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[Mibu no ookami]

No franchise (that releases titles on yearly basis) has been able to supplant COD in the past two decades. Why would that change now?

Just by saying the last 20 years is really misleading.

Medal of Honor was initially larger than CoD on PC.

Games like Resistance and Killzone were bigger than CoD on PS3.

It wasn't until Modern Warfare and more to the point Modern Warfare 2 that CoD really became this massive sensation. That game came out in 2009.

CoD has largely been the dominant FPS for 14 years and while that sounds like a lot of time, it hasn't really had much competition.

• Halo has never been on PlayStation and didn't come to PC day 1 until Halo Infinite under 343 when the franchise was already in the pits
• Sony games similarly being PS exclusive were never going to be as large a franchise as a multiplatform FPS
• Epic shifted from 1st person shooters after UT3 and found success with Gears of War and Fortnite
• EA cratered after Zampella and West left and in their return, their focus hasn't really been a CoD competitor
• Battlefield didn't get crossplay until 2021 and the franchise had already fallen off. CoD had Crossplay since 2019

In other words, CoD has been so dominant on an annual basis because it hasn't really had much competition, which is changing now.

Sony has adopted a multiplatform strategy and other publishers will invest more in CoD competitors now too.

 

[Malcolm9]

It would need to be similar to EA Access and be MS 1st party titles.

Sony wouldn't want to affect PS+ subscriptions.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

It’s also possible MS could release their games at full price on PS and keep Gamepass exclusive to their ecosystem.

To me that makes the most sense.

That would certainly be the final nail in the coffin for Xbox consoles.

If they'd do that, there is literally no reason for any Playstation gamer to ever buy an Xbox, nor for any Xbox gamer to stay with Xbox. Might as well buy a Playstation in that scenario.

And Xbox definitely would have to become a 3rd party publisher at that point.

 

[Solidus_T]

I could see Sony allowing this if they can bundle it with PS+. They would absolutely want PS+ subscriptions untouched

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

greed

Whose?

 

[UniformDeliverance]

Ubisoft plus isn't the same on PS as it is on Xbox or Luna. It's a curated list of games you can play on PS+ extra or premium.

True. Though still proves the point that Sony can be convinced to provide this service. Can still see a world where Microsoft gets a deal in, even if it's just first party titles.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

MSFT:

 

[mansoor1980]

Whose?

sony ,
nintendo however are never gonna allow gamepass on their console

 

[Pelta88]

If Sony gets a 30% cut I don’t see why they would be opposed.

If MS wants to gamble away money on Subs with their first party games, that’s their prerogative

Likely the price will just get raised. $20/month, Sony gets $6/month or $80/year which is essentially the same as they get for a PS Plus sub

Free money for Sony. Why not?

Tell me I’m wrong

You're wrong.

PS has been decimating XB marketshare, mindshare, and especially their momentum for two generations. They've seen Microsoft's internal deliberations, year in year out missed targets, and more importantly, their exit plan. Why would they give XB a lifeline for a "$6 a month or $80 a year" cut... On a service that by MS' own admission, is stagnant? Especially when they're a 2 years away from XB exiting the market?

 

[IntentionalPun]

They’ve been saying this for years and it’s just such a non-starter. It’s not happening.

 

[Zuzu]

I love the Xbox. The Series X is a fantastic console and the best console ever made imo (due to its combination of hardware and quality of life features). I'm sad to see that it looks like Xbox consoles will fade into obscurity over time. I wish Microsoft cared about them front and centre. But now Gamepass has taken that priority, and the consoles are lower down in the importance hierarchy. I understand that's where the money probably is still sad for me. Oh well...

 

[Larivel]

 

[Markio128]

There’s literally nothing stopping MS from releasing their games on PS and Nintendo consoles if they want them on as many screens as possible. They just talk constant bullshit.

