Phil is right about the limit on growth of game hardware. The PlayStation + Xbox install base has not changed in 10 years. Nintendo’s marketshare with Switch is about 100M units less than its marketshare was with Wii and DS. Any growth in PC gaming is at the expense of console gaming. Microsoft can only make more by selling more games and they can only do that by going multi platform.
Back when digital was not an option, I still didn’t keep games. I usually sold games on Craigslist. I would also trade games with friends and family. For the entire OG Xbox and Xbox 360 generation, I only bought 5 games new, all Halo games, and none at full price. You might recall that publishers started including content via download code to penalized players for buying used. If digital wasn’t taking over, we’d be back there. So if I’m renting versus buying, I don’t care so long as the price...
Developers still have to squeeze as much from the PS5 as possible. Last gen showed the mid cycle upgrade models were a small fraction of the market. Even Microsoft Studios didn’t wait long to abandon the Xbox One X, and this was despite all of Microsoft’s talk about ending console generations. Mid cycle consoles upgrades are a bad bargain and I won’t buy one.
Not will be. Already are. Minecraft and Call of Duty already sell more on PlayStation than on Xbox.
The N4G comment section:
Racism isn’t a problem and we need to stop teaching critical race theory in schools … a black person won’t hire white people? Racism is the biggest problem and must be stopped!
In case anyone didn’t know, this is a single player game. Your experience doesn’t depend on the peak player population.
“But the fool who prepared this article cannot even understand this... This is a fighting game and it doesn't come out every year like CoD.”
I’m scratching my head at this logic. Maybe it’s because I’m an old man but I remember a period of several decades when a publisher would release a game, a customer would buy it, and the publisher profit from that sale.
Rough when you have to go back to Elder Scrolls Morrowind from the original Xbox to find one of the best exclusives. Also dubious to have Starfield on the list over Forza, other Halo games, and the Gears of War games.
Microsoft’s 1,995 layoffs at Activision are on top of the over 11,000 layoffs across Microsoft divisions in 2023.
That’s how it is with most movies. Why should it be any different with games?
Phenomenal.
The gameplay is not as fun as fans and the industry would like you to believe.
Worked very well for Microsoft. Microsoft’s mistake was letting Bungie go.
N4G will often highlight “adult” games so we know that these kinds games will cut it today. And the controversy of these games is overblown. “Custer’s Revenge” was not a widely known game in its day because 1) video game console in the early 1980s were seen as toys for kids and 2) simulated rape was not (and hopefully will never be) mainstream. Meaning this game didn’t cut it in its day.
“Call of the Mountain” and “Synapse” are amazing experiences. But what I really want are more non-game experiences like a 3D movie or a chill exploration like a museum exhibit. If Apple Vision Pro owners can watch NFL games via a 360° camera, why can’t PSVR2 owners?
Jedi Survivor for $36 is tempting.
It’s clear to me that these industry wide layoffs are because the game makers expect AI to do this work for less. Companies that are not struggling and not seeing lower sales are laying people off. It’s not market driven.
Microsoft’s goal is to make money. They are moving toward going full 3rd party in stages. First was having Phil tell Kinda Funny that Xbox can’t win the console wars. Second was having Microsoft’s CFO talk up 3rd party games to investors. The third and current stage is releasing games a 3rd party developer. (Outside of Minecraft and legacy Activision games). The fourth and final step is releasing the whole catalogue on PS5 and Switch.
“He could of put gears on the playstation from the start but he's fanboyness for xbox got in the way”
It has nothing to do with fondness for the Xbox platform. Microsoft paid for exclusivity.
What is this garbage? The thumbnail should be the purported image of the new console. The image itself is looks way too grainy for 2024. The console in the image is proportioned like a refrigerator and not something that will fit in an entertainment center.