Baldur's Gate 3 will be coming to Xbox this year.

Should put this whole issue to rest (for a while, at least 😉).

I think they thought through just how important hitting that price point was, because it’s done very well for them.

Hypx
link
fedilink
6
edit-2
1Y

PS5 outsold both versions combined by around 2x. I don’t think it was nearly that big of a deal.

ampersandrew
link
fedilink
51Y

And do you think that would have panned out better if the cheaper console option wasn’t available? Not to mention it would only leave them with the console that shared a lot of the same components as the PS5 during supply shortages as well.

Hypx
link
fedilink
31Y

Microsoft should really ask themselves why they couldn’t have procured more components, despite being one of the most profitable companies on Earth.

ampersandrew
link
fedilink
41Y

I mean, unless their goal is to lose even more money on each console sold, I doubt they were interested in that. But that’s not their goal. Their goal is to get people subscribed to Game Pass.

any1there
link
fedilink
41Y

Yes, thank you!
Microsoft has historically never been profitably selling consoles, which is certainly part of their shift towards different business models, including Game Pass and a focus on more than just Xbox, but PC and Cloud as well. They don’t really have much of a financial incentive to sell consoles for that sake alone, they have to get people to subscribe to Game Pass and/or buy games (possibly digitally whenever possible) and the Series S is their best console for that, as the consumer is very much locked in.

Hypx
link
fedilink
21Y

Game Pass includes PC gamers. It’s probably not that profitable either.

ampersandrew
link
fedilink
31Y

Game Pass does include PC gamers, which is why they’re probably more interested in opening up that service to more people with a cheap console SKU than to sell Xbox consoles, likely because outselling Sony by doing the same thing Sony is doing is a very steep hill to climb.

Hypx
link
fedilink
2
edit-2
1Y

Then why even bother with a console? Just define the minimally specced PC box needed for Game Pass and call it a day.

ampersandrew
link
fedilink
31Y

One day they might. PC has taken a larger and larger market share as time has gone on. PCs became easier to game on, consoles became less streamlined, and perhaps even the closed-off nature of consoles compared to the open nature of PCs has played a role. But as of 2023, you’re still not making a $300 PC that plays games as well as an S. While consoles have become less streamlined, they’re still more streamlined than a PC.

Create a post

From video gaming to card games and stuff in between, if it’s gaming you can probably discuss it here!

Please Note: Gaming memes are permitted to be posted on Meme Mondays, but will otherwise be removed in an effort to allow other discussions to take place.

See also Gaming’s sister community Tabletop Gaming.


This community’s icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

  • 1 user online
  • 119 users / day
  • 187 users / week
  • 482 users / month
  • 1.87K users / 6 months
  • 1 subscriber
  • 2.51K Posts
  • 40.7K Comments
  • Modlog