More AI competition will make it hard for Big Tech to generate the oligopoly-like profit margins that investors hope for.

Mondays bloodbath in Nvidia and other AI stocks wiped out some $1 trillion from the stock markets value.

Haunting stories Dead babies, critically ill kids: Pediatricians make moving plea for vaccines "I remember holding a baby dying of complications of pneumococcal meningitis." Beth Mole Jan 27, 2025 5:37 pm | 71 A baby with measles. Credit: CDC A baby with measles. Credit: CDC Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAs federal lawmakers prepare to decide whether anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, pediatricians from around the country are making emotional pleas to protect and support lifesaving immunizations.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has assembled nearly 200 stories and dozens of testimonials on the horrors of vaccine-preventable deaths and illnesses that pediatricians have encountered over their careers. The testimonials have been shared with two Senate committees that will hold hearings later this week: the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).I remember that babys face to this dayIn a statement on Monday, AAP President Susan Kressly noted that the stories come from a wide range of pediatriciansfrom rural to urban and from small practices to large institutions. Some have recalled stories of patients who became ill with devastating diseases before vaccines were available to prevent them, while others shared more recent experiences as vaccine misinformation spread and vaccination rates slipped.In one, a pediatrician from Raleigh, North Carolina, spoke of a baby in the 1990s with Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis, a life-threatening disease. "I remember holding a baby dying of complications of pneumococcal meningitis at that time. I remember that baby's face to this daybut, thanks to pneumococcal vaccination, have never had to relive that experience since," the doctor said. The first pneumococcal vaccine for infants was licensed in the US in 2000.A doctor in Portland, Maine, meanwhile, faced the same disease in a patient who was unvaccinated despite the availability of the vaccine. "As a resident, I cared for a young, unvaccinated child admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with life-threatening Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis. This devastating illness, once common, has become rare thanks to the widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. However, this child was left vulnerable...and [their parents] now faced the anguish of watching their child fight for their life on a ventilator."Kressly emphasizes that "One unifying theme of these stories: vaccines allow children to grow up healthy and thrive. As senators consider nominees for federal healthcare agencies, we hope these testimonies will help paint a picture of just how important vaccinations are to childrens long-term health and wellbeing."Though AAPlike all other major medical and health organizationsconsiders the safety and efficacy of vaccines "settled science," fear has grown for the future of vaccination in the US after President Trump selected Kennedy as his pick for health secretary. Kennedy is a well-established anti-vaccine advocate who ran the anti-vaccine organization Children's Health Defense (aka CHD, and formerly the World Mercury Project, WMP) between 2015 and 2023. In that time, he served as board chair and chief legal counsel.Deadly influenceKennedy has long spread false, debunked claims that vaccines are linked to autism (there is no link), and that mercury in vaccines cause harm (the mercury-based preservative Thimerosal has not been linked to any harms beyond minor redness and swelling, and it hasn't been used in childhood vaccines since 2001). He has also falsely claimed that childhood vaccines have not been tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (they have) or been tested in "a safety study pre-licensing" (they have).In 2018 and 2019, Kennedy and CHD spread misinformation and stoked fear of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine in Samoa. Vaccination coverage plummeted to just 31 percent. In November of that year, an outbreak of measles took hold, ultimately killing 83 people, mostly children. Among the health workers who responded to the outbreak was Josh Green, a physician and now Hawaii governor. Green helped with a mass vaccination campaign at the time. He wrote of the experience in The New York Times earlier this month, noting Kennedy's role in the outbreak and sharing an experience visiting the home of a toddler who had just died of measles:"The child was lying on a makeshift bed in the middle of the familys one-room house, her face still red from fever. I put my hands on her face and could feel the warmth in her skin, but her eyes were fixed and glazed over. My stethoscope confirmed she was no longer breathing.In spite of her severe case of measles, her family was caring for her at home because the hospital was filled beyond capacity and there werent enough doctors, nurses or beds to accommodate her. We shared a moment of mourning for her with her parents and then proceeded to vaccinate her family members at the parents request before we had to move on to continue our mission."Meanwhile in 2019, Kennedy led a (failed) legal effort to try to weaken vaccination requirements in New York schools, and a study led by researchers at the University of Maryland identified Kennedy's CHD/WMP as the single leading source of anti-vaccine ads on Facebook.Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy and CHD gained yet more prominence. Since 2000, CHD filed nearly 30 federal and state lawsuits challenging vaccine and public health policies. In 2021, Kennedy petitioned the FDA to rescind the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines.In 2022, CHD was permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram, which occurred just days after the organization seemed to celebrate dips in vaccination rates amid the spread of polio in New York.Cautionary talesThe stories and testimonies of the pediatrician highlight how dangerous Kennedy's actions are."I have had the devastating experience of witnessing an infant turn blue repeatedly from repeated coughing bouts then die from the pertussis that wreaked her infant lungs," a Colorado pediatrician wrote. "I have intubated babies with RSV whose secretions were drowning them. I held a mothers hand while she sobbed as her toddler lay postictal [with altered consciousness] from his umpteenth seizure from his varicella encephalitis." There are vaccines available that prevent pertussis (whopping cough), RSV, and varicella (chickenpox).An Ohio pediatrician share memories of a two-month stint at a hospital in Ghana in 1980. "I still see the faces of the children with complications of measles, polio, or tetanus: muscle spasms, difficulty breathing, pneumonia, and dehydration," she said. "I returned to Ohio reflecting on how fortunate we were to have access to effective vaccines against those illnesses."Another pediatrician told a story of a family who refused vaccinations until the unvaccinated child of a family friend died of Streptococcal pneumonia sepsis while on a trip abroad."Immediately upon return to the United States, my patients mother called and asked how quickly we can get her children fully vaccinated," the doctor wrote. "She stated she realized that the risk of death was real and that the risk of adverse developmental outcomes had not been scientifically proven and was a minor concern compared to losing her child."The Senate Committee on Finance will consider Kennedy's nomination on January 29, while the HELP committee will hold its hearing on January 30.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 71 Comments

Analysis and TechnologyThe new AI model from China's DeepSeek performs on a level with leading US models without requiring as much computing power but despite a huge drop in their stock, it's not game over for US tech companies 27 January 2025 DeepSeeks R1 model is available for freeLam Yik/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe China-based AI company DeepSeek sent shock waves through both Silicon Valley and Wall Street by releasing an AI model that competes with the best US ones but was made at a fraction of the cost. Although the news has sparked a sell-off of tech stocks and prompted venture capitalist Marc Andreessen to describe the results as AIs Sputnik moment the progress China has made on AI seems to have been a surprise to much of the tech world this open-source AI is not as revolutionary

President Donald Trump addressed the rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI app, on Monday night.He said the ability to train AI cheaply, which DeepSeek said it has done, is a good thing.Experts told BI that DeepSeek challenges the idea of US tech dominance, but that may be positive for AI.President Donald Trump said the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's ability to train AI more cheaply is a "positive" development and should be a "wake-up call" for tech industries.Trump's comments followed DeepSeek's ascension to the top of Apple's free downloads chart, which sent shockwaves through the US tech market on Monday morning."So you won't be spending as much, and you'll get the same result hopefully," Trump said Monday evening in a House Republican members conference meeting. "The release of DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company, should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win."China has been heavily investing in its tech sector, with state-backed initiatives to boost domestic chip production and AI capabilities, aiming to reduce reliance on US technology. Meanwhile, the US has expanded the existing export controls on advanced semiconductor technology to China, adding dozens more types of chips and 140 entities to the restriction list.Last Tuesday, Trump announced the launch of the Stargate Project, a joint artificial intelligence venture with OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and investment firm MGX. The initiative plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure across the United States by 2029, with the first data center already under construction in Texas. Last week, Trump called the project a "monumental undertaking" in a press conference with Larry Ellison and Sam Altman, and touted that it will create 100,000 jobs.Experts told Business Insider that DeepSeek challenges the idea of US tech dominance, but that may be positive for the future of AI.Chris Tang, a UCLA professor and global supply chain scholar, called this moment a "trigger" that may motivate OpenAI or Gemini to open up their source code to allow more people to participate in AI development."It's still very much early in the game," said Zongyuan Zoe Liu, senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, "but it certainly serves as a good reminder for American policymakers that technology restriction may not work."Gadjo Sevilla, a senior tech analyst for AI and tech briefings with BI's sister site EMARKETER, wrote that there is potential for "a race to the bottom for AI pricing and adoption in the coming months," which "runs counter to US Big Tech initiatives where we have Microsoft ($80 billion) and Meta (65 billion) looking to spend on hardware, data centers, and sustainable energy for AI.""China is not going to slow down. They will do as much as they can with what they can," said Brian Colello, an equity strategist for Morningstar. "It's just such a fast-changing space. Nobody has a clear, sustainable lead, so there will be more breakthroughs and they could come from anywhere. It could come from the US, it could come from China."

