Xbox Series X (coming 10 Nov 2020)

[Macalicious2011]

Spencer was rumored to leave last year. The real concern is Sarah Bond also left.

Phil and Sarah made a $69b bet on blizzard activision aquisition. The bet has been a failure.

No uplift in console sales. No net increase in gamepass subscribers. Meanwhile mobile games like monopoly generated $3b in revenue in it's first year ejtb a budget of......$70m. Most AAA titles don't even generate half of $3b during their life span.

Yesterday I traded in my Series X for a steam deck 256GB whilst resale value is still decent. Got £315 for the console and a few games that were clearly over valued but that I can rebuy on steam dirty cheap.

Most gaming studios know that Xbox is a dying console and that the future version will be a PC. However studios still make xbox versions of games because they have had a relationship with Phil over decades and are loyal to him.

Now that him and Sarah are gone I expect some future titles to be Playstation, pc and switch only.

When gta6 is released I will buy a ps5 pro. I had my Xbox since launch day but bought a gaming pc two years ago. Nowadays there are hardly any exclusives and if I game is released I buy it on my pc which is hooked up to my tv.

 

[maflynn]

Spencer was rumored to leave last year. The real concern is Sarah Bond also left.

I recall the xbox division was put under the same requirement of 30% profit margins, I wonder if the financials had anything to do with the leadership change.

 

[maflynn]

Phil and Sarah made a $69b bet on blizzard activision aquisition. The bet has been a failure.

I would say not just blizzard, but they went on a buying spree and I don't think they really benefited from that by and large - including Bethesda, and Obsidian

 

[salamanderjuice]

Phil and Sarah made a $69b bet on blizzard activision aquisition. The bet has been a failure.

No uplift in console sales. No net increase in gamepass subscribers. Meanwhile mobile games like monopoly generated $3b in revenue in it's first year ejtb a budget of......$70m. Most AAA titles don't even generate half of $3b during their life span.

Yesterday I traded in my Series X for a steam deck 256GB whilst resale value is still decent. Got £315 for the console and a few games that were clearly over valued but that I can rebuy on steam dirty cheap.

Most gaming studios know that Xbox is a dying console and that the future version will be a PC. However studios still make xbox versions of games because they have had a relationship with Phil over decades and are loyal to him.

Now that him and Sarah are gone I expect some future titles to be Playstation, pc and switch only.

When gta6 is released I will buy a ps5 pro. I had my Xbox since launch day but bought a gaming pc two years ago. Nowadays there are hardly any exclusives and if I game is released I buy it on my pc which is hooked up to my tv.
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Do you mean Monopoly Go? The game with a billion dollar marketing budget that literally makes it the most expensive game developed (when including marketing)?

 

[Macalicious2011]

I would say not just blizzard, but they went on a buying spree and I don't think they really benefited from that by and large - including Bethesda, and Obsidian

Theoretically those aquisitions made sense but in the social context they didnt.

Gaming isn't gaming anymore. It falls under the same entertainment bucket as movies, netflix, tiktok shopping and YouTube shorts. All compete for the same eye balls.

Big live service titles have a huge magnetic pull. Especially if you friends play it and you follow influencers who only stream about those titles. This makes it very challenging to get people to switch to a new game.

Sony said something like 75% of Playstation owners only play two game. As a result a new AAA title might struggle to attract player....and retain them. If you are sitting on IP for 5-10 games pouring $100-300m into each becomes a huge risk.

Hopefully MS will sell of those IP so that they don't sit dormant 🙂

 

[diamond.g]

I recall the xbox division was put under the same requirement of 30% profit margins, I wonder if the financials had anything to do with the leadership change.

Dropping hardware and going full on publisher is likely to be the way to go for Microsoft (a la Sega).

Theoretically those aquisitions made sense but in the social context they didnt.

Gaming isn't gaming anymore. It falls under the same entertainment bucket as movies, netflix, tiktok shopping and YouTube shorts. All compete for the same eye balls.

Big live service titles have a huge magnetic pull. Especially if you friends play it and you follow influencers who only stream about those titles. This makes it very challenging to get people to switch to a new game.

Sony said something like 75% of Playstation owners only play two game. As a result a new AAA title might struggle to attract player....and retain them. If you are sitting on IP for 5-10 games pouring $100-300m into each becomes a huge risk.

Hopefully MS will sell of those IP so that they don't sit dormant 🙂

Live service games are why we are in this mess we are in (IMO). That and gatcha games. MS hasn't been handling gaming well since 2013, when they whiffed all the good will they made during the 360 days.

 

[maflynn]

Theoretically those aquisitions made sense but in the social context they didnt.

I definitely can see the logic, partly to strengthen Xbox's exclusive catalog, something that they needed if they were to continue to compete with Sony. If you recall, they all but made the promise that Bethesda titles were going to be exclusives and no longer on the playstation. Secondly it could have added to the gamepass, though buying the studio wasn't needed to have them in the gamepass subscription.

I think overall, that the logic was sound, the timing was not, Obsidian was a good, not great purchase, but being smaller studio it paid off. Bethesda and Blizzard on the other hand, were largely mistakes for different reasons.

Dropping hardware and going full on publisher is likely to be the way to go for Microsoft (a la Sega).

That may be the eventual result, though I do think they still will release the next gen console. Of course that console is expected to be a PC for intents purposes, so killing off the hardware may follow after the release of that hardware in the course of time

 

[diamond.g]

I definitely can see the logic, partly to strengthen Xbox's exclusive catalog, something that they needed if they were to continue to compete with Sony. If you recall, they all but made the promise that Bethesda titles were going to be exclusives and no longer on the playstation. Secondly it could have added to the gamepass, though buying the studio wasn't needed to have them in the gamepass subscription.

I think overall, that the logic was sound, the timing was not, Obsidian was a good, not great purchase, but being smaller studio it paid off. Bethesda and Blizzard on the other hand, were largely mistakes for different reasons.


That may be the eventual result, though I do think they still will release the next gen console. Of course that console is expected to be a PC for intents purposes, so killing off the hardware may follow after the release of that hardware in the course of time

I am curious about the next Xbox. From my understanding the console games are packaged (and thus run) differently than their PC counterparts. So if the next Xbox is "open" to running PC games, why would publishers utilize the "special sauce" features that MS seems to be talking about these days (assuming Nvidia doesn't buy into them). Like the Series X/S have ML cores that are doing nothing (from my understanding) so how did Sony beat them to the punch with PSSR.

 

[maflynn]

I just saw this - not off on the right foot it seems
New Xbox CEO Gets Targeted for (Supposedly) Using an AI Bot on X and Creating Her Gamertag Last Month

However, she didn't quite get off to the right start with that. Throughout the weekend, her X account replied to several gamers in an attempt to connect with the Xbox community, but fans are already pointing out that her answers might actually be crafted by an AI bot. Here's an example:

Great list. I did my top 3 in another reply. Halo, Valheim, 007. It's been a long time since I played Chrono Trigger. Have you done every ending? Thanks for all the detail. I appreciate it a ton.

 

[diamond.g]

I just saw this - not off on the right foot it seems
New Xbox CEO Gets Targeted for (Supposedly) Using an AI Bot on X and Creating Her Gamertag Last Month

Yeah I saw that article. Folks forget how much info MS collects when you play games on XBL (similar to how much info Valve has).

 

[ctjack]

I am curious about the next Xbox. From my understanding the console games are packaged (and thus run) differently than their PC counterparts. So if the next Xbox is "open" to running PC games, why would publishers utilize the "special sauce" features that MS seems to be talking about these days (assuming Nvidia doesn't buy into them). Like the Series X/S have ML cores that are doing nothing (from my understanding) so how did Sony beat them to the punch with PSSR.

Weren’t there rumors that they are redesigning the whole xbox platform? Meaning essentially it will become just a compact pc with running windows behind the User interface so playing games on any microsoft owned product becomes the same (cloud, pc, xbox or even switch, ps).

They are not interested in hardware - more leaning into making their games playable on every platform.

 

[Macalicious2011]

I am curious about the next Xbox. From my understanding the console games are packaged (and thus run) differently than their PC counterparts. So if the next Xbox is "open" to running PC games, why would publishers utilize the "special sauce" features that MS seems to be talking about these days (assuming Nvidia doesn't buy into them). Like the Series X/S have ML cores that are doing nothing (from my understanding) so how did Sony beat them to the punch with PSSR.

Now that Phil and Sarah are out of the picture, who knows what xbox hardware will mean going forward. Any recent "promises" are now null and void. 🙂

I maintain that the next xbox will be branding with the hardware outsourced to acer, msi etc. No optical media. Backwards Compatability for past exclusives will be through cloud steaming.

Secondly it could have added to the gamepass, though buying the studio wasn't needed to have them in the gamepass subscription.

Bingo! Most important old IP is relevant to gen X and Millenials but not to....gen z who live and breath minecraft, roblox, tiktok filters and valorant.

 

[diamond.g]

Weren’t there rumors that they are redesigning the whole xbox platform? Meaning essentially it will become just a compact pc with running windows behind the User interface so playing games on any microsoft owned product becomes the same (cloud, pc, xbox or even switch, ps).

They are not interested in hardware - more leaning into making their games playable on every platform.

That would make the equal to Sega, and with them no longer being a platform holder...

Now that Phil and Sarah are out of the picture, who knows what xbox hardware will mean going forward. Any recent "promises" are now null and void. 🙂

I maintain that the next xbox will be branding with the hardware outsourced to acer, msi etc. No optical media. Backwards Compatability for past exclusives will be through cloud steaming.


Bingo! Most important old IP is relevant to gen X and Millenials but not to....gen z who live and breath minecraft, roblox, tiktok filters and valorant.

Yeah I would be hesitant to get the next xbox hardware without seeing reasons to. I'm curious if they will drop how each xbox game runs in a vm to be more like a PC. And would developers start introducing (more intrusive) anticheat in response.

 

[salamanderjuice]

That would make the equal to Sega, and with them no longer being a platform holder...

Yeah I would be hesitant to get the next xbox hardware without seeing reasons to. I'm curious if they will drop how each xbox game runs in a vm to be more like a PC. And would developers start introducing (more intrusive) anticheat in response.

I can't see the PC approach working. I feel like rights holders would be upset because they licensed for console use, not PC. You know somebody will be upset about that, you can't even run any old game on Geforce Now for example or how PSP/PS1 games were handled on Vita with random titles not working for no technical reason. So I imagine a good chunk of stuff just won't be playable because a rights holder said no. It also blows a hole in Xbox Live (or Game Pass Essential or whatever), why would anyone pay $60 a year for Live to play Halo: MCC or Gears 5 when the Steam version is free to play and works on the same box?

 

[Macalicious2011]

Yeah I would be hesitant to get the next xbox hardware without seeing reasons to. I'm curious if they will drop how each xbox game runs in a vm to be more like a PC. And would developers start introducing (more intrusive) anticheat in response.

Recent rise in pricing for ram and ssd will be a huge factor for what Microsoft does next woth Xbox. Amd and nvidia aren't cheap to work with these days on custom chips. For microsoft it will be a case of weighing up spending billions on xbox hardware or enterprise data centres for ai. We know which one will yield higher ROI.

If components are so expensive that you can't target $500-1000 for a competative console in 3-5years, is it worth bothering?

Nintendo majorly lucked out on signing the nvidia deal years before large language models became commercially viable.

 

[Macalicious2011]

I think it will natively play pc games whilst older Xbox only titles are played through emulation. Games that you buy for it will simply be PC titles.

If they are starting to tease the console now, it means that release will be next year.

Overall I expect it to be a pc that launch into a controller friendly Xbox layout on top of windows. Like steam deck. However, I think Satya will want to stamp co pilot all over all.

I think it will be expensive. Like double the price of a Series X. A rog ally x is already more than a series x.

However MS will likely keep the Series S on the market for casual gamers for 1-2 years.it won’t hold developers back because they still need to ensure that games are scalable to handhelds like steam deck and rog ally.

 

[diamond.g]

I think it will natively play pc games whilst older Xbox only titles are played through emulation. Games that you buy for it will simply be PC titles.

If they are starting to tease the console now, it means that release will be next year.

Overall I expect it to be a pc that launch into a controller friendly Xbox layout on top of windows. Like steam deck. However, I think Satya will want to stamp co pilot all over all.

