Xbox has lost its way

Xbox has lost the confidence of its customers. Lets talk about it
Correction : I mentioned LinkedIn being non profitable. This is incorrect. LinkedIn generated $1.7 billion from premium subscriptions in 2023.
Note: this is an opinion based piece and you should consider it as one.
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#Xbox

[@ModernVintageGamer]

Meant to say Quake Remaster at 10:20. Let me know how you feel about the state of Xbox and its future with gamepass

[@LordRegexYT]

Love the xbox console in general. I have a series s with my ps5 too. Gotta say, gamepass is what sold me into buying an xbox. Xbox was always been my dream console (wish I had a 360😢). Overall I'm still believe xbox can make a comeback of some sort and become just a bit relevant again.

[@AntiJewluminatiDwarf]

gamepass is what dug this grave

[@redcell2852]

Oh don't worry if you complain you'll get banned and you won't have access to the games you've already paid for....

[@drawntj2824]

Xbox is not dead they still have 40 studios Phil Spencer is not going anywhere

[@drawntj2824]

​@@AntiJewluminatiDwarf that's bullshit it was the ABK deal

[@josephgarfield3363]

It's almost funny how quickly we went from "if xbox buys Activision they will have a monopoly on the game industry", to "xbox is dead".

[@bubsy3861]

Hype train needs loud headers

[@jamaali2358]

​@@AntiJewluminatiDwarfGame pass is basically shovelware

[@brkbtjunkie]

@@AntiJewluminatiDwarfI like it and have played hundreds of games over the last two years with it I wouldn’t of otherwise

[@randybobandy9828]

That was just a bunch of Sony fanboys crying... Xbox is shit because they hire shitty people to run the company (Sara bond ECT..) they will keep closing studios.

[@treatz620]

@@AntiJewluminatiDwarf I call it the gears pass for a reason. Its great value and great price if your a gears head.

[@stephanemignot100]

Executives ruined gaming, music, cinema. Just buy CDs, DVDs and any kind of physical content while you can.

[@itzhexen0]

Oh but all of you idiots convinced everyone to sell all their physical stuff 10+ years ago.

[@meierboy97]

yeah you can't beat a physical media collection, I have about 40 dvds and blurays ive collected over the years and 20 cds, I'm running out of space on my shelf

[@Bareq_99]

Basically capitalism

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

Right now? They can lock your CDs from being played. Physical is a stopgap, but NOT the answer.

[@bubsy3861]

@@gluttonousmaximus9048 Just interested. How?

[@JN20022]

If buying isn't owning, then piracy isn't stealing. That's all I got to say.

[@trailduster6bt]

Need this tattooed on my forehead

[@msilvino2]

one day someone will

[@awsomebot1]

There are games, even singleplayer, that would require extensive server emulators to be pirateable. Piracy is a band aid solution

[@Nepgearaf]

@@awsomebot1 What's that? Cracking scenes have already been doing this for years? 😱 A band-aid that never unsticks.

[@awsomebot1]

@@Nepgearaf Theres literally hundreds of games that are dead because server emulators are such monumental tasks. And that's ignoring the fact companies like Atlus will sue you for attempting one. LOL. Next you're gonna tell me pirates are gonna crack streaming-exclusive games too.

[@DmitryPuffin]

Microsoft is doing the same thing to game developers as Spotify does to independent musicians. Subscription service model is a cancer when it comes to music/movies/games.

[@msilvino2]

I hope it ends soon

[@gogreengameon2146]

Funny how it's working so well then.

[@DmitryPuffin]

@@gogreengameon2146 It works "well" for the service providers. not for actual people who create content.

[@spooky2.043]

@@gogreengameon2146works well for the consumer, destroys game studios

[@Golemoid]

How so?

[@louiepikmin3184]

As an ex xbox employee recently said; "This isn't Xbox anymore, it's Microsoft gaming"

[@Mrtyjr]

Funny thing is is that during the Golden days of Xbox it was still called Microsoft Game Studios, now it's Xbox Game Studios and the situation for Xbox has gone bad ironically 😂

[@Johanssen527]

Okay?

[@onceuponatimeonearth]

Always has been. Microsoft introduced the world to the paid subscription simply for online gaming on console.

[@ParadoxalDream]

To be fair, "Microsoft gaming" was great on PC in the late 90s before Xbox was even a thing, gave us Age of Empires and Age of Mythology.

[@Zalkova]

Xbox was always Microsoft Gaming.

[@daniellundqvist2926]

Subscription models failing is 100% a good thing.

[@lirfrank]

The problem in the mid-term will be to re-educate Xbox players into buying games. Music is succeeding at this, but Movies are struggling.

[@stariqa2]

Gamespass is too expensive. Subscription model can only succeed if their prices are cheap.

[@lirfrank]

@@stariqa2 But that's impossible with Gamepass' model of releasing new games Day 1. They are cheap when building a userbase and the company absorbs the cost. But it HAS to be expensive to be sustainable for development of new, good games. But when it gets expensive, users unsubscribe. This is why they failed.

[@dantenajera9687]

Agreed

[@grim86]

Hell no lol i love gamepass

[@rg975]

They’re having another Xbox one moment here. Even 10 years later, people want to own their software, not rent it forever. Xbox wants to completely get rid of physical, and want you on their subscription.

[@Prockski]

The sort of gaming where people want to own the way we enjoy is but a spec versus the money to be made in mobile and transitory gaming.

[@dani_i8942]

Hot take, though I think the Xbox One generation was better (so far). The Xbox One at least had fun titles for the first few years and had some decent great games throughout the generation. So far, Xbox has been massively underwhelming up until now.

[@bobbypaycheque]

Most people don't but physical though. That's the thing. Every hardcore collector, including me at one point, thought everyone buys physical and that physical releases are super critical. The numbers don't support that though. The all digital future is happening. It's already been the case on PC for years.

[@adventurousdrake4071]

@@bobbypaycheque Physical/Digital ownership and subscriptions are different things. Most people want to own their games with a one time purchase even if it's digital, not a lot of people seem to be keen on paying for their favorite game over and over, even if you get some new ones included in that subscription.

[@james-ch]

​@@adventurousdrake4071if you can't sell it, you don't own it. Digital ownership is an oxymoron at this point

[@Honey_Badger_]

It doesn't help that companies like Adobe have pushed subscription-only models and have gotten away with it.

[@kurikuraconkuritas]

that is different cause it is a tool.

[@Honey_Badger_]

@@kurikuraconkuritas It's digital-only software, just like buying a game from Steam, EA, Ubisoft, GOG, etc.

[@zerocalvin]

@@Honey_Badger_ the only different is adobe has a monopoly in the market, so they can do whatever they want and nobody can do anything about it, it certainly doesnt help that photoshop and after effect is the industry standard... i mean, what are their customer going to do? move to gimp? meanwhile for xbox, you have option, if you dont like xbox trying to becoming netflix of gaming, dont support them...

[@SylveonMujigae]

@@zerocalvinHey Gardevoir, have you ever heard of Krita?

[@dafyddthomas7299]

@@zerocalvin There are alternatives like Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher that fit some of Adobe Bill

[@Chad_Thundercock]

"We have an Xbox model for people without Internet connections. It's called the 360." This was actually said.

