Well, I just noticed news from Fortune.com that the Micrsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spenser conceded defeat in the console wars to Sony and Nintendo. They “Finally” admitted they have officially LOST the console battle to Sony and Nintendo.
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I wonder if that concession will have any impact of future development of the MSFS for Xbox. Probably not but one never knows. The PC’s can upgrade to take advantage of new tech development for MSFS, the Console cannot. Developments and Updates may one day split the software into 2 distinct classes.
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But, the bottom line is that we all LOVE MSFS !
What do you mean conceded defeat? As if MS is losing business in the console industry? I’m fairly certain the Xbox Series is doing very well.
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I didn’t say that…Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spenser said that. He admitted that Microsoft will NEVER be able to catch up to Sony and Nintendo with the console wars. Apparently they are not doing as well as Sony or Nintendo and I like the Xbox although I have a PC for MSFS.
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PC is my preference, but for console’s I prefer the Xbox.
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I read recently that the Xbox Series S/X is the best selling Xbox yet, and had so far met projected sales targets. Just because Sony and Nintendo sell more units doesn’t mean Xbox can’t turn a healthy profit.
I think it might be prudent to examine that representative’s words with far more scrutiny before boldly declaring the Xbox a failure.
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So what? Arsenal are about to lose out on winning the Premiership to Man City, but that doesn’t mean they will give up on football and become a cricket club instead.
You can still carry on if you are not number one. It won’t have any impact on anything.
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Link: Microsoft gaming CEO admits he lost the console wars | Fortune
Behind paywall.
Personal Comments and Observations
This market is just like high end digital cameras (mirrorless/DSLR), very little room at the top, oftentimes the gap between number 1 & 2 is sizable - and it’s hard to innovate to break out of the pack. Trailing as number 3 isn’t the worst fate, but if there’s really only 3 of you to begin with, that’s a different story.
What distinguishes MS from the competition is the large scale Cloud delivery and management capabilities that also power the sim. Leveraging that to deliver original content that is both compelling and console exclusive is one way to even the playing field and increase share. That means reorienting content to better stream, which partly negates limited local resource on the console. That would tie into a plan to gain share through software and device portability - playing on literally anything.
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This is idle speculation that isn’t backed up at all by the remarks. In fact, where MS lands in the console wars has little bearing with the business case and broader plan for MSFS as a product by itself.
Also relevant: “Spencer is now pushing Microsoft to focus not on hardware but on software: for example, its monthly subscription service Game Pass. He’s also bullish on new features that allow consumers to buy one game and play it seamlessly across a variety of devices from Xbox to PC to new handheld devices like the Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally—outside the Sony ecosystem. Nevertheless, he refuted repeated speculation that Microsoft might ditch its commitment to console gaming in favor of a sole focus on streaming.”
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Exactly, because they apparently lost the hardware war… Doesn’t really matter to me, I was just “wondering” if it would have any effect on the MSFS development in the future. Not even considered “speculation”…just simple wondering… relax, we all still love MSFS and BOTH platforms and will support both until the bitter end. We LOVE our MSFS.
Microsoft earns 1B every three months with Game Pass.
They don’t need to sell hardware or laser games 2.0 like Sony.
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Microsoft dropped the ball big time with Xbox console VR.
A Halo & Forza VR title exclusive flagship would have been a huge market win for MS.
Nintendo dropped the ball with console VR, a Mario Kart VR title exclusive flagship has been one of the most desired experiences by Nintendo fans for over 10 years now.
Playstation scored a hit with Gran Turismo VR and PSVR2.
Kudos to Playstation for seeing the future and evolving through generational VR tech.
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Caveat:
I’m not big on games per se, and I haven’t owned a “console” since the Atari 2600. (Confession: I didn’t own that one either - it belonged to my brother. 
)
However. . . .
Hyundai isn’t Lamborghini, has never been Lamborghini, and will likely never become Lamborghini, but that doesn’t mean my little Hyundai Solaris isn’t a great car, and it doesn’t mean that Hyundai isn’t coining money hand-over-fist.
Rock on!
XBox has never had a chance against Playstation. Doesn’t make XBox bad but simply not as good as PS.
But if the CEO concedes it openly it might turn political which again could have consequences for MSFS. Subjunctive!
What a good idea !
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Certainly doesn’t make Xbox bad — in fact, from a spec point-of-view, the Series X is more powerful than the PS5.
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IMO the XBox controller is a lot better than the PS one 
But there is more to the playing experience than the power. The whole XBox social experience is just bad. I have a couple of friends added in the XBox app (I don’t have the console) and we used to play Sea of thieves together… if it worked. Often we couldn’t join each other, were shown offline although we were online etc. If it worked it liked to crash or kick us out of the group, that stuff. I’ve really never had any problems with my PS4 and 5, no connection problems, no crashing games, no game saving issues. While MS has never got their stuff sorted (we have seen these problems with MSFS) the PS network just works.
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For me the PS5 is useless, since I don’t play games any more. It could be ten times more powerful but if it don’t run MSFS…
I’m willing to bet there are many more who bought a Series S/X purely for MSFS.
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Amazing number! Wow.
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Could totally be… but how many compared to the whole market? I personally know nobody who owns an XBox, but people have at least the PS4. If people talk about gaming consoles they usually say “a Playstation”. I guess there is a reason for it.
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