DeepSeek, a Chinese open-source AI firm, is taking over the discussion in tech circles.Tech stocks, especially Nvidia, plunged Monday.Companies leading the AI boom could be in for a reset as DeepSeek upends the status quo.DeepSeek, a Chinese company with AI models that compete with OpenAI's at a fraction of the cost, is generating almost as many takes as tokens.Across Silicon Valley, executives, investors, and employees debated the implications of such efficient models. Some called into question the trillions of dollars being spent on AI infrastructure since DeepSeek says its models were trained for a relative pittance."This is insane!!!!" Aravind Srinivas, CEO of startup Perplexity AI, wrote in response to a post on X noting that DeepSeek models are cheaper and better than some of OpenAI's latest offerings.The takes on DeepSeek's implications are coming fast and hot. Here are eight of the most common.Take 1: Generative AI adoption will explode"Jevons paradox strikes again!" Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted on X Monday morning. "As AI gets more efficient and accessible, we will see its use skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just can't get enough of."The idea that as tech improves, whether smarter, cheaper, or both, it will only bring in exponentially more demand is based on a 19th-century economic principle. In this case, the barrier to entry for companies looking to dip their toe into AI has been high. Cheaper tools could encourage more experimentation and further the technology faster."Similar to Llama, it lowers the barriers to adoption, enabling more businesses to accelerate AI use cases and move them into production." Umesh Padval, managing director at Thomvest Ventures told Business Insider.That said, even if AI grows faster than ever, that doesn't necessarily mean the trillions of investments that have flooded the space will pay off.Take 2: DeepSeek broke the prevailing wisdom about the cost of AI"DeepSeek seems to have broken the assumption that you need a lot of capital to train cutting-edge models," Debarghya Das, an investor at Menlo Ventures told BI.The price of DeepSeek's open-source model is competitive 20 to 40 times cheaper to use than comparable models from OpenAI, according to Bernstein analysts.The exact cost of building DeepSeek models is hotly debated. The research paper from DeepSeek explaining its V3 model lists a training cost of $5.6 million a harrowingly low number for other providers of foundation models.However, the same paper says that the "aforementioned costs include only the official training of DeepSeek-V3, excluding the costs associated with prior research and ablation experiments on architectures, algorithms, or data." So the $5 million figure is only part of the equation.The tech ecosystem is also reacting strongly to the implication that DeepSeek's state-of-the-art model architecture will be cheaper to run."This breakthrough slashes computational demands, enabling lower fees and putting pressure on industry titans like Microsoft and Google to justify their premium pricing," Kenneth Lamont, principal at Morningstar, wrote in a note on Monday.He went on to remind investors that with early-stage technology, assuming the winners are set is folly."Mega-trends rarely unfold as expected, and today's dominant players might not be tomorrow's winners," Lamont wrote.Dmitry Shevelenko, the chief business officer at Perplexity, a big consumer of compute and existing models, concurred that Big Tech players would need to rethink their numbers."It certainly challenges the margin structure that maybe they were selling to investors," Shevelenko told BI. "But in terms of accelerating the development of these technologies, this is a good thing." Perplexity has added DeepSeek's models to its platform.Take 3: Considering a switch to DeepSeekOn Monday, several platforms that provide AI models for businesses Groq and Liquid.AI to name two added DeepSeek's models to their offerings.On Amazon's internal Slack, one person posted a meme suggesting that developers might drop Anthropic's Claude AI model in favor of DeepSeek's offerings. The post included an image of the Claude model crossed out."Friendship ended with Claude. Now DeepSeek is my best friend." the person wrote, according to a screenshot of the post seen by BI, which got more than 60 emoji reactions from colleagues.Amazon has invested billions of dollars in Anthropic. The cloud giant also provides access to Claude models via its Amazon Web Service platform. And some AWS customers are asking for DeepSeek, BI has exclusively reported."We are always listening to customers to bring the latest emerging and popular models to AWS," an Amazon spokesperson said, while noting that customers can access some DeepSeek-related products on AWS right now through tools such as Bedrock."We expect to see many more models like this both large and small, proprietary and open-source excel at different tasks," the Amazon spokesperson added. "This is why the majority of Amazon Bedrock customers use multiple models to