A question everyone has been asking is, will there be another Xbox console for the next generation? Well, according to one exec, the answer is yes, but… with some key differences this time. Like rumors have suggested, it seems like the next gen Xbox will basically be a curated high end PC.
In a recent interview with Mashable, president of Xbox Sarah Bond was asked directly about rumors of a more PC-like Xbox. Bond actually agreed that the next Xbox will be “very premium” and that fans can already get an idea of the future with the new Xbox ROG Ally. The Xbox ROG Ally is a handheld that already merges Xbox and PC into one device.
“I can tell you you’re right, that the next-gen console will be a very premium and high-end curated experience,” said Bond. “You’re starting to see some of the thinking we have in this handheld, but I don’t want to give it all away.”
Thing is, all consoles these days are just curated PC’s. They are just usually not the highest end chips in order to keep costs down. Usually a console is a very stable, UI locked medium grade PC. This means even on release day, the likes of Xbox series X was easily outperformed by high end gaming rigs.
If the curated PC power goes up, so does the price. Now the problem there is that people then start to wonder, why not just build by own PC? Once the console is out, it can’t usually be upgraded with new, more powerful hardware. If you build your own gaming rig and a faster chip comes out tomorrow, you can go purchase that and install it.
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All this would really do (in my humble opinion) is set the start point higher for the new generation. Ergo, it matches the high end(ish) PC’s of it’s release date. A few years though… well, you’re going to have to upgrade.
The whole, Steam Store access is kind of irrelevant I think. There’s really nothing to stop Xbox or PlayStation agreeing a deal to have this on their consoles now. However, they instead probably built their consoles with an aim to prevent access to Steam and it’s reliably cheaper games. It’s an attraction, but again, you’ll eventually have to upgrade to play new Steam games in a few years.
With PlayStation effectively winning the console wars and maintaining it’s exclusives, it seems Xbox may just become a studio that sells a subscription service and some branded hardware in the PC gaming market. How that will help the brand grow, or get more hardware sales remains to be seen?
It is very likely that the PlayStation 6 will be more of a traditional console upgrade. Therefore, both less powerful and much cheaper than the next Xbox. Though, for console only gamers, that is still likely to be their platform of choice. Buy a gaming PC and a PS6 for exclusives, will still be the most likely consumer choice.
What do you think of the news there will be another Xbox console, but it will be more PC like? Thoughts below.
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