Microsoft considered shutting down Xbox before major game developer acquisitions
- Thread starter Alfonso Maruccia
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Burty117
Posts: 5,548 +4,384
Original Xbox Launch: November 2001
Xbox 360 Launch: November 2005
Xbox One Launch: November 2013
It took them 12 years and Microsoft went from nothing, to one of the best console platforms in existence, giving Sony and Nintendo proper competition.
Xbox One completely destroyed Microsoft, they lost an incredible amount of goodwill, they stopped concentrating on games, trying hard to lock people in on the Kinect and Internet connection requirements, and to top it off, the console cost more than the competition whilst being noticibly inferior on the technical side.
They just haven't learnt anything from that experience, it's been 12 years since the Xbox One and they're still trying to force the same things and still don't seem to be capable of creating good games.
It's genuinely sad, I loved the original Xbox and 360, they were fantastic, I couldn't bring myself to buy the One, the Series X is hampered by the S and I cannot buy into that either, lowering the bar to sell cloud games is not something I'm interested in. Such a shame Microsoft.
Xbox 360 Launch: November 2005
Xbox One Launch: November 2013
It took them 12 years and Microsoft went from nothing, to one of the best console platforms in existence, giving Sony and Nintendo proper competition.
Xbox One completely destroyed Microsoft, they lost an incredible amount of goodwill, they stopped concentrating on games, trying hard to lock people in on the Kinect and Internet connection requirements, and to top it off, the console cost more than the competition whilst being noticibly inferior on the technical side.
They just haven't learnt anything from that experience, it's been 12 years since the Xbox One and they're still trying to force the same things and still don't seem to be capable of creating good games.
It's genuinely sad, I loved the original Xbox and 360, they were fantastic, I couldn't bring myself to buy the One, the Series X is hampered by the S and I cannot buy into that either, lowering the bar to sell cloud games is not something I'm interested in. Such a shame Microsoft.
gamerk2
Posts: 1,292 +1,456
Its important to remember that the 360 really didn't do well outside of the US/UK, and even then more so due to Sony's missteps then anything Microsoft did. Microsoft never really had a deep enough first party library to compete with Sony's lineup over multiple generations, and the continued increase in development costs (which we just had an article on) makes it near impossible to convince a publisher to release on just a single console without outright purchasing them.
Also, don't forget that now that pretty much everything releases on PC...the XBOX lineup is kind of superfluous. Honestly, Microsoft would probably be better off making a knockoff Steam machine then trying to keep loosing money pushing dedicated console hardware.
This is exactly where I'm at with M$. I've been Xbox for 20 years and inflation and the way they took away games with gold ( that I'd paid for but don't get) and raised Game Pass by 400% ?? Nope! I'm out.
Xbox is just being killed by corporate types who know nothing about gaming. They went all in on the DEI, pushing a subscription service and big flashy acquisitions, but haven't made a decent Halo or Gears of War (arguably the Mario and Zelda of Xbox) game in a decade.
I do still love my SeriesX don't get me wrong. Love the controller and use it for (4K)Bluray as well.
I think my next console will be a Switch 2 though. I always was a Nintendo kid but crossed over to Xbox with the 360.
I do still love my SeriesX don't get me wrong. Love the controller and use it for (4K)Bluray as well.
I think my next console will be a Switch 2 though. I always was a Nintendo kid but crossed over to Xbox with the 360.
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The Talking Tech
Posts: 864 +2,173
Sadly you are not the only loyal Xbox fan frustrated and disappointed as Microsoft would rather make new "customers" out PlayStation and Nintendo gamers than continue the legacy with the fans that were there for them when most people would even cringe at the word Xbox back when they started.
Make no mistake, Microsoft will make a ton of money out of PlayStation and Nintendo gamers BUT they will never have the loyal fans that loved the brand as much as we did.
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Some of the comments here are so ridiculous. People seem to think that Microsoft exiting the gaming market is a good idea and wish it to happen as soon as possible. Do you really want Sony to be the only major player in the market along with Nintendo selling their low powered garbage consoles? Really, that's what you want? Well, enjoy Sony's monopoly then and let us know how that works out for you.
Billybobjoey
Posts: 106 +154
That's not what we want but it's the reality we're in. I would have loved for Xbox to be an actual competitior to Playstation. I have a PS2, 3, 4, and 5. I bought a Xbox One S, sold it for a One X, sold that for a Series X. I'm a game pass ultimate subscriber. I like a decent amount of the first party titles coming out. But it's reality that more and more of their first party titles are going to Playstation and probably soon Switch 2. Why would people buy an Xbox if they can play all of their games on their preferred platform? The customers didn't make the executive decisions that brought us here.
I don't want Playstation to be the only player in the "high end" console market, but look at where we're at. You can't blame the customers for Microsoft and Xbox's bad decisions.
LimyG
Posts: 202 +77
It's sad, but I fully agree.
A company should make profits, but MS have simply ignored a lot of what customers want.
They know best, and get away with it - not for ever though. Even with their massive customer base.
They have no respect for their customers at all and just do what they want. It's almost like they ignore us and provide, and/or force what they want to.
They have just gone too far. I can't remember the last time I heard a positive comment about MS.
A faceless shareholder greed machine. But their share holders won't be happy when MS self centric ideas keep failing.
They can't even get people to move to Win 11 from the 2015 release of W10. Everything is just shoved down the end users throats now. A faceless company, that has become so arrogant they think they can pretty much ignore what their admittedly massive customer base really want. Or don't want.
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The Talking Tech
Posts: 864 +2,173
You absolutely nailed it with that statement....Yes Microsoft has always been "A faceless shareholders greed machine"...but since GamePass came into the picture that has been more true than ever before as they slowly stripped away everything the Xbox fans ever liked about the brand.
