Author Topic: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?  (Read 1583 times)

Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« on: August 08, 2026, 05:44:46 pm »
I know this seems pretty straightforward but maybe i'm missing something because me and my gf were pondering this for a while. But i'll put it simple.  Why is Xbox just not as desired or demanded by collectors? Why does it's culture seem to not breed nostalgia?


My reasoning for saying this is because for every 6th gen and 7th gen release that came out on both PS3 and Xbox 360.  The PS3 version is more demanded. Commanding a higher price, resulting in more sales per day on VGPC.  Sony exclusive forums and Facebook pages garner more members and the overall collectors pursuit is more geared towards Nintendo and Sony products.  And I just am a little confused as to why.  Maybe some of you have an answer.  But me myself?  I just don't. And the more I pondered why. The more I don't get it.




I myself have 300+ ps3 games and only a handful of 360 games. But why? I didn't own a PS3 until 2015 and I grew up through my entire formative years playing 360.  I will try to ascertain why later.


What i'll do is lay out some of my suspected reasons and why I believe it doesnt hold up.



1. "XBOX sold less"

Initially I just thought. Xbox One got steamrolled by PS4 and Switch. PS2 bullied Xbox in sales. Maybe its just a player base issue?  But then I broke it down.

Xbox original sold more than the super Nintendo. It was pretty successful for a debut entry. Far more than master system.  More than SNES and Genesis. As we all know neither of those consoles have any issue with cult Fandom physical collecting passion.  Xbox 360 almost outsold PS3 and in the US? And Xbox one has outsold Gamecube. Another console with tons of desire despite being whooped by PS2. 360 dominated PS3 most of its lifespan.  I mean. A console that moves almost 100 million units and is talked about the way 360 is.  It is a cult staple. Why no buy? Lol.


2. "Playstation and Nintendo have been around longer"

Then I thought maybe its because Playstation and Nintendo as brands have been with people for longer. Decades even. But then I thought. I mean Xbox has been around for like almost 30 years.  Sega as a company had a shorter run. Yet no issue in collector market or desirability. Neo Geo, Turbografx and even things like the Playstation handhelds both vita and psp combined had shorted lifespan than Xbox as a company. Yet there are massive attention to these wares. 

 
3. Not as many exclusives worth mentioning

Sure.... but PS3 doesnt have as many first party exclusives as Wii. Yet is way more market saturated and collector scalped than Wii. And Wii is also a console that is dead retro interest wise. But that has a better excuse. Its mostly motion controls. A big turn off for casual gamers. But why 360? 


WHY 360 SHOULD BE MORE DESIRED

1. It runs most 3rd party games better because its infrastructure was easier to code for. Holds frames consistently better on average

2. It's kinetic system was vastly more successful than the PS Move peripherals and Kinect was revolutionary


I also have other analytics that I find fun but i'll prob post them in the general off topic thread thing.


My guess if I had to come up with one. Are


1. Xbox 360 is on DVD-R not blu ray. Making it not as durable or cool for collectors to care about.

2. PS3 has more JRPGs. It seems that genre is the most geeky and thus the culture of collectors and gamers flock to that historically. PS1, PS2 and SNES all dominate in this market because games like Final Fantasy, Chrono and more.


3. RED RING OF DEATH


What do you guys think?  Why is Xbox 360 never recieved the love in collector circles that PS3 and say Gamecube have.  Ive seen every major console have some sort of insurgence.  Except Xbox as a brand. Can't give this stuff away for most 3rd party stuff.


