"Discord isn't going anywhere": Why did Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam all quietly surrender their social strategies?
… Then there’s cross-platform play, which made platform-locked communities far less valuable. …
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Xbox promises a "reliable pipeline" of exclusives, even if certain Xbox exclusives will "sell fewer units"
… Now, Ball does discuss that previously announced games will remain multiplatform, so don't expect anything announced already to change. Still, Ball's comments suggest Microsoft now has a clearer strategy than many of us may have given it credit for . …
Xbox admits it’s over‑extended and plans a major rethink of its studio strategy
… Our current platform infrastructure is not built for the battle ahead. …
Matthew Ball joins Microsoft as Gaming Chief Strategy Officer — here’s how he could steer Xbox’s future
… Platform services have grown 1.8x faster than the market rate, capturing 7% of industry growth according to his data. Packaged game sales, conversely, have shrunk by comparison. "119% of net spending growth since 2020 has gone to platform services. …
Microsoft and Xbox vow to "shore up" its console business even as it explores PC and mobile gaming
… But we can’t ask publishers and players to bet on us on other platforms where we are behind, where our technology is inadequate, before we shore up the platform we have, the platform that many believe we’ve mistreated," he added. …
Xbox is showcasing its exclusives with a confidence we haven’t seen in a long time
… That's despite rumors from untrusted sources claiming otherwise, which have since been debunked by Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball. Now, Xbox is making that strategy even clearer. …
I went to the Xbox Showcase, met with Xbox execs, fans, devs — Something HAS changed ... for now.
… Here's what I learned about Xbox's strategy. …
Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase will focus solely on the games, with no Project Helix or strategy news coming
… "We really want to focus on the teams, and the games, and this is not gonna be a place where we talk about strategy broadly, right? …
Microsoft denies killing Xbox exclusives — but the trust delta is real
… I was obviously very wrong to have assumed, because it wasn't a few months later we saw Xbox begin rapidly shipping games on other platforms. And then, it even began marketing other platforms instead of its own in an ill-advised ad campaign that incoming CEO Asha Sharma since killed. …
“Not even available in stores”: Dev on Xbox struggles in Japan
… But if consoles aren’t in retail stores, it raises a bigger question about how far that strategy can realistically go. …