Microsoft To Share "Vision For The Future Of Xbox" Next Week

Calling it now, Series X is Xbox's Dreamcast. Everything they're doing is leading me to think they're the next Sega.

I can't believe it! Microsoft is gonna announce the Switch 3!

Rare Replay, please.

Anything that means games are available (or at least could be) on more platforms are great news. Hi-Fi rush is great and the more people who can enjoy it, the better.

I think this could be a potentially solid & shrewd move for XBOX in terms of their future plans. Instead of being 'console focussed', perhaps instead look to develop the ecosystem of GamePass.... and working to bring this to competitor platforms.

I'm not sure how this would look in practice, but there is a lot of scope for innovative thinking on Microsoft's part.

Nadella keeps saying that the future of Xbox is on other devices, while Phil keeps saying that nothing is changing at Xbox studios. It's unlikely that one of them is just lying or uninformed, and the way both of those statements resolve themselves as simultaneously true is cloud gaming.

That said ... this is likely going to be a big old nothing burger. An announcement of, say, Xbox cloud gaming on PS5 or Switch, isn't exactly agile. Both parties are going to spend tons of time and money crafting exactly what can and can't be said, positioning, and marketing. It's not something you can put together on the fly to respond to rumors.

So while I absolutely think that Xbox is moving to release cloud gaming and game pass on Switch, PS5, and mobile ... it's unlikely this is going to be the platform for any full partnership reveal. I'm expecting some cooperate speak about changing landscapes and a "stay tuned".

The rumors are also pretty silly. Starfield port "considered" for PS5!

Umm ... yeah we know from the FCC documents that the game was cross platform for most of its development and was PS5 version was near complete. The fact that MS is "considering" a port seems like the most non-committal nothing statement ever.

Maybe if they release different colors of series x like the ps5 & switch instead of just one color maybe they’ll attract more buyers, but that’s just me…😐🤔🤷‍♂️

I could see MS phasing out Xbox from a hardware standpoint and focus on making sure Game Pass is available on every cell phone/tablet/laptop/PC/Smart TV, etc., etc. they possibly can. And for the people who don't want to subscribe, they could leave the a la cart physical releases and digital downloads to the other (bigger platforms) like Sony, Nintendo and Steam.

Definitely going to be interesting if we see a bunch of Xbox games heading to Switch 2. Wouldn't surprise me after we got the Oris, a few Rare titles via NSO etc. on the current Switch and will likely get HiFi Rush as well.

@Nontendo_4DS Totally, feels like Rare Replay’s natural home is Switch.

Maybe Halo 5 will be a Switch 2 launch title.

Right now, I wonder how much it is a goal to get GamePass on other platforms. If there ends up being no Xbox hardware, does that get any approval from Sony/Nintendo?

Frankly, I don’t think there’s any situation where I do get an Xbox. My PS5 serves the same purpose and GamePass through Cloud takes care of the exclusives. That being said, Xbox looks like they have a great lineup to come with Indiana Jones, South of Midnight, Blade and Perfect Dark. And I would definitely purchase at least a couple of them, if it came to a platform I owned.

Xbox is a 3d party machine anyway. The cheapest way to play 3d party games, either on gamepass or because of their huge sales every couple of months.

I own all 3 consoles and my series X was unused for about a year. But now I've played the PS5 exclusives I'm interested in & same for the Switch, I'm finding myself spending most of my time there. The console itself (Series X) is probably the best machine out of the three, I love playing old 360 games on it and game pass is great value. I do think it's under rated and would hate them exit the console market all together. More competition the better.

Maybe it's time to throw in that towel for Xbox. They had a nice run, but after 360 I don't think any of my friends had am Xbox. They either got a PS, PC or Nintendo

@Goat_FromBOTW Part of me is inclined to agree with you. I love the Xbox, but it just could never hold a candle in terms of sales to its competition (that being the PlayStation and occasionally Nintendo; GameCube and Wii U eras notwithstanding).

The only time it could have been considered comparable was when the Xbox 360 was out. Otherwise, it lagged behind PlayStation by tens of millions of units. As it stands now, the Series X/S family has sold roughly around the units that the original Xbox sold, while the PlayStation 5 has sold over 50 million units so far.

