IMO Microsoft's biggest mistake was pulling its consoles out of most countries.

The strategy seemed perfect: people buy an Xbox Series S and, a few years later, upgrade to an Xbox Series X. I was one of those people. But since 2024, the Series X has basically disappeared from official retailers in South America. It's no longer possible to buy one at a competitive price, only at prices far above the PS5.

Fewer consoles sold is directly tied to fewer Game Pass subscribers and a plateau in subscriber growth. I genuinely can't understand how Phil Spencer and Sarah thought it was a good idea to scale back their presence in so many markets while focusing almost exclusively on places like the US and UK.