What The Hell Is Happening At Xbox? | Spot On 

Corporate greed, Take Two literally fired people while at the same time the CEO had a multimillion dollar pay raise.

@@robf As long as I get COD on Game Pass Day-1 I'm happy!

btu but but my plastic box...

@@robf Yeah, and that's the only thing I've found concerning regarding Xbox's future during the past couple of days. However, Bond's statements seems to have dispelled this rumors...

XBOX has record revenue and profit. This is not about loss of profits, it's about higher profit margin for shareholders. XBOX is making a lot of money, but they want to make even more money for the shareholders. XBOX didn't need to make any layoffs, it could keep all their employees to work on multiple project that could make a lot of money. The are having layoffs for short term profits for the shareholders.

Yup, but no one listened. Apparently Microsoft's need to "compete" was more important 😒.

Yeah, and you have fanboys justifying Xbox for just making a normal business move. 🤦‍♂️

The studios closed are from Bethesda.

Yes but fanboys and biased journalists threw a fit. So many were cheering for the deal and even wanted Microsoft to buy up more companies, especially if it hurt Sony. Now the same people are either in hiding or stunned with what's happening after being warned this exact thing was plausible

Yeah because why settle for mediocrity profits when you have big games from ActivisionBlizzardKing, Fallout, Doom, and Elder Scrolls. Allocate all resources from the smaller studios that make extensive games and put them towards our big sellers to maximize profits. Not the future of gaming that I want to be honest. Sure I really want Elder Scrolls 6 but why destroy creativity and freedom for it. I love new ideas of games. I welcome it as I wait for the big sellers. And sometimes these new ideas will become big sellers.

I have gamepass and I buy the games I play there. Hi-Fi Rush was my favorite game last year.

@marcusrobinson-johnson That's 1 out of the millions who aren't buying xbox games and that's why xbox games are being ported to ps5

@@Mojaveknight17 pretty sure I'm not the only person but yeah the actual number of people who do likely isn't high. I'll agree on that

​@@marcusrobinson-johnson My point is the mentality of wanting instead of buying games because of the service model.

I don't know if that's true. Gamepass is a good place to play smaller games you're on the fence about or the first party stuff. But the waiting idea has always been there. Most games cost 50% less a year later. Is that really so different from waiting a year to pay jedi survivor on Gamepass Rather than buying it full price at release?

It's such a shame too, because I really like Phil and I like what he says about games, sometimes.. But he seems like the wrong man for our time. His disdain of VR was a dead giveaway for me that he just doesn't live in the same timeline as the rest of us. Sure, VR is moving forward slowly, but still.. Dude had absolute disgust for it.. Maybe he was shy after MS being burned by Kinect or whatever(not his doing), but yeah, dude does not seem like he was planning for a future that was gonna happen. Backwards compat was all him, and I have all sorts of respect for him for doing that, that was a genuinely good move. But yeah.. does not seem like the right guy for this era. I also think he would probably be better as a studio head rather than the boss of the xbox brand as a whole. It's just too big for his kind of leadership.

@@JimmyNuisance I shared the same opinion as yours, when Phil came into the scene after years of ruderless performance by Don Mattrick, in 2013/2014. But, after looking at the last 10 years performance and how the Xbox brand became nothing/irrelevant from one of the greatest gaming brands, it is evident that he lacks the bullocks to stand up to the people above him. Under his leadership, not one IP from Xbox flourished. This makes me believe that either he is a fake or doesn't walk the walk. I always see him giving these super-amazing scripted talks at conferences, but his actions doesn't mirror what he say. Pushing subscriptions, cloud gaming, unrequired mergers of Bethesda or ActiBliz, and what not, have all been done under his decade long tenure. And all these just to lose more money.

​@@AeyGeeHave you actually looked at Don Mattrick's career at MS? He became CEO after Peter Moore left in 2007. That means he was in charge for 6 years of the 360s lifespan, which to this date remains the most successful Xbox console ever. Also, he didn't get the luxury of a second chance, or a 70 billion dollar get out of jail for free card.