Thanks for sharing.





sworddude

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2026, 06:06:13 pm »
- aside from halo no notable or way lower quality mascots big IP's
- barely any exclusives and usually lower quality and few of them
- mainly focussing on good realistic grapics at the time and thus it's big games usually not aging that well compared to other consoles
- even third party stuff often being realstic slob and thus not allot of replay value in current era unless you are on a budget and can't afford last or current gen.
- most games being on playstation anyway thus why get an xbox console when I can just play it there with better games.
- bad rep in last 10 years which means even less people that get back to it


in short, lesser selection of games, it's realistic games which it focusses on big time being outclassed by current era examples and not having allot of stuff to go back to. sony and nintendo simply just had allot more focus on the non realistic stuff and allot more genre's that are hard to come by in the current era and worth it to play in this day and age and it ain't by a little but by an actual landslide. Xbox simply doesn't have allot of that. xbox not having exclusives meme go brrrr

you are simply not missing out in terms of retro if you never get an xbox console and just stick with nintendo sega playstation and other retro consoles, just is what it is. it's absolutely justified how xbox is not that popular it's at the perfect spot if you need a budget option and it's most definitely not undervalued in terms of popularity/ quality aside from jap xbox 360

In terms of nostalgia. Xbox is all about the best visuals and most people who care about the best visuals always move on to the next best thing. no reason to go back. The visuals guys that I know give zero shits about retro. it's all about playing on the newest tech the most realistic grapics the best sound. last gen is dead to em. that's xbox's stick and again less focus on other genre's and less realitsic stuff and thus less people that need to play the retro stuff on the console.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2026, 08:07:21 am by sworddude »
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burningdoom

PRO Supporter

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2026, 12:00:43 am »
Great for me! It makes the games cheap and easily obtainable, most of the time. And the hardware is solid, plus it's backwards compatibility not only works great but also improves many games performance and graphics. So I have no complaints. In fact, my Series X is my main console for the current-gen; my PS5 and Switch are just for exclusives.

telekill

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2026, 06:19:45 pm »
Rumors are that Microsoft's next-gen system, dubbed Project Helix, will not only have physical games, but allow for all previous Xbox system software to run on the new hardware. Just pop an Xbox, 360, X1, or XSX game in and it'll run.

Once that happens, I expect Xbox games (maybe not hardware) to become more desirable to collect. I know as someone that left Xbox on the curb the last four generations, that I'd be willing to jump ship to them if they kept physical games AND allowed the rumored incredible backwards compatibility.

Again... all rumored and we'll have to wait and see what actually happens, but I have four generations of Xbox exclusives to get around too should this become a reality.

sworddude

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2026, 09:01:21 pm »
Rumors are that Microsoft's next-gen system, dubbed Project Helix, will not only have physical games, but allow for all previous Xbox system software to run on the new hardware. Just pop an Xbox, 360, X1, or XSX game in and it'll run.


xbox has been the most digital of em all. I see almost zero reason how this could come true, it makes zero sense and thanks to it's rep of giving up physical in the last 2 gens most people that do physical skip xbox.
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burningdoom

PRO Supporter

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2026, 11:21:59 pm »
Rumors are that Microsoft's next-gen system, dubbed Project Helix, will not only have physical games, but allow for all previous Xbox system software to run on the new hardware. Just pop an Xbox, 360, X1, or XSX game in and it'll run.


xbox has been the most digital of em all. I see almost zero reason how this could come true, it makes zero sense and thanks to it's rep of giving up physical in the last 2 gens most people that do physical skip xbox.

Most digital of them all? How so? PlayStation has definitively said they are ending physical media. Nintendo is doing key cards. Meanwhile I have shelf full of Xbox games, their latest release is physical (Halo), and all signs point to them sticking with a disc drive.

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2026, 01:47:08 am »
I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX titles on the shelf that just linger there. Meanwhile, the PS2 section is pretty much just old sports games and shovelware, and the Gamecube section is literally non-existant 90% of the time. It's always been strange to me, but I guess it just didn't land with most collectors like Nintendo, Sony, and Sega stuff did.

sworddude

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #7 on: August 10, 2026, 05:31:57 am »
Rumors are that Microsoft's next-gen system, dubbed Project Helix, will not only have physical games, but allow for all previous Xbox system software to run on the new hardware. Just pop an Xbox, 360, X1, or XSX game in and it'll run.


xbox has been the most digital of em all. I see almost zero reason how this could come true, it makes zero sense and thanks to it's rep of giving up physical in the last 2 gens most people that do physical skip xbox.

