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Comment by aranelsurion | Hacker News Reader

Seems to me it's more like Xbox has been redefined into something much bigger, now it's an umbrella of many big name game companies across all three platforms. They've also gained a lot more relevance on PC side of things, and their GamePass is very popular. They've finally embraced their Windows moat, and built a lot on top of it in the last few years.

Xbox as we know it (the console) became irrelevant, but that'd be assumed by everyone incl. Microsoft the moment they promised to bring Xbox exclusives to PC. IMO that was the first visible point of them committing to change course for Xbox. If anything, nowadays Sony seems to be pigeonholed to their own world, while Microsoft seems to be thriving.

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From reading the article it also seems like Microsoft is well aware that the console isn't necessarily the point, the games are. Sure, they are in the number three spot for consoles, but doing fairly well for the Xbox division as a whole.

This might also be a case of Xbox having a different user segment, as compared to the PlayStation, and certainly compared to Nintendos offerings. I might be completely wrong, but PlayStation seems very much like the console for people who want large worlds, larger than life scenaries and single player games. Xbox is for when you want to play with friends, either in person of online.

"Xbox is for when you want to play with friends, either in person of online."

What new games can you actually play in person, like splitscreen? Seems most don't allow it, or at best it's 2 player.

The social console is the Switch. You can have split screen. Or local wifi where one console is the host. I used to play D3 with workmates this way. You also get 2 controllers with the base console.

Yeah, my friends play switch when we get together. Pretty much just Mario kart and smash. Any other suggestions?

On Xbox we play Castle Crashers.

With multiple Switches: Splatoon 3, Monster Hunter Rise, Pac-Man Vs. (part of Namco Museum), 51 Worldwide Games

With one Switch: Super Bomberman R, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, Overcooked 2 (these are also on Xbox), Zarvot, Mario Party, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World

You can also play through Donkey Kong Country, Pikmin 3, and Untitled Goose Game with two players.

I'll check them out, thanks!

FIFA 23 supports it I believe, so by extension, most of EAs sports-ball-games, but that's still only two player, but more wouldn't make sense anyway.

Might as well drop the console then or at least drop the console business model. However I have a feeling they won’t.

Consoles make money via licensing - each game sold they get a cut. Is MS willing to give that up? If no then they are still in the console business - and Windows is an internal competitor; MS earns nothing when someone buys a game for Windows.

Eh then you’re just running a PC business?

I don’t know the statistics but I feel like that misses a huge market segment. Lots and lots of people just have laptops for school / work that won’t run AAA games. Moreover, lots of people want to game in their living room and, while I know they exist, I’ve never met anyone that hooks their PC up to their TV to do that. Doing so might not even cross the mind of less tech savvy people.

That’s me. Have built computers since I was a kid but have no interest in (or time to devote to) building a gaming rig. Whatever I paid for the xbox ($300 maybe?) was a bargain and well worth being able to play with friends on a Friday night and let my kids check out new games without needing to worry about specs. I’d just not be in the ecosystem otherwise.

They’re also attempting game streaming via Game Pass. I’ve got people who use that functionality frequently.

I really tried the whole Steam with big picture mode a few years ago. I had a 2080Ti and mostly ended up with micro stuttering in AAA titles, it took months of swapping out parts to finally get it halfway stable, then I discovered the power from that electrical socket was dirty. It was a nightmare. My PS5 just works, no fuss, no muss. Which I a real PC gamer would just tell me to “git gud” but I’m getting too old for this shit. I just want to relax and play games not tweak settings for hours before I play.

>MS earns nothing when someone buys a game for Windows.

They earn money from each Windows license though and gaming helps to keep Windows relevant against Linux and macOS, especially for younger people.

They’re trying the opposite, bringing the console model to PC. The consoles themselves are still necessary, since they’re the default hardware non-enthusiasts buy.

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