I really don't understand to this day what could be so complicated about the concept of providing the hardware, you took efforts to build in the first place, decent to great extra games.

'Exclusive' has become such an ill term lately. When the 'ex' is more like 'extra' rather than excluding anyone.

Since it's a free choice of buying or not buying either hardware, and since it's every manufacturer's free and own choice to go and say: "You know what, let's scrap some money & talent together and spend it on a game we give to the buyers of our own hardware."

It's an extra. An addition. A gift. A 'Thank You'. But with revenue in return. With possibly the best outcome that people choose your hardware over any other.

I'm not even an Xbox fan, but it's bizarre watching the people in Redmond at Microsoft having absolutely no clue what to do while a) sitting on a plethora of most iconic IPs and b), most bizarre of all, being so rich they could patch up Xbox with an extra game every quarter.

... if they had only begun to build up on software and new IP around 2010/11/12.

But now only again, years will have passed. And a new gen is close again. And what IP will be there to promote Helix.

Sure, let's find out at their 25th anniversary show, but I am having my doubts. TES6 is years away, Gears of War E-Day and Fable are still in development. Forza Motorsport ... ah well, don't know about that.

IF Xbox don't have anything in the works behind the curtains right now, no Dishonored, no Wolfenstein, no new IP, no nothing, then history will repeat itself only again and it's going to be the 3rd consecutive Xbox generation they didn't have anything prepared.

Which would be beyond "Fool me once, shame on me."

I’ve bought one of their games so far on PS5 and only because it was 12$ at Walmart bargain bin. Outer Worlds 2. That was yesterday. The big problem they have is games sell better on PS than they do on their own console. Do they think people will go back to Xbox after leaving? I doubt nearly enough will to make up for their loss going exclusive again. Personally I don’t care either way. I’ll buy their games cheap and/or cheap used sometimes if they’re there but if not that’s fine too

If she gives us Halo campaign evolved only to take the next one away will be harsh.

What I don’t understand is why they asked the fans (me being a fan since og Xbox) to wait during the Xbox one era and assured us that games were coming and then as soon as that happened they went multiplat. If was so tone deaf and negative to the fans like me. Now I’m on PlayStation and don’t plan on ever switching back. The damage was done with me.

It’s too late bro . Xbox users are conditioned to rely on gamepass and games often fail to sell well on Xbox unless they have a gun mechanics .

Don't see it happening really, maybe timed exclusivity for some stuff?. With the next 'Xbox' basically just being a PC running windows titles, which will expensive and low volume, there's barely any console base to sell exclusives to. Plus weren't all the fanboys saying exclusives are terrible, outdated, and a thing of the past? Flop flopping again lol.

Also Jez isn't always exactly the most reliable source and flip flops all the time, he's also a massive xbox console warrior.

Off-topic: Xbox has a leaker problem. The public shouldn't be aware of internal discussions.

On-topic: Contrary to what most people here believe, a comeback is possible with the next generation.

There have been console makers in the past that have done far worse than Xbox and have made a big comeback in their next generation. For example, the Wii U did so poorly it lost third-party support, and Nintendo made its big comeback with the Switch. Xbox needs to learn from previous mistakes and find its niche. Above all else, avoid anti-consumer policies. Stop starting programs such as the backwards compatability program, or Xbox enhanced program then abandon them after 1 or 2 years into the generation.

As long as they make the right choice for each game it may work out. As.long as I get to play them on my preferred console, which is xbox i say go ahead and lets see how it works out. Sony has stumbled a bit this generation when it comes to games so maybe they're trying to take advantage of it.

If they decide to go back to releasing console exclusives, I suspect they will claw back their plans for a PC-ish XBox as well in favor of a more traditional subsidized box model. They definitely fumbled this gen. If Halo Infinite would have been released along side Series S/X (and was a lot better game), they would have fared a better chance against Sony I think.

I just feel that, as a PC owner that bought every console for exclusives that I couldn’t get on pc and multi plat games, I don’t know who this is for. Is this supposed to be a “baby’s first computer” type of situation? Are they going to charge for virus protection because we know EXACTLY what websites people go to when they get a browser. Think about a lot better online experience? Then for me I’d be buying a half pc that doesn’t do half of what my 4090 32 GB does. Are they going to do the 2 console thing again? Xbox 5 and Xbox 5 Ultra? One without the PC aspect? It’s bad enough that I’m over XBox but a part of me is hoping they give me a reason to not drive in that last nail. I like having every console and for the life of me, at this time, I cannot say this one is for me nor understand how it could be.

You gotta sell units for it to matter. If they went back to exclusives at this point, they're pretty much shooting themselves in their incompetent foot.

Yes, let's start taking what Jez Cordon has to say seriously all of a sudden. Like he hasn't been wrong that he's been right.

They are greedy enough to buy entire studios with with massive multplatform games, but they are TOO GREEDY to keep them for themselves. They need that multiplatform $$$

Um, Microsoft, I thought you told us you went multi-platform because the Xbox gamers did not buy enough games and consoles. So you scapegoat Phil and Sarah, clip them, while your money people made these decisions, install Asha, but you still have the same problem. How do you go back to that? You don't.....

