The media too busy on talking about how Xbox didn’t sell hardware or gamepass didn’t grow than to talk about real structural(potentially worrying) problems at Sony, but we know why lol.
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I think the new spin is “you should care about console sales otherwise games might skip Xbox”
What, like Zenimax and Activision games?
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Xbox has notable partnerships with EA Play, Sega, Ubisoft cloud, and is a key part of the SquareSoft rescue plan.
The better question is now that PlayStation has burned so many bridges. Does PlayStation even still have any industry friends left?
PlayStation is the reason Square is bankrupt, PlayStation attempted to ruin CDProjectRed by banning their game, PlayStation clearly had a falling out with Sega but the details are speculative / rumors, PlayStation initially wouldn’t allow EA Access on its platform which caused Xbox and EA to form an alliance, PlayStation has been ruthless with various cross platform contracts, Capcom is now neutral/ friendly with Xbox after Sony failed to deliver proper numbers on street fighter ps4, from software has also realized like Capcom that Sony was holding them back and is also now neutral/ friendly with Xbox, other former PlayStation ps4 partners like supermassive and Kojima are also now friendly or neutral with Xbox. Indies flock to Xbox this generation because of Gamepass whereas indies often helped ps4 in those early years.
And finally the elephant in the room. The PlayStation meddling with regulators has disrupted the entire industry. Companies that wanted to be bought or partner with Xbox have been forced to wait on the sidelines. Even if Xbox isn’t ultimately the buyer, a company looking to sell needs Xbox as a potential bidder to drive up the price. Without Xbox as a potential buyer, the company will be valued far below their potential, thanks Sony! The entire industry was for Xbox purchasing Activision. Sony pissed off literally the entire industry. Hard to say what the eventual repercussions of that might be. Certainly even Sony themselves didn’t appreciate this new government spotlight as Jim Ryan (in my opinion) was asked to step down for this exact reason.
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Console sales is just not a good metric. There are many households that have multiple consoles and yet count as one. Many here have 2 or 3 Xboxes or ps5s but only one user, it’s the reason I think a refresh or pro console doesn’t do much since it’s still the same people buying again. I think users or accounts is a better metric. 50 million PS5s but could only be 20-50 million users or less. More consoles do not equal more users on the other hand more subscription does equal more users.
They act like everything is flat when reality, things are growing and looking bright. Other criteria that needs work will be worked on. But we can’t focus on positive. Doing that will be a crime.
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It sounds like Connie Booth was fired by Sony. From what David Jaffee is saying, she is one of the major reasons why Playstation is where it is. If I was Phil Spencer, I would be calling Ms Booth and asking if she wants an interview.
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I guess they already did. Earlier Jaffe claimed (on his channel) that she was approached by some xbox employees in the last 6 months or so.
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Meanwhile:
https://x.com/tomwarren/status/1717562312201023894?s=46&t=O_AGT9SEnlptKOF_2SxtqQ
I really hope PS gets their things together.
Yea MS seems to have a good succession plan in place and seems Sarah will be next up when Phil decides to retire.
They have things lined up well into the future
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https://x.com/stephentotilo/status/1717643380832759934?s=46&t=O_AGT9SEnlptKOF_2SxtqQ
Guess his source was spot on here.
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I know timing is everything, but I got to say, the current time moves are reminding me of Halo 2 opening. One side is a celebration and honor, while the other is punishment and dishonor. You know who’s who.
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I wonder if Microsoft would hire her to lead ABK after Kotick is gone, or if looking for multiple leads for each hire her to lead one if the three.
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I don’t think that’s the sort of role she’s been in perilously. She’d be a more natural fit as a matt booty type guy for ABK
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With the recent restructure, I wonder if the ultimate plan is to split ABK once Bobby is out and have Matt Booty oversee all divisions (XGS, Zenimax, Activision, Blizzard, and King), giving each their own president that reports to Booty?
Right now, excluding Bobby Kotick, you have Jamie Leder at Zenimax, Mike Ybarra at Blizzard and Tjodolf Sommestad at King. Booty could continue running XGS or they could find someone else.
In this scenario, I could see Connie Booth or someone like her running Activision.
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Idk, That’s kinda a ton for Booty to do, and also kinda what phil does?
Re: Bobby Kotick’s replacement
I would think it’d make the most sense for that to be someone who’s currently at ABK. Someone like Rob Kostich or Mike Ybarra. Seems to me that would rock the boat the least.
Phil’s job, as it is now, is to continue to sell Microsoft on the idea of gaming, and work with Sarah and Matt to insure Xbox is a success, and to get them the resources they need to do it.
As for whether Booty could handle all of the studios. People like Ybarra, Leder, etc. are the ones responsible for the studios below them, and would report everything to Booty. Booty’s responsibility is to fit everything together, and make sure the five divisions have what they need from the top. Third party deals would also be his responsibility.
In some ways, he will already be doing this with Zenimax as Jamie Leder (as president), will report to him.
I do think if they were to go this way, they would eventually hire someone to lead XGS, allowing Booty to focus on the other aspects of his job.
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One of the earlier mentioned pivots …
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It says a lot about PlayStation’s current direction that I read “Part III Remastered” as “Part II Remastered” and thought “yeah that checks out” before noticing it was the Hard Drive (which is a parody site for whoever didn’t know 
)
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