Steam and Xbox Just Dropped The Hammer On PlayStation

[00:00:00]Well, ladies and gentlemen, believe it or  not, today we actually have good video game news. Surprise! Who could have actually seen this  coming? Literally nobody. It's been a disaster for the past 4 months in the gaming industry and  things get exponentially worse over time. The problem though is this good gaming news does have  a couple of caveats. And the reason why this kind of news is happening in the first place wasn't  because of all the goodwill that these companies wanted to do. it was because they're basically  going to be forced into it whether they like it or not. You see, about six to eight months ago,  I was talking about something that many people really didn't understand and what I coined to be  the platform wars. In today's modern day and age, it is almost impossible to get anyone's attention  in order to gain those eyeballs onto your platform for them to spend all that money that these  companies are desperately asking for. whether they're competing against things like Netflix,  Hulu, Tik Tok, and every other major space overall, especially things like YouTube, too.  Thank you for watching, by the way. You have so many other pieces of competition fighting for  its users to go ahead and watch your content or play your games that it becomes more about how  do you go ahead and provide that content to the viewer rather than trying to force that customer  into your own ecosystem. But the problem is the platform wars providing more content and even  trying to gain more user eyeballs onto your platform isn't because companies want to go ahead  and make more money or do anything else across the board or even provide you with better content.  It's really because they're not going to have a choice very soon. And things are going to get  crazy because according to WCCF tech on Twitter saying a data chairman warns that the DRM shortage  will last another 10 years. He added that in the next 10 years the world's scarcest resources  would be electricity and memory. with the article from WCCCF Tech also saying following TSMC's  recent stock decline after its earnings call, Adata's chairman quickly responded to questions  about whether this could be a signal of the AI bubble popping up. Chairman Lee refuted this and  said that it's way too early to discuss anything related to an AI bubble as that talk should only  be discussed by 2030 or even 2040. The reason he says so is that Adata seems to be aware of the  true global demand which the tech markets have significantly underestimated. Adata is one of the  leading memory makers and they have seen major revenue uplifts from the current AI cycle. But  according to the chairman, all of this is just the beginning. And there's a reason why I bring this  up. You see, if you've been living under a rock the past six to eight months, you've also noticed  the insane price increases happening across practically every single PC component. Every  single console and every single manufacturer.

[00:02:56]Everyone from PlayStation to Microsoft to even  Nintendo and every other PC maker have been increasing their prices simply because we are  stuck in what's called the memory crisis where practically every bit of memory whether it's RAM  or NAND has been going around and getting jacked up by 400% or even more. And finding out now that  it's going to take maybe possibly another 10 years before anything comes back down to even somewhat  normal pricing is going to be something that many companies are not willing to want to do or even  go ahead and take a loss on that kind of hardware when next generation is around the corner.  Everything from Project Helix to PlayStation 6 to even the Switch 2 are going to be impacted because  of this memory crisis. And that means less people will be able to afford video game consoles. less  people will be able to afford PCs to play their games on. And that market is going to shrink even  harder than what the actual companies have been wanting in the first place. Exponential growth  and non-stop revenue and money being occurred.

[00:03:57]But the problem is things are going to get even  worse because when a company like Apple has to do something like this, things have just begun to  get bad. According to Mark German on Twitter, also saying, "Breaking, Apple will launch Apple upgrade  next week, an iPhone, iPad, iMac, and Apple Watch leasing and subscription program. It's partnering  with CLA to launch in the US at online retail stores. Now, we've heard rumorings and murmurss  about this kind of thing happening with Xbox for quite some time before, actually. I think they've  even done it with the Series X and Series S. Sort of like a payment plan to own kind of a thing.  But when you have a company like Apple doing it, one of the biggest companies on the planet, a  company that has a lot of, let's say, prestige and ability to make those negotiations happen with  all those long-term agreements and the Ram cartel.

