Xbox boss Phil Spencer issues thinly-veiled dig at Sony's PC strategy

Lol, I think this thread sums up why Sony is doing this... because their blind, rabid fanboys will lap it up.

Phil is of course, spot on. But Sony has never really been very consumer friendly (same as Nintendo really).

so true..

it's fairly hilarious for gamers (actual customers) to applaud the idea of a company limiting options and access to content for purely financial reasons..

Sony 1st party titles would still be just as awesome if Sony provided that content to PC right alongside the console releases instead of waiting for an extra year or so..

it's nothing more than an artificial paywall.. but hey, fanboys gonna fanboy.. these same fanboys who claim to have high-end PCs..

@NathanDrakeSwag: But is it possible for someone not called ipdaily to defend MS so hard to the point they reply to multiple post being so butthurt if they're not employed by MS?

@hardwenzen: 'Releasing exclusives on pc a few years later makes it so the Playstation is a still a worthwhile system for those who own a pc. Same thing can't be said for Xbox'

The majority of income earned is from the software, not hardware. Why should I have to purchase a low-end PC (PS5) in order to play Sony's software if I already have a $4k PC? I guess they don't want my money. 💁‍♂️

So is he Skywalker or Vader? You all have to pick a side since he isn't Windu. Just saying...

Yep, spot on.

@Pedro: I saw a few in here that wanted to play flight simulator on their new xbox. Maybe xbox gamers need to be more vocal. There's no reason first party games can't come to both at the same time. Mouse and keyboard on console has been around for awhile now, so that shouldn't be an issue either. There's many games that go to Windows PC but skip xbox for some reason. Not sure why any developer would put their game on playstation and PC but want to miss out on xbox sales. Doesn't make sense.

More vocal for Flight Simulator? Sometimes you all try too hard.

@theam0g: Sony makes money on hardware, not sure where you heard otherwise.

Phil Spencer is right. This is another half assed move by Sony. Just like PSNow on the PC.

Do it or don't.

What's the point of releasing games a couple of years later. It's just pathetic.

Do you all really think Sony would have sold 117 million ps4s last gen or have 50 million PS Plus subscribers if their games went to PC day one? It may not be consumer friendly, but it's a business. MS is the one that's leaving the console business. They know very few consoles will be sold this gen and are preparing to transition to cloud and PC gaming. I personally like having the option of having a console for convenience mostly. What are you xbox only gamers gonna do when your options are cloud or PC gaming? It'll be interesting to see how system wars looks next gen.

@Pedro: Since you're a programmer, can you explain why so many games skip the xbox platform, some including MS own first party, or at least those are delayed to xbox? Sonys priority is obviously playstation first then PC. MS is PC first then xbox. They are doing the same thing Sony does, just to a lesser extent and backwards.

What makes you think MS is leaving the console business?

@gym_lion: Maybe not completely. I guess it'll depend on if there's a big enough demand this gen for them. I can see them continuing on with a low end console like the Series S of this gen if they do. What's the point of trying to compete with Sony on a power level if your consoles don't sell. They spent all that money on X1X r&d and discontinued it after 2 years(?). Just speculation on my part, but I definitely see a shift more towards PC and cloud gaming over consoles. And that's fine because they'll have a unique identity like Nintendo did this gen with the hybrid console.

@joshrmeyer: "can you explain why so many games skip the xbox platform"

Because they don't sell there. Historically, Xbox has always been dead last on software revenue. Third party devs have next to no incentive to make ports to that platform.

I think this actually doesn't matter like that. Don't Microsoft and Sony use similar hardware for their consoles, so a port from PlayStation to Xbox, and vice versa, would be easy? It's Nintendo that uses different parts and chips, so they would have to determine whether or not it's financially worth it to port from Xbox/PlayStation to Nintendo.

yes..

the vast majority of people who bought a PS4 were console gamers.. y'know the install base of 270~ million gamers who typically buy consoles every generation

despite what is peddled on websites like this, console gamers indeed exist.. gamers who have absolutely zero interest in building a gaming PC.. and on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are PC gamers who will simply never buy a console.. there is actually very little overlap there beyond the small niche of hardcore gamers that post on forums like these..

Sony is just slowly but surely massaging the narrative to appease the fanboy twitter crowd but they know going to PC is damn near just free money they are leaving on the table.. and they are not going to continue to leave that money there for the sake of an outdated "console war"..

@luxuryheart: "Don't Microsoft and Sony use similar hardware for their consoles, so a port from PlayStation to Xbox, and vice versa, would be easy?"

Even if it's cheap, they still have to spend resources porting and publishing and it's pretty clear that the ROI is not good enough to spend on publishing games on the Xbox.

@Antwan3K: The PC gamers that do buy a playstation only buy it for exclusives. Not sure how many that is, but I'm sure it's a decent number. I have several friends who have gone full PC this gen and they aren't on this forum. I like having a playstation but I'm kinda tired of missing out on PC exclusives and some xbox ones. So I'm still on the fence about whether or not I go full PC. If Sony games went straight to PC, it'd be a no brainer where I'd invest my money. Kids seem to be more into PC these days too with games like Roblox and Minecraft and others. Only reason I see Nintendo and Sony still selling a ton of consoles is because of exclusives, and Nintendo now has the portability factor. Xbox still has a market but I feel like it'll sell less this gen than last gen because there's less of a reason to buy it. In the past I felt like I needed to buy an xbox to play certain games. Now I can play them on my phone with gamepass, which I don't want to, so I'll be waiting for PC streaming option. I'm sure there are many others that don't want to buy multiple consoles and now don't have to thanks to MS. Great for gamers, bad for xbox fanboys. Also, I know several people that went from xbox 360 to PS4(Looking at the numbers from last gen, I'd say a lot of people did that), and they aren't going back to xbox because of their ps4 digital library wouldn't go with them. Lots of stuff going against xbox that started with xbox ones mess up. Gamepass will help, but it won't save them as far as console sales go.

@joshrmeyer: your anecdotal information aside, can you explain why any of that matters?..

if you're subbing to Game Pass and streaming games to your PC, that's mission accomplished for Microsoft.. there's basically no difference than if you decided to sub to Game Pass on an Xbox console as far as they are concerned..

if you're buying games like Horizon: Zero Dawn on PC, that's mission accomplished for Sony.. they are ultimately in the business of selling software, not hardware.. and when they are getting a 250% return on investment for putting the game on PC, that's all you need to know to see the writing on the wall.. If Horizon: Forbidden West was to release day-and-date on both consoles and PC, that's just a win all around for both Sony and gamers..

people are too caught up in console sales as if selling consoles is the actual goal.. selling games is the goal.. back in 2003 when consoles were the only viable endpoint, you'd be correct.. but that isn't the case anymore.. it really doesn't matter where that endpoint is, whether it's consoles, PC, or streaming..

"our total addressable market is going to grow while others are relatively static"

Snowflakes.

Yes exactly, that is me I am a pure PC gamer and I will never buy a console but will happily buy games when put on PC by Microsoft and Sony. I also have friends that will never want to build a PC and never game on PC but will always buy and game on a console. I do fully agree with you here.