3 ms·

Xbox is in complete disarray and is imploding. I haven’t owned a PlayStation in decades. If my son’s Xbox Series X (the worst naming ever) suddenly dies, we’ll

Xbox is in complete disarray and is imploding. I haven’t owned a PlayStation in decades. If my son’s Xbox Series X (the worst naming ever) suddenly dies, we’ll either switch to PlayStation or build a PC.

binarin 2mo ago
Isn't playstation going download only way in a year or so, with no physical disks at all?
- 2III7 2mo ago
  The majority of gamers don't care. PC has been digital only for decades.
  - ZenoArrow 2mo ago
    There are a few points to raise here. Firstly, yes PC is mostly digital only, but there is at least competition between PC gaming marketplaces, which helps to restrict anti-consumer practices like deleting content that gamers have paid for. Secondly, some of the competitors in the PC gaming space allow for physical backups of installation media, which helps with game preservation. For example, if a game is bought on GOG, the installer is mostly/always one that can be backed up onto physical media. Thirdly, while it's true most gamers have moved away from physical media, it still has value. For example, second hand games allow for more people to take part in gaming than could otherwise (legally) do so. Taking away physical games won't stop people on low incomes from wanting to game, and is likely to lead to a resurgence in game piracy. Not exactly the outcome game industry leaders are likely to welcome.
    - 2III7 2mo ago
      I agree with all of those points. The market unfortunately doesn't. Physical sales constitute only a quarter on the PlayStation platform (even less according to Sony). Most if not all of the top 10 games by player count are online only anyway. If Sony does go all digital with the PS6 they'll only lose a small fraction of loyal gamers and they just don't give a fuck. Piracy on the PlayStation? Also not gonna happen. At least not for online games and that's where the money is.
      - ZenoArrow 2mo ago
        > Piracy on the PlayStation? Also not gonna happen. Piracy has a long history on the PlayStation, going all the way back to the PS1. Every PlayStation (home console and handheld) has had a mod/homebrew scene, including plenty of access to pirated games. I don't see why the PS6 would be any different, regardless of whether the games are distributed digitally or not. The only difference is that more people will be drawn to it if the prices of games are kept high through no second hand market.
goldenarm 2mo ago
PS5 prices went up 35% in the past 2 years, and PC RAM went 5x. This is a global problem
- ohmylawd 2mo ago
  [dead]
darth_avocado 2mo ago
Xbox is in complete disarray because none of the people in charge seem like people who have played a single video game ever.
- inigyou 2mo ago
  And isn't that just so typical? Every industry right now is headed by money extraction experts, not experts in that industry.
- x0x0 2mo ago
  I don't think it's played; it's that idiots brought low-margin businesses into a high-margin enterprise b2b saas company (that exploits a monopoly too) and are shocked that gaming is not going to give you 30% or higher margins. Nintendo is super disciplined and a bad year for Microsoft margin-wise is one of Nintendo's best. If Nintendo can't regularly hit 30% margins, nobody can, and certainly (as you say) people who don't game and don't know a single thing about gaming except speedrunning a tutorial aren't going to do that.
  - darth_avocado 2mo ago
    Yeah. Xbox is profitable despite how terrible it is in terms of game exclusives, just not 30% profit margins profitable. Instead of focusing on that they buy studios to close them and then wonder why they don’t have better margins.
wronglebowski 2mo ago
I think that’s the really important implied question right now. Mostly everyone already has some form of device to play games on. What happens when they start to die off?
sssilver 2mo ago
Would you consider the Steam Machine?

binarin 2mo ago

Isn't playstation going download only way in a year or so, with no physical disks at all?

2III7 2mo ago
The majority of gamers don't care. PC has been digital only for decades.
- ZenoArrow 2mo ago
  There are a few points to raise here. Firstly, yes PC is mostly digital only, but there is at least competition between PC gaming marketplaces, which helps to restrict anti-consumer practices like deleting content that gamers have paid for. Secondly, some of the competitors in the PC gaming space allow for physical backups of installation media, which helps with game preservation. For example, if a game is bought on GOG, the installer is mostly/always one that can be backed up onto physical media. Thirdly, while it's true most gamers have moved away from physical media, it still has value. For example, second hand games allow for more people to take part in gaming than could otherwise (legally) do so. Taking away physical games won't stop people on low incomes from wanting to game, and is likely to lead to a resurgence in game piracy. Not exactly the outcome game industry leaders are likely to welcome.
  - 2III7 2mo ago
    I agree with all of those points. The market unfortunately doesn't. Physical sales constitute only a quarter on the PlayStation platform (even less according to Sony). Most if not all of the top 10 games by player count are online only anyway. If Sony does go all digital with the PS6 they'll only lose a small fraction of loyal gamers and they just don't give a fuck. Piracy on the PlayStation? Also not gonna happen. At least not for online games and that's where the money is.
    - ZenoArrow 2mo ago
      > Piracy on the PlayStation? Also not gonna happen. Piracy has a long history on the PlayStation, going all the way back to the PS1. Every PlayStation (home console and handheld) has had a mod/homebrew scene, including plenty of access to pirated games. I don't see why the PS6 would be any different, regardless of whether the games are distributed digitally or not. The only difference is that more people will be drawn to it if the prices of games are kept high through no second hand market.

goldenarm 2mo ago

PS5 prices went up 35% in the past 2 years, and PC RAM went 5x. This is a global problem

ohmylawd 2mo ago
[dead]

darth_avocado 2mo ago

Xbox is in complete disarray because none of the people in charge seem like people who have played a single video game ever.

inigyou 2mo ago
And isn't that just so typical? Every industry right now is headed by money extraction experts, not experts in that industry.
x0x0 2mo ago
I don't think it's played; it's that idiots brought low-margin businesses into a high-margin enterprise b2b saas company (that exploits a monopoly too) and are shocked that gaming is not going to give you 30% or higher margins. Nintendo is super disciplined and a bad year for Microsoft margin-wise is one of Nintendo's best. If Nintendo can't regularly hit 30% margins, nobody can, and certainly (as you say) people who don't game and don't know a single thing about gaming except speedrunning a tutorial aren't going to do that.
- darth_avocado 2mo ago
  Yeah. Xbox is profitable despite how terrible it is in terms of game exclusives, just not 30% profit margins profitable. Instead of focusing on that they buy studios to close them and then wonder why they don’t have better margins.

wronglebowski 2mo ago

I think that’s the really important implied question right now. Mostly everyone already has some form of device to play games on. What happens when they start to die off?

sssilver 2mo ago

Would you consider the Steam Machine?