[00:04:49]This is going to be where the rubber in fact meets  the road. And it's all going to lead up to exactly what we're going to talk about today in becoming  the new platform war for video games. No longer will we talk about console wars and console  sales because now it's going to be all about instead how many users can you in fact attract to  your platform and how are you going to get those users to buy your products in the first place. And  this is why PlayStation in my opinion is doing the opposite and wrong thing. They are going around  and squeezing themselves into a specific corner, removing physical disc access, requiring users to  be on PSN, going around and creating a specific way of going through and monetizing their users  in every single aspect, stopping the percentage being cut, going to other places, but instead  being funneled directly into PlayStation. A move out of pure unsubstantiated greed. And even with  all the backlash happening online, # noisk noby, and every other person being incredibly upset  about this entire thing, it turns out PlayStation is going around to telling its own employees that  mum's the word. Because according to Push Square on Twitter, also saying Sony imposes strictest  ever social media guidelines on staff due to PS5 disc debacle. Because according to ex Santa Monica  Studio employee Alana Pierce, Sony has imposed the strictest social media guidelines ever on its  employees due to the PS5 disc debacle. While Pierce explains the platform holder regularly  enforces these kinds of policies around new game announcements at all, she also stresses that  these are some of the most forceful guidelines the company has ever implemented. And ladies and  gentlemen, I'm going to tell you right now, this is exactly where the good news in fact comes into  play. And you're stopping yourself and thinking, "Alex, what good news. You just told me the RAM  crisis will probably last 10 more years. You just told me PlayStation isn't going to say a damn  thing about the insane disc debacle that's been going on for 3 weeks. What good news are we even  talking about right now?" Don't worry, daddy's got you. The thing is, what we're seeing right now in  real time are two vastly different strategies and two different strategies being played by three  different corporations. Three corporations that are juggernauts in the gaming industry. On one  hand, you've got PlayStation basically saying, "Don't say a damn thing. They're going to go  ahead and fall by the wayside. We're going to push forward with completely anti-consumer practices,  and we're going to make sure that no communication ever gets out about what we think or what we  feel. That way, everybody just stays in the same line. We go ahead and monetize our users and  everybody just basically goes back to where they were before. On the other hand, though, things are  different. And they're different because it turns out that Valve and even Xbox are doing everything  they can to not only fix their platforms, but also communicate. And I'll tell you this, you'd be  surprised what a couple of words will do to a person and their pocketbook. Because according to  Wario 64 saying this, Steam gifting made easier.

[00:08:04]Guest checkout, gifting to email, and more. Steam  wish lists are now also supporting in categories and more with cars on Twitter breaking it down for  us and also tweeting. Steam has added new updates to gifting and wish lists for gifting cross  region gifting to friends with price calculated at checkout based on friends region. Guest checkout  now includes games, gifts to email. No longer need to be friends to send gifts. Can send digital  gift cards or games directly from someone's wish lists. On the wish list itself, you have custom  categories that are being added, improved search, improve navigation, wishlisted games will show  if they have a demo, can create unique sharable links for others to view your privated wish list,  and links can be filtered to specific games. And to make things even crazier, PC Gamer also made  this article. Valve puts some elbow grease into Steam's remote play. Maybe one day you won't have  to install additional tools to get the best inhome game experience. Well, isn't this interesting?  Overall, what a complete shift of strategy we have between these two specific companies. PlayStation  on one hand doing the worst possible thing ever and having zero communication while Valve on the  opposite end is doing everything they possibly can to not only communicate with you about what's  going on but also at the same time make their platform even better, more userfriendly, provide  better ways of having wish lists and being able to gift your friends more video games, more  Steam gift cards and everything else across the board. You don't even have to be friends with  that person to give a gift. And you can also have guest checkout. It's almost like the entire  time what Valve has been doing is making things easier for the user, removing points of friction,  making things better for that actual experience and basically providing users the experience of  saying, "Look, if you're going to go all digital, you might as well have the ability to do it  right and not be put down under the thumb of what PlayStation is in fact trying to do." We've been  watching as PlayStation fans have been saying, "If I'm going to go all digital, I might as well  go to Steam. I might as well go to PC. I may as well buy games on Gogg. And we're seeing that  happen across the board. Having that change of communication style, having the ability of seeing  a platform and a storefront provide you with more than just exclusive games is exactly what people  in fact want to see right now. Better value, better communication, and better customer service  are going to be the things that are going to win in this next generation. It doesn't matter how  many exclusives you have on your storefront or even on your console. If you're not communicating  with your player base, if you're not giving them what they want and you're not removing roadblocks  and making things easier for them, then what are you in fact even doing right now? Oh, I know.  Trying to screw them. But if you thought the good news stopped there, ladies and gentlemen, no,  it does not. You see, here's the real kicker about what's been going on. We saw what Steam and Valve  have been doing. Let's see what Xbox did the other day. According to Xbox on Twitter saying this,  introducing Xbox backwards compatibility on PC.

[00:11:09]Play four original Xbox titles across supported  PCs and handhelds today with more than one way.

