Board 8 > Rumorzone - Xbox changing strategy, will bring games to PS5 after Series X/PC

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://kotaku.com/indiana-jones-starfield-ps5-hi-fi-rush-sea-of-thieves-1851225324

yeah sure maybe I'll play Starfield

hi fi rush physical plz

They'll get loads more money selling stuff to PS5 owners at full price when the Xbox/PC stuff is already on sale.

I'm pressing x to doubt.

This is the true Xboner of the day

Wonder if there'll be an actual Xbox successor to the Series?

Since the main appeal of the Xbox Series is as a Game Pass and backwards compatibility machine, this seems fine. I dont think this is Microsoft leaving the console business.

MacArrowny posted...

Wonder if there'll be an actual Xbox successor to the Series?

It's going to be in the form of a Firestick/Chromcast/Apple TV. Maybe they bundle it with their controller for under $200.

GranzonEx posted...

It's going to be in the form of a Firestick/Chromcast/Apple TV. Maybe they bundle it with their controller for under $200.

they probably dont even need to do this considering all those have a Xbox app that do cloud gaming

an approach I can see is they try to do something similar to the Steam Deck

edit: looks like only Samsung tvs have a Xbox App

LiquidOshawott posted...

they probably dont even need to do this considering all those have a Xbox app that do cloud gaming

an approach I can see is they try to do something similar to the Steam Deck

edit: looks like only Samsung tvs have a Xbox App

They might have to go the streaming stick approach for a while. Can't just up and abandon their Xbox brand. They are still sticking with their Surface line of products even though they don't really care about the laptop/tablet space.

GranzonEx posted...

It's going to be in the form of a Firestick/Chromcast/Apple TV. Maybe they bundle it with their controller for under $200.

Yup, this is what I was thinking. Make a streaming stick and maybe a Steam Deck style portable. No more hardware that requires dedicated development. All Windows from next gen on.

Hardware sales are not where they want it but basically level with the Xbox One (based on the extremely limited data we have) and marginally up year over year. If they are still selling and theyre making money off of it why give it up? Theyre definitely not in a Dreamcast situation.

Of course also the model of mega-budget exclusives is super unsustainable. Starfield was by all accounts one of the better selling games of the year but they will get more from it this way.

LightningStrikes posted...

and theyre making money off of it

This is the issue. Phil Spencer said they were losing $200 on the Series S and $100 on the Series X at the $300/$500 prices. How much were they losing selling the S for $200 and the X for $300 last Fall?

At this point it feels like the only difference between consoles is the games. It's not like the PS3 era where there was value in a blu ray player.

Xbox putting their big games on PS5 makes me really confused why anyone would buy an Xbox at that point.

Problem is they spent over 100 billion in the past few years and got nothing to show for it. All those Bethesda franchises are just sitting there. They got a bunch of bloat and are deathly afraid to force their studios to start pumping out games on schedule because they did that during the 360 era and killed a bunch of studios...

skullbone posted...

At this point it feels like the only difference between consoles is the games. It's not like the PS3 era where there was value in a blu ray player.

Xbox putting their big games on PS5 makes me really confused why anyone would buy an Xbox at that point.

Game Pass being very superior to PS Extra/Premium

being able to fluidly play on both PC and console (cross play too), cost

skullbone posted...

At this point it feels like the only difference between consoles is the games. It's not like the PS3 era where there was value in a blu ray player.

Xbox putting their big games on PS5 makes me really confused why anyone would buy an Xbox at that point.

Microsoft is betting (I think correctly) that the big money in the future is providing better ways to play games on whatever you want to play them on - basically creating a large, open ecosystem rather than closed gardens that lure people in with games they can't get anywhere else.

The exclusive software approach is coming apart at the seams with basically anything new that's not a first party title by Nintendo ultimately just being a timed exclusive before it at least comes to PC these days. Microsoft is just trying to get ahead of the game and be an established figure in the post-exclusive world, though I do think they started on this a bit too early and are eating too many losses in their eagerness.

Xiahou_Shake posted...

Microsoft is betting (I think correctly) that the big money in the future is providing better ways to play games on whatever you want to play them on - basically creating a large, open ecosystem rather than closed gardens that lure people in with games they can't get anywhere else.

