Xbox Game Studios Stupidity Hate Thread Game Pass Edition

[Gog & Magog]

What if Xbox just focused on the Series S instead of going all in on supporting various versions of previous and current consoles?

 

[DocAwe]

MS just puts out a hard spec and licenses out the name Xbox along with some encryption code that lets the games run.
It really doesn't matter who makes the hardware.

 

[whatever I feel like]

Literally every game since the original Black Ops and the original MWIII has sold fewer than the one before it, and those games were the peak of the series sales wise.

A number of titles are not on your list and, according to this screenrant article, Cold War is the fourth best selling of all time. It also claims that the MW1 remake that came out before it is in the number 3 slot but I can't tell if they are lumping in the original version or not. And don't forget that the more modern ones have MTX and Warzone coming out at the same time and CoD is as relevant as ever and, as always, very profitable.

MWIII was castigated for its gameplay and horrible single player mode, and the entire game felt like a poorly made after thought. The series is treading water, mostly coasting on its past meteoric success. You will be hard pressed to find a long time fan who believes the series is in a good place or heading in a good direction.

MWIII is the most recent one, right? The one that was supposed to just be DLC but got sold at full price anyway, with little to nothing being done to hide it? Yeah, I don't think anyone is surprised that its a turkey but its still the second best selling game of the year compared to literally anything else and only lost number one due to the amazing set of events surrounding Hogwarts Legacy.

None of this should be read to be that I actually like the games, haven't played since MW2, but to deny that its anything other than a financial juggernaut is to have your head in the sand.

What if Xbox just focused on the Series S instead of going all in on supporting various versions of previous and current consoles?

Well, lets see. That would mean giving up on the power argument and accepting its status as the "crappy console", giving up most physical retail space since the S is all digital, giving up on whatever early launch plans they have going on, etc. And then it also gets sold at a loss so they lose even more money trying to push people onto it instead of X. Plus, I haven't seen numbers but Sony claims that PS4 and PS5 online usage is about 50/50 now, with PS5 doing even better compared to Series than PS4 did with One, so I can only assume that the split on the Xbox side is more lopsided towards One variants than Series variants. So.... why would they be doing this again?

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

You will be hard pressed to find a long time fan who believes the series is in a good place or heading in a good direction.

That's great and all, but something Kiwifarms can't seem to grasp is that gaming boomers aren't the primary driving force of modern games so this doesn't really matter at all in the business side of things.

Also, CoD players have been bitching that series isn't in a good place or heading in a good direction since fucking Black Ops 1. CoD players love nothing more than bitching that these games suck, they're never going to play them again, and then they end up fucking buying them/playing them.

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

Also, CoD players have been bitching that series isn't in a good place or heading in a good direction since fucking Black Ops 1. CoD players love nothing more than bitching that these games suck, they're never going to play them again, and then they end up fucking buying them/playing them.

CoD has more in common with a sports game than an FPS, user base included. Though it shouldn't be ignored that Battlefield, once king of FPS's, is now a laughable piece of shit because it lost its way.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

A number of titles are not on your list

A) The graph is current up to 2019. Newest games aren't counted
B) Its only counting the absolute 10 best selling games. Any pre-2019 game that is not on that list isn't included because its sales are less than the games already listed.

This video counts all game sales for every game (including spin-offs and add-ons) up until 2021, so it gives a fuller picture of series sales:

Even its even nicely animated, to illustrate the sales difference between the good selling titles, and poor selling ones. By watching the vid, you see what I'm talking about. Everything between OG MWIII and MW (2019) was largely a disappointing seller, and no game came close to reaching MWIII's sales heights. Some games, like Infinite warfare, had downright abysmal sales. Only Ghosts even came close and matched MW4's sales high, and that was largely because it came out at the height of MW's popularity and was riding that cresting wave. It was literally all down hill from there. MW 2019 did invigorate sales for the series, no doubt about that. But MW2 Remastered went right back to being abysmal. BO Cold War didn't even reach OG MW II in terms of sales. Vanguard barely surpassed World at War. MW 2019's success feels almost like an anomaly in the grand scheme of things, and its good fortunes haven't been passed on to future titles. Maybe that's a testament to how good that game truly is.

And don't forget that the more modern ones have MTX and Warzone coming out at the same time and CoD is as relevant as ever and, as always, very profitable.

MTX probably counter acts the dropping sales somewhat, but concurrent players and overall game sales are down, limiting MTX's effectiveness. MTX is largely driven and supported by a few whales that buy content excessively, but COD is a multiplayer game, reliant on a large, healthy, invested fanbase to stay relevant. It isn't a gacha game that can just fall back on its MTX component entirely. If player interest and engagement continues to atrophy, eventually, even the whales will just move on to another game.

MWIII is the most recent one, right? The one that was supposed to just be DLC but got sold at full price anyway, with little to nothing being done to hide it? Yeah, I don't think anyone is surprised that its a turkey but its still the second best selling game of the year compared to literally anything else and only lost number one due to the amazing set of events surrounding Hogwarts Legacy.

