Adam Tyner

Unclear; this past quarter was the biggest ever for gaming at Microsoft (following their best-ever first quarter), but they report on total revenue rather than profit. Revenue growth outside of ABK was positive but in a low-to-mid single digit sense (6% up for Xbox games/services, 3% for hardware). But you add in ABK, and it's a 61% increase for Xbox games/services.

Gaming is now the third highest-grossing category within Microsoft, behind only "service products and cloud services" and "Office products and cloud services". Gaming is outgrossing Windows!

But big increases in revenue don't necessarily equate to big increases in profit.

K&AJones

Many think you have to break down and separate the Software and Hardware part as to sales, revenue, profit side...which might account for this...Business Vision Update...coming next week.....On the Software side M.S is doing ok but there's no doubt expectations were higher for some games that failed to meet them; notably Starfield....it was no matter what some might say a sort of Savior to Revitalize XBox...it was supposed to be the Next halo, sweep the Game Awards and increase XBox Console Sales...none of that happened...add Redfall that was built up to fill in for Starfield after it was delayed early last year and it too didn't live up to the billing....


Which everyone while pointing out overall revenue, sales, profits for the Overall Gaming Division is good & ok...one still cannot ignore the fact; 1000 Layoffs back in 2022 and 1900 recently all hitting various parts of M.S gaming Division...but to be fair Layoffs have hit many but some of the number crunchers say maybe M.S bit off more than they can chew and had hoped for bigger sales and profits across the board.....

But one can sale all the games they want and no doubt on the Software side the more availability, the more chance for more sales.....and no doubt and this has been mentioned a lot, the Big Shirts at M.S behind the scenes have seen the possible Lost Revenue on some games being exclusive to XB and PC when they see the XBox Console sale compared to PS....and it's been well known that Todd Howard and the rest of the Upper Mgmt. at Bethesda were not happy when at first M.S agreed to let Starfield be on all consoles and after the buyout said no....

But it still boils down to Hardware and this is where M.S Management is seeing, realizing and therefore going to announce a.... Business Vision...and not a Game Vision...Big Difference.....
December 2023 ..... New Data Reveals How Much Better PS5 Sold in 2023 Than Xbox Series X/S (gamerant.com)

Adam Tyner

This doesn't strike me as a discussion in good faith.

You've posted the "...Business Vision..." thing four times in a total of three different threads now. The phrase "business vision" was not used in Phil's tweet, and the phrase "game vision" does not sound like something that'd come out of a human being's mouth. In acknowledging the leaks/rumors that Microsoft will make some/many/all/whatever of their games more widely available on other platforms, anything they discuss would be a business decision, so it seems to me like "business" is the accurate term to use. If you disagree, I'd be curious to hear what you think. If you agree, I'm not sure what the goal of being so hyperfocused on it in several different threads is.

You're making points that not much of anyone here disagrees with, which makes it seem like you're debating a phantom opponent. (The prospect of the ABK merger was not well-received here, Xbox's first-party slate has been met with widespread criticism here and virtually everywhere else, I don't recall anyone reveling in Bethesda games being taken off PS, there's been plenty of skepticism here about the viability of the Game Pass model, the layoffs have been condemned here, etc.)

It comes across that you don't want to have a conversation; you're not directly engaging with anyone's posts, and it feels like you're using this as an opportunity to get some digs in on a company you dislike, especially since you've noted somewhat recently that you don't game on Xbox or PC. To me, anyway, the end result feels like the sort of console warring we discourage on this forum.

Please consider this before continuing to respond further. (And, as an aside, I'd appreciate if you'd ease up on the ellipses. Separating.......a lot.....of...words.....this way.....makes it difficult..........to read.)

K&AJones

While the actual Two Word Combo, Business Vison was not used...the two words were used...".......Business Update...on our vision".

“We’re listening and we hear you. We’ve been planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox. Stay tuned.”
– Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox

Technically, Gaming is a Business no matter how one slices it, no matter who or what, any and every aspect is all about money which IS Business. And as many have pointed out, it's clearly stated, A Business Update; Not a XBox Update. And some have even found references to Game Pass being changed to, Microsoft Game Pass and no Longer XBox Game Pass

As to the charge of Disliking said Company (That be Microsoft), I have never ever said such a thing...I've been playing video games (and PC ones) way before most here were even in diapers owning Nintendo 8, Nintendo 64, Sega Genisis, PS1, PS2, XBox, XBox 360, PS4, PS5 and various PC's from Commodore 64 and up......and to this day the most fun I ever had was on the XBox 360 with Halo, Gears of War and Left4Dead....my disdain and gripe with M.S is they started looking at gaming AS A BUSINESS, not for what it should be; for players of all ages, kids to Old People like Me.....

