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What do you think Microsoft needs to do to be more successful next-gen?

Major_Key

perm warning for starting troll/bait threads
What do you think they need to do to be successful and not flop ? Not necessarily exceed sony but do something at the level of the 360 (something like 70-80M of sales) and lot of PC users xbox friendly.


For me 3 things:

-Services (Game Pass & xCloud)
-High quality Exclusivity
-Big budget Marketing (in all departments)
 

ManaByte

Member
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im not hearing a lot of buzz around xbox

and everyone is making fun of ps5

i think both will do at least as good as ps4/xbone
 

yurinka

Member
Just looking at PS5 breaking social media records with every thing they show, and looking at how PS4 dominated console sales, game sales, game subscription services, game streaming service or non-mobile VR and how their 1st party games are selling in this generation better than ever, and seeing that everything related to PS5 made sense until now (and patents for potential unnanounced stuff and their PS Now plans powerpoint makes sense too), I think PS5 already secured the 100 million units sold.

For MS, I think they need:
-Great list of exclusive games. MS needs to continue buying or creating more top AAA studios and important IPs
-Good support from top 3rd parties and indies to create a huge and diverse library to appeal a wide range of players
-Decent pricing. In MS case, pricing must be cheaper than Sony because of market share on all fronts
-Focus your strategy on games. No tv/tv/sports/kinect/power of the cloud/etc
-Don't be too behind in terms of horsepower, features and services. They seem to be doing a good job with their own version of PS Now, Remote Play and Cross Buy. The next thing they need to copy from Sony should be VR (and make sure xCloud doesn't end being Stadia 2.0)
 
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GHG

Member
It will make the loyalists happier than they were with the Xbox One, there's a lot more to shout about this time. Lots of improvements and great services. However it will do worse sales wise than the Xbox One.

Also putting all their games on PC day and date is a mistake if they want to shift units, not that I'm complaining.
 
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J____Av

Member
I don't think it will flop. But the Xbox brand has lost a lot of steam this gen. Even though it doesn't seem they will make the same mistakes as the beginning of this gen, I do think the gap between Xbox and PS will be larger this gen
 

Major_Key

perm warning for starting troll/bait threads
It will make the loyalists happier than they were with the Xbox One, there's a lot more to shout about this time. Lots of improvements and great services. However it will do worse sales wise than the Xbox One.

Also putting all their games on PC day and date is a mistake if they want to shift units, not that I'm complaining.

Nah I don't think they sales less Than 50M

with Lockhart and game pass.

But who know... I think in July we will see if it's a future flop or not. The switch had neither the services nor the retro just zelda at launch and it worked. Xbox has a lot more arguments so I think it can do better than the X1.

For examples Huawei has a lot less media noise than Apple but yet the Huawei sells very well because of their attractive price. XBOX must be more powerful and less expensive.
 
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GHG

Member
Nah I don't think they sales less Than 50M

with Lockhart and game pass.

But who know... I think in July we will see if it's a future flop or not. The switch had neither the services nor the retro just zelda at launch and it worked. Xbox has a lot more arguments so I think it can do better than the X1.

July alone will tell us nothing. It might give us an indication but the picture wont become clear until Q1 2021.

They have little momentum at the moment and they are also putting all of their first party/gamepass releases on the Xbox One.

Nintendo need console sales in order to exist whereas I'd actually say that with the way they are pivoting at the moment, Xbox don't need console sales in order to exist.

They are banking hard on gamepass subs and that being the future.
 
Both systems will sell well. ps5 will outsell xbox but xbox series x and s will sell much better than xbox one. Xbos will also be succesful do to gamepass and pc sales plus minecraft etc. Both system are looking to have a good next gen. i think there are a lot of people hoping xbox will fail for some reason but it wont
 
That's a pretty big increase in sale you are talking about.

Well the primary thing they need to do is increase the quantity and quality of games that they make. They need to manage their new studios correctly and make sure the quality is up to par. Plus don't interfere with their creative freedom too much because they need some new IPs as well even though some of them might fail.
 
Flop? No way, they have seven years of sales to go on those bad boys.

I think the Xbox will do better than last gen and Sony will do well like they always do.

I'm worried about Nintendo as they have one on and one off in consoles so the next one will suck :)
 
i think it will be better received than the xbox one was ...the rumoured launch titles would take a big shit on what was shown in the ps5 event the other day and if sony price their
console like they did with the ps3 then it could be a very close race next gen
 

Aion002

Member
I don't think so and I don't hope so.... I hope that MS will be successful.