meet their unique needs and why we remain focused on providing our customers with choice so they can easily experiment and integrate the best models for their specific needs into their applications."Switching costs for companies creating their own products on top of foundation models are relatively low, which is generating a lot of questions as to whether DeepSeek will overtake other models from Meta, Anthropic, or OpenAI in popularity with enterprises. (It's already number one in Apple's app store.)DeepSeek, however, is owned by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer and the same security concerns haunting TikTok may eventually apply to DeepSeek."While open-source models like DeepSeek present exciting opportunities, enterprisesespecially in regulated industriesmay hesitate to adopt Chinese-origin models due to concerns about training data transparency, privacy, and security," Padval said.Security concerns aside, the software companies that sell APIs to businesses have been adding DeepSeek throughout Monday.Take 4: Infrastructure players could take a hitInfrastructure-as-a-service companies, such as Oracle, Digital Ocean, and Microsoft could be in a precarious position should more efficient AI models rule in the future."The sheer efficiency of DeepSeek's pre and post training framework (if true) raises the question as to whether or not global hyperscalers and governments, that have and intend to continue to invest significant capex dollars into AI infrastructure, may pause to consider the innovative methodologies that have come to light with DeepSeek's research," wrote Stifel analysts.If the same quantity of work requires less compute, those selling only compute could suffer, Barclays analysts wrote."With the increased uncertainty, we could see share price pressure amongst all three," according to the analysts.Microsoft and Digital Ocean declined to comment. Oracle did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.Take 5: Scaling isn't dead, it's just movedFor months, AI luminaries, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have been predicting a big shift in AI from a focus on training to a focus on inference. Training is the process by which models are created while inference is the type of computing that runs AI models and related tools such as ChatGPT.The shift in computing's total share to inference has been underway for a while, but now, change is coming from two places. First, more AI users means more inference demand. The second is that part of DeepSeek's secret sauce is how improvement takes place in the inference stage. Nvidia took a positive spin, via a spokesperson."DeepSeek is an excellent AI advancement and a perfect example of Test Time Scaling. DeepSeek's work illustrates how new models can be created using that technique, leveraging widely-available models and compute that is fully export control compliant," an Nvidia spokesperson told BI."Inference requires significant numbers of NVIDIA GPUs and high-performance networking. We now have three scaling laws: pre-training and post-training, which continue, and new test-time scaling."Take 6: Open-source changes model buildingThe most under-hyped part of DeepSeek's innovations is how easy it will now be to take any AI model and turn it into a more powerful "reasoning" model, according to Jack Clark, an Anthropic cofounder, and a former OpenAI employee, wrote about DeepSeek in his newsletter Import AI on Monday.Clark also explained that some AI companies, such as OpenAI, have been hiding all the reasoning steps that their latest AI models take. DeepSeek's models show all these intermediate "chains of thought" for anyone to see and use. This radically changes how AI models are controlled, Clark wrote."Some providers like OpenAI had previously chosen to obscure the chains of thought of their models, making this harder," Clark explained. "There's now an open-weight model floating around the internet which you can use to bootstrap any other sufficiently powerful base model into being an AI reasoner. AI capabilities worldwide just took a one-way ratchet forward."Take 7: Programmers still matterDeepSeek improved by using novel programming methods, which Samir Kumar, co-founder and general partner at VC firm Touring Capital, saw as a reminder that humans are still coding the most exciting innovations in AI.He told BI that DeepSeek is "a good reminder of the talent and skillset of hardcore human low-level programmers."Got a tip or an insight to share? Contact BI's senior reporter Emma Cosgrove at ecosgrove@businessinsider.com or use the secure messaging app Signal: 443-333-9088.Contact Pranav from a nonwork device securely on Signal at +1-408-905-9124 or email him at pranavdixit@protonmail.com.You can email Jyoti at jmann@businessinsider.com or DM her via X @jyoti_mann1

