Xbox console sales continue to crater with massive 42% revenue drop
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If I were a dev I'd be bailing whenever MS stops by. They just buy/kill everything. MS way I guess. Company culture is so broken there XB might have a better time divorcing from the MS dumpster. Maybe they can don the Atari name and come back next gen without all the Microsoft mismanagement and silo'd idiocy.
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Well, I just downgraded my GP sub from Ultimate cause of the price hike and may ditch it entirely. But hey... I'm just a spoke on a wheel. If I leave GP will keep on going. I'm sure the bean counters at MS already calculated folks like me doing this and figure they'll still come out ahead.
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As an analyst for those bean counters I have bad news. That is giving the leaders and bean counters way too much credit. When price hikes are calculated there is absolutely no room for a discussion around price elasticity of demand.
For 15 years I've watched as finance leadership sits with shocked pikachu face every time a price hike doesn't hit their goal because it resulted in a wave of customer disconnects.
It is like in 'Don't Look Up'. The people at the top aren't that smart. They are mostly idiots that are good at networking.
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Microsoft support is also absolutely miserable now. When you send out for a warranty replacement, you get sent broken hardware that someone else sent back. It’s almost impossible to talk to a person that can resolve issues, and completely impossible to solve issue regarding the unacceptable quality of “refurbished” replacement hardware.
The only dispute I have ever filed with my credit card was against Microsoft.
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bakerzdosen
Ars Centurion
I'll just say this:
As the owner of a PS2, PS3, PS4, and PS5, I seriously considered buying an Xbox simply to play Starfield. Like, it really seemed like the best option. I don't actually have any current Windows systems in the home and adding an eGPU to my most powerful Intel Mac just didn't seem worth it for just one game.
But... that "just one game" argument eventually won over the Xbox argument as well.
I'm pretty sure two or three exclusives of that same caliber (not to mention the assertion that we'll see Starfield on the PS5 next year) would have pushed me over the edge, but really, as has been noted, the games just aren't there.
As the owner of a PS2, PS3, PS4, and PS5, I seriously considered buying an Xbox simply to play Starfield. Like, it really seemed like the best option. I don't actually have any current Windows systems in the home and adding an eGPU to my most powerful Intel Mac just didn't seem worth it for just one game.
But... that "just one game" argument eventually won over the Xbox argument as well.
I'm pretty sure two or three exclusives of that same caliber (not to mention the assertion that we'll see Starfield on the PS5 next year) would have pushed me over the edge, but really, as has been noted, the games just aren't there.
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I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Microsoft doesn't seem to have any faith in Xbox anymore.
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exclusives have been selling worst this gen. across both ps and xbox(its been a trend for 3 gen now)
second go check ps 5 game sales.
their not many 1 million units sold games.
i know their is a lot of fan boying going on.
but this gen overall has been across the board awful for both companies
second go check ps 5 game sales.
their not many 1 million units sold games.
i know their is a lot of fan boying going on.
but this gen overall has been across the board awful for both companies
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People are also quick to forget that those studios still took the money and still told MS "it's all good! Go ahead and spend that marketing money!". All while ignoring that MS routinely tells divisions "alright... this isn't good. You need to fix this. Here is an extension and money. But... don't screw it up." Then, when they get a Windows 8.0... a LOT of people suddenly are unemployed and MS is being "villainous" despite hiring a crack team that turned a turd into 8.1. That doesn't seem malicious, it seems like they know good product=money, bad product=no money along with the group of workers that generated it. A shocking concept, I know.
Starfield is the prime example. MS buys Beth, wants to see progress on Starfield. Sees. Is unimpressed, tells them to fix it. Beth cranks out the same thing anyways... and immediately unionizes thinking that will protect them from MS canning the leads... Forgetting MS has a habit of nuking the entire operation and handing it to people that actually are good at their job. Or that MS has a long history of isolating their various "satellites" so erasing one has barely any effect anywhere else. Thus, the relatively hands off approach, or at least the C-suite caring only about the in/outflow to various projects.
