Xbox is like redbull in F1; they have the cash to (never really die and to) brute force their way into an industry, buy up notable talent, market themselves into a household name. What prospect is there under the sun they’d ever invest in a project like Souls [or Death Stranding, Octopath, Scalebound!] on the merits of the concept [though they might wait around for it to become popular before buying it up and shitting it back out]
Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.
Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.
To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.
The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.
Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.
15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.
These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse
Spiders: "We're going to cut straight to the chase so you're not left wondering: After a long period without clear answers, we have received confirmation that Spiders is being liquidated.
What does it mean? This means the company as a whole no longer exists. We'll cease our functions immediately. The planned DLC will release via Nacon, and then-- well, that's it.
We're sorry that it's come to this and would like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the years.
If you have any questions or run into issues with your games, please contact Nacon directly as we'll no longer be able to reply."
Some may say it was the timing of their entry but then i am reminded of when sony burst onto the gaming scene and the amount of disdain many showed because they felt this... 'outsider' was infringing on the likes of nintendo and Sega. "What right do they have to be making a console?" was the thought process at the time. But they changed a lot of peoples mindsets and has become one of (if not the) biggest in the industry.
MS is a software company, predominantly in the PC world but their hand in gaming extends far back to the days of the MSX. They always considered the market (video games) small and not worth the effort but things changed over the years. They too have a right to be in this industry despite what some may feel. They provide the backbone of many things people take for granted like various coding patents that companies use to help build that which we see and hear and feel on the screen.
I get there is an animocity towards MS because of their $$ they have but like the piece alludes to. They could just buy up everything but they dont. They have respect for those who worked their way up and have been trying to do the same without having to resort to buying everything up. They make deals where they can but usually those deals (for timed content) dont infringing on others who want to make the same deals. It's like MS is trying to be fair and not totalitarian. There are some really good people who work to try and right the wrong that people have for the overall image of MS but it can be hard when people still view them as evil.
Many dont know how to separate things into context. I may not care for the corporate side of MS (the ones making the decisions to cancel this or close down that studio) but I totally respect the gaming side of MS that is trying to bring about positive change in the hobby we all play. Change to bring more gamers together and providing options on how a person goes about playing, be in where to play or helping them play due to a disability. I think they get a bad rep because their view of things outside of gaming and how they handle being open (or closed) to ideas that can have an effect on their bottom line. No company is without that fault.
As for their timing to enter the hobby... sometimes you just have to jump at an opportunity when it presents itself. Sony took the chance after a failed deal with Nintendo. MS decided to be the one to fill in for Sega.
Xbox doesn't have the passion for games as Sony and Nintendo. They have tried to manipulate and control the market with horrible anticonsumer tactics. They don't invest in different style of games as Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft is very arrogant and if left uncheck, they will try to dictate how we game.
But competition in the market is important too.
I am an Xbox guy primarily but own Nintendo Switch and PS. I love the games on Xbox and all my friends play on Xbox. Xbox Live is still the best online service to this day. Overall, all have strengths and weaknesses but Xbox will always be were I enjoy my games.
The main reason is exclusives, they've been lacking since around the Kinect release by a rather large margin in terms of both quality and especially quantity compared to the competition. Second is the faults, focus on kinect, RROD, always online attempt, have to buy kinect bundle, no games taking full advantage of new hardware for 2yrs etc there just always seems to be something that really urks me. I love OG Xbox and the first few years of the 360, but since then the competition just doesn't leave me personally with enough reason to justify the purchase of an xbox console.