Most digital of them all? How so? PlayStation has definitively said they are ending physical media. Nintendo is doing key cards. Meanwhile I have shelf full of Xbox games, their latest release is physical (Halo), and all signs point to them sticking with a disc drive.

until sony's announcement, sure they might be sticking with a disc drive but retail for xbox kinda death. allot of stores don't even carry xbox where I'm at. just nintendo and sony. it really ain't doing much coming from xbox all I'm saying they pretty much destroyed their physical market for current gen stuff.

I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX

same here I bought all of the heavy hitters i was interested in on xbox for flea market prices and heck I got most of em in like a month or 2 wasn't that much demand for em eventhough some carried decent value. that being said the good stuff like the dreamcast ports are pretty tricky to get nowadays though or stuff like otogi. so allot of the stuff that is worth it is not dirt cheap. also og xbox supply is lowkey trash as in new stuff coming into the market. you definitely do see how it hasn't sold as much as ps2. heck the crazy part is that you'd even see more supply of cube or older nintendo stuff getting into the market vs og xbox. 360 is a different story but damm western 360 is just a dry desert in terms of content imo  :P

Still I'd argue the I'm done now with collecting for this console is also part of why it's not super desirable. Sure it's cheap but there isn't a hell lot for the console either og xbox lacks depth. the journey to collect for the console especially at the time was a bit too ez. not allot of quantity in terms of stuff to look for. it's a mere fraction of it's competitor on ps2. even with the smaller library on cube I feel I still need quite some stuff for the console and we ain't gonna talk about ps2 cause that's just content overload. for xbox realisticly Just want the castlevania port and call it a day.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2026, 04:04:05 pm by sworddude »
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Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2026, 05:30:03 pm »
I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX titles on the shelf that just linger there. Meanwhile, the PS2 section is pretty much just old sports games and shovelware, and the Gamecube section is literally non-existant 90% of the time. It's always been strange to me, but I guess it just didn't land with most collectors like Nintendo, Sony, and Sega stuff did.


In the spirit of this, I just decided to get back into my childhood 360. And it's still like you said. In 2 days I got a total of 42 games for 100 bucks! That's around 2.25 a game for 360. And we're talking minimum shovelware. Games like Viva Piniata and Halos and such.  I grew up on 360 and idk what caused me to segregate.  The only thing I can guess is my gf and I met in 2020. Shes on PS architecture and long distance occasionally so any game we play together was always on Playstation.  And I already had a big PS2 library. So continuity played a part.


I'm enjoying seeing lots under 40 dollars again in 2026 thats for sure. 


Like burning doom said

Quote
Great for me! It makes the games cheap and easily obtainable, most of the time. And the hardware is solid, plus it's backwards compatibility not only works great but also improves many games performance and graphics. So I have no complaints. In fact, my Series X is my main console for the current-gen; my PS5 and Switch are just for exclusives.



Maybe its something to do with the genres that dominate the consoles?  Nintendo is platforming and rpgs.  Xbox is heavy on first person shooters and racers.  Id assume they'd be nostalgic thus collectible but they often arent. Idk why.










sworddude

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2026, 05:41:10 pm »
I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX titles on the shelf that just linger there. Meanwhile, the PS2 section is pretty much just old sports games and shovelware, and the Gamecube section is literally non-existant 90% of the time. It's always been strange to me, but I guess it just didn't land with most collectors like Nintendo, Sony, and Sega stuff did.


In the spirit of this, I just decided to get back into my childhood 360. And it's still like you said. In 2 days I got a total of 42 games for 100 bucks! That's around 2.25 a game for 360. And we're talking minimum shovelware. Games like Viva Piniata and Halos and such.  I grew up on 360 and idk what caused me to segregate.  The only thing I can guess is my gf and I met in 2020. Shes on PS architecture and long distance occasionally so any game we play together was always on Playstation.  And I already had a big PS2 library. So continuity played a part.


