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Microsoft’s Q2 FY2025: Gaming Revenue -7%, Hardware -29%, Content and Services +2%
- Thread starter adamsapple
- Start date
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Realistically speaking, there should be no technical hurdle MS can't bring over the Xbox emulator software/layer that's being used on console to a PC like environment. Selling consoles is probably the only reason they haven't done that on PC yet, that and probably hassles with solutions like authenticating X360 discs, I guess.
Hawking Radiation
Member
True. Amazing stat.
I really miss the Xbox 360 team every damn day. One of the best times I've had in gaming was during that gen. Yes PS fumbled the PS3 coming off the PS2 but Xbox had this bullish attitude to take PS head-on and they got the best out of PS towards the tail end of that gen.
Its the only gen I owned an Xbox and PS console
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Bumblebeetuna
Member
mayham2199
Member
This is what I don’t get. Why sacrifice subs and allow steam? Things aren’t going to change with a 1000 console and steam. Phil said as much. Seems much safer to just release your normal console and get the hardcore to move over and be fine with whatever number that is. I assume around 25 mil at least.
Topher
Identifies as young
Nadella didn't say "higher margin hardware". Believe that is speculation from Welfare.
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TheGodfather07
Member
True. Amazing stat.
I really miss the Xbox 360 team every damn day. One of the best times I've had in gaming was during that gen. Yes PS fumbled the PS3 coming off the PS2 but Xbox had this bullish attitude to take PS head-on and they got the best out of PS towards the tail end of that gen.
Its the only gen I owned an Xbox and PS console
It shows just how strong the brand was coming off of the xbox 360 that even with the lack of quality games and the horrendous launch controversy, that xbox one still sold almost 60m units! I think it could have been the first xbox to cross 100m sold if Microsoft had their shit together. It also shows how badly they they continued to fumble since. They destroyed their own brand!
Unknown?
Member
Yes after a record breaking year, but they just had their second best year since launch.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
In all seriousness, video streamers are really asking for it. And unsurprisingly piracy rates for TV/Movies have been on the rise.
As for Xbox performance, shitshow was expected.
They grew GamePass revenue 2% after price increases and new CoD release (plus Indy, Flight Simulator, etc).
I wonder if the actual number of subs went down.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
so Rivals and PoE2 did massive damage.
mayham2199
Member
I wonder if they are going to open themselves up to Dreamcast like pirating. I remember kid in my school was selling me games for Dreamcast.
I guess without the drive downloading would be the only option.
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kazuyamishima
Member
I've owned every xbox console generation all the way from the original to Xbone, I even got an X360 like 2 years before the PS3.True. Amazing stat.
I really miss the Xbox 360 team every damn day. One of the best times I've had in gaming was during that gen. Yes PS fumbled the PS3 coming off the PS2 but Xbox had this bullish attitude to take PS head-on and they got the best out of PS towards the tail end of that gen.
Its the only gen I owned an Xbox and PS console
When Sony was showing that awful Genji game at E32006, MS was showing Gears of War and Halo 3, they were kicking Sony's ass so bad, and they got humbled.
Xbox Series X/S are shit, I'm not getting that one.
Felessan
Member
Sales drop accelerating, negative gap grows with each year. To sell even 3 mil in 25 sales dynamics should be changed to flat/decelerating and nothing MS do point for it to happen.
RetroGamingUK
Member
It’s similar to when a good game series suddenly gets a bad entry but it sell well due to fan loyalty.
You’ll then find subsequent entries show declining sales if quality doesn’t drastically turn around.
A lot of western game series like Assassin’s Creed have seen good sales thanks to nostalgia for the PS360 era, but that nostalgia won’t last forever.
tldr: Xbox One sold because people had brand loyalty after the 360 glory days. That loyalty has now vanished.
SweetTooth
Gold Member
When will MS break even their $70B investment? In 2056?
TrippleA345
Member
Where is this coming from?
End of 2023 was 22.2m total. 2024 was 4.5m.
TheGodfather07
Member
Using take two numbers for 2023 total and than adding the 4.5m estimation from 2024. Could be slightly off but not by much.
Astray
Member
The question on my mind rn is:They can't compete with Sony so they are now going to attempt to make an enemy out of Valve?
Was it a strategic error to go compete with Sony and Nintendo in 2001 instead of attempting to build a games marketplace on PC?
The decision isn't without its positives (DirectX's dominance is one of them, pushing the games industry into adopting PC-like architectures for their consoles is another win for MS here imo), but I feel like they would have been far, FAR happier if they were in Valve's shoes rn, especially considering that Valve was founded by ex-Microsoft staff.
Like when you think about the positives I just mentioned, they would have been attainable even if they had a Steam-like presence on PC. They really didn't need to have a dedicated console.
Their future as a 3P publisher is much rosier than their current present as the owners of a dying storefront.
But they will have to make several critical decisions and those can make them into what they're dreaming of being, or reduce them into a glorified Embracer.
Ronin_7
Member
This is some insane stats.
MayauMiao
Member
I think the main reason this hasn't happened (At all - it's not just MS, Sony and Nintendo have had plenty of opportunities and commercial grade emulation) is that the moment such emulator was available it would get cracked and used to play the entire library and while the effects of this are probably grossly over-estimated, all these corporations have decades of fear-mongering decisions around such issues.
The other likely reason is that all the emulated software would have to be relicensed for PC distribution - of that I'm 100% certain, and given how bad the struggle has been to get even a small fraction of titles available on any console to date (the largest we've seen to-date is 500 or so 360 / PS1 titles - and Sony was unable to transfer those licenses to PS4 and onwards) - it's probably something where cost/benefit ratio isn't entirely obvious (how many titles you need to sell before all that lawyering spend is paid for).