With Nintendo and PlayStation dominating the market right now, there's very little that Microsoft can do to close that gap. So they very well could end up exiting the console market and going the way of Sega (ironically, before Nintendo does, and I remember when a bunch of people were clamoring for Nintendo do so during the Wii U era).

But Nintendo should not get complacent with their hardware, even if Microsoft does pull out. Game developers will still want to push the envelope when it comes to what they want to make, and they can only make so many compromises with the graphics and framerate to get their games onto Nintendo's platforms.

So Nintendo needs to balance traditional gaming aspects like graphics and processing power with their unique blend of fun and accessibility. Otherwise, PlayStation will end up leaving them in the dust, too.

I miss that feeling of competition between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. I have a PS5 and a Switch (and several handhelds with decent collections), and I really feel like I could just have a Switch and be fine this gen.
Anyway, if they go multi-platform, I'm fine. It means I won't have to buy an XBOX when the next Doom hits.

Over the last 24 hours I've heard it said that:

If Microsoft is getting out of the console-making business, then it is the biggest video game news story/event since...Microsoft got into the console-making business with the original Xbox.

@MontyCircus Id say since Sega got out but yeah that works. How depressing.

@FishyS I think Halo Infinite looks really fun but not $400 fun.

Even if they exit the console scene, the chance of Gamepass being available on PS5 or Switch seems extremely remote. I'd expect them to push Gamepass (and cloud) on PC and mobile screens, whilst selling games traditionally on PS5 and Switch.

Though I also don't think they'll ditch Xbox quite yet, it'll have one more gen.

I really don't think that Xbox should go third party. Yes, Playstation is outselling them 2:1, but they still have an audience of 50 million that they can reach as evidenced by the Xbox One reaching those numbers even after its disastrous start.

In Europe they're losing to Sony by a much bigger margin than that. And of course there is Japan where Xbox's market share probably rounds to 0%.

Without exclusives, the only battle that profits is selling hardware, and licenses for software to be officially supported on said hardware. MS wants to be the Jack Of All Trades, though...

As with anything, we shall see what happens. Now that I think about it, this fits with MS wanting to move their Windows OS to not be a one-time purchase, and instead, a cloud-based subscription service. Continuing, or not, with actual Xbox hardware works with that concept. Nintendo use to have 2 platforms for financial support, and even if MS chose to stop Xbox hardware, we can pretty much guarantee there has already been numerous of their top business minds deciding how to proceed forward.

The money is in software, especially for Sony and MS, who sell their hardware at a loss. They would be leaving money on the table if they didn't go multiplatform. For me, of this gen's Xbox console exclusives, only Forza Horizon made a good impression. I'm not sure if the PS5 crowd is missing out on anything with Starfield or Redfall.

Anyway, I really like XSS as a secondary console. It pairs well visually with the white OLED, lets you play SSX3, TimeSplitters3 and Dying Light (at 60fps) and is small, cheap and silent. And both Xbox and Switch controllers have my preferred asymmetrical stick layout.

Bit jealous of a MachineGames Indiana Jones. Could get it for PC but can't beat gaming on the TV

@Qwiff The money is in services (like GamePass). Software is very expensive to produce and makes only a very little profit.

Microsoft shot themselves in the foot with the xbox one malarkey and now, it looks like they've bled out...

@sanderev While there is perhaps more money to be made for MS in services nowadays, Sony still follow the more traditional model of selling consoles at a loss and making up for that with games. I'm not sure what you mean by saying that games make little profit. For example, Horizon Forbidden West cost $200M to develop and made $1.5 billion in revenue.

If streaming was viable I think we'd see the Game Pass app on TVs next to Netflix and Prime. I think it will he one day, but they need to sort put broadband speeds in the US and latency.

ToeJam And Earl 3 (OG xbox) is the only one that springs to mind for me that I would like on Switch, which is probably not what they mean.

Redfall on Switch.

Yay.

I feel this is the slow process of all out digital from microsoft, I believe that you will only buy controllers in the future. They will connect to any devise which will stream the games.
Not too sure what point we are in that but looks like we will hear something from them this week.

Ive sat through numerous irrational 'Nintendoomed' comments and I'm disappointed that no one on the internet hasn't come up with a Xbox counterpart for this. C'mon people, you're xbot bias is showing . Even the PS Vita had the 'PS Riga Mortis' jokes

I can’t imagine that this news would affect me in any real way but I guess I’ll stay tuned.