 

[Fredrik]

I don't remember Ybarras exact wording on why Sony said no but from what I can remember off the top of my head Sony didn't flat say no but they didn't want PS players logging into an Xbox live account and inflating those numbers

Its been too long to recall exactly what was said

It’s a Trojan horse. Tempting at first sight but once there is a day 1 subscription inside a lot of things can change even if it’s only first party titles. I understand Sony’s concern if they want to keep their business model. But I hope Sony go the same route so if MS kickstart that future then it’s awesome.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

You're wrong.

PS has been decimating XB marketshare, mindshare, and especially their momentum for two generations. They've seen Microsoft's internal deliberations, year in year out missed targets, and more importantly, their exit plan. Why would they give XB a lifeline for a "$6 a month or $80 a year" cut... On a service that by MS' own admission, is stagnant? Especially when they're a 2 years away from XB exiting the market?

It’s not about giving them a lifeline, it’s just making more money for Sony they don’t otherwise have

“It is not enough that I succeed, others must fail” is a stupid meme, not a good business strategy

 

[MisterXDTV]

Stop selling consoles then and shut down the Xbox Store....

You can't have have your cake and eat it too...

 

[JohnnyFootball]

That would certainly be the final nail in the coffin for Xbox consoles.

If they'd do that, there is literally no reason for any Playstation gamer to ever buy an Xbox, nor for any Xbox gamer to stay with Xbox. Might as well buy a Playstation in that scenario.

And Xbox definitely would have to become a 3rd party publisher at that point.

The nail has already been nailed. It's honestly a shame as I had high hopes for Xbox once they bought Bethesda. At that point MS, needed to invest in making the XSX an exclusive console for games, release them on PC/Gamepass a year later. Pretty much the Sony strategy. All while keeping the Gamepass price at $10 a month and/or $99 a year. Im not sure it would have made a huge difference, but it would have been a focused strategy. of course, it would have relied on Xbox getting killer games....damn you Microsoft.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I can't wait to see MrMatty plays video on this. Matty is definitely an Xbox fan, but he isn't absurd the way people like TimDog or ColtEastwood are.

 

[Aenima]

I dont see this ever happening unless its a curated GamePass just with MS 1st party games, like Ubi+ and EA services.

 

[kruis]

Change of strategy my ass! We knew this was what they wanted years ago. Microsoft’s ultimate vision is to turn Xbox into a service. If they have it their way, the next Xbox generation will be the last time they produce a dedicated home console. After that, I can see them shifting to a mini Apple TV like box that has enough storage to hold a few games but plays them via cloud computing… all part of the Gamepass subscription. From a business perspective it turns every Xbox owner into a guaranteed monthly customer.

There’s no way Sony is allowing Gamepass on PlayStation but Nintendo seems a little softer. I can see a small possibility of Nintendo allowing a gamepass app to be installed. Although I suppose it depends on what their next system is. Who knows, maybe this next generation will bring a more competitive Nintendo rather than a company happy enough to be a secondary console.

Next gen should arrive in 2027/28. Do you think MS is only going to leave the console business in 2034 or later? Think again. Xbox Series S/X is the end of the line.

 

[Jigsaah]

Microsoft is about to piss off alot of Xbox fans by the end of the decade.

 

[King Dazzar]

And there it is. I can see a tailored version working - limited to first party only titles just like Ubisoft and EA variants. Would be potentially great to see more games come to other platforms. Just another reason not to ever buy another Xbox console though. You would have thought this would do even more damage to their console sales and peoples perception of what they're buying into. Strange marketing strategy they have....

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Change of strategy my ass! We knew this was what they wanted years ago. Microsoft’s ultimate vision is to turn Xbox into a service. If they have it their way, the next Xbox generation will be the last time they produce a dedicated home console. After that, I can see them shifting to a mini Apple TV like box that has enough storage to hold a few games but plays them via cloud computing… all part of the Gamepass subscription. From a business perspective it turns every Xbox owner into a guaranteed monthly customer.

There’s no way Sony is allowing Gamepass on PlayStation but Nintendo seems a little softer. I can see a small possibility of Nintendo allowing a gamepass app to be installed. Although I suppose it depends on what their next system is. Who knows, maybe this next generation will bring a more competitive Nintendo rather than a company happy enough to be a secondary console.

