They’re not cancelling Game Pass Ultimate - it would lead to class action lawsuits, and at the new price it’s no doubt bringing in money.
The new appointment is not a huge blunder no matter how many asshole grifters claim so on YouTube, which is only a bit less toxic than the shithouse formerly known as Twitter.
Yes it’s a surprise, and yes they might change things up a bit - but that might just mean taking a few more risks - which Phil was already doing with hybrid, or it might mean improving cloud so it can bring in more players.
With the hybrid Xbox they get the weight of Windows and Microsoft overall behind them, so doubt that’s changing, and the rest let’s wait and see.
The rush to pass judgement from a few press releases is a fucking joke - yes it’s a shock but I’ve no doubt if Asha miraculously made Xbox number 1 again there’d be lots of screaming about “big bad Microsoft” again from some of the twattish “Xbox is dead” lot and lots of “see I told you she’d be great” from those that are currently slamming her appointment.
Anyone dooming and glooming, just chill the fuck out and let’s see how this plays out
This. I can’t remember who reported it at the time, but after Tim Stuart made this statement, they said there were some at Xbox pushing back on the idea of Xbox going multi-platform. If it was Phil (and maybe Sarah too ), as was suspected at the time, then I think that was probably the start of Satya wanting a Yes Man/Woman in place instead.
It sucks, but I do think because of Phil, the previous layoffs and studio closures were approached with more care and nuance that meant we still have the likes of Double Fine and Compulsion around. Now, I think they’re more likely to be cut and only studios with certified “bangers”, kept around.
I’m not entirely convinced that next-gen hybrid is happening. Ditto Game Pass Ultimate is absolutely not ‘safe’? Why would it be? It’s a question of numbers. How many subscribers actually have it locked down for years to come? I suspect the percentage is fractional compared to the overall subscription base.
At the end of the day we have all the history of tech giants right under our noses and when they enact ‘change’, anything is possible. hardware can come or go, services can be created or shuttered, people can be hired or fired.
I think if people take a stance whereby they become entrenched in any given belief about what’s coming (hybrid next-gen console/pc, or keeping Game Pass Ultimate) it can lead to more frustration when that doesn’t pan out.
All I can see is Phil Spencer’s retirement in and of itself isn’t shocking per se. But Sarah Bond quitting at the same time? That’s interesting.
The hybrid console by this point would have a lot of contracts signed, it’d probably cost more to cancel it than go ahead - and if they didn’t do a console at all it would breach what they’ve already said.
Game Pass is what keeps most people around - it’s not going anywhere, not least because it provides the online multiplayer so they’d lose a ton of money if they made that free.
As for Game Pass higher tiers, they almost certainly bring in a ton of cash, particularly given how many people have been on the higher tiers according to the financial results - and honestly if they did cancel them they’d have to refund me a ton of cash and I’d go purely Steam and so would many others - and we’re often free big spenders and would completely kill the progress they’ve made on PC which is really important to them.
We’d be talking tens of billions lost in revenue that would hit their financial results and in particular their growth prospects - yes AI and Azure would soon make it up but there’s no reason for them to do so as it’s not like Windows Phone where it’s costing more to produce than you’re making in profit.
Honestly it feels like you’re in a gloom spiral and decided to take this news the worst possible way - there’s no suggestion it’s going that way so let’s wait and see, and let’s not pay attention to the “Xbox is dead lol” assholes on Twitter / YouTube
I’m not on a gloom spiral at all. But I do see a lot of ‘absolutism’ from those who believe they’re certain things are going happen according to a certain road map.
Sarah Bond was in charge of that next-gen hardware. She’s gone. And we have no idea what contracts were or weren’t signed or how far along it was. Youtubers don’t count as ‘evidence’ either way. And with Game Pass Ultimate they already showed they were experimenting when they drastically hiked the price with effects we don’t know yet.
My position is simple: wait and see. It’s others who seem hellbent on shouting down anything inquisitive about what’s happening at Xbox. And that includes potential strategy shifts where nothing is off limits.
