Destructoid Checkpoint: Whispers in the storm

Occasionally, it can be a struggle to maintain even the thinnest veneer of professionalism as a writer on the internet. You want to try to express your opinion while also keeping a reasonable politeness about what you say, and when you say it. 

That has been turned into something of a struggle this week as I find myself in the position of really just wanting whatever they are smoking over at Microsoft. And Sony.

The Fake Xbox Reset

Xbox, per reports from The Verge, has been put in the enviable position of needing to compete not just with Sony and Nintendo, but also with Microsoft. While the company as a whole continues to blast money into the AI-pocket dimension on the rough calculation that they might just see it again, Xbox is getting battered by the increasing cost of components. CEO Asha Sharma has confirmed that the company has been left in a uniquely fragile position with regard to next-generation hardware pricing.

In a recent earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that they plan to return the business to growth by 2027. This seems a little ludicrous given the current situation, and largely seems to pin all hopes of achieving this on the somewhat nebulous Project Helix. 

There are also plenty of reports that what exactly Project Helix is and what it needs to do are in something of a state of flux. Originally touted as quite an open platform, Jez Corden of Windows Central has stated that the garden will become far more walled due to the spiraling prices. We also know that the company expects to be unable to fulfill demand for new consoles, and is rethinking its approach to the project in general.

The final issue is that it’s hard to think of any truly big hitters that Microsoft has lined up on the gaming front, and anything that does will be struggling against the tide that is Game Pass, which seems to most be undermining the launch value of titles and not contributing to the long-term growth that was hoped for.

Microsoft has touted a great reset of Xbox, but all they have really done is fire the folks at the top, then 1600 other folks. They have marched out Bethesda to tell everyone that they are totally working on more games, but that is not a reset; it’s just investor speak. It’s just buying time with shareholders who will continue to wonder why Microsoft wastes time with games when they keep promising an AI future that can create games at a whim. 

What makes any attempt from Xbox to move into a more secure future is that Microsoft is both demanding that they do it, while creating a world where it is hard to achieve.

Touch is not Sony’s love language

Sony, after some pretty solid generations, has produced probably their most mid gen ever for things that excite me, but their best ever for things that infuriate me. The most recent effort to make me turn my back on the brand is the end of physical discs.

Now, that is a little bit of hyperbole. To let you in on a secret from us writers, we will, upon occasion, use exaggeration to add more heft and gravitas to a point. I am not really going to walk away from Sony over this, but that is kind of my point; neither is anyone else.

The internet is a wonderful place to talk the talk, but rarely, if ever, do people actually walk the walk. Being honest, we are all slaves to our chosen brands, incapable of standing up for our consumer rights or the betterment of games in any meaningful way. 

Sony has made almost no response to the backlash to their decisions because they almost certainly know it’s empty. Customer churn events happen quickly, and they will likely have seen a tiny number of red flags going off around user behavior, or none at all. 

The time to actually hit Sony over the physical issue would also get some splash damage on another offender, and the launch of GTA 6 would be perfect. Sony and Rockstar both eating hundreds of thousands of lost sales, or even millions, would be a huge deal. 

Instead, groups on the internet are planning a “strike” week when nothing of relevance is releasing, and they were not planning on spending any money, anyway. As always, the internet and social media have proven to be an effective tool at robbing any kind of discontent of its impact. 

If you really want to let Sony know that you demand digital sales on your platform, then you better hope that Xbox includes a disc option next gen, and support that instead. Anything else is just whispers in the storm.