Nope, sorry to disappoint but I'm not one of those unhinged "Fan-Boys" who over-the-top all in on this or that console or pc and how all on the other side fall flat on their face. I'm just sad to see what once was in the glory days of The 360 and see it now. And while some might laugh, cheer, cry, get upset...I'm with many on this; this is not good for gaming just like seeing the 100's to 1000's of layoffs. That's a lot of creativity that goes out the door and for what, money, cutbacks, saving here and there and pleasing the investors while look who suffers; Devs and Gamers....Maybe and hopefully their "Vision" will right the ship and get XBox back to what it once was....I sincerely hope so for all of us sake....

Adam Tyner

It's relevant to Xbox, hence why the word "Xbox" is used in the same sentence you bolded. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. That this isn't an E3-style game showcase? Is it not what the update will be about but the semantics of saying "business" first?

From one GameStop social media post. For all we know, it was a typo from someone in GameStop marketing. But a name change could make sense, given that Microsoft's vision for Game Pass isn't locked to specific hardware.

But that also leaves me puzzled about the argument you’re making. If Microsoft makes more titles available on other platforms or if they expand the reach of Game Pass, that’s more of a business update than an Xbox update. It sounds like you approve of them making these moves but disapprove of them referring to it as a business update, and that seems like a distinction without a difference.

Eh, it's an industry-wide thing. Sony killed some really terrific studios chasing the almighty dollar too. Microsoft was guilty of the same even at their peak. It happened so frequently with EA that it's a meme. Pre-acquisition, Activision was so focused on gaming-as-a-business that they basically transitioned into all Call of Duty, all the time. It’s a bloodbath at Embracer. Layoffs are absolutely rampant throughout the industry right now, and trends are pointing to 2024 being a year of studio closures.

And that's without even getting into stuff like predatory monetization or the increasingly homogenous output of AAA titles. That's not to excuse the decisions that Microsoft has made, but they're not exactly outliers here.

Music

Huh? Xbox has always been a business.

Just how old do you think people on this forum are?

Adam Tyner

Could be a coincidence or nothing at all, but Thursday is also rumored for a Nintendo Direct.

Adam Tyner

Diablo IV to Game Pass on March 28th!

Noonan

4 exclusives are coming to PS5/Switch. Sounds like HiFi Rush and Sea of Thieves will be two of them, although none were specifically named.

Adam Tyner

Pentiment and Grounded would be my other two guesses, although I guess Killer Instinct or Redfall could also be in the running.

stingermck

that could have been an email

Noonan

I feel like releasing Redfall on any other platform or service would be a giant waste of time and money for all involved.

Adam Tyner

For sure. I really think it's Grounded; been around for a while, feels like it could play well with the Switch audience in particular, well-liked but never got to be some huge, seismic success.

Rob V

My Xbox X randomly turns off... any of you experience that? It never turns off during long sessions of MP (CoD or R6: Siege) but will turn off when playing Dead Space or EA Sports Golf in Single Player (as an example). The console is sitting in an open area, getting maximum ventilation and I've "cleaned" it using compressed air. Google / YouTube searches don't provide me any other ideas.

RichC2

Posted this in the other Gamepass thread but yeah - Diablo IV is being added on March 28th for anyone that may have been thinking about purchasing it.

gerrythedon

gerrythedon

Sub-Zero

Interview with Phil Spencer:

Microsoft's Phil Spencer on Xbox growth, recent job cuts and the future of games on discs

Decker

Well this is fun :

Music

I don't see any fun there... especially not for $699

Decker

I didn't click the link. That price is insane!

Music

Yeah, you also can only get it through Best Buy drops on their app... so weird.

Music

Xbox Partner Preview | March 2024: We're Back with Fresh Looks at Games for Xbox and Windows - Xbox Wire

SunMonkey

Microsoft Rewards just raised redemption requirements for gift cards. They also removed the extra discount for auto-redeem making it pointless to use.

Edit: looks like they fixed the auto-redeem discount.

gerrythedon

Fuck yeah! I'm getting this

https://limitedrungames.com/collecti...-hd-collection