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[Sydle]

Yup, My mistake, Microsoft work July - June.

I mean 17 days isn't really enough time to lose 9% on 3 month of earnings unless they dropped off the charts after E3 which doesn't seem likely.

Still the results are poor.

Quantum Break - April - Xbox/Windows Exclusive
Dark Souls 3 - April
Destiny April Update - April
Fallout 4 Wasteland Workshop DLC - April

Doom - May
Fallout 3 Far Habour DLC - May
Overwatch - May
The Witcher 3 Blood and Wine Expansion - May

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst - June
Fallout 4 Contraptions Workshop DLC - June
The Division: DLC 1 Underground - June - Timed Xbox Exclusive

The period had some fairly big titles and content patches that should have kept steady business for them. The competition did launch strong titles like

Ratchet and Clank - April
Uncharted 4 - May

Which could have somewhat impacted sales for those months since they where both high profile titles. More so than anything Xbox had outside of maybe Quantum Break which was a mixed bag review wise

I wonder if The Witcher 3 the same period last year had that much of an effect on sales? They had some spring bundles last year, too. Plus MS was building up to big fall releases like Gears of War Ultimate, Halo 5, Forza 6, and Tomb Raider.

Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3 are great, but they don't quite have the same impact as a new mainline Halo and Forza.

I don't see anything making up for shift of mindshare Playstation gained by aligning themselves to the biggest third-party releases like Destiny, Call of Duty, and Street Fighter V, etc. Scorpio is going to be expensive and the cheaper PS4 and Neo are going to play those games just fine. Spencer really needs to focus on finding and funding 2-3 big new AAA IP and working on third-party marketing deals.

 

[SOR5]

Microsoft: B-b-but, what about the MAU?

MAU and all the services relevant to it is far more indicative of how lucrative something is, im sure they arent doing an imposed internet stutter
A sold box that stays offline and only gets used for the annual game of FIFA makes far less money than an active subscription to Xbox Live and somebody constantly buying games and accessories.

Google not constantly measuring Nexus sales against iPhone sales might not satiate hardware warrior willy wavers, but thats not how you measure success when your entire business is about ecosystem investment.

EDIT: Incase youre thinking "well theyd say if they were selling more hardware" well of course they would, but some people think MAU is some sort of mask to hide defeat, it's their ENTIRE business with Windows 10 now.

 

[Deadstar]

It's not surprising. The UI is super slow, Halo isn't good anymore, Gears is old and the hardware is weaker. Now that PSN is as good as xbox live xbox has no advantage (other than the controller which some people prefer). I hope the next box rips and really puts the hurt on the ps4. We need some competition again.

I've said it before, but we need to make xbox great again.

 

[vpance]

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

If Scorpio, a high end enthusiast targeted console is their last chance, then I think we already know the result.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Not gonna give the good ol Xbox doom and gloom talk. Though, if things get really really bad...I can see them possibly just ditching the hardware and going all in on PC software (maybe even releasing on steam) as well as publishing games/IP on other platforms and keeping the XBL platform as a gateway to developers/publisher for servers and such.

Crazy Thought? Maybe, but I doubt MS would wanna just give up all their assets/IP's if they can make profitable investments somewhere else if not on Xbox Hardware.

I don't think Xbox consoles are going anywhere though. As long as they keeping making hardware I'll support em assuming they don't do stupid shit.

/shrug.

 

[LordBaztion]

Not gonna give the good ol Xbox doom and gloom talk. Though, if things get really really bad...I can see them possibly just ditching the hardware and going all in on PC software (maybe even releasing on steam) as well as publishing games/IP on other platforms and keeping the XBL platform as a gateway to developers/publisher for servers and such.

Crazy Thought? Maybe, but I doubt MS would wanna just give up all their assets/IP's if they can make profitable investments somewhere else if not on Xbox Hardware.

I don't think Xbox consoles are going anywhere though. As long as they keeping making hardware I'll support em assuming they don't do stupid shit.

/shrug.

I think the doomsday scenario would be xbox to be in a windows phone situation. Gaming primary focus on PC and keep making some xbox to not dissapear of the living room, at least while PCs don't enter in the console space. Afterwards goodbye xbox.


It puts into perspective all the studios closures, I guess Microsoft Studios won't expand until there is a user base for it. Since generations are done, I don't think they to have another chance to repeat the 360 although Scorpio seems in the good direction.

 

[captainraincoat]

Dunno, probably just has to do with 4K BR drives and/or production.

