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[Craig of War]

There are alot of things that goes into having a successful launch for a new console like Power of the system and launch titles and exclusive Games and not screwing up on marketing etc But the most important factor is the price and in this bad worldwide economy with unemployment and Covid showing no sign of going away anytime soon the price of a new game console will be even more important so if Xbox want to compete and actually equal Playstation like they did during the 360 vs PS3 days they need to go all out for it just imagine if these rumor price are true it would be amazing a mic drop moment.

 

[Jigsaah]

I think Xbox All Access is going to play a key role.

 

[jigglet]

I don't think there's anything MS can do to "win", if you're talking about the sort of landslide PS4 had over XB1.

However I do think Sony could make a misstep. We always say it's impossible but we've seen it so many times before - Nintendo's transition to Wii U, PS2 to PS3, 360 to One.

We've yet to see any signs of a misstep but then again, I'm no Pachter.

 

[Hobbygaming]

They can only do it by having the best game lineup

That's easier said that done though and Sony has the mindshare from previous generations

 

[Frogman_676]

i am quite interested in series s. I still am waiting for some killer games exclusive to next gen though, as microsoft seems to be giving the impression we can coast along with out Xbox One's, lol.

 

[Jtibh]

I do want those prices soo much.

But it will never happen.

I just placed a bet in another thread for 4 weeks ban if i am wrong.

I bet in this case 2 weeks ban if these prices hold up.
Worst case i get myself one and play some games during those 2 weeks.

Deal?

 

[Kagey K]

I don’t want them to. I hope they stay on the backfoot and keep carving out their own separate market.

It has worked out better for me as a consumer so far. I hope they find growth and increase profitability so they can pass that on to me.

The only ones that care about “winning” are console warriors on the internet.

 

[Stiflers Mom]

I think MS is in there to make money, not "winning".

 

[Stuart360]

I dont think anyone, including Phil and Microsoft themselvs, honestly believe thay can 'win' next gen, regardless of what they say publicly. What they want i'm sure is a bit of a rebound from this gen, and i think they will get it with 60-70mil consoles sold. I still expect PS5 to sell 100+mil though.
Now if Microsoft have a great gen game and PR wise, the generation after that could be a different story, if we get another gen that is.

 

[ne1butu]

If you define win by consoles sold, it’s 0% regardless of price. Outside of US / UK it just doesn’t sell major numbers.

To gain back lost market share on last gen they need to release with a competitive price and have compelling games.

 

[CobraXT]

Nothing , unless Sony fucked up something , people in the Middle East don't know what even Xbox means , but i think XBX/XBS
have a good chance in US/UK market to turn things around

 

[jakinov]

I don’t want them to. I hope they stay on the backfoot and keep carving out their own separate market.

It has worked out better for me as a consumer so far. I hope they find growth and increase profitability so they can pass that on to me.

The only ones that care about “winning” are console warriors on the internet.

I want them to keep pressure on Sony though. The PS4 and PS5 probably wouldn't be what they are today if the 360 didn't put up the fight it did last gen. Sony was arrogant and not very innovative with the PS3. Xbox One generation Microsoft was arrogant and then started not being consumer friendly and making other mistakes. Now they are more consumer friendly and less arrogant.

 

[Kagey K]

I want them to keep pressure on Sony though. The PS4 and PS5 probably wouldn't be what they are today if the 360 didn't put up the fight it did last gen. Sony was arrogant and not very innovative with the PS3. Xbox One generation Microsoft was arrogant and then started not being consumer friendly and making other mistakes. Now they are more consumer friendly and less arrogant.

I can agree with that.

I just don’t want to go back to the 360 days where everyone I played against fucked my mom and called me the N word.

Sony taking back the popular system this gen, really helped curb a lot of that from Xbox Live(as they mostly moved to PSN), and I don’t miss them.

 

[FranXico]

Best outcome is a more evenly split market share. I don't want either of them dominating.

 

[turtlepowa]

Microsoft cannot sell more hardware than Sony or come close to it, because of Pc Ports, Game Pass for Pc and xCloud. Also PlayStation is the older brand with many die-hard fans, that would rather buy another Pro with a 5 painted on it than a XSX.

