It still blows my mind anyone would even consider buying in if it's a traditional console. A PC hybrid that I could throw on a tv with console like ease would be a maybe to yes even from me, but a traditional console after the last 2 completely failed gens would be a hard no.
Yeah, at this point any Xbox that's a traditional system and operating with that type of business model, will fail terribly. The brand is just too damaged to ensure it, and it's not like MS will revert porting games to PS & Nintendo (6-month/1-year timed exclusives on Xbox isn't good enough for long-term platform growth), and they definitely aren't reversing porting their games to Steam at all.
So what would they have going for them on the traditional model? Features? Won't mean anything if those features aren't leaning into being more PC-like and open as a platform, at which point it wouldn't be a traditional console anyway. So same features as current Xboxes, but think they can charge a premium for more performance or handheld form factor? It will backfire within six months, maybe sooner. Doing the same traditional thing but with more power or different form factor, only works if the brand is already sustainable. Xbox consoles aren't; they're collapsing in global sales.
PS5 Pro is coming out this week so he goes on and posts this. IIRC when Xbox layoffs were announced he came out and said that he "heard" the next system was non-traditional, like a PC hybrid. It's just strange how his leaks are timed, almost like his job is to keep Xbox shills engaged and talkiing about Xbox positively.
That...that is his job xD. Keep saying, he's used for controlled PR. Wasn't there a report not long ago with someone from Xbox admitting they use influencers to put out feelers to the public, and gauge how they'll react to certain news?
Jez is probably one of the most prominent of those types. It's why the timing of his stuff is always so "convenient".
Wait by the replies it seems some aren't sure Steam will be on the next Xbox.
I was assured Steam would be there.
If Steam is there the device is platform agnostic and it is not a traditional console. People could play a whole lifetime on it and never buy an Xbox or Microsoft game if Steam is on the device. If it is not, it is a traditional console.
You cannot have a traditional console with two separate stores that provide separate licenses for the same game.
So which is it this hour Microsoft? I'm interested to see how this plays out. IMHO 99% chance it has Steam on it just because that sounds like such an Xbox move at this point.
The big question. The only question is, will it have steam or not? If it does, bad news for Xbox hardware.
If Xbox releases early it will cost them more to have a generational leap, and so that is where the high cost hardware estimates come from. If the device has steam and is releasing early and aims for generational improvements, it is likely to be costly like the PS5 Pro, BECAUSE, it will be difficult to subsidize the hardware with potential future earnings which may be zero if people buy this as a steam box. I have a feeling MS may want to move out of hardware and thus will release this device exactly as we speculate, good specs, runs steam, expensive.
As you can see how the market reacts for a 699 Playstation Pro, console market will be lost if base model launches over 599, that's the ceiling. Otherwise sales will be super sluggish. How to release a generational leap at 599 that also runs steam? Could be done easily if MS want to pay for it, but I'm not so sure. I think they will put something out that is nice, but also that they expect not to sell well and continue their push to 3rd party publishing.
That's just it: It won't be $599 and Steam will probably be locked behind some Game Pass tier.
I see it playing out like so: a $699/$799 (maybe even $899) semi-subsidized SKU for the top-line box (the NUC-like system). To access storefronts like Steam on it, you need a Game Pass subscription. MS lock you in for a 1-year or 2-year Game Pass sub that's a bit more expensive than if you got a year's sub normally. After you've paid for the sub, they do a system firmware update and allow you to access Steam & other alt storefronts normally (without needing a Game Pass subscription).
Meanwhile, they'll have another SKU where you can access Steam and stuff Day 1 and not need a Game Pass sub, but it'll cost $999 or maybe even something like $1099 or $1199 (depends on what the price of the other SKU would be; I'm guessing it'd be ~ $250 more than the cheaper SKU). Technically if you buy this version and later decide you want Game Pass, you might end up paying even more, but how much more depending on which tier.
For Game Pass tiers, thinking they'd use the following type of system:
>Contract with cheaper SKU box: Locked 1-year or 2-year rate for some new GPU tier that includes access to alt-storefronts. Cheapest sub rate going by per-month breakdown costs.
>More expensive SKU box: Get access to alt-storefronts Day 1 without GP sub. $250 - $350 more expensive vs. cheaper SKU box.
>3P/OEM boxes (if it happens): Likely priced more in line with the more expensive SKU box unless they include some Game Pass deal to semi-subsidize the box.
Something else you might want to consider: these won't be Xbox consoles produced at volumes to compete with PlayStation or Switch. If Microsoft can save money on production costs by manufacturing less units, but have fat profit margins on each box, they'll take it. The traditional model as-is has become disastrous for them anyway; this year alone they're looking at
maybe barely 4-5 million Xbox Series consoles sold altogether? Meanwhile even in a softer quarter PS5 was able to come within reach of 4 million units.
An Xbox moving 4 million units a year is much more doable if it's priced high enough to give good profit margins on each system sold. But to do that, MS have to shift away from the traditional console business model. Not just in costs and subsidization, but also in areas of software exclusivity, storefront exclusivity, and even completely fixed hardware specs.
Personally, when I say their only future in gaming hardware is a hybrid console/PC type model, I mean that for every aspect of the
platform.
diffusionx
says that would make no sense for them to make such a device. So they are probably making one right now lol.
