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Xbox boss Phil Spencer on the future of gaming: “The business isn’t how many consoles you sell”

The head of Xbox just unveiled a new console, but Phil Spencer isn’t too worried about selling you one. “I don’t need to sell any specific version of the console in order for us to reach our business goals,” the told Verge in an interview yesterday, the day after Microsoft held its annual E3 keynote.

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FallenAngel19841804d ago
Krangs_Uncle1804d ago

No, it's how many interviews you give a year.

mikeslemonade1804d ago

He’s right. This is coming from Sony fan:

1. Microsoft
2. Sony
3. Stadia
4. Nintendo

bouzebbal1804d ago

Funny it's not what they have been screaming last gen.. Zero honesty

mikeslemonade1804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

Lol keep doubting, I’ve been right every generation on who won.

Microsoft will price out the competition by letting you play new games for $5-$10 a month.

I just got Xbox game pass ultimate for 3 years at $150.

And since 2018 Microsoft has bought out 15 studios. Microsoft has lots of cash just sitting on the side line.

I’m a Sony fan at heart but their business model is obsolete. Traditional console game is dying.

AspiringProGenji1804d ago

I didn’t join this site Yesterday @mike

Stop the bullshit

darthv721804d ago

Hey bouz... were the same people running things last gen too?

Different team, different dream.

rainslacker1804d ago

@Darth

Yeah. The new team isn't doing as well in terms of sales. What's your point?

Silly Mammo1804d ago

@darth

Problem is the dream seems to keep changing.

darthv721804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

@rain I cant remember what sales were like before Phil but i can only assume there have been more units sold since his promotion than prior. My point is that under new management, they managed to turn things around to a respectful 40+ million units sold. Who knows how bad things would have been if nothing changed.

@silly, actually Phils dream has always been the same. To increase the number of engaged players for xbox services / games. He has done pretty good so far. Expanding that reach into PC and mobile is the next logical step.

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

darthv72 - More units since Phil has been at the helm? Remove Kinect, price cuts, bundles, 3 console revisions - 3 CONSOLE REVISIONS - I had to had to say that twice. Is that a record for a single gen? Perhaps ms has won something after all.

Unspoken1804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

Here come the Sony fanboys into every Xbox article. lol

Phil isn't incorrect in anything he is saying. And yes if they had high sales numbers he would talk about it. Both are correct and he would still say the focus is on software and services. Satya changed all that years ago but these children don't have half a brain to remember any of it. Microsoft has turned around many times and have increased profits even after trying multiple different innovative ideas and products.

They always scream doom and gloom. lol

Ju1804d ago

Well, I give MS that. With Sony not showing up they can at least show up in every interview.

1804d ago
Sophisticated_Chap1803d ago

@ AspiringProGengi

Enough with the nonsense.

UltraNova1803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

I'm sure MS and Phil are giving their fans what they want. Just as I'm sure we non-MS fans "dont get it" wink wink*. I mean after the 360, xbox fans were fed up with all those xbox games and just wanted services and more services until their eyes popped out and their wallets drained! /S

Damn the double standards and irony is off the charts with you people...

Ceaser98573611803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

mIkelemonade

Thanks to MS for backing up Xbox because it wasn't doing well. Sony aint that powerful like MS but still doing better in Gaming department. Had Sony had that kind of Money things would have been different.

and its obvious now it doesnt matter how many console it sold for MS because PLAY ANYWHERE happened so they are very much focused on GAAS and software sales.. Most importantly GAAS
That way MS is making good money.. Once GAAS is available more than Xbox and PC platform they will make more... like the Netflix of Gaming..

Sony will be where it is and they are doing exceptionally well and they will continue to improve grow and do much better

pwnmaster30001803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

Yooo mikeslemonade is a legend out here on n4g. Put some respect on this dudes name lol.

mikeslemonade1803d ago

^
You guys just have oldhead thinking.

And like someone said Microsoft is the closest thing to the Netflix of gaming. We had pretends like Onlive, Strydyr, and Stadia... but Microsoft has the connections, money, and fanbase to actually make it into the Netflix of gaming. And Netflix by the way is going down. It’s gonna be “Disney and Chill” sooner or later.

Sony is gonna sell slightly less than what they did this gen, it’s just gonna be a downward trend for traditional consoles.

badz1491803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

HAHAHAHA Phil...you should do stand up comedy!

see this:

https://www.dualshockers.co...

PSN alone made more money than the whole xbox and Nintendo combined last year!! just PSN, not even the entire PS division.

I guess next Phil will say “The business isn’t about how much revenue you generate”

nowitzki20041803d ago

@mikeslemonade

Coming from MS fanboy supreme

1. PS4
2. Switch
3. Stadia
4. Nintendo WiiU
5. Xbox One

Facts are facts

Army_of_Darkness1803d ago

For ms it's not about console sales anymore because they are way behind ps4 sales... So now it's about how many sucka... Umm, errr.. I mean people fall for their monthly game pass.. And after seeing their e3 show I see not point in even getting their next gen console to begin with... Better off with a Sony and Nintendo combo.

mikeslemonade1803d ago

^
Lol fall for the gamepass..

Some of the games that will be there day 1:
Gears
Age of Empires remaster
Ori
Outer lands
Blair Witch
Pshychonaughts 2

And that’s just year 1. I paid $150 for 3 years. How am I getting tricked. You’re the ones who are getting “tricked” when you buy Outerlands for $60.

