As Microsoft prepares to launch its next-generation
Xbox Series X console, the company is ready for its most ambitious foray into gaming. But it’s not just about the console.
As well as introducing a
powerful new piece of hardware, the company is embarking on a spectrum of distributive innovations that mirror profound transformations in the way games are bought, distributed, and played. These encompass subscription services like
Xbox Game Pass as well as the in-development
Project xCloud.
All this is
a lot, much of it seemingly contradictory. On the one hand, Microsoft wants to carry on selling incrementally better consumer electronics devices, backed by $60 software purchases. On the other hand, it’s also interested in running a Netflix-style buffet service, and a cloud-based game streaming service that may not even require ownership of an Xbox.
Through
Xbox All Access, Microsoft is even trialing a mobile phone-style subscription service that includes the console and an inherent upgrade path.
As a piece of hardware, the Xbox Series X is a
significant technological step up from the Xbox One, but the central point of its introduction has little to do with sharper-looking games and faster loading times. This generation is going to be transformative in terms of
how people play, rather than what they play.
In interviews with leading analysts, we’ve tried to piece together Microsoft’s current thinking about gaming in the next decade, and
how the company is approaching the Xbox Series X — not merely as a new console, but as a component of a much wider attempt to broaden the company’s appeal in gaming.
Digging into executive interviews, and the views of those analysts who spend time with Microsoft decision-makers, it’s clear that the company sees this generation as a series of bets designed to secure its position in the traditional console sector, while defending itself from aggressive new competitors likely to make use of the cloud as a distributive platform — companies
like Amazon and Google.
Microsoft recognizes that it has power in the form of brand loyalists, and in its ability to produce showpiece video games. But it’s also aware that a new generation of players is growing up, a cohort for whom mobility, convenience, and connectivity are more important than fidelity and power.
Put another way, the
Xbox Series X is Microsoft hedging its bets on gaming’s future.
you my nikka champ! I mean, I was told from your peers that xbox don't have shyt so shyt can't make gamepass a great deal. If you don't believe me try out this service called PSnow. Lots of shyt, they got ps1,2,3,4 games on there, you can stream them n shyt, same price now I hear. Heard y'all sales jumped to like 2 million subscribers out of 110 million possible customers. I mean sure numbers don't lie, forget the 108 million Sony gamers who said I'm good, there are still 2 million subscribers. That's like killzone knack numbers. You know you doing something right when you are compared to heavyweights like that