The big problem that Microsoft didn't seem to anticipate is that subscription services are very much at a saturation point. People are now, more than ever dropping subscriptions as the costs continue to go up. One thing that I think would help MS is to offer yearly Ultimate price like they do with Core. What they would charge for that is anyone's guess. Offer it a $149 (which is still expensive) $99 is wayyyy too cheap.

 

[MacReady13]

I have a Series X console with about 30 games. Anyone wanna buy it off me? Some of the games are still sealed as well. Console is in brand new condition. Also comes with a 2tb Seagate hard drive.
Honestly, are Microsoft even pretending to show faith in their console anymore?

 

[Happosai]

More and more Microsoft sounds like a third party publisher.

Giving options and ideas for rebranding too. In 2024 we could have Playpass and Gametendo Store. The more to love

 

[JohnnyFootball]

No franchise (that releases titles on yearly basis) has been able to supplant COD in the past two decades. Why would that change now?

because all good things eventually come to an end. It usually comes gradually and then suddenly.

Look no further than Star Wars and the Disney MCU. At one time they were unstoppable...until they weren't

 

[tr1p1ex]

The obstacle to launching on the PS or Switch is, bottom line, about MSFT's business model not being simpatico with the dedicated console business model's 30% royalty.

MSFT already investing in hardware for the cloud. Meanwhile Sony and Nintendo are doing the same for their dedicated hardware. The gist is simply put that paying 30% twice (to themselves and to Sony or Nintendo) not going to cut it business wise.

MSFT's model if successful ultimately would push all hardware to be dumb terminals. That's inherent in their vision.

 

[Fabieter]

I’ve been saying the same thing since the dwindling popularity of the Xbox one consoles.



PlayStation will budge when MS makes it mandatory to subscribe to GamePass in order to be able to play COD titles in the future.

So sub exclusive will be a thing in the future. Pretty sure spencer said they dont want that.

 

[Humdinger]

I was thinking that if Sony allowed GP on Playstation, it would be an effective way to kill MS's console business once and for all. Why would anyone buy an Xbox console if they could buy a Playstation and get both consoles' exclusive lineups on a single device? Sony could kill their main competitor's console business by doing this (I'm considering MS their main competition, not Nintendo). Of course, there would be a tradeoff -- killing their own sub service -- but perhaps it would be worth it, if they could jigger the contract right. I dunno, just spitballing.

 

[StealthGoblin]

It’s also possible MS could release their games at full price on PS and keep Gamepass exclusive to their ecosystem.

To me that makes the most sense.

And just to stick the knife in, Sony could refuse. Why treat their customers as secondary?

It would also hugely dent revenue for Microsoft .

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I was thinking that if Sony allowed GP on Playstation, it would be an effective way to kill MS's console business once and for all. Why would anyone buy an Xbox console if they could buy a Playstation and get both consoles' exclusive lineups on a single device? Sony could kill their main competitor's console business by doing this (I'm considering MS their main competition, not Nintendo). Of course, there would be a tradeoff -- killing their own sub service -- but perhaps it would be worth it, if they could jigger the contract right. I dunno, just spitballing.

Tbf, people would build up a digital Xbox library and if MS would decide to pull GP from Playstation in the future, they might be a serious competitor again.

There is a downside for Playstation to allow GP on their platform.

 

[tommib]

If I can play Hi-fi Rush natively on my PS5, I’m up for it.

 

[DonF]

im so fucking tired of subscriptions.

they used to bring value, but now are just parasitic in every way.

I hate every single one of them.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

And just to stick the knife in, Sony could refuse. Why treat their customers as secondary?

It would also hugely dent revenue for Microsoft .

Sony wouldn’t refuse since they’d get a 30% royalty cut. That’s free money.

 

[saintjules]

People think some of us are trolling when we say MS are heading towards third party publisher.

We are just seeing the writing on the wall.

This is truly the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" move here.

They will soon follow the way of SEGA.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Sony wouldn’t refuse since they’d get a 30% royalty cut. That’s free money.

If it stops Microsoft making 70%...