Potnoodle9991803d ago

@Bouzzebbal nor at the start of this gen 😂

+ Show (19) more repliesLast reply 1803d ago
sixthelement1804d ago ShowReplies(3)
lelo2play1804d ago

Then he already won. Flawless victory.

russo1211804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

These executives can talk trash whatever they want, I sincerely don't get the point what he's trying to achieve. Another re-read and it seems he wants an ecosystem to be console agnostic.

gravedigger1804d ago

Phil Spencer at E3 2 days ago:
"Xbox consoles are vital to us"

Surely if they manage to outsell PS5 during launch, they will scream out loud about that

alb18991804d ago

He didn't say consoles aren't vital but even Sony know that consoles won't be that important in the near future

1804d ago
SyntheticForm1804d ago

Microsoft isn't competing with Sony because they don't 'need' to. That's why you're not seeing the story-driven, narrative heavy exclusives the likes of which Sony thrive on. Microsoft can continue doing what they're doing and mosey along just peachy. They're perfectly comfortable.

Sony may be crushing Microsoft in the first party games dept, but they're not crushing them financially - not by a long shot, and that's what Phil is basically saying. They don't need to match Sony in anything; consoles, games, etc because 'their' business model is 'working' for 'them.'

For people who care about games this sucks, but for Microsoft? Pshh.

Dark_Knightmare21804d ago

But comparing just their gaming divisions does show Sony crushing them

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

Synthetic - Sony is absolutely crushing ms xbox division when it comes to revenue. Sounds to me like they've already conceded defeat next gen. These are not the comments of a confident person.

sinspirit1803d ago

This is Playstation versus XBox. Not Sony versus Microsoft. Keep that in mind. Microsoft's finances mean nothing about XBox's actual success. As can already be seen by still lacking substance and direction after almost 10 years.

Do you think it's okay for Microsoft to be comfortable? It's clear that this is their goal rather than providing industry leading games and content that they just want the constant influx of money through services and accessories. I don't think being comfortable is okay. That doesn't mean they have to rack their brains to do something. It just means they shouldn't be okay with their current status which is reliant on services that are enticing due to cost benefits rather than individual products that are enticing because of the quality of those products.

jznrpg1803d ago

They aren’t competing with Sony anymore because they can’t win. They realized their faithful will buy anything they dish out and they couldn’t win so they shifted focus on fully on subs earlier than they planned . They wanted a bigger piece of the pie but are happy with spending less and making more .

Mr_Writer851803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

Edit
Just a quick note in 2018 Xbox Divison had record high revenue of £10b

PlayStation in the same year made £17b.

So they kinda are crushing them purely in the PlayStation vs Xbox. You have to include MS other business (Azure, Windows etc) to get the MS win over Sony.

But imo you're half right

They're not competing with Sony as I believe their long term goal is a new breed of publishing.

Think about it, atm game pass needs 3rd party games, that takes a chunk of money from MS.

But let's say in 5 years time MS have enough of their own content to phase out 3rd party games and not only offer value still, but take more profit.

Roughly before E3 there were 9m GP subs. All paying £4.99 a month.

That's £44m a month £538m a year.

Now let's just say all 9 million upgraded to GPU at £10.99 a month

That's now £98m a month and £1.8b a year.

In 10 years time, you may see an Xbox app on any sort of electronic device, phone, tablet, laptop, PC, TV, firesticks etc.

On that service is 300+ games all made/published by MS.

You have 40m subs. Even without price hikes etc that's £439m a month. £5.2b a year just selling games.

Publishers have their own store fronts on PC, but I think in the future most will have their own version of game pass.

As streaming becomes more viable, publishers will push their own content.

Much like Netflix vs Prime vs HBO vs Hulu vs Disney.

AspiringProGenji1803d ago

Lol the xbox fans sure brag about MS finances a lot. You don’t care that MS is being crushed with games as long as they make money. You must be a fan of EA too

Realms1803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

Yeah ok their business model moving forward will catch up with them, they are banking on game pass constant revenue stream but the low quality of the games available thru this service will be their down fall. We are already seeing this play out. Zero new AAA games have been announced by MS, I suspect this is intentional since they have no desire to pore resources into games that they will have to add to their service day one. Expect to get a ton of games with less quality to pad their gaming service library.

TheEnigma3131803d ago

what does financially have to do with anything. The xbox division is not profitable at all. They are getting revenue off of windows and ms office 360.

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Kiwi661804d ago

Maybe it would help if people didn't keep asking him for an interview

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

He is a grown man, he can say no. Maybe they ask because they know the chances of getting one is high.

Kiwi661804d ago

@oldboy but then people would complain about that

Kiwi661803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

Wait, so people say he does too many interviews and so i make a suggestion and people don't like that idea ?

gamer78041804d ago

you are right Krangs_Uncle, but thats just part of it, it's Impressions, Interviews speaking and listening to customers, Game Sales, Consoles Sales, DLC Sales, subcriptions to services, customer service, etc.

blacktiger1803d ago Show
trooper_1803d ago

Spencer is so full of crapola, lol.

itsmebryan1803d ago

No, it's about how much money you make for a business. Now they have new money streams coming from their competition Sony and Nintendo. It think MS will do fine.