I've heard MS is great to work for... if you are good at what you do and want to work. A nightmare if you keep screwing up and think the company owes you money for showing up. Honestly, I'm worried about Beth and Blizz. MS was too supportive of them unionizing. Like they're waiting for them to fart out another flop and then remind them gaming is a barely noticeable branch of the company. People like to dump on MS, but those of us around since the 90s know: Don't F with Microsoft. They're very far from stupid or complacent.
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It'll be on PS5 at some point I'd say in less than a year.
I don't think they want it. It was a different time when the XB came out/group started up. I don't think the management at the top cares about it other than keeping Gamepass up. They'd be fine jettisoning the hardware into the sun.
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A lot of people still don't like/trust Microsoft after they tried to do always online and digital stuff, which lead to the This is How You Borrow Games on PS4 video:
View: https://youtu.be/kWSIFh8ICaA?si=EP4rSPMPgdsXdWYP
People always think of stuff like Starfield or God of War/Spiderman/Horizon Zero Dawn or Pokemon/MarioKirby for exclusives but you also have to look at the non AAA or third party stuff. Gamepass has a lot of indies but that's also on PC and it's never truly exclusive. Tunic is on Playstation and Switch after waiting a bit.
Playstation/Switch (and recently PC, but those ports seem to be hit or miss) gets more of the not AAA budget Japanese games. Games like Reynatis, Trails Series, Ys series, Disgaea series, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin, Story of Seasons (aka the real Harvest Moon), Fate Samurai Remnant, 13 Sentinels, Grim Grimoire, etc. Granblue Fantasy Relink had a big budget from being in dev hell but it still only released on Playstation/PC. The third party games a lot of people want just aren't there on Xbox.
Xbox really needed more games like Hi-Fi Rush(rip). That was one of the only exclusives I was sad on missing (the other was Pentiment) and now both of those have escaped Xbox. I'm still waiting for the physical Hi-Fi Rush...
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PS5 sales rates are peaking (at the normal time in a console lifecycle for that to happen) while Xbox Series sales rates are cratering (and peaked earlier than expected). I laid this out as clearly as I could in the piece...
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Games and exclusivity. That about boils it down. By making their games available on PC day one they essentially removed any incentive for someone to buy an Xbox. Despite all the whining about exclusivity, it does serve a purpose and it does actually work to drive consumers to a platform. Sony knows this. They know that if they release their games on the PS5 first they can drive those gamers to their platform and mop up everyone else later by releasing on PC.
Xbox basically let their platform linger for about a year without any actual system selling games. Sony kind of had the same thing but their library of games is so strong that people were excited to see what the PS5 upgrades to PS4 titles would be and then when the exclusive started to come it was pretty much a done deal.
Lastly, MS dropped the ball when it came to their development tools. There were some 3rd party games early in the life of the consoles (and this still happens) that performed better on the PS5, despite the XSX being more powerful on paper. It doesn't matter how many tflops your platform has if the tools used are inefficient. I remember MS saying that their tools weren't ready. Why not? This should have been a priority. Sony made sure their tools were built to take as much advantage of the hardware as possible from the get go. It doesn't help that for a lot of 3rd party developers the PS5 console is the lead console.
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Today more than ever, Xbox is the Anglosphere Console, it has never really gained any tangible mindshare outside of US/UK/Canada/Australia/etc. while PlayStation still remains the only non-Nintendo console that people will even consider in the vast majority of the world.
Unless Microsoft can somehow reverse that particular hole they've dug themselves in (seems like a lost cause at this point), their market share can only go down from here.
Unless Microsoft can somehow reverse that particular hole they've dug themselves in (seems like a lost cause at this point), their market share can only go down from here.
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Aside from what's been said, brand confusion on Microsoft's naming convention has a part to play. The latest is an Xbox series X... what? I get that Microsoft is worried the XBox 4 isn't numerically equal in name to a PS5... but c'mon. You screw with naming and consumers don't want to figure it out. They just won't buy it.
