• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

VentureBeat: Microsoft’s Xbox and gaming sales decline 9%

Rymuth

Member
Microsoft’s gaming division is in a slump, and it’s hoping to claw its way out with new hardware coming in August.

Xbox and gaming revenue for Microsoft decreased $152 million during its fiscal fourth quarter. That’s a 9 percent year-over-year decline for the three-month period from April through June. Microsoft points to a decline in consoles sold and a lower average price for the Xbox One as the big reason. That includes some declines for the aging Xbox 360, but the Xbox One is the biggest factor for Microsoft at this time. Console gaming a huge part of the $99.6 billion worldwide gaming industry, but Microsoft is looking to take it on by also combining that segment with its PC-gaming efforts. The company is also planning to launch the slimmer Xbox One S starting at $300 early next month after announcing it in mid-June.

Across all of its businesses, Microsoft was down 4 percent year-over-year, and it points to Xbox One as one of the reasons for that decline.

- Venturebeat

Bundle me with your bundles if old
 
I'm sure the gaming division was thrilled to see MS leadership pointing at them when looking for a reason for the overall decline.

It was to give consumers a choice. Don't let this news lead you astray.

Truth is that this was obvious to anyone that was tracking the sales

The reality is, the "choice" being offered was, "Hey, don't buy a PS4 or PS Neo when that comes out; we've got something even better coming!" I'm certain it likewise had a negative effect on their sales, but regardless of the PR of it, they weren't announcing it to save you from buying an Xbox One now, when something new is coming.
 
So fiscal quarter 4 being 1 July 2016 – 30 September 2016?

I mean it was dead. The only big release was Arkham Knight IIRC. Edit: MGSV also

It has to be a contributing factor.

It's prior to Halo 5, AssCreed Syndicate, Fallout 4, Blops 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Star Wars Battlefront.
 

bitbydeath

Member
Announcing Scorpio so far in adavnce was an act of desperation.

Maybe, but if they announced the S and people bought it without knowing about Scorpio coming a year later then they'd stand to lose consumer trust.

Lose, lose situation.
 
Telling people that you're better off upgrading to Windows 10 and not having to pay for Xbox Live Gold or waiting for Project Scorpio can do that to your current console sales.
 

dyergram

Member
It was to give consumers a choice. Don't let this news lead you astray.

Truth is that this was obvious to anyone that was tracking the sales
I think it was probably to get in front of Sony. Hey if you want 4K get Xbox slim, you want powah wait 12 months we got you. Shame they completely fumbled the pr and let Sony outflank them again.
 
I'm sure it will be back up when Scorpio drops if that ends up selling what it should.

That's a long wait. Especially if the declines continue up until that point which isn't unlikely. Increased competition inside and outside the console space in the interim can only hurt the division
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Hmm, I'm sure slim will boost sales. Rumours of Scorpio probably hurt them though. That shit lasted a while. Plus, honestly, playstation is the go-to console right now and it caters to a huge range of gamers.
 
Article states April through June, though.

Yeah it's strange.

It says "Xbox and gaming revenue for Microsoft decreased $152 million during its fiscal fourth quarter." but who has a 4th quarter then? The US fiscal quarter is typically 1 July 2016 – 30 September.

Counting April to June as your 4th would make 1 July – 30 September you first fiscal quarter of the year

Even still I mean I don't see 9% falling off 3 months of earnings in the 17 days after Scorpio. That would be insane
 
Maybe I'm off here but Scoprio and the Play Anywhere stuff had zero effect on the FOURTH FISCAL QUATER of 2015.

You're off. Microsoft's fiscal year goes from July to June, so their fourth quarter is April to June.

Microsoft's gaming sales have been on the decline for a while and the announcements were made only a few weeks from the end of the quarter, so you're right that they aren't the main reason for the decline but I doubt there was no impact at all.
 
Maybe I'm off here but Scoprio and the Play Anywhere stuff had zero effect on the FOURTH FISCAL QUATER of 2015.

That stuff was announced with two weeks left of June. I don't think it would have that much of a turn around. Actually thinking bout about it now some people may be holding off for the Xbox S in August. I'm not saying this would have reversed the slump completely but what you are saying is a little silly.
 
How is announcing Scorpio a problem?

Are Sony sales slowing down? Because everybody knows Neo is on the way.

The fact is Scorpio isn't just the problem. MS have given people the options of buying a Xbox or building a PC and playing their games. That was always going to be a factor.
 
Maybe I'm off here but Scoprio and the Play Anywhere stuff had zero effect on the FOURTH FISCAL QUATER of 2015.