[@taib]

Funny (and sad) how the 360 actually had better online integration than whatever came after

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I also remember that time when a senior staffer was talking about the DRM, someone asked "But what about people who live in Buttcheeks Minnesota?" (or wherever it was) and the response was "Why would I want to live there?" That is absolutely tone deaf and shows no regard for the customer. Sony then rode the wave, making that skit about how to share games with your friends - and they just handed the box to each other. Microsoft then had to back down.

[@GM-Shenmue]

@@halfbakedproductions7887 Xbox is still a DRM shit show, you can't do anything on it without internet, you can't even setup the console without internet, constant online checks on digital licenses, even backwards compatible games you need internet so it can download the game digitally and run it via emulation it doesn't run from the disc (original Xbox, Xbox 360 games), only thing good thing Microsoft did was remove the stupid Kinect requirement on the Xbox One.

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

​@@halfbakedproductions7887Bumfuck, Kentucky but the point stands.

[@JAGtheTrekkieGEMINI1701]

And it was 10 YEARS ago... Nowadays things are WAY Worse Dude

[@theoneanton]

It peaked at the 360

[@tactik5903]

I just downloaded a terabyte of 360 games . Xenia is the way to go.

[@CesarDRK]

It peaked and died in the 360. Xbone and x series are trash.

[@kenshii9d147]

​@@tactik5903have you looked into launchbox or the complete play download?

[@mro9466]

The interface, the games: it was perfect. If only it didn't had the RROD

[@germangamer2976]

Exactly

[@VictorGonzalez-vj6jy]

I lost trust in the Xbox brand when the Xbox one was revealed. And now with all that’s happening just cements how I’ve felt about them for over a decade.

[@MooseheadStudios]

I work at MS. Its a horrific culture where you know you only exist on a spread sheet. Weak leaders all.

[@scytob]

that is literally every large company - be they public or private....

[@TLM860]

If you're on a spreadsheet you have to Excel 😂

[@raul0ca]

Do they still do that thing where they fire the "worst performing" member of a team? That was fantastic for building trust

[@scytob]

no (but yes) lowest performing folks don't get bonuses, stock, etc - so effectively you are being 'encouraged' to leave, but this is the same as most companies in tech@@raul0ca

[@scytob]

hahaha, rofl@@TLM860

[@Norweeg]

"Embrace, extend, and extinguish" was an internal phrase that the Department of Justice found when Microsoft was being investigated in the 90’s. Nothing has changed.

[@vava85]

It was intentional back then, now they are fumbling their way to extinction

[@jessepatterson8897]

So many people forget this; they are literally the original big evil.

[@talkingcure]

@@vava85yes, the trillion dollar company is very close to extinction!

[@6581punk]

That was in relation to standard technologies. Take something like Java, extend it so it supports native Windows APIs, break the "write once, run anywhere" model of Java and kill it off. We all know how that ended up.

[@NLoooo]

@@ambassadoroftheandromedagalaxy haha! i see what u did there

[@outseeker]

the world needs to discard the idea of software as a service already, please! :

[@faenethlorhalien]

They should. They won't, because it makes them insane amounts of money. Right now, gaming is the largest entertainment industry in the world, far ahead of cinema and tv, and that happened because of in-game charges and recurrent spending. Two things that I HATE with a passion, but that made them so much money... Yeah, I doubt a single one of them will ever discard the idea, but I wish they did.

[@stephenembry4038]

​@@faenethlorhalienno it's not making insane amounts. It was , now industry is burning

[@zoeherriot]

Not entirely… I don’t want to go back to paying $15,000 for Maya and $1500 for photoshop.

[@zoeherriot]

@@stephenembry4038no…. It’s still making insane amounts. Industry is not burning. I don’t know where you get that idea.

[@stephenembry4038]

@@zoeherriot lol, how gaint flops have happened recently? Games studio's closing. Staff being let go. Live service games with budgets in 100s pf millions failing. Are you a bot?

[@frankkent5567]

Your loyalty is admirable, MVG, but Xbox stopped deserving that loyalty *years* ago.

[@Saturn2888]

Microsoft might've known that these studios existed for the sole purpose of making Game Pass games, but I didn't know. I invested in Hi-Fi Rush by purchasing it, talking about it, etc, and what did that do for me? Why pay attention to the Xbox brand when their goals aren't inline with my personal value to purchase games?

[@arostwocents]

It gave you the fun of playing the game, talking about the game etc. what more could it possibly have done for you?

[@Saturn2888]

@@arostwocents Talking about it with whom? My wife and kids could care less. It's not a huge topic at work. GamePass brings me zero value. And I already own all the good games on there anyway. Like with movies, I don't think anything new coming from the "Hollywood" of games, AAA, is gonna be worth playing. Hi-Fi Rush wasn't great, but it was a diamond in the rough.

[@lee3r24]

In a span of about 40 years we have gone from optimistic games made by bedroom coders to big corporations doing everything they can to monetise and suck the life out of gaming

[@CubeApril]

I would say that we are living through a golden age of optimistic games made by bedroom coders. There are so many great games coming out of small studios these days.

[@XWXS2]

​​​​​​​@@CubeApril to be complety 100% honest and true no we don't and F indie games and all those Studios that will turn out later as a scam because they also see the greed of the bigger companies and try to do the same how many Indie games are really good? Like they are worth my time and How many small studios also trying to scam? Huh let's be honest here most Indie games are pure trash/copy & paste trash/spiritual successor my @zz trash/shovelware trash also there is not enough room for creativity anymore because most indie games are probably made with the same tools same engine etc. (I look at you unreal) also gameplay wise it's either a 2d side scrawler or a 2d top down view adventure or shooting game or a bad 3d game that copied another game in general or it's completely something else nobody cares about because the dev had whatever crap in his mind. most of us saw those type of games in the 90's and early 2000 I wanna see Innovation in gameplay physics and story telling the graphics are here but most games have graphics and that's it.. For me at this point no Indie game is worth it and no AAA since 2020 the industry already killed my hobby because I don't see innovation and I don't see Risks anymore.

[@imnotshub]

@@XWXS2i ain't reading all that

[@XWXS2]

​@@imnotshub who asked you get Lost

[@XWXS2]

​@@imnotshub who litteraly asked you get Lost

[@DerykRobosson]

Microsoft still engages with their historic behaviors, embrace and extinguish.

[@SomeAngryGuy1997]

Ahckshually, it's Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.

[@MachFiveFalcon]

Rare may be a shell of its former self, but somehow they're still holding on at least.

[@agc2801]

I think it’s not Phil or Xbox fault. It’s the Activision acquisition when you make that kind of investment people want results immediately and when you bet everything on a flawed business model it’s an easy way to lose your power.

[@rogerarayasaborio549]

​​@@agc2801Phill pushed Hard for that deal and for gamepass. He played a part odñn xbox constant downfall.

[@tfksworldoflinux]

I think this is a different situation. The whole EEE thing was a term used to describe how to eliminate competition. They seem to be eliminating themselves now though. In my opinion they fell into the quantity over quality trap. Buy as many studios as possible and let those churn out loads of content. And let consumers consume it via a subscription model. That's where imho the issue lies. Games are a work of art. And that is absolutely incompatible with mass production business models.

[@PrecludeLP]

Subscriptions are garbage.

[@WhatsOnMyShelf]

That's where everything is headed. It's either that or freemium ad-supported hell.

[@Roxor128]

They're an instant turn-off for me. The moment I see the word associated with a product, I lost all interest in it.

[@michalzembaty5553]

Digital distribution overall is garbage.