I'm enjoying seeing lots under 40 dollars again in 2026 thats for sure. 


Like burning doom said

Quote
Great for me! It makes the games cheap and easily obtainable, most of the time. And the hardware is solid, plus it's backwards compatibility not only works great but also improves many games performance and graphics. So I have no complaints. In fact, my Series X is my main console for the current-gen; my PS5 and Switch are just for exclusives.



Maybe its something to do with the genres that dominate the consoles?  Nintendo is platforming and rpgs.  Xbox is heavy on first person shooters and racers.  Id assume they'd be nostalgic thus collectible but they often arent. Idk why.

it has most definitely something to do with it's genre's realistic stuff allot of folks don't look for. why do that when it's probably better on newer hardware. although I guess in the current era with all them nerfs removal or paywalling key features it could be somewhat appealing minus the visuals. first person shooters and racers why play the old ones for most of em. if you want the realistic stuff on those 99% of people want that on a modern console with new visuals. less nostalgia cause it's often simply outclassed by current gen.  with very few exceptions there is no reason to go back to them. This ain't a zelda or mario game in which the old stuff was totally different to name an extreme example. you really do want to play the older games in that one, or for most notable non realistic ip's for that matter.

that being said don't you worry look for games that could have been on sony and nintendo consoles and you got your high prices.

jet set radio future. outrun 2 coast to coast otogi, stubbs zombie, conkers, spike out battlestreet them shootemups survival horror

Look for anything non realistic more arcade focussed that most people look for on other retro consoles and prices will be pretty high. there is just way less of that stuff on xbox. 

panzer dragoon orta is still decently priced at around 40ish, peak game that most people will enjoy that play on the other platforms. and i guess you have some cheap platformers like voodoo vince

people play retro for a different experience not something that's better on newer hardware. what even is the point of going back than. there are differences with older realistic stuff but it's not as notable for many folks not to say there ain't a userbase for it just less people that do it aside from stuff like halo that one can play on newer hardware anyway. xbox is definitely less nostalgia at the very end of the day.


regardless there should be zero reason to complain about this console being underrated which it's not. it is most definitely not underated it's at the perfect spot and rated fairly

if you love xbox and especially what the console is known for racers and first person shooters realistic games with great grapics for it's time, good for you enjoy the cheapness it ain't going to become pricy ever aside from maybe factory sealed stuff of some of the most iconic games in the best condition possible but than again wouldn't recommend being into graded stuff unless you enjoy pain even the most popular retro stuff will look cheap in comparison than. you should want to keep xbox stuff to be undesirable cause than you can get your stuff on the cheap with ease. the more people talk about it the more pricy it will become although you'll need allot of that for xbox




WHY 360 SHOULD BE MORE DESIRED

1. It runs most 3rd party games better because its infrastructure was easier to code for. Holds frames consistently better on average

2. It's kinetic system was vastly more successful than the PS Move peripherals and Kinect was revolutionary



Nobody sane gives a flying fuck about kinect games. it's infinitely more shitty compared to what the wii did and it's games are garbage

games running 10% orso better on 360 ain't gonna make people suddenly become xbox fan bois. unless it's unplayable or really shit on sony 99% of people don't care. also caring about specs is mostly a thing for people wanting the best of the best that audience barely exists for retro it's a current gen exclusive.

These are some really mediocre selling points and man did you have to grab stuff from the very bottom of the barrel if the kinect should be a selling point xbox truly has almost nothing to offer  ::)
« Last Edit: August 11, 2026, 03:26:10 pm by sworddude »
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Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2026, 10:48:28 pm »
Rumors are that Microsoft's next-gen system, dubbed Project Helix, will not only have physical games, but allow for all previous Xbox system software to run on the new hardware. Just pop an Xbox, 360, X1, or XSX game in and it'll run.


xbox has been the most digital of em all. I see almost zero reason how this could come true, it makes zero sense and thanks to it's rep of giving up physical in the last 2 gens most people that do physical skip xbox.

