Looks like Prince of Persia is caught in the same kind of development mess Skull & Bones has been in for a decade. I do expect Skull & Bones to be released this time. But it's going to be awful
@sippio: Microsoft (and Sony) already have "gamers" in their pocket. What are we going to do, give up the hobby? They know we'll follow them whatever they do. They care about creating new gamers.
As of late 2022, there were 70 million active Roku accounts
Last month Amazon said they've sold over 200 million FireTV devices. Now an increasing number of SmartTVs are coming with the XBox/GP app included by default.
Just for comparison's sake, the PS4 sold approximately 118 million units, and the XBox One sold 51.28 million total units.
In October 2022, XBox revealed most of the GamePass subscriber growth was coming from PCs, not the console.
@gamerbum: You're making the assumption that Spencer is using the word "console" to mean a device like the X/S. There's no reason to make that assumption. Based on things people at Microsoft/XBox said years ago much of the gaming media predicted there wouldn't be a true console successor to the XB1.
What we actually know is that a document made public last month as part of the Microsoft/FTC lawsuit refers to "Microsoft's next generation ecosystem." Microsoft wrote that this device is part of their "forward looking strategy for its console, subscription and cloud gaming businesses." The inclusion of cloud gaming isn't something they'd done before. (The device's 15 letter codename was redacted.)
Because Microsoft can use the word "console" any way they want, this device could simply be a streaming stick that's more powerful than the current prototype.
Both Microsoft and Sony know the demand, and the $$, has never been about the consoles, it's about the games. That's why both companies traditionally sell each new console at a loss for a year (or more.) Sony lost money on every PS5 until August 2021. Microsoft reportedly still loses $100-200 on each console sold. You know what is profitable for Microsoft? GamePass, and as of October 2022 the subscription growth was mostly coming from PCs, not the X/S.
Given the money they're (still) losing on console sales, moving to a less costly streaming device next generation is definitely quite possible.
@vgmkyle: The GP exclusives only matter when/if there's a compeitor able to surpass GP. Microsoft's doing a much better job of not being "hardware focused" than Sony. Microsoft truly doesn't care where a gamer plays a GP game. If Sony let them, they'd happily release GP on Playstation. Of course it's absolutely possible to play PS+ games on non-Sony hardware, Sony's just IMO done a terrible job of marketing that fact. Not only that, some of the recent PC ports (The Last of US) have released in a really poor technical state. IMO Sony further screwed up by segmenting their GP competitor into tiers and generally making things more confusing than necessary. Because of these mistakes, the advantage Sony has in exclusives hasn't yet hurt Microsoft nearly as much. Unless Sony stops making unforced errors, Microsoft doesn't need to be as concerned about exclusives.
@bender958: So you're arguing in favor of devs/publishers being able to make $ because gamers still collectively aren't smart enough to understand pre-orders or day one purchases are completely and utterly stupid?
A dev/publisher should not be rewarded for releasing a bad (Redfall) or broken (Cyberpunk 2077) game. The true problem with the industry is that a developer/publisher can make far too much money before everybody figures out the game's awful or utterly broken.
@fbplayer1086: You're assuming the "legacy" pricing structure focused on sales will continue to exist. That is not necessarily true at all. Cloud gaming is the future, and that's going to change the pricing structure. Given that with digital downloads (not to mention cloud gaming) a gamer already doesn't actually own a game in the first place, and the current industry focus on live service games means even a single player mode can disappear whenever a studio/publisher chooses, and there's nothing gamers can do about it, why purchase a $70 game that may not be worth it?
The pricing structure may very well move toward a "royalty" structure where studios are provided a regular revenue stream based on the number of gamers who play their game on GP each month. Non-AAA games, or poor AAA games like Redfall, actually do better with this type of structure. Given its poor reviews and initial reception, Redfall's sales numbers are likely going to crater. If the dev/publisher negotiate a royalty type pricing model, they make $$ even if their sales numbers crater.
Microsoft has made it pretty clear they're not going to be in the console hardware business much longer. Given that prototypes of a streaming stick already exist, I'll be shocked if there's a true console successor to the X/S. The sales of smart TVs along with the fact the Fire Stick, Roku and Chromecast devices already exist, may cause Microsoft to decide not to even bother releasing a consumer version of that prototype. The CMA got one thing right, cloud gaming is the future and Sony's woefully behind. Sony also handed Microsoft a complete win by segmenting its GP competitor into tiers and generally making things more confusing than necessary.
@dushness: The ads aren't ever going away. Because XBox isn't financially doing anywhere near as well as Microsoft would like, or expects, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we see more ads.
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