Xbox denies plans of leaving Saudi Arabia (Xbox hardware is currently available.) - Source: Jez Cordon | Update: Tom Warren says Jez is wrong

[akira__]

Lets

Third party support IS the strongest that it's ever been for Xbox including Xbox 360 because third party publishers are finally realizing that unlike the cheap days of the past, it makes no logical or financial sense to be exclusive to any single platform and even more so if you're an online live service game of some sort. Microsoft will be just fine as will Xbox which doesn't need 100m+ console owners to make a shit ton of revenue and profit.

People need to stop believing that consoles are the only thing that matters when in reality, they're literally niche when compared to the markets that you can get to in all these other ways. If consoles were truly all that was needed, Sony wouldn't be going to PC because they know like Microsoft has known for years that consoles simply aren't enough especially as development costs rise due to better tech and in some cases, expensive licensing fees.

Microsoft (and Sony) will have their next gen consoles at a high premium price in which neither one will even come close to 100m+ units sold because it won't need to due to having a handheld which gets their platform and eco-system into people's hands at a cheaper price point of entry. Cloud is going to keep growing. PC will grow. Mobile will grow. The only aspect that is NOT growing is consoles and this applies to all three hardware manufacturers.

Sony isn't growing at all. They're basically just retaining what they've had for the previous four generations. Microsoft is declining in consoles but for them it's not relevant for what they want to do which is to be in more people's hands regardless of how they accomplish that because at the end of the day, as great as consoles are, they're not the be all end all and when you're a hardware manufacturer that owns so many IP's, you want to build them up and grow them outward, not inward because they're far more valuable than any console from any hardware manufacturer will ever be due to the fact that they all have an expiration date.

Nintendo while people rave about Switch should realize that they've lost sales due to combining their console and handheld which for them is the smarter decision but it doesn't change the fact that when you look at Wii and 3DS, they're not at the same level user install base wise. Granted, a lot of people would buy both the console and the handheld but that percentage is still minimal.

Xbox isn't going anywhere. If anything, Microsoft releasing their first party games on Sony/Nintendo platforms is going to be what keeps them alive and dominant for years to come because when you look at a top ten for PlayStation and it eventually becomes mostly, Microsoft owned IP's on that list every month, it's going to make them bigger in what they care about the most which is revenue and profit.

I said this years ago - Microsoft doesn't give a shit about how they get consumers into their platform and eco-system as long as they get you so while their console user install base will hover around 50m mark give or take, it won't matter because when you're getting 10m from Sony, Nintendo, PC and elsewhere, it will be the same as selling 100m+ consoles but with one main difference, the potential to grow even more in those other aspects.

Pulling out of Saudi Arabia (or wherever) their install base is extremely low, they're not losing anything by doing so because first, they're not growing whatsoever, second, people who are in their install base probably aren't spending much money so no loss there and third, the costs of manufacturing and shipping out hardware to a region in which they're non-existent in if anything ends up losing them money which they're done doing.

Microsoft will be releasing more expensive hardware with their next consoles because they're not losing money anymore. They will be premium products for those who truly want a premium experience on console and if you don't, they'll have a cheaper handheld for those who want it and for those who end up not wanting either, they can go to PC and spend thousands in the process and Microsoft will still have them buy their software which is far more important to them than the hardware. This also applies to Sony as well because they're transitioning as well. People just want to stay blind to it all because it's not what THEY want Sony to do but just like Xbox fans have to accept, they're going to do what they want to do just like Microsoft and to a much lesser extent, Nintendo.



If Sony only has 4m or less, Microsoft probably doesn't even have 25% of that so for them, it makes sense to pull out. I would too. I simply wouldn't waste money, time and resources in regions to where I know im not favored, no one has interest or cares and regardless of what Microsoft does, that's not going to change.

I see, the lack of games on Xbox is giving you too much time on your hands.

 

[peter42O]

I see, the lack of games on Xbox is giving you too much time on your hands.

