Is the Xbox one going to die a slow and painful death

[Fonejackerjon]

The lack of interest in the machine is deafening, the missteps taken by Microsoft are immense and the news that CEX are selling for sensor for £20!! a more advanced Kinect for £20! unbelievable, considering the original one sold for £129 for several months.

My question is can Microsoft come back from this? given the choice of a more powerful PS4 and Xbox one at the SAME price now kinectless offering nothing different will we be seeing Microsoft turning into the Wii U 2???

At the moment it certainly seems like it. All I can say is the next gen is looking extremely dull at the moment (only exception being watchdogs but then what?)

 

[Andy Shandy]

Well it all comes down to games now. Which I'd (personally) say the Xbox One has over the PS4. Certainly has more than the Wii U, considering it actually gets most third-party offerings. So no, I don't think it'll be a "Wii U 2", and I highly disagree that it seems like it.

 

[BrotherRool]

I know the consoles are doomed is your thing, but I don't see it happening. Xbox One sales were healthy compared to previous generations before the huge price cut. This 'oh my gosh there's nothing interesting about this console generation that software developers only just found out about' thing happens every cycle. The PS3 was in a much worse position in terms of price, quality and games at this point but that console didn't die a painful death either.

I think the Xbox One has a good opportunity to even catch up on the PS4 now. Just like the previous generation, there's now really not a lot to distinguish them. It's going to take one good exclusive for the momentum to turn back towards Microsoft. I still think Sony has the advantage, but Microsoft are in a position where they could still win never mind not die a slow painful death.

The only serious problem faced by either of the two consoles is if the market changes in some radical way. The only thing that could possibly have done that are the Steam machines (and I still consider that an outside shot). The Steam Machines are now almost certainly not even going to come out this year. This is only good for Sony and Microsoft.

The doom bells aren't ringing for the Xbox One, lets look again next year.

 

[Evonisia]

Considering the fact that the Xbox, Xbox 360, Gamecube and PlayStation 3 were in a worse position than the Xbox One is now, no, I don't think so.

The Xbox One is doing just fine now, and I'm sure Microsoft will announce some more games at E3 to sucker more people in (probably the announcement of Gears 4 and Fable 4). I say we wait until the Xbox One is dramatically dropping in sales.

 

[Atrocious Joystick]

Nah, microsoft will just have the second most popular console this time around. Maybe next generation they´ll learn from any eventual mistakes and become the most popular or they won´t and become the third or fourth most popular. In any case I would be very surprised if the xbox one kills the xbox.

 

[Evonisia]

Nah, microsoft will just have the second most popular console this time around. Maybe next generation they´ll learn from any eventual mistakes and become the most popular or they won´t and become the third or fourth most popular. In any case I would be very surprised if the xbox one kills the xbox.

Well Microsoft has been second twice now. The PS2 and Wii were much better sellers (even if the latter was just for one or two games) than the Xbox and Xbox 360 respectively.

 

[Cabisco]

It appears to be doing just fine from everything I've seen, perhaps this thread should be retitled 'I hope the xbox one is going to die'.

 

[Atrocious Joystick]

Nah, microsoft will just have the second most popular console this time around. Maybe next generation they´ll learn from any eventual mistakes and become the most popular or they won´t and become the third or fourth most popular. In any case I would be very surprised if the xbox one kills the xbox.

Well Microsoft has been second twice now. The PS2 and Wii were much better sellers (even if the latter was just for one or two games) than the Xbox and Xbox 360 respectively.

Huh, didn´t know the wii sold better than the xbox 360. I know the original xbox was beat by the PS2. But I always just assumed the xbox 360 and the PS3 were the big players and the wii and such were sideplayers.

 

[Evonisia]

Huh, didn´t know the wii sold better than the xbox 360. I know the original xbox was beat by the PS2. But I always just assumed the xbox 360 and the PS3 were the big players and the wii and such were sideplayers.

If I remember right, the highest selling consoles are PS2 > PS1 > Wii, or something like that, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 are both basically equal at 80 something million. The Wii basically sold off of Wii Sports (best selling game of all time), Wii Fit and (I'm guessing) Smash Bros. The 360 was in second for most of the generation, and the PS3 overtook it mid 2013 (not sure what it is now).

Edit: Though to make this loosely relevant to the topic, the 360 suffered early on from the RRoD and the Xbox One has thus far outsold it. The PS3 only really became a big seller from like 2008/'09 onwards, so this generation is looking good in terms of sales.

 

[RJ 17]

Sony definitely has a massive head-start and I doubt the XBone will be able to catch up at this point. But to bomb so much that it's officially considered a "failed console"? I doubt that. The next gen isn't even a year old yet and, unlike the Wii U, the XBone still has developers that are willing to make games for it. The XBone will do alright. It won't match the PS4, but it's not going down in flames either. Finally caving in and making a bundle where the Kinect isn't included was definitely a step in the right direction for Microsoft, and shows that they still intend to stay in the game.......no pun intended.

 

[Roxas1359]

If I remember right, the highest selling consoles are PS2 > PS1 > Wii, or something like that, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 are both basically equal at 80 something million. The Wii basically sold off of Wii Sports (best selling game of all time), Wii Fit and (I'm guessing) Smash Bros. The 360 was in second for most of the generation, and the PS3 overtook it mid 2013 (not sure what it is now).