[@JonnaJonesOG]

Xbox gold was a subscription. Same as ps plus etc. It's always been subscription based if you want to play online. That's said, Xbox are scamming sly wrong uns

[@Golemoid]

@@michalzembaty5553 No, digital distribution with DRM is garbage. GOG is the GOAT.

[@Valoric]

2:10 The moment war breaks out, digital only consoles become paperweights. all digital cannot replace traditional consoles with physical media. Physical is always going to have its place in the world no matter what anyone says.

[@SussyBaka-nx4ge]

Digital vs physical is mostly a red herring because technically all games are both, the actual problem is always online DRM. DRM-free games from GoG will work just fine 20 years from now (though you might need some kind of compatibility layer or period hardware) and if you really wanted to you could burn them onto disks, meanwhile physical copies of Overwatch 1 or The Crew are coasters.

[@jonpatchmodular]

then you get day-one patches and online DRM and even physical is busted these days... 😢

[@LelloDalamiq]

This is how I found out you were Senior Developer at Nightdive Studios for the duration of the Quake 2021 port. Dude, I've been following for like 7 years and I've found another reason to love you. Thanks, mate.

[@x0j]

it sucks ass, probably 50+ forks that are better

[@rhone733]

It would be great if ND would open source their ports after a time.

[@stoomkracht]

@@rhone733why? Time is money. And money is earned. And their unique property is their own retro engine which is fully customizable or so they say. So giving that away... maybe when they seize to exist or go other paths. However, their latest Dark Forces is a let down... especially for their asking price which is higher than before since Atari is involved. O ooo.

[@Frank-li8uj]

@@x0j Damnnn you a professional hater, keep up the engagement

[@Edexote]

​@@x0jI play Quake since the 90's and I've played Quake Remaster from start to finish. It most certainly does not suck.

[@theoffspring07]

Greed is destroying our society

[@TheOlioster]

*capitalism FTFY

[@ignotumperignotius630]

"greed is good!"

[@crestofhonor2349]

@@TheOlioster Capitalism isn't the issue. Other economic systems would be far worse

[@astral-p1823]

name a country with a different economic system other than capitalism that the USA hasn't interfered with before turning around and saying "capitalism is the only way"

[@Bmontepeque11]

​@@astral-p1823Well, what about China, North Korea, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and those other countries with worthless governments?

[@IIIII47IIIII]

unstable management, unstable economy, unstable employment, unstable industry, management seeing people as ressources and tools rather than personel. if i was a developer, i´d become anarchistic right about now. what a time.

[@xenotiic8356]

eeeyup

[@Chris-cf1hs]

It's so annoying how shareholders think there can be infinite growth

[@lukeautosymbol2668]

*NVIDIA has entered the chat

[@lukemorgan6166]

The stock market can't exist without it Tie up your money via pensions Rot your savings via inflation And constantly create artificial value and a system of passing it onto the bigger fool If everyone truly acknowledged how artificial the market was, it would collapss and things would be significantly worse for everyone in the short term

[@LeifEriccson43]

Bobby Koticks golden parachute could have funded those studios for 10 years...

[@uberbyte7467]

17 actually...and adjusted for inflation aswell...

[@Owofbfbajfbsnsn]

Doublechecked--yep

[@DuckyySan]

Did anyone post this to the reddit named somthing like "i did the math" or "math checks out"? Would be interesting to see what those guys come up with.

[@dafyddthomas7299]

and many say - current obscene pay off Xbox Execs of Sarah Bond and Phil Spencer who don't understand the business inside and out; don't have clue where to drive Xbox, making stupid moves like Culling the egg heads and studios that deliver the content - only short term view of pleasing greedy Wallstreet and their investors; unfortunately likely heading ways of f^^%^ like B lowing and its QC issues, with Microsoft Xbox losing out to Sony PS5-6, independent and smaller PC publishers that are not tied down by Red Tape and Mismanagement - Unfortunately many of my gaming friends say it's time for these 2 Xbox Exec to be sacked immediately before they drive Xbox to financial disaster and haemorrhaging sales and users to their rivals.

[@ManuTheDeath]

I started dislike this company since the "no used games" bullshit when Xbox One was presented

[@JimmyVegasUnity]

I think a lot of people lost trust at that point. Xbox One was the start of the downfall sadly

[@faenethlorhalien]

They showed their teeth back then. Many people showed them their backs. Forever.

[@mr_geekchic2899]

2013 what a year, DRM and forced Internet & kinect was terrible

[@leeartlee915]

That didn’t even come to pass. And since then, MS has been so much better with legacy content access than the rest.

[@leeartlee915]

⁠@@JimmyVegasUnityIt’s easy to point and laugh at the Xbox One launch. It was a train wreck to be sure. However, the real change began with project Natal. That’s when MS stopped prioritizing AAA software.

[@StrikerZero6]

Sadly, the gamepass motto doesn't do well these days (Netflix literally having ads on it...)

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I'm a fully paid up Amazon Prime member. Went to watch Clarkson's Farm and twice got interrupted by unskippable adverts cutting in mid-sentence like you get on KZbin. That's not on. I've paid and the show is included in my subscription, so get rekt.

[@dafyddthomas7299]

agree - also With Amazon Prime and every year they keep on increasing the subscription price

[@jonpatchmodular]

WHAT??! that sucks so hard what the hell?? I understand that Google might want to try and turn a profit on KZbin (if it really loses money) because it is FREE TO USE. WHAT THE HELL NETFLIX

[@lol-xx9kn]

Layoffs issue is in all of big tech. As a former software engineer at a big tech company i got laid off earlier this year (2024). So many of us have been told we're no longer needed. The biggest reason for this: fed interest rates.

[@RamyWarda]

I'm very sorry about that. Hopefully you had a decent severance package to work with. I work in fintech and I'm seeing it everywhere, even outside of tech; big pharma has been giving employees the boot, too. BMS, j&j etc.

[@lol-xx9kn]

@@RamyWarda I got about 3 months base pay of severance. But after taxes it basically worked out to about 2 months of expenses. Luckily I never sold any of my stocks so I have a good amount of time before my savings runs out. I maintained a spending habit of staying under 60% of my post-tax income (including stock grants) throughout 4.5 years of working there. Folks: always save for a rainy day: have a 6 month or more emergency savings in cash (put it in a savings account or a CD), and don't ever feel like you have to be "loyal" to a company: because they sure don't give a crap about you.

[@lol-xx9kn]

@@RamyWarda read the book "The man who broke capitalism". It explains exactly why there's so many layoffs despite companies reporting record profits: basically it's financial engineering to juice stock prices for short term gain: all out of Jack Welsh's playbook.

[@iamyoung4eva21]

Ill never have that massive wow factor from 2006... from wireless controllers to be able to download demos/music/movies and having a dashboard filled with actual content. Now theres ads... and ads and dlc.

[@Hypershell]

"You guys need to stay off of Twitter." Perhaps the greatest advise for any business ever.

[@PedroAdelino]

Twitter is dying...

[@Retro-Iron11]

Great advice for any person.

[@miraxandrax969]

Fr

[@Zarnubius]

@@PedroAdelino twitter is better than ever, you're delusional

[@Belkan2087]

​@@PedroAdelino Lol. Twitter is bigger every day.

[@GVCC1]

What maker and model of that router(?) right behind HyperX headset?

[@bryanthaboi]

What’s the KZbin sub count sign thing in the background? I want one.