@@mappybc6097 A game's average development cycle is 2-3 years, which means most of the good games released during Don's tenure were greenlit by Peter Moore. So, you shouldn't give Don credit when he made no contribution towards them.

@@mappybc6097 Don was purely responsible for Project Natal aka KINECT. And we all know how the Kinect was the start of the end for the Xbox 360.

Yeah. That was a great time. I went out and picked that up long ago. Great resident evil like game but completely its own,

The Evil Within 1+2 literally evolved the Survival Horror genre. Even Resident Evil 4 remake took the stealth mechanic from The Evil Within.

Pretty much my Resident Evil. Shame.

It's all because of the ABK deal, they need to start making that money back and the smaller development teams are the ones paying the price.

Which is smart. I don't see how execs didn't see that would be the case.

Bang on.

And replace him with yet another person that values shareholders over consumers?

@@Richard-dt4ft Extreme incompetence still needs to be punished. He shouldn't get a free pass just because of his 'friendly gamer uncle' persona

Agreed

Could always replace him with bobby kotic

Microsoft likes to flaunt that they have the money to buy any independent studio, but once they own a studio the money vanishes!

Which is pretty funny because so many of the Dreamcast refugees went straight for the Xbox. Now they're getting Sega'ed again.. Rough.

Except they only did that. Zenimax was still forcing Arkane to make a game which they didn't want to make. Microsoft never stepped in to stop production or help the team with their lack-of-staff/time issue. Basically, they set the team up to fail.

Redfall wasn’t the failed experiment of Arkane. It was Bethesda wanting a live service game. They didn’t want to make that. Glaze the mega corporation a little more dude.

Yeah, his diapers.

Phil needs to go himself

Yeah by resigning. He should've been kicked to the curb a long time ago

Oh and Gnossienne! we're going deep sad.

They don't have one

Well said my guy.

IDK, did those companies just drop millions of dollars buying new studios only to close them?

@@noteasybeingweezy after acquisition - arkane austin released redfall, which is simply worst first party game xbox has released in their entire brand history. tango gameworks's ghostwire tokyo - not well sold, hifi rush - it was critically acclaimed, but not making profit. Xbox didn't just shut them down after acquisition, they saw their results for 3 years. They might closed them in the 'corporate view' Xbox gave arkane austin 1 extra year of time to polish redfall but they did nothing. I'm also the one who thinks xbox shouldn't have shut them down and gave them a second chance. Because I really loved hi fi rush and prey. And I think this is very wrong corporate decision. but all the gaming media blaming xbox for whole week? When all the gaming industry is doing the same? I don't know, it just seems like a clickbait I also think this is very biased 'media dicision' Did they made the same 'exclusive blame video' when other companies did the same? Not in my memory. Embracer group is the one right fit in your criticize - spend millions of dollars buying studios to close them. Because they actually did. After the acquisition, Embracer group's studio had to shut down and laid off even before the new game release, because of the embracer.

...in danger of being shutdown or turned into Call of Duty or Bethesda support studios.

Microsoft is a multi-trillion dollar corporation, but Xbox by itself is not. I don't get why so many people don't understand this.

​@@AlbertPatrick And XBox is a part of Microsoft. Where do you think the money to buy all those game studios came from?

@@AlbertPatrick Xbox has made Microsoft richer, that's why Bill Gates was smart to introduce it, because he knew that was the future for Microsoft. so they can't just cut out the Xbox, that would result in Microsoft possibly closing there doors. Windows is not enough to keep Microsoft going, it's not like the old days. no what they'll probably do is get rid of some people, but the Xbox is gonna be what they want it to be, and Phil Spencer knows it. but he's been an embarrassment for them, so he will be replaced at some point, with another crony that'll continue the same BS. And Sarah Bond will be that person, that's why she's there.