Jin_Sakai1803d ago

Xbox boss Phil Spencer on the future of gaming: “The business isn’t about how many consoles you sell when you’re losing”

Fixed.

We all know you’d be bragging on Twitter left and right if you were winning.

alb18991803d ago

Time will open your eyes my friend. What was important yesterday isn't today. Talk to blockbuster and they will help you understand.

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antbolton891804d ago

If the Xbox One had sold 90 million units that's all they would talk about.

Brave_Losers_Unite1804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

Yup. They can't admit that they are the most inferior out of the three. Isnt Switch going to pass them soon?

Darkborn1804d ago

It should according to the numbers. Hell it might have already.

MONOLITHICIDE1804d ago

I might be getting a Switch here shortly. I have not bought an Nintendo system since Gameboy Advanced. My old ladys' been wanting a new Gameboy because her Gameboy color does not save files anymore. Was interested in getting the 3ds but why not just get the Switch mm'right?

Donnie811804d ago

If I’m not mistaken the Xbox has second place of this generation locked down. It passed the Wii U in sales years ago and I doubt it’s making a comeback

Pickledpepper1803d ago

I'm not sure about inferior. They have a more powerful console and let's look at microsoft net worth and let's look at Sony's net worth.
I own all platforms but to call Microsoft inferior is a bit naive. If they do fall behind in sells with the next gen (which they probably will) I don't think it will worry them to much, very deep pockets.

NXFather1803d ago

I am the best. I can admit that. Would you care to tell me the three? Oh my bad we just talking about video games. I could not pay one you to level with me on downtown there. Just tell me one thing anyone beat me on. If you're gonna say what are you talking about then there is no point responding. Just chalk it up a crazy person. I see how not one of you will bring it up in real life. We all see who did what? All the time.

RizBiz1803d ago

@Monolithicide The Gameboy Colour doesn't save games, each individual game does. Unscrew the games she wants to play and replace the batteries.

Mr_Writer851803d ago

@donnie

Nice spin, but it terms of competition the Switch is closing in, last gen or next gen means diddle squat.

Right now there are 3 consoles on sale and Xbox is close to coming 3rd.

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1-pwnsause-11804d ago

Aaron Greenberg would walk out of his room just to gloat about sales....

harmny1804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

Whoops

TacoTaco1804d ago

It's not what they have today and it's not the reality of the situation, so stop saying things that Phil Spencer isn't even implying.

Do you know what a "business goal" is, to start? How about a point of reference... let's go with the company I work for. It's not doing so hot in its industry, and we lost quite a bit. We are not number one, not by a long shot. So, we have a business goal to, basically, "operate more efficiently."

We have done that last quarter. We're still not number one. Still not by a long shot. But guess what? Even though we didn't X the most Y, we still reached our business goal! Is that a concept you're capable of understanding?

rainslacker1804d ago

But, your company isn't going around acting like they are number one, even when conceding that they aren't. Spencer may occasionally act humble, but they haven't done what they should have been doing all gen, and now they're talking about next gen as if this gen never happened.

There's a huge difference between recognizing your place, and pretending your place is more than it is when it comes to business. There are plenty of stores that aren't as successful as Amazon. It doesn't mean they are making as much as Amazon, or are as good. Rhetorical example, I'm not trying to say amazon is better than everyone else.

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

Taco Taco - So the business goal announced at the xbox one reveal, is that what you mean? Or do we change when our product doesn't sell as expected - "First to 10 million units win the gen" - Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb.

They've constantly looked at how they can make the most money with out addressing the elephant in the room.

Now they have some new studios, some ok, some good. But their plan for those studios is a worry. Matt Booty wants a game every 3 months when Scarlet is released.

They want to follow the Netflix model, do you realise how much shit is on Netflix?

NXFather1803d ago

@rainslacker

When did any God, Any of them send a prophet to lie about his rank. Or how about this. When did any God tell us lucifer or any devil is number three?

darthv721804d ago

90 million is nothing when there are billions of potential gamers out there from consoles to pc to mobile. By expanding the reach, they dont have to worry about sales. They just have to provide entertainment that keeps people engaged.

1804d ago
rainslacker1804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

So, you expect MS to have more than 90 million subscribers to their service?

I wonder what makes anyone believe that. Steam, the largest and most successful company on PC, only has around 90 million monthly users, and they're a more mainstream accepted form of gaming than these sub services or streaming services.

I'd be surprised if they even go over 20 million users by the end of next gen.

I'm tired of the console wars being fought based on things that have nothing to do with the consoles. If you want MS to win the services war, then fight that war, and stop relating it to traditional consoles or PC gaming. It's a different market, so as console gamers, why should we care one way or the other? We'll compare next gen using their console sales, and it won't matter who has the most used service. I know it won't matter to Xbox fan boys if Sony or Stadia have the most users, and my money is actually on Google because of their reach.

1803d ago
S2Killinit1803d ago

Evey new gen I go in with a mentality that I KNOW i’ll be supporting Playstation because of how great they support their consoles in the previous gen, but also with an open mind about xbox as a console i would buy if MS shows me why. But when MS opens its mouth about the future they envision for gaming, I remember why I dont support them anymore.

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alb18991804d ago

The thing is that everything change. MS has now so many ways to reach us that isn't anymore a thing of consoles sales. More important is how many people have good enough internet than how many consoles.