 

[JohnnyFootball]

im so fucking tired of subscriptions.

they used to bring value, but now are just parasitic in every way.

I hate every single one of them.

Yep. I’m letting my PS Plus subscription expire to protest the price hike and…this is much worse….wont allow me to take advantage of the holiday savings to extend. That’s a dick move by Sony.

I’m letting my Gamepass subscription expire in May 2025, by then we will for sure know what situation Xbox is in.

 

[Pelta88]

It’s not about giving them a lifeline, it’s just making more money for Sony they don’t otherwise have

“It is not enough that I succeed, others must fail” is a stupid meme, not a good business strategy

You’re referring to a slice of a additional revenue stream and I suspect SIE’s strategy is about the entire pie.

And yes, that quote is from a stupid meme. But in this instance it doesn’t apply. XB according to their own stats, internal deliberations, and submissions to regulators / courts acknowledge the collapse is of their own making.

 

[[Sigma]]

Trojan horse

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

You’re referring to a slice of a additional revenue stream and I suspect SIE’s strategy is about the entire pie.

And yes, that quote is from a stupid meme. But in this instance it doesn’t apply. XB according to their own stats, internal deliberations, and submissions to regulators / courts acknowledge the collapse is of their own making.

their pie is smaller without Microsoft

 

[Badlucktroll]

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Since it seems like some aren't really reading the OP:

"It's a bit of a change of strategy. Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games," Stuart said. "That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo."

This seems a wee bit different vs what was said before....

Y’all are reading too much into this. They already offer their first party games on other screens and consoles. They already offer GamePass outside of Xbox hardware. That’s the change in focus he’s referring to. Idk if you listened to the presentation but his point there about other screens was reinforcing their ABK acquisition, it was a point about how CoD as a franchise and the King mobile games will strengthen their presence on these other screens.

He also goes on and about how important the high margin from the Xbox ecosystem are. They don’t get those high numbers on revenue in the PlayStation or Nintendo ecosystem, except the example he gave: Call of Duty. I know it’s been popular on GAF for around a decade to predict the exit of Xbox hardware but y’all are crazy if you think they’re giving up all that revenue, especially after spending all these billions on acquisitions.

 

[Sanepar]

Playstation will absolutely not allow that to happen. End of story.

With only first party games? Why not?

 

[Lunarorbit]

I've had to listen for years that this wouldn't happen from.the same people who said consoles were dead.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I could see Sony agreeing to it if MS vows to not produce Xbox consoles and go third party. it would be cool actually because microsoft bought so much shit that when new consoles come out i have to get the fuckin xbox too!

 

[Represent.]

Just go third party at this point. You make shit games and your console don’t sell. Clearly this is what they want. Go third party save stop making shit consoles

 

[twilo99]

Honestly, are Microsoft even pretending to show faith in their console anymore?

No, it's all over.

Announcement of console business closure is imminent.

 

[Pelta88]

their pie is smaller without Microsoft

That’s blatantly and provably false info. I can’t follow you down that rabbit hole…

 

[FrankWza]

Microsoft asking:

Sony when theyre approached :

Nintendo :

 

[Interfectum]

Exactly! Most people don't seem to realize that Xbox from 2001 to 2012 used to be "Xbox brought to you by Microsoft", but now it's "Microsoft presents......Xbox."


And that change has meant BIG things needed to change within the Xbox brand. Microsoft is running the Xbox show now. It wasn't that way before. Before it was clear that the Xbox brass did what they wanted due to research within the gaming community. Now......the big umbrella of Microsoft is injecting all the big MS goals and plans into Xbox, regardless if it makes the brand watered down or not.

Phil Spencer seems to be fully embracing the corporate executive mindset. He's enjoying his time with the CFO, metaphorically making snow angels in their massive trillion-dollar budget.

He's moved beyond the goal of selling 70-100 million consoles and is now aiming for 1 billion 'gamers'. He's made a promise to the CEO to reach this number. From this perspective, the console business might seem less significant. However, the issue is that the games on Game Pass mainly attract console gamers, which raises questions about whether this strategy has been completely thought through.