Its only a matter of time till Halo is on Switch 2 (Microsoft)The Tuesday letters page is surprised the PS5 is outselling the Xbox Series X by so much, as a reader asks when the first State of Play of the year will be.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukIntroductory gamesPhil Spencer can talk a lot of nonsense sometimes, but I really dont think he can be any clearer about his plans for Xbox exclusives. Everything is coming and theyre probably only waiting for an appropriate time to release the games on PlayStation 5 and beyond.They want the first Halo or Gears Of War to be an event, not just some quick remaster of a 10 year old game. Or at least thats what seems sensible to me, obviously I dont actually know what theyre going to do.But I wouldve thought Gears Of War: E-Day will be multiformat, especially since its a prequel. For Halo theyll either have to wait for the new game theyve teased or itll be the rumoured new remake of Combat Evolved. In fact, I imagine both that and E-Day were designed specifically to be the introduction to the franchises for new non-Xbox owners.For Starfield, I imagine maybe theyll wait for all the DLC to be out and do a deluxe edition or something like that.I cant deny its sad to see the Xbox dream die like this but if they continue to make good games it will never truly be over.JigsawQuid pro quoIt is going to be so odd seeing games like Halo and Forza on Switch 2, but Microsoft are clearly all for it so Im sure Nintendo isnt going to complain. I wonder though what else Microsoft is going to be needling Nintendo for.We already know theyd love to get Game Pass onto Switch 2 and doubly so now, given how irrelevant Xbox consoles have become. But how would Microsoft try to convince Nintendo now, in this new reality theyre working under?I cant imagine itd be as simple as just giving them money, so will they offer free streaming services for their own games, maybe? Thats tech that Nintendo is going to have to use someone else for and allowing Game Pass may be a relatively small price to pay for access.We have seen a lot stranger things in the last few years than Game Pass on Switch, so I wouldnt be that surprised if it happened.FocusNo changeAm I right in thinking that theres still no hint as to when Sony might have their first State of Play of the year? Theyre actually being more secretive than last year, at this point, because I remember last year they had a montage trailer in early January that confirmed a few things, but we havent had anything like that.Theyve got Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Ytei to talk about for definite this year and at some point theyve got to explain whats going on with Wolverine. So on paper theyve got a lot more to talk about than they did at the start of last year.What Im trying to say is that I see absolutely no sign of any change in approach with them. My theory is that theyve signed a marketing deal for GTA 6, and they just cant be bothered with anything else now theyve got that in the bag already.Tom MeadowsGC: There have been some vague whispers of February or March but nothing specific.Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukSister seriesIs anyone getting Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance vibes off of Ninja Gaiden 4? Obviously thats also a Platinum game but it seems to me that theyre purposefully playing off the game, with the sword combat and the way the camera works and everything.Not a problem with me, as I much preferred that game to any of the old Ninja Gaidens, but it does look a bit weird when you place it next to the new Ninja Gaiden 2 remaster. If you didnt know their names I dont think anyone would guess they were part of the same franchise.Like I say though thats not a problem for me, but I just hope this is a hit. If its not then Platinum is probably going to be in real trouble. I expect Microsoft to give Ninja Gaiden 4 quite a bit of marketing, so maybe thatll work, but well have to see.The BishopDead againI dont like to ask an obvious question but are we basically never getting another Dead Space game again, after the remake didnt do as well as EA wanted? That is such a shame because to me, as a fan, I thought it was pretty much the perfect remake and the team definitely understood the original and what it was all about.When it outsold The Callisto Protocol I though that was enough to secure it a future, but unfortunately not. I really dont know what EA was expecting. Sure, it wouldve been great if it was a breakout hit, but the original wasnt and basically no survival horror game has been since the 90s, that isnt called Resident Evil. Just seems like someone didnt do their research before even okaying the game.WhalemThe sweet spotWell, Mass Effect 2 being 15 years old certainly makes me feel old. And yet, if youd told me it was even older, Id probably have believed you. Not only is it a great game but it comes from a time when you could make giant, epic games in a relatively short amount of time and not break the bank. It was only three years between 1 and 2, and just two between 2 and 3. Nowadays youd have to double those development times, at least.I really do feel the Xbox 360 era was the sweet spot for games in terms of the balance between quality of graphics and length of time needed to make