SyntheticForm1804d ago

Exactlyyyyyy.

Microsoft's business model is totally different; Sony rely on their console sales much more than Microsoft.

It's more about how many people can Microsoft reach, and consoles aren't but 'one' vessel they can use to achieve that.

TheEnigma3131803d ago

Sony beat their asses out of the console market because they couldn't compete.

Codewow1803d ago

The reality is that how many consoles sell isn’t the metric they’re looking at. They take a loss on every console sold for the majority of its generation. The number they want to see is library size. How many games has a person bought, how many dlc, how many subscriptions do they have, etc. because they are playing a margins game and consoles have a negative one.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1803d ago
PhoenixUp1804d ago

Microsoft sure didn’t have that mindset last gen when they would never resist an opportunity to boast about Xbox 360 sales numbers

YodaCracker1804d ago

Because last gen it wasn’t true. The business back then WAS how many consoles you sold, and how many software sales that produced. That was a decade ago. We’re now entering the age of services and streaming. It doesn’t matter how many consoles Microsoft sells when you can get Game Pass on PC or stream the games on any device. Microsoft is in the best position heading into the future with xCloud and Game Pass. I’d be very surprised if they don’t pull in the highest revenue of any game company next gen.

fei-hung1804d ago

They make money from services, software and accessories. Therefore the more consoles you sell the more:

1) the more services you can provide for a fee,

2) the more software you can sell,

3) the more accessories you can sell.

MS has lost sales on:

1) accessories
2) services and
3) software

If console sales didn't matter, they wouldn't bother selling consoles and by that go out of their way to create consoles to it perform their competitor and try to out market their competitor.

vega2751804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

Fei-hung

You are wrong. Microsoft made 9 billion in one quarter without selling a lot of consoles.
Even when fanboys scream "I'll just buy it on pc" Microsoft gets that money. Gamepass has millions of subscribers. So how have they lost service and software?

Sony has psnow and still hasn't cracked 1 million. Even with selling almost 1 hundred million consoles. Sony knows that what Microsoft and Google may be the future and doesn't want to be left behind.

So no console sales doesn't matter if you only sell 5 million copies sold. But being able to play it anywhere sales get you 20-30million copies sold from people who would not have bought your console.

Longadog1803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

oh that was back then, huh? is that so.. okay, got it tiger... whatever lets you sleep at night *thumbs up* :)

seriously enjoy spencer crowd logic

Sevir1803d ago

That's interesting you bring up the 9 billion but compare that to Sony's Streaming service... Streaming, the very thing you've all critized Stadia for. PS Now is one aspect of the PSN which last year eclipsed both Nintendo and Microsoft's digital sales income combined. 12.5 billion in digital sales was profit for all of 2018 for Sony. And Sony themselves have now switched to a services and software focus for the rest of this Generation now that the PS4 is at market saturation.

All their interviews are next gen leaks and development hint that they are overhauling their Network infrastructure for the future to tackle and really make for a platform to do robust streaming and a more powerful online gaming experience. Along with their own partnership with MS for this purpose.

So you're not really saying much but trying to defend why MS hasn't sold as many XB's this gen as Sony sold over double that amount with PS4s

The PS and Xbox business will evolve to tackle Stadia. They'll offer stronger robust services in the next generation.

But let's not kid ourselves. If MS sold 90+ million XBOs in 6 years Phil would be talking about the importance of hardware sales in addition to services, because let's be real, if the XB business is about reaching users then selling Xboxes to provide services is 100% the goal, and if you Sell more hardware, you have a bigger pool of customers to market your services to

fiveby91803d ago

" It doesn’t matter how many consoles Microsoft sells when you can get Game Pass on PC or stream the games on any device."

If you believe that is true then why is MS even investing R&D money into producing yet another new console? If consoles sales mean so little then why did Sony sell so many consoles? Clearly, someone out there wants to buy consoles. MS would love to sell more consoles. It is important to them. They are just failing at it compared to the competition.

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darthv721804d ago

I love it when people compare last gen to this gen as if things on the management side never changed. Like i said above. Different team, different dream.

vega2751804d ago

They need to hold on to the hate. Its what they what they live for.

sinspirit1803d ago

XBox has been slacking for 10 years. There is no different dream here. Microsoft still controls XBox. They only fired XBox's scape goat CEO who was too forward on Microsoft's strategy about controlling consumers product ownership and selling services. Phil is pushing that same vision but slowly. The box is still lacking in software, big franchises are failing and reviewing worse and worse, we lack new IP's that are high quality, they worry entirely about their image and advertisement budgets while their product quality is low, they are focused on services and connectivity rather than individual quality products being properly managed and delivered to consumers, they still act like they are leaders of the industry in articles, interviews, and presentations when they have made every mistake they could have made and are still only kept afloat due to their parent company and services that entice consumers looking for surface level cost effectiveness rather than quality assured product management.

Why are you cheerleading a motto? It's not going to stick.