The exclusive software approach is coming apart at the seams with basically anything new that's not a first party title by Nintendo ultimately just being a timed exclusive before it at least comes to PC these days. Microsoft is just trying to get ahead of the game and be an established figure in the post-exclusive world, though I do think they started on this a bit too early and are eating too many losses in their eagerness.

Thing is, Sony's approach benefits them in all respects. Hogwarts Legacy and Elden Ring sold way better on Playstation than anywhere else because the PS4/PS5 became the console.

MacArrowny posted...

Thing is, Sony's approach benefits them in all respects. Hogwarts Legacy and Elden Ring sold way better on Playstation than anywhere else because the PS4/PS5 became the console.

You're definitely not wrong, but how does being the console benefit Sony in a world where consoles are no longer necessary? We're already seeing ports of AAA games on smart phones, every company is trying to figure out how to make streaming games work, the Steam Deck and Nvidia Shield have shown you can have decent fidelity on a portable, relatively affordable device, etc.

This is all portending a world where playing something on your TV with good-but-not-the-best fidelity (currently the camp dominated by consoles) doesn't require a huge upfront investment and works with devices you already have for other reasons. This may still be a ways away, but in sticking with this traditional console approach, Sony's putting an awful lot of eggs in a basket that's in all likelihood going to start to rot within the next decade, while Microsoft is futureproofing themselves by moving toward being platform agnostic.

MacArrowny posted...

This is the issue. Phil Spencer said they were losing $200 on the Series S and $100 on the Series X at the $300/$500 prices. How much were they losing selling the S for $200 and the X for $300 last Fall?

True! Also an issue with chasing power above all else, Nintendo have historically sold their systems for a profit. So maybe a low powered Game Pass device is what Xbox needs.

skullbone posted...

At this point it feels like the only difference between consoles is the games. It's not like the PS3 era where there was value in a blu ray player.

Xbox putting their big games on PS5 makes me really confused why anyone would buy an Xbox at that point.

Game Pass and backwards compatibility. Theres a ridiculous library for low cost.

LightningStrikes posted...

So maybe a low powered Game Pass device is what Xbox needs.

Is this not the Series S?

Xiahou_Shake posted...

You're definitely not wrong, but how does being the console benefit Sony in a world where consoles are no longer necessary? We're already seeing ports of AAA games on smart phones, every company is trying to figure out how to make streaming games work, the Steam Deck and Nvidia Shield have shown you can have decent fidelity on a portable, relatively affordable device, etc.

This is all portending a world where playing something on your TV with good-but-not-the-best fidelity (currently the camp dominated by consoles) doesn't require a huge upfront investment and works with devices you already have for other reasons. This may still be a ways away, but in sticking with this traditional console approach, Sony's putting an awful lot of eggs in a basket that's in all likelihood going to start to rot within the next decade, while Microsoft is futureproofing themselves by moving toward being platform agnostic.

Yup, all of this makes sense! Just saying that Sony porting games to PC later hasn't hurt their strategy of making expensive games to convince customers to buy PS5s, who then buy third party games on PS rather than elsewhere. This strategy may not work forever, but I think it'll continue to work for at least one more generation after the PS5.

andylt posted...

Is this not the Series S?

That still requires people to develop dedicated versions for it. I think LS is talking about a cloud device or a Windows device.

Well not if theyre really losing $200 per sale!

Also yeah the only reason Nintendo can have their first party output is A) keeping budgets lower B) having that be the main driver of their hardware to the point where a huge proportion of overall software sales are first party and C) having a huge number of teams from when they used to make games for two systems. None of those are true for the others.

Sony's still selling PS5's at a loss too though.I wonder if dedicated gaming consoles are just done.

colliding posted...

Sony's still selling PS5's at a loss too though.I wonder if dedicated gaming consoles are just done.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/4/22609150/

Sony's been profiting on the PS5 for years.

Console cycles are weird though. X360 was THE console of its generation, so the next Xbox could also be THE console if they marketed it right and Sony fumbled again.