@martynstuff yes you’re right!

How about microdoomed? Xbombed? No ok they’re rubbish but I’m sure someone can come up with something better 😂

Edit - Xbox been thrown out the Windows?

I'm sure it will be something like hifi rush on all platforms, probably starfield on playstation,something about next call of duty, a general desire to bring gamepass to the world and maybe few older games heading to switch.

@martynstuff Ex-Box?

I want rare replay on switch 😃

I think people just WANT there to be a "console war", which is why they are so slow to accept ... there just isn't any more. Hasn't been for over 5 years.

All Xbox games are released on PC day 1. Valve hardware survey say around 400 million PCs can play games at the hardware level of an Xbox series S. So when you are releasing games to an install base of 400 million that isn't your console ... you don't really have "exclusivity" as a selling point, do you?

If MS releases a game on PS5, that doesn't impact their marketing position. If you're an enthusiast and want the best possible experience playing an "Xbox" game ... you play it on PC. The option to play it on PS5 doesn't change that. If you are a budget conscious person who want to play it on cheap hardware ... you're still going to go with the Series S at less then half the price of a PS5.

All MS is really doing is opening up sales to people who are brand loyal to Sony, already have a PS5, and are extremely unlikely to pick up a series S or X to play the few Xbox titles they want that don't alrady run on their PC.

The series X is a really weird console right now, but not because of Sony or Nintendo, but because MS's day and date PC strategy make it almost redundant. Regardless of what MS is going to do on other consoles, I don't think the future includes the flagship series X. It includes PC, Game Pass, Series S, and likely a portable.

What I would give to have the Gears of War trilogy on Switch. Make it happen Microsoft. 👍

Everyone everywhere is like: Is this the end of XBox? The end of the modern console war? Halo on Playstation OMG! Starfield on Ps5 ?!

And I am like: Sweeeet! That makes it more likely we get NES R.C. Pro-Am andBanjo-Tooie on NSO or maybe even a complete Rare Replay port.

Rare replay please.

@Lizuka @datamonkey These are worthy efforts!

Something has them spooked maybe they think regulators would actually succeed at doing something this time if they continue their current trajectory, or maybe this is all performative so they can get away with buying their next gigantic publisher.

Even if Xbox goes multiplatform, the games won't run on switch. They would pretty much be saying that they are now making games for PC and Playstation.

@SalvorHardin Based on the word going around it seems like it's happening due to Microsoft's higher-ups getting fed up with how much money the division's been spending with its recent acquisitions, the fact that Xbox console sales are dropping, and Gamepass continuing to be a money pit.

I'm cool if Xbox wants out of the console game. I do wonder if they will release their own game front store to compete with Steam and Epic.

@Ade117 I get where you're coming from, but unfortunately the Xbox as a console has never been lucrative for Microsoft. They've always lost money as a hardware manufacturer. The original Xbox system actually suffered Microsoft a net loss of over $4 billion.

In the end, as sad as it is, it really makes the most sense to do what Sega did and just put all their games on other platforms. But I do think there should still be enough competition out there.

Coming Soon: Microswitch XSoft 360 Series X

Xbox is going 3rd party. There will be another console this year, the all digital Series X and a beefier Series S but that will be the end. They will focus on streaming apps for TV and streaming sticks.
Game Pass is what they will focus on and they will try to push it on other platforms as well.
Poor management for the last two generations means they have left the console field open for PlayStation and Nintendo.
You will never see Nintendo first party IP on other consoles.
I disagree with the notion that exclusives are bad. They breed competition.
Xbox have totally made a mess of their console business.
As for Xbox exclusives on Switch, let’s hope that waits until Switch 2. The last thing we need are more half ar3ex ports on an ageing machine.

@MontyCircus Completely true, but they should take advantage of at least consistently being competitive in North America.

put her out to the pasture already..

@Moistnado

That's not completely accurate.

All first party Xbox games need to run on series S, an extremely limited 4TF machine, and generally target 1080p. While it's an oversimplification, running a 1080p game at 720p drops the graphical overhead by almost half, so getting that to run on the 1TF Switch isn't unreasonable. We've seen 3rd party games like DOOM run almost identical on Switch as they do on series S, just with a lower resolution.