things. PlayStation 4 was probably sustainable but that was the absolute limit and now we see what happens now that limit has been passed and publishers refuse to stop.This puts Mass Effect 4 in a very difficult position, especially after the failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. If I had to guess Id say it was never coming out. If it does itll probably be by the skin of its teeth and with severe budget cuts.The problem is that to remake something on anything like the scale of Mass Effect 2, with the improvement in graphics people expect today, takes so much more, and thats before you start trying to do anything new on top. Mass Effect wasnt the most successful game ever, but it was pretty big, I thought, but even that isnt enough today, where its all or nothing and frequently nothing.DalsonSensible parametersId be surprised if the Nintendo Switch 2 price was anything surprising. Somewhere between 350 and 400 would be my guess. I dont think Nintendo are silly enough to make it more than that and while its a lot of money its well within birthday/Christmas range and less than most new consoles.Not that they have to really worry about that though, as the majority of people buying it at launch are going to be hardcore fans. So if they do get the price wrong, or people feel they want to wait for a Lite version, theres still going to be plenty of time for that.TiggerStrange daysWhat a strange situation we are in.After another year of, with the exception of Astro Bot, Sony giving us no reason to buy a PlayStation 5, let alone a PS5 Pro, and yet its still selling like hotcakes, 7% more than the PlayStation 4.Microsoft, on the other hand, have finally started to release worthwhile games in 2024 and with the Developer Direct signalled that 2025 is going to start as 2024 left off, with some promising games to come. Yet with all this they seem to actively not want to sell the actual console.Over Christmas you could get a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for 309 or a full version for 389.Microsoft were still selling the 1TB Xbox Series S for 299 and the Xbox Series X for 479.Who in their right mind would buy one? Why no discounts to drive sales?Worse, there were no promotional bundles.No Call Of Duty bundleNo Indiana Jones And The Great Circle bundleNo Game Pass bundleThey have totally given up on the console market, but surely that should at least mean a fire sale to get rid of old stock. which makes me wonder just how many consoles are still being made?Maybe, as the EU have updated the Digital Markets act, Microsoft are counting on consoles having to open up to third party marketplaces, so they dont have to pay Sony and Nintendo 30% of their software sales. But that will lead to the PlayStation 6 costing a fortune and limiting its mass market appeal, as Sony will need to keep its profit margins up.Also, would it really open up to third party marketplaces in the US? Imagine if Call Of Duty was an Xbox Marketplace exclusive on the PlayStation 5 for a month? Would gamers flock to the Xbox Store over the Sony one or would there be a backlash similar to Steam users moaning about the Epic Store?But its all very depressing, as the Xbox Series X is an excellent machine, which I still use far more than my PlayStation 5.This is mainly due to:Game PassInstant resume, which is the most next gen console feature and something Im amazed Sony have not copied, even if just for the PS5 Pro.And my preference for the Xbox style controller, if only they had released Sebile I would say its the best console controller, but its really third party apathy to the DualSense features that keeps my preference in place.Irve77 (gamertag/PSN ID)Inbox also-ransI feel weve had so many rumours of Skies Of Arcadia coming back over the years that its probably never going to happen. I just dont think the original was well known enough and every year that pass less people are going to remember it.JoolsIs it just me or was The Simpsons: Tapped Out not very good? I remember playing it for half an hour and be disgusted at the microtransactions. Not something I feel very nostalgic about.KosMore TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Why Xbox cant afford to give up on consoles despite going multiformatMichael BeckwithPublished January 28, 2025 1:00am The Xbox console still has a place even as Microsoft turns every other device into an Xbox (Microsoft)Even as Xbox console sales struggle, Microsoft remains committed to making more hardware and its all because of Game Pass.2024 marked a significant turning point for Microsofts gaming strategy. After years of pushing its own game exclusives, to coax people into choosing Xbox over PlayStation, higher-ups admitted to themselves that they just werent making enough headway.Xbox boss Phil Spencer himself corroborated rumours that a curated selection of Xbox exclusives would be ported to Nintendo Switch and, most shockingly of all, PlayStation 5. Since then, its become increasingly likely that most, if not all, future Microsoft games will be multiformat.Almost every upcoming