Recently, Microsoft decided to release an Xbox One bundle that does not include the Kinect—a first for the fledgling system. I can’t say I would blame them: an attachment that people didn’t trust in a world that couldn’t produce good games for it already sounds like a recipe for failure. The question remains, though, who was responsible for the failure of the Kinect?
After all, the system had so much potential. Of all the motion control systems, I preferred the Move, but I could never deny that a completely controllerless system that tracks body movement has the strongest potential for success.
Dear team,
Xbox has always been different.
We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.
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If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it. They would be turning down immediate money for something that will potentially workout in the long term.
Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box. A lot of their base has moved to PC or jumped to PS. So will be a long road to get back on track.
We have been saying this from day one exclusives are a must if you are going to be selling hardware look at Nintendo and Sony before Jim Ryan. That's the proven formula. You had some that were deluded and blinded by loyalty accepting that multiplat was the future and that MS was merely getting ahead of where the industry was headed, but at least they can finally see the light and agree with what everyone has been saying for a decade+
True, blame it on the rabid fanboys. MS can do no wrong and spinner this multiplatform move. While the actual fans moved on.
I feel like with the new Xbox coming they are hoping to bring back those old fans and then if it goes well. Bring back exclusives.
If the new console is performing like series x and one. Naw they staying multiplatform.
Actual fans dont move on... they can add to their hobby while waiting for the next new release. If you believe what you typed then I guess PS fans moved on too.... you know, since its been a Sahara for 1st party games this gen.
The fans didn’t tell them to go multilat. MS was forced to after the 82 billion they spent to destroy gaming. Then, while xbox fans cheered, MS realized they can’t justify the price tag by selling through xbox only, so they went multiplat and in the process began to downplay console gaming.
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I think it's too late, xbox sales were diving even before ABK, they got even worse since then even long before the full multiplatform push. I'd be surprised if they even went back to timed exclusivity at this point, Helix is basically a PC and is going to be expensive, they already struggle to sell cheaper xbox consoles, it will be low volume and they'll have a very small 'console' base to sell to, which has already been conditioned to just play via gamepass anyway.
They will do what they always do, they will promise the world at the beginning of next GEN and then failed to deliver all generation long. But there will always be some gamers who will buy into their promises.
Absolutely agree, Do people genuinely believe Microsoft are now going to go. Hang on how's about we go back to 2020. Then GP was stagnating, Games sold where awful because of GP. Outsold by Playstation by a landslide.
They have sold 5m of Forza I believe on PS5. Spite it being a old game. I think Starfield is going to sell well in the end. Halo is deffinetly going to sell well as is Fable and Forza Horizon 6.
I think at best (for Xbox fans). Single player titles like Clockwork will have a timed exclusivity. Multiplayer centric games like Forza, E Day will release day and date on all platforms.
Or all games will release on all platforms day and date. But maybe Xbox and Windows Store copies will have exclusive bonuses. Or may even get timed exclusive dlc like Fallout and Elder Scrolls and COD use to do.
I think they will treat Xbox players like the premium customers or at least act the way. But will serve just the Playstation and Switch 2 customers as well.
I don't see them removing PC from the equation. Considering MS has a heavy enough investment in the PC market, it would be foolish to abandon them. I could see them taking away games from PlayStation or ensuring they are timed exclusives at the very least. Say what you will but if Call of Duty ends up becoming a timed exclusive to Xbox machines, that would hurt PlayStation, don't pretend like those games don't sell millions.
They would lose out on a lot of CoD sales tho. Doesn't PS make up most of the sales?
@Outside - possibly, but it might push people to want Xbox hardware so they can play with their buddies day one.
Who knows.
it would but remember doing that can splinter the COD fan base and in the process damage the call of duty brand which is probably the only franchise in that $82 billion purchase that in anyway gets even close to delivering what Microsoft thought they bought. If Microsoft fudges around too much with the COD franchise, you might even see a competitor franchise show up on the scene and that would be a catastrophe after the huge debt that Microsoft put itself into with the ABK purchase.
But Its almost guaranteed that Microsoft will want to do something drastic at the beginning of the next generation as they always do. We will see.
Their lifeline of solely the Xbox consoles is dry. Good-Great games on a 1st party scale can't be made at a loss so willingly - sent to the Xbox to only sell limited copies.
They invested billions scooping up studios and need to start making returns.
Sucks that nearly every company is publicly traded and have to be so shareholder biased but that's how it is.