MacArrowny posted...

https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/4/22609150/

Sony's been profiting on the PS5 for years.

my bad I'm an idiot

They also raised the price in most of the world. It probably wont be the end of consoles but I can see the end of cutting edge consoles. Thats also because making games at that level is super unsustainable though.

Not to be that guy (which I absolutely am) but neither the PS4 nor the PS5 were cutting edge technology upon their release, so I'd argue they haven't really been pushing the envelope for quite a while now.

It'd be neat if the end of Xbox meant more Switch 2 support from third parties. That could end up lowering those budgets a bit, too.

The PS5 was fairly impressive in some ways. Especially for a $500 console. The PS4 was not. And hey, the PS4 did great and people liked that thing out of the gate even though the early software lineup was borderline non-existent. So yeah I think well see more of that.

https://twitter.com/tamoorh/status/1754900944108798206?t=ukXo4rkqrJHKyfgEyaid4g&s=19

Reviving this topic for a few different reasons:

First of all they will announce their plans in a video podcast on Thursday. Sounds like for now its just Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment with Sea of Thieves coming later. So frankly this whole thing seems to have been a bit blown out of proportion.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/12/24067370/microsoft-xbox-playstation-switch-games-future-hardware

Also, we got the Playstation financial data for Q3 and its not great. Big holiday slowdown, PS4 widening the gap over PS5 with it looking very difficult to catch up, razor thin profit margins (profits down even though revenue is up), dropping their expectations by 4 million units, and they have no major franchise releases planned for the next fiscal year. Overall the most mindblowing tidbit I saw is that the Switch alone has made more in profit than the entirety of Playstations history. This really just shows why Microsoft is doing this and that the high end console model is no longer sustainable.

Lastly I tried the Xbox app on my TV and got Game Pass for the first time and its kind of amazing? With something like this I would never need to but an Xbox. Theyll keep making them as long as theyre profitable and a market exists but Xbox is absolutely a service not just a console brand now.

Yes LS, join the Game Pass Crew

My TV just missed out on having the Game Pass app on it

Finally, the superior racing title can come to PS

LightningStrikes posted...

Also, we got the Playstation financial data for Q3 and its not great. Big holiday slowdown, PS4 widening the gap over PS5 with it looking very difficult to catch up, razor thin profit margins (profits down even though revenue is up), dropping their expectations by 4 million units, and they have no major franchise releases planned for the next fiscal year.

Sony got used to pandemic pricing. We're like 4 years into the console cycle and they still haven't lowered the price. If they want to catch the PS4 they need to perma drop the price down to the $350-400 range (at least for the disc-less version).

https://twitter.com/NextGenPlayer/status/1757891294808965180?t=Lk5oW9dI72N5jVTZo2ZslA&s=19

"Every screen is an Xbox"

Can't wait to play Xbox on the gas station screen. Exxbox

Playing Halo on my Echo Show.

What does "every screen is an Xbox" even mean? You can already play video games on every screen. Is it just Game Pass they're talking about?

That sounds like streaming Xbox games to any smart device.

I guess I'm confused by what "Xbox games" means in a world with no Xbox. Xbox exclusives? There were hardly any of those to begin with.

Xbox would still be a brand, right? They're not gonna start calling them Microsoft Games or something, even if there's theoretically no Xbox next generation.

It means we'll also be able to play games on non-electronic screens like folding screeens... and sunscreens...

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Xbox would still be a brand, right? They're not gonna start calling them Microsoft Games or something, even if there's theoretically no Xbox next generation.

Maybe!

A recent Gamestop ad listed Game Pass as Microsoft Game Pass and not Xbox Game Pass.

Most people were just assuming they goofed because they're Gamestop

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Xbox would still be a brand, right? They're not gonna start calling them Microsoft Games or something, even if there's theoretically no Xbox next generation.

Is it a brand now? For games?? I wouldn't call Halo Infinite on Steam "an Xbox game" but maybe I'm the weird one.

....I dunno. Hm.

I mean I would still call God of War on Steam a PlayStation game.

I guess that's not exactly the same, though.

Yeah I'm sorry if I'm coming off as deliberately obtuse, I'm just trying to understand if there's something more to this than "our games are going multiplatform" when it's like... bro your games have been multiplatform.