 

[LokusAbriss]

I couldn‘t care less about who will sell more consoles or games. I care about quality hardware and games that entertain me personally.

The only reason the competition is good for, is that they both work hard to cater to their customers.

I am more interested and invested in Xbox, but it won‘t help if they sell more and feel safe. When both Sony and Xbox got cocky in the past, it resulted in worse outcome for the players (Kinect, less powerful Xbox One, PS3 price and line-up in the first years).

 

[Inviusx]

Come to think of it, we haven't had an equally matched generation in the last 20 years.

PS2 destroyed Xbox and GC. Xbox 360 dominated PS3 for the first few years and Wii just exploded in popularity in it's own niche and finally PS4 killed X1 and Wii U. Now we have switch off in its own niche again with the world fixed on who is going to win between PS5 and XSX.

If history has taught us anything, one will crush the other, right?

 

[martino]

Win ?

but MS will do better in this case

 

[Shin]

In Microsoft's case "winning" isn't in sight yet and might not be for years to come.
They are not a favored Japanese brand, they will need to build block by block, stone by stone.
If they aren't getting the support needed from 2nd and 3rd party they will never win, so far I'm not seeing change of that either with XS.

45m or even 110m means jackshit because it's a niche market, Apple plans to sell 75m iPhones and 80m AirPods this year.
Consoles needed 7 freakin' year to achieve the 45/110m+ numbers, I don't know if that qualify as winning anything, over each other but as a whole no - it's laughable.

 

[DavidGzz]

What would be even better is an all digital XSX for $299.

The 360 was pretty close overall even with the RLOD scandal. I am not saying they can win but they can sell twice as much as the Xbox One and be within 20 million or so. That's pretty good considering you can get all of their games on PC. Either way MS will be really successful with the Series X and S.

 

[Stilton Disco]

I think to win, MS need a 3 pronged approach:

First, massively undercut PS5 price wise

Secondly, create a library of first party, XSX exclussives, that are superior to and have a wider appeal than Sony's first party games.

Thirdly, everyone outside the US needs to die somehow.

If they can get these three things in place, there's a good chance they'll come out on top.

 

[Roufianos]

I don't think they can win, at least internationally. The best they can hope for is to outsell PS5 in the UK and US.

Some people, not me, considered PS4 an underdog going into this generation but they had years of building back momentum and numerous first party studios hitting their stride.

I don't feel the momentum from MS, sure their messaging is amazing and people like game pass but their first party is pretty shitty and none of these studio acquisitions are really top tier.

 

[vkbest]

$199? no way, sorry but that price would be huge lose money for console, people forget those machines have expensive SSD, they probably are losing money with game pass too, no way they are losing so much money with hardware.

 

[Bernkastel]

They dont need to win. If they dont, it means they keep making their service better, so I hope they dont win.

 

[Kagey K]

I think to win, MS need a 3 pronged approach:

First, massively undercut PS5 price wise

Secondly, create a library of first party, XSX exclussives, that are superior to and have a wider appeal than Sony's first party games.

Thirdly, everyone outside the US needs to die somehow.

If they can get these three things in place, there's a good chance they'll come out on top.

Oof the way COVID is going, they are losing before they even start.

 

[Sony]

Xbox cannot win against Playstation unless they give away Xbox' for free. History has proven that:
- A price advantage
- A performance advantage
- A feature advantage

Did not help Xbox outsell Playstation worldwide.

 

[DavidGzz]

Oof the way COVID is going, they are losing before they even start.

Yeah cause them 80 year olds were hardcore gamers.

 

[shaddam]

Games and good price

 

[HawarMiran]

Nah they can't win in the console market. That is why they are going broader. Selling their games on PC and Console.

 

[JerryinSoCal]

No they can't "win" they can do a lot better than this gen but they just don't have the global appeal, they had a huge advantage in the US and UK with the 360 and PS3 still was able to outsell it enough in all other markets to make up the deficit and end up outselling the 360 even with a year less on the market and always being more expensive. The X1 was demolished by the PS4 and the Series X isn't going to do anything to make the PS5 do poorly. They can still improve a lot as I said but sales numbers will never match PS5.

