Xbox President Sarah Bond clarified that hardware is still central to the brand, even as it moves away from platform exclusivity. Microsoft's gaming division has made some major moves in the past few months, some of which have left fans feeling uncertain about what's to come in the next generation of consoles and beyond. It's still unclear exactly what Xbox is up to, but its captain confirmed that hardware is still a big part of the business.
In recent years, Xbox seems to have been slowly shifting to a more software-centric one, especially as services like Xbox Game Pass took off at a time of declining console sales. When Microsoft confirmed Halo will be on PlayStation consoles from now on, it felt like the final nail in the coffin of Xbox exclusives. Despite this shift, the company still believes hardware is central to its identity.
Xbox president says idea of exclusive consoles 'outdated'
Xbox president Sarah Bond says making a game exclusive to one platform is an “outdated” idea because the company releases more games on other consoles.
Xbox President Sarah Bond Says “The Xbox Experience Starts With The Console”
In an interview with Fortune Magazine, Bond doubled down on plans for Xbox consoles, saying that “hardware is absolutely at the heart of everything we do on Xbox.” While Xbox hardware revenue fell sharply last quarter, the company remains committed to the consoles. According to Bond, Xbox's most valuable players start out in the Xbox ecosystem, even as they branch out to play on PC, mobile or other platforms. While Microsoft wants to support a “play anywhere” future, it believes that building its own systems is the key to thriving in such an environment. The company has seen success with the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, despite their high prices and competition in the handheld market, so it's possible that a similar trend could occur in the broader gaming hardware market.
As Bond explained Xbox's stance on hardware, she also offered some insight into his next console. She described the next-gen Xbox as a “powerful” console that “enables people to take their library with them”, demonstrating how it will tie in with the brand's wider beliefs about gaming flexibility. Players who “take their library with them” could indicate some degree of portability, but more likely it's cloud support and cross-platform storage and progression. Previous reports have already suggested that the next Xbox will be a PC/console hybrid, and existing in that unique middle could be what Microsoft believes will set it apart from other hardware enough to justify the investment.
How future Xbox hardware will lean towards flexibility and choice remains to be seen, but fans are at least clear that Microsoft will continue to make consoles, even without exclusives to attract an audience to them. It's worth noting that PlayStation exclusives are coming to other platforms more often now, so there could be big changes on the horizon for the console market as a whole.
- Mark
-
Microsoft
- Original release date
-
November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
-
499 dollars
- Operating system
-
Proprietary (Windows based)
- Processor
-
Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- Resolution
-
720p – 4K UHD