Hahaha. Not at all. Completed Space Marine 2, Starfield: Shattered Space expansion and Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War campaign in the last four weeks or so. Now playing Call of Duty Vanguard campaign which will be completed later today and next week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2022 campaign all leading up the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign on October 25th. Then, a nice four day weekend for me starting October 31st so I can get a ton of hours into Dragon Age: The Veilguard followed by Star Wars Outlaws (waiting for the November 21st re-launch), Visions of Mana, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with Stalker 2 wrapping out the year in January while February has Assassin's Creed Shadows, Avowed and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza for me so my gaming schedule is packed and stacked. If anything, I have too many games. I need like a six month break of no new game releases.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Hahaha. Not at all. Completed Space Marine 2, Starfield: Shattered Space expansion and Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War campaign in the last four weeks or so. Now playing Call of Duty Vanguard campaign which will be completed later today and next week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2022 campaign all leading up the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign on October 25th. Then, a nice four day weekend for me starting October 31st so I can get a ton of hours into Dragon Age: The Veilguard followed by Star Wars Outlaws (waiting for the November 21st re-launch), Visions of Mana, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with Stalker 2 wrapping out the year in January while February has Assassin's Creed Shadows, Avowed and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza for me so my gaming schedule is packed and stacked. If anything, I have too many games. I need like a six month break of no new game releases.

You are a precious specimen from an endangered species of Xboxers. We need to keep you safe.

 

[peter42O]

You are a precious specimen from an endangered species of Xboxers. We need to keep you safe.

Hahahaha. lol

I'm always playing games. I just don't play every game or majority of games that get praised to the heavens because they're not for me. I have a 5+ game backlog for Xbox Series X, around 10 expansions that I need to get to and this doesn't include the 8 or so Xbox 360 games I bought over the summer that I want to play at some point as well as the 5+ PlayStation 4 games that I also want to play. Like I said, I have too many games to play and my backlog is minimal when compared to most people who are in the hundreds and thousands which I will never ever have.

 

[akira__]

Hahaha. Not at all. Completed Space Marine 2, Starfield: Shattered Space expansion and Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War campaign in the last four weeks or so. Now playing Call of Duty Vanguard campaign which will be completed later today and next week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2022 campaign all leading up the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign on October 25th. Then, a nice four day weekend for me starting October 31st so I can get a ton of hours into Dragon Age: The Veilguard followed by Star Wars Outlaws (waiting for the November 21st re-launch), Visions of Mana, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with Stalker 2 wrapping out the year in January while February has Assassin's Creed Shadows, Avowed and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza for me so my gaming schedule is packed and stacked. If anything, I have too many games. I need like a six month break of no new game releases.

Are you project manager or something?
On which platform will you play those games?

 

[peter42O]

Are you project manager or something?
On which platform will you play those games?

Haha. Nope.

I'm playing all of these games on Xbox Series X. A few of them I bought (Visions, the three older COD games, Space Marine 2 and Dragon Age) while the others will be played via Game Pass Ultimate day one (COD BO 6, Stalker 2 and Indy) with Outlaws being played via Ubisoft+.

 

[akira__]

Haha. Nope.

I'm playing all of these games on Xbox Series X. A few of them I bought (Visions, the three older COD games, Space Marine 2 and Dragon Age) while the others will be played via Game Pass Ultimate day one (COD BO 6, Stalker 2 and Indy) with Outlaws being played via Ubisoft+.

The cod campaign are nice, but didn't you stan for the abk deal for cod on gamepass?

 

[peter42O]

The cod campaign are nice, but didn't you stan for the abk deal for cod on gamepass?

Yes I did and Black Ops 6 is day one on Game Pass Ultimate. It's how I will play the campaign. BOCW, Vanguard and MW 2 were on sale for 50% off and I wanted to play through them before BO 6 so I bought them instead of waiting for them to go on Game Pass. When it comes to subscriptions, I only care about the games that are day one because weeks/months/later doesn't do me any good since chances are, I already played the games that I wanted to play. I rarely wait to play new releases.