 

[Coolwhhip]

Xbox can only win if at their July event people will go "how did MS suddenly have such a huge line up of AAA games that beats the library of the Playstation studios?!??!?!?"

So very unlikely.

 

[oldergamer]

There are alot of things that goes into having a successful launch for a new console like Power of the system and launch titles and exclusive Games and not screwing up on marketing etc But the most important factor is the price and in this bad worldwide economy with unemployment and Covid showing no sign of going away anytime soon the price of a new game console will be even more important so if Xbox want to compete and actually equal Playstation like they did during the 360 vs PS3 days they need to go all out for it just imagine if these rumor price are true it would be amazing a mic drop moment.

If the difference between the two consoles is only gpu performance and not feature set, MS could really hit the sweet spot. Im still curious how they handle ram size or a smaller ssd. There are a lot of people that have no intention of buying a new tv and are happy with 1080p. 4k is more for hardcore gamers or new tv buyers.

If they can show a real difference in how the games look more next gen above ps5 games in visuals ( with a few flagship titles), it could do wonders for sales.

The white color and form factor of the S (if it has a bluray drive) would be perfect in Japan if they can get support from the market there.

 

[oldergamer]

Xbox cannot win against Playstation unless they give away Xbox' for free. History has proven that:
- A price advantage
- A performance advantage
- A feature advantage

Did not help Xbox outsell Playstation worldwide.

What didnt help ms sell xbox 360 or xbox one world wide was the fact they did not distribute it world wide. This is the first time ms is attempting a worldwide launch and being in countries they have not previously sold hardware in. The S version of the console could make a huge difference in this.

 

[Kagey K]

If the difference between the two consoles is only gpu performance and not feature set, MS could really hit the sweet spot. Im still curious how they handle ram size or a smaller ssd. There are a lot of people that have no intention of buying a new tv and are happy with 1080p. 4k is more for hardcore gamers or new tv buyers.

If they can show a real difference in how the games look more next gen above ps5 games in visuals ( with a few flagship titles), it could do wonders for sales.

The white color and form factor of the S (if it has a bluray drive) would be perfect in Japan if they can get support from the market there.

If they can show why COD, FiFA, NBA or any of the other annual games are better on their system, they have a strong chance to win back that portion of the audience. (It helps that they are the biggest audience, and they go where their friends are.)

Those people make up a large percentage of the gaming community and they have no loyalty to brands. They are only loyal to games.

 

[DavidGzz]

I'm pretty hardcore and a graphics whore but man, if the S is a lot smaller, half the price, game downloads are a good bit smaller(smart delivery of 1080p assets), and the only significant difference is resolution, I can totally see me getting one of those babies first and waiting to either upgrade my PC next year or in 2022 or waiting for a revision of the XSX. Get one along with a nice 1080p monitor and I may be set for a while. The difference in res between the S and Xcloud won't be as shocking that way either.

 

[Kazza]

$199/$399 really would be a statement of intent. No way will the PS5 be less than $399, so having a more powerful console at the same price or less would give the X a massive boost. I also think that people here are underestimating the appeal of a cheap/1080p next-gen console to the average consumer.

Personally, I think $249/$500 is more realistic.

So long as their games are good (and they should be, considering the amount of time and money MS have been putting into new studios), Xbox should be a real rival this time around.

 

[Xplainin]

MS just needs to put every foot forward.
It needs to match Sony with the level of exclusives. They have bought and set up the studios to do this.
They actually have some good exclusive IPs in their stable.
They have introduced Game Pass, which gives them something Sony has yet decided to match.
They have the more powerful console.
They have the cash and resources to dig in for the fight.
Now They just have to hit the price point.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

As far as I can tell, Xbox fans claim they have already won, and in fact had never lost this gen.

I don't know if Xbox Division is in the same denial. All i can say is you can't improve unless you admit you lost in the first place.

 

[Steve.1981]

I hope they don't try to "win" next generation. I hope they just keep going in the same direction they're heading right now, creating an overall eco-system that's simply a good place to be for a consumer.

They have almost everything in place to be successful next gen. The last piece of the puzzle is a compelling line-up of top quality games. Hopefully all those studios start to produce some good stuff soon. That's us into July now. We're waiting...