I also think sticking with two tiers was a mistake. Sure the Series S snagged some sales, but how much did it impact developers who could've aimed a tad higher in performance and fidelity if they had a single high end XBox to develop for?
Of course none of that matters without good first party titles... buying exclusives is great, but we have yet to see any must-own games materialize on the latest xbox that can't be had on PC or PS5.
Name the next console better. Make it XBox 6 to avoid PS6 confusion. Stick to one tier. Keep one version/sku and stop forcing developers to code for the lowest often last-gen version. And let your first-party devs make something worth buying.
That, or give up and become the next Sega, selling software only.
I also think sticking with two tiers was a mistake. Sure the Series S snagged some sales, but how much did it impact developers who could've aimed a tad higher in performance and fidelity if they had a single high end XBox to develop for?
Of course none of that matters without good first party titles... buying exclusives is great, but we have yet to see any must-own games materialize on the latest xbox that can't be had on PC or PS5.
Name the next console better. Make it XBox 6 to avoid PS6 confusion. Stick to one tier. Keep one version/sku and stop forcing developers to code for the lowest often last-gen version. And let your first-party devs make something worth buying.
That, or give up and become the next Sega, selling software only.
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Could it simply be it's not needed?
I've got a One S still - stuck an SSD in it and I've played entire ("series" games) through remote play.
I simply see no reason to change!
I've got a One S still - stuck an SSD in it and I've played entire ("series" games) through remote play.
I simply see no reason to change!
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RickRoyLeonPrisZhoraRacha
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Anything more than $500, might as well build a NUC or your own PC. Then GamePass increase and Ultimate closing in on $200/yr sub... why? Players can use Discord to chat. And you can have Xbox on Windows without cost, with free Discord to chat. Then you have GoG and Steam. Again, on a PC box. Using Xbox controller.
Plus, you can SAVE on games on PC vs Xbox console.
While not the case for most, I've had Xboxes since the start. And 4 RRoDs too (thanks to BestBuy warranty but still a bad taste). Now, my current Xbox, the Gears edition, sits in its box, collecting dust. Some of my fellow gamertags have passed this mortal plane. And I've not found a title I think worthy. Price increases and I've realized, enough. I can play Steam, GoG, and still have something to play.
And the naming is a misnomer. XBox Series One X, Xbox One, etc. And the slim. And worst of all.. hype. MS has hyped and studios have hyped and no content released. Or late. And studios getting bought (Pointing at EA/Activision...).
Plus, you can SAVE on games on PC vs Xbox console.
While not the case for most, I've had Xboxes since the start. And 4 RRoDs too (thanks to BestBuy warranty but still a bad taste). Now, my current Xbox, the Gears edition, sits in its box, collecting dust. Some of my fellow gamertags have passed this mortal plane. And I've not found a title I think worthy. Price increases and I've realized, enough. I can play Steam, GoG, and still have something to play.
And the naming is a misnomer. XBox Series One X, Xbox One, etc. And the slim. And worst of all.. hype. MS has hyped and studios have hyped and no content released. Or late. And studios getting bought (Pointing at EA/Activision...).
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Every time I see that clip I'm impressed with how well Kurt Russell can pull off that rapid-fire banter. (And this, before the days of sound editors speeding things up.) Of course he had a lot of experience acting by then, but it's still tough to do that in a minimum of takes.
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I have a weakness for cheap japanese games. Nintendo Switch has plenty of them.
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What a terribly run shitshow Xbox has been for the past 14-15 years (you could argue from the 360 launch with having multiple SKUs with out a standard hard drive to not having Blu-ray/wifi/hdmi standard but at least they had the most important things then, games)
The lack of first party exclusives, the continual decline in quality of the first party games they do have (Halo, Forza, Gears, Starfield, Redfall etc. and never mind the goldmine of IP’s rotting away under them) the undercutting of their power advantage with a weaker console, terrible naming conventions, turning their UI into ad filled hellscape, and just generally poor marketing and advertising decisions has buried them almost to the point of no return not to mention game pass; while good in the short term for them and even gamers long term it’s going to cost them a huge amount and hurt gamers as devs lose sales and consumers are going to be left with only the big two competing in the console space, arguably one as Nintendo keeps on with their on unique hybrid handheld.
