is Microsoft's vision for its next-gen console lacking in ambition?

[Cindy Claveau]

The FTC leak: is Microsoft's vision for its next-gen console lacking in ambition?

The leak of unredacted Microsoft documents lays bare the firm's plans for console hardware for this year and beyond. We're getting a new, impressive-looking controller, mid-generation refreshes of the existing Xbox Series consoles, and we have a strong idea of Microsoft's thinking for the next generation. There are some controversial ideas presented in terms of its revised Series machines but I'm more concerned about the plans for the Gen 10 consoles. Xbox needs to be radical, it needs to align more closely with the best in PC innovation, and the vision presented is either problematic and unambitious.

 

[Noodles]

I almost wonder if they are trying to keep costs down, thus minimal hardware, while banking on people moving to cloud streaming (ugh) for games.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

They're dropping support for VR, apparently.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Yeah Microsoft will not hesitate to drop a product or feature that not enough people are using, even one they've spent lots of money on.

I guess financially it makes sense, it's better than trying to ride a dead horse a la Facebook and "the metaverse". But it also creates this vicious cycle where I don't like hopping on board anything new Microsoft makes until it's been around for a few years and looks like it's going to stick, but also so many people doing that makes it more likely the thing isn't going to stick.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Yeah Microsoft will not hesitate to drop a product or feature that not enough people are using, even one they've spent lots of money on.

So you don't think they'll be updating my Zune?

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

At least you didn't buy a bunch of music from a Microsoft "Plays for Sure" licensee only to have it all go up in flames when Microsoft shut down the servers.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Frankly said I don't care about possible lacks of ambition. Consoles do work not because being cutting edge hardware, which can always be found on PCs first. Consoles do work because they are a nice, convenient, low maintenance package of stuff that works with good enough quality well enough for a very low price point.

PCs always offered more, and probably will for a long time. But given the fact if you want to have the latest and greatest 4090 from Nvidia, that you need to spend around 2000$ for it, which at the same time can get you 5 PS5 the difference becomes pretty obvious. And on the PC then you've still got to spend at least 1000 more bucks to have something which you can use.

So console gaming and pc gaming caters big time different clienteles nowadays with some overlaps.

And why should Microsoft be more ambitious, when the more ambitious PC market is destroying itself right now because more and more consumers are unwilling to pay the extra price for it, and console gaming is increasing while pc gaming is decreasing since 2019?

It's not Microsoft we should worry about so much, but about the misconceptions of the author about what consoles should do.

 

[Ghost Pepper]

They're dropping support for VR, apparently.

Xbox consoles have never had VR support. Microsoft thinks that the market for it is still too niche to include it consoles.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Xbox consoles have never had VR support. Microsoft thinks that the market for it is still too niche to include it consoles.

I'm talking about mixed reality on PCs.