I think they will still end up in third place in console sales, but MS will be fine with that... They want to profit big in services.
 
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jakinov

Member
With Phil Spencer's good guy attitude, they might. He needs to be more of shark. He needs to buy bigger and better studios or build new ones in California or other areas full of seasoned devs. Sony's buying up a bunch of timed exclusives, exclusive DLC (exclusive or not) and they are doing a bunch of great promotions with the biggest games like GTA and COD.

Microsoft needs to be more creative and innovative if they are going to want to convince the person deciding between Xbox and PlayStation to choose Xbox and to convince the existing PlayStation owner to also own an Xbox. PlayStation has crazy brand loyalty.

One strategy that I think they should do (not a main one but something I think worth investing into) to get more console sales would be to help make the Xbox a better offline-social/party console. The Nintendo Switch right now is the console you want to own if you have friends and family because it has so many games you can play together. Smash, Mario Kart, New Mario, Luigi Mansion, Mario Sports, Mario Party and the plethora of third party games. Wiis used to have this value from Wii Sports. Guitar Hero and Rock Band brought people over too. I think Microsoft should include Halo 1 and Perfect Dark as free bundle pre-installed games on every Xbox as they probably won't get many sales for those games anymore and then they include up-selling advertisements in them to sell MCC and Rare Replay. Then after that they should encourage their own devs to support split screen in their games and create new games (like fuzion frenzy, kart racers, sports games, co-op) that make the Xbox a great party console and console that family (siblings, paternal) can enjoy together. This would also encourage more controller sales as well.
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
They are positioned to do much better than Xbox One. That being said the landscape is different and we are living in a world where they have pivoted their strategy.

Word of Mouth of gamepass is spreading and I legit had a conversation with a few people after the ps5 reveal and the launch games and two of the three said that game pass is pushing them towards Xbox. Will that be the case everywhere? Impossible to say as it's an extremely small sample but I have to imagine similar conversations are happening.

Even without knowing what they will get they know they are getting something with GP which goes a long way in the eyes of value to the consumer.

If priced right I don't really see how it will flop. They have the brand recognition in the USA and parts of Europe. They would have to really fuck something up at this point to flop.
 
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Major_Key

perm warning for starting troll/bait threads
I see some influencer on twitter troll xbox because of futuristic design of PS5 but it will have real impact on the market ?

If MS come out with Lockhart at 299 I think it's great value for family and PS/Switch owners who want to play on XGP.

More importantly than ever I think is deliver on Service & Games x10000 & Marketing. Like nintendo did with the Switch (not service lol).

Man I hope xbox will be good this gen, Sega departures of consoles hurt me so much, PS5 & XSX day one but xbox need to match in terms of exclusives in 2021/2022 against sony.
 
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Codes 208

Member
Sony no, ms is a bit more questionable. The xbox one proved first impressions mattered and the first impressions if the xbox series x were met with ho-hum responses so...

im not saying this will be MS’ last console generation but i honestly wouldnt be surprised if this turns out to be their dreamcast.
 
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Major_Key

perm warning for starting troll/bait threads
Sony no, ms is a bit more questionable. The xbox one proved first impressions mattered and the first impressions if the xbox series x were met with ho-hum responses so...

im not saying this will be MS’ last console generation but i honestly wouldnt be surprised if this turns out to be their dreamcast.

Yeah I see.

But if XBOX come with great games ? The balance can change ? (Not surpass PS5 but sales like +60/70M ?)

The question is first party Games really matters ?
 

Velius

Banned
I can only speak for myself- this will be the first generation in which I don't just buy the consoles first day. And I mean either of them. Neither hardware sets' lineup looks good. I'm done giving my money up only to get shitty content for the first two or three years. I don't care about how many more polygons you can put out while NOT giving me 60fps.

Give me good games and I'll buy your console. No more investments from me. I imagine many other people are feeling this way as well
 

Major_Key

perm warning for starting troll/bait threads
With game pass, some new IPs and great exclusive and hellblade2 level of graphic I think we gonna see Xbox win the generation

I think it's safe to say that XBOX in USA will do really well, even better than One thanks to lockhart day 1.

But PS5 it's safe to say that will do really well across the world Europe/Asia/USA. it is the great unknown of xbox, we do not know how it will work in europe and asia, microsoft does not for the moment seem to want to make big efforts in these 2 continents.
 
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Neo_game

Member
How they start will be crucial. I think first couple of years is very important. Even though they do not reveal numbers and are likely to be behind Sony and Nintendo. That does not necessarily mean it is a flop. They need Fable and new IP to do well.
 