[@fredtaylor9792]

This whole "Shareholders" thing is ruining EVERYTHING. CEO's are legally motivated to make sociopathic decisions that negatively affect employees AND customers for short term gain. This is the reason for Boeings recent failures and my own CEO, which is my direct manager's boss, is constantly making bad decisions that hurt our quality AND safety as well as our customers in order to meet quarterly gains. When the company fails, the CEO walks away with a huge payout and the employees lose their jobs.

[@BToastyBro]

Ain’t no way you’re comparing an Aerospace making company with the video game market 🤡.

[@Sonic_The_Weredog]

@@BToastyBro I think you're misrepresenting what they said. They are saying that *CEOs are making terrible decisions to make short-term gains and that hurts their company in long-term.*

[@accidentalmadness1708]

@@BToastyBroit’s a problem in multiple industries 👨🏿‍🦼‍➡️.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

"We're gonna take you to court for making less profit" Yeah let them try to convince a judge a CEO is legally forced to cause plane crashes. They take sociopathic decisions because they're sociopaths. They're not under the threat of law because nobody would havebthe stones to show up in court and argue for lowered safety standards.

[@BToastyBro]

@@Sonic_The_Weredogbros trying to compare a company that literally had cost peoples lives, to some gaming companies? Nah fam, lol. Such a terrible comparison

[@runningbird501]

There's a reason I'm a retro-gamer and the only console I've purchased since the PS2 was a mini-NES. Once you need permission to play your game from a server that has to be maintained by someone who isn't you, you own nothing and your hardware becomes E-waste at a whim that isn't yours. I can play a game that I've owned for 30 years without breaking it's DRM and I think everyone knows that none of the current consoles are going to support online DRM that long.

[@PurushNahiMahaPurush]

Idk, I have a PS5 and only play single player games. I buy as much physical as possible and those games don’t require me to log in online to PSN and can be played offline completely if I wanted to. I would miss out on patches and updates but as long as the game was released in a working state, I can play it without any fancy jailbreaks or mod chips. Same with Nintendo Switch games. A majority of switch single player games are completely playable out of the box and don’t require any Internet connection.

[@stoomkracht]

@@PurushNahiMahaPurush"released in working state". Uhuh. If. And you're sure all are free of online DRM? But yeah, it (and was sometimes) is an unhealthy industry. I guess/hope employees working in Europe are more protected than the US.

[@Planag7]

See I think there’s a hybrid. Like I get a lot of Japanese Saturn games. Some however, have both English translations and other additions via patches online So I think you can do both cx

[@PurushNahiMahaPurush]

@@stoomkracht actually yea I am sure I am free from online DRM. I have used my Nintendo Switch completely in airplane mode for upwards of 2 years at one point. It’s only when I wanted to buy a game from their eshop that I connected it to the internet. Admittedly it’s not the same as Sony as they require you to register your Blu-ray drive. But that is a one time thing as far as I know. I don’t keep my play station offline because I use their online features like trophies quite a bit. But from what I’ve read, people have no trouble using the console completely offline.

[@HoopleBogart]

I spend more time archiving old retro games than I do playing them. Yes, I have a problem. 😅

[@toastyburger]

As someone who prefers physical media, I switched to PlayStation when Microsodt revealed the Xbox One and it became obvious that I was no longer the target audience.

[@divinecomedian2]

PS is headed the same way

[@lambdachi107-gamingandmusi2]

Now's a better time than ever to invest in a PC, or a Steam Deck. Skip the next console generation because Sony's starting to put all of their stuff on PC now.

[@alanpk0]

​@@divinecomedian2 Yes, but a decade later PS4 gave us a good console generation Not so much with PS5

[@willm.9687]

@@lambdachi107-gamingandmusi2 GOG is a good idea since you can use backup installers just in case for the select few games you really enjoyed.

[@dafyddthomas7299]

@@divinecomedian2 Agree same with Game publishers - who are pushing more and more Rent as you play strategy now it seems eg - Ubisoft, EA, etc and same matured model with Adobe products, Microsoft 360, Films and TV streaming like WB, Paramount, Amazon, Netflix, etc

[@Skittl_EZ]

Love that you're still making videos! Love ya man

[@I-LOG]

This sense of instability is going across all mediums. Video streaming services are getting worse, more divided, and more expensive. And music streaming is pretty much strangling the last breaths out of the music industry. We made the mistake of trading supported arts and ownership of bought media for convience, and everyday it seems we pay the price more and more.

[@M_CFV]

Stremio/Kodi and real debrid. Use an android phone and download your mp3's (or use youtube music revanced). Stop paying these companies money for an inferior experience

[@drew6017]

A trade for convenience wasn't the problem. Your corrupt law-makers are. Passing only laws which protect the companies who lobby them, hinder those who don't, or serve their own interests -- to make themselves richer, at all costs, with no regard as to how their actions would affect others. Without the same legal protection of physical media afforded to digital, it will cost you more. And that is where it is going. Profit line must go up.

[@LukeCobby]

PC piracy for gaming and Plex for Movies and TV 😉

[@butchdeadlift7551]

Funny thing is, I always found it more convenient to have an SD with all my .mp3s on my phone and all movies/tv shows downloaded. I also don't want services I need being connected to the internet I don't want to be streaming stuff while on a roat trip with spotty connections.

[@ExTremZero]

@@M_CFV piracy is not the better way, makes it all worse.

[@RealJeffTidwell]

They named the 3rd Xbox system "Xbox One." *mic drop*

[@Grogeous_Maximus]

I don't get it

[@dreamcastfan]

Absolutely the stupidest name ever for a console. Microsoft should have said the One X counted as their fourth console and released the Series consoles as Xbox 5 and done away with all the stupid names they keep coming up with. All this silliness just to avoid “confusing” consumers who might think the Xbox 4 is less powerful than the PlayStation 5.

[@JagaimoNeko]

How to count Sony way: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 How to count MS’s way: -, 360, One, Series

[@craigsampson3386]

​@@JagaimoNeko not to mention the mid gen console naming confusion too, Xbox One X just before the Xbox Series X 😂

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

@@craigsampson3386exactly. This confused SO many people smh

[@Crimson_201]

now that the PS5 pro rumors are almost confirmed. can you please make a video on why Sony went that route.. when it seems unnecessary

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

PS5 Pro is definitely legit. More people are talking about it, the specs leaked a while back and apparently the same specs are now on Sony's development portal, which should be under NDA but people are talking about it anyway. But one developer claimed off the record that people were basically questioning the point of it. Apparently it's overpowered and they haven't even maxed out the base PS5 yet.

[@Redemption80]

⁠@@halfbakedproductions7887 The PS5 was maxed out years ago, if 4k 60 with Raytracing was the bare minimum then it could be argued otherwise but that is not close to true.

[@TheSoxor123]

Sony wants to captilize on the GTA 6 launch. They want that game being played on their system. Unfortunately, there is no PC launch yet, so the PS5 Pro will be the best place to play it performance wise.

[@gamble777888]

@@Redemption80 Raytracing i nonsense that exists only to eat up resources at a crazy degree and justify new HW iterations when they are completely unnecessary. Any resolution beyond 4k is absolutely just as useless. Games are not even close to being remotely optimized anymore because there is so much ridiculous HW headroom. There really isn't enough time and money available to any developer (outside of maybe Rockstar games)to actually get to anywhere close to 100%. There is so much excess power in current day HW that developers can't even begin to exhaust it. Games that run poorly only do so because they are comically unoptimized like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Starfield. The only reason Sony is releasing a new machine is because PS5 sales, while solid, have not been up to their expectations and they are already starting to decline. Nintendo has just absolutely smoked both Xbox and Sony, the notion they are not "competing" is just corporate speak to justify the fact Sony's market share has shrunk like a motherfucker from 2015 to today. Nintendo is absoluetely dominating the console market both in HW and Software sales, IT is the clear leader, not Sony. Sony is probably banking on GTAVI as being a system seller and want to offer a machine that can run it better than any other machine in order to ship some unites along with it.

