Console wars are over. Microsoft ramping up 3rd party development. |UP| Chris Dring: Xbox flatlining in EU, Xbox games coming to PS & less focus on GP

[Cool hand luke]

Update 3/25

Chris Dring at GDC..

8:46 Min

With Xbox, I've heard from a very prominent company and one not so prominent that Xbox's performance in Europe is flatlining. You can follow our monthly coverage in the games market and you can see Xbox's sales are falling and it's fell all throughout last year and it's falling even harder this year.

The major company who released a big game last year said they don't know why they bother supporting it. We've mentioned in a previous podcast that retailers are considering or have began cutting back Xbox stock on their shelves, hardware & games... and now you've got third-party publishers going: "We're putting a lot of effort into creating an Xbox Series S/X version of a game where to be honest with you the market for us is PC and PS5"

And with Xbox putting some of the games on PS5, I understand the majority of them will be coming across at some point, assuming, you know, it progresses as Xbox believes it probably will. I think Xbox is in real trouble as a hardware manufacturer. And that was the thing that came out of GDC for me, because I always just thought, I've always been of the belief that it is the Game Pass delivery system, it's got a good UI, it's got a good controller, if you like Xbox games it's probably the best way to play them, etc. I thought it would be fine but then I didn't really factor in that some developers and publishers might just go, yeah I don't, you know, is there any point? And that is when you can lose it.

I was watching Michael Pachter's podcast and he was talking about how it's all about GamePass for Xbox, yet I've actually been hearing that Microsoft's been putting less focus on GamePass.

After an abysmal showing in Europe this November, being outsold 20:1 and falling behind the ORIGINAL Xbox, insider sneakerSO on Neogaf has this to say

All of them. I know of several high-profile Bethesda titles whose port work started up a few months ago. I also have some knowledge on ABK in general, and not a single project that was in dev, or that has gotten an initial approval to have an exploratory milestone achieved, has had a single discussion on exclusivity. I also now know of several titles that fall squarely under XGS, titles that have yet to be announced, that now are doing PS/Xbox/Switch 2 development.

The console wars are basically over. The public just doesn't know it yet.

European Monthly Charts November 2023 | PS5 #1 +376% YOY, Switch #2 -35% YOY and Xbox series S/X #3 -26% YOY

Great for PS, but they need some strong competition... badly. They have strong competition: -Switch -PC/Steam -Apple Store -Google Play -Newgrounds Even if people want to use the dumb "high-end console market" label (a label regulators like the FTC used to make PlayStation appear even more...

www.neogaf.com

Bethesda is probably too far gone to save but I'm glad I'll be able to get my fallout fix off the decrepit green crypt console.

What Xbox published title are you looking forward to playing on PS5/Switch?

 

[Box]

Rare Replay is the only thing I would care about

 

[anonpuffs]

After an abysmal showing in Europe this November, being outsold 20:1 and falling behind the ORIGINAL Xbox, insider sneakerSO on Neogaf has this to say

European Monthly Charts November 2023 | PS5 #1 +376% YOY, Switch #2 -35% YOY and Xbox series S/X #3 -26% YOY

Great for PS, but they need some strong competition... badly. They have strong competition: -Switch -PC/Steam -Apple Store -Google Play -Newgrounds Even if people want to use the dumb "high-end console market" label (a label regulators like the FTC used to make PlayStation appear even more...

www.neogaf.com

Bethesda is probably too far gone to save but I'm glad I'll be able to get my fallout fix off the decrepit green crypt console.

What Xbox published title are you looking forward to playing on PS5/Switch?

To be honest, none of them really interest me.

 

[Hezekiah]

I felt that Starfield and certain other games would get a port a year or so later.

Like with Sony's ports I wouldn't expect major sales in the main.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

I might as well copy his posts here too. Starfield killed Xbox. They changed course after the massive flop.

SneakersSo on GaF:

The fact that MS very well went through Nov. 2023, the 3rd year the console is on the market, historically one of the strongest sales years for a console during its lifetime, and potentially sold lost than 1m units WW, is a fact that really crystalizes some of the stories i've been hearing these last few weeks from colleagues.

Get ready to start playing some MS-published games on PS/Switch 2 on day 1.

*

They are not gonna close studios nor do layoffs (yet). They are simply going to expand where they are publishing games on. I now know of several projects that are being developed and ported to PS/Switch 2. I was taken aback when I started hearing this talk - I didn't expect MS to entertain this strategy at least until they hit 2027, but with console sales this dire, they need to do something.

One of the parts folks aren't understanding is that growth in services (GP) is directly tied to console sales. Every month, there are a number of users who leave GP, called a churn rate. GP has the highest churn rates for entertainment subscription services. This means that the entire business model is predicated on Xbox selling consoles to users who ultimately sub to GP, more so than the number of users who leave their GP subs behind. This is why you've seen Phil and many observers comment that GP sub service has 'stalled' in the console space. All the growth, which is honestly not at all significant, is happening in the PC space.