Most digital of them all? How so? PlayStation has definitively said they are ending physical media. Nintendo is doing key cards. Meanwhile I have shelf full of Xbox games, their latest release is physical (Halo), and all signs point to them sticking with a disc drive.

until sony's announcement, sure they might be sticking with a disc drive but retail for xbox kinda death. allot of stores don't even carry xbox where I'm at. just nintendo and sony. it really ain't doing much coming from xbox all I'm saying they pretty much destroyed their physical market for current gen stuff.

I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX

same here I bought all of the heavy hitters i was interested in on xbox for flea market prices and heck I got most of em in like a month or 2 wasn't that much demand for em eventhough some carried decent value. that being said the good stuff like the dreamcast ports are pretty tricky to get nowadays though or stuff like otogi. so allot of the stuff that is worth it is not dirt cheap. also og xbox supply is lowkey trash as in new stuff coming into the market. you definitely do see how it hasn't sold as much as ps2. heck the crazy part is that you'd even see more supply of cube or older nintendo stuff getting into the market vs og xbox. 360 is a different story but damm western 360 is just a dry desert in terms of content imo  :P

Still I'd argue the I'm done now with collecting for this console is also part of why it's not super desirable. Sure it's cheap but there isn't a hell lot for the console either og xbox lacks depth. the journey to collect for the console especially at the time was a bit too ez. not allot of quantity in terms of stuff to look for. it's a mere fraction of it's competitor on ps2. even with the smaller library on cube I feel I still need quite some stuff for the console and we ain't gonna talk about ps2 cause that's just content overload. for xbox realisticly Just want the castlevania port and call it a day.


I agree about there being a fraction of thr worthwhile games the PS2 has and even arguably the Gamecube and Dreamcast, but here are a lot of great ones on there, enough to build a pretty hefty collection of top notch games. I think at the peak of my OG XBOX collection, I had around 60 games, all quality titles and many of them exclusives. It's got to be way harder now acquiring a collection like that, but back then people and store were practically giving XBOX games away meanwhile treating Dreamcast and Gamecube games like they were gold. Still, there was a sweet spot between 2009 and 2014 where it was so easy to collect for Gen 6. That's when i built the bulk of all those collections and quality titles were everywhere for next to nothing.

sworddude

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2026, 03:56:45 am »
Rumors are that Microsoft's next-gen system, dubbed Project Helix, will not only have physical games, but allow for all previous Xbox system software to run on the new hardware. Just pop an Xbox, 360, X1, or XSX game in and it'll run.


xbox has been the most digital of em all. I see almost zero reason how this could come true, it makes zero sense and thanks to it's rep of giving up physical in the last 2 gens most people that do physical skip xbox.

Most digital of them all? How so? PlayStation has definitively said they are ending physical media. Nintendo is doing key cards. Meanwhile I have shelf full of Xbox games, their latest release is physical (Halo), and all signs point to them sticking with a disc drive.

until sony's announcement, sure they might be sticking with a disc drive but retail for xbox kinda death. allot of stores don't even carry xbox where I'm at. just nintendo and sony. it really ain't doing much coming from xbox all I'm saying they pretty much destroyed their physical market for current gen stuff.

I never quite understood this either. XBOX was the first console I collected for where I reached a point where I was pretty much like, "yep, I'm done now." And what's crazy is it was pretty easy and pretty inexpensive. I bought the majority of my original XBOX games for under $5 each, and probably the most I spent on any of them was maybe $15 bucks. That's including all the heavy hitters like Operation Genesis too. Even now when I go to usd media stores, there are a ton of quality XBOX

same here I bought all of the heavy hitters i was interested in on xbox for flea market prices and heck I got most of em in like a month or 2 wasn't that much demand for em eventhough some carried decent value. that being said the good stuff like the dreamcast ports are pretty tricky to get nowadays though or stuff like otogi. so allot of the stuff that is worth it is not dirt cheap. also og xbox supply is lowkey trash as in new stuff coming into the market. you definitely do see how it hasn't sold as much as ps2. heck the crazy part is that you'd even see more supply of cube or older nintendo stuff getting into the market vs og xbox. 360 is a different story but damm western 360 is just a dry desert in terms of content imo  :P