The lack of first party exclusives, the continual decline in quality of the first party games they do have (Halo, Forza, Gears, Starfield, Redfall etc. and never mind the goldmine of IP’s rotting away under them) the undercutting of their power advantage with a weaker console, terrible naming conventions, turning their UI into ad filled hellscape, and just generally poor marketing and advertising decisions has buried them almost to the point of no return not to mention game pass; while good in the short term for them and even gamers long term it’s going to cost them a huge amount and hurt gamers as devs lose sales and consumers are going to be left with only the big two competing in the console space, arguably one as Nintendo keeps on with their on unique hybrid handheld.
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Yeah, I'm also onboard with the idea that Steam needs to bring back the steam machine but more along the lines of a defined steam deck situation, not the free-for-all we had with the the previous attempt at steam machines. Just a console-comparable machine that hooks up to tv and runs steamOS
I don't trust microsoft or sony to be reliable curators of the gaming experience anymore.
I don't trust microsoft or sony to be reliable curators of the gaming experience anymore.
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At this point it would be interesting to see how XBox sales compare to Steam Deck. Xbox is likely still higher, but moving in the wrong direction. Microsoft would be better off just porting GamePass to Steam Deck and co-promoting the Steam Deck 2 as a portable Xbox/PC
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It does make sense to move from a market where Microsoft has to compete back to one where Microsoft has a monopoly. I’d rededicate my business to the one where people are mocked as losers for not using Windows, too.
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Considering that Sony is selling 5x as many consoles as Microsoft, I don't think that's an accurate assessment.
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bingo, flagship first party games have been letdowns and full of lies. I would argue this has been the most barren generation, nothing on the console front have I seen and said man thats worth an update.
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The Steam Deck already "hooks up to tv and runs steamOS".
Just like the Nintendo Switch, having a single hardware spec for handheld and TV usage is a strength, not a weakness.
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The last year or so I've barely used my Xbox, as PC is just the default location to play. Sometimes that's Game Pass titles, a lot of times stuff on Steam. I think it's probably just being happy with M&K but not really sure.
I do expect there will be another hardware launch at some point, but I don't know if it'll be the tech-forward mentality as current devices are - if nothing else because games are not pushing the boundaries as much anymore. My nearly 5 year old GPU never feels like it's struggling (to be fair, it is a 3090) - but like phones, upgrade cycles feel longer now.
I do expect there will be another hardware launch at some point, but I don't know if it'll be the tech-forward mentality as current devices are - if nothing else because games are not pushing the boundaries as much anymore. My nearly 5 year old GPU never feels like it's struggling (to be fair, it is a 3090) - but like phones, upgrade cycles feel longer now.
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To be fair, the Xbox names have always been bad, starting with the "Xbox 360" - presumably named that way because they didn't want an "Xbox 2" competing against the "PlayStation 3" (customers will think their console is 1 worse!). And, of course, the we needed some new designation for the original Xbox after they decided to call the third Xbox the "Xbox One". Which brings us to the whole "Series This" and "Series That". I fully expect that, if there is another Xbox, they'll switch over to Greek letters or unpronounceable symbols just to keep the trend going.
Nintendo may have their occasional "Wii U" debacle, but nobody's as consistently bad as Microsoft at coming up with names for their console hardware.
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Not that I'm an xbox owner, but is it xbox sales going down or console hardware sales going down in general?
I mean I have my ps5, it's running fine, i'm totally uninterested in the ps5 pro or whatever, i'm just buying games now and then. Why would it be any different on the xbox side?
I mean I have my ps5, it's running fine, i'm totally uninterested in the ps5 pro or whatever, i'm just buying games now and then. Why would it be any different on the xbox side?
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The Xbox brand has never done particularly well with only the 360 being a real competitor.
The first Xbox flopped globally.
