Is Scorpio a console for sure, or could it be an Xbox-branded w10 computer also?
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Analyst DFC: 'Question is not if Microsoft will exit the game business, but when'
- Thread starter chadskin
- Start date
If their Windows 10 and iterative console strategy to maintain relevance is a failure then it wouldn't be difficult to imagine them selling the Xbox division. The problem they have with the Xbox brand is that they're only competitive in two countries of the world, the US and UK. At some point that won't be enough for them if they fail to gain any traction elsewhere.
The next few years are crucial for Microsoft if they hope to achieve Xbox 360 levels of success again.
The next few years are crucial for Microsoft if they hope to achieve Xbox 360 levels of success again.
backflip10019
Member
At this point, is there really a difference?
Perhaps Phil Spencer thought Andrew House was bluffing when he said 'We are not ready to talk about PS4's big brother'?
In his desperation to undermine Sony's future plans, Spencer has undermined the growth of his own division.
Those are valid points that have already been addressed by many people here.
They are hurting sales of the Slim this year because of the early Scoprio announcement, there's no doubt about it.
And with all the new games on PC you just don't need to have a Xbox anymore if you want to play their previous exclusives and that will hurt sales of their dedicated gaming hardware as well.
I don't know about their conclusion about leaving the gaming business though.
Yes at this point Xbox isn't central anymore to them, they said clearly they don't care about hardware sales but where you buy the games and how much you're enganged into their new ecosystem.
But this has nothing to do with their gaming division which seems focused to stay to execute their new strategy, it has more to do with their dedicated hardware business.
Ideally their plan is to become what Valve has become with Steam but with their Windows Store.
It will take a few years to execute on this strategy and look at the results.
After that they'll take further decisions.
They are hurting sales of the Slim this year because of the early Scoprio announcement, there's no doubt about it.
And with all the new games on PC you just don't need to have a Xbox anymore if you want to play their previous exclusives and that will hurt sales of their dedicated gaming hardware as well.
I don't know about their conclusion about leaving the gaming business though.
Yes at this point Xbox isn't central anymore to them, they said clearly they don't care about hardware sales but where you buy the games and how much you're enganged into their new ecosystem.
But this has nothing to do with their gaming division which seems focused to stay to execute their new strategy, it has more to do with their dedicated hardware business.
Ideally their plan is to become what Valve has become with Steam but with their Windows Store.
It will take a few years to execute on this strategy and look at the results.
After that they'll take further decisions.
CosmicQueso
Member
True. Would be nice to have gaming on a different set of books though if the future is so uncertain.
Oh, there's plenty of doubt about that. Lots of doubt on it, actually.
Also not certain. Or are all the benefits of console and living room gaming just myths?
The Xbox One is technically an Xbox branded Windows 10 computer. what's the difference? does it have to boot to a desktop?
Microsoft's outlook seems to be:
Staying with your launch Xbox One? Sweet
Jumping in with, or upgrading to, an Xbox One S? Sweet
Waiting for Scorpio? Sweet
Skipping the consoles and going for PC? Sweet
I don't think they're worried about people holding off on picking up a console or playing on PC instead so long as they are interacting with Live.
Staying with your launch Xbox One? Sweet
Jumping in with, or upgrading to, an Xbox One S? Sweet
Waiting for Scorpio? Sweet
Skipping the consoles and going for PC? Sweet
I don't think they're worried about people holding off on picking up a console or playing on PC instead so long as they are interacting with Live.
LordRaptor
Member
Yes, one is a closed platform, and one is an open platform.
If the X1 was the same as a PC, you wouldn't need to wait for features like DVR to be added (or quietly cancelled) because anyone who can code could build them themselves.
Just announced a hardware revision for their existing console. Announced their next console, publicly promising to be the most powerful console. Have been building in their gaming services into Windows 10 and have committed to releasing just about all future first party titles on PC.
But sure, they're getting out of the game business.
But sure, they're getting out of the game business.
The Mad Draklor
Member
It would actually be cool if it's the latter. Provided that it's priced well, Microsoft can tout it as a cost effective gaming PC.
I think it's more to excite the user base by showing future plans.
ValeYard
Member
I'm torn between whether this is hyperbolic or on the money analysis.
I tend a bit towards the former because I thought along similar lines as all the weird 4k messaging started to emerge. MS seemed in just as much disarray as during the Xbox One launch and I thought, well, things must be bad behind the scenes.
However, since I know nothing Jon Snow about making and selling consoles, I'd think that what goes through my head has little to do with the business reality, and just can't see MS making the drastic move while plans for the future are still being made.
I tend a bit towards the former because I thought along similar lines as all the weird 4k messaging started to emerge. MS seemed in just as much disarray as during the Xbox One launch and I thought, well, things must be bad behind the scenes.
