamepass now, and that's all I care about
 
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Idk man, it's goty material to me right now tbh. Incredibly unique.

And liked posted above, pentiment, age of empire, GoldenEye, atomic heart, Wu long

Good games are coming to gamepass now, and that's all I care about

If Microsoft only has this list of titles and don't release genuine GOTY candidates they are doomed. It's ok that you personally like these smaller titles (I do too in the case of HFR), but they alone are not sufficient for a great platform.
 

jorgejjvr

Gold Member
If Microsoft only has this list of titles and don't release genuine GOTY candidates they are doomed. It's ok that you personally like these smaller titles (I do too in the case of HFR), but they alone are not sufficient for a great platform.
Lol doomed, if they weren't doomed during the Xbox one gen, they won't be doomed now lol. They literally have Bethesda and now soon Activision (cod!!) under their belt. Plus the deepest of pockets. They won't be doomed. And they have games coming this year unlike last year

Forza, redfall, and starfield are also slated for this year as well must I remind you
 
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Lol doomed, if they weren't doomed during the Xbox one gen, they won't be doomed now lol. They literally have Bethesda and now soon Activision (cod!!) under their belt. Plus the deepest of pockets. They won't be doomed. And they have games coming this year unlike last year

Forza, redfall, and starfield are also slated for this year as well must I remind you

Activision isn't a guarantee, and Bethesda isn't what it once was. Maybe Starfield can change that, I hope it does.

My main point is that these smaller titles being the only source of appeal isn't going to work. They need bigger titles. I don't think Redfall quite matches that bill either though I am looking forward to it.
 

jorgejjvr

Gold Member
Activision isn't a guarantee, and Bethesda isn't what it once was. Maybe Starfield can change that, I hope it does.

My main point is that these smaller titles being the only source of appeal isn't going to work. They need bigger titles. I don't think Redfall quite matches that bill either though I am looking forward to it.
Obviously the hope is a mix of big and smaller games. In my experience the smaller games tend to surprise me most nowadays tbh. Something like hi Fi, like Ori, like pentiment, like hollow knight. But I'm aware you need the big ones. The hope is both get represented. But again, they literally are trying to finalize one of the biggest buy in gaming history, they aren't doomed. With gamepass I have the opposite problem usually, too much to play.

Hope their exclusives this year land and do well, but they will be fine
 
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I bet you would have said the same about It Takes Two. It will not get the most awards or Geoffs award, but i think it will get a few goty awards.
Lol lets use some logic pal. I literally played and beat it takes two but I guess it also takes more than two brain cells to understand the competition that year was abysmal
 
Your edit changes literally nothing about what I said. I'm not saying it's going to win GOTY, I'm just saying it's earned it's spot in the conversation. It'll be mentioned in GOTY conversations at the end of the year, without a doubt.

Not sure why this pains ya'll so much. It's a fantastic game. You should try it.
Because not everything deserves a spot in GOTY. Just because it’s a great game doesn’t mean it deserves it. It’s really not hard to understand
 

mrmustard

Banned
Lol lets use some logic pal. I literally played and beat it takes two but I guess it also takes more than two brain cells to understand the competition that year was abysmal
2021 had enough competition and we don't know what of the announced titles are really coming in 2023 and how many will end like Forspoken. Btw. always a pleasure to talk to people who instanly insult others.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Activision isn't a guarantee, and Bethesda isn't what it once was. Maybe Starfield can change that, I hope it does.

My main point is that these smaller titles being the only source of appeal isn't going to work. They need bigger titles. I don't think Redfall quite matches that bill either though I am looking forward to it.

Woah, dude Bethesda wasn't what they once was? Where does this come from, with one slight dud of a release in fallout 76 which they in all intents and purposes turned around?

There's nothing like fallout 3 and 4, skyrim, oblivion....these games don't take 5 years even, they take like 8..... plus they have all the studios they own.

Sometimes the posts I read on here blow my mind.
 

FunkMiller

Member
GamePass is most definitely keeping them afloat. It'd be a disaster zone without it. They do need to get some actual games out.
 

ZehDon

Member
Ok, I haven't seen the updated version. Love it!

They're selling every console they make and they've release three absolute GOTY contenders on Game Pass recently, so where Microsoft is really falling down is pretty much just in the twitter-sphere PR wars. On that front, I think Microsoft has backed themselves into a corner that only time gets them out of. Last year, they decided to break with tradition. Instead of announcing project five years too early with CGI trailers, they decided to focus on titles in the next twelve month period. The showcase they just had showed off the first half of the year's line up. At the June 2023 showcase, we'll see the rest of 2023 and the first half of next year. That cadence is better than what they've done, but they haven't a complete cycle yet - so people are seeing half of 2023 and thinking that's all they've got. Now, in June 2023, if they don't actually have more titles for 2023, they'll have perception problems. But as long as they keep dropping the goods on Game Pass, I'm kind of ok with it?
 
It will sell consoles to console gamers.
Won't be that much. For every big title that MS releases, Sony releases 3-4.

PS5 outselling Series S/X during the holidays in Xbox strongest market, despite Series pricecut and PS5 shortages, shows that goodwill for MS has been damaged severely.
 
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Kvally

Banned
Won't be that much. For every big title that MS releases, Sony releases 3-4.

PS5 outselling Series S/X during the holidays in Xbox strongest market, despite Series pricecut and PS5 shortages, shows that goodwill for MS has been damaged severely.
What does your console warring and bringing up PS5 sales have to do with Xbox and Starfield? Find a new profession.
 
What does your console warring and bringing up PS5 sales have to do with Xbox and Starfield? Find a new profession.
Because Playstation/Sony is directly responsible for MS dependence on goodwill, which is becoming more and more of an issue as Sony is gaining marketshare rapidly at MS expense.

You can't talk about goodwill for MS without including Sony as a direct competitor and writing it off as console warring.
 
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PerfectDark

Banned
Sony makes better games. Xbox is not capable of making any games besides Forza. Throwing in a terrible Halo game adds nothing of value. Especially free to play trash. Imagine if Sony made God of War free to play trash.

MS purchased Minecraft did nothing with it. Minecraft updates the same as it would of without MS behind it. Minecraft is still 1080p on Series X. Minecraft Legends is coming out this year. This game would be the same with or without MS. Bethesda games even though MS bought them out is not a MS game. They barley make games and if MS didn't suck so hard you would be playing the same game on both consoles regardless. MS did not make a new game by acquiring Bethesda. This changed nothing. Not like MS bought Bethesda and now they have a bigger budget and are making twice as many games. Not the case.

Xbox is garbage when it comes to video games. They don't make any video games so there is no point to argue. MS does have the best hardware for consoles. And MS pushed VRR, 120pfs, 1440p, 4k and Sony does not do this. What confuses me most if MS pushes harder for things like this let could careless that Minecraft is 1080p on consoles.

If Xbox disappeared tomorrow it wouldn't be missed because they make no games. Wouldn't hurt video games at all. If Nintendo or PlayStation disappeared tomorrow it would destroy video games.
 
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mckmas8808

Banned
He's not. But he absolutely could be. Literally 3 of my favorite games over the last year. All near the very top. It's genuinely bizarre to me that it's supposed to be some gotcha.

Because those games are decent to good. But only one of them are considered GOTY contending.
 
My goodwill is going to Float until I've put in over 100 hour into Starfield.
If I delete the game before I hit 100 hours, then I'll shoot down my goodwill.
Just aim as if your pointing at the Chinese Balloon drifting over the US. Pull Trigger.
 
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