The 360 had a full year head start on the PS3 which also released at $100-200 more than the 360 so the 360 had both time to find a customer base and was significantly cheaper at launch for those early adopters.
The XBOne released at the same time as the PS4 but cost $100 more at launch had early talk of needing to be always online for it to work and focused on Kinect. That killed the momentum gained from the 360.
The Xbox series X/S (terrible name) did offer a cheaper model than PS5 the series S though it having a reduced hardware rather than just being digital only like the PS5 cheaper variant also reduced interest.
Microsoft just made a bunch of missteps and instead of lowering the cost is just ignoring the console at this point.
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I guess my worries about Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard may have been unfounded.
It looks like instead of trying to use all those new I.P's as exclusives for Xbox Microsoft is instead switching from being a console maker to being a publisher.
It looks like instead of trying to use all those new I.P's as exclusives for Xbox Microsoft is instead switching from being a console maker to being a publisher.
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My bad, everyone, I’m a harbinger customer and bought one of these a while ago. I set it up beside my Wii U and hooked it up to my 3D TV but haven’t really touched it since.
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Mungus the Unhyphenated
Ars Tribunus Militum
My thinking as well. The Xbox itself was fine, but through the lifespan of the Xbox One and into the One X and Series, Microsoft's corporate direction has pulled the rug out from under the console's feet in the software realm. The Xbox had to re-focus on strictly gaming. But with Sony keeping to exclusives, and so much of the Xbox library available on PC as well, it cannibalizes console sales.
Adding on to that, Microsoft has emphasized maintaining backward compatibility for older Xbox 360 and OG Xbox games. That probably helped drive some One X and Series sales, as the more powerful hardware handles the emulation aspects better, but it doesn't sell new games; it just solidifies existing Xbox customers.
Making Microsoft Flight Simulator available on Xbox also may have driven some console sales, for people eager to try out the flight sim without having to invest in the typical beefy PC needed. (And we'll have to wait and see if the release of the 2024 version prompts another bump in Xbox sales.) But it's still a niche exclusive compared to the console exclusives that Sony offers, and it's cross-platform PC/Xbox so it's still not going to drive console sales in the same way.
Through it all though, it seems like Microsoft hasn't really been in a panic about console sales so far. And maybe they really aren't all that worried. Via Game Pass and Microsoft Studios/Xbox games software sales, they're making money on games for PC and console. The console can continue to be a loss leader for game sales to people who don't want to buy and deal with the care and feeding of a PC. (Where they need to keep a watchful eye is in the Steam Deck portable handheld market. A low-cost console-like alternative could be a new wrinkle; although so far, non-Steam handhelds are Windows boxes, so they're just PCs anyway.)
When the Xbox One came out, I was among the voices saying it looked like Microsoft was beginning a journey toward "Xbox" meaning any device that met or exceeded a set of standardized specs to play Xbox-branded games. And here we are, with an "Xbox" app and storefront (plus Microsoft Studios/XBox-branded games for sale on Steam) on our PCs and a game library shared with the Xbox console. It's already here; it's an ecosystem to play games on whatever hardware suits you. Microsoft can make money either way.
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IncorrigibleTroll
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
Come on, Kyle, you've been at this gig long enough to know that one can never be clear enough for the fanboys. There can be no neutral reporting, only taking the side of one console or the other.
See also: iPhone v Android
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It’s not my fault. I have a Series X, and two Series S. Three elite controllers and an Xbox wireless headset. Gamepass Ultimate subscriber since forever. I like the Xbox platform and still have a slew of consoles from the last generations.
One part of me wonders if the multi-generational games are part of this, no real compatibility break between generations.
One part of me wonders if the multi-generational games are part of this, no real compatibility break between generations.
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Lots of factors. The biggest and simplest is that for all its mindshare in the English-speaking world the Xbox has never had much true worldwide success. It has sold very well in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, but beyond that it’s never done all that well. So recognize that your own perspective reading this on an English website means your perspective is already skewed in the Xbox’s favor.