 

[Killer_Sakoman]

Third party support IS the strongest that it's ever been for Xbox including Xbox 360 because third party publishers are finally realizing that unlike the cheap days of the past, it makes no logical or financial sense to be exclusive to any single platform and even more so if you're an online live service game of some sort. Microsoft will be just fine as will Xbox which doesn't need 100m+ console owners to make a shit ton of revenue and profit.

People need to stop believing that consoles are the only thing that matters when in reality, they're literally niche when compared to the markets that you can get to in all these other ways. If consoles were truly all that was needed, Sony wouldn't be going to PC because they know like Microsoft has known for years that consoles simply aren't enough especially as development costs rise due to better tech and in some cases, expensive licensing fees.

Microsoft (and Sony) will have their next gen consoles at a high premium price in which neither one will even come close to 100m+ units sold because it won't need to due to having a handheld which gets their platform and eco-system into people's hands at a cheaper price point of entry. Cloud is going to keep growing. PC will grow. Mobile will grow. The only aspect that is NOT growing is consoles and this applies to all three hardware manufacturers.

Sony isn't growing at all. They're basically just retaining what they've had for the previous four generations. Microsoft is declining in consoles but for them it's not relevant for what they want to do which is to be in more people's hands regardless of how they accomplish that because at the end of the day, as great as consoles are, they're not the be all end all and when you're a hardware manufacturer that owns so many IP's, you want to build them up and grow them outward, not inward because they're far more valuable than any console from any hardware manufacturer will ever be due to the fact that they all have an expiration date.

Nintendo while people rave about Switch should realize that they've lost sales due to combining their console and handheld which for them is the smarter decision but it doesn't change the fact that when you look at Wii and 3DS, they're not at the same level user install base wise. Granted, a lot of people would buy both the console and the handheld but that percentage is still minimal.

Xbox isn't going anywhere. If anything, Microsoft releasing their first party games on Sony/Nintendo platforms is going to be what keeps them alive and dominant for years to come because when you look at a top ten for PlayStation and it eventually becomes mostly, Microsoft owned IP's on that list every month, it's going to make them bigger in what they care about the most which is revenue and profit.

I said this years ago - Microsoft doesn't give a shit about how they get consumers into their platform and eco-system as long as they get you so while their console user install base will hover around 50m mark give or take, it won't matter because when you're getting 10m from Sony, Nintendo, PC and elsewhere, it will be the same as selling 100m+ consoles but with one main difference, the potential to grow even more in those other aspects.

Pulling out of Saudi Arabia (or wherever) their install base is extremely low, they're not losing anything by doing so because first, they're not growing whatsoever, second, people who are in their install base probably aren't spending much money so no loss there and third, the costs of manufacturing and shipping out hardware to a region in which they're non-existent in if anything ends up losing them money which they're done doing.

Microsoft will be releasing more expensive hardware with their next consoles because they're not losing money anymore. They will be premium products for those who truly want a premium experience on console and if you don't, they'll have a cheaper handheld for those who want it and for those who end up not wanting either, they can go to PC and spend thousands in the process and Microsoft will still have them buy their software which is far more important to them than the hardware. This also applies to Sony as well because they're transitioning as well. People just want to stay blind to it all because it's not what THEY want Sony to do but just like Xbox fans have to accept, they're going to do what they want to do just like Microsoft and to a much lesser extent, Nintendo.



If Sony only has 4m or less, Microsoft probably doesn't even have 25% of that so for them, it makes sense to pull out. I would too. I simply wouldn't waste money, time and resources in regions to where I know im not favored, no one has interest or cares and regardless of what Microsoft does, that's not going to change.

It's just a start my friend. They pulling out from everywhere.

