From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


Microsoft's XBox brand has been struggling. The consoles aren't
selling, and the games aren't bringing in quite the profits that were
expected. Even the subscriptions for its online service haven't quite
paid for themselves. Microsoft's solution? Close studios, fire
employees, and now? Further monetize those subscribers by pushing
adverts on them.*

That's right; Microsoft is now considering ad-support subscription
models. And that doesn't mean they're going to be adding a
subscription model where you don't pay anything but get to play games
just for the cost of seeing a few (or even a lot) of adverts. No, this
is adverts added to PAYING subscribers accounts... with a no-adverts
model only to those who pay more.

Exactly how this will work is unclear, but in-game advertising isn't
out of the question here. Whether this means big billboards in game
blasting you with marketing for Burger King or interstitial adverts
that interrupt the gameplay isn't clear... although I wouldn't be
surprised if BOTH models appear.

Because that's what Microsoft needs to attract users and make money.
Who doesn't want more advertising in their life?

Hey Microsoft, here's another idea: maybe spend $250 billion less on
that CoPilot AI that nobody wants? That'll buy a lot of game
development that you can use to flood the market with
cheap-but-quality games and make XBox a must-have for every gamer?
Maybe that's a better strategy.


Would you pay extra for a Microsoft GamePass subscription just to
avoid the adverts?







* is there a link to the story? Of course there's a link to the story! https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-studio-shutdowns-and-ad-funded-subscriptions-likely-after-asha-sharmas-stark-reset-warning-analysts-say



--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 6/12/2026 7:57 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Microsoft's XBox brand has been struggling. The consoles aren't
selling, and the games aren't bringing in quite the profits that were expected. Even the subscriptions for its online service haven't quite
paid for themselves. Microsoft's solution? Close studios, fire
employees, and now? Further monetize those subscribers by pushing
adverts on them.*

That's right; Microsoft is now considering ad-support subscription
models. And that doesn't mean they're going to be adding a
subscription model where you don't pay anything but get to play games
just for the cost of seeing a few (or even a lot) of adverts. No, this
is adverts added to PAYING subscribers accounts... with a no-adverts
model only to those who pay more.

Exactly how this will work is unclear, but in-game advertising isn't
out of the question here. Whether this means big billboards in game
blasting you with marketing for Burger King or interstitial adverts
that interrupt the gameplay isn't clear... although I wouldn't be
surprised if BOTH models appear.

Because that's what Microsoft needs to attract users and make money.
Who doesn't want more advertising in their life?

Hey Microsoft, here's another idea: maybe spend $250 billion less on
that CoPilot AI that nobody wants? That'll buy a lot of game
development that you can use to flood the market with
cheap-but-quality games and make XBox a must-have for every gamer?
Maybe that's a better strategy.

Would you pay extra for a Microsoft GamePass subscription just to
avoid the adverts?

They already priced me out with their hikes in price was it last year or
this year?

And I only used it a couple times to try games as it was cheaper than
buying them.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:40:01 -0700, Justisaur <[email protected]>
said this thing:

On 6/12/2026 7:57 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Microsoft's XBox brand has been struggling. The consoles aren't
selling, and the games aren't bringing in quite the profits that were
expected. Even the subscriptions for its online service haven't quite
paid for themselves. Microsoft's solution? Close studios, fire
employees, and now? Further monetize those subscribers by pushing
adverts on them.*

That's right; Microsoft is now considering ad-support subscription
models. And that doesn't mean they're going to be adding a
subscription model where you don't pay anything but get to play games
just for the cost of seeing a few (or even a lot) of adverts. No, this
is adverts added to PAYING subscribers accounts... with a no-adverts
model only to those who pay more.

Exactly how this will work is unclear, but in-game advertising isn't
out of the question here. Whether this means big billboards in game
blasting you with marketing for Burger King or interstitial adverts
that interrupt the gameplay isn't clear... although I wouldn't be
surprised if BOTH models appear.

Because that's what Microsoft needs to attract users and make money.
Who doesn't want more advertising in their life?

Hey Microsoft, here's another idea: maybe spend $250 billion less on
that CoPilot AI that nobody wants? That'll buy a lot of game
development that you can use to flood the market with
cheap-but-quality games and make XBox a must-have for every gamer?
Maybe that's a better strategy.


Would you pay extra for a Microsoft GamePass subscription just to
avoid the adverts?

They already priced me out with their hikes in price was it last year or >this year?

And I only used it a couple times to try games as it was cheaper than
buying them.

Obviously, my opinion on the matter is well known. I am no fan of
subscription models to start with. I barely tolerate the
digital-download model where end-users have no real control over their purchases and their license can be revoked at any time. Subscriptions
are even one step worse than that... and then making me watch adverts
on top of that? I'll quit gaming first (or, more precisely, stop
buying new games. My hoard is large enough I could play a new game
every week for the rest of my life and never worry about running out).