Prince-Ali1803d ago

Darth you have NOOO IDEA what you're talking about!!! EVERYTHING MS has now LITERALLY EVERYTHING they have now that you all seem to champion and point to Phil as the creator is COMPLETELY WRONG and was always part of the Xbox initiative since Don Mattrick was there lool.. i literally have an article from 2012 where everything were getting now was already approved and shown to be part of the plans except there was a lot more TV integration but they scaled back on that for now! And the Xbox One X has been an Xbox plan since 2013 to have a more powerful version of the system down the road... so literally nothing is Phil but you allll act like he's your lord and saviour lool

BLow1804d ago

The reason he keeps saying this because MS wants to sell you a service and not a console. They keep saying this over and over again. It's called programming or brainwashing. You keep saying the same thing over and over until people just except and believe anything you say. It's a very real concept.

Gamepass Gamepass Gamepass. Oh and Xbox Live. They are putting the two together so they are relient on each other. If they are tied together, you can't cancel one without canceling both. That's what they want.

Then all the fanboys validate what they say, then it spreads like a wildfire. Look at this year's E3. Most diehards said this is the make it or break it year. The general consensus is that they didn't deliver. Then you have the some saying to wait until next E3 already. You have some where one of the main highlights for them is a service. That ultimate package. Not a game but a service.

This is what MS wants. They want you to talk about a service rather than games. This has become apparent after this conference. But this is just my opinion and what do I know? What I do like is big quality AAA games and I know where to go to get it...

darthv721804d ago

Are you saying gamepass doesnt have big AAA games or are you trying to say that if Sony offered the same service it would be more your style because it is those AAA games you think of?

Vizigoth041804d ago

@darthv72

Sony mostly likely at some point may go the very same route, the difference though is that Sony actually makes exclusives that appeal to a variety of gamers. Where is Microsoft’s God of War, Death Stranding, Bloodborne, Days Gone, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted, The Last of Us, or Spider-Man? There is far less heart and talent inside the majority of Game Pass games. You know the games you passed because you didn’t want to buy them in the first place.

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

Yep - repeat until.it becomes the narrative. Subscriptions is all they want. Good luck to them, they are taking the industry in a direction I don't like. Remember they were the first to introduce paid online, that's now the norm.

Pickledpepper1803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

Im playing horizon zero dawn at the moment to see what all the hype was about, its a good game but i cant help thinking, where have I done all this before? Killing animals for pouch upgrades, taking bases, setting traps, hitting weak points on enemies, climbing towers to open up map, collecting plants for different reasons, but until now I couldn't put my finger on it.
I know a lot of people are going to disagree but it's just a Far cry 3 clone but 3rd person

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rdgneoz31804d ago

Yah, during the 360 era they were constantly putting out number of units sold and comparing to the PS3. After getting beat badly by the PS4, they switched to reporting xbox live users (and including free accounts...). Now they don't care about selling consoles at all... Times have changed...

SyntheticForm1804d ago

That was a different time and smartphones were just burgeoning. Raw console sales meant a lot more to Microsoft back then. Everything's changed now; Microsoft have new ways to permeate the industry.

DarXyde1804d ago

Actually, you should consider that is still the case now. I believe it was this past December or the year prior that Greenberg came out of his hole to "congratulate" Nintendo on being the number one console sold that month and Xbox One came in second. You never hear about any other month.

UnholyLight1803d ago

Phil Spencer didn't exactly run the ship last gen tho? So I mean obviously they didn't have the same mindset 14 years ago they do now

alb18991803d ago

Can blockbuster talk about yesterday?
The market is changing and if you don't see it it is because you are missing some info bro.

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CP_Company1804d ago (Edited 1804d ago )

How it is not a business? You sell more, you have bigger pool of people to sell games, passes and so on.
This statement is so broken on so many levels.
And stop saying that people asks and you give an answer, you have to be adjucated to give proper answers and not just like clueless 5 years old kid on the street. .

TacoTaco1804d ago

Please don't talk about education when you can't even spell "educated", man. Since you are so adjucated and have full understanding of Microsoft's business goals, however, please, do tell me even one of the levels in which his statement is broken.

rdgneoz31804d ago

You around during last gen of consoles? They bragged all the time about how much the 360 was selling (even with red ring and usually reporting the numbers sold to stores, not customers). PS4 comes around and beats the xbone, suddenly they care about xbox live user numbers and no don't care about sales of systems at all...

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

Taco Taco - maybe English isn't his first language? Also I get caught out often with auto correct, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

TK-661803d ago (Edited 1803d ago )

@rdgneoz3

"You around during last gen of consoles? They bragged all the time about how much the 360 was selling"

It's called being a salesmen. You spin your negatives into positives. Let's say sea of Theives at most has sold 2 million. You can announce that or announce that it has 8 million players and link it into talking up and success of Game Pass.

Every company in the industry has done this and will continue to do this.

TheSaint1803d ago

Because your grammar is perfect, right?

SyntheticForm1803d ago

I agree - CP_Company isn't educated, but a lot of us type from our phones, which tend to have a will of their own as we all know.

TacoTaco1803d ago

My grammar is competent enough to where I know not to insult other's education and age when I can't even spell the damn word.

And regarding last gen - why the heck do we care what someone else said a *decade* ago about some other set of consoles? Nintendo sold 100m+ Wii's, then they sold just 10% of that for their next system. That's so much worse than how MS is doing today, but no, let's drag Phil through the mud over things his crappy predecessors did, at a time when every living gamer knows the Xbox One is too old to be their focus today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1803d ago
starchild1804d ago

Selling more consoles isn't the only way to reach more people and sell more games and services. That's the whole point.

trooper_1803d ago

@Taco: Anyone with a brain knows what he meant. Look at you, trying to act smart when you can’t even prove him wrong.