[@BlueEyedVibeChecker]

@@Redemption80 The problem is, the CPU is the weak point of the PS5, yet the CPU is completely untouched in the Pro. The Pro is a cash grab at best and it's gonna sell like hotcakes because Sony.

[@datriaxsondor590]

2:15 It's not even about reliability of these companies. It's about control. I don't want some company telling me how I'm going to play the games I've bought. If I want to mod them, or do anything of the sort, I want to be able to do so. I don't want companies to pull a Sony, and advertise one thing, then bait and switch you, after they've got your money. Among many, many other concerns, that are not reliability of sustainability. My connection to the company ends, at the point of sale. Here's my money, here's my game, now kindly f*** off. I'm not your lab rat, your "engagement number", or anything of the sort. We have completed our transaction, now I'll go my way, and you can go your way.

[@andrewalvarez-kb8fe]

Man I remember being able to rip audio cds and cruise through vice city with my favorite songs also I have never once needed to purchase a memory card. Good times

[@richardhunter9779]

That janky USB connect/disconnect sound. Gotta love USB!

[@ModernVintageGamer]

Microsoft has entered the chat

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

@@ModernVintageGamer Microphone in use...

[@ayuchanayuko]

Di-DING Di-ding ... Di-DING Di-Di-Ding. Ffffff

[@jimbles5071]

@@ModernVintageGamer I thought it was me the whole time smh.

[@phoenixrising4995]

MVG can just disable the USB connect/disconnect sound.

[@Damacles1776]

0:53 Bltch hey fired an entire studio while they were on vacation. Thousands of people, in the middle of enjoying some time off, get told they’ve lost their job. Calling for the removal of top executives is more than warranted.

[@dafyddthomas7299]

many of my friends agree with you on this; disgusting and heartless - short term decision ; likely based on $$ feathering their own $$ bank account and greed

[@viridionwaves]

Agree with just about everything you said. Also, i really like the format where you had a concise, well thought out message that didn't repeat itself unecessarily or seem meandering, no ums and ahs... it was direct, to the point, with an appropriate amount of detail... spot on.

[@winlover37]

Being a fan of Xbox has been heartbreaking for the past 12 years. It's like watching a best friend continuously shoot themselves in the foot, but they continue to tell you that they will change. You stick around because you love them, and you hold on to the faintest hope that they will return to form and be the best you know they can be, but it just never gets any better.

[@nightowl3582]

Xbox peaked with the 360. Awesome time to be an Xbox gamer.

[@papalazarou7880]

👌🏻

[@Zalkova]

''Awesome time to be an Xbox gamer.'' In other words a retarded casual who love wasting it's money with FPS and othe incomplete games with microtransactions.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

Yep. I adored my 360 and had some of my best gaming years on there. Graduated to the One X in 2018 and am yet still to be _truly_ excited by it. Built a new gaming PC a year ago and have the Xbox app installed, plus the usual favourites such as Steam etc. so I'm doing all my gaming on there. There really aren't too many games on the Xbox Marketplace that aren't available via Cloud Gaming or also installable on Windows. My One X is now mainly used for watching streaming content on my sofa and I rarely play any games on it. The only boxed game I ever bought was RDR2 and I never finished that because it was boring.

[@Kyle-lc3re]

! = not

[@penvzila]

I certainly loved having to RMA 4 systems and buy two more. It was a great system but the rose colored glasses people have for the 360 are incredible.

[@DjRio0001]

completely off topic: but am I the only one completely triggered by the display on the back never cycling through the whole MVG name? Modern Vintage Gam... Modern Vintage Gam... 😥

[@SWINDLA87]

Ive just discovered you today and subscribed. Great vid with some good points. I love my series x. Can I just add that its amazing that you worked on the Quake remaster and what an absoloute blast it is with motion controls on the Switch. Almost as good as keyboard and mouse but with a little extra latency but all the more fun for it.👍

[@ssj4922]

The Microsoft Activision merger was advertised to be the next step in pushing Xbox to be a more dominant market leader, with all the criticism and worry for an acquisition this big to just be patient and wait for, _something_ cuz of course this would be good for the consumers, right? They really wanted the merger to seem like for a Xbox player, it could only mean Good news. Andddd now turns out they were lying out of their asses, instead of Xbox getting more exclusives to compete better with Nintendo and Sony, they're actually now _losing_ their own ips and exclusive titles thar people were invest in Xbox for, its honestly a joke. If buying Activision is part of the reason why Microsoft decided to close down a bunch of studios, either to divert more attention and manpower to ActBliz and/or to cut costs (which is equally funny and incompetent of a multi-trillionaire company) including the one who made arguably their greatest game yet in High-fi Rush, then maybe the acquisition wasn't a good thing after all.

[@michaelhutchings6602]

KZbin armchair accounts confidently declare how the most valuable company on the planet is spending their money incorrectly.

[@Ozzianman]

@@michaelhutchings6602 KZbin armchair accounts armchairs armchair accounts who confidently declare how the most valuable company on the planet is spending their money incorrectly.

[@faenethlorhalien]

@@michaelhutchings6602 They're right, coincidentally. Unlike you.

[@mustangmckraken1150]

This isn't how this works at all lol, a company doesn't lose an IP just because they closed a studio. Arkane, at least, hasn't made a good game since Prey and it underperformed. And their most recent game some of the devs have come out of the woodwork and made claims they purposefully made it boring and bland because they didn't want to work on it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[@randybobandy9828]

The thing is hifi rush wasn't as good enough successful to offset the massive failure that redfall was. So people saying "even a studio that makes a successful game can get shutdown" are understanding that that games success wasn't enough because the studio was already in the negative hundreds of millions for its previous failure.

[@robf228]

Pleasing stockholders is a death spiral.

[@kenrickeason]

I think stockholders are hurting entertainment.. Stockholders are not patient enough to wait for games to be developed the right way, stockholders are not patient enough to wait for musicians and Rappers to develop their music properly and stockholders are not patient enough to wait for movie producers to develop movies properly.. They always want short term money the fast way instead of letting quality make them long term money.. Look at GTA 5 for instance.. Rockstar took their time with that game and it printed money for them for 10 years.. Do people see that if you wait until it's done right, it will feel right to play, listen and watch? Plus the shareholders will make more money being patient and letting the process work..

[@michaelwalsh3474]

The guy that came up with the idea of the 401k investment plan hates that it has replaced pensions. TLDR; 401k plans are retirement accounts managed by hedge funds and all hedge funds care about is quarterly profits. There's plenty to be said on each topic in depth but for the surface level, this is pretty much the problem.

[@stevens1041]

Its happening because management is often paid in shares. Very corrupt circular logic that results from that.

[@JAFOpty]

Like the famous quote: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If there is no change in management, expect more shutdowns in the near future.