*

This is precisely what, based on what I am hearing, I expect to happen. They can keep their line of consoles around as their GamePass hub, maintain their userbase there, work with pubs to ensure they continue supporting the platform, then look for growth in Sony and Nintendo's ecosystems.

*

All of them. I know of several high-profile Bethesda titles whose port work started up a few months ago. I also have some knowledge on ABK in general, and not a single project that was in dev, or that has gotten an initial approval to have an exploratory milestone achieved, has had a single discussion on exclusivity. I also now know of several titles that fall squarely under XGS, titles that have yet to be announced, that now are doing PS/Xbox/Switch 2 development.

The console wars are basically over. The public just doesn't know it yet.

 

[AllBizness]

I just want Killer Instinct, the game needs to be on PS5 in order to be taken seriously and enter tournaments.

 

[Nimrota]

After seeing the latest US numbers, it really is. Xbox has nothing coming that is going to improve their position in any meaningful way.

 

[Luffy123]

I hope this news is true

 

[KiryuRealty]

I might as well copy his posts here too. Starfield killed Xbox. They changed course after the massive flop.

SneakersSo on GaF:

I can't claim to be surprised. All the hype for literally YEARS was that Starfield would turn the generation around.

It shows what a pair of insane echo chambers Bethesda Game Studios and Xbox upper management are that they could have honestly believed that and not seen what a dud that game was going to be.

Looks like the deep discounts this year really are the fire sale that precedes the announcement of discontinuation.

Don't let the door hit you, Phil!

 

[Hezekiah]

I hope this news is true

Xbots on GAF: Hellblade 2 is a walking simulator - Playstation can have it

 

[Nimrota]

I felt that Starfield and certain other games would get a port a year or so later.

Like with Sony's ports I wouldn't expect major sales in the main.

Starfield on PS would genuinely be hilarious because it is a major concession that would likely sell piss poor.

 

[Say1nMan]

They can't keep their line of consoles going for long even as a Game Pass hub. Every consoles sold is a potential Game Pass sub and their Xboxes aren't selling. More importantly, major titles going multiplat for PS and Nintendo will be even more damaging for Xbox cause that's definitive proof you don't need a Xbox. 2024 going to be a bloodbath for Xbox hardware with the Switch 2 coming. We're going to see PS5 and Switch 2 selling and selling and keep selling. And don't forget the rumor that major retailers like Walmart are removing the Xbox section in their stores next year. Satya's dream of not doing exclusives is inching closer.

 

[KiryuRealty]

I just want Killer Instinct, the game needs to be on PS5 in order to be taken seriously and enter tournaments.

There are already have enough mediocre fighters on PS and KI has NEVER been good enough to be taken seriously. Dial-A-Combo bullshit can die neglected in a dumpster.

 

[KiryuRealty]

After seeing the latest US numbers, it really is. Xbox has nothing coming that is going to improve their position in any meaningful way.

Is it me, or does Phil's interview where he said no game could sell systems seem like he had seen the final build of Starfail and had written it off already, in hindsight?

 

[Nimrota]

Is it me, or does Phil's interview where he said no game could sell systems seem like he had seen the final build of Starfail and had written it off already, in hindsight?

Phil spent is 1k hours playing Xbox on Redfall and Starfield and thought to himself "I'm fucked."

 

[AllBizness]

Starfield on PS would genuinely be hilarious because it is a major concession that would likely sell piss poor.

I don't even think Starfield will make a splash if it hits PS5, word is out that the game is a dud and the footage I've seen doesn't make it any better.

 

[Luffy123]

Just want this company to leave my fucking industry man

I’m tired of them ruining it

 

[KiryuRealty]

They can't keep their line of consoles going for long even as a Game Pass hub. Every consoles sold is a potential Game Pass sub and their Xboxes aren't selling. More importantly, major titles going multiplat for PS and Nintendo will be even more damaging for Xbox cause that's definitive proof you don't need a Xbox. 2024 going to be a bloodbath for Xbox hardware with the Switch 2 coming. We're going to see PS5 and Switch 2 selling and selling and keep selling. And don't forget the rumor that major retailers like Walmart are removing the Xbox section in their stores next year. Satya's dream of not doing exclusives is inching closer.

There's no guarantee the Switch 2 won't be one of Nintendo's failures. People need to remember, Nintendo never gets two hits in a row.

 

[Nhomnhom]

It was so obvious Series consoles would be a failure.

Series S is a horrible idea poorly executed.

Their studios and development culture is a mess.

The idea of turning console gaming into a subscription based model is demented and could only come from a company as out of touch as MS that never understood the console market.

Good riddance and if anything it's taking too long. We need Valve/SteamOS consoles to really put pressure on Sony and make them pay for their mistakes.

 

[anonpuffs]

It was so obvious Series consoles would be a failure.

Series S is a horrible idea poorly executed.

Their studios and development culture is a mess.

The idea of turning console gaming into a subscription based model is demented and could only come from a company as out of touch as MS.

Good riddance and if anything it's taking too long. We need Valve/SteamOS consoles to really put pressure on Sony and make them pay for their mistakes.

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