Over the weekend rumors circulated on twitter that Xbox is going third party, that all the major new releases are going to be on playstation. This is one such tweet:
And there was mass wailing and crying. All the Xbox fanboys cried that Microsoft had betrayed them and there was no reason to own an Xbox anymore. An example of such a tweet(and this is one of the tamer ones):
My response is two-fold. First, this is about tribalism to the Xbox fanboys. If Microsoft is now a third party publisher, then fanboys lose the exclusivity they crave. And second,, we kind of already know where Microsoft is headed because of this:
Certain games have high value of exclusivity, others do not. So some games will appear on Xbox only while others will appear multi-platform. Besides, Microsoft has a history of doing this, Minecraft is multi-platform and has stayed multi-platform. Microsoft exists to make the most amount of money possible, and so if releasing games multi-platform achieves this, then so be it. Other games will be on Xbox or Gamepass only.
The Xbox Fanboys Are Going Nuts
Remember back to my Console War editorial. I said this:
They fight the war the fervor of zealot. They worship their chosen box and it can do wrong. Facts can stare them in the face, and they’ll deny, because it is a matter of faith and belief.
And this is the clincher. Xbox is a religion to fanboys. If Xbox goes third-party then it is no longer something to worship, to fight for. They have hitched their identity to a plastic box and if Microsoft changes strategy, they feel betrayed. They will then throw their Xbox into the garbage can and walk away(can’t find the relevant tweet unfortunately). But Microsoft does not care about the fanboys beyond free marketing. In fact, their too busy chasing the “normies.” Their strategy is shifting away from the hardcore gamers who would become fanboys.
Change in Strategy
Pop Quiz! Which has sold more, the Xbox Series X or Series S?
The Answer: Xbox Series S to the tune of almost 75% of X/S sales. This explains why Microsoft laid off the entire physical games department. The console which doesn’t have physical games has outsold the console that does. Heck I’d own a series S if I didn’t have a 500 game Xbox collection spanning all 4 generations. Physical games aren’t important anymore. Budget-minded consumers who play on GamePass are the new target. Phil Spencer said they lost the console war. So they’re changing strategy. They have to. They’re now going to probably have download-only consoles while spreading their games and Gamepass as far and wide as they can.
Conclusion
So this loops us right back around to the fanboys wailing. They’re not important. They don’t matter. All their loyalty is in their head and Microsoft does not really care beyond free advertising. That’s it, that’s all that matters. Throwing your console in the trash because Microsoft Xbox is going third party is not going to hurt Microsoft. They don’t care. And frankly, until they show their hand, its all educated guesses at best and unsubstantiated rumors at worst. So all the whining and crying is pointless. Nobody cares outside of Twitter/X.
So therefore, get a life outside of worshiping a plastic box. It’ll help you immensely.
