First, off apologies if the thread title is a little gimicky.
As a fan of Xbox, MS are truly doing some exciting things I've personally been asking for since the Don Mattrick era. Game Pass is a great service, they've added quite a few teams to their first party, games are coming (albeit, far away) and the Series X seems to be quite an impressive piece of tech. What comes as a surprise to me is just how deflated, and down, ever since the Xbox games showcase. After recent news here on Era regarding third party exclusives, the past few months of reveals, marketing, and missteps, as well as the past 7 years of console sales, it's hard not to be a little fearful for Microsoft's gaming division in the upcoming generation. This thread is NOT to discuss their departure from gaming, that's not in the realm of constructive discussion, and not the point of this thread.
Here's what MS has to go up against:
1. A lackluster Halo infinite reveal
2. A less competent, still growing and maturing first party (don't take too much offense to "less competent", what I meant is really just in comparison to Sony's excellent first party roster).
3. An astronomical difference in social engagement/mindshare
4. Rather large difference in first 1-2 year exclusive titles, as well as now major third party exclusive games and content. For now, Halo Infinite is the only major launch release, as well as possibly the first year (if Forza manages to hit 2021).
5. Smaller divisional budget compared to Playstation
6. Lack of iOS support for their cloud gaming push, a would-have-been key feature for Game Pass
7. A less than stellar overall lead up in marketing/reveals for next-generation (No games running on Series X yet, no flagship, tentpole title to show off graphics tech, etc)
8. This one is more subjective, but the lack of "new", for me, is a little deflating (OS, controller, marketing colors/scheme/game cases, etc.).
Having said all that, it's hard not to be a little fearful for what will entail the first couple years of this gen. It would be a surprise to absolutely no one that PS5 may just end up being one of the best selling Playstation consoles of all time given their incredible steam they've garnered going into next-generation. It seems to be a recipe for (I hate this word) domination. A hugely popular console, a barrage of first party games, third party exclusive content/games/DLC and what seems to me, thus far, a lot more money spent in advertising.
What MS is offering gaming next-generation:
1. Heavily rumored and all but revealed, a price conscious next-generation console: Lockhart.
Still a lot to speculate on. Will it feature a controller? Disc drive? Will it just be a digital edition or a weaker console? Just how cheap is "cheap"? Enough to entice people engrossed in the Playstation ecosystem? It's a tough call, one that I'd have to say needs to be cheaper than Microsoft has ever been comfortable pricing their tech before. I have doubts on this one but it could be big if priced right
2. Game Pass
Across PC, Xbox, and as the tech grows, it seems the goal is to get it on TVs and other similar devices. While it's nice it's on Android, again, huge blow for not being on iOS which effectively kills the cloud gaming initiative for me unless I fork out several hundred for an Android device. Theoretically, having Game Pass available to stream on all mobile devices is huge. Will it come to fruition? I'm cautious.
3. Power.
This one is a bit cloudy, to be fair. Both consoles are doing different things, and as we've heard from industry vets, insiders, etc, the teraflop difference has little meaning, and the SSD seems to be doing big things for Sony. Question will be in how they both market, and at the end of the day, how the games/machines perform
4. In improved first party roster was listed above yes, but only in comparison to Sonys. Everwild, Fable, Avowed, Initiative and more. At least more exclusive content will be coming, which is a first for Xbox in a long, long time.
5. A launch Halo game.
Again, both negative and positive. Still optimistic this game will be a hit, given its f2p and the MP in 5 was stellar.
6. Steam releases.
Self explanatory, these seem to be doing so well, and in general, releasing games on PC ensures a bigger community and player population. Brilliant move which seems to be doing really well for MS thus far
7. Backwards Compatibility
This one may be overstated, but a nice feature nonetheless.
+/- Cross gen initiative.
Personally this is a negative but could entice more to invest in games that would otherwise have been left to just next-generation effectively limiting their playerbase.
I think at the end of the day, if Microsoft focuses strictly internally they could really come into their own this generation, similar to Playstation 3's transition from launch to mid-late generation. Not sure if Phil plans to be more aggressive, but I think competing for third party content is the wrong move for them. Build up first party studios, perhaps acquire more studios, and focus on offering games and content that attracts/draws people in. Games that must be played. After all, its all about the games. Sony has demonstrated that remarkably. It's not enough to offer what Sony does but less popularly and less effectively. There needs to be a reason for existing. Game Pass and games will be the key, offer something only they could do. Competing with Sony will likely not happen, and if it does, it wont be until mid generation at the earliest.
So I pose a question to you, and although it's in the title, it's not "Can they?", it's what can Microsoft do compete with Sony? What should they focus on going forward?