I do think Nintendo probably has the most to benefit here (it's very clear there's an appetite for their IPs and large audiences that either refuse to buy-into their hw ecosystem, or would want to have the PC upgrades for the SW), MS's BC has nothing interesting left after 360 onwards, and Sony's PS4 list that isn't on PC has been getting smaller every year.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Nothing. But I think deep down everyone has known that from the start. The whole thing was a desperate ruse to stop Satya from taking the Xbox division out back with the shotgun
Drunkensamurai
Member
2% with COD, how? It's sad but Xbox is dead.Grower not a shower
Unknown Soldier
Member
It cost around $80 billion to acquire ABK and Bethesda, I'll leave the math as an exercise for people in this thread to calculate estimated time to recoup value of acquisition
Unknown?
Member
By the end of this year they probably won't even be above 30m. 2025 will likely not even break 4 million ww.
End of 2023 was 22.2m total. 2024 was 4.5m.
Cyberpunkd
Member
Because everything but COD nosedived. So for example you have -10% + 12% due to COD = +2%.
Next quarter they are probably fucked, the drop will only accelerate as people prep for Switch 2.
Cyberpunkd
Member
Think about this situation:
They released on PS5, so this is not a competitive advantage
They put it on Gamepass in order to drive subs, yet failed
Thing is people most likely bought COD outright because they figured if they play only this for the whole year it comes out cheaper (does it?).
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
They had CoD last year as well?
GHG
Gold Member
Never?
Well look at you being a make believe analyst throwing out bullshit (your words, not mine):
TheGodfather07
Member
35m lifetime is impossible now. They expect further declines so who knows how low it'll be for 2025. Probably under 3m.
Ass of Can Whooping
Gold Member
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
2% of $4 billion (Game Pass revenue per year) is equal to only $80 million.
Is that it? lol
I was told that COD was a huge booster for Game Pass subscription growth, and low COD sales on Xbox would be compensated and then some with Game Pass revenue.
Only $80 million revenue growth after releasing:
Is that it? lol
I was told that COD was a huge booster for Game Pass subscription growth, and low COD sales on Xbox would be compensated and then some with Game Pass revenue.
Only $80 million revenue growth after releasing:
- Call of Duty Black Ops 6
- Indiana Jones
- Stalker 2
- Hellblade 2
- Flight Simulator 2024
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Drunkensamurai
Member
No, not on GP.
MayauMiao
Member
End of 2023 was 22.2m total. 2024 was 4.5m.
Don Mattrick can sleep well knowing that Phil Spencer did worst than him.
graywolf323
Member
imagine what the decline in gaming revenue would have been WITHOUT Call of Duty
Darkness_Arises
Member
Exclusives wise XBO (real exclusives not console exclusives with PC ports) was stronger than PS4 in the early gen period. These numbers are not surprising.
Drunkensamurai
Member
I keep seeing this message everywhere, especially with game journalists and content creators about Xbox being a "Game Pass Company and a service company that doesn't need hardware to succeed". What happens when EA and other game publishers pull the plug on support because the install base is not there to financially support the system? I bought an Xbox to play Halo Infinite because I couldn't play it anywhere (I don't have a gaming PC or plan to build one). They need hardware to succeed again, that is what drives the install base and GamePass subs. People on PC have Steam and I don't see those people moving to the Xbox PC app. I know it's a different time but they need to go back and look at what made Xbox 360 so successful. GamePass like any subscription service is going to plateau, prices will increase but so will game development, they just can't rely on GamePass to save them. Putting games on Playstation and Nintendo is great but that will cut into hardware sales and you also lose revenue from selling to those stores. They're not getting a 100% return from selling to PS and Nintendo. Xbox is caught between a rock and a hard place right now, they need fresh blood to run the business, and their messaging is terrible. It's a terrible situation right now. Also, GamePass Cloud should be removed from the Ultimate tier of GP if they ever want it to grow. There should be a tier just for GP cloud gaming.
Drunkensamurai
Member
Exclusives are what made Xbox 360 so successful. GTA DLC on 360 first, Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls, etc.
RetroGamingUK
Member
Bumblebeetuna
Member
GHG
Gold Member
Windle Poons
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
They've put personal and family 365 subscriptions up £20+ a year. That will cover it.
Isn't the lore about this whole xbox initiative that Bill Gates or whoever big wig at MS saw Sony getting too big in the living room and they didn't like that?
Focusing to be the jack of all trades on PC sure would have played out so much better for them, but back in those days who knew things could unfold the way they did
MS gaming is the future for them as this big ass Third Party Publisher, owner of big ass games, the Xbox brand is in this weird place where they can't fold because how many millions still pay for online and buy through their store?, meaning there is money on table, but at the same time no one else besides that niche cares anymore, so what can they do?, release another Xbox for that market that keeps shrinking but is loyal enough to stick around and hope for the best? Create this PCMR Xbox branded system that could potentially run every other store in it and let Steam gain more ground?
Killjoy-NL
Member
A day 1 PS5 release wouldn't have mattered.
The bar on PS5 is higher, period. Xbox library exists of mediocre games and COD. PS5 can't do miracles to fix that.
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Insanemaelstrom
Member
Xbox does have some brilliant games though. My favourite release from them last year, Age of mythology retold, for example, is an easy 10/10. An absolutely stunning rts game and a cult classic. We also have games like forza horizon 3, forza motorsport 7, etc. They do make great games, it is just hidden by a string of failures that colored people's perception of them.
JohnnyFootball
GerAlt-Right. Ciriously.
Especially when they spent over $70 billion to grow and they just played their best card being Call of Duty. It’s fucking over.
But whatever…anything that leads to the death of Gamepass I’m all for it. I hope this hastens that demise.
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