[@thrasherjohn11]

Ive seen people call for Phil to step down or just outright fired. But this man has been on the inside working to make the brand consumer friendly. From cross generational games having free upgrades, backwards compatibility with fps and resolution boost and game pass that has given more subscribers more bang for their buck. He has tried. Shareholders are the ones unhappy with that. And somehow we have pitchforks out for him. A new CEO would make things worse, less consumer friendly decisions to cut cost and maximize profits. Xbox needs to reassess for sure. Just not the way certain people think. It's better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

[@yurigladtsynov1632]

Hot take: I think the absence of something like E3 has eroded communication between companies/studios and gamers. There was a pace of game releases and expectations set that no longer exists and the game industry seems like a mess.

[@EggEnjoyer]

This isn’t cause of E3. It’s due to the change of publisher goals. Just like how Disney wants everyone movie to be a Billion dollar movie, publishers now want every game to be a major blockbuster. And instead of games being made in 1-3 years, they’re being made in 4-6 instead.

[@MrKrewie]

@@EggEnjoyer its honestly quite arrogant of them to expect to "win the lottery" like that but i guess if the losses really doesn't hurt then sure

[@oxoboo]

Like the other guy said, it's due to a change of publisher goals, or rather publishers setting more and more unrealistic expectations for studios. The video game industry was already a mess for over a decade, it just wasn't as obvious.

[@EggEnjoyer]

@@MrKrewie Once it became a possibility, it became mandatory. Kinda like how these live service games can make a ton of money. And then your shareholders look at you and say “well I want to make a bunch of money off of a live service game too. Let’s do that”. And then now all the games are live service and they’re all failing. These businesses aren’t run by good business men and they just childishly jump at every money making scheme. A company like Microsoft is only still around due to its massive wealth and monopoly over the industry. If these people were in charge in the early days of Microsoft, they’d of crashed it into the ground.

[@MrKrewie]

@@EggEnjoyer interesting insight, we'll see how this develops but hopefully the bubble will pop for the better

[@hilliard665]

I never moved up from the Xbox 360. Online gaming isn't my thing.

[@Marmite101]

Good call

[@harz426]

Same.

[@Wahinies]

Also the Xbone controller was a step BACKWARD from the 360 in reliability, longevity, responsiveness.

[@udance4ever]

amen. went backwards into history exploring all the consoles i missed along the way (eg. gamecube, wiiu, dreamcast, nds/3ds) - its been a joy!

[@jbbrolic]

Xbox 360 was as close to photorealism as games need. The last real revolutionary jump was from Xbox/PS2 to 360/PS3. There have been marginal graphic improvements with the two console generations since with a massive decrease in the quality and variety of games.

[@estebanruiz6228]

How do you fix ghost inputs on a ps5 controller Ty

[@AxeMain]

Great video. Not rambling like you said you might be doing. Please keep up the amazing work

[@imarealwitch1154]

Xbox Lost its way back when the Xbox one was announced. That was the beginning of the end

[@unfunk]

They lost their way back when they decided letting go of Bungie and Bizarre Creations was a good idea

[@Matanumi]

Yeah losing that generation and going sideways meant losing the whole race really

[@pspcow]

I stuck it out that generation, even though it was the mechanically inferior console. But I had no idea it was going to be that bad

[@imarealwitch1154]

@@pspcow I wanted an xbox during the 360 gen, but the ps3 was way cheaper in my country, the same happened with the x1/ps4, and now when the sxs is cheaper than the ps5 in my place, is way too late to buy one.

[@alidashti2633]

I think this is a microsoft problem more than a xbox problem now .

[@bubsy3861]

Its not fit in popular opinion.

[@blitzerblazinoah6838]

More of a Bill Gates problem. Gates is a toxic brand (and individual) that's inextricably linked to Microsoft. I would say that Microsoft's pivot to gaming has failed to pay off. Have they ever made an overall profit on gaming? They've never won a console war and have in fact fallen further behind the competition since 2011. And then there's Japan...

[@arch1107]

xbox is not even 1% of what microsoft does, xbox is not even a division on microsoft, this is a small project for them, it can end, and we are seeing going faster to that point, all will become steam and the crappy gamepass and that is fine for me, and most will forget about it very fast

[@ZX3000GT1]

​@@arch1107I think many people overestimates how much value Xbox is within Microsoft. People could easily access MS' financial reports and see that even at their peak, Xbox barely makes any revenue for MS. B2B/enterprise services had been MS' cash cow for years now, and them shutting down the entire Xbox division would amount to nearly nothing in terms of loss relative to their revenue on something like Office or Azure.

[@BouncingZeus]

​@arch1107 that's a lie. It's large enough to have a breakout on sec documents for investors. Tell me you don't shit without telling me.

[@yermommy777]

Hard disagree on your notes about Skype and LinkedIn. Skype was acquired for technology that was integrated into Teams which is dominant in the corporate world. LinkedIn is still very relevant for job seekers and hiring managers.

[@TheBroz]

100%, Teams is a remarkably good product. Skype’s hook was calling phone numbers from a PC, when the concept became irrelevant so did Skype. Microsoft’s voice tech pisses all over the competition.

[@overturee1928]

Thank you for your voice MVG! 👏

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

A part of this is probably from the damage Microsoft did to themselves with the drmbox one stunt

[@LeapFrog_Radio]

They never actually solved the issue, every game refused to launch without internet, even on an "home xbox", and then you'd have 100g.b. updates to complete before you could play. Edit: i forgot about the b.s. they pulled, a brand new xbox was literally unplayable until connected to internet for account creation/login

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

Especially the "Why would I want to live there?" comment when someone asked about how this would help people who lived in Buttcheeks Wyoming, where the internet was bad. Just disrespectful and tone deaf. Sony were there with that hilarious and humiliating skit.

[@hwogrillo]

You're right. They never regained the trust they had during the peak 360 years. Between that, the whole "you will pay extra for this Kinect that you don't want, and you will like it" nonsense, and the fact that Xbox exclusives dwindled down to nearly nothing for 2 entire console gens, and on the rare occasion that they were released, it was mostly just HaloGearsForza over and over and over again, it isn't hard to see why they're in the shape they're in.

[@AlexD-os8hw]

The pursuit of the monthly subscription model has killed Hollywood, and now it's killing video-games. And, as always, Steam is gently coasting on waves of money, not a care in the world.

[@randybobandy9828]

Steam is the goat. I feel very secure in the future of steam, especially since the steamdeck is such a success and will only bring more people to use steam. People can take comfort in the fact that they can still play the games they bought in 2004 on steam still. That shows that your games are pretty secure in a digital store on steam. Xbox and PS cannot say the same.

[@coldsnap5742]

@@randybobandy9828 I still know people hung up on Steam TECHNICALLY being a form of DRM, because it requires Steam to be in use for the game to launch. Never mind that Gabe has repeatedly said that if he ever had to shut down Steam, he would issue one final patch to remove this one requirement, so no one would lose anything.

[@bass-tones]

Is Steam doing anything especially right? Other than holding an effective monopoly on all PC game sales? A monopoly, by the way, that the community seems to encourage and creates huge pressure on publishers to maintain?

[@deanchur]

@@bass-tones They're not doing anything wrong, which used to be the standard for a company but has somehow become a revolutionary idea.

[@genericjosh96]

@@bass-tones this is why I avoid steam, usually buy games on gog for the lack of drm.

[@stevezac_cptlpnshmnt]

Love your channel MVG! Thank you for always keeping it 100% real.