A slight correction to make. The number of sold consoles you put is correct, the PS2 is still the best selling console of all time, with PS1 in second, then Wii. The Wii games however, the best selling games on the system besides Wii Sports, which was bundled with it and is the only reason it's the best selling game, and Wii Fit, was Mario Kart Wii actually. Mario Kart Wii has sold about 35 million worldwide, making it the best selling Wii game, and is actually sold more than Wii Fit has (Wii Fit is about 23 million world wide).

OT: While I don't get much enjoyment from the Xbox brand when compared to the other two, I'm not gonna be delusional and say the Xbox One is tanking like the Wii U has. It's actually sold more at launch than the 360 did, and it's already doing better since we don't have the RRoD like what happened last gen and lasted until 2009 in all honesty. Compared to the PS4's sales, yeah it's not doing as well, but it's still selling well none the less. If Microsoft was having the Wii U level of sales, then yes it'd be concerning for them, but they aren't.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

If Microsoft doesn't shine like the motherfucking Sun on this years E3, it probably will.

 

[Crises^]

While the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox, My friends and I have all bought the Xbox due to the fact we prefer the games on it especially when I heard that final fantasy 15 and Metal Gear Solid 5 were coming to Xbox.

Xbox is no where near dead, and this E3 is looking very promising for it. I do admit that the PlayStation is a better console by specs, I got the Xbox for it's games. Plus all this fan boy hate between the two over resolution and frames per second is ridiculous, I'd swear if all they cared about was that why haven't they just gone and bought a PC.

I also think it's a bit to early to declare which one will "win" in the end as we are only a year in and anything could happen.

 

[b3nn3tt]

I don't have any numbers to hand, but it's my understanding the the XBox One is selling rather well, even if it isn't doing quite as well as the PS4. It certainly isn't struggling anywhere near as badly as the WiiU, and even that isn't doing as badly as some people seem to think. So no, as it stands at the moment, I don't think the XBox One is in any sort of danger.

In addition, I don't think it's ever going to be considered a failure. Even if Microsoft did earn a lot of negativity for the launch and their subsequent back-pedalling, it doesn't seem like it cost them too badly in the long-run. That being said, I can't see it outselling the PS4 any time soon, if at all, but that still doesn't mean that it's going to 'die a slow and painful death'.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

If Microsoft doesn't shine like the motherfucking Sun on this years E3, it probably will.

Hear hear.

The fact is, even with all the backtracking they have done on the unpopular choices they have made, gamers are still not that willing to forgive Microsoft just yet. I haven't seen the numbers myself, but even with Titanfall in play, I suspect the only people who have purchased a One are long term XBOX fans who wanted to see what Microsoft can do.

Adam has it right. Microsoft is REALLY going to have to shine at E3 if the One is going to have any chance. Especially considering the fact that LAST E3 is when they pretty much shat themselves in introducing the One.

Honestly though, I am confused. Microsoft has said that they are already looking forward to the NEXT generation after the One. I'm not exactly sure why they would considering how much fail the One has been. From a financial standpoint, it seems far more viable to have the One be the last console they make since the financial risk is just too high for them right now.

 

[Something Amyss]

Many people choose their console based primarily on what their friends are playing on, so once one machine has a significant lead it will only continue as players with no real preference buy the machine their friends have, which is most likely the leading one.

That didn't happen with the last gen. The Wii's phenomenal sales dropped off quite a bit, and it maintained a lead only by virtue of the massive influx of original sales leading to a high platform to topple. The Xbox 360 had better sales than the PS3 initially, but by the end of the generation they got ahead. And the PS3 continues to outsell the 360.

 

[Lightknight]

It's still quite early to see but this gap is indeed significant. The 360 is performing better than the WiiU has been (2X, actually) and I do believe that there's plenty of value to the XBO, but they have significantly hindered themselves out of the gate by a huge number of missteps.

If they can get a few more million units out then they should be able to squeek by on game sales for the generation. But they're honestly very close in the US market. They're selling just over 75% the numbers that the ps4 is selling this year so far and the US is undoubtedly the biggest market there is.

So wither and die? Not likely. But if their numbers drop significantly we may see Microsoft get desperate and make significant changes to the product.

The problems for them going forward:

1. Terribly tarnished image via E3.
a. They appeared to behave like asses who did not care about the consumer's wants.
b. They tried to push features that are anti-consumer that Microsoft still maintains must be the future. This actually diminishes the value of building a library with them if the future is still a question.

2. Expensive and underpowered console: The PS4 performs 50% more powerfully than the XBO. For Microsoft to price it at the same price as the PS4 is like charging the same price for a large soda that you do for a medium. There is light at the end of this tunnel though. I believe removing the Kinect 2 was just the first step of a two stage price drop. We know that the Kinect 2 cost nearly as much as the XBO itself to produce so just dropping the price by 20% actually creates a huge profit margin for Microsoft. This leaves another $100 they can likely knock off.

3. Beyond that, there's the already smaller consumer base. A lot more people on the PS4 and that doesn't work in the XBO's favor.

 

[nathan-dts]

No, it won't win by a long shot, but it'll sell a respectable number of units. It deserves to die with how it launched, but brand loyalty exists.