However, since I know nothing Jon Snow about making and selling consoles, I'd think that what goes through my head has little to do with the business reality, and just can't see MS making the drastic move while plans for the future are still being made.
intheinbetween
Member
if it becomes a branded "W10 device" it will be locked to a walled garden (W10 store), as the XBOX is now (XBOX store), and as other consoles and platforms do: PS4, Wii U, iOS, Android..
I'd be putting more games than ever onto the PC as well, as a contingency in case my console business fails.
No, but it should support at least a couple of the platforms people actually use on PC (Steam, Battle.net, League of Legends).
LordRaptor
Member
Not really if you listen to their vision of the future that Spencer has said countless times.
And I don't think you are leaving the industry by releasing two new Xbox's.
Huge Succeeded
Banned
KingJ2002
Member
The concerns are valid... but it doesn't change the fact that whether people buy Microsoft games on PC or Xbox... Microsoft makes money. Also Microsoft had to announce that Scorpio to talk about their VR plans... the only reason Scorpio exists is to have enough power to tackle VR and 4K gaming... which if you don't have the TV... you won't really see the difference.
I agree... their is mixed messaging... but i don't think it hurts their holiday.
and I do believe that the Xbox hardware platform may end up being licensed if Microsoft is no longer interested in creating consoles... but that's hard to believe considering they have been working hard on creating surface tablets and laptops. They care about tying their software to great hardware... and i can't see them dumping that strategy in the next 10 years.
I agree... their is mixed messaging... but i don't think it hurts their holiday.
and I do believe that the Xbox hardware platform may end up being licensed if Microsoft is no longer interested in creating consoles... but that's hard to believe considering they have been working hard on creating surface tablets and laptops. They care about tying their software to great hardware... and i can't see them dumping that strategy in the next 10 years.
intheinbetween
Member
Yes, that's what I'm saying
If anything, it could benefit from W10 apps, which could be more "open" than they're now on XB1. Actually XB1 owners should be able to install native W10 apps (only released on PC..) when setting their console in developer mode
He's not wrong about the S being sent to die. Saw the S, thought it looked real nice. Thought about picking one up as my first xbox one console, the 2 TB comes out at end of august, everything else, december. Why would I buy a console in december when the higher spec one is a year away at that point? Why does a smaller hard drive take four extra months? Makes no sense.
Has nothing to do with this thread or Xbox gaming. There's a offtopic thread for that.
StarBlazers1
Member
There's a large market out there of consumers who don't want to deal with a PC. They want TV Gaming without having to worry about updating drivers, incompatibilities etc. Scorpio is a high powered pricey option for them. XB1S is a low powered inexpensive option. It's simple.
I don't understand why this narrative is picking up steam. It's about options.
By adding PC to MS' exclusives allows for higher sales which can be used to fund more exclusives. It's a smart strategy and an easy play.
I don't understand why this narrative is picking up steam. It's about options.
By adding PC to MS' exclusives allows for higher sales which can be used to fund more exclusives. It's a smart strategy and an easy play.
Norris1020
Member
I love how it just matter of factly mentions people could upgrade their PC as if nearly everyone has a gaming quality PC in their home.
Obviously the best way to plan an exit from the console market is to update your current system with a refined version that will exist along side a new beast of a system that will release a year later and give people pricing options. Not to mention forwards and backwards compatibility. Maybe Sony is going to exit as well after releasing Neo and then probably a slim/refined version of the PS4 to exist with it in the same way.
rokkerkory
Member
ANALysts 
It's cute all these analysts that exists out there just to have a say on a company. They try to affect the narrative and company's stock pricing too. bleh
It's cute all these analysts that exists out there just to have a say on a company. They try to affect the narrative and company's stock pricing too. bleh
Because options? It's cheaper and has UHD. 299 is a steal for that kind of technology.
I bet it sells really well.
LukasTaves
Member
Yet another article that completely misses the point and blames the "mixed messaging" to do so.
How those guys get paid to write shit anaysis like this?
How those guys get paid to write shit anaysis like this?
They want enthusiasts to pay $400, not $300.
Tatsumi Oga
Banned
All these nonsense articles lately, getting rather sick and tired of them. Exactly as you said. If MS was giving up on gaming, the S and Scorpio would not have been announced.
The extent of the impact is to be determined but its existence is certain.
Many core gamers or usual upgraders will prefer to save money for the Scorpio instead of buying the same console they already own this year. If they didn't know about Scorpio it would have been much easier for them to justify upgrading to the Slim.
Just like PC gamers in the past might have also bought a Xbox to play certain exclusive games like Gears, Halo, Forza.
Now they'll just play everything on PC.
diffusionx
Gold Member
I think there are reasons to get the Xbox One S on their own merits. The Xbox One has a good game lineup, the system plays Ultra HD BRs, it's a mature OS that is very capable, and it will fit nicely under a lot of TVs. I may get one as an upgrade.