2023 was kind of slow year, all things considered. It had no real competition. The other biggest games released that year were Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3, with Resident Evil 4 remake and Super Mario Wonder rounding out the release schedule. Smaller releases like Ghost Trick and Hi-Fi Rush were no real competition.

That's great and all, but something Kiwifarms can't seem to grasp is that gaming boomers aren't the primary driving force of modern games so this doesn't really matter at all in the business side of things.

I'd argue that most of Call of Duty's fanbase are legacy players who have been playing the games for years, even a decade plus. The kids aren't playing COD; their playing Fortnite.

then they end up fucking buying them/playing them.

Except, as I've demonstrated, they aren't buying them, at least not at the levels they were when COD really was king. Sales peaked with OG Modern Warfare 3, and wouldn't reach that level again till MW 2019, then they went right back to the doldrums. You'd have a point if games sales had been consistently high, but they haven't.

None of this should be read to be that I actually like the games, haven't played since MW2, but to deny that its anything other than a financial juggernaut is to have your head in the sand.

Its status as a sales juggernaut is largely due to the runaway success of the original Modern Warfare trilogy and the early Black Ops games, and simply due to being a long running series. taken for what it is, the series selling well, but isn't the unassailable sales juggernaut people portray it as.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

I'd argue that most of Call of Duty's fanbase are legacy players who have been playing the games for years, even a decade plus. The kids aren't playing COD; their playing Fortnite.

I'd argue you're a gaming boomer so of course you're just going to believe whatever the fuck you want no matter what the reality of the situation is.

Except, as I've demonstrated, they aren't buying them, at least not at the levels they were when COD really was king. Sales peaked with OG Modern Warfare 3, and wouldn't reach that level again till MW 2019, then they went right back to the doldrums. You'd have a point if games sales had been consistently high, but they haven't.

"People aren't buying them as much as they were" isn't the same fucking thing as people aren't buying it or that it's a complete bomb for Activision.

I love how so many on here can't seem to grasp that microtransactions have been a thing for damn near 15 years now, as well, and that Call of Duty has pivoted to Warzone because of this.

Its status as a sales juggernaut is largely due to the runaway success of the original Modern Warfare trilogy and the early Black Ops games, and simply due to being a long running series. taken for what it is, the series selling well, but isn't the unassailable sales juggernaut people portray it as.

Sony legally fought tooth and nail to keep Call of Duty out of Microsofts hands. But yeah, Call of Duty has been a massive failure for a decade plus now *rolls eyes*

 

[Incecticyder]

I see good argument on both sides. Except for those that think flooding the market with consoles is a good idea. That just does not work.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

I see good argument on both sides. Except for those that think flooding the market with consoles is a good idea. That just does not work.

Agreed. But Microsoft doesn't care. They don't want to be in the business of consoles anymore I think.

The idea is that it gives them an out for "abandoning" the Xbox for their most retarded of hardcore players that refuse to just build a PC and hook it to their TV.

 

[Incecticyder]

Agreed. But Microsoft doesn't care. They don't want to be in the business of consoles anymore I think.

The idea is that it gives them an out for "abandoning" the Xbox for their most retarded of hardcore players that refuse to just build a PC and hook it to their TV.

They should have just made a marketplace like Steam instead of creating Xbox. They are a software company whose software is on most computers. They did not have to cosplay as a hardware company.

 

[whatever I feel like]

2023 was kind of slow year, all things considered. It had no real competition. The other biggest games released that year were Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur's Gate 3, with Resident Evil 4 remake and Super Mario Wonder rounding out the release schedule. Smaller releases like Ghost Trick and Hi-Fi Rush were no real competition.

What are you fucking talking about? 2023 was the best year for games in well over a decade.

 

[Soggy Floppa]

What are you fucking talking about? 2023 was the best year for games in well over a decade.

2017 was way better, 2023 sucked.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

I'd argue you're a gaming boomer so of course you're just going to believe whatever the fuck you want no matter what the reality of the situation is.

What even counts as being a gaming boomer at this point? Being old enough to remember COD 4?

"People aren't buying them as much as they were" isn't the same fucking thing as people aren't buying it or that it's a complete bomb for Activision.

Whether or not any individual game "bombed" would be entirely up to Activision's own internal sales expectations and perception. We might perceive a game that sales 10 million copies as a success. But if the company expected the game to sell 20 million+, then they might consider the game a "bomb", despite the sales. Regardless of perception, the sales numbers speak for themselves.

I love how so many on here can't seem to grasp that microtransactions have been a thing for damn near 15 years now, as well, and that Call of Duty has pivoted to Warzone because of this.

And Warzone's player base is massively down, which you've just seemingly overlooked.

Sony legally fought tooth and nail to keep Call of Duty out of Microsofts hands. But yeah, Call of Duty has been a massive failure for a decade plus now *rolls eyes*

I never argued that Call of Duty was a massive failure for the past decade. Only that its sales are stagnating, and have been decreasing since MWIII...both of which are true and you've not actually counteracted in any real way.

What are you fucking talking about? 2023 was the best year for games in well over a decade.

