the xbox brand died today for me, fully, for a while i had kind of given up on xbox, i didn't own a series console, just a one and i hadn't really planned to buy one yet as it had no exclusves i wanted to play (hifi rush i played on pc and disliked) but i'd been open to maybe gettng one of their physical situation improved, but with these new leaks its clear to me that that won't be happening. the disc situation on xbox has not been great this gen at all, even since the one things havent been great, but back then it was managable, the games were on disc and plentiful up until i would say around gears tactics in 2020, everything after with the current gen has been a stub disc, but now with this new leak, we won't even have that.

as seen above the leak is a new series X revision that is "adorably all digital" microsoft need to double check what that word means because it does not mean a basic black trashcan from ikea, a vita is adorable, a ds lite is adorable, even a zeebo is adorable, this looks lame as hell. of course even beyond this, the fact its all digital is the main issue here, if this is the default then less and less games will get physical releases, third parties will quickly give up and go all digital even moreso than we currently have and i highly doubt MS will release discs for a console they intend for you to go all digital on, this is worse for all involved for very obvious reasons, doubly so now that mass delistings of many older BC titles like enchanted arms are occuring, so many of these games are now effectively disc only, good luck playing those on a digital only console, plus prices decided by the storefront will never be lower than that of a disc, at least for new games, it's just a bad idea all around, which i guess is kind of the point, isn't it, to force you onto gamepass where you own nothing and are expected to be happy about it, minimalism is kinda cringe and this is where it's led us. it's sad really, i've never been the biggest MS buyer, i was fairly late to get them, i got my 360 in 2013 so i could play lost odyssey, bullet witch and magnacarta 2, i got my original xbox shortly after so i could play genma onimusha and gunvalkyrie and then i got given a one sometime in 2017 for D4 and crimson dragon, but i did enjoy the ecosystem well enough when they had good games, though the series didn't have anything for me there so i never ended up buying and now i never will, the ecosystem is effectively dead to me now, i will not be buying a series, i may still buy older games for the systems i do own but as far as the future goes, i will not be buying a series, i will not be playing any new games on their consoles and i will not keep up with them or their games, it would be a waste of my time when i know i will not be playing them. i will never buy into a digital future and a company like microsoft who don't make games for me at all won't be the ones to convince me.

on top of this we also have two even worse leaks, cloud intigration in games and an all digital handheld (as well as a cloud games box). the all digital handheld is already bad enough but it's just an extention of their already bad issues with digital, but with it you don't even have the option of an older variation with a few discs released for it, it's just another way to try and shill you on digital games and gamepass, dissapointing but i'm not surprised, it's a real contender for the worst handheld of all time. the other major leak is the cloud integration, this is deeply worrying for any kind of preservation as it'll make it effectively imposible, giving microsoft total control in what is and isn't preserved an playable, in a lot of ways this is the worst reveal from this leak as it shows that they want a cloud gaming future, something i want no part of and i really don't think very many people really do want any part of, it's all very telling of the direction they want to go, disposable media they can shut off when they please, people who own nothing they purchase if they even have the option to at all and a full blown all-cloud all-subscription future, it's grim and i'm just done with it all, i'm out, it's fine of others dont see this as a breaking point, i'm happy for you honestly, but this is it for me, my breaking point with the company, i'll miss them, but its clear from their policiies that people like me are not wanted, and will not be missed back.