Well Microsoft had Xbox bring its games to Windows (I have doubts it was an Xbox/Spencer decision, it had to come from Nadella), so they have to have known that would have a direct impact on Xbox consoles sales for the future and Scorpio. I don't think they expect Scorpio to be a "Xbox 360/PS4" type seller.

I dont think scorpio will be really aimed at the console market when its released.....all indications is that its the first step in moving back to a pc eco system....that plays xbox titles.......if they get out of the apple closed system mentality and allow third party apps like steam and origin to run then it could pretty much leave sony with their dick in hand and Nintendo with a huge soap bar ready to drop with their next console.

 

[Crimson_Gold]

I dont think scorpio will be really aimed at the console market when its released.....all indications is that its the first step in moving back to a pc eco system....that plays xbox titles.......if they get out of the apple closed system mentality and allow third party apps like steam and origin to run then it could pretty much leave sony with their dick in hand and Nintendo with a huge soap bar ready to drop with their next console.

Why would they abandon licensing fees by allowing this to happen? This makes no sense. There's no incentive

 

[Kysen]

The Xbox is in a precarious position, and if the division delivers another big disappointment for MS...you have to ask why they would keep banging their head against the wall.

I don't think they will throw in the towel. I laughed at them when they came out with the Surface pro 1,2 3, while losing money. But now I'm a happy owner of a SP4. In other words I think they will stick with it till they manage to carve a niche. I just don't think they'll ever reach the heights of 360 anymore.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

The Xbox is in a precarious position, and if the division delivers another big disappointment for MS...you have to ask why they would keep banging their head against the wall.

They better have a mother of marketing campaigns planned. Because I cannot see how they can recapture their worldwide marketshare, while still being tied to this generation of hardware.

Microsofts only hope for a 360-like success worldwide is a generational reset and a PS3 like fuck-up by Sony. Two things that are looking increasingly unlikely.

Will recapturing the hardcore market in the US be enough with the amount of growth Sony is seeing worldwide and Nintendo is poised to have in mobile?

 

[jayu26]

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.

One of the reasons! It has to be one of the minor reasons, right?

 

[Crimson_Gold]

One of the reasons! It has to be one of the minor reasons, right?

Guessing so. Gotta let the investors have a division to blame

 

[captainraincoat]

Why would they abandon licensing fees by allowing this to happen? This makes no sense. There's no incentive

They can make a much better profit getting a cut of all sales through these apps

 

[Crimson_Gold]

They can make a much better profit getting a cut of all sales through these apps

Asking for a lot of buy in that doesn't seem likely to happen at all

 

[get2sammyb]

There's a good chance PS4 may be down for the same period, too, though, right? I mean, it's been a very slow few months for games, and these consoles aren't "new" anymore.

 

[Lemondish]

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

Not strange at all. Many companies run on a July-June fiscal calendar.

 

[RexNovis]

I mean this isn't good news but its sort of to be expected to some degree what with the lower prices on their SKUs and the upcoming HW revisions. Next quarter with XB1S releasing will be much more telling as to health of the platform/brand.

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

Well that's foreboding. Though I suppose signs do point to the brand itself was just going to be transitioned to a MS catch all gaming brand hence Win 10 initiative. So in that sense it seems like the Xbox brand itself is fairly secure just not necessarily when it comes to HW.

Lolmao gaffers again with the doom and gloom. Microsoft is not exiting the console and games market.

Man you sure do love ringing that SonyGAF/ GAF is stupid drum dont you?

It's a Microsoft game and this is Neogaf...

Come on gaf, can't we have a single thread without people shitting on Microsoft?

Are gaffers really this stupid? Mouse and keyboard will of course only be supported in mouse and keyboard specific games or the Xbox will detect it and force you into multiplayer against other mouse and keyboard user/pc users. Gamepad users will of course be matchmaked against other gamepad user...
It's not exactly rocket science...

I don't trust Sony at all and i'm kinda surprised that their lack of "security" isn't that big of a deal to people. It's rarely mentioned how little protection they offer us. Sometimes i feel like Sony gets a pass on a lot of things.

If GAF is such a terrible place why the hell are you posting here?

 

[SPDIF]

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.

Unless I'm missing something this statement seems completely incorrect. They weren't down 4 percent year-over-year. The 4 percent decline he's talking about was in More Personal Computing, which Xbox is a part of. You can't exactly call that "across all of its businesses".

 

[SaberEdge]

Putting all your exclusives on the PC isn't going to help your console either.

