Xbox consoles and games are becoming rare finds at major retailers. Workers confirm that Walmart and Target locations are clearing out inventories and have no plans to restock the products. Repeated Xbox price increases have made the brand less desirable for businesses and consumers.
This isn’t a contradiction to that.
It’s a contradiction to them having a successful next console. This is Sega + Dreamcast vibes all over again.
But this seems like these retailers are choosing not to stock the products, rather than Microsoft choosing not to sell to them. It might not bode well for Xbox doing well, but this doesn’t make them liars. (There are plenty of other great examples for that.)
I don’t think there’s much of a history of consoles being removed from shelves before a successor is announced.
Actually. It happened with Sega after the Dreamcast. Almost beat for beat:
Sega: We’re so going to make a cooler next Gen console. Sega: Yeah our games are leaving stores, but just you wait until we announce what’s NEXT! SEGA: J/K no more new consoles, Sega just makes games now.
Microsoft is likely going to turn Xbox into a brand the same way Sega was forced to.
I mean, yeah. Sega completely got out of the hardware market. They never removed their hardware from shelves before announcing a replacement hardware solution, they simply let it run out and pivoted as a business to software, retaining the brand.
Imagine the potential liability a company would have by announcing they are exiting the market when they are beholden to shareholders. Announcing they are shutting down something would immediately cause a drop in share price. I would cause sales to plummet- possibly triggering lawsuits from retailers.
They’d never announce they were shutting down. There’s too much value there in the brand, even if it’s not what it used to be.
Very true. They are still acting identically as if they were shutting down console production. The only difference between Dreamcast and Xbox is that Xbox is willing to lie to keep their shareholders oblivious.
Sega at least put their units on sale with honesty, yet Microsoft is acting like their Xboxes selling for 279 at Sam’s club is just a temporary thing.
Almost certain that Sam’s is the one taking the hit on that sale.
It’s just that people order online mostly these days. Sony are also doing this with their PlayStation.
Honestly though, consoles are dying breed.
Console exclusives are dying because there’s more money to be made by selling on all platforms than isolating to just one. It’s not like first party peripherals are superior to 3rd party ones anymore.
It’s just a matter of time until Nintendo breaks and starts releasing on PC. Money is their #1, and their consoles don’t traditionally make money, the software licenses sold do. Just a matter of time until their ownership demands it in the pursuit of more profits.
I think Nintendo will survive the longest, the Switch is a handheld with gimmicky features which appeals to kids and families. They have strong IPs, people will buy literally anything that says Pokemon on it. They are very anti-consumer, but that doesn’t matter to most unfortunately.
Xbox and PlayStation are essentially just heavily restricted PCs, so they don’t really hold the same value as a Switch might.
Like with the Wii, I’d be with you and the Wii motes were super gimmicky. Also if the Wii u had panned out.
But the switch is not particularly uniquely gimmicky. Pretty conventional controls, with maybe the residual gimmick of those NFC figures…
It’s handheld, which is already a major difference to the other consoles, along with the little Wii style control options.
They aren’t selling it because of processing power, or necessarily the gimmick aspect, but on portability and “affordability”. That makes it a more compelling product than gimped PCs that cost twice as much.
But the Steam Deck has started to carve into that market, with many other lower quality ‘PC’ handhelds appearing too.
Right, that Steam Deck and myriad of PC handhelds I think is why I don’t consider the Switch quite so uniquely gimmicky… It’s a recognition that normal controller games can be played in a ‘tablet’ with better controls more than a particularly unique, possibly patent protected thing like the wiimotes, or the Wii-U tablet+main display, or the DS dual screens…
In short, if they made their low-spec games ported to PC it’s quite likely to be a nice additional revenue stream without having to compromise the game to be workable on PC. If the Wii-Motes were still a big thing, then Nintendo would have a hard time trying to make PC ports without screwing up their console.
I re-read the article multiple times, and I maybe I missed it, but I don’t see the part where Microsoft is the one removing the consoles from store shelves.
You won’t see it in any official announcement as they want to make sure their retailer partners have the opportunity to liquidate this holiday season before announcements next year. There are also a multitude of other reasons. You do not simply announce you are closing down a console while the businesses you still rely on to distribute products beyond just xbox consoles are holding onto stock.
This guy has had many insider information in the past, going back to 2023 when many microsoft titles started releasing on all consoles including the switch. Console wars are dead and software rent seeking and digital sales are the future: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/microsoft-revamps-xbox-game-pass-plans-and-hikes-ultimate-to-29-99-a-month-ultimate-gets-ubisoft-classics-and-more.1688694/page-29#post-270866538
Even this leak is that they hadn’t decided if they’ll still bother, not they already decided and lied about it. At the time, they sure did mean to make another console (that’s actually just a PC). It doesn’t make them liars if the market tells them in the interim that’s it not worth it.