It's also important to note that Microsoft already has an extremely advanced Switch conversion package. Ori's Switch port is one of the most technically impressive ever made. So while they might not be able to port over games designed to max out hardware, the majority of the current Xbox studio lineup should run fine on Switch, given the right TLC.

Not to mention that the current rumored chip for the switch successor is a 4TF chip almost identical to the Series S. There is currently nothing Xbox Studios had made or has in the pipe that will not run on a Tegra T239.

The real problem would be cartages, but that's not hard to work around.

That said, it's still far more likely we're looking at a cloud based solution.

@Lodmot @Ade117

There are a few points to go over here.

First, over their lifespan, only a handful of console have ever been profitable, and the only one that doesn't say "Nintendo" on it is the PS2. Consoles are generally sold at a loss, although changes in tech might make them profitable by EOL. The PS5, for example, is currently being sold at an extremely slim margin after it's refresh, but at time of release they were losing close to $100per unit sold. That quickly lowered to $40, but the PS5 as a console has likely lost Sony between $150 and $250 million at this point. That's not even including R&D and marketing. Add that, and the PS5, Sony's huge success story and "winner" has likely lost the company over a billion dollars.

Comparatively, the PS5 has lost significantly more money then the Xbox Series X ... specifically BECAUSE it's selling better. Judging the success of a console by the profit the console itself is generating not only makes no sense, it's completely backwards. They are loss leaders, they are generally "doing better" the more money they are losing.

So if you make the argument that Microsoft should go "3rd party" because they are losing money on the Xbox console, that's would be doubly true for Sony, as they lose MUCH more money on hardware. If Sony simply sold their games on 3rd party platforms, it would save them that billion dollars they are losing on the PS5!

Clearly that logic is flawed, however, because hardware isn't how either of them make money. The consoles make money though licensing fees and store commissions. Xbox division currently is, and basically always has been, a HUGE money maker in both these areas. It's not a pet project. MS would have stopped doing it years ago if it wasn't making money. This is the part people ... just don't get.

Let's say the next COD game is $100. If you buy it on non-MS hardware, MS will make around $20-$30 because they own Activation now, and the direct cut that makes it back to the developer and publisher combined is generally 20% to 30%

If they DIDN'T own activation, and you bought it as a 3rd party game digitally on Xbox hardware ... MS would make around $60. 3 times as much as they are going to make developing and publishing the game. They get around a 30% cut from the store and another 30% cut for licensing it for Xbox hardware.

Someone selling a game you didn't spend any money making on your platform makes you WAY MORE MONEY then selling a game you did make on someone else's platform.

Moving 1st party games to other platforms means you sell more 1st party games. No longer having a console means you loss a 25-60% cut of every other game anyone else ever makes that sells on your console.

The fact that they are going to do the first one to make a few extra 100 million dollars doesn't means they are going to STOP doing the second one and give up the billions it makes them every year. It's basically like saying Half-life getting a Xbox release means Valve is going to close Steam because what's the point of paying for Steam's sever maintenance when you can just sell your games on other platforms.

Cloud gaming is the golden goose though. Because then you can put your client on someone else's hardware but STILL get 60% of the profit from any game someone puts on your cloud service. We might see a slow exit from "consoles" in favor of the cloud, but even then MS will still make an "Xbox" ... it will just but a Steam-deck like device that runs games augmented by the cloud.

@HeadPirate series S is a more powerful machine than Switch. Doom does not run as well on switch, but it is an impressive port considering the hardware. As for speculating about unannounced possible hardware from Nintendo in the future, it will not match PS5, I would guess. The point is, that if Microsoft stop making consoles and both Sony and Nintendo keep doing what they usually do, the Nintendo console will be underpowered compared to the PS6 and 5080 graphics cards in next gen gaming pcs . Microsoft will be like most other developers, largely ignoring Nintendo when it comes to their AAA games but sending some old, last gen games or 2D smaller scale titles their way. I would love for a nintendo console that matched the competition but I seriously doubt we will get one.

@Moistnado

Let me recap what I said and add some points.

1 - The Series S is 4 times as powerful as the current Switch, but games can be ported at acceptable levels. You might not find them good enough, but sales numbers and critical reviews point to that not being an issue for most people.