OK yep agree to disagree, we can see how it plays out - I choose to be hopeful, you want to be more pessimistic and that’s fine.
I’m just saying from the noises they’re making so far, it doesn’t sound like a huge pivot - and financially it would be a strange decisions to make given it’s Microsoft’s only direct-to-consumer avenue that’s very valuable to them.
But if I turn out to be wrong I’ll admit it - and agreed, let’s wait and see
I’m actually not being pessimistic at all. The real ‘pessimism’ would be to see them continue down their current path. And that path is not exactly working out.
I was never sold on the idea of a hybrid console (especially if it’s exorbitantly priced) and Game Pass being tinkered with constantly in terms of tiers and price wasn’t a good look either. It all lacked stability.
So if they come in with a wrecking ball and revolutionize the whole brand, I’m all for it. Here’s why I play on Xbox: it’s the most pick up and play effortless system out there. And it has the best controller. But I was playing Xbox long before Game Pass came about so my interest in the brand isn’t tied to that part of the business.
Hopefully they allow those studios to just become independent instead of shutting them down, whoever those studios are, I’ve seen some industry people saying that there will be more layoffs and studio closures this year and I don’t think Xbox will be exempt from that.
Wait and see is the correct approach i think. But i would be a bit surprised if big negative things (firings, studio closures, price increases) start now with the new CEO. Normally you do this with the old CEO to give the new some headway.
There’s too much conspiracy and weird narratives for why anything happens when the simple reason exists for things happening and that is Microsoft optimizing their financials. “Oh, it’s Game Pass, oh it’s the multiplatform, oh it’s ABK” when the reality is business-wise Xbox was doing fine since years and years ago, but Microsoft and companies like them don’t just want fine and there’s always a new metric of growth to chase.
I mean I hope you’re right, the video I saw seemed pretty reasonable and realistic, not doomerish at all, the grifters who made videos “Xbox is dead but for real this time I swear I’m not just doing a clickbait this time” to summarize them all, it felt like they finally felt vindicated because they think the stuff they’ve been saying for years is about to become reality now, grifting about Xbox’s death seriously seems like a very lucrative career for content creators, there’s a reason why so many people do it, those videos get some serious views on YouTube.
Austin Evans hd to jump in as well obviously with his scheduled monthly “Should you buy an Xbox?” Video, imagine being an Xbox employee and seeing that every day for years and years wtf, like give it a rest at some point, if the brand is still here maybe it’s because it isn’t actually going to get canned ffs.
I think gamepass needs to stay, there is no point in cloud without it. Also with the way the industry is I don;t think game sales will help them in any way. Very few games sell upto or over 20 million. There are way too many Xbox IPs and very few of them ever did the really big numbers. One of the original targets was for Game pass to reach a hundred million. Asha seems to also be well known for being good with user acquisition.
In my opinion Game pass could get reworked maybe even renamed but it absolutely stays. It’s pretty much the one thing that could grow beyond consoles. services are what generates money today in the industry not software sales for example the biggest games are all services hence GAAS. While it might be possible to just rely on or substitute Gamepass for their GAAS that is a risk I’m not sure they will take.
I really think it’s more simple than people are making it out to be. Phil wanted to retire. He was tired of being shit on by the entire internet regardless of what he did, just for being associated with xbox. Then MS decided to put someone in charge who would make using AI tools in Dev a big priority, meaning they skipped over Bond, who then left in responce.
Yeah, Destin was convinced, but I can’t take him seriously, as he was also saying that Game Pass deals were drying up, despite the recent spate of high quality drops! If it does happen though, hopefully the new leadership will let the studios live on somehow.
X box is dead again I see. Doomer shit is getting old now. 38 years is a long ass time to work at any job. Sarah was a shock though but I am kinda over this now and just want to see where they’re going next with the brand. I stopped watching about 90% of these influencers that people love to take as gospel whenever they say anything. Greg Millers ,Kinda Funnys ,IGNs are 100% worthless when discussing anything having to do with the xbox brand. So sick of the bad faith and agendas .