StormLegend1804d ago

Not what I heard last generation and the beginning of this one. It's your own fault the Xbox one sold only 40 million.

darthv721804d ago

I think you are confusing Spencer with Matrick.

xX-oldboy-Xx1804d ago

All xbox at the end of the day, it's not a dictatorship. Mattrick was a fall guy.

alb18991804d ago

Even Sony doesn't know if ps5 will be their last console. Don't you get it?

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70°

Nintendo’s new job opening hints at innovative packaging for future products

Nintendo of America has posted a fascinating new job opening that could signal significant changes for the company’s future products.

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80°

Take-Two Head Denies Closing OlliOlli World, Kerbal 2 Devs

Take-Two head Strauss Zelnick has denied closing Rollerdrome developer Roll7 or Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games.

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-Foxtrot2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

That's hilarious because he did and said the same thing with 2K Marin who developed Bioshock 2

They've been closed since 2013 but not officially acknowledged

He just doesn't want the backlash so pretends there's no issue.

440°

New PlayStation Handheld Reported Again, Supposedly Runs PS4 Games

Another leaker has claimed that a PSP/PS Vita style PlayStation handheld is in the works, and it'll supposedly support PS4 games.

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anast2d ago

If this is true, it will crush everything for the price.

VenomUK1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

Needs to be a PS5 portable.

Cacabunga1d 12h ago

PS4 native with PS5 remote play capabilities. Would be sweet.

And let PS Portal support cloud streaming for all PS+ games.

anast1d 11h ago

Going off all the pricing behavior of Sony to this point. I'm willing to bet it will be cheaper than the Steam Deck. And when the price is revealed and I am right, send me a message.

Cacabunga1d 11h ago

Could be an attempt to counter switch 2 which will have PS4 power.
Imagine all the PS4 third party re releases switch 2 is going to get.. “PS4 portable” could get the exact same games once again and publishers can resell software ..

If this portable has provides PS5 remote play on top then it will have a nice argument and exclusive feature.

DarXyde16h ago(Edited 16h ago)

Cacabunga,

Possibly, though I think any attempt to win against Nintendo in the handheld space is hopeless.

I loved the PSP and I still enjoy my Vita, but there's something about a full scale Mario and Zelda in your hands that makes it clear Sony should share the space, but never dream of taking it.

It's a very safe bet from Sony to have it run PS4 games too because then neither you nor developers are on the hook to make dedicated games for it.

Time will tell. I hope it's real. I'm willing to bet that it is—this is an inevitable strategy for Nintendo and the Surface team is allegedly handling Microsoft's next hardware stint. Sony wouldn't be the only one without portable hardware.

JL29305h ago

$199 for a dedicated handheld when they are trying to sell that piece of shit streaming screen for the same price. Hilarious.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5h ago
crazyCoconuts1d 12h ago

It would be a niche product like Portal. Not bad, but not mainstream. It's legacy PS4 right?

Kneetos1d 12h ago

The switch 2 and next steam deck will be out by then and will likely be way more popular

anast1d 11h ago

The switch 2 will be a handheld Series S for kids and the next steam deck will be ridiculously over priced for a bunch of aging CRPGS and F2P mobile style games.

Kneetos1d 3h ago (Edited 1d 3h ago )

@Anast the switch 2 will Fortnite dance on the new Sony handhelds grave
Playstation can't compete with Nintendo there

With playstation porting all it's games to pc and by extension steam deck it pretty much makes the new pshandheld system irrelevant

Especially since all I ever hear from the Sony crowd is "I NEED graphics or I can't enjoy the game" a handheld PS4 is going the same way as Sony's handheld ps3

Hypertension1401d 2h ago (Edited 1d 2h ago )

If the switch 2 isn't backwards compatible, it will fail.

If this is true, then it will already have a large of games to play from the start, add ps1,ps2,psp,vita games to the mix, and it can be massively popular.

anast14h ago(Edited 14h ago)

The switch is a Mario machine and for kids, they have their own space. Tell me where I am wrong here.

The problem is that Sony isn't porting all of the games to the Steam Deck specifically. The Steam Deck can't play every game. It even has a verified category with games that run the best and a "playable" category that can barely run games. So, the best option to play would obviously be a Sony product.

The last point is inane. I can't respond to comments that use caps. the point should be able to stand on it's own

NotoriousWhiz14h ago

It doesn't matter hiw popular the Playstation handheld is if it shares the same library as the PS5. It just brings more people into the ecosystem and provides them with more ways to play their games.

Kneetos13h ago

@anast Nintendo is competing with Sony and no amount of backpedaling will change that
They were competing during the GameCube era and the Wii u era, coincidentally the 2 gens they lost to Sony, but we're suddenly not competing during the ds, Wii and 3ds era because they beat playstation, but of course we can't have that can we so "Nintendo isn't competition Sony auto wins"

The switch is more then a mario and even a first party machine these days as there are plenty of games, specifically Japanese and indi games that are doing better on switch then their ps counterpart
It's irrelevant that Sony isn't specifically porting to steam deck, the games will end up on there and people will wait for a pc port just like how playstation fans wait for a playstation port of games, you aren't unique

Playstation fans constantly brag on graphics, so a handheld that only plays PS4 games isn't going to entice a lot of them, like the vita before it, and Sony has a history of just dropping unsuccessful projects, the vita psvr and it looks like the portal isn't doing too hot either

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 13h ago
Vits1d 10h ago

They literally charged people $199 for a bottom-of-the-barrel tablet with a DualSense controller bolted on. So I really can't see them releasing a powerful yet affordable native handheld.