Uhhh.....no. Not by a long shot.

 

[The Last Stand]

Though it shouldn't be ignored that Battlefield, once king of FPS's, is now a laughable piece of shit because it lost its way.

By whose metrics? Let's use Battlefield 3 as an example. From 2011, it has sold about 8 million units out of the 12 million it has shipped to retailers. How much did its direct competitor, Modern Warfare 3, sold? 6.5 million at launch compared to BF3's 5 million sold at its launch. Let's also compared its popularity from 2011 using Xbox Live. Top 3 games from that year were three CoD games, followed by Battlefield 3 at fifth place.

I'm not trying to knock Battlefield; it's that Call of Duty was proven to be "the king of FPS's" through brand recognition and popularity, especially towards console users.

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

By whose metrics? Let's use Battlefield 3 as an example. From 2011, it has sold about 8 million units out of the 12 million it has shipped to retailers. How much did its direct competitor, Modern Warfare 3, sold? 6.5 million at launch compared to BF3's 5 million sold at its launch. Let's also compared its popularity from 2011 using Xbox Live. Top 3 games from that year were three CoD games, followed by Battlefield 3 at fifth place.

I'm not trying to knock Battlefield; it's that Call of Duty was proven to be "the king of FPS's" through brand recognition and popularity, especially towards console users.

What even is this post? You chose strange points of comparison to prove, what? Battlefield was the bigger game for, what, a decade? Before COD got popular with Mw2 on CoD, because Xbox 360 was the place to play online. Halo Cod and Gears were the most played online console games. all on the same platform.

MATI time: Why is it always fucking sales figures with gaming faggots on forums? It proves nothing. I couldn't give a flying fuck if a game made money, I'm not a shareholder. Pop music sells millions and it's fucking audio slop. Mcdonalds sells more than any other food chain and that's the epitome of slop. Sales mean fuck all.
Some of the best games sold like shite or weren't massive successes on their first time out. Some of the best games were hated by normies and reviewers. Sales, which are fiddled figures anyway, mean fuck all in the scheme of games, just look at the top 10 list of any month, week, year or decade on any platform or overall, it's 99% fucking slop.

Fuck sales figures, fuck them up their stupid arses.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

What even counts as being a gaming boomer at this point? Being old enough to remember COD 4?

I mean...kinda?

It's more about being out of touch with (or simply ignoring) how the industry currently works.

Example: In discussions of success and profitability, completely ignoring microtransactions and only focusing on sales and player counts because that's all that mattered in 2008.

Whether or not any individual game "bombed" would be entirely up to Activision's own internal sales expectations and perception. We might perceive a game that sales 10 million copies as a success. But if the company expected the game to sell 20 million+, then they might consider the game a "bomb", despite the sales. Regardless of perception, the sales numbers speak for themselves.

You're so focused on sales that you don't even realize games make money outside it's initial point of sale.

Are you going to argue that GTA VI isn't a success when it inevitably doesn't sell as many units as GTA V?

And Warzone's player base is massively down, which you've just seemingly overlooked.

Meanwhile, the microtransactions continue to rise, which you seemingly overlook.

I never argued that Call of Duty was a massive failure for the past decade. Only that its sales are stagnating, and have been decreasing since MWIII...both of which are true and you've not actually counteracted in any real way.

Who gives a shit? Certainly not Activision, Sony or Microsoft.

Sales down, profit up. What was the point of this when the discussion was predicated on Activision not being well run? (aka being a failure or not successful)

 

[The Last Stand]

What even is this post? You chose strange points of comparison to prove, what? Battlefield was the bigger game for, what, a decade? Before COD got popular with Mw2 on CoD, because Xbox 360 was the place to play online. Halo Cod and Gears were the most played online console games. all on the same platform.

You said that Battlefield is the "king of FPS." An argument could be made that Call of Duty is "the king of FPS" because it's objectively more popular with data and word of mouth to go by. And Battlefield 3 was BF's mainstream catapult into relevancy.

 

[TVB]

What are you fucking talking about? 2023 was the best year for games in well over a decade.

While 2023 had the likes of Hogwarts Legacy, Baldur's Gate 3 and Pizza Tower, it's not as good of a year for gaming as 2015 or 2017

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

You said that Battlefield is the "king of FPS." An argument could be made that Call of Duty is "the king of FPS" because it's objectively more popular with data and word of mouth to go by. And Battlefield 3 was BF's mainstream catapult into relevancy.

Ok, that's me being a fucking spastic. I was talking in reference to the past where Battlefield was the king of FPS's before getting lazy and ruining their own franchise, while CoD went from strength to strength, in regards to chasing an audience willing to cough up loads of money for slop. Ghosts being the exception.

 

[The Last Stand]

And Warzone's player base is massively down, which you've just seemingly overlooked.

That's more telling of the battle royale genre on the decline, along with Call of Duty's deviation from pick up and play.

Ok, that's me being a fucking spastic. I was talking in reference to the past where Battlefield was the king of FPS's before getting lazy and ruining their own franchise,

When did that start? Battlefield 2?