I seiously doubt that will have much effect. Generally speaking, people that want consoles will buy consoles. The thing that slows Microsoft down the most is their Xbox brand doesn't have as much mind share as their competitor's brand. They need to invest more in solid first party output in a variety of genres. Whether those games are on PC or not won't affect the console side of things that much. They just need those games.

 

[RibMan]

Interesting numbers!

Not sure if this will change in the future, but Xbox Live seems to be holding the entire division together. They should see a noticeable hardware boost with the One S, but how long will it last? And how much will they be making per console?

 

[Bizzquik]

Man, Microsoft is never getting back what it lost with the failed Xbox One launch, is it....
Over a decade spent building its base with good will over two prior consoles....just gone.

Putting Microsoft's 15 years of consoles in perspective, its now looking like this millennia's aberration was the (initial) failure of Sony's PS3 - which gave Microsoft's Xbox 360 a boost toward parity. True 'normal', though, actually looks like Sony always in front with Microsoft noticeably trailing. (Thanks, Asia and Europe)

News like this breaks my heart. I have owned all three Microsoft consoles and I'm excited with what Phil's doing with Scorpio and Play Anywhere. Hopefully the division is profitable enough so that there's many more years of Xbox in the future.

 

[CrazE]

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.

Not sure about that.

 

[Goose_Se7en]

Man, Microsoft is never getting back what it lost with the failed Xbox One launch, is it....
Over a decade spent building its base with good will over two prior consoles....just gone.

Putting Microsoft's 15 years of consoles in perspective, its now looking like this millennia's aberration was the (initial) failure of Sony's PS3 - which gave Microsoft's Xbox 360 a boost toward parity. True 'normal', though, actually looks like Sony always in front with Microsoft noticeably trailing. (Thanks, Asia and Europe)

News like this breaks my heart. I have owned all three Microsoft consoles and I'm excited with what Phil's doing with Scorpio and Play Anywhere. Hopefully the division is profitable enough so that there's many more years of Xbox in the future.

Sorry but I just thought of this

 

[eifer]

NINTENDOOMED!

Seriously though, xbox will be fine. They've made huge improvements since Mattrick left. Scorpio is gonna be awesome too.

 

[littlebigman]

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

 

[jayu26]

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

How about no? Marketing and insane deals have helped Xbone, but WiiU disastor is in the league of it's own.

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

:avatarquote

 

[jelly]

I still like your controller Microsoft.

 

[cackhyena]

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

Ahahaha, sure.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Xbox will be alright, a lot changing with them.

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

You funny bro.

 

[Mooreberg]

I wonder what the software strategy will be heading into the back half if next year, when Scorpio launches. The games they have been publishing since 2009 work well for them when they are leading the market (360), but don't show much ability to sway things when they are not (One). None of the attainable third party timed exclusives are doing it either. So much of the market is dominated by cross platform games now.

 

[Zedox]

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

You really think Xbox is doing that bad huh? LOL.

 

[Iacobellis]

Matt is a developer in the know in the industry. His word is considered basically law on these sort of subjects, and he weighs in when he feels it's relevant. Stuff he has perspective on that can sometimes be pretty high level.

Ah, that definitely puts it into a better perspective. Thanks.

 

[Bgamer90]

The only thing keeping Xbox alive in the gaming scene is the carpet-bomb marketing Microsoft has been doing for the past few years. Without that, it would have sold less than the Wii U for sure.

This is totally setting aside the fact that the Xbox One has actual solid game support from third party companies that make popular games.

Anyway, I'm not surprised by these stats due to the crazy Xbox One sales that have been happening this year. Gears of War 4's launch and the Xbox One S should help sales a bit for the second half of the year. Xbox Scorpio will help for 2017. Both cases will have people who currently own an Xbox One and people who don't currently own an Xbox One be added on to overall sales.

 

[BeforeU]

meanwhile Microsoft stock up 4% lol

I don't see this as concerning factor at all. Xbox brand is strong, Xbox Live subscribers are too important for them. They are never selling this brand, its even more integral part of Microsoft now than it ever was.

 

[sense]

There's a good chance PS4 may be down for the same period, too, though, right? I mean, it's been a very slow few months for games, and these consoles aren't "new" anymore.

Well they haven't had fire sales so they make profit on every console sold. Sure the hardware numbers may be down this period due to slow months but they do sell worldwide and not just certain territories plus it also includes uncharted 4 and ratchet and clank release so they may end up being flat rather than down. Let's see

 

[elohel]

yeah but they're cementing a platform and making some fantastic decisions

This is bound to pay off beyond the typical sales mark stuff imo

 

[Guevara]

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.

