Xbox Series S/X: Thread 05

[hudson]

by the way, Stellar Blade is awesome.

[wakka]

Yep, Sony going day and date with PC seems inevitable. Most of the time a delayed release just causes interest to scale off. Launching The Last of Us Part III on PS5 and not PC at launch would be a mistake for example, they'd risk missing the TV series hype period on PC. It made more sense when Sony was leveraging PS exclusivity to try and pull people away from Xbox but as that contest increasingly vanishes the exclusivity just risks sales. Hell, for select titles someone at Sony should seriously be thinking about Switch 2 ports also.


For MS, there's no half foot in and half foot out approach that will work. The costs and logistics of being in hardware with such small sales is too heavy a burden, especially for a company that takes the business view that MS increasingly seems to be doing. It's why I'm still expecting the mooted next Xbox to end up being promoted as a big thing at first but in essence to just be an Xbox Series Y/Z. A continuation rather than new gen aiming to milk the existing userbase given R&D etc will already have been sunk into them, but for them to literally be the final Xbox hardware consoles released.

MS seems to have a good shot at being a third party giant so similarly, releasing Forza Horizon 6 ages later on PS5 seems daft.

I agree with all of this! Except, potentially, the bolded bit.

I'm not sure MS backing out of hardware quite leaves Sony the open field that it initially appears to. I think Switch 2 could be quite a strong competitor to PS5, rather than seen as complementary like the Switch 1, since it's likely to play basically the same software (barring exclusives).

I honestly think it would be strategically risky to put first party games on Switch 2, in almost the same way that it would have been to put them on Xbox in years gone by. I would be very cautious about it if I were Sony.

The only thing, I think, that will likely hold Switch 2 back from being a genuine alternative to those mooting a PS5 purchase is the poor quality of Nintendo's online infrastructure and the lack of sophistication in its OS. All of that stuff needs a massive upgrade for next gen, but being pessimistic it feels like we're unlikely to get it.

[Neon Ignition]

https://t.co/f6Yie9Me5U

Activision has set up a new studio named Elsewhere created to make AAA titles using staff who have previously worked on games such as The Last of Us and The Witcher

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.eurogamer.net/call-of-duty-2024-will-launch-into-xbox-game-pass-microsoft-has-reportedly-decided

MS has reportedly decided that this year's new Call of Duty will launch on Game Pass. Nice of them to wait long enough for it to become the absolute wrong decision for the business, but I guess the PR napalm hits mean this will aim to claw back some good will

[fishbowlhead]

Next week at MS: Activision to be split off from MS as its own company to improve profits.

[wakka]

If MS really do decide to deprecate the gaming business down the line, I wouldn't be surprised if they did end up spinning off the Xbox/Microsoft Studios business.

With that said this is the opposite of that, and great news for GP subscribers if it pans out! I'd love to get an effectively gratis copy of CoD on day one. I really enjoy playing them but kind of always resent paying out what they cost (I'm not sure why, they're really quite good value).

[Neon Ignition]

Embedded Tweet

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The leaker of the white Digital Xbox has leaked, supported by others, that when COD arrives on Game Pass the service will be updated with new tiers and other changes to reflect it's arrival.



Calling it now, this right here is the the final nail that will decide whether MS sidelines Game Pass in favour of a full on third party future. Any meaningful damage to GP, Call of Duty earnings or failure to improve Xbox hardwares appeal and that nail is going right in.

[hudson]

Tiers like they kinda already have, like online play only, GP and then GP ultimate? Or a gamepass tier that gives you access to CoD, but there's also standard GP tier that you don't get to sniff the cod?

[fishbowlhead]

Hoooo boy their not going to be happy with Xbox sales numbers with it going GP day one, grabs popcorn, nom nom nom.

[Neon Ignition]

Best guess is that Core will be streamlined a little, GP Ultimate will see a price hike and/or Day One releases for key titles held back and a more expensive Ultimate+ tier will emerge giving you all Day One access including COD

The trouble they will be tryng to balance here is trying to revive stagnating subscription growth and buyout promises but trying to avoid the obvious financial damage GP may bring to Activision. If the move means COD makes less money, especially if Xbox hardware sales irreversibly continue to decline and GP numbers don't uptick then there's literally zero reason to commit COD to the service anymore.

Personally, I think that bears out in how there's still no sign at all of Activisions titles coming to GP. This years COD is a canary in the mine.

[nonny]

Hoooo boy their not going to be happy with Xbox sales numbers with it going GP day one, grabs popcorn, nom nom nom.

If they are doing this they need to advertise the living crap out of it. COD annual purchasers aren't your usual crop of gamers and they're not going to learn about this via telepathy.

Xbox has been terrible at promoting itself and the benefits of game pass to the wider population and I'd say they've mostly stayed quiet the past few years as the merger stuff played out.

Now they need to come out and actually advertise. Everywhere...

I don't think this is even about console sales any more as they've clearly lost that battle but apparently Xbox Series X orders are up 300-700% across US and Canada on Amazon.

Make of that what you want... it seems the real gauge will be active users in Game Pass. That might be sacrificing the $70 entry fee but where COD is concerned the real money comes from the ridiculous tie-in marketplace content.

It could spectacularly fail, it's pretty much uncharted territory from here on out. We know Xbox (and Microsoft) have had a very split debate about the strategy here but it seems they're doubling down on Game Pass.

I can see the tiers changing and prices increasing for the higher tiers. If they're adding value like this though then provided it's still worth it Im in.

Definitely time to grab the popcorn!

[fishbowlhead]

What was the timeframe on COD not appearing on gamepass day 1, aren’t they contractually obligated by the court case? Was that an official court order? I can’t remember the details now.

[Neon Ignition]

I had thought it was next year's entry that was set to be on Game Pass as this year's has a PR deal with Sony. Because of that I kind of expect that they won't be able to heavily promote it. The trouble is it's an own goal in any scenario other than exponentially increasing GP and console sales. Xbox COD gamers would have bought it anyway and so will already have some tier of GP, likely an existing sub too so MS are relying on a lot of factors. The RRP PS5 sales are far more valuable to them.

It really is starting to feel like, because they can't just axe the Xbox consoles overnight, the consoles are starting to become a real milestone around the businesses head.


They'll have more success advertising this if they just put ads out advertising it as:

Call of Duty: Black Ops VI - Gulf War
RRP - £120
Now with added 12 months Game Pass Ultimate included

[nonny]

What was the timeframe on COD not appearing on gamepass day 1, aren’t they contractually obligated by the court case? Was that an official court order? I can’t remember the details now.

I can't remember either. Sony dismissed one deal which later they accepted on the same terms but I can't remember if there was any specific obligation around game pass as it was more around feature parity and not shipping an inferior product to competitors.

I think it remains to be seen whether it's an own goal Neon. I don't think they're dropping this in game pass for any current Xbox console users ... they'll happily wear that cost to promote it as a reason for those outside the ecosystem to join in some capacity.

I note this has zero mention of PC which makes me wonder if this is just console? Does it include cloud and devices like Samsung TV? Not that I'd want to play COD on a cloud streaming service but hey, the specifics of it haven't been announced.

It could be game pass ultimate only or whatever the top tier ends up being past any new information in the showcase.

[fishbowlhead]

The fact that they have basically 1 game left for guaranteed sales, as COD players will just buy it regardless, but slap it on gamepass and take away those important sales, is simply the absolute chefs kiss of own goals of the season.

Truly bravo MS, i couldn’t have come up with a better way to drive Xbox into the ground if you paid me.