2 - Not all games target "max specs", and MS Studios already has impressive Switch conversion software they offer for free to ID@Xbox users and have used themselves for ports such as Ori.

3 - The Switch successor all but confirmed to use a T239. This chip is slightly more powerful then a Series S

4 - Therefore, all current and planned Xbox studio games will run on Nintendo hardware. Period. No exceptions. Every game has to run on Series S, Nintendo's next console is more powerful then the S.

5 - Over 80% of all game developers are currently developing for the Switch, and 80% of developers at this year's GDC said they are developing for the Switch 2. Compare that to the 11% of developers are currently making games form the PS5, 9% of developers that are currently making games for Xbox.

You statement that "most developers ignore switch" is ... I don't even know what to say. A few AAA, system pushing releases skip switch, but it saw 2300 releases in 2023. PlayStation and Xbox both saw around 200.

I mean, if you like powerful games and think the Switch is under powered, or if you only like large budget games and think anything else is junk, you have every right to that opinion.

But saying that a system that is getting 10 times the number of games released on it as it's competition is being "ignored" by developers should make you consider if your own personal bias has caused you to lose perspective. Some developers you are excited about might not port to Switch, but it is the most developed for console by an extremely large margin.

Game Pass mainly has clout because of MS's status as a first party publisher. They lose on hardware but make money off of being a platform holder (having an eshop). Does anyone think Sega is better off now than they were in 1998? I don't think 3rd party is the way for them to go. I think they should do what they said they would to play nice with the regulatory bodies and then make everything exclusive. Exclusivity is the only business model that has been proven to work in gaming.

That email leak quoted Phil Spencer in 2020 saying Nintendo's future was as a third party publisher. Now maybe he'll be saying that about Xbox.

@Qwiff Yes, that's one game. A good game, but still one game. Most games don't have nearly that amount of profit, and still after selling the game it stops making more profit.

Especially for Microsoft, where services like GamePass (Ultimate) bring monthly revenue. And sure, you need to make games to release on it. But then place all those games on XBOX and Windows to start with.

And I am actually not talking about streaming. But about the subscription service where you still run the games locally. Streaming also works, but to me it adds too much latency.

@Thomystic He says that about console gaming in general.

And honestly, I would love to be able to buy any hardware and then choose the games to play on it. But I don't think that will ever happen (well except for PC games). I do wonder if Nintendo will ever release their major games on PC (Windows, Linux) and/or Mac.

For example, I would love to see a PC version of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Just like the Horizon-games.

@HeadPirate some unsubstantiated claims. Neither Nintendo or Microsoft have announced future plans so his is is all speculation. You can't make conclusive claims based on rumour and hearsay. I am entitled to an opinion, based on previous track records that the next Nintendo console will lbe less powerful than its competitors. You are entitled to your speculation too but I don't think you are being realistic. I have a switch, a gaming PC, a steam deck and a ps5 so for people like me, we are not going to pay $60 or more for an inferior experience in switch. That said, I like playing overcooked with multiple joycons or Metroid Dread because it reminds me of playing fusion on GBA. I was looking forward to playing those very old batman Arkham games on switch until I saw the terrible performance. I like playing no more Heroes 2, which is an old Wii game that runs fine. I'm probably going to get a switch lite, if Nintendo do not announce a updated version because, some of the games, running on a console that small can still be called impressive, more impressive than steam deck in terms of convenience, its much more convenient size for a portable. I do like switch but I know Nintendo consoles do not compete directly with Xbox or PlayStation, and they don't even try to match the specs.

@sanderev It depends on the business model. There's nothing indicating that subscription services are guaranteed to be more profitable. Maybe in the very long run, provided services can retain their games (the good ones at least) and their subscribers. Taking Game Pass Ultimate as an example, extrapolating the monthly fee results in an annual revenue equal to about 3 full price games. (15 x 12 = 180)

The Horizon numbers I cited are from an accidental leak. I wouldn't be surprised if other big PS franchises like God of War make similar profits.

And all this speculation is based off of a leak, that Xbox will expand their library to other consoles?

Elder Scrolls 6 and Fable 4 on Switch 2 pretty please!! I'll also say heck yeah to Sea of Thieves, a very fun multiplayer game!