For the best part of this generation, Sony’s been pressured by a vocal part of the gaming community to borrow Xbox Game Pass’ unproven business model with PS Plus. The platform holder eventually decided to take a half-step, merging PS Now with its existing subscription but resisting the urge to add day one first-party software to the service. It’s described this strategy as unsustainable.
Xbox’s Future Rests On a Thursday Evening Podcast
13.02.2024 - 22:25 / gamesreviews.com / Phil Spencer
As odd as it might seem, we’ll learn about the future of Xbox through a podcast on Thursday evening. That’s how these things are done now.
Gone are the days of corporate press releases and obviously carefully edited talking head videos, replaced with a less obviously stage managed video roundtable.
And this isn’t a bad thing. It means we’re going to get the words directly from the horse’s mouth. And those words had better be near perfect.
For those not in the know, a couple of weeks ago rumours hit fever pitch around the idea of certain Xbox games coming to PlayStation. And, because this is the internet and we’re talking about Xbox, those rumours quickly evolved into doom and gloom about the end of the brand as we know it. Game Pass has failed and will be completely altered. Every game will come to other consoles. The Series X is the last console from Microsoft. Standard stuff.
This was then exacerbated by Xbox just kind of letting it ride. They chose not to discuss the issue, instead promising a “business update” this week. And the perfect time for such an ominous and corporate sounding event? Thursday evening. 8pm GMT. Obviously. Or 3pm ET. A time that will go down in infamy.
Not because what they’ll announce will be especially shocking. Everything that could possibly happen has been predicted in the last few weeks. There’s no potential change undiscussed. But because Phil Spencer, Matt Booty and Sarah Bond have an extraordinary needle to thread. And everybody is waiting for them to fail.
The three execs must clarify clearly where the Xbox brand is going, especially in terms of multiplatform releases. Say too much and people will be furious. Say too little and it leaves the discussion open for every single game to come to PlayStation or Switch. What’s the point of buying an Xbox if Indy and Hellblade are just a small time away from coming to competing platforms? That is the question they have to answer.
Will there be further Xbox devices? How can you support them if you have no exclusive games? How can you support them if there’s the appearance that you’ll have no exclusive games? That is two separate situations.
What’s going on with Game Pass? Why has it been more than four months since the completion of the Acti purchase, and there’s still no sign of Spyro and Crash on the service? They’ve sure been on offer plenty of times, but Game Pass isn’t happening? And what’s the deal with Call of Duty?
These are the biggest areas of uncertainty around the brand, and it’s been allowed to fester. Granted, these are not conversations happening outside of internet bubbles, but they are conversations that impact mainstream buyers. Like Final Fantasy XVI as a timed exclusive. These things add up.
There are two
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