That said, there was no way the One S was going to turn a things around for the One and make it competitive versus PS4. The vast majority of people this holiday season who want to buy a new videogame system are getting a PS4 (or Neo?), not a Xbox One. This is true with or without knowledge of Scorpio.
MS is just choosing to acknowledge reality.
That said, there was no way the One S was going to turn a things around for the One and make it competitive versus PS4. The vast majority of people this holiday season who want to buy a new videogame system are getting a PS4 (or Neo?), not a Xbox One. This is true with or without knowledge of Scorpio.
MS is just choosing to acknowledge reality.
It's not even an analysis piece. It's lazy writing and GAF user's are more knowledgeable then the author.
If I was so enthusiast about it, I's already have an xbox one and wouldn't need an S.
Yep.
It's been obvious (for a while now) that the Xbox brand is dying. I'm sure the Xbox One S will give a much needed boost to the business, but long-term, Microsoft will need to find a viable way to keep the business afloat, globally. Putting their games on PC could be the key to ensuring franchises such as Halo, Gears, and Forza survive. With that said, if people on PC don't want to switch from Steam to the Win 10 store then Microsoft's gaming arm is probably going to get chopped off. I just can't see Microsoft burning another couple of billion to try to win the console market.
I agree that announcing the X1s and Scorpio in the same conference, especially when Scorpio is over a year off, doesn't seem like the smartest strategy to push consumers to pick up the current system when all of the big exclusives are both on PC and will work on their new hardware next year. I don't think they will leave the gaming business though. If you want to spell doom and gloom for MS in gaming, it's strictly in the console market. I'd wager they would solely become a game publisher again, pushing PC titles through their own Xbox branded storefront.
I Think a lot of people don't understand what the concept of a going concern is.
Regardless if the wheels are coming off or not, Spencer and the Xbox team have to operate as if everything is business as usual. You have to operate like you are never getting shut down.
Yeah they may have budget money today for developing and launching new hardware, but that can be changed.
Do I agree with the analysts time line or total analysis? No, but don't act like just because a company has announced a new product and has something coming in the pipeline in a few months that means that changes cant or wont come swiftly.
A lot of the time the $$ for these projects has been budgeted and allocated years in advance. So it is very possible that MS could close or spin off Xbox, is it likely, wouldn't give it more than 50/50 odds.
Honestly I like the idea of Xbox as a software platform and partner boxes etc. So a lot like what Valve wanted from steambox.
Again I just want to stress that just because you see something form the public facing side of the business you should safey assume everything is okay. That's just not how businesses work.
Regardless if the wheels are coming off or not, Spencer and the Xbox team have to operate as if everything is business as usual. You have to operate like you are never getting shut down.
Yeah they may have budget money today for developing and launching new hardware, but that can be changed.
Do I agree with the analysts time line or total analysis? No, but don't act like just because a company has announced a new product and has something coming in the pipeline in a few months that means that changes cant or wont come swiftly.
A lot of the time the $$ for these projects has been budgeted and allocated years in advance. So it is very possible that MS could close or spin off Xbox, is it likely, wouldn't give it more than 50/50 odds.
Honestly I like the idea of Xbox as a software platform and partner boxes etc. So a lot like what Valve wanted from steambox.
Again I just want to stress that just because you see something form the public facing side of the business you should safey assume everything is okay. That's just not how businesses work.
Groundhog GAF
https://youtu.be/BERd61bDY7k
"Okay gaffers rise and shine because Xbox is doomed today
They're doomed today, what is this 2013 or something?"
https://youtu.be/BERd61bDY7k
"Okay gaffers rise and shine because Xbox is doomed today
They're doomed today, what is this 2013 or something?"
Microsoft obviously isn't giving up on gaming, that's stupid.
They may, however, be starting to give up on the dedicated console space. Scorpio may be something closer to the first of a line of Microsoft-made, XBox-branded specialized gaming PCs, which is a fairly reasonable direction for MS to go. Almost a Steambox without Steam, if you will (and using Windows 10 rather than SteamOS).
They may, however, be starting to give up on the dedicated console space. Scorpio may be something closer to the first of a line of Microsoft-made, XBox-branded specialized gaming PCs, which is a fairly reasonable direction for MS to go. Almost a Steambox without Steam, if you will (and using Windows 10 rather than SteamOS).
Abilidebob
Member
That's pretty neat, thanks.
MikeHaggar
Member
microsoft doesn't want to exit the games business. they want to shift xbox into a platform as a service model. i work as an application developer and am in meetings with microsoft on a regular basis regarding their newest offerings (azure, visual studio, and visual studio team services). all of those things are being opened up and "sold" as a platform as a service. visual studio now has native support for building android and ios apps. they want every kind of developer using their tools. i think the overall philosophy at the company is a shift to offering all of their products as service. i believe the xbox brand is included in this.
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