But it strikes me odd that Microsoft --already struggling to maintain
an audience-- thinks THIS is the solution. The usual method of
enshittification is to hook people to your products first by giving
them something they can't resist (whether because it's such a good
product, or because the price is that irresistible), and only after
you've become a mainstay do you start worsening the experience.

Microsoft seems to be wanting to skip that first step. Possibly
because they are still in the mindset that they are a dominant
monopoly and thus people HAVE to take what they offer. But
increasingly, people are looking BEYOND the world of Microsoft
--whether its for their OS, their hardware, their office suite, or
their games-- and Microsoft offering a worse experience even as they
already are losing audience just doesn't seem the wisest strategy.

If they can't make money without adverts... maybe spend less money?


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 6/13/2026 8:50 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:40:01 -0700, Justisaur <[email protected]>
said this thing:

On 6/12/2026 7:57 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Microsoft's XBox brand has been struggling. The consoles aren't
selling, and the games aren't bringing in quite the profits that were
expected. Even the subscriptions for its online service haven't quite
paid for themselves. Microsoft's solution? Close studios, fire
employees, and now? Further monetize those subscribers by pushing
adverts on them.*

That's right; Microsoft is now considering ad-support subscription
models. And that doesn't mean they're going to be adding a
subscription model where you don't pay anything but get to play games
just for the cost of seeing a few (or even a lot) of adverts. No, this
is adverts added to PAYING subscribers accounts... with a no-adverts
model only to those who pay more.

Exactly how this will work is unclear, but in-game advertising isn't
out of the question here. Whether this means big billboards in game
blasting you with marketing for Burger King or interstitial adverts
that interrupt the gameplay isn't clear... although I wouldn't be
surprised if BOTH models appear.

Because that's what Microsoft needs to attract users and make money.
Who doesn't want more advertising in their life?

Hey Microsoft, here's another idea: maybe spend $250 billion less on
that CoPilot AI that nobody wants? That'll buy a lot of game
development that you can use to flood the market with
cheap-but-quality games and make XBox a must-have for every gamer?
Maybe that's a better strategy.


Would you pay extra for a Microsoft GamePass subscription just to
avoid the adverts?

They already priced me out with their hikes in price was it last year or
this year?

And I only used it a couple times to try games as it was cheaper than
buying them.

Obviously, my opinion on the matter is well known. I am no fan of subscription models to start with. I barely tolerate the
digital-download model where end-users have no real control over their purchases and their license can be revoked at any time. Subscriptions
are even one step worse than that... and then making me watch adverts
on top of that? I'll quit gaming first (or, more precisely, stop
buying new games. My hoard is large enough I could play a new game
every week for the rest of my life and never worry about running out).

But it strikes me odd that Microsoft --already struggling to maintain
an audience-- thinks THIS is the solution. The usual method of enshittification is to hook people to your products first by giving
them something they can't resist (whether because it's such a good
product, or because the price is that irresistible), and only after
you've become a mainstay do you start worsening the experience.

Microsoft seems to be wanting to skip that first step. Possibly
because they are still in the mindset that they are a dominant
monopoly and thus people HAVE to take what they offer. But
increasingly, people are looking BEYOND the world of Microsoft
--whether its for their OS, their hardware, their office suite, or
their games-- and Microsoft offering a worse experience even as they
already are losing audience just doesn't seem the wisest strategy.

If they can't make money without adverts... maybe spend less money?

I've said it before. Microsoft isn't focused on the individual users.
They are still aiming at corporate clients, who are MUCH more willing to
use a "lease agreement" (corporate speak for "subscription").
--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sat, 13 Jun 2026 17:44:07 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<[email protected]> said this thing:

On 6/13/2026 8:50 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:40:01 -0700, Justisaur <[email protected]>
said this thing:

On 6/12/2026 7:57 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Microsoft's XBox brand has been struggling. The consoles aren't
selling, and the games aren't bringing in quite the profits that were
expected. Even the subscriptions for its online service haven't quite
paid for themselves. Microsoft's solution? Close studios, fire
employees, and now? Further monetize those subscribers by pushing
adverts on them.*

That's right; Microsoft is now considering ad-support subscription
models. And that doesn't mean they're going to be adding a
subscription model where you don't pay anything but get to play games
just for the cost of seeing a few (or even a lot) of adverts. No, this >>>> is adverts added to PAYING subscribers accounts... with a no-adverts
model only to those who pay more.

Exactly how this will work is unclear, but in-game advertising isn't
out of the question here. Whether this means big billboards in game
blasting you with marketing for Burger King or interstitial adverts
that interrupt the gameplay isn't clear... although I wouldn't be
surprised if BOTH models appear.