Major_Key

perm warning for starting troll/bait threads
I sense bias in that statement D might be the avatar that give it away lol

lol same.

How they start will be crucial. I think first couple of years is very important. Even though they do not reveal numbers and are likely to be behind Sony and Nintendo. That does not necessarily mean it is a flop. They need Fable and new IP to do well.

Yeah that my thought too.
I think that in no case should MS let sony have the lead on the catalog of exclusivity between 2021 & 2022 this is a very important moment.

2023 will be the announcement of slim models and at that time many people will buy a next gen console.
 
I believe that the Xbox consoles will be very successful for what Microsoft wants out of them even if they will sell less units than the PS5 systems. I personally am predicting around 80 million sales between the two Xbox systems (Series X and Lockhart) and that Gamepass will be extremely successful for them in terms of bringing in a lot of revenue and as being something that will sell consoles. The emphasis on backwards compatibility and keeping your games compatible in the future will be important to a lot of gamers and several games rumored to come out and announced (Hellblade 2, Outer Worlds 2, Fable, PoE Skyrim like, Perfect Dark, Grounded etc) and as long as the game delivery is consistent I feel like there is a lot of ability for the Xbox systems to sell well.

Also, the fact that their games are all coming to PC likely will not effect sales very much, especially considering that even in enthusiast forums like here, Resetera or gaming subreddits there are people saying "man I hope this game will also come to PC" or "man I hope this game will launch into Gamepass like the other games" despite Xbox's pretty clear marketing.


I personally feel like there is pretty much no chance that the Xbox systems flop this generation
 

MaestroMike

Gold Member
MS should just go 3rd party and end it

Yeah, and I'm sure Sony won't become stagnant without competition They'll continue putting out heavy hitters and continue innovation. Friction creates fire. Competition creates innovation. You think MS would have invested so much in their platform and in studios if Sony wasn't killing it?? I thank Sony. But consumers will always need an option to go to if Sony starts stagnating. Microsoft leaving is bad for all gamers that want high-tech, super realistic games. Sony wouldn't push themselves as hard and may even make life harder for developers. You need Microsoft to do well to keep Sony on their toes and give you the precious games you love.
 

Dolomite

Member
Yikes@ the thread title. Xbox will be fine. Game pass is growing, cross play is growing Xcloud is on the way. Microsoft is building thier Eco system very methodically. And this is the first console since the OG big black Xbox to have more capable hardware than it's competitors. (I don't count mid gen upgrades)
 
The new xbox better have good hardware and some good exclusives, if it really wants to do well.
I hope it does well. It my console of choice.
 
the Xbox one was a disaster in the beginning and they still managed to sell a decent amount, so I’m excepting the sereisX to do much better, and it can easily get to 80mil+ sales if they pump out some good exclusives.
 
If this was another 2013 fiasco.. yes 95% flopping..... But now that tables have greatly turned it will do great and probably surpass XB1 sales in total. They now focused on games instead of the media junk that plagued the X1 in the beginning
 

kretos

Banned
Yeah, and I'm sure Sony won't become stagnant without competition They'll continue putting out heavy hitters and continue innovation. Friction creates fire. Competition creates innovation. You think MS would have invested so much in their platform and in studios if Sony wasn't killing it?? I thank Sony. But consumers will always need an option to go to if Sony starts stagnating. Microsoft leaving is bad for all gamers that want high-tech, super realistic games. Sony wouldn't push themselves as hard and may even make life harder for developers. You need Microsoft to do well to keep Sony on their toes and give you the precious games you love.

Sony still has to worry about Stadia
 

hunthunt

Banned
The market share will be the same for the next years, I predict something like 120 mill. for Ps5 and 70 mill for the next Xbox.

Both will be very successful and Ms, Sony, their third parties and the fans will be happy.

the fanboys will be fighting as always too
 

wipeout364

Member
Microsoft will do fine. They are likely going to have a lower price and they are going to have 4 generations of games available day one if their backward compatibility works as promised and they also have gamepass which will have a ton of games due to BAckward compatibility . They won’t be number one but Microsoft is playing the long game now developing their ecosystem which is run off the Azure system, which is one of their actual core businesses.

Microsoft is one of the top three companies in the world across all industries, they are valued at 1.3 trillion dollars.. Sony lives or dies by PS5, I want Sony to succeed but people thinking Microsoft won’t have some success this gen are crazy.
 
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