[@mexicanlucky]

For me games and consoles were a glimpse into the future, and today the future is defined by the steam deck. 60 fps Powerful upscaling Adjustable TDP Cheap games Powerful hardware Hybrid portable/dock Revolutionary controls Haptic gyro aiming Touch sensitive sticks Trackpads The steam deck is a device from the future. As nintendo has been for the past 7 years. Everything else is just a box, a console, like a vcr was for decades.. now nobody uses one.

[@AwakeEthelwulf]

It feels like Xbox might being going the way of Sega :(

[@rowaystarco]

Sega didn't have money to keep going, Microsoft has a lot of money. But it does depend on Microsoft seeing a value in Xbox or not.

[@AwakeEthelwulf]

@@rowaystarco Yeah they definitely have the money, what I mean by them going the way of Sega is third party.

[@rowaystarco]

@@AwakeEthelwulf I understand, yes that might be the case. For now they have stated that they are working on a much faster Xbox. I think Microsoft will have to release a major leap in gaming if they want to keep it going on own hardware.

[@bubsy3861]

@@AwakeEthelwulf Microsoft have money* Microsoft someday can just goes like "f it its not AI" and close xbox division.

[@yourself1210]

At least sega went out with one last bang while Xbox is going away with a whimper

[@EngineHeadCW]

Actually, it IS the kind of video you normally make, and I like it quite a bit. You always look at the gaming industry on the macro level and give us an easy-to-understand description of it, how it makes you feel personally, all while being very relatable. I'd say this is exactly the type of video for you to make. I feel exactly the same way about it and I love your take on it.

[@TreeFallStudios]

Wow man great video and great take. I really think that at this point it would be INSANELY difficult for them to rebuild the brand. You laid out some good starting points for them to change course but with their current leadership and thinking there is no way they go back to anything like the 360 days. They also do not understand how to make good games in my opinion, and that is coming from top down. Interested to keep watching and see where things go.

[@JohnPeter-yf5jf]

At the end of the 360 life cycle, I thought it was moving the wrong way.

[@TylerMBuller12]

Yep that's when it all started going wrong. A lot of what we see today was slowly being implemented in the 360 era towards the end.

[@divinecomedian2]

​@@TylerMBuller12really? I didn't notice. What kind of things?

[@TylerMBuller12]

@divinecomedian2 Microtransactions were starting to get introduced into the later call of duty titles, gears of war, dead space 3, etc. Games were also starting to become more reliant on patches towards the end. It's not like we see today where It's required to run, but games were released in less polished states at launch. They also rebranded the Xbox towards the end and were chasing money with the kinect stuff. It started to just become less focused on quality games. I would say if you compare it to early gen the games towards the end were more safe and not as ambitious very similar to what we have now. I feel like 7th gen they figured out what the safe bets were and stuck to those concepts.

[@ndnixlon9548]

The introduction of the Xbox 360 Kinect wants to say Hi

[@mithrillis]

Ever since Kinect they became risk-adverse and anti-innovation. Rather than thinking why amazing technology did not translate into success and do better, they stopped innovation. They acquire instead of create. They sit idly on early advantage in VR tech and avoid VR gaming like it is Kinect 2.0. They STILL do not have gyro in their controller despite wanting to revive their FPS flagship. Minecraft develops at 1% of the speed modders work. How much do they really spend their big $$$ on R&D?

[@randybobandy9828]

Vr isn't really doing all that well for Sony though... I dont think Microsoft getting into VR would have helped them.

[@Hexaroot785]

@@randybobandy9828they tried hololens (which man looked like such a good idea) and windows mixed reality and partnered with companies like samsung and lenovo to make headsets nothing really turned the table

[@flexxx222]

Only way I see VR getting more support is when it gets easier and more convenient. I remember the big push for 3D-TVs like 10 or 15 years back, but even that was nothing. If you have to strap a reasonably expensive headset with dangling wires to your face most people just nope out. Others won't have the space, and others can't afford the neccesary hardware. The support with content is another thing. If there's nothing interesting for you why bother in the first place, or when there are just a handful of interesting titles most people won't spend the money up front.

[@mithrillis]

@@randybobandy9828 Premature fragmentation of the market really ended up being harmful for the technology. Everyone wants to have their own "ecosystem" when VR is only just start to grow out of a niche technology. If everyone embraced openness from the start, surely you risk not "locking down" the market, but you'd accelerate the growth of the whole scene that there would be a bigger market for everyone.

[@marcelosoares7148]

People don't buy their consoles that much so that would be even less sales for whatever gadget they would make to sell for the console. Even when they were the market leader with the 360, the Kinect was a bust so its not hard to see why they haven't tried again after the Kinect 2.0 massive failure.

[@michaelh9667]

Did you ever work on bridge road?

[@thanium-gaming]

I'm Dev QA for a big indie studio... And I can tell you that I'm scared to see what comes next for this industry I'm with you, man. I have loved Xbox since day 1, and they keep screwing things up.

[@bulkchart3239]

i've always hated the idea of gamepass and have never used it.

[@sneakingelephant]

As someone who’s gaming library is probably 80% Xbox related, this news was the final nail in the coffin for me. I’m building a PC and sticking to Nintendo machines (and my ps5 for the occasional exclusive). MS has let me down too many times and I’ve excused them too many times but at some point I have to realize that it’s also a me problem if I keep supporting them.

[@derricklee4534]

I think Xbox has been giving more passes by its fans then any other brand/product I can think of.

[@wanderingwobb6300]

Don't even need Nintendo or PlayStation if you have a PC, you have access to everything. There's little reason not to switch at this point besides just stubbornness.

[@Jaytwisty23]

Do it you won't regret it. I did the same at the end of the Xbox one era after that whole embarrassing generation

[@Tortilla_Pizzeria_Pixels]

Save money and just pirate everything on your PC

[@superniko20]

Like Nintendo is any better

[@Thunderpuddle]

Always a pleasure to listen to you talk, because a) you talk sense and b) it comes from a knowledgeable background. Xbox need to sort their shizz out. We mustn't let physical media go.. I don't know how well we can do this now, now we are down this rabbit hole.

[@real-kidnomor]

Epic vid.. would love to see more opinion vids.

[@bimotavdue4129]

What a grim time for gaming, in a sense. At least I got to experience full arcades, crazy magazines, constant innovation, the best local games stores. Current state of gaming seems dreary and not FUN at all for consumers, that's just my perception. We've gone from 8 people playing with two multi-taps to "Play strangers online, stay in your gaming room/lair, buy overpriced games that can be removed or edited on a whim." Yeah.

[@StraightOuttaJarhois]

Well, the industry itself may be in an awful state, but there are still more excellent games being made than probably any time before. You just have to filter out the vast majority of the AAA dreck that tends to get most of the attention, as well as the "live service" money extraction algorithms. Even then, there are far more good games than there is time for any employed person to play, and if you stick to slightly older releases, it's all dirt cheap too.

[@bimotavdue4129]

@@StraightOuttaJarhois True, while it's easy to be pessimistic about the direction of the industry at large, there's a lot to be thankful for too 🕹️👍

[@HallsteinI]

President of Xbox asked about the recent closures, spends close to a minute saying almost nothing: "Then Bond is asked about Tango Gameworks, and fires back an answer that seems both off-the-cuff and completely deflective." "One of the things I really love about the games industry is it's a creative artform, and it means that the situation-and what success [means] for each game and studio is also really unique," Bond begins. "There's no 'one-size fits all' to it for us. And so we look at each studio, each game team, and we look at a whole variety of factors when we're faced with making decisions and trade-offs like that." - Bond "Bond adds: "But it all comes back to our long-term commitment to the games we create, the devices we build, the services-and ensuring that we're setting ourselves up to be able to deliver on those promises." "That's it, next question. No elaboration." Excerpt from PCGamer's article on the closure of Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks.