Their words are strong but it'll take time to see what their actions accomplish. Lowering the cost of Game Pass and taking CoD off of it was a good clear start.
More like, allot of their base just played game pass. So now they need to encourage them to start buying again.
What exactly is the long term goal with exclusives though?
Because for the most part, the hardware side of things has never been the most profitable, even sometimes being subsidized for a period before breaking even. And that’s before the hardware component nightmare we currently live in.
The whole point of exclusives was to get more people to buy your console in order to have a bigger install base, which meant even bigger software sales.
But if their ports to PS5 are selling (for the most part it seems) quite well, then other than negating the cut Sony takes there, unless you are REALLY increasing your software sales on your own console, it probably doesn’t make that much of a difference?
Honestly I don’t even understand Sony’s decision to scale back on it for PC unless they weren’t even recouping the port expenses. They released ports when the hardware sales never really dropped, and now that all consoles will undoubtedly take a noticeable drop in sales due to the ridiculous prices, that’s when they decide they don’t want to sell to a larger install base to more easily recoup dev costs… it’s just weird
I agree. I mean once they went multiplat, in theory there should be no going back especially when you have games that have sold really well on other platforms.
Microsoft are the ones that announced that they are reevaluating. So I'm just guessing on what their end goal is. Right now Xbox as a hardware is not a must buy for anyone but fans of the brand because their games can be played elsewhere. Going exclusive would solve this, but you lose out on a ton of money instantly which has always been what the company does not want to do so not really sure what their "reevaluating exclusives" means unless they are pulling a Phil Spencer and are just saying what people want to hear and will continue to do what they are currently doing.
Their ports to PS5 are selling because Sony's output has been so dry... the fans are thirsty, and MS is the oasis.
Microsoft still has a name with Xbox the issue is the casual games are not looking at the console because its not the same console their friends have. Look at that poll on how many users upgraded from xbox 365 to one and then the X. Part of Microsoft's downfall was thinking that the Wii was the market they had to be in when really it was the core market. If you get the core gamers you then get the market to. As I posted a few minuets ago on another post Microsoft putting exclusives on PS this gen could bold well if they hit next gen with all our games are staying exclusive from this new gen. They will then get gamers wanting Halo, Forza Gears but this is also where Microsoft fell over with the xbox one and X in terms of they did not have may quality 1st party games affter they fell into the Gears, Forza and Halo cycle. If they can get some old IPs back to bring back the old core gamers as well as fresh ips to bring in new gamers things could improve next gen. But as I said in my last post its all if buts and maybes at the moment. No one knows if the next home consoles will be to expensive that people move to pc as we are now seeing or look at the stem deck as a cheepier alternitive.
"Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box."
That's very optimistic. It's not the only issue, far from it. There is a serious rupture between Microsoft generally and the public caused by their weird Game Pass price fluctuations, taking down physical game space in stores, and being the first to go nuts on hardware price hikes that they themselves played a big part in.
They're also charging beyond a premium for Helix which is just vile at a time when the economy is in shambles.
The company itself is really not doing itself any favors with the approach they're taking Windows. Even France is looking to ditch Windows in favor of Linux.
But the most offensive thing is this AI push. They're doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on the very technology they're using to replace a considerable proportion of their workforce... And the slap in the face is how they bake copilot into everything when nobody likes it—they couldn't even make Bing stick, so why on earth are they trying so hard? You know it's bad when people would rather use ChatGPT than Copilot which is killing their OS. But aside from their snatching up of farmland to build data centers (and reduce the agriculture capacity of whichever country allows them to build them), they made an AI-generated gamer gurl that loves AI the head of Xbox.
Even if we grant them the full benefit of the doubt, it hardly matters what Xbox wants to do if Nadella says no, and that includes exclusive games. Microsoft's relationship with Xbox is the opposite of Sony's relationship with PlayStation—Microsoft pulls the reins of Xbox, but Sony damn near went under for the PS3.
“If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it.”
Great strategy, especially after Forza selling 5 million on PlayStation and sea of thieves selling at least another million (2 million) for example. In March 2026, Xbox consoles sales ratio vs PS was 10:1.
In addition to that, with Gamepass, which unequivocally cuts out chunks of sales (Cannibalizing revenue from 1st month sales especially).
I’m sure going exclusive again after releasing everything on Ps5 is going to work out great for business.
Despite all of that, it's clear that Microsoft's Xbox division is broken beyond repair.