Farkinell
Posts: 270 +436
MS has always been about whatever bandwagon they could hitch their business to, which includes gaming itself with the launch of the first Xbox. As soon as subscriptions came around, it's hell for leather on this model. Same for A.I, just look how they've recently announced they'll ditch decades of branding and recognition and rename Microsoft Office "Microsoft 365 Co-pilot".
Their extreme short-termism, chasing the next quarterly figures only, explains all their baffling decisions over the last 10-15 years. Only will a leadership change instil any kind of consumer or even strategic thinking back into the company.
Their extreme short-termism, chasing the next quarterly figures only, explains all their baffling decisions over the last 10-15 years. Only will a leadership change instil any kind of consumer or even strategic thinking back into the company.
Rocky4040
Posts: 218 +286
Just my opinion but I think it also has a lot to do with them raising their sub prices to where it is now. This sours a lot of people from wanting that much money being drained from their accounts each month.
I myself used to sub to YT premium because I hated the ADs but back then it was decent price option. Once they raised their prices for the sub to what it is now, I dropped the monthly sub and went with an AD blocker. Yes, I knew the AD blocker was an option while I was subbed to YT, I chose not to go that route at that time because I was ok with a low monthly sub price. After they hiked it, I was nope I am outa here and blocker got enabled.
I did the same with Netflix when they priced their way out of my living room I dropped them. Then when they did the Ad supported sub, I decided to try it out as it is only $5.99 a month and the ads are far and few and only for 15 seconds to max 30 seconds and if you watch a movie, you get ad spots maybe twice max 3 times.
Unlike YT that pushes in ADs like crazy and if you watch a 15-minute video YT may push in 4-5 or more ADs spots in a 15-minute video that is very annoying for sure. The other thing on YT is they like to sneak in those 3–5-minute ADs because they are a paid spot. If you do not have your hand constantly on the remote or mouse it will play that AD for the full 4-5 minutes unless you hit skip. This is a dirty tactic and makes me ok with using an AD blocker on their service. Sorry for the long-winded post and slightly off topic
I myself used to sub to YT premium because I hated the ADs but back then it was decent price option. Once they raised their prices for the sub to what it is now, I dropped the monthly sub and went with an AD blocker. Yes, I knew the AD blocker was an option while I was subbed to YT, I chose not to go that route at that time because I was ok with a low monthly sub price. After they hiked it, I was nope I am outa here and blocker got enabled.
I did the same with Netflix when they priced their way out of my living room I dropped them. Then when they did the Ad supported sub, I decided to try it out as it is only $5.99 a month and the ads are far and few and only for 15 seconds to max 30 seconds and if you watch a movie, you get ad spots maybe twice max 3 times.
Unlike YT that pushes in ADs like crazy and if you watch a 15-minute video YT may push in 4-5 or more ADs spots in a 15-minute video that is very annoying for sure. The other thing on YT is they like to sneak in those 3–5-minute ADs because they are a paid spot. If you do not have your hand constantly on the remote or mouse it will play that AD for the full 4-5 minutes unless you hit skip. This is a dirty tactic and makes me ok with using an AD blocker on their service. Sorry for the long-winded post and slightly off topic
LimyG
Posts: 202 +77
Good points.
In my case I avoid this by NEVER subscribing to anything that requires ongoing payment from MS. Don't trust them. Would feel like, kind of caught in a trap, but perhaps thats paranoid.
Due to the above I've never consider increasing prices, and or changing the nature off any MS sub.
Your post is yet another example of why to be wary of "stuff," especially subs, MS offer.
captaincranky
Posts: 20,144 +9,151
The only trouble with using an ad blocker on YouTube these days, is they've taken to a policy, where if you use one, they stop you from watching their videos. This was a few months back. They weren't shy about putting up a "full page ad" of their own, telling to you turn off your blocking either.
At least that's what happened to me. I was using Opera, which has a built in blocker, and a quite effective one at that. After a while, instead of killing Opera's ad blocker, I had to start watching YouTube on Firefox. But yeah, I've got my hand always on the mouse button ready for the skip cue.
Truth to tell though, I don't know what the state of affairs is as it stands today.
LimyG
Posts: 202 +77
Yeah, up until a couple of weeks ago, (last time I tried) AdBlocker renders You tube useless.
I read somewhere that AdBlock devs are planning to re-program for Chromes new V3 extension system.
It was the old and better V2. Probably be back soon??
Or it's already back, haven't bothered with You tube since then.
In fact,
"Truth to tell though, I don't know what the state of affairs is as it stands today."
As the Captain says.
I read somewhere that AdBlock devs are planning to re-program for Chromes new V3 extension system.
It was the old and better V2. Probably be back soon??
Or it's already back, haven't bothered with You tube since then.
In fact,
"Truth to tell though, I don't know what the state of affairs is as it stands today."
As the Captain says.
Well, if you can look at the headline again, companies like Ubisoft believes you dont own a game you pay $60 for. So... you know.
But do you really want MS to release 4–5 blockbusters a year in an industry where a company sometimes releases 1 or 2 blockbusters in 8–10 years?
Anyway, for $10 a month every Microsoft game hits Game pass on day one, and many other AA and up games. (Aliens Dark Descent, Plaque Tale Requiem, Dead Island 2, Black Ops 6, Stalker 2, Frost Punk 2, Cities Skyline 2 etc.) Obviously many more but that's off the top.
Anyway, have you played Lies of P?
Very good game but freaky as hell.
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captaincranky
Posts: 20,144 +9,151
I hope you guyz realize that Google has a "trifecta monopoly" going on. Chrome is Google, Google owns YouTube. Anyway you look at it, they're not going to allow us back to "the good old dayz", of free vids.
LimyG
Posts: 202 +77
Yep, can't disagree with that.
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