Posted September 18, 2019 Okay, okay, so the title sounds like a hot take, but honestly, after watching Dunkey's latest video, I'd really like to see a discussion about where Xbox is going. And I had no idea where to put it, so here we are Honestly, I'm clueless, and agree with a lot of his points. Even with them buying up a bunch of studios as of late, I think that many here will agree that their palette of games just isn't varied enough - in genre, art style, general design ethos and direction - to support a console going head-to-head with both Nintendo and PlayStation, in what is arguably their greatest forms. Their drive to innovate and refine technology is a noble one, which clearly pushes Sony a little more, but it feels like they've built a beautiful Ferrari which they forgot to place the engine into. Options, I think we can all agree, are great, and the more we have the better - so why shouldn't Xbox be varying their catalogue a bit more? It's great that they're buying up studios and building for the future, but just have a look at what happened with Rare...and now imagine those mistakes being repeated with those new studios. The scariest part of all is that it's really not that farfetched. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do moving forwards, but I don't see the same spark in Xbox that I do with PlayStation and Nintendo. It'll be interesting to see if they can prove myself and others wrong in this coming generation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) Haven't watched that video yet (will do when I'm not on my phone), but as far as I stand, Microsoft just doesn't make the kind of games I like. To be fair, Sony doesn't fair much better, but now and again, Sony will show some exclusive and I'll think to myself "Well, I'd like to try it out" Never enough to actually warrant buying one of their consoles, but at least I show some interest. Microsoft doesn't quite reach the wacky, fun-focused philosophy of Nintendo or reach the heavy hitter of the AAA 3rd party market that Sony aims for. It sits awkwardly in the middle, trying to be a Jack-of-all-Trades, only to end up as Master-of-None. It also doesn't help in my eyes, that out of the three platform holders, Microsoft are the one most likely to shove exploitative microtransactions into their first party games, and that's a big no-no to me. Once I watch that video, I'll add some more thoughts to this. EDIT: Yeah, OK. That video is spot on. I watch Microsoft's E3 showings and about 90% of the time, all I'm thinking is that there's nothing new or interesting there. Microsoft are just coasting with their first party output while Sony are at least trying and Nintendo has the kind of high-quality stuff that appeals to a vastly different demographic. Who knows what their plan is for the future? Their small partnership with Nintendo is admittedly exciting. But while it appears to be that they're gonna try and make their games more accessible to more people, whether they'll have the products to back that up is an entirely different matter. Edited September 18, 2019 by Glen-i Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) It's funny (or maybe it's not a coincidence), but I just watched a recent Jim Sterling video, and he touches a bit upon the same subject. Edit: Yeah it's the same for me. There are no XBox exclusives I'm interested in at all. None whatsoever. Not interested in halo or Gears. I am interested in Cuphead.. but that's now on Switch, and was already on Steam before that. So no need for an XBox, and even if it wasn't, I wasn't going to buy an XBox just for that one. Playstation at least has some exclusives I'm interested in. Edited September 18, 2019 by Sméagol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted September 19, 2019 (edited) Well Microsoft/Xbox are currently transitioning to become a services company. They are no longer attempting to compete in the same manner as both Nintendo and Sony. In that sense, they don't necessarily need to have the same level of exclusives as other platform holders anymore. They just need to provide better value. Edited September 19, 2019 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted September 25, 2019 On 19/09/2019 at 9:29 AM, Dcubed said: Well Microsoft/Xbox are currently transitioning to become a services company. They are no longer attempting to compete in the same manner as both Nintendo and Sony. In that sense, they don't necessarily need to have the same level of exclusives as other platform holders anymore. They just need to provide better value. They are no doubt changing priorities. But Gaming is a service based industry already. There are reasons why companies like EA and MS talk 'services'. People like Jimquisition see right through it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