 

[Xplainin]

As far as I can tell, Xbox fans claim they have already won, and in fact had never lost this gen.

I don't know if Xbox Division is in the same denial. All i can say is you can't improve unless you admit you lost in the first place.

What forums are you reading?
Every Xbox player I know hates what MS did this gen. They saw the Xbox brand go from the best in the 360 era, to a pile of streaming with the Xbox One launch.

 

[Raphael]

Show me good exclusive (x+pc) games and i will switch from my ps4. Game pass is a great deal. I have a pc but prefer it just for starategy games, i would buy a xbox for the actiony games as its such a great deal hardware wise. But i need to See its worth it. Sony has disappointed me thus far with the PS5 games. I wanted games i can be hyped about.
Edit: worth nothing i am very thisty for next gen. My OLED is waiting,so i Will buy the console that announces the better exlusives for the launch window. I know long term sony will have the better games most likely but im tired of waiting. If i go with x i might just buy the PS5 digital when it will be avialble for 200 or so and catch up.

 

[AV]

They're on the right track. The main thing is ensuring a string of unmissable console exclusives.

I didn't even rate TLOU2 very highly and yet I was there for day one of it. MS rarely have that kind of exclusive game pull. Ori 2 this year did that for me.

 

[Stuart360]

As far as I can tell, Xbox fans claim they have already won, and in fact had never lost this gen.

 

[Ar¢tos]

What didnt help ms sell xbox 360 or xbox one world wide was the fact they did not distribute it world wide. This is the first time ms is attempting a worldwide launch and being in countries they have not previously sold hardware in. The S version of the console could make a huge difference in this.

That had almost no impact this gen. Everyone that really wanted an X1 and was in a 2nd/3rd tier country could very easily get it at no extra cost from a neighbouring country, and many stores in 2nd/3rd tier countries sold it unofficially day one.

 

[Raphael]

Xbox can only win if at their July event people will go "how did MS suddenly have such a huge line up of AAA games that beats the library of the Playstation studios?!??!?!?"

So very unlikely.

This. But the thing is, sony hasnt really shown anything mind blowing, hype generating. Everything was either between cool and not bad, or meh. Nothing that really excited masses of people.
So they have a good chance if they have been keeping a few suprised under their belt. If i would see halo, fable, a new souls like IP and some nice rpg from obsidian then im sold.

 

[Coolwhhip]

This. But the thing is, sony hasnt really shown anything mind blowing, hype generating. Everything was either between cool and not bad, or meh. Nothing that really excited masses of people.
So they have a good chance if they have been keeping a few suprised under their belt. If i would see halo, fable, a new souls like IP and some nice rpg from obsidian then im sold.

True, but people know what to expect from Sony, they know they will come.

 

[Airbus Jr]

Not interested with Xbox brand any longer

You can get everything you need from Xbox on PC

 

[Raphael]

Not interested with Xbox brand any longer

You can get everything you need from Xbox on PC

Sure, but its a fenomenal deal hardwware wise though. For the price of getting an equivalent GPU (not really cause better optimixation on a closed spec) you get the whole box. So upgrading your pc to match the performance will cost 3 Times as much most likely. Exclusivity doesnt matter as not a lot of people have both a high end gaming pc and a console.

 

[Airbus Jr]

Sure, but its a fenomenal deal hardwware wise though. For the price of getting an equivalent GPU (not really cause better optimixation on a closed spec) you get the whole box. So upgrading your pc to match the performance will cost 3 Times as much most likely. Exclusivity doesnt matter as not a lot of people have both a high end gaming pc and a console.

Long term PC gaming is cheaper cos pc game is much cheaper than xbox ( steam sales) plus online is free no xbl subscription

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

What forums are you reading?
Every Xbox player I know hates what MS did this gen. They saw the Xbox brand go from the best in the 360 era, to a pile of streaming with the Xbox One launch.

"Shrugs"
Every time we see a new thread starting, asking Sony to release 1st party games day one on streaming, or to say that console sales don't matter anymore. And of course, the insane belief that Xbox just needed a more powerful box to win.

There is even the belief that releasing first by a few months would make the difference.

The fact that all that had been expressed in this forum in the last few months is enough proof to me that no lessons were learned.