 

[akira__]

Yes I did and Black Ops 6 is day one on Game Pass Ultimate. It's how I will play the campaign. BOCW, Vanguard and MW 2 were on sale for 50% off and I wanted to play through them before BO 6 so I bought them instead of waiting for them to go on Game Pass. When it comes to subscriptions, I only care about the games that are day one because weeks/months/later doesn't do me any good since chances are, I already played the games that I wanted to play. I rarely wait to play new releases.

That is great, but there is important lesson here. abk deal didn't bring any benefits for xbox gamers in the end.

This exact scenario that you bring forth was discussed in the many abk threads online. Yet here we are on year later.

But if your having fun gaming that is great, most gamers that I know focus normally just on one game.

 

[peter42O]

That is great, but there is important lesson here. abk deal didn't bring any benefits for xbox gamers in the end.

This exact scenario that you bring forth was discussed in the many abk threads online. Yet here we are on year later.

But if your having fun gaming that is great, most gamers that I know focus normally just on one game.

The benefits is getting the games day one on Game Pass which is what I ultimately care about. I'm a subscription guy. Don't care about ownership or collections. I just want to play the game in the cheapest way possible, complete it and move on to my next game.

I know a lot of people play a few games a year at most and just keep playing them. I'm not an online gamer so that doesn't apply to me. All I care about is the campaign when it comes to COD and not having to pay $70 just to play it is a huge benefit/positive for me.

In general, everyone would do what they want if they were running Xbox/PlayStation but for COD, it was said right from when the acquisition was announced in January 2022 that it would stay multi-platform. Microsoft acquiring ABK wasn't for their fan base or gamers, it was to increase their revenue and profits which it will do.

 

[akira__]

Hahaha. Not at all. Completed Space Marine 2, Starfield: Shattered Space expansion and Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War campaign in the last four weeks or so. Now playing Call of Duty Vanguard campaign which will be completed later today and next week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2022 campaign all leading up the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign on October 25th.

The benefits is getting the games day one on Game Pass which is what I ultimately care about. I'm a subscription guy. Don't care about ownership or collections. I just want to play the game in the cheapest way possible, complete it and move on to my next game.

I know a lot of people play a few games a year at most and just keep playing them. I'm not an online gamer so that doesn't apply to me. All I care about is the campaign when it comes to COD and not having to pay $70 just to play it is a huge benefit/positive for me.

What is the benefit of paying $20 per month for Game Pass Ultimate (needed for CoD starting October 24) if you still need to pay for Call of Duty games and other games you're playing right now?

Your two comments seem to live in two different worlds.

$20 per month certainly isn't cheap. Second-hand games go for that price and they'll keep their resale value.

 

[peter42O]

What is the benefit of paying $20 per month for Game Pass Ultimate (needed for CoD starting October 24) if you still need to pay for Call of Duty games and other games you're playing right now?

Your two comments seem to live in two different worlds.

Like I said earlier, Game Pass Ultimate is all about the games I get day one. I bought BOCW/Vanguard/MWII because I didn't want to wait for them to be added to Game Pass and I also wanted to play them before I play Black Ops 6. Going forward, every COD campaign will be in Game Pass Ultimate so I no longer have to buy future games.

 

[akira__]

Why not just get Xbox Game Pass for only 1 month if you like to play day-one games? It still isn't cheap at $20.

Most months the games are crap anyway. It will save you when you're playing bought games like now.

 

[riesgoyfortuna]

this peter fella is the epitome of what is wrong with modern gamers,the less people like him,the better ,cheapo leeches

 

[ethomaz]

Like I said earlier, Game Pass Ultimate is all about the games I get day one. I bought BOCW/Vanguard/MWII because I didn't want to wait for them to be added to Game Pass and I also wanted to play them before I play Black Ops 6. Going forward, every COD campaign will be in Game Pass Ultimate so I no longer have to buy future games.

I wonder which will be the excuse when “Microsoft no longer needs to make CoD”