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Xbox console gamers, would you like the next console to be a pc/console hybrid?

Papa_Wisdom

Gold Member
With the disaster that is the Paystation being not an option and the Xbox library being as large as never before, I'd prefer the next Xbox to be a classic console limited to the MS Store. However, if they can pull it off to smoothly integrate Steam, EGS and GOG, I'd pay a high price (€1000 or more) - especially GOG would be a real treat.


True, but GOG and Epic would be nice.
I wouldn’t mind either way to be honest, as long as I was able to keep my library of games etc I would be ok.

Its really tempting me if they were to go down this route I would have access to the few games not on Xbox that would interest me now that my pc is seemingly not up to the task been able to play games. I was looking forwards to final fantasy and steller blade (still hoping to eek out the later on it depending on specs needed to run it)

If they do offer it as precious posters have said players would have a choice of either the Xbox os with gamepass and whatever deals they may have to tempt purchases on that, or buying from steam which ok they’d lose a 30% cut but would still be having people purchasing the games after buying the hardware.

The only downside I could see is games that are both released on Xbox and steam and people buying them on steam instead of Xbox buy that would be up to ms to make sure they have a compelling reason to buy with them instead of steam (cheaper price etc)
 
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RavenSan

Off-Site Inflammatory Member
I think it would be great -- and from the 'business' side of things -- Steam takes what, 30%? So let's say they put steam on Xbox with the agreement that if a 'Steam' game is purchased on Xbox they split the commish 50/50 -- each side gets 15%.

Strangers things have certainly happened.
 

Papa_Wisdom

Gold Member
I'm an Xbox owner ( as well as PS5 & switch), I still want a traditional Xbox console for next gen. The main problem is not the hardware but the vision, focus & leadership. Oh boy, I miss the Xbox 360 era.
Same but I think the vision of a traditional console with Microsoft has gone out of the window unfortunately.

They now need to pivot into offering something different if that’s offering what they do now with their os and gamepass etc but also offering the choice of been able to play games that otherwise wouldn’t have come to Xbox (PlayStation pc ports etc) I think that would be a compelling reason to own one.

They could offer the traditional experience out of the box but then if you wanted to have windows installed have they option to buy a windows key to give you access to steam etc.

For me it would be what kind of windows experience it would offer, like a full fledged windows pc experience or a walled off launcher experience as I’d like access to mods etc.
 
Nah, i got a powerfull pc. i just wont buy the next one if its a hybrid, the series x will work fine for me a long time as a living room gamepass/bc machine.

If it was a handheld i would be a bit more interested, but they will probably butcher that in some way with a stupid decision.
 
Same but I think the vision of a traditional console with Microsoft has gone out of the window unfortunately.

They now need to pivot into offering something different if that’s offering what they do now with their os and gamepass etc but also offering the choice of been able to play games that otherwise wouldn’t have come to Xbox (PlayStation pc ports etc) I think that would be a compelling reason to own one.

They could offer the traditional experience out of the box but then if you wanted to have windows installed have they option to buy a windows key to give you access to steam etc.

For me it would be what kind of windows experience it would offer, like a full fledged windows pc experience or a walled off launcher experience as I’d like access to mods etc.
It would be amazing if MS could offer Steamdeck experience, where I can load Xbox OS or full Windows OS so I can install Steam or other store. Man can only dream.
 

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
I don't understand why Xbox owners would even want a next gen Xbox after what MS did to them. Xbox is dead now everything is an Xbox and every new game will be multi platform (ie PS5, Switch 2 and PC).

Xbox as a console platform is dead, a next gen Xbox will probably be a Windows handheld device that's going to compete with SteamDeck. Is this what current Xbox owners want? Don't think so.
 

Papa_Wisdom

Gold Member
I don't understand why Xbox owners would even want a next gen Xbox after what MS did to them. Xbox is dead now everything is an Xbox and every new game will be multi platform (ie PS5, Switch 2 and PC).

Xbox as a console platform is dead, a next gen Xbox will probably be a Windows handheld device that's going to compete with SteamDeck. Is this what current Xbox owners want? Don't think so.
For me my library of games, I like the Xbox eco system, my friends are there and the controller,

I generally buy a PlayStation at the end of each gen and pick up the exclusive games I’m interested in but I have to say I haven’t been too impressed with Sonys first party output so far this gen.
 

David B

An Idiot
Here's a chart to show differences between consoles to this point in time. It goes from Gigaflops to Teraflops. Showing that it would be good to go PC.
Sega Dreamcast 1.4 Gigaflops Gaming system performance from weakest at top to most powerful on bottom.
PlayStation 2 6.2 Gigaflops
GameCube 9.4 Gigaflops
Xbox 20 Gigaflops
PlayStation 3 204.8 Gigaflops
Xbox 360 240 Gigaflops
Wii 12 Gigaflops
Wii U 352 Gigaflops
Switch 1 Teraflops
Xbox One 1.310 Teraflops
Xbox One S 1.4 Teraflops
PlayStation 4 1.843 Teraflops
PlayStation 4 Pro 4.2 Teraflops
Xbox One X 6 Teraflops
PlayStation 5 10.28 Teraflops
Xbox Series X 12 Teraflops
PlayStation 5 Pro 16.7 Teraflops
Current gaming PC with Intel Core i7 14700F 20 cores CPU, 32GB DDR5 ram, 1TB NVