How Much Longer Can Xbox Wait?

[CriticalGaming]

I made a joke about Microsoft and Xbox in another thread, hell I've made a lot of them throughout the last couple of years because lets face it the state of Xbox has been just fucking sad for a long time now. It's cool that Gamepass is sort of keeping Xbox consoles on life support, but I have to ask the question to the audience, how long can Microsoft hold out on remaining in the console market without making some kind of change? Since 2020, there has been two total "Xbox Showcases", with the first major one having insane game reveals like Halo Inifinite (which got delayed a whole year), Helblade 2 (still not out and no release date pending), Fable remake/returns? (rumored to be in development hell). And then the second showcase which brought us an actual good game in Hi-Fi Rush.

Think about this for a second. Since the Xbox Series X launched, Halo was delayed an entire year, launched, went through seasons, and is now basically run it's course and is done. We've gotten nothing else out of them, besides a small but very good "indie" game, and EVERY big release Xbox is supposed to have has been further delayed or has no fucking sign of life anywhere.

Honestly all Sony needs to do now is tighten up their exclusivity games (instead of 1 year pay to make games have 2 years of exclusivity) and Xbox will wither and die away because it's clear they can't keep up. What's crazy about it is that on paper Xbox has a LOT more high powered game development studios under their payroll, and yet nothing is being made. At this point Xbox has sunk billions into trailers, that's it.

Starfield has been delayed all the way to September, possibly beyond we have no idea. On one hand that's great because Bethesda games are buggy fuckfests anyway and if they are going to delay it to make the game polished then great. On the other hand, it's Bethesda, and the delay's are probably just trying to get the fucking game to work because they've never released a game not bugged up to oblivion. Assuming Starfield releases this time, it will mark the 3rd year anniversary of the next-gen systems launching, and in that time it will be only the 3rd "AAA" release from Xbox game studios in the entire life-cycle of the console.

Now to be fair, consoles have had slow starts before. The Playstation 3 sucked a big fat load of dick for a long time into the life-cycle of the console until it eventually caught up to 360. However 360 was the clear winner that generation by sheer amount of head start it had. So while the roles are reverse currently between Playstation and Xbox, there is no reason why Xbox can't catch up to PS5 on the back half. Though if you really want to dig into it, Microsoft hasn't been in a good state since the launch of the Xbone.

A lot of Xbox current struggles could theoretically be due to the ill-will they obliterated trying to forced their whole console to be always online and force people to have a Kinnect and all that bullshit. But Xbox has a lot of money and they should have been able to invest into exclusive games to overcome that and give people reasons to own one of their systems.....except they didn't do that.

Let me ask you a question, how many "console seller" exclusives can you guys name for the Xbone? IIRC the Xbone's big "sellers" were just the same dumbass shooters with bigger numbers on the end. Halo 5, Gears 5. Did the Xbone have a Bloodborne level game? A Bayoneta? A DMC? A massive JRPG hit?

I mean Xbox doesn't even have a mascot for fucks sake. No Crash, No Ratchet, No Mario, No Zelda, just a dude in power armor that could be anybody really.

So that then brings in the question.

How long can MS fuck around like this until it's not worth playing in the video game market anymore?

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

You still get a red ribbon when you come in second in a three-horse race where the third horse is out in the pasture not even caring about racing. Also, I imagine that Microsoft is a lot more concerned about Sony's inroads into PC gaming then about bolstering the XBox's long-flagging performance at this rate.

 

[Majestic_Manatee]

I mean Xbox doesn't even have a mascot for fucks sake. No Crash, No Ratchet, No Mario, No Zelda, just a dude in power armor that could be anybody really.

Xbox fanboys won't take kindly if they see you speaking of Phil Spencer that way.

 

[laggyteabag]

Microsoft has basically been treading water since the Xbox One launched. I can't even remember the last time that Microsoft released a first-party title that was revered even half as much as something like The Last of Us, or God of War, or Bloodbourne. Probably around the time that Bungie still had control over Halo, to be brutally honest.

They have had a few moderate successes here and there (Hi-Fi Rush, and Gears 5 come to mind), but these are definitely the exception, not the rule, and are still years apart.

Its kind of amazing. Microsoft has been throwing their money at a number of notable studios for years, and we have still yet to say that pay off. Most of their recent releases have either been duds (Crackdown 3, Bleeding Edge), or they just take forever to finally get going (Halo Infinite, Sea of Thieves). As for their upcoming games, Starfield keeps on getting delayed, Redfall is probably going to be DoA, and the rest of the announced games have gone AWOL, with release dates that are still probably years away.

I have no doubt that Microsoft will start releasing games again, at a decent cadence, but whether or not they will actually be any good remains to be seen.

Microsoft has just had a really tough 10 years (mostly their own fault), and I just don't really see an end to that, in sight.

 

[BrawlMan]

Let me ask you a question, how many "console seller" exclusives can you guys name for the Xbone?

Other than a brief spike with Quantum Break, none much else. And even that game was mediocre in terms of level design and cover shooting mechanics. So much wasted potential on a game about manipulating time!

A Bayoneta? A DMC?

Scalebound was supposed to be that, but Microsoft screwed over Platinum. Bayonetta 3 ate Scalebound.

I mean Xbox doesn't even have a mascot for fucks sake. No Crash, No Ratchet, No Mario, No Zelda, just a dude in power armor that could be anybody really.

The closest they ever had was Blinx: The Time Cat back in the OG days. Too bad they fucked it up with the sequel, and everyone forgot it existed. The second closest were Team Ninja/Tecmo games: Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Ryu Hyabusa was the extreme action game face for XBOX at the time.

How long can MS fuck around like this until it's not worth playing in the video game market anymore?

I honestly don't care at this point. The only thing I care about are Tango Games and whatever they're doing. Thankfully, TG is doing great. Both Bethesda and MS consider Hi-Fi Rush a huge success, but is their only excellent exclusive on the console. As long as Microsoft funds these smaller or medium sized in-house developers, and they don't stick their dicks into people's ears, I don't care. Build off of that, and just make quality games of all variety.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Also, I imagine that Microsoft is a lot more concerned about Sony's inroads into PC gaming

Not as much as they would be if Sony could manage a decent fucking PC port.

 

[wings012]

I feel like X-Box isn't even participating in the console war anymore. As long as Gamepass brings in money.... Just about everything on X-Box is also on PC anyway.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I feel like X-Box isn't even participating in the console war anymore. As long as Gamepass brings in money.... Just about everything on X-Box is also on PC anyway.

That makes me wonder... Is there even a console war still ongoing?
You have Sony with their killer lineup and high production value, as well as a steady stream of varied and interesting games. You have Nintendo doing their own thing with their IPs, and more or less dominating the portable gaming market (with Valve slowly taking some of that share with the SteamDeck). Then you have Xbox doing... stuff.
Not gonna lie, I feel like the console war has well and truly come to a close at this point. Sure all sides release consoles still, and Microsoft and Sony trade blows in terms of raw spec with theirs. But outside of that... nothing's really happening. It's more of a console cold war

 

[BrawlMan]

I feel like X-Box isn't even participating in the console war anymore. As long as Gamepass brings in money.... Just about everything on X-Box is also on PC anyway.

That makes me wonder... Is there even a console war still ongoing?
You have Sony with their killer lineup and high production value, as well as a steady stream of varied and interesting games. You have Nintendo doing their own thing with their IPs, and more or less dominating the portable gaming market (with Valve slowly taking some of that share with the SteamDeck). Then you have Xbox doing... stuff.
Not gonna lie, I feel like the console war has well and truly come to a close at this point. Sure all sides release consoles still, and Microsoft and Sony trade blows in terms of raw spec with theirs. But outside of that... nothing's really happening. It's more of a console cold war

Yet for the idiot console fanboys and fangirls, the console war isn't over for them. It's never over for them.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Yet for the idiot console fanboys and fangirls, the console war isn't over for them. It's never over for them.

One can say that war... war never changes

 

[BrawlMan]

One can say that war... war never changes

Yet at the same time, war....has changed.

 

[Chimpzy]

Yet at the same time, war....has changed.

Did it? The answer is no. Unless it is yes.

 

[BrawlMan]

Unless it is yes.

Yes....

 

[wings012]

That makes me wonder... Is there even a console war still ongoing?
You have Sony with their killer lineup and high production value, as well as a steady stream of varied and interesting games. You have Nintendo doing their own thing with their IPs, and more or less dominating the portable gaming market (with Valve slowly taking some of that share with the SteamDeck). Then you have Xbox doing... stuff.
Not gonna lie, I feel like the console war has well and truly come to a close at this point. Sure all sides release consoles still, and Microsoft and Sony trade blows in terms of raw spec with theirs. But outside of that... nothing's really happening. It's more of a console cold war

Sony's also blasting a bunch of their exclusive IPs onto PC. Though I see it as their own weird way of trying to penetrate Microsoft's market base. 3 years ago I would have called you mad if you said Horizon, Death Stranding, Unchartered and now even Last Of Us were going to come to PC.

You guys continue to argue what stupid brick you want in your living room, I'm gonna be largely content with a PC.

 

[CriticalGaming]

You guys continue to argue what stupid brick you want in your living room, I'm gonna be largely content with a PC.

My stupid brick is better than your stupid brick!

 

[Elvis Starburst]

You guys continue to argue what stupid brick you want in your living room, I'm gonna be largely content with a PC.

I've pretty much abandoned PC stuff until I can get my hands on a SteamDeck (which likely won't be for even longer yet as I'm quitting my job, my time there ending in a few weeks). I'm aaaaaaaalllllll console/handheld at this point

 

[wings012]

I've pretty much abandoned PC stuff until I can get my hands on a SteamDeck (which likely won't be for even longer yet as I'm quitting my job, my time there ending in a few weeks). I'm aaaaaaaalllllll console/handheld at this point

I'm too used to needing a PC for all my usual needs. Internet, videos, chat apps, art stuff, whatever. I'm also a 3D artist, as in that's my day job. Though I rarely do any of it at home, never know when I'll need to update my portfolio to job hunt again so I typically want a decent enough PC on hand.

Back in the PS2 era, the exclusives were enough to entice me to get a console, but nowadays I just don't see the point. I'm not much of a living room person either so I don't mind just doing everything at the PC, rather than needing another device for a different space. Lots of games are multiplatform and the oversaturation of indies has provided the sorta lower cost B to single A type games that the PS2 library was kinda like.

Gamepass = X-Box these days, so if you have a decent PC - the Series X and all future MS Consoles are superfluous devices. Sony seems less tight about its exclusives these days. Consoles have also lost their simplicity plug and play factor, requiring subscriptions for online play(which is dogshit cause PC doesn't need it regardless of whether it's Steam, Gamepass, GOG or whatever), installations and downloads...

I can somewhat vibe with getting a Switch due to its mostly exclusive library and novel implements. Stuff like Ring Fit also seem like a good way to motivate my lazy ass to exercise(sure you can exercise without it but gamifying it provides context which is helpful).

I can understand consoles being a decent implement for the 'higher end' gaming if you generally don't have a need for a powerful PC, or want a PC at all considering mobile devices can do most of the day to day stuff most people need. I think consoles are cheaper vs a gaming PC.

Anyway I do feel like all sides of the usual console wars have more or less drawn their territories and borders. Nintendo did first with the Wii, carving out their own territory and exiting direct confrontation with the other two. X-Box has more or less also drawn its own territory with the Gamepass and making X-Box and PC Gaming almost synonymous. I wouldn't be surprised if MS stopped creating X-Boxes, or treated it as a side show to it's main product which I believe is the Gamepass, we'll see how that pans out in the years to comes. Which leaves Sony as the only traditional participant left.

If there's any conflict still going on, it's really just over the whole Activision acquisition hubub.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I'm too used to needing a PC for all my usual needs. Internet, videos, chat apps, art stuff, whatever. I'm also a 3D artist, as in that's my day job. Though I rarely do any of it at home, never know when I'll need to update my portfolio to job hunt again so I typically want a decent enough PC on hand.

I manage to do most of that stuff on my MacBook decently enough. I just had enough having to micromanage all the components and junk in my PC custom rigs, and pre-built Windows computers/laptops didn't do it for me in terms of value for what I'd get out of them. (At least, they definitely didn't after Apple started doing their own SoC tech).
... I also wish Windows would stop blowing total ass.

Back in the PS2 era, the exclusives were enough to entice me to get a console, but nowadays I just don't see the point. I'm not much of a living room person

Weirdly enough, I have the opposite problem. Even as exclusives come to PC more and more, for me, there's nothing like slotting in a game cartridge or disc, grabbing a controller made for the system, and sitting down with it. Emulators feel weird for me, even when I homebrewed a Wii to do it. It didn't feel genuine, ya know?
I also think I have an odd thing with separation. I used to have a portable audio player as well as a cell phone, for example. So for me, my computers tend to be for my internet browsing, my chat apps, YouTube, content creation, that sort of thing... while game systems that are purpose built for it are just that in my head. Gaming on my PC when I had one never really felt the same way, weird as it is, and I never did much of it despite building custom rigs for 11 years with the intent to do so.

I can somewhat vibe with getting a Switch due to its mostly exclusive library and novel implements. Stuff like Ring Fit also seem like a good way to motivate my lazy ass to exercise(sure you can exercise without it but gamifying it provides context which is helpful).

Thank you for reminding me I need to buy RingFit one day.

I can understand consoles being a decent implement for the 'higher end' gaming if you generally don't have a need for a powerful PC, or want a PC at all considering mobile devices can do most of the day to day stuff most people need. I think consoles are cheaper vs a gaming PC.

Considering my current computer situation... consoles definitely help, yeah

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I think consoles are cheaper vs a gaming PC.

Consoles are cheaper than any recent GPU card above mid-range.

 

[Gordon_4]

Consoles are cheaper than any recent GPU card above mid-range.

Fuckin’ tell me about it.