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Former Xbox VP, Mike Ybarra says "Given the size of Microsoft Gaming now, it’s just not sustainable to not be embracing all platforms"

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Seems like Microsoft is “probably” looking to exit the hardware business in favor of becoming a third party primarily. Microsoft putting games on PlayStation gives Sony a major advantage because Sony are getting the best of both worlds. For console gamers that can only choose one console, whey will most likely get the one that has the most games. Sales are already lackluster for XBox with exclusive games, so I wonder what will happen when gamers find out Microsoft are developing first party games for PlayStation?

Also, maybe Nintendo will directly compete if the Switch 2 is comparable in specifications and power, but Nintendo is usually in their own world so it’s hard to say what they will do. We’ll see what happens.

The Switch 2 will 100% be a competitor to the PS5. That is for sure! But not the PS6.

Aren't you supposed not to lie in court to avoid the charges of perjury?

Yes that's true. I guess I shouldn't say it's not true. Because it is true they wanted to compete with Playstation. But that statement is just incomplete. They wanted to "compete" with Playstation in the sense that they wanted more market share and wanted to share the same profit margins. But "compete" in this sense isn't in the same sense that we gamers viewed it. It's not like they were the New York Yankees trying to compete against the Boston Red Sox.

If MS could get GamePass on Playstation, they'd do it in 2.5 seconds. If MS could become an official partner with Sony in the gaming space and make a 15% profit margin per year with Xbox; they'd do that in a heartbeat. They wouldn't care that Playstation also had a 15% profit margin and sold 150 million consoles per generation. It's in Microsoft's business DNA to attach their software and\or services to things that win.

Microsoft would rather collaborate and make billions, than compete and make millions.
 
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Cyberpunkd

Member
Yes that's true. I guess I shouldn't say it's not true. Because it is true they wanted to compete with Playstation. But that statement is just incomplete. They wanted to "compete" with Playstation in the sense that they wanted more market share and wanted to share the same profit margins. But "compete" in this sense isn't in the same sense that we gamers viewed it. It's not like they were the New York Yankees trying to compete against the Boston Red Sox.

If MS could get GamePass on Playstation, they'd do it in 2.5 seconds. If MS could become an official partner with Sony in the gaming space and make a 15% profit margin per year with Xbox; they'd do that in a heartbeat. They wouldn't care that Playstation also had a 15% profit margin and sold 150 million consoles per generation. It's in Microsoft's business DNA to attach their software and\or services to things that win.

Microsoft would rather collaborate and make billions, than compete and make millions.
Dj Khaled Compliment GIF
 
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I don’t mind though. Makes the decision between PlayStation/Xbox a lot easier.
Makes it easy for Xbox as well. They get your money either way.

Considering they make little money, or maybe even less, with everyone hardware sold, they don't really care where you buy their games.
 

Robb

Gold Member
Makes it easy for Xbox as well. They get your money either way.

Considering they make little money, or maybe even less, with everyone hardware sold, they don't really care where you buy their games.
Yeah, it’s definitely a win for me at least. Smaller one for MS I guess since I’m sure they’d rather have me as a recurring GamePass subscriber if they got to choose. But it is what it is.
 
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FoxMcChief

Gold Member
Yeah, it’s definitely a win for me at least. Smaller one for MS I guess since I’m sure they’d rather have me as a recurring GamePass subscriber if they got to choose. But it is what it is.
Let me let you in on a secret. It doesn’t matter where you play your games, or where you buy them from. You’re getting fucked just the same in the end, as is someone else for your purchase. I think the only difference is what they’re doing while they’re fucking you.
 
I don't see anyone looking at this market that Playstation is dominating and think to themselves "We should throw billions at this project and see if we could build a better console and pull people away from Playstation"
I am sure someone felt the same when Sony told everyone they were going to challenge the mighty Nintendo. Sony wasn't even a gaming company. I never even had any idea back then they they would succeed this much. Sony wasn't born with success, and they are far from perfect.

And also, you are wrong. Building a better console doesn't pull people away from PlayStation. Making better games does. Microsoft kept trying to make a better Xbox and not drawing in the customers. There is nothing wrong with Series X hardware; there was just no reason to buy it.