I think it will be expensive. Like double the price of a Series X. A rog ally x is already more than a series x.

However MS will likely keep the Series S on the market for casual gamers for 1-2 years.it won’t hold developers back because they still need to ensure that games are scalable to handhelds like steam deck and rog ally.


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Yeah it makes Sony pulling back on PC support make much more sense.... MS is basically targeting the Steam machine.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Yeah it makes Sony pulling back on PC support make much more sense.... MS is basically targeting the Steam machine.

As someone who doesn't own a Playstation. I support Sony's several on making titles available on PC on day 1.

I bought my deck steam a week ago, and didn't touch my gaming PC until yesterday. All I can say is that Microsoft have alot of work to make Windows as effortless as a console. My steamdeck is as easy and inuative to use as a Nintendo Switch. I bought it blindly and figured out to use it without having to read manually or watch videos.

Fired up my pc last night and got bombarded with popups and the and one error message. The next Xbox supporting multiple store fronts is more bad than good. The below is overwhelming on my PC and I have none of this non sense on my steam deck.

 

[diamond.g]

As someone who doesn't own a Playstation. I support Sony's several on making titles available on PC on day 1.

I bought my deck steam a week ago, and didn't touch my gaming PC until yesterday. All I can say is that Microsoft have alot of work to make Windows as effortless as a console. My steamdeck is as easy and inuative to use as a Nintendo Switch. I bought it blindly and figured out to use it without having to read manually or watch videos.

Fired up my pc last night and got bombarded with popups and the and one error message. The next Xbox supporting multiple store fronts is more bad than good. The below is overwhelming on my PC and I have none of this non sense on my steam deck.

IIRC, Steam big picture and xbox pc app should show you all the games installed on your computer so you don't have to mess with the other launchers.

From my understanding live service games (like hell divers) will still be available on all platforms (really PC) day and date. But none of the single player games will be.

I also think this move by MS is going to placate (somewhat) the whole Epic Games storefront thing.

 

[Macalicious2011]

I also think this move by MS is going to placate (somewhat) the whole Epic Games storefront thing.

Fair enough. The downside of launchers is that they consume resources and sometimes have bugs that prevent titles from launching.

However it's exciting that MS has announced the console. If it hits the shelves next year, it would be interesting to know whether it would run Series X games like GTA6 at higher frame rates.

 

[diamond.g]

Fair enough. The downside of launchers is that they consume resources and sometimes have bugs that prevent titles from launching.

However it's exciting that MS has announced the console. If it hits the shelves next year, it would be interesting to know whether it would run Series X games like GTA6 at higher frame rates.

What I am most curious about is the backwards compatibility.

 

[Macalicious2011]

What I am most curious about is the backwards compatibility.

Software emulation or a translation layer for running xbox only titles.

 

[mattspace]

"Xbox Box", "this is the box I use for Xbox". Xbox being massaged into being a synonym for all "gaming".

 

[Pezimak]

If you are an Xbox fan may as well hold off now on any new console. And save, a LOT! I think the net Xbox will be a grand easy. I will follow the hardware but I have no intention on getting it, MS burnt its bridges with me this gen. I moved back to Sony and will remain there.

I think end of 2027 to end of 2028 will be the timeframe for next gen. And it will possibly be the FIRST time we have 3 totally different offerings, handheld hybrid from Nintendo, PC with a pretty interface from Microsoft and traditional console only running console games from Sony. And all at different price levels.

 

[diamond.g]

Ya'll see the GDC talk news? Basically MS is telling xbox devs to write games for PC. AMD also dropped the bomb about some features coming to the next xbox not being available (thus far) on RDNA4 as well (that is sure to go over well with the community when it becomes general knowledge).

Microsoft confirms AMD FSR Next and ML Multi Frame Generation for Project Helix - VideoCardz.com

Finally, AMD ML Multi Frame Generation Microsoft used its GDC 2026 Xbox Developer Summit to share the first real graphics details for Project Helix, its

videocardz.com

AMD reveals "FSR Diamond" for Next-Gen Xbox, but is it RDNA5 exclusive? - VideoCardz.com

AMD confirms FSR Diamond as a new codename during Project Helix reveal AMD has now attached a new name to its next FSR stack. In a social media post

videocardz.com