[00:11:16]with the Xbox blog post saying, "Today we're  introducing Xbox backwards compatibility on PC, making it easier to play classic Xbox games from  the past across PC and handhelds, including the rag Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. Your library is  more than just a collection of games. It is your personal history of epic stories and treasured  memories from the past. And as players, we don't want to leave our gaming legacy behind, even as  technology continues to evolve and advance. We expect our library of games to move forward with  us and to be able to play them in entirely new ways. We just got to stop right here. Think about  the messaging, the words being used, the way Xbox is in fact describing everything on how you are  going to play your library in perpetuity across the board. backwards compatibility across every  single Xbox console. Not only on that console specifically, but also onto the PC platform. Games  that we never had access to. Games that were only available on that console specifically that were  lost to time unless we were using emulation. And here comes Xbox saying, "You know what? We know  times are tough. We know consoles are expensive.

[00:12:32]We know the RAM crisis isn't going to end soon.  Why stop and restrict how many players we have in our network? How many people can in fact buy  games or send it to Game Pass? Why not open that up for everyone? That way, people across any  device using our operating system, by the way, can play any game from any backwards compatible  setup that we have across the board. Making the real fight happen now, not between Xbox and  PlayStation, but instead between Xbox and Steam.

[00:13:02]This is going to be the real true consumer  platform battle that everybody's in fact going to be looking towards. We're going to be seeing  two massive juggernauts overall fight for making the best platform, the best storefront, and the  best operating system in this space for you to in fact enjoy. As many people are in fact saying, I'm  going to be leaving PlayStation because they're going all digital and I have nothing. When they  can look at the opposite and say, hold on, I can be on PC. I can go full steam with Steam OS and  Linux. Or I can go Windows and have Xbox, PC, app, Steam there as well, and even GOG and everything  else across the board. Now, we're looking into real true competition. Competition for the actual  customer. competition for the person who doesn't have the ability to spend all that money on  platforms for next generation that are going to be costing over $1,000 or go to CLA with an  insane interest rate or the fact that companies are being strangled by an entire RAM cartel. This  is exactly what I've been wanting. True fighting for your actual ownership. True ability for you  to obtain your library and your games as well. And it's honestly just the beginning, cuz look at what  else Xbox did. Rolling out today, Xbox backward compatibility on PC launches in early release,  starting with four classic original Xbox games, now playable on PC and handhelds for the first  time ever. This marks the beginning of a broader effort to preserve Xbox games from the past and  bring them to PC over time. And we are not just enabling you to play them on PC. We're also adding  new features to make your gaming experience better than ever. Players can jump into the following  games on PC and supported handheld devices beginning today in supported regions. Blinks: The  Time Sweeper, Conquer Live and Reloaded, Crimson Sky High Road to Revenge, and Fusion Frenzy. Each  of these games is now available for purchase on PC and also included with all Xbox Game Pass plans.  If you already own a digital license for these games on console, that license now carries over  to your PC or handheld. Through the power of Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can now  play these classic games from the past on your Xbox console, cloud, PC, and handheld. This is  what I'm talking about, baby. Now, we're looking at the real deal of what's been going on. Think  about it real fast if you haven't caught that already. If you've already bought the game on your  console, whether those old Xbox games as well, or you had it with backwards compatibility, and  you put the disc in to get a digital license, you have that license now. It's yours. You can go  to any single place that has Windows or even the Xbox app and play that game. Whether it's through  cloud on your phone, whether it's natively on your handheld, like the Xbox Rag that Xbox sent to  me for review, or even on your own PC or your own console. You don't have to buy multiple copies  of that game. You buy it once. It's play anywhere as long as you sign in. That is the real first  step to actual digital ownership. And Microsoft is proving it with spades. It's almost like this  plan from the very beginning has been exactly what we've been talking about. Exactly the same way  that you have it with Steam and your Steam Deck or even your Steam machine. You buy that game one  time. It plays on anything where a Steam account is in fact added. And we've seen where Steam  accounts can go, right? They're on PS5s. They're on Nintendo Switches. And now they're going to be  on phones, too, because of Steam OS working with ARM. So, think about it from that perspective.  You don't have to buy games multiple times. You don't have to buy more expensive hardware because  you're going to have everything in your library.