There are plenty of other companies who have the billions to challenge Sony. And as we learn already, money isn't everything. You certainly can't buy your way to the top. We just saw how that failed. So a better company can succeed where Xbox failed, while spending less money.
 
I am sure someone felt the same when Sony told everyone they were going to challenge the mighty Nintendo. Sony wasn't even a gaming company. I never even had any idea back then they they would succeed this much. Sony wasn't born with success, and they are far from perfect.

And also, you are wrong. Building a better console doesn't pull people away from PlayStation. Making better games does. Microsoft kept trying to make a better Xbox and not drawing in the customers. There is nothing wrong with Series X hardware; there was just no reason to buy it.

There are plenty of other companies who have the billions to challenge Sony. And as we learn already, money isn't everything. You certainly can't buy your way to the top. We just saw how that failed. So a better company can succeed where Xbox failed, while spending less money.
So when you said

Console gaming is doing just fine, other than a lack of healthy completion from a new hungry console platform fresh off the boat. As soon as Xbox quits we can have someone new replacing them.

We are just talking making better games and then make them exclusive to a platform?

Xbox isn't quitting any time soon and sorry just not totally following how you want a new console platform to carve out a healthy spot in the market but granted I am fairly sick and on some funky meds and have some serious brain fog going on so apologies ahead of time, I am not trying to be difficult
 

FoxMcChief

Gold Member
Eh.. It definitely matters to me at least. The more games I can play in one place the more value I’ll get out of the hardware.
Nothing will last forever and what you “own” won’t be accessible in the future, especially with the route of stream gaming being the future.

But whatever floats your boat. I’m a one and done dude that rents. I hardly ever play a game more than once, and if I want to remember a game, I go to YouTube.
 

Robb

Gold Member
Nothing will last forever and what you “own” won’t be accessible in the future, especially with the route of stream gaming being the future.
What I own will be, because that’s mainly what I buy. But I like streaming as well, it’s convenient. I just won’t pay more money for zero/incremental improvements over time just because the company knows it can up its pricing model. But that’s also fine, there are plenty of options, even within streaming.

I’m in the opposite camp. I re-play quite a bit of games, modern ones as well, and like to come back for new game +, or just to do some missions I didn’t have time for in my initial playthrough, or just aimlessly roam around in a game world I love, etc. Different strokes.
 

dcx4610

Member
It's true. The money in gaming has always been the games - not the hardware. The hardware is just a vehicle to play the games. These days, you can break even on hardware or make a tiny bit of profit so it's still worth doing the machine but for the games, you should put them on all platform as possible.

I do miss the days of SNES v. Genesis and having that competition but back then, we were talking about pretty different hardware. Now, games are roughly the same between PC/PS5/Xbox. Just put your games on everything. There's no reason to be exclusive anymore.

I think there's still this fear that if you have put an exclusive on another platform, that's a negative. If I'm a PC gamer that is never going to buy a console and get an exclusive, you have a new buyer. Is that console-only gamer not going to buy the game now because PC players can play it? I seriously doubt it. Play where you want to play and be happy.
 

yazenov

Member
I mean, this guy is just stating the obvious. We all (excluding the Xbox fans of course) said the same thing before the acquisition.

But what was hilarious were the people who said "MS didn't buy Activision-Blizard for $70 billion to release games on other platforms". You guys were dead wrong you dumb-dumbs, we told you so.
 
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It's true. The money in gaming has always been the games - not the hardware. The hardware is just a vehicle to play the games. These days, you can break even on hardware or make a tiny bit of profit so it's still worth doing the machine but for the games, you should put them on all platform as possible.

I do miss the days of SNES v. Genesis and having that competition but back then, we were talking about pretty different hardware. Now, games are roughly the same between PC/PS5/Xbox. Just put your games on everything. There's no reason to be exclusive anymore.

I think there's still this fear that if you have put an exclusive on another platform, that's a negative. If I'm a PC gamer that is never going to buy a console and get an exclusive, you have a new buyer. Is that console-only gamer not going to buy the game now because PC players can play it? I seriously doubt it. Play where you want to play and be happy.

The hardware is also the vehicle to get 30% of every game sold on the hardware. Also to get PS+ subs for playing MP games and also 30% from all MTX transactions. Basically what you're saying is nonsense.
 
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