Okay, fair enough and I agree with Sony going to PC day one but how is Microsoft going to be able to allow access to games and IP’s from Sony that they don’t own? Please explain this.
The rumor from Tom Warren is the system is dual boot. You have Xbox Core (current system) and Windows Core (aka… windows).
1 Like
I get that part but legally, how would Microsoft be able to get Sony’s games on their next console without Sony’s authorization? Sony isn’t going to just sit there and be like, yeah, sure go ahead. lol
1 Like
The Windows versions released on Steam/EGS/GOG etc. It’s just Windows at that point, those stores are built to work on any windows device. Even PlayStation’s own launcher if they make one would have to work everywhere.
2 Likes
Okay. That’s definitely very interesting and would be innovative, unique and groundbreaking if Microsoft can pull that off.
Question though, if the Steam store front was on the next Xbox, I know I would have to buy say The Last of Us Part 3 on Steam but I would be able to download it on my Xbox and play it natively off the SSD?
Hopefully we have a clearer vision of the strategy by the time the next consoles release so people can make their purchases in confidence.
8 Likes
If Microsoft can pull off having Steam, EGS, etc. on their next generation Xbox console, that just makes the decision to port their first party games to Sony/Nintendo even more baffling because they could have something amazing that would bring people to them instead of having to go to the people if that makes sense.
1 Like
That it does.
3 Likes
It is essentially two versions of Windows. The one we all know as the Xbox Core UI, the same thing in a Series console right now. The other thing you can boot into is just straight up Windows, with any/everything that Windows can do. That’s the rumor/guess/who knows from Tom Warren.
2 Likes
Steam on Xbox is a double-edged sword
2 Likes
Hope that if it happens it works more transparently than that. Ideally your Steam/EGS/etc games just show up in your Xbox library and when you launch them the Xbox starts up a VM or something to run those games in.
Or the OS on the next Xbox is closer to normal windows and things work cleanly.
2 Likes
It only works license-wise if they’re separate. Xbox OS runs Xbox, Windows OS runs Windows and never shall the two so mix.
1 Like
I can see that when you first turn on the console, it asks you which OS you want to run and goes from there keeping them both separate.
I was thinking that PC games don’t have specific licensing terms like that, so if you could get them to run in Xbox OS (like you can on Steam OS) then it’s be fair game. Maybe not though.
Agree that licensing is an issue for running Xbox games on PC though
1 Like
Windows runs off of OEM partners. Microsoft will not want to piss them off by putting out an insanely cheap/subsidized box, it would also be a minefield with regulators.
1 Like
We all may agree on that Xbox can´t/won´t drop consoles in the near future, because they still make good money of them. However, nobody has come up with an explanation on how Microsoft plans to make Xbox consoles attractive while putting their games pretty much everywhere. In the business update, Matt said Game Pass is going to be the exclusive, is that enough for people to invest in Xbox consoles? What do you think?
FYI, Phil Spencer said the exclusive model will still exist in some capacity going forwards. At this point in time, we cannot simply assume that every game Xbox makes will definitely be ported, that’ll need to be announced in another business update down the line.
Anyway, I much prefer the games Xbox makes over PS and don’t want to wait a year or however long it takes, to play the likes of Starfield, SoD, Fable, to name a few, if they were to make the jump at some point.
Then there’s the console itself, they make great, nice-looking, quiet hardware, it has Quick Resume (my non-game killer app) and Play Anywhere on most XGS titles.
Game Pass itself is a big deal for me. Saves me a lot of money, discovery of games I wouldn’t play otherwise, or simply don’t want to spend money on. I think as long as they ensure that their 1st-party titles release in a high standard, regular cadence, then the value proposition becomes more apparent. Especially when the likes of CoD start hitting the service.
7 Likes
I think the Xbox crowd now are more enthusiasts than casuals, which is the opposite of both other consoles - so they’re probably counting on many of us still picking up an Xbox even if we do get another console too, as a place for Game Pass and whatever other cool stuff they’re doing (PC stores would be a major selling point for enthusiasts for example - not so much for casuals).
I think it’s just acceptance that they’re never going to beat PlayStation in a straight-up fight, however much I’d hoped ABK etc. might help push the needle - if the market isn’t interested / defaults to PlayStation there’s not much you can do (although I do think they could have done much more in terms of marketing and sorting out their development pipelines in the last 6 years).
This article from PushSquare highlights the issue - Japan is now strongly Nintendo territory, or mobile gaming, or even PC - so while PlayStation are spending hard on marketing (the one thing Xbox has been lacking in) it doesn’t appear to be translating into sales as the Japanese market just aren’t as interested as they used to be:
2 Likes
Good points about Xbox consoles being more for enthusiasts, and acceptance that it’ll take Sony screwing up on an Xbox One/Wii U-level for Xbox to have any chance to sell more consoles than them.
2 Likes
Personally, I don’t think gamepass is a good enough service to make me buy an xbox console if games are releasing elsewhere. I am okay with waiting a year to play games that will be the better version due to being GOTY edition or have bugs sorted out.
Also, I don’t think they’ll make every game exclusive, so there’s that. I just think Microsoft over the next 3 years needs to make messaging clear of what their plans are because that is key imo. Also, if rumors of dual booting console is true. Then that’s a very enticing console imo because gaming PCs aren’t cheap and if Microsoft can provide a high end console that can play PC games. Then that could attract a lot of people imo because bulding a comparable PC cost much more than buying a PS5 or series x