Microsoft published game is already slated for PlayStation 5 and/or Nintendo Switch (the latest Xbox Developer Direct only highlighting one Xbox exclusive) and frequent rumours and Spencer himself suggest more ports of older Xbox games, including legacy franchises like Halo, will follow suit.This has, unsurprisingly, led to some Xbox fans describing the change of plan as a betrayal as well as worrying that Microsoft will eventually quit making consoles altogether.Despite what even Microsofts own actions would suggest though, not only is it not dropping out of the hardware race, but it cant afford to.Is Microsoft giving up on making Xbox consoles?No, Microsoft has no plans to stop making Xbox consoles. To a casual observer, its easy to assume otherwise, when Microsoft is promoting how you no longer need an Xbox console to play its games, but its not the case.PC, mobile phones, handheld devices, Samsung smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV Sticks; Microsoft has come up with multiple ways to get its Xbox Game Pass service into the hands of those who dont want to buy one of their consoles.Its newest marketing campaign explicitly highlights how all these alternate devices can technically be considered an Xbox, with examples like phones and Samsung TVs making use of cloud streaming to pull it off.It makes sense for Microsoft to de-prioritise pushing hardware when the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have unambiguously lost to the PlayStation 5 in terms of sales. Especially as theyre performing worse than the Xbox One.As highlighted in this Game Developer report, the Xbox One is estimated to have sold around 38 million units in its fifth year on the market. The last recorded lifetime sales for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are at a combined 28.3 million, with an estimate that theyll only reach 33 million by the end of their fifth year in 2025.Additionally, in the US specifically, lifetime sales for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are trailing behind the Xbox One by 18%, according to Circana analyst Matt Piscatella.If you shared all this information with someone whos not attuned to the games industry and told them Microsoft would stop making consoles, theyd probably believe you. Yet this is far from the case.Microsoft has promised its working on a next gen Xbox console that is focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation and its building prototypes for a Xbox handheld which may or may not be the same thing.It may seem strange for Microsoft to continue investing in gaming hardware when current sales are so bad its had to start releasing games on rival consoles, but theres a very good reason for this and its because of Xbox Game Pass. How many of you use anything besides your Xbox or PC for Game Pass? (Microsoft)Why is Microsoft still making Xbox consoles?While Microsoft is unlikely to ever share detailed data for Xbox Game Pass subscriptions (which in turn tells you almost all you need to know), the aforementioned Game Developer report indicates that most Game Pass subscribers are also Xbox console owners.Game Pass remains a key part of Microsofts gaming strategy and despite the service regularly missing its growth targets, the company loves to tout how many people use it.Last February, Microsoft revealed it had 34 million Game Pass subscribers (via The Verge), which is a lot but the company wants almost triple that number 100 million by 2030, which is sounding more and more impossible by the day.Microsoft has never indicated how many of those subscribers are accessing Game Pass without an Xbox, but its not unreasonable to assume they are in the minority. After all, not everyone is going to own the specific TV or streaming stick needed to access Game Pass and, even if they do, cloud streaming isnt a viable option for everyone.Aside from needing a strong and reliable Internet connection, Xboxs cloud gaming service is gated behind Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the most expensive tier at 14.99 a month. Plus, if you werent interested in getting an Xbox console to begin with, would you really be swayed into subscribing to Game Pass instead?One could argue that an easy way to attract more Game Pass subscribers is to bring the service to other consoles, namely the PlayStation 5, the Switch, and the upcoming Switch 2. But that would only further incentivise people into flocking to those consoles instead (plus, neither Sony nor Nintendo are likely to allow it).Remember the Flaming Moes episode of The Simpsons? Moes bar was incredibly popular because of the drink idea he stole from Homer, but the moment others learned the secret recipe and could offer it elsewhere, all Moes patrons left. It didnt matter that he did it first; that wasnt enough to keep customers coming back anymore.Itd be the same situation for Microsoft if Game Pass came to Switch or PlayStation. The companys already in a position where not enough people are buying Xbox consoles, so the last thing Microsoft wants is to make the one advantage