That’s the point, you don’t know. I don’t know, so you can’t assume one way or another. It’s a pointless conversation only used to push an agenda in bad faith if you continue.
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That’s a good point, but we saw developers’ issues with the Xbox One memory system.
I rather a clean system of a main console and a spin-off Handhed system
no, spin-off handhelds do nothing. you need all of your games on the handheld, it’s why the switch works
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Spot on and that’s when anecdotal comes into play.
Most I know only got a Series S because the Series X was so hard to source, especially in the window of the 1st two years on sale.
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I’m coming from more of a casual perspective as I’d class myself as being one.
I’d say there’s a lot of casuals just buying the S to get into the gen. Purely anecdotal of course but I may be a bit more tapped into the industry than people in my circles but from a casual perspective they are oblivious to all to a lot of the news surrounding the industry.
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Most of the casuals I know, just get a PlayStation sadly
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Oh there’s plenty of them as well in my circles but again they’re into the business side of things. They see a game on a shelf etc they’ll buy they’ve no idea who owns what studio etc.
My main point was those casuals that have got the S likely due to the low entry price that aren’t wedded to PlayStation
What were MS’s plan to keep them rather than pricing them out. Most casuals won’t be interested in a handheld being the lowest entry point having had a full console this gen.
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To me a streaming only future is just terrible, so if consoles do go away PC(the other box) will be where everyone who doesn’t want to do streaming only will go.
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I got an S as it was easier to convince the wife. Of course i would have wanted to get a series X but its been a stellar unit that gets discredited on here faaar too much.
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Not at all. Unification of console, PC and mobile is to bring you the experiences of all three in one platform like PC games that aren’t available for consoles or the Mobile games. Basically, one store with all the games and your library. Also, nothing stays the same forever. The phone business changed in the 2000’s and Microsoft that dominated was pushed out. I do think that the handheld in its own way is a mobile device and who knows there’s a possibility it could become popular and big business.
Pretty much this.
I put consoles as staying alive for Microsoft/Sony for another two generations. By 2040-2045, I can easily see PlayStation 8 and Xbox 7 being nothing more than an APP and you stream all your games. Basically, Stadia but way better. Just a matter of time.
some thoughts about the future of XBOX
I think our vision of video games is too primitive we focus on hardware sales, physical format and even marketing we criticize XBOX for that.
But the reality is that Microsoft has installed more than 1.5 billion windows in homes and businesses worldwide their goal with XBOX is to reach 3 billion players worldwide. The video game market as a whole is not limited to consoles, Mobile alone represents more than 55%, PC 24%, consoles (Nintendo, Playstation and XBOX overall represent only 20% of the market) and the Cloud represents 0.7% but it has strong growth it is still something new, it is still in Beta on XBOX, it is still not possible to stream games in 4K with all the ray tracing graphics options… It is still not possible to have access to our entire catalog in the Cloud. I think that once these objectives are achieved, Cloud Gaming will become more democratic and replace Hardware within ten years. We see that everything digital is becoming more important year after year on the physical. Microsoft is simply letting the physical die voluntarily because a monthly active user is something more valuable. Microsoft has an impressive range of games ranging from Minecraft + 300 Million sales and a marketplace (did you know that Minecraft itself has a monthly subscription) World of Warcraft brings together millions of players each month who pay a subscription, There is also something like the Creation Club of Bethesda and obviously the Gamepass + all the Microtransactions of games like Overwatch 2, Sea of Thieves, Call of Duty, Diablo IV, Heartstone, Candy Crush, Forza Horizon 5 … It’s really huge.
Concerning communication it is something very expensive and is it really necessary? I mean if you become accessible and essential for all players (what Windows is when we think of an operating system on PC) Microsoft simply wants to make XBOX the default Gaming ecosystem in each home.
To summarize the market evolves, technologies evolve, strategies evolve and it shows that the industry evolves and an industry that evolves is a healthy industry. XBOX is doing better than ever, it’s not just a console anymore, it’s evolved into a digital platform and I’m OK with that, I consume more than Netflix, Spotify and Gamepass before buying audio CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays and games cost me a lot more and I had to limit myself in my choices, today I have access to huge on-demand catalogs with a huge variety of content that I wouldn’t have even thought of watching or playing, I’m discovering new genres of games like RTS, I played Age of Empires IV, Age of Mythology, Halo Wars 2 and I love it but I would never have dared to pay for these games. I think we are still at the beginning of a long-term strategy and that it will necessarily become profitable for Microsoft when I see the Gamepass release schedule this year I have the impression that this is really the first year where we will see the fruit of the Studios acquired in 2018-2019 knowing that it takes 5-6 years to develop a game and that the Studios purchased at that time are already working on games in progress. But 2025 marks a new era for Gamepass content and even if games like Indiana Jones, DOOM The Dark Ages, Everwild, Fable, Marvel Blade, Gears of War E-Day, Avowed, Ninja Gaiden 4… come out on Playstation 5 they will remain Gamepass exclusives and will be more accessible on the XBOX ecosystem buying these games on Playstation and Nintendo will no longer be viable in the long term and I think that mentalities will change and that players from other platforms will end up subscribing to Gamepass or buying XBOX hardware, or playing with Cloud Gaming or will be on PC and that’s OK for that… Microsoft will continue to make consoles for a niche audience because you can still reach between 30-50 million players but by offering your games everywhere you can reach 3 billion players.