Still I'd argue the I'm done now with collecting for this console is also part of why it's not super desirable. Sure it's cheap but there isn't a hell lot for the console either og xbox lacks depth. the journey to collect for the console especially at the time was a bit too ez. not allot of quantity in terms of stuff to look for. it's a mere fraction of it's competitor on ps2. even with the smaller library on cube I feel I still need quite some stuff for the console and we ain't gonna talk about ps2 cause that's just content overload. for xbox realisticly Just want the castlevania port and call it a day.


I agree about there being a fraction of thr worthwhile games the PS2 has and even arguably the Gamecube and Dreamcast, but here are a lot of great ones on there, enough to build a pretty hefty collection of top notch games. I think at the peak of my OG XBOX collection, I had around 60 games, all quality titles and many of them exclusives. It's got to be way harder now acquiring a collection like that, but back then people and store were practically giving XBOX games away meanwhile treating Dreamcast and Gamecube games like they were gold. Still, there was a sweet spot between 2009 and 2014 where it was so easy to collect for Gen 6. That's when i built the bulk of all those collections and quality titles were everywhere for next to nothing.


Yes you are absolutely right, when xbox was sold at fleamarket prices even if market was higher for stuff like otogi. many stores simply didn't give a shit and xbox stayed on shelves. ez pickings.

that being said at least in most of europe 2009 to 2014 where cheap af days for gamecube aswell 5 euro titles galore if not less them cube deals where plentyfull including the face games your mario and zelda's heck even had people giving away gamecube lots at the time like really different era 2009 - 2014 . but og xbox remained dirt cheap for far longer for the good stuff.

Dreamcast wasn't dirt cheap but that's mainly cause it sold so poorly, dreamcast supply has never been great, but you could get stuff at for what's there at the low prices of the time if you put some effort into it.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2026, 04:04:04 am by sworddude »
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dhaabi

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2026, 06:27:24 pm »
I think it's worthwhile to compare Xbox's history to PlayStation's, to see how Microsoft pushed away physical collectors.

Early on, Sony either formally acquired or had strong partnerships with a large number of developers. This allowed for an especially high output of games of all sorts of genres with the PlayStation early on. So in turn, a wide audience was attracted. To a degree this was also accomplished with Xbox, but I feel as if the overall quality may not have been as high comparatively. This trend continued with the Xbox 360 but not as successfully, and then by the Xbox One and especially in the modern era with Xbox Series X, the length of development for AAA games has taken a huge toll on what's available that seemingly halted Microsoft's output of games due to internal decisions and focuses. And it seems like it's far more common for news to emerge of studios closing or being restructured to assist with other studios for more popular projects than it is for something to actually release on a modern Xbox system. And somehow despite that, it's only in very recent weeks is there reported to be some strong push for IPs like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout that have been largely dormant for single-player fans for a decade or more.

But during the time of Microsoft's older systems specifically, it seems like Microsoft never took advantage of strong partnerships or acquisitions early on like Sony did, and the ones they did form didn't manage to capture audiences with worthwhile projects with wide appeal. Only across the last decade especially did Microsoft seem to realize this oversight by acquiring a lot of outside talent—only to be followed by closures, mergers, and downsizing—in an effort to bolster their library of exclusives, but by then it was too late as a result of the aforementioned lengthy game development and prioritizing other interests.