[@divinecomedian2]

I bought a Series X but only to use RetroArch. I don't give a crap about new games on there.

[@sanchezfive]

Appreciate the editorial - especially that you give a very humanistic perspective. Thanks!

[@blakegriplingph]

"It's time to stop the dominance of the number-crunchers, living in their perfect, predictable, financially-projected world (who fail, time and again), and give the reins to the 'product guys'...those with vision and passion for the customers and their product or service." - Bob Lutz

[@ZX3000GT1]

Tbf simply managing a company by giving it to the idea guy is one of the easiest ways to go into ruin. Look at the late 90s and early 2000s tech boom. Many companies tried to pitch their own ideas and most of them went bankrupt within a few years. 0 business sense in managing a company would just as easily ruin a company overnight.

[@fredtaylor9792]

The "shareholder" system is ruining everything. Look at Boeing. Even my own company. CEO's are motivated to make decisions that negatively affect both employees AND customers in favor of short term gains. When the company fails, the CEO gets a huge payout, shareholders sell off and the employees and customers are left with nothing.

[@Segab]

@@fredtaylor9792 If only there was a word for that system 🤔

[@astral-p1823]

what, you mean capitalism?

[@LunarNeedle]

​@@fredtaylor9792Hit this realization myself. Every time something bad happens in corporate, it's always because at any moment the shareholders can fire a c-suite for not making enough money. Line stopped going up, so companies are panicking as they fear they're going to be next on the chopping block...

[@twistedtxb]

they bet it all on Gamepass, and it failed.

[@Zippka_]

How it failed?

[@mgpdevil]

​@@Zippka_I'm sure he has all the GP numbers..

[@Xion_Stellar]

@@Zippka_ It failed in the sense that GP numbers have peaked and with no growth potential in the horizon the amount of money GP brings can no longer keep up with development time and costs.

[@waldsonsilva7980]

​@@Zippka_ no growth, expensive to keep, cannibalizes software sales. Doesn't take much to understand.

[@joed5150]

​@@waldsonsilva7980Yup they tried to go the Netflix route throwing money 3rd party to get big day 1 releases. Netflix can pull it off because they have 270 million subscribers. 30 million GP subs wasn't gonna cut it. On top of that they cannibalized game sales of not only their first party games but the cut of the 3rd party game sales that were in GP as well. Valiant try though

[@KevinStJohn-ew9jb]

Great video tonight, spot on and thank you. As an older gamer who has also always been an Xbox fan since the OG console it really does sicken me to see the direction the industry is headed. We all realize that, yes, these are corporate institutions that service their shareholders/bottom line regardless of the impact this may have on their developers and fans. In a way though I almost feel sorry for Phil and the position he's been put in by Microsoft. Just my opinion but I don't feel like he's just another clueless boardroom schill. I remember the look on his face at some of those earlier conventions wearing his 'Hexan' t-shirt and sharing his love for gaming. And yes, he probably shouldn't be sharing so many comments on these social platforms, especially now. Just look at Sarah's body language on that Bloomberg interview, tells you all you need to know about how miserable these people must be while having to keep their true feelings in check

[@stagtite]

Great video and you delivered your views with openness and honestly.

[@michaelnavarro]

Was I the only one that thought something disconnected and reconnected from my PC when I was watching the video..🤨

[@honkhonkler7732]

I bought a series x because of the backwards compatibility program and my large OG xbox/360/Microsoft Store library. I love it because of that, but there's no question Microsoft has horribly mismanaged nearly all of their once great IP and most of the new releases are disappointing.

[@Vecha302]

Same here, and also due to them owning inXile, Obsidian, and then finally Bethesda Game Studios. That last one burns right now... Just see it as my WesternRPG box and getting Game Pass Ultimate for free through Microsoft Rewards is/was the cherry on top.

[@constantinelheman]

They don't want to give buyers games. They just want the buyers to continue giving them money.

[@ActuallyZee]

I've moved on to emulation and pc gaming at this point.

[@FORTEtheSECOND]

I am happy for you. Knowledge is Power. Please share it with those (few) who will listen.

[@JudeTheYoutubePoopersubscribe]

I did the same last year. Never looking back.

[@lancepage1914]

I only play emulation these days. That's how bad it is now.

[@dankolord]

I'm doing the same thing now, tho I still have access to my modded ps3 and wii

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

Steam Deck and regular pc gaming forever

[@shaggytoph]

100%, is Microsoft Gaming, not Xbox anymore. Funny how they all shut down those rumors about the Xbox rebranding to Microsoft Gaming.They sticked with the Xbox name, but changed on the inside to Microsoft Gaming.

[@gamble777888]

Xbox has BEEN dead for a while. Tail-end of the 360 era when they started doing their Kinect shit was when MS took over.

[@GWT1m0]

That was the plan all along. Xbros finally seeing it. Sony is not far behind. While Nintendo is in their own totalitarian lah lah land where you can get copyright striked for emulation. Only on PC then you will be free.

[@PixelShade]

I feel like XBOX has just transitioned into a very corporate "Microsoft Gaming" after all the huge aquisitions... It's not XBOX anymore, they just cling onto that XBOX brand for its recognition. The crazy thing is that people haven't lost interest in games or buying games even, it's just that that shareholders and investor interests bleeding the industry dry with the "constant growth incentive". It's time for the industry to become self-sustainable. for gamers to focus more on independent studios, indie games and AA games. I don't think we can save the AAA industry with the kind of growth requirements that lurks in the background.

[@user-uw3gz1eb1j]

It's a double-sided coin. On one side, you have passionate developers who just want to create something, and on the other side, you have corporations that couldn't care less about what's being made. They don't care about the people working hard, missing time with their families. The only thing on their minds is a product. Then, when that product ultimately fails, they point the finger at the studio and not themselves. They're horrible leeches.

[@holddamayo7474]

MVG saying his name is Demetrius blew my f’ing mind 🤯

[@MrThemarine145]

Is it possible we are witnessing another video game crash along side with what is happening in the film and television too?

[@divinecomedian2]

I hope so. We need a pruning.

[@StarFighter2K22]

Yes, and it's about fckin time honestly. This entire industry has needed a mass reset of some kind for quite a while now.

[@LincolnMcKean]

Thanks MVG I always enjoy all your content

[@danieldelewis2448]

Your take on things is spot on

[@JfDesigns]

My OG Xbox with Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 along with SSX Tricky still play great 20 years later. No monthly payments necessary.

[@collinsd70]

Same here, the library of games will last a lifetime

[@prich0382]

​@@collinsd70 Disc rot says hello

[@EmiAntoinette]

Nothing lasts forever. I've had discs last longer than some of Nintendo's services.

[@collinsd70]

@@prich0382 hard drive with a backup of your legitimate games???

[@koffing2073]

no point in playing outdated games, nostalgia is BS

[@Deadmeme64]

It's insane how they still haven't recovered from the abysmal xbox one reveal...

[@codezero7981]

it's like the ghost of Don Mattrick still lingers around the brand..

[@RetroWK]

Thanks for the great video!

[@Daniel260z]

I'm sorry I can only thumb you up once! Great piece 👍

[@XeonProductions]

I unsubscribed to Game Pass because it was mostly games I already owned and they kept jacking the price up.