u/Commander_Jim1

GTA7 - coming in 2048.

That's what people don't understand. The entire physical disk medium is collapsing. Sony didn't just randomly decide to end disks in a vacuum to screw gamers over while the rest of the optical disk industry is going along as normal. Anything with a disk drive is starting to get really expensive because the companies that made all the components are shutting up shop. Just look at what a 4K movie player now costs. And its just going to get worse.

Sony has always been very good at forecasting tech changes - the reason they've been able to keep PS5 in stock during the memory crisis is because they saw it coming ​ages ago and secured deals to maintain memory stocks for themselves. No doubt they've also seen what's going to happen with optical media too.

I'm calling it now - they never mention any of this again.

I think they were definitely better at sucking.

No and people are delusional if they think otherwise. Asha was asked point blank and she dodged the question by saying they needed to focus on the next gen console being affordable and efficient and then mentioning Disk to Digital as a way for people to bring their physical library to the next gen. You don't need to be a genius to read between the lines there.

In any case, Xbox is the platform with the least amount of players buying physical. Most stores that sell games don't even bother stocking Xbox games any more. And once Sony stops you'll find that most third party devs will follow Rockstars lead and go fully digital. They aren't continuing to manufacture and distribute physical games just for the tiny portion of Xbox players who actually buy disks.

xbox confirmed that they won't kill physical media

Yeah pretty sure they didn't. And Xbox is the one that's been trying to kill physical media more than anyone else for the last decade. ​

It didn't do a great job though. I like JW, the only one of the new movies I do like, but imo it completely squandered the potential of a JP movie with the park opened. It could have been an epic disaster movie, instead that's basically just reduced to the Pteradons attacking. The rest of the movie is fairly standard "small group of isolated humans vs dinosaurs" stuff we've always gotten.

Imo that's a strength of the originals. It was when movies were still made to be individual movies. Not ridiculous, convoluted "sagas" that only exist for the purpose of being extending how long an IP can be milked for. ​​ I'll take a fully formed film like TLW over some half assed movie like Fallen Kingdom any day.

Not that I'd consider the JW movies to be "cohesive" in any case.

Literally nothing I can think of in all honesty. JW was a fun, well made but lightweight popcorn film. I'd put it on par with JP3. The other three JW films are some of the worst movies I've ever seen. ​

Why on earth did you buy a PS5 Pro if you prefer to play inferior versions of games on Xbox?

Some people just really love throwing money away.

Tbh I wouldnt buy another Xbox without major changes and I say that as someone who has been a fan of the brand ever since being an early adopter of the OG Xbox when everyone else I knew was getting a PS2. I just don't see the point of Xbox anymore.

The one thing that would make me interested is if it was, as it seemed to be heading under Spencer, a fully open PC console that I could play all my Steam and other PC games on. That would have gotten my interest for sure. But if they've backtracked from that under Sharma and its just another Xbox, just really expensive, than no. It just has no point anymore.

I'll likely get a PS6 but wouldn't be prepared to spend more on it than the current retail price of the Pro at the absolute most. If its over $1000 than im just putting that towards upgrading my PC.

I will never understand this obsession some people have with having a little piece of plastic.

So if I'm understanding this strategy correctly - sell more consoles ​by making it more expensive, make more profit by making one of Xbox's few reliable revenue streams free, make Gamepass much worse for the few remaining loyal Xbox players, and aim to beat Steam on PC - a storefront that PC users are so attached to that they'll literally buy a game on it rather than play it free on other storefront like Epic or via Gamepass on the Xbox app..

Yeah I don't think that's going to work..

This is the precursor to layoffs and they don't do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Voluntary redundancies typically pay less than forced. They do a round of voluntary layoffs, hope a heap of people take them up on it. Then they'll do forced layoffs

I don't think it's about Xbox. I don't think Sony really sees Xbox as a big threat any more. Not enough to buy exclusives to try to one up it. Hell, MS themselves aren't even trying to compete with Playstation anymore. This is purely about China. Like Wukong. Sony is making a big push for the Chinese market.

Because that was a particularly stupid game to buy exclusivity for. It was a direct sequel to a multiplat game in a series that has always been multiplat and one that has always been most strongly associated with Playstation where it started. Also the game was already announced for all consoles and was almost finished when MS bought exclusivity. I don't know what was to be gained by buying exclusivity for a game like that besides bad press and bad will from the entire gaming community outside of Xbox players. Pissing off the people you're trying to attract doesn't seem like a great plan.

That's not how corporations work. Each division needs to be profitable on its own and the executives have shareholders to answer to. Just because MS has plenty of cash it doesn't mean they want to throw it away on Xbox. Do that and don't get a return and the shareholders will want heads to roll.

But how would that save Xbox? The brand is failing, we all know it, they havnt exactly been keeping that a secret. And it's only been getting worse every month, not better. Then introducing a ​new console for a potential $1500-1800 that is basically nothing more than another standard Xbox? What on earth are the sales figures going to be for​ that? They certainly wouldn't be good.

With the rumoured open platform ​it made sense - they could sell the console at a profit because sales figures didn't really matter because they wouldn't have to subsidise it or support it as a platform. People could play existing Xbox games now and, PC games for next gen games. ​And third party companies like ROG could be licensed to make their own versions. That to me, for where Xbox is, is a strategy that makes sense. Trying for another traditional Xbox generation only one way more expensive? I do not see how that isn't doomed to failure. ​What is the market for that besides cashed up hard-core Xbox fans?

It won't be subsidised. Nadella and Sharma have both made statements in recent times about Xbox needing to be profitable on its own ASAP. Subsidising it means an investment of billions into Xbox that would take many, many years to see recouped if it ever would be. I do not see Nadella being OK with that.

Gears of War is not a game that's drawing anybody to Xbox. Nobody outside of Xbox fans cares about the franchise. And it most likely would have sold very poorly on PS5. ​​

I'm willing to bet my Steam collection will outlast the Xbox PC app and any PC games you "own" on it.

Star Wars was never for toddlers. It was for kids but clearly older kids (ie tweens who can handle dismemberment). If it was the demographic who usually watched Peppa Pig that made up the ST fandom than those movies are worse than I thought..

Someone who was 12 when TFA came out is now 23 years old. That generation is like the loudest demographic online.

Yes, it's the fault of the movies. If theyd have been a success with kids none of the companies in question when it comes to animated series, games, or toys would have hesitated to capitalise on them like they did the PT instead of avoiding that era like the plague.

What do you mean "gradual"? They kicked that shit to the curb the second TRoS came out. Even before it seemed like they were trying to start to distance themselves from it when they started calling TRoS "The end of the Skywalker Saga" when they originally planned to keep going with the main saga.

And Im happy about it.

Not sure why on earth anyone would want a "physical PC collection" but OK.