“Phil Spencer Admits It's Been Too Long Since Xbox Had a Major First Party Exclusive. Speaking to Same Brain on YouTube, Spencer said he understands why players are frustrated at the lack of major Xbox-only games - with last year's Halo Infinite arguably being the most recent - but noted that 2023 is set to be a big year for the company. "One thing we've definitely heard loud and clear is that it's been too long since we've shipped what people would say is a big first party game," Spencer said. "We could have our excuses on Covid and other things, but in the end I know people invest in our platform and they want to have great games." He continued: "We're excited about 2023. We've talked about games that are coming, and those games are tracking well. Getting our first real Xbox first party games out of Bethesda, having them ship Redfall and Starfield, will be a lot of fun."
From Kotaku
“Modern Warfare II Xbox Fans Can't Easily Turn Off Crossplay, But PlayStation Gets Extra Perks. Anyone playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which got released today, on Xbox or PC is finding themselves in the shallow video game trenches, but not the kind they had hoped for. Infinity Ward’s first-person shooter seems to have a console preference, with Xbox players unable to switch off crossplay, a function that allows people on different platforms to play together, through the actual game. Meanwhile, PlayStation users can toggle the function with cheerful abandon thanks to a built-in option. Disgruntled Xbox players want to avoid PC cheaters and precise mice and keyboards, while PC users would rather avoid consoles’ smooth aim assist. PlayStation users, meanwhile, are dealing with audio dropouts and being required to delete their files if they tried stealthily starting a game in a different region for early access. But they aren’t, at least, worried about crossplay. And Sony sweetened their deal further—shortly ahead of release, the Call of Duty website listed a few PS4 and PS5-specific benefits, including monthly double XP events, +25% weapon XP when playing with other PS users in a party, and two extra loadout slots after reaching Level 4.”
From Cnet
“Is Xbox Game Pass Worth It? We Do the Math. We crunched the numbers to see if you should buy an Xbox Game Pass subscription, or if you should keep purchasing individual copies of games. Then, in 2017 Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass, followed by Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in 2019. These are subscription services that give players unlimited access to an expanding library of over 400 new and old games, and costs $120 or $180 for one year, respectively. XBGP lets you play on console or PC, and XBGPU lets you play console, PC and cloud gaming. These prices make either Game Pass plan attractive, but in the end, is it cheaper to buy physical copies of games?”
From Gamespot
“Xbox Loses As Much As $200 On Every Xbox It Sells, Phil Spencer Says. According to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Microsoft loses as much as $200 on every Xbox it sells. According to CNBC's writeup of a recent WSJ Tech Live event, Spencer disclosed that Microsoft subsidizes the production cost of a new Xbox by about $100 to $200 per console. Spencer added, the report said, that Microsoft expects to make up the difference by selling games and accessories, which are known to have better profit margins."
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