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Looking Back At Xbox's 2024 - Was It A Disaster? | Defining Duke, Episode 208

To say 2024 resembled a year of change for Xbox would be a bit of an understatement. Heading into a new year, the brand had all the momentum they had finally been seeking. They just delivered great, high profile exclusives in 2023 with the likes of a new Forza Motorsport, Starfield, and Hi Fi Rush, Game Pass delivered GOTY level experiences, and the Activision deal was finally done. Now, it was time to get down to business for the rest of the generation and Xbox did just that, only not in the way we expected. The reality is that the aforementioned momentum we all thought Xbox has ended up meaning very little. Their gaming brand barely generated profits in the final quarter of the year despite a highly anticipated Bethesda Game Studios game leading the charge. It was time for change and they made plenty. At the end of 2024, Xbox is now a multi-platform publisher, their dedication to future hardware is in question, and the social commentary surrounding their games has started to get messy. Combined with low quality deliveries in Shattered Space and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 as well as how divisive the long sought after Hellblade 2 ended up being and you have quite a lot to sift through. In a year full of negatives, can the Dukes find the positives, if any? How does 2025 shape up for Xbox with these changes now solidified? There's quite a bit to parse through, so let's get into one of the busiest years for Xbox. Get early access to Defining Duke and all Last Stand Media shows at: https://www.patreon.com/LastStandMedia Get some Defining Duke merch! https://laststandmedia.store/ Follow the hosts! https://x.com/G27Status https://x.com/LordCognito

Comments

Walker Simmons

I think this year will be remembered as the year the Xbox console died. Matty having 74 hours on his preferred platform for the year is very telling

King0fChickens

The Xbox doom and gloom is getting to be a tiresome conversation.

italia

It’s cool to feel how you feel Cog. We’re just gonna have to agree to disagree. PlayStation has consistently released more & better games than Xbox. That’s the difference between the brands. One has showcases to hype the fans. The other just releases games. We know who’s who. Doesn’t matter if it’s 1st or 2nd party.

NotSkyWalker

Gonna speak for the RTS folks and say no Age of Mythology Retold mention the whole episode, dedicated to recapping Xbox's year, is an L lads (respectfully). That game hit big. Topped Steam charts around its release and has maintained strong player counts on console. Has a strong OC average of 83% as well, 94% positive Steam reviews

Germanos

Cog absolutely lost it at the 48th minute. Damn. Hope you get the Spencer's Service Cross medal one day.

Mr. Mystery

I wouldn't be surprised if this might be the last home console gen for Xbox. I do think they are reading the room and seeing that with the exception of Nintendo, everything is just becoming a PC with a more user friendly front end. It would be really wise for Xbox to jump on this early to beat out the competition from Valve with the Steam Machines reboot that is TBA. Game Pass is an incredible value and as soon as people find out about grey market game keys that are sold at heavily discounted rates, the value of going PC instead of console becomes undeniable. I just bit the bullet and built a living room PC for myself given that most games still can't hit 4k 60 STEADILY on Xbox or PS. With a 12400f, used 6800xt, and other parts, I probably spent about $700 all in, which is the price of a PS5 Pro. I think these insane price hikes will be the final nail in the coffin for gamers deciding to remain on console, especially with having to deal with so many graphical compromises and having to buy subscriptions to play online. I wonder how my fellow Dukes feel about this? I'll only be buying Nintendo systems from now on due to the exclusives.