You're off. The key word is 'fiscal'. Companies have different fiscal years than the calendar years for tax and accounting reasons. In Microsoft's case it looks to be July to June of the following year.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Announcing Scorpio definitely put me off buying an Xbone for a long time. The Xbox brand is essentially on pause in my mind right now, and probably will be for a year or two. I'm not even saying I'd buy a Scorpio at launch, either... but I definitely don't want to invest on the current version.

I don't see how this was a winning strategy. You're gonna make up for torpedoing enthusiasm for your current console by winning people over with graphical power later on? How is this a smart move?
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Scorpio wasn't announced until June. Sales are down from the April to June period.

I think he is arguing, hence why the announcement of it so far in advance, since they knew the decline in sales. Rejuvenate hype into the brand, and let their current payer base know something is coming, so do not jump ship.

I mean...something could always change, but...yeah.

Even more perspective, which a lot already assumed.
 

120v

Member
one of those "it's a shit sandwich and we'll have to take a bite out of it" moments. virtually no reason to buy xbox hardware the first half of this year
 
That would do nothing but hurt current sales. No one's going to run out and buy a console if a revision is not too far away.

So people are still buying PS4s right? Last time I checked they are despite Neo rumours for three months.

And Scorpio is more targeted to a hardcore audience and will have a big starting price point. It isn't something a casual gamer would be interested in currently.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Announcing Scorpio definitely put me off buying an Xbone for a long time. The Xbox brand is essentially on pause in my mind right now, and probably will be for a year or two. I'm not even saying I'd buy a Scorpio at launch, either... but I definitely don't want to invest on the current version.

I don't see how this was a winning strategy. You're gonna make up for torpedoing enthusiasm for your current console by winning people over with graphical power later on? How is this a smart move?

I'm going to take a guess and say they were afraid of Neo.

By saying "We'll be the most powerful console ever!", I think that they thought they could take some of the wind out of Sony's announcement.
 

Warablo

Member
I love the Xbox One and Microsoft's software/UI updates. I hope to see more changes in policies and hope power would be enough to keep them around.

They also need to invest in first party studios and learn to live with it if they aren't Halo 3 numbers. Though, I know they won't. They would rather take the easy way out and throw money for a timed exclusive.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I think he is arguing, hence why the announcement of it so far in advance, since they knew the decline in sales. Rejuvenate hype into the brand, and let their current payer base know something is coming, so do not jump ship.

...they're letting the current play base know something coming that isn't the machine they own. They will have to get a new one. I can't see how it would enthuse any current Xbox One owner...
 

Kayant

Member
How is announcing Scorpio a problem?

Are Sony sales slowing down? Because everybody knows Neo is on the way.

The fact is Scorpio isn't just the problem. MS have given people the options of buying a Xbox or building a PC and playing their games. That was always going to be a factor.
Not in the wider market it won't but I agree announcing Scorpio likely contributed very little to this.
 

Quonny

Member
That would do nothing but hurt current sales. No one's going to run out and buy a console if a revision is not too far away.

If their plan is to really push Scorpio they can afford a down year to drum up excitement and let the original Xbox One just kinda fade away. Scorpio might be their last big push, and the plan they're putting forward now seems to indicate as much. They might burn the current Xbox owners in the process, but they might be willing to do that for some greater marketshare.

But that's just my opinion. I'd like to think the people at Microsoft know what they're doing, but hey, who knows.
 

Occam

Member
I think he is arguing, hence why the announcement of it so far in advance, since they knew the decline in sales. Rejuvenate hype into the brand, and let their current payer base know something is coming, so do not jump ship.

Correct. And "Please don't buy a PS4 Neo".
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
...they're letting the current play base know something coming that isn't the machine they own. They will have to get a new one. I can't see how it would enthuse any current Xbox One owner...

I think it explains the OneS being released sooner than traditional slims that are usually holiday, personally.

After-all, it is the 'pre-season'.
 
I think he is arguing, hence why the announcement of it so far in advance, since they knew the decline in sales. Rejuvenate hype into the brand, and let their current payer base know something is coming, so do not jump ship.

That's a good point.

So people are still buying PS4s right? Last time I checked they are despite Neo rumours for three months.

And Scorpio is more targeted to a hardcore audience and will have a big starting price point. It isn't something a casual gamer would be interested in currently.

I don't know PS4s sales numbers. Neo either had no effect or a negative effect on PS4's sales. It's highly unlikely that it boosted it.

And a new console is a new console. A huge chunk of Xbox One buyers would rather wait a year and get the better hardware. It's not like XO and Scorpio are going to have completely separate audiences. There's a huge overlap.
 
Top Bottom