Next up was the major XB1 underperformance. It got lost in the haze of “second most successful console launch ever,” but after that initial launch rush the XB1 consistently underperformed the 360. The final results aren’t precisely known since MS stopped publicly revealing numbers last generation, but the 360 sold roughly 90 million worldwide and most estimates put the XB1 somewhere around 50-60, well under half the PS4. That’s compared to the prior generation where the 360 nearly tied the PS3 and outsold it for much of the generation. That was particularly catastrophic because the PS5/XBSX generation is the first one with ubiquitous backwards compatibility, meaning the PS5 started with an inbuilt lead before the generation even started. The one factor in MS’ favor was their considerable success in promoting cross-platform play last generation, so at least PSN’s 2:1 lead in installed base wasn’t nearly as big a factor in multiplayer games as before (in the PS360 gen those silos meant you went where your friends were).
Then we come to software, which is probably the most important of all. Exclusives drive system sales, and the Xbox has gotten destroyed on that front. Third party exclusivity has been dropping across the board as dev costs rose and every single sale matters, but it’s been a slow drop and Sony has done a better job of holding on to at least some (although less with each passing year, overall the era of the major third party exclusive is likely over with rare exceptions). That puts more and more importance on first party development, and MS has massively struggled here. They’ve mismanaged their studios for years, building a graveyard of developers and burned-out franchises that approaches Google’s. They at least recognize this is a major issue and are trying to right the course but thus far the results have been mixed at best.
Which then ties into the last major factor and what may have truly kicked off a death spiral: the question of MS’ ongoing commitment to exclusivity. I’m simplifying somewhat, but if the PlayStation has all of Sony’s first party games, all third party games, and all Xbox’s first party games, while the Xbox is lacking in Sony’s games (which historically have been excellent in terms of both critical reception and sales) that’s a major strike against it.
Basically it breaks down like this: what are the differentiating points? Price is similar. The XBSX and full PS5 are the same barring sales, the digital PS5 a bit cheaper, and the XBSS much cheaper, but the latter is starting to genuinely struggle running games. Both systems can play against each other (and often PC and Switch as well) so multiplayer with your friends isn’t a major factors. What’s left? Prior library and backwards compatibility, which mathematically favors the PS4 at ~2:1 (and even if you didn’t own a PS4 it had the advantage in exclusives), and developer support going forward, which again favors the PlayStation (gets all Sony and third party games as well as some MS games for now, and more if not most or even all going forward). GamePass has been the answer for years, and it’s a strong one, but we’ve seen subscriptions hold steady at ~30 million for quite some time now so as a growth driver it seems to have dropped off. What else is there? And oh by the way there’s also now a very public question of how much of a future Xbox hardware even has.
Turn the question around. If you’re a non-committed shopper what’s the selling point of the Xbox? Quite simply at this point other than GamePass the Xbox doesn’t have a single major selling point over the PS5 and has a number of very real weaknesses.
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And that's if you compare hardware features and pricing only.
In my mind the xbox is where you go for competitive multiplayer and design-by-commitee boring AAAs, while if you have a playstation you risk getting some single player games that ... shudder ... have traces of original thinking.
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I don't think MS wants Valve to get too ahead in that space. If I recall MS was the one that approached ASUS about the ROG Ally. Ofcourse in typical MS behavior they didn't provide anything at all to make the experience remotely comparable or even good for most users leaving it up to Lenovo, Asus and friends to build janky launchers. The last thing MS wants is gamers moving to Linux and developers taking that as a cue to support the platform more directly. It's kind of already happening but Valve is still doing a lot of the work there vs developers.
One thing MS can do is a hardware certification program kind of like what Valve tried with the Steam Machines and build an xbox frontend that OEMs can use (like the Steam Deck's UI) while still building their own hardware. They get to sell a Windows license, OEMs get to sell hardware and gamers get an xbox like experience and the ability to switch to Windows if they want to. The Steam Machine initiative did not work for Valve due to the Linux requirements, but I think it would actually work for MS.
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