Billions of Dollars Later and Still Nobody Knows What an Xbox Is (theverge.com)
- Reference: 0180854318
- News link: https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/02/24/165200/billions-of-dollars-later-and-still-nobody-knows-what-an-xbox-is
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/games/883159/phil-spencer-xbox-game-pass
The brand started as a powerful video game console, but Game Pass and cloud gaming pushed it toward a hazier identity: the "This is an Xbox" ad campaign tried to redefine it as any device that could play Xbox games, whether a PC, a smart TV, a phone, or a Windows handheld. Microsoft then went further and started publishing its biggest franchises on PlayStation, making it one of the largest third-party publishers on a rival's platform.
Phil Spencer, who led the division for over a decade and drove the subscription pivot, [2]announced his retirement last week , and incoming CEO Asha Sharma has pledged "the return of Xbox" -- though her memo also talks about expanding across PC, mobile, and cloud, which sounds a lot like the status quo.
[1] https://www.theverge.com/games/883159/phil-spencer-xbox-game-pass
[2] https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/02/20/2125252/phil-spencer-retiring-after-38-years-at-microsoft
Let Linux be an Xbox (Score:3)
Time to get some goodwill and market share and officially support Linux with Xbox games. You can't use the "no demand" excuse anymore when Linux has more users than MacOS on Steam.
Xbox? (Score:1)
Xbox is that thing that microsoft probably seem as "the thing consumers force us to have".
If was what microsoft actually wanted, Xbox would not exist, and instead they would have a dominant online marketstore built-in to windows where people buy all their everything, instead of something like steam existing.
Dumbass consumers choosing something that is more or less good for em instead of something that is good for microsoft.
Re: (Score:2)
I just see the Xbox as a problem and waste of money both for Microslop and consumers.
Define "nobody" (Score:2)
Xbox has been around a while, and has its marketshare. It is also available on PCs, and anyone w/ a Microsoft account can access it. And it's not like Microsoft has a marginal presence in the overall computer market
Re: (Score:2)
> Xbox has been around a while, and has its marketshare. It is also available on PCs, and anyone w/ a Microsoft account can access it. And it's not like Microsoft has a marginal presence in the overall computer market
Did you read the summary or even the article? The problem is not nobody knows the brand "Xbox". The problem is MS marketing has been shifting the branding to include PCs, phones, smart TVs, etc creating lots of confusion. In October 2025, Asus launched the ROG Xbox Ally; it cannot play Xbox games but PC games. Anyone buying it would have to read the fine print that it cannot play their Xbox games they may have previously purchased.
It's not about the games (Score:2)
It's about the games that aren't on competitors platforms.
It's a video game console. (Score:2)
Obviously. Yeah, they spread themselves a little to thin and tried everything and the kitchen sink for current gen, right after initially botching their last gen launch epic style, but it's still a console and anybody who knows anything about videogaming knows this. This sensationalist headlining is super-annoying, isn't it?
Xbox? (Score:2)
They should just rename it to X, since there is no longer a box involved.
Problem solved.
Re: (Score:2)
> an Xbox is a gaming console - next question.
If you read the summary, that's the problem. To MS, Xbox is also phones, smart TVs, PCs, and handhelds. It no longer means the console; it is whatever MS decides it is on any given time period.
Unpopular Opinion... (Score:1)
GamePass breaks the feedback loop between player and developers and makes Xbox gamers a 'renter' class.
Re: (Score:1)
Which makes Xbox but a landlord.
Re: (Score:2)
Gamepass incentivizes shovelware for sure, but then again most people seem content to wallow in slop so maybe it's What the People Want.
I do. (Score:3)
It's a locked down overpriced low spec gaming pc that you can't install your own software on.
Autoplay video (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh great now we see ads for twitch.tv that autoplay and sidestep uBlock origin.