[00:16:49]And if Xbox pulls this off and they actually  provide a proper off-ramp for disc to digital and still give you proper ownership on the digital  space, we could be seeing true direct ownership and a proper way of Xbox competing in this space  right now against other platforms. And even with all of that happening across the board, you can  clearly see that people are in fact looking to ways of trying to jump ship from one platform  to another. But these are in fact massively good starts for everything that's going to be  happening in the gaming industry. Even though we are under one of the most insane things ever  happening and unprecedented times, we're watching as two major companies like Valve and Xbox are now  realizing who their true competitors in fact are, each other. PlayStation was never in the running  for this at all. They don't have the platform.

[00:17:40]They don't have the ability and they certainly  don't have a PC storefront to give anyone those proper digital rights and they're going to be left  by the wayside as more people get to see exactly where their money in fact goes and what true  ownership actually is. If Xbox can pull this off, if they can go ahead and say, "Here is your game  DRM free on your account." And even though they've had some issues lately with hacked accounts,  they've posted already they're going to be investigating and making sure those issues never  happen again and any account that gets hacked in fact gets restored. The exact meme that's been  happening with Valve when someone loses their account on Steam as well. I feel like what's  happening right now is that Valve and Xbox are literally going around and trying to get  any sort of headway they possibly can before PlayStation in fact announces any sort of kind of  policy change on their plan of removing physical discs starting in 2028. The only thing Sony can do  right now, in my opinion, is to go allin on trying to make some sort of PC storefront that gives you  actual entitlements across multiple platforms and give you actual DRM free games and removing that  14-day online check-in. But at the same space, they're restricting the amount of countries in  the world that can access PlayStation Network or even buy their games digitally. And there's going  to have to be better ways around that. Overall, I think what we're looking at right now is how  Microsoft and even Valve are seeing the entire chessboard of companies who they really have to  go after and are taking PlayStation and pushing them to the side. If Valve and Microsoft  truly begin to compete against each other, it's only going to benefit the consumer. It's only  going to make things better for Linux. It's only going to make things better for Windows users, and  it's going to make things better for people who play on Steam and also play on Xbox as well. while  PlayStation is in the corner basically just trying to lick its wounds the entire time. It doesn't  matter how many console sales that company makes, how many exclusives they actually have. The thing  is, once you screw over the customer long enough and hard enough, they're just going to leave. Just  like when everybody left the Xbox platform to go to PlayStation during the Xbox One debacle.  Things are going to get weird in the gaming industry and they're going to have to get creative  really fast or else they may be losing customers for a very long time. But you know what, ladies  and gentlemen, I want to hear what you guys got to say about this in the comments section down  below. Are you someone who's only been gaming on PlayStation? Have you considered moving to other  platforms like Steam and PC or maybe even the dreaded Xbox? Or are you just going to stick where  you are right now and say, "You know what? I'm all digital. I want to hear what you've got to say.  And speaking about what you got to say, here's the comment of the day from yesterday's video  with Nat 935 saying this. My lord, the industry needs to crash and burn. The greed has gotten way  out of control. Nat, I 100% agree with you all the way across the board on this. Every company  in the gaming industry is greedy. Valve, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, they all want your money.  I think the big difference, however, though, is how these companies in fact try to get your  money. Are they going to force you into something that's going to be worse for you overall, or  are they going to offer you better options and solutions and actual ownership? That way, you feel  more trusting and giving them more money in the first place. And I think that's what Xbox is doing  right now to catch up to Valve, cuz they've been doing it for 20 years. But as always, if you guys  want to see more of this kind of content though, more PC port reviews, gaming news, Steam Deck  videos, fanboy content, and live streams, subscribe to the channel. If you want Discord  access or emotes during those live streams, become a YouTube member. It's as low as a dollar.  Look, if you don't want to spend the buck, don't even sweat it. Just come on down Saturday nights,  8:45 p.m. Eastern. Live right here on the channel as I wear a banana suit and get insulted with text  to speech. Trust me, you don't want to miss it.

[00:21:40]Saturday nights live 8:45 p.m. Eastern right  here on the channel. Do you want even more of me though? Check out Oh no, it's Alex Gaming. Link  to that channel's in the description down below.

[00:21:51]On this channel, I put out a video every single  Monday, usually talking about something else in the industry as well. And I live stream games  there 10:30 a.m. to around 2:00 p.m. every single day, Monday to Friday. We're playing Gears of War  Reloaded. And up next is going to be Halo Combat Evolved. Come on down, hang out in the live stream  and enjoy the best community on YouTube as I get you through your workday. Trust me, you don't want  to miss it. Oh no, it's Alex Gaming. Once again, check out that channel in the description down  below. With all that being said though, thank you guys so much for watching. Hope you have a great  one and I'll see you gooners next time. Peace.