@@KingOfMadCows Xbox is Xbox, and Microsoft is the parent company. The parent company allowed Xbox to play around with an allowance. Xbox's allowance wasn't quite enough to buy all the toys, so they had to ask Daddy Microsoft for more money. MS said "I'll give you the money, but I'm going to make sure you earn it back," so Xbox said "okay, I'll do whatever you say from now on, if you let me buy that really popular toy." What, do you really think Playstation can just use all the money that Sony has as well? It's not that simple.

Pretty much a guarantee

Could you explain this comment?

Trillion = multiple billions.

Nintendo laughs at Sony and MS

@@gray41462 Nintendo? They haven't made anything good in 30 years.

sony is going the same way all games coming to pc

@@Ebolachicken yeah

He looks like Eddie Munster with a beard 😂

😂😂😂 only a fool would say this (you)

@@HShango 😒

Yes it's so OK that it has a 80 billion dollar black hole

​@@KingJohnMichael They still made more than 80 billion dollars last year alone. They are in much better shape than Sony 😂

@@NoXiousBLDIt’s far easier to fool someone than it is to convince someone that they have been fooled. Denial is terrible and I feel bad for you.

I know right. These companies sold to Microsoft because they weren't functioning properly. So now Microsoft purchased them and now has to fix them. It's all standard. If you have ever worked at a company that purchases another company, this is child's play compared to what usually goes on in the business world.

You have no idea what the f you are talking about. Do you realize what is going at the moment?

@@KingJohnMichael Yes, usual development and management routine inside a big corporation and hysteria among gamers fueled by hyping game journalists. If you have a proof that all those Xbox future games are cancelled, licenses sold and former major Arkane, Tango developers are fired, lay it out.

No. If a company does things you dislike, you can take your business elsewhere. It's not like I am negotiating a business deal with Microsoft and I hoping to make a million dollars from them.

It's called empathy. You care that people out there getting thrown out for no reason other than greed.

even from a pure "business" perspective it makes no sense they literally released a statement saying they need more games like HiFi the day after closing the studio. nevermind that the game was their only major success in years is well reviewed and tango was pitching a sequel. it makes no sense from a business perspective. it's terrible from a humane perspective laying off all those people and makes no sense from an Audience retention/ fanbase perspective.

They believe they can compensate their way into retaining profits in a world about to end.

so i watched another video on the subject by Knowledge Husk that pointed out that sales have not been released, only how many people played it. It came out on Gamepass which has 25million customers, and its possible that half or more of the players got it there, for free essentially. Gamepass has not been a success also, a former Microsoft higherup said it might have needed "100million or something" customers to be considered successful and it has eaten into potential sales for xbox games. HFR may have been more expensive than we have been led to believe as well which may have led to this decision but we cant know for sure unless they come out and tell us. Like many things its a complicated issue with many facets but thats just a theory.

Right?! Like, these ppl just went along with what was happening, never questioned these execs and some even saying it was good in some spaces, but now it's bad. Nobody could foresee this would happen, even though we've seen consolidations effects in other industries

The legal system has failed us for letting the merger go through.

@@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu Defund the FTC decade after decade, replace the top people there with industry plants.. This is what you get. Capitalists running roughshod over entire industries. I'm kinda more disappointed with EU for not going "nah" on this.. Not surprised, but kinda disappointed. I expect slightly more from the EU than the US on stuff like this. Everyone dropped the ball because old people have no idea how the games industry works. I also think they might not understand how enormous the industry is, and how much damage can be done by the malicious greedy corporations pulling a lot of the strings.

It doesn't get talked about in the media nearly enough. Basically the only time it ever gets remotely mentioned is if Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren say something

Been saying that for years man. Just get you a PS5 and if you see a Xbox game you want just build a decent PC for $300-$500, you'll have much better performance and you'll be able to play PC games too. That's all you need.

@@MrEffectfilms The days of a decent $300 PC are long gone man. Entry level mobos are $200+ now. Even buying used stuff its like $700 minimum for a decent gaming PC these days.

Feels like Enron, corporations hollowing themselves out

​@MrEffectfilms there's no entry level computer for 700 that can run the newest Xbox exlusives

*ton

@@tordb tonne is fine

They're just making their stock marketable to clueless investors