Ps5conehead1d 6h ago

I love my portal I’m handicapped and the portal lets me play on days I’m not at my best. It’s great .and the screen is admazing even though it’s not oled

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5h ago
-Foxtrot2d ago

If you had every PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP and PSV game then sure but I mean if it's just the PS4 why not just get a Steam Deck?

anast1d 13h ago

You might be correct, but it depends on the price point. Also, most PC gamers wait years for Sony releases, so it might be better just to get the PS4 handheld.

crazyCoconuts1d 12h ago

I'd be surprised if Sony reversed course and continued to put new releases on PS4. It would cannibalize their PS5 sales

MrBaskerville1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

If it supports your library, some people own more ps4 games than steam games. I know I do.

crazyCoconuts1d 12h ago

I might buy something like this to play my old library but man those old games are cheap on steam. This console would have to be cheap to make sense. I don't see it happening

MrBaskerville1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 10h ago )

@CrazyCoconuts
I also think it sounds a little off. I would probably buy if it could run Ps5 games, but that sounds expensive. Being ps4 only is a little limiting I think.

But if it ran all ps4 titles and new stuff created for the handheld. then it could be interesting. Basically a Vita that just happened to come with a huge ass backlog of existing games.

FinalFantasyFanatic14h ago(Edited 14h ago)

My libraries are roughly equal in size for both, maybe if I could play more classics games on the Playstation one I could consider it. But it's a tough selling point for people who aren't already heavily invested in the Playstation ecosystem.

SegaSaturn6691d 11h ago

Deck is very viable option given how good PS3 and switch emulation have become. Even new releases are chugging along at 30fps.

Lexreborn21d 11h ago

To be fair, I have a lot of ps4 games I don’t have on steam that is can play on my ps5 but I choose to play ps5 games on my ps5.

I also haven’t rebought any of my PlayStation exclusives on PC because I own them on my ps4/5 and even the upgraded ways that rival the pc version. So, if I wanted to play them on my steam deck I would still have to buy them again which if I bought the 6 top games Spider-Man 1,2, mm, horizon, fw , GoW and ragnarok and GoT with LoU1,2. It would more then. Likely be the cost of this device.

So, instead of double dipping I would buy the handheld and if it has a playable sf6 that actually works online (steam deck is not functional) I think I would want it for myself

Vits1d 10h ago

If you have them in digital form, for sure. Because I don't see Sony giving you a digital copy of your old physical PS4 games. That doesn't sound like them at all.

And also, Steam doesn't depend on PS4 games. PC got more games that generation than all the consoles combined. The ports of PlayStation games are just one of the cherries on top of the cake.

Lexreborn21d 5h ago

@vits I do have them in digital form which is why I said from my perspective. I also have a steam deck but that doesn’t mean everything runs on it which not everything is playable. And as I am also stating the perks of why people WOULD want them even while having a steam deck it’s weird to see people disagreeing purely because I wouldn’t want to double dip financially.

But even in the event you have physical copies of games, if you have ps plus most if not all of the ps4 games are there. So, it’s not like the options are non existent and people can’t find VIABLE reasons to purchase the device.

If people are justifying the portal, they can justify a dedicated portable. The desire to make it seem like people can only own one thing these days is an odd occurrence.

Vits1d 4h ago

@Lexreborn2
Then for sure, if you already have your library in digital form, something that can tap into it is definitely a good deal. That's basically the same reason why the Steam Deck is popular with PC and Steam users in general, because their library is available on it.

PS Plus is an extra cost though, and those games aren't yours. So I get where you are coming from, but that is a different discussion. As for the Portal, I don't get how people justify that piece of crap either, but they sure did so I can see a PS Vita 2 being sucessful. I don't see it being cheap or better value than the Steam Deck or any Windows Handheld, unless Sony really makes some radical changes.

As for why people want one device to rule them all instead of a bunch of them, it's likely because most people here are adults. If I recall correctly, the N4G user base is around their mid-30s. At this point in life, the issue is not usually owning things but actually having time to use them.

FinalFantasyFanatic14h ago

@Vits,
I don't think a new PS handheld would be worth it for me after owning the Steamdeck, assuming there will probably be a lot of overlap of both libraries in my case, so just having the one device is fine for me (I don't need the clutter or devices with too much overlap). I'll probably just stream the PS4 games I don't have on Steam to the Steam Deck via Chiaki, I would probably need the PS handheld to have its own exclusives to entice me.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 14h ago
Profchaos1d 5h ago (Edited 1d 5h ago )

Because if you already have a large digital library of PS4 titles and this plays PS4 games you don't need much more than the system. It's also rumoured to play some ps5 games.

If you buy a steam deck you have to re buy your library.

Eonjay22h ago

If you are already in he PS ecosystem you probably have hundreds of digital PS4 games. Especially if you are on PSPlus Extra. These folks, of which there are millions upon millions would probably rater have access to the games they already own vs buying them all again on Steam.