I'm a little surprised Microsoft corporate is throwing Xbox under the bus like that, specifically Xbox One hardware.

Usually they'd be less specific.

 

[Matt]

I'm a little surprised Microsoft corporate is throwing Xbox under the bus like that, specifically Xbox One hardware.

Usually they'd be less specific.

It's not strange at all, companies usually offer up explanations for poor earnings results.

And Xbox is pretty separate from a lot of their other areas, so it helps to show the problems isn't systematic of the entire company.

 

[Mass Effect]

It's become apparent that outside of the holiday season the Xbone simply can't maintain sustainable sales, and it's perpetual crazy deals are evidence of that. If Microsoft weren't constantly doing these deals, I feel like the Xbox would be doing closer to Wii U levels (though not as bad).

As DeepEnigma said, they're probably hoping on Scorpio reigniting interest in the Xbox brand.

 

[notaskwid]

Lolmao gaffers again with the doom and gloom. Microsoft is not exiting the console and games market.

lolmau gaffers are really terrible people amirite

 

[Bear Force One]

I'm sure it will be back up when Scorpio drops if that ends up selling what it should.

A high end box is the last thing to promote sales.

 

[Japanmanx3]

Juniors out and about I see...

Interesting number nonetheless.

 

[LiquidSolid]

It's become apparent that outside of the holiday season the Xbone simply can't maintain sustainable sales, and it's perpetual crazy deals are evidence of that. If Microsoft weren't constantly doing these deals, I feel like the Xbox would be doing closer to Wii U levels (though not as bad).

As DeepEnigma said, they're probably hoping on Scorpio reigniting interest in the Xbox brand.

Wii U? Nah, it was never going to do that poorly, even back when it was $500. An oXbox repeat (~24m LTD) is the more likely scenario IMO.

 

[kyser73]

I don't think they will throw in the towel. I laughed at them when they came out with the Surface pro 1,2 3, while losing money. But now I'm a happy owner of a SP4. In other words I think they will stick with it till they manage to carve a niche. I just don't think they'll ever reach the heights of 360 anymore.

Surface is a dual market product though.

It represents a way into the Enterprise hardware market, with many companies now opting to issue users with tablets rather than laptops or desktops.

Enterprise customers come with Service & Maintenance contracts, which is where the real money is, along with amortisation which usually means kit gets updated every 3 years.

You don't get any of that with a consumer device with low margins and high marketing costs, and MS don't stick with hardware they can't see a long term future for.

Upthread comments about Scorpio being a last shot echo my own thoughts - clearly there's been some hard discussions about the importance of core early adopters, power and how they both affect long-term WoM and Scorpio is clearly aimed at addressing what MS sees as the failings associated with Xbone. Whether they've learned ALL the lessons won't be known until closer to launch, when we'll see if they're really interested in capturing non-English speaking markets and how they approach them.

 

[RedRum]

I keep hearing that Scorpio is not going to sell, it'll be too expensive, it'll be only niche..

I heard the same thing about the Elite Controller too. It's not going to sell, too expensive, $150lol, it's for a niche crowd. And the elite winded up selling VERY well. I think Scorpio will do just fine.

 

[Mass Effect]

Wii U? Nah, it was never going to do that poorly, even back when it was $500. An oXbox repeat (~24m LTD) is the more likely scenario IMO.

You're right, but it would still be a lot worse off than it is now.

 

[Kastrioti]

I think the Xbox One is doing great sales wise, especially factoring in the disastrous launch at $499 with a Kinect most did not want.

I also think they confused the hell out of consumers with all these bundles last fall. They should've gone with two bundles instead you had GameStop employees trying to explain the difference between the 6 (?) bundles they had last fall.

The Xbox One Slim will be the boost to possibly beat PS4 in sales this fall in the America's. At the least it'll be toe to toe and software sales will continue to be strong until the Scorpio hits.

 

[Kyougar]

I keep hearing that Scorpio is not going to sell, it'll be too expensive, it'll be only niche..

I heard the same thing about the Elite Controller too. It's not going to sell, too expensive, $150lol, it's for a niche crowd. And the elite winded up selling VERY well. I think Scorpio will do just fine.

like the xbox one selling well?

 

[Bgamer90]

A high end box is the last thing to promote sales.

Depends on how the high end box is marketed, how it compares to the competition, and how people who own it view it.

Don't get me wrong, I would be pretty surprised if the Scorpio is anything above $499.99 but people will view it "worth it" if it can prove why it's that price.