Because that's what Microsoft needs to attract users and make money.
Who doesn't want more advertising in their life?

Hey Microsoft, here's another idea: maybe spend $250 billion less on
that CoPilot AI that nobody wants? That'll buy a lot of game
development that you can use to flood the market with
cheap-but-quality games and make XBox a must-have for every gamer?
Maybe that's a better strategy.


Would you pay extra for a Microsoft GamePass subscription just to
avoid the adverts?

They already priced me out with their hikes in price was it last year or >>> this year?

And I only used it a couple times to try games as it was cheaper than
buying them.

Obviously, my opinion on the matter is well known. I am no fan of
subscription models to start with. I barely tolerate the
digital-download model where end-users have no real control over their
purchases and their license can be revoked at any time. Subscriptions
are even one step worse than that... and then making me watch adverts
on top of that? I'll quit gaming first (or, more precisely, stop
buying new games. My hoard is large enough I could play a new game
every week for the rest of my life and never worry about running out).

But it strikes me odd that Microsoft --already struggling to maintain
an audience-- thinks THIS is the solution. The usual method of
enshittification is to hook people to your products first by giving
them something they can't resist (whether because it's such a good
product, or because the price is that irresistible), and only after
you've become a mainstay do you start worsening the experience.

Microsoft seems to be wanting to skip that first step. Possibly
because they are still in the mindset that they are a dominant
monopoly and thus people HAVE to take what they offer. But
increasingly, people are looking BEYOND the world of Microsoft
--whether its for their OS, their hardware, their office suite, or
their games-- and Microsoft offering a worse experience even as they
already are losing audience just doesn't seem the wisest strategy.

If they can't make money without adverts... maybe spend less money?

I've said it before. Microsoft isn't focused on the individual users.
They are still aiming at corporate clients, who are MUCH more willing to
use a "lease agreement" (corporate speak for "subscription").

Undeniably true, and not surprising. After all, for decades the
corporate clients have been their bread-and-butter. Those hundreds of
millions of desktop PCs running Windows in offices around the world
have been the backbone of the company. So too all those corporations
dependent on Office and Exchange. It has been --and still remains--
Microsoft's bulwark against their rising (and falling) experiences in
other parts of the industry.

End-users have largely been held hostage to Microsoft's dominance in
this market, and the company has always seemed to assume that it was
their monopoly over the corporate computing market space that was the
lynch-pin to their success. Home users only used Windows because
that's what they were used to using at work, and because they needed compatibility with their office data. But I think they have always
undervalued the importance of home-users (and gaming) in that
relationship. I think the needs of home-users drives acceptance of
Windows far more than Microsoft understands.

As an aside, there are some reliable rumors that Microsoft may spin
off the entire XBox division as its own wholly owned subsidiary,
essentially divesting the corporation of all the problems of the
struggling hardware and gaming subscriptions division. This would let
Microsoft focus more on what they consider their core market, and if
XBox collapses entirely? Microsoft just dusts its hands and walks
away, no worse for wear.

Except that with ARM and Linux slowly gaining inroads (even as OS and
CPU become less important because of virtualization and streaming)
this would mean using Microsoft products would become much less
essential... at home and in the office. So that might not be the best
strategy.

Microsoft and XBox are in a tough spot right now... but that's no
different from a lot of the other players in the industry. We're in
the midst of some radical (if slow) changes, as prices balloon,
underlying hardware architecture changes all while AI shakes up the
marketplace (for better or worse). And Microsoft has never really been competitive based solely on the quality of its products. I don't think
there are /any/ good moves for the company right now; just some that
are less painful than others.

But I bet there are some at the top who are now really wishing they
hadn't spend all those billions on expensive boondoogles like
purchasing ABK and throwing cash at CoPilot ;-)







--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


Awww, EA wants in on the nonsense too!

Electronic Arts has just announced the launch of its new "EA
Advertising" platform,* designed for developers to more easily put
marketing into games. No need to roll your own software or figure out
how to get advertisers to use it; no, just use EA Marketing and
they'll pump the adverts right into your game!

It's not that EA games haven't had advertising before, of course, but
EA is launching this as a service for other developers. It boasts
custom integrations for "specific games and audience" and "enhanced
targeting and measurement capabilities". EA is already making bank on
the adverts they put in their own game and are thinking, 'Hey, how can
we make money off of OTHER developers games too?" It's so clever! And
hey, if /everybody/ does it (thanks to easy-to-use marketing platforms
like EA Marketing) then nobody will bitch about all the adverts EA is
putting in their games! Win-win-win for everybody!

Except the player, of course, but who cares about them. ;-)







* I wish I could make this stuff up, but no, here's the proof its real https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ea-rolls-out-advertising-arm-to-let-companies-market-directly-into-gameplay

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2