I loved the 360 and after that, Xbox lost its mojo.

First fanboys said "Xbox is never going to put their first party games on PS. If you want to play games like Starfield get an Xbox."

Then fanboys said "Xbox putting their games on PS is a smart thing to do. They get more revenue. Xbox is winning!"

If they go back to exclusives what will be the next excuse from fanboys? Is it "It never made sense for Xbox to put their exclusives on PS in the first place. Xbox needs exclusives to sell their next console."

If they still have a 30% profit margin to hit they are never going back to exclusives. That will keep them even further from their goal.

I think its too late.

The damage was done during the Xbox One launch. Prior to that, the Xbox had a healthy market share in the US market, in fact, I believe it led Playstation. (if I remember correctly). Users then flocked to Playstation and it has been downhill ever since.

How are you going to convince users to come back when they have already built their digital library on Playstation?

You would have to go nuts on exclusives. Next Elder Scrolls (Xbox console exclusive) and many many others, then at the same time have the next Xbox cheaper then the PS6 (good luck). Even then, most likely wouldn't work.

Yeah, it's over. Damage is done.

The other sad thing is, people in general have this blind loyalty towards Corporations, like the Corporation is on their side. I feel like these people have some version of 'Stockholm Syndrome'. They are there to take your $$, nothing more. People really need to wake up and stop having this loyalty towards brands and I am speaking with everything, not just gaming. I feel this is one of the reasons its hard to get people to switch to the competition, because of this weird 'loyalty'.

Now of course there are people who stick to a brand because they prefer it, but there are some who stick to it 'no matter what'. Nintendo users are probably the biggest victim of this lol

Obviously its not the biggest reason Xbox is where it is.

At this point, I would have more respect for Microsoft even if they did the opposite of exclusivity and excluded certain titles from their library based on some kind of moral principle. I mean for crying out loud, that’s why all businesses and restaurants have the “we reserve the right to refuse service” placard because they know it’s important to exclude certain things and behaviors to remain principled. The last time I heard Microsoft refused a certain title from their library was Ryse due to IP control. That’s actually one of the shittiest reasons to exclude a title from their library, but it just goes to show that Microsoft basically never makes exclusions. So long as they refused to enact some kind of exclusivity or at least exclusions, their reputation as the floozy and brothel of the gaming industry will persist where all are welcome inside their library. I can tell you right now, Fable 2 definitely moved a lot of Xbox 360 units because of the exclusivity factor.

They are a 3rd party developer now....period.

Forget about consoles and continue with putting games on PlayStation and PC, maybe even Switch 2.

If they do that who's going to buy the games? They don't sell any consoles.

Sony did win the console war then. Damn
Those who were teens when this war started are now pushing 40

Microsoft: "XBOX PLAY ANYWHERE"

Also Microsoft: "just kiddin :P"

It’s simple, if you don’t have something I’m interested in that’s exclusive for your platform, I won’t buy the console. Every release Xbox has that I want to check out, I’m buying it on PS5.

If Xbox wants momentum back, they need to return to the Don Mattrick style of real exclusives and a clear identity, because the Xbox 360 was the only time the brand truly peaked. And honestly, I think it’s already too late.

Going back to exclusivity now would be galactically stupid.

A single format will never happen, but Nintendo would be the biggest winner. Buy a PC or whatever console you prefer, away you go. This never happened with the likes of Betamax, VHS, DVD and Bluray, even LPs and cassettes. Gaming is already in murky waters and Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony haven't got a clue. It's time to move on from these console battles and put an end to silly game pricing.

DEI scapegoating back again.

If this is true, it feels like Xbox is at a real turning point. Exclusivity used to be the main weapon, but with Game Pass and cross-platform growth, it makes sense they’re reconsidering. At the same time, they still need strong first-party exclusives to define the brand—otherwise it’s hard to compete with PlayStation’s lineup. The real question is whether they can find a middle ground that grows the ecosystem without losing identity.

Tell me again how the multiplatform strategy was supposed to fix everything. Look at your results and compare them to Nintendo, which keeps thriving with exclusives. Your loyal fans are gone. And let’s not forget the pile of IPs you purchased only to let them rot.

The worst thing is this is down from last years numbers/expectations which was down from the previous years numbers/expectations. You think about how long “down” has been a consistent part of the communication and you realize those subscriptions are what’s holding that boat together. The price cut of gamespass is still a price raise in a string of price raises. They are trying to use players to offset the missing revenue. Now call of duty is out of gamespass, which is literally WHY they bought the company. To draw people to the subscription. They realized they missed a boatload of money and that wasn’t sustainable. Now you pay for it like you would have if they never bought the company… so why buy the company? Mind you those billions still need to be paid back. Yeah it gives you a chance to say we make the biggest FPS… but the internal conversations must be brutal at high level on topics that really matter. Like revenue. Profitability. And ROI for the shopping spree.

Is this like the 10th quarter in a row they're down 33% on hardware how is that even mathematically possible. You would think their mediocrity would Plateau