Xbox console
Ranked 3 of 29 game consoles by recommenders
Recommended for backward compatibility, reliable everyday play, and a controller and online experience people like; critics point to price rises, layoffs and a loss-making division.
Recommended for backward compatibility, reliable everyday play, and a controller and online experience people like; critics point to price rises, layoffs and a loss-making division.
274 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 62
- criticize it
- 212
- approval share
- 23%
Recommended in 12 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 21 years
Median of the 6 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 62 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Backward compatibility with older games
“they changed so much in the console ecosystem, play anywhere, backwards compatibility without extra cost”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “I don’t need a Steam Machine” “Xbox at least lets you play the X360 physical media back compatible with the latest console.”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “Sony rolls out 30-day DRM check-in for PlayStation – stay online or lose access” “Old games do NOT need updates to run on newer Playstation/Xbox OS updates”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “2025 was a disaster for Windows 11 as bugs and intrusive features erode trust” - Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “PlayStation can delete all your digital games after 3 years of inactivity (EU)”
Reliable, turnkey, just works
“The biggest value prop for me with console gaming is that it just works, every time.”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “45% of Enthusiasts 'Seriously Considering' Leaving Sony for PC” “the very definition of everything just works, and no kernel drivers to worry about”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “macOS Container Machines” “Xbox/Switch/Playstation are incredibly reliable and turnkey”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “Xbox wants you to pay 24 to 40 cents per hour to stream games you bought” Plays from disc without internet
“You don't need an internet connection to play from disc”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Xbox goes down. You can't play games you own on disc” “though that mostly functions as a DVD player these days”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “France Launches Government Linux Desktop Plan as Windows Exit Begins”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Repeated price increases
“Netflix, Xbox, theatres, DVD/BD box sets, game consoles, and so much more did not need AI as an excuse to raise prices.”
Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “AI-generated posters don’t have to be horrible” “Xbox is literally imploding right now, they laid off half the company and significantly raised the console price.”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026” “they cluelessly and carelessly laid off most of their best staff, all while raising prices multiple times”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “Microsoft raises Xbox prices by up to 43%” Division losing money for years
“that division lost money hand over fist for a long time”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Microsoft has a problem: lack of demand for its AI products” “Xbox the division has been losing money and each generation has a smaller and smaller share of the install base”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “PS5 Relapse Exploit” “Some try, e.g. Microsoft with Xbox, Meta with VR, but even then often it ends up being billions of lost profits.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: Why aren't companies hoarding AI talent?” Ads, telemetry and enshittification
“the PS and Xbox OSes show you ads, and they have telemetry”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “LG to Ban Residential Proxies from Smart TV Apps” “You had everything great. Xbox, Windows, Office,... and somehow in a short span of time you managed to enshittify everything.”
Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “GitHub backs down, kills Copilot pull-request ads after backlash” Locked to own or store software
“A separate mode - you can side-load, but you lose all access to appstore and all built-in apps.”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Epic celebrates "the end of the Apple Tax" after court win in iOS payments case” “Xbox allows you to either load your own software or load software you buy from the Xbox store. Not both.”
Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “Epic celebrates "the end of the Apple Tax" after court win in iOS payments case”
Other game consoles people recommend
The four most recommended other game consoles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valve Steam Machine | 326 | 240 | 58% | 12 | 1 mo5 owners | — |
| PlayStation 5 | 121 | 181 | 40% | 12 | 3 yrs8 owners | — |
| Xbox consoleThis page | 62 | 212 | 23% | 12 | 21 yrs6 owners | — |
| Xbox 360 | 41 | 19 | 68% | 12 | — | Approved |
| PlayStation 2 | 40 | 6 | 87% | 11 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 302 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Only Xbox, the games console, is having a bad time, the publishing part is doing great”
“people left XBox for it, in part, over game sharing (or lack thereof)”
“Xbox/Switch/Playstation are incredibly reliable and turnkey”
“Their only complaint is not having an easy way to watch on Xboxes.”
“tinkering with the first gen Xbox ... taught me a lot about software, networking and electronics”
“Xbox the division has been losing money and each generation has a smaller and smaller share of the install base”
“xbox has great multiplayer support (including locally for friends)”
“Netflix, Xbox, theatres, DVD/BD box sets, game consoles, and so much more did not need AI as an excuse to raise prices.”
“Their new disc to digital feature is proof they are looking at Sony's mistakes and slowly moving in the opposite direction.”
“Xbox is literally imploding right now, they laid off half the company and significantly raised the console price.”
“You don't need an internet connection to play from disc”
“they cluelessly and carelessly laid off most of their best staff, all while raising prices multiple times”
“the PS and Xbox OSes show you ads, and they have telemetry”
“the XBOX sits in a low power mode that does updates and keeps the spot you were in your game saved”
“The biggest value prop for me with console gaming is that it just works, every time.”
“it updates itself (firmware/OS updates only take about 5 mins)”
“actually playable on the latest console through transparent emulation”
“Xbox hires a ton of people and creates genuine value for consumers”
“Some try, e.g. Microsoft with Xbox, Meta with VR, but even then often it ends up being billions of lost profits.”
“the floundering of the platform I've used for over two decades”
“the very definition of everything just works, and no kernel drivers to worry about”
“a brand they built up to be pretty good over many years, and now they don’t seem to know what to do with”
“Xbox at least lets you play the X360 physical media back compatible with the latest console.”
“though that mostly functions as a DVD player these days”
“You had everything great. Xbox, Windows, Office,... and somehow in a short span of time you managed to enshittify everything.”
“I would rather advise XBox, Nintendo or PlayStation for gaming.”
“we got a lot more use out of the Xbox (original) and the Wii”
“there's a major risk of the whole Xbox identity disappearing into the PC computing”
“The original console was a massive loss and a mess because they didn't know what they were doing.”
“started building alternate revenue streams (XBOX, Windows Phone) without destroying the core product”
“Xbox & Discord are the only 2 services I’ve seen handle bans with adequate transparency”
“pretty much everything else about Xbox is genuinely better & more consumer-friendly”
“External devices like AppleTV, Roku or Xboxes are responsive.”
“unless you buy a device to use as more a dedicated gaming console (Xbox/Steam Deck type device)”
“Old games do NOT need updates to run on newer Playstation/Xbox OS updates”
“The controller design/feel and the more seamless/intuitive online play & party handling kept me on the Xbox side of the fence for a looooooong time.”
“A separate mode - you can side-load, but you lose all access to appstore and all built-in apps.”
“Xbox allows you to either load your own software or load software you buy from the Xbox store. Not both.”
“that division lost money hand over fist for a long time”
“they changed so much in the console ecosystem, play anywhere, backwards compatibility without extra cost”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.