So without a noteworthy library of its own to bolster a collector base—not necessarily a player base—Microsoft saw collectors move to Sony's more enticing platform with far more exclusives that offer greater variety, if they hadn't been a part of their consumer base already. When almost all you have to show are three major franchise exclusives (two of which are very much the same, Halo and Gears, alongside Forza) and a history of games that didn't meet long-lasting commercial interest for the chance to spawn sequels across the majority of your time operating as a game manufacturer and publisher, collectors will prioritize a platform that historically has more attractive exclusives in addition to all the shared multiplatform titles.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2026, 08:02:06 pm by dhaabi »

sworddude

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2026, 08:48:05 am »
I think it's worthwhile to compare Xbox's history to PlayStation's, to see how Microsoft pushed away physical collectors.

Early on, Sony either formally acquired or had strong partnerships with a large number of developers. This allowed for an especially high output of games of all sorts of genres with the PlayStation early on. So in turn, a wide audience was attracted. To a degree this was also accomplished with Xbox, but I feel as if the overall quality may not have been as high comparatively. multiplatform titles.


japan seemed to have a hate boner towards xbox so that didn't help much in terms of getting allot of cool genre's and good developers to the platform. when you miss out on most of japan massive downgrade in terms of the library. let's not sugar coat it xbox didn't just have a little bit less but a fk ton less. and lesser quality to boot.
« Last Edit: August 13, 2026, 08:49:38 am by sworddude »
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ssj4yamgeta

Re: Why is Xbox not as desirable to collectors?
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2026, 09:32:38 am »
Mostly it's the same reason there hasn't been much interest in XBOX emulation: their backwards compatibility program. You can take almost any physical XBOX game from a previous generation, pop it into a current-gen XBOX, download an emulator-compatible rom, and play the game on the current-gen XBOX. The games don't require an internet connection after the initial download, either. Yeah it's basically a game key card service, but it's a heck of a lot more convenient for most people than hooking up and maintaining four consoles. I have 3 generations of XBOX games, but I use my XBOX One X to play them all because I don't have space on my entertainment unit for the two older consoles. This feature makes original hardware all but worthless except to the most hardcore collectors. I'm not hating on the older consoles, the XBOX and XBOX 360S are two of my favorite consoles in terms of aesthetics, but unless you insist on being able to play obscure titles like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and its sequel DOAX2 (still the best game in the spinoff series, by the way), they're just not worth the shelf space if you have a newer model. And because this program has been around since the 360, fewer people got rid of their old games when buying a new XBOX, so there are fewer people buying up the stuff that's left. Most of the FOMO that drives the retro market is tied to not being able to play old games on current-gen hardware, so by having backwards compatibility with the vast majority of their legacy library, XBOX eliminates most of that FOMO.

I have heard the rumors about the XBOX Helix possibly getting a disc drive, but I really don't see it getting new physical games. Two reasons: Install size, and recent beta tests. Average install size for next-gen games is certain to exceed 100GB, meaning they won't fit on 4K Blu-rays, which means each game would need to be released on 2 or more discs. If 9th gen taught us anything, it's that today's publishers are highly allergic to doing multi-disc releases, and I don't see that changing. If it exists, the disc drive is most likely for the new disc-to-digital program, which is the next evolution of the backwards compatibility program and recently underwent a closed beta test. While I would love a console that could play 4 generations of XBOX discs, access GOG and Steam, and emulate almost everything, I've had to change my priorities recently. The US (and the first world in general) is undergoing massive shifts. Nobody is going to fix it. Every person we elect, regardless of party, just takes things from bad to worse. Now is not the time for reckless spending like buying a $1500-$2000 console that I don't really need. Realistically, my XBOX One X already plays the three generations of XBOX games that actually matter. I likely won't need to emulate PS4 or PS5 for another 7-10 years, by which time it will be cheaper to do so. And as far as next-gen games go, I really don't want them. I'd have opted out of next gen even if the industry hadn't ditched physical, because the new games are almost always worse than what I already own. Instead of getting a Helix, I'll just see what kind of mini pc I can pick up for around $500-$800. Right now, I need to make sure I've got enough money saved up to leave the country when the time comes.
Games Needed to Complete Collection:
PS5: 26 | PS4: 26 | XBOX One: 10| Switch: 9