Xbox has left available elsewhere. Even some Xbox owners may choose to ditch the console if Game Pass popped up on PlayStation 5 or Switch (20th Century Fox)This is why Microsoft needs to keep making new Xbox consoles, at least for the time being. Not to mention, Sonys going to make a more powerful PlayStation 6 eventually and, even if it cant compete sales-wise, it wouldnt look good if Microsoft didnt have a shiny, new console ready to go for the dedicated Xbox customers.If anything, the next console generation could allow Microsoft to regain some ground. As former PlayStation president Shawn Layden said this past December, console hardware has plateaued when it comes to raw power and any future improvements will be negligible at best.So, the next Xbox has an opportunity to try something radically different to give itself some unique selling point (beyond continued access to Game Pass) and further differentiate itself from the PlayStation 6.Assuming its not the same thing, the Xbox handheld Spencer has talked about could certainly reach a new audience; one thats more enamoured with devices like the Steam Deck and PlayStation Portal.Theres no telling where things will go for Microsoft from here. The Xbox Series X/S has sold less than the Xbox One and its reasonable assume to the next will sell less again, unless it actually does do something different other than being a decade late to the portable hybrid party.More TrendingMarket research already points to the next generation only having room for two consoles, one of which will almost certainly be the Switch 2, so theres a non-zero chance the Xbox will be pushed out entirely.But perhaps that doesnt matter to Microsoft, in the sense that they only have to tread water until streaming games is more viable for more people. Or perhaps until their other advantage over Sony, in terms of AI tech, can also be leveraged. Avid Sony supporters would certainly cheer at the prospect of Xbox going entirely third party, but less competition for Sony also means less reasons for it to try and its not exactly been going all out lately as it is.As things stand now, though, its far too early for Microsoft to embrace being merely a third party publisher. Not when a significant portion of its paying audience is still using its consoles and theres still a chance Game Pass could become their unique selling point. It may be losing its exclusives, but theres still a place for the Xbox for now at least (Microsoft)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

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It appears unnecessary complaints from that small but loud section of toxic Star Wars fandom may have influenced Lucasfilm to cut short the life of The Acolytetoo soon. The series from Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) pushed the boundaries of the light and the dark side with its High Republic-era story starring Amandla Stenberg (soon to be seen in Children of Blood and Bone), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), and Jodie Turner- Smith (Tron: Ares). It became a hot topic among Star Wars fans last year over its ambitious take on the lore, and data has now revealed that it was Disney+s second most watched series of the year. Deadline shared the stats, citing research from Luminate which broke down televisions highs and lows of 2024. And while it noted that it was a rough year for franchisesMarvel, Star Wars, and Rings of Power all underperformed last yearit attributed specific fumbles to shows like Marvels Echo and Agatha All Along. However, IP franchises still did the best on the platform: Percy Jackson and the Olympians got the top spot with with over three billion minutes viewed, and The Acolyte came in second place with 2.7 billion. That suggests Acolyte had major viewership, which has made its cancelation make even less sense. Its interesting that the WandaVision sequel series didnt get the same heat as Acolyte.And while Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) may not be getting another season, at least its been teased that she and Wiccan (Joe Locke) may be going into other Marvel stories. Thats something Star Wars fans hope for Stenberg and Jacintos characters from Acolyte; that season finale was an all-timer and we sorely miss Oshamir. While a good portion of the Star Wars fandom loved the show and are still mad about its cancelation, the fact that it ended so suddenly speaks to the ineffectiveness of Lucasfilm to stand up against the relentless online bullying targeting its actors. If anything it once again felt as if the company bent to the dark side of the fans for their dollars, and then appealed to them with the nostalgia-riddled Skeleton Crew. Not letting Star Wars be challenging is such a shame. While we look forward to Andor season two, its concerning that the franchise will seemingly lean more heavily into the Grogu-inification of its fare, ultimately betting on safer choices when Star Wars needs to be a series that inspires hopenow more than ever. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.