FinalFantasyFanatic14h ago

This is the question, might be nice for the Playstation exclusive games from previous generations, but Sony's Playstation Classics lineup is seriously lacking, especially from their PS1 catalogue, I don't think the PS2/PS3 catalogue are that huge either.

A Steam Deck is already somewhere between a PS4 and a PS4 Pro in terms of power. Without those exclusive games from Sony's previous consoles, I don't see how you could convince anyone a new Playstation handheld to be better value than a Steam Deck. I can also literally put previous Playstation's libraries onto it without too much trouble.

-Foxtrot13h ago

“ Without those exclusive games from Sony's previous consoles, I don't see how you could convince anyone a new Playstation handheld to be better value than a Steam Deck.”

Exactly and this is a prime example of why exclusives matter

Without them Steamdeck just looks like the better choice overall

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 13h ago
XiNatsuDragnel1d 15h ago

I am hoping for amazing games

MeteorPanda1d 14h ago

I still play my vita. The oled screen was too good for it's time. I obviously had to home brew it but playing my old snes/ps1 games on it is so good.

Barlos19h ago

So many times I've been tempted to hack my Vita but I just can't bring myself to do it. I kind of want it to be as originalas possible. Also, for emulation I have my steam deck.

FinalFantasyFanatic14h ago

I was tempted to hack my Vita, but I couldn't bear to risk it, something about having the original software/experience on the handheld.

I'll happily emulate on the Steam Deck, especially the games that weren't available on the Aussie store or ones I just missed out on.

Skuletor1d 13h ago

How many people will buy this at launch? As a Vita owner, I'd definitely hold back after how Sony's support for that turned out.
Also, PSP played near PS2 quality games, PS Vita played near PS3 quality games, shouldn't the next Playstation handheld be aiming for near PS5 quality?

MeteorPanda1d 12h ago

the sadest thing on vita support for me was the removal of Close? The app that let you see local players and what they were playing. i made friends back in the day for co op that way lol.

I think it was privacy breaching? such a shame.

Skuletor1d 12h ago

Vita had so much promise, I wonder what it would have taken for Sony to have been more supportive. GTA: San Andreas Stories would have probably brought more sales alone, if they could have gotten that. I was disappointed we never really got anything on the same level as Killzone: Mercenary after that game, which looked amazing running on the Killzone 3 engine. Would have loved to see new entries of PS IP like Infamous, God of War etc, Sony really dropped the ball and using proprietary memory cards that were ridiculously priced didn't help, if they were smart, they'd have sold them cheaper since they were mainly being used to store stuff people were paying for in their store anyway, lol.

anast1d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

The people that remember the vita are in the minority.

Skuletor1d 6h ago

So are the amount of people that bought it

Einhander19721d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

The point would be that it plays PS4 games, PS4 is still getting games constantly.

Everyone here including yourself presumably already has a library of games to play on this.

The success of the Portal shows the value of not needing to have a separate game library.

Skuletor1d 6h ago

I don't think it will have native PS4 support

FinalFantasyFanatic13h ago

@Skuletor,
Why not? The PS5 plays PS4 games fine (because the tech is similar), one could assume that if Sony is using AMD hardware, then they will probably have native PS4 support.

MeteorPanda22h ago

Honestly the amount of games you could get on these cards was better value than what the switch was offering per cartidge. Cartridges got no slack from these same people.

The games for vita were very cheap, 30 dollars on average in store.

FinalFantasyFanatic13h ago

I'm still salty about the proprietary memory card prices, I don't remember those ever getting cheap.

Eonjay22h ago

I mean how mich more support does the PS4 really need. It's not a new system... just a portable PS4. There are over 10 000 PS4 games available. Sony doesn't need to support it.

There are some crazy rumors out there but we don't have the technology to run a Series S in Portal mode let alone a PS5.

Skuletor22h ago(Edited 22h ago)

How many people that have a physical PS4 library will be willing to buy their games again to download these rumoured PS4 games to this rumoured portable? Until it gets officially revealed, none of us really know how this thing will operate but I will point out, Sony usually sell their consoles at low profit with the intention of making more money later in software sales. People that will be mostly playing games they already own, won't be their largest target market, most likely.

Also, hopefully it would have it's own exclusives to highlight the portables strengths too and not just games from a last gen system

FinalFantasyFanatic13h ago

Even if we did have the technology, imagine how terrible the battery life would be! You'd have to be more tethered to a power outlet than any of the other PC handhelds.

Barlos19h ago

Yeah same here. The way they handled the Vita has left me burned. I don't trust them to give a handheld the support it needs and so I'll not buy it at launch. I need to see their commitment first.

FinalFantasyFanatic14h ago

No, I don't think the technology would be near enough to give us PS5 quality, not unless you're okay with 20 mins battery life (then there's heat dissipation and weight to think of too). I feel like that's the mistakes PC handhelds like Rog Ally, MSI Claw and Lenovo Legion Go make, they over power the Steam Deck, but you pay for it in battery life, I'd rather have more battery life when I'm using a handheld.

To be fair though, with the race to beat climate change/reach net-zero, they're developing new battery tech all the time, maybe in a few years we could have a battery that adds a stupid amount of playtime to a powerful handheld.

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