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I think it’s really far off and by the time it gets widely adopted it will be because it reached a point where it’s not terrible.
8th gen Xbox lost both on software and hardware front
9th gen
They tried with different hardware S and X. Hardware is good but real problem is software.
Now they have tons of FP software. But attained it at the middle of gen. They are also releasing it on other console platform too.
Not much will improve for the xbox as a console platform in 9th gen now.
They will make ton of money being the biggest third party for the rest of the 9th gen in Gaming industry.
10th gen
They will have best software and uniquely positioned to be the best software provider at the start of the gen. They would need to greatly innovate the hardware to make any sense for someone to purchase it other then for BC reason. There FP games just won’t enough to sell consoles.
That said, selling large number of console will not be there biggest priority. But making sure whoever wants it should get the best hardware possible and have more utility then any of there rivals. PC support, handheld, AI are three things which can help out here. Could there be more? Time will tell or perhaps leakers.
Conclusion:
Xbox could win 10th gen by only providing best software and best hardware separately.
There hardware won’t help there software alone. There software won’t help there hardware alone.
But if they deliver both of them in manner where they stand own there own. Then Xbox will become defacto gaming hardware platform in 10th gen.
This will be a dream come True for gamers.
I know your point 
But for me it’s the same idea SEGA tried with the 32X. Xbox tried with the 360 Arcade and with the Series S. In lot of cases even the casuals want the better deal and the most capable gaming system. In the modern era, so many people are now tech-savvy.
Given the Series S/X has sold far worse than even the X One . I think its safe to say the Series S didn’t grow the Xbox base at all and most casuals went with the more expensive PlayStation
It saddens me a little how well the Series console would now be selling if all of the Xbox’s 1st-party stuff was exclusive to the Xbox console/PC. Since now Xbox has the 1st party offering that isn’t talk or wait until next year. It’s out or coming out very soon and it’s a 1st party offering so much better than what SONY or even Nintendo can offer.
What could have been?
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I think they can do the console-PC integration in a variety of ways. If they nail it, a lot of concerns will be erased. If they don’t and it remains an underwhelming solution, I don’t think console players will like it. Will the hybrid support all BC games? Can you still buy all games you can buy on an Xbox console today? Will they make sure to keep having games in their own storefront with full achievement support and cross-progression (I think they should mandate it at this point)? Will they perhaps even expand on those features? Will an Xbox version be the same as a PC version at that point?
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While I think the hardware is important, I think it’s more the store that is important. I think they want the base to sell both their games and third-party games and that is only possible if they have a store front to do that. So, selling hardware will not be the big priority as long as they have an OS that can carry the full Xbox experience which would include a store front and the library. I do believe though that they will deliver a solid hardware as Phil has hinted, I think they’ve learnt enough on what they will need to provide the best gaming experience from controllers to the main hardware.
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We as a gaming community REALLY have to stop thinking of “winning” and “losing”
If a platform caters to your needs and gives you more value then other platforms how popular those other platforms are should not really be of much concern to you.
The bottom line of concern for Xbox users should be are my purchased games and time spent on them in the form of Save games safe for the mid to long term?
Out of all the platform holders MS is the safest bet in that regard. Both Nintendo and Sony have within the last couple of gens wiped their library and made you start over while MS did the work to bring games and saves from even OG Xbox forward to the point those BC services will carry forward pretty much forever.
The other thing is Console gamers ALREADY work with the idea of a hardware reset every 6-8 years, so I do not see why people attach themselves to the hardware as it has a defined life span to begin with.
Xbox is trying to break out of that and technology progressions will happen more naturally over time then a hard line reset. This is also a GOOD thing but people stuck in the past will resist any change even if it’s for the better.
It would be very beneficial if people would detach their identities from these plastic boxes and stop treating them like sports teams they root for and their team has to “Win” for anything good to happen.
Win or 3rd place with Xbox it’s about the games and Xbox is making it easier to play your games on any device with a screen.
I’m just befuddled that so many people have a rot brain issue where they just can’t get past console wars, hardware sales and “winning and losing”.
These are things that gamers should really not concern themselves with. Let the big ass companies figure out how to make profits, gamers should just play the damn games they want to on whatever device they want.
If Xbox never “wins” a generation the world will still be ok and given the amount of money Xbox is now making they will continue forward. It’s time to let go of that worry.
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Indeed. I wish my bank account could be “losing” while growing by billions each quarter.
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Its not for me about winning. It’s about having a userbase big enough to say sustain your program and sales are very imporant to that.
I hope Xbox will continue in the console space but if console sales are even worse next gen then I fear Xbox will pull out. I’m not interested in PC and have never owned a PlayStation and Nintendo does nothing all for me
That’s why I want Xbox sales to be better not for some childish point scoring or some silly win tweets but because the better the hardware sale the more likely Xbox will stay in the console hardware sector
For what it’s worth mind. I’ve always been happy with a console reset every 5 years.
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