PlayStation is currently draining money on flop after flop. It's Sony that needs to re-evaluate their strategy
Wonder how much money was lost on perfect dark, hellbalde 2, 300 million lost revenue
by putting cod on gamepass. The recent Jason schrier news that Xbox has cancelled dozens of projects, spent 70 billion just to see Xbox sales further collapse and gamepass see little growth.
The fact is this has been PlayStation's most profitable generation and they are making loads of money and selling plenty of consoles and games. While MS won't give you any sales figures or profit numbers for Xbox, says it all really.
It isnt. But I dont think they mean in 'games', rather, footprint.
They own the OS but as far as gaming is concerned, Steam dominate. I imagine the VAST majority of people who use the Xbox app/launcher are PC gamepass subs. No ones buying their 3rd party PC games through Xbox PC.
and many gamers prefer SteamOS for gaming over Windows too. If only Valve would be more uncompromising to the anti-cheat makers that locked out non-windows players, more pc gamers would have moved onto SteamOS by now and not looking back to Windows. overall, Win11 is a terrible, bloated, unoptimized OS which is not what many people want
Agreed and I think that's where they are going to focus on more. I think cheaper games on Windows/Xbox store (MS IP) compared to Steam and Epic and maybe even compared to PSN store as well.
Forza Horizon 5 hits 5M sales on PS5, providing yet another reason for Xbox to not return to console exclusives in the future
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I don't have any problem giving xbox my money. As long as I get something in return. I have a problem with getting an xbox console who's sole purpose it to collect dust because I already have a PS5 Pro. And when all their games are coming to PS5.
Replies(1)@Itveds why do I need to listen to you? You just said they're re-evaluating. It's not 100% guaranteed. Also, let's be real. Why would you stop selling on a platform that sells 5 million copies.
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That's about to change, haven't you heard?? According to some minority group they say that everyone will jump ship and get on board the project: ''fix it Felix'' aka the next xbawx because is going to decimate PS6, we just need to wait for next gen...
What? So you haven't heard? Atari is making a huge return and gonna take over the industry! Just watch and wait a couple generations. They will soon reign supreme over all companies! ATARI FOREVER!
No but seriously, you made me laugh so much because ever since I started using this site again (don't tell my job lol), I've noticed N4G sadly still suffers from a few people who are so delusional and defensive about their precious purchase. They feel the need to defend a multi-billion dollar company that doesn't even care or know they exist. That was normal when I was 15 on N4G but in 2026? Come on dudes. We see your fake accounts too. So obvious! Some people need a hug, I feel. That's all.
Bet it made more money on Playstation as well. Because Triple A, Gamepass, Day one, One dollar.
REPLACED provides a dark, cinematic journey through a detailed post-apocalyptic world. Its heavy combat and moody story make this a top tier thriller for any library.
As a core gaming device, it will be relegated to the sidelines. As a complimentary device its pretty decent. But because of that, it never was good enough to be bundled with the console in the first place.
I think its a shame really. I didn't want Kinect to be uncoupled from the X1 but then again, for Kinect to have even stood a chance to work as a core gaming device, it needed to at least maintain 1 to 1 tracking that was repeatedly touted by MS, which was simply not true.
Even now, I'm kind of taken aback by the voice commands on the console. I do employ them a lot. Also, its pretty cool not wearing a headset and just sitting back and talking to people on Forza with clarity. If someone says 'Xbox Record That' in a middle of a convo its kinda cool. It's also cool that you end up conversating with loads of people at once. For instance, about 5 of my mates came round a couple of days ago and we were all talking to some random american couple on Horizon 2. It was a proper social experience, the likes of which I haven't had in ages (partly due to party chat killing off a lot of the interaction with randoms).
I'm surprised we aren't seeing indie devs use the Kinect device more often to deliver some original games. I've seen a few but I still think there is potential for it.
Oh and things like 3D facial modelling. That needs to be done soon!
Not a big fan myself. Best part is voice control however I find it hit and miss whether it understands my accent which I find strange as PS camera does not have that problem but is not implemented as deeply into menus as Kinect.
Thought the use of Kinect was great in D4. All in I think Kinect is a great device!!!! that's my tuppence worth anyways...
I dont think Kinect is a total failure tbh.
I bought my Xbox One when kinect was bundled in only, and even though i dont use it much directly in majority of games, I find it to enhance the Xbox One experience.
Ive never had big issues with it recognising me, nor my commands.
If i was given the option to buy the Xbox One over again, id choose the kinect bundle.
First chance I got I sold it to a video game shop,and have not looked back!! Piece of garbage