MSFT exec admits console wars are over: ‘We lost the worst generation to lose'

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This is just PR to pretend their deal with Activision wouldn&#x27;t result on a oligopoly, what a coincidence

While typically I think that more competition is good, I always shuddered at the possibility of Microsoft gaining an upper hand on the gaming market (for that matter, I wanted the Stadia to fail badly for the same reason).<p>The amount of damage to the market those big tech companies could do was immense. I&#x27;m okay with Sony and Nintendo calling the shots there.<p>Hopefully, Valve can make some strides in the PC market with Steam Deck. Things are too concentrated on Windows as it is

If this is sincere then it&#x27;s a heartbreaking moment of reflection and clarity for Microsoft - albeit with the success of game pass I don&#x27;t think they&#x27;re going to be too sad about the relative poor performance of XBone and Series X.<p>If it&#x27;s a cynical play to appear vulnerable so that they&#x27;re in a better position to appeal the UK CMA decision then I think they&#x27;re going to have to come up with more than the &quot;poor little us&quot; story when they still have $69bn knocking around for the acquisition.<p>The console wars will be over when Microsoft ditches the XBox and uses the PC as their platform. I don&#x27;t see that happening for the next generation.

That’s bs, you can’t say console war is over because we lost but still have the most anticipated game (for Bethesda fans at least) exclusive in the console market<p>I would believe them when I see Forza, Halo and other xbox games on PlayStation

- Confusing naming conventions. Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X. Compare to Sony&#x27;s Playstations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Names matter enormously. There&#x27;s a reason why FAANG and FAANG-tier tech firms all have very simple names. While that may be far from the only reason why these companies are so successful, it matters more than one thinks.<p>- Lack of AAA exclusives. Halo is the main one, but Sony has God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, all the Spider Men, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo, and others.<p>- Price. The PS4 was cheaper than the Xbox One by $100, and this mattered to parents who could afford to gift their children a $400-$500 console, but not a $1,500+ gaming PC. This matters less in the North American market, where people have more disposable income, but East Asian and European markets are safely in Sony&#x27;s pocket.<p>- Controllers? There is a meme that Xbox controllers are designed for large, &quot;American&quot; hands. Regardless of the truth, memes and perceptions shape decisions.<p>- Sony has the Japanese market locked up. Xbox is the dominant console in the US, but its dominance is weak: 53.3% vs. 46.65% for the Playstation.[1] Which begs the question: why hasn&#x27;t Microsoft crushed the competition in its prime domestic market, but Sony crushed theirs in Japan?<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.statista.com&#x2F;statistics&#x2F;1044948&#x2F;market-share-of-console-operating-systems-united-states&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.statista.com&#x2F;statistics&#x2F;1044948&#x2F;market-share-of-...</a>

Kind of the end of history. There&#x27;s just so much longer periods for consoles. You&#x27;re stuck with what you ship for a long time, the memories keep enduring, the next thing isn&#x27;t right over the hill.

The core problem MS has is that, it is bad at studio management and simply does not have the same creative vision. Hence the playbook of buying big studios. If they can fix that they’d be fine. Using Sony as a comparison is not ideal, Sony buys comparatively small studios and nurtures them to big IPs. It’s not the same thing, despite the complaints from MS. Recent Redfall release is a classic example.

This is based on the Phil Spencer interview by Kinda Funny. The major point was that as consoles transitioned to online digital libraries, the customer investments into those account-bound libraries really helped crystallize the console preferences.<p>The result is that there are only so many big bets you can make to try to win customers over to your console, because the majority have already become relatively locked into their platform.<p>With that perspective, if you want to expand your customer base you release things on other platforms like PC, Switch and cloud (which is itself a multi-faceted opportunity as infrastructure improves). That said, it&#x27;s not impossible for momentum to build over the next decade where console growth could become a bigger part of the story than it currently is.<p>Kinda Funny Games - Phil Spencer Interview: Redfall Reviews, Activision Deal - Kinda Funny Xcast Ep. 137<p>- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;yKwfEQ1eEyM?t=2167" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;yKwfEQ1eEyM?t=2167</a>

“It’s just not true that if we go off and build great games, all of a sudden you’re going to see console share shift in some dramatic way. We lost the worst generation to lose in the Xbox One,” the Microsoft exec said.<p>—-<p>This is why MSFT wants to pay $69B for Activision Blizzard. Because Phil knows making better games is worthless and wants to ensure they burn through all that cash to make sure it doesn’t accidentally get used for something useful. Give me a break.

While big corps spend money on consoles in an attempt to dominate the living room, I have noticed an increasing number of shopping malls offering pay-as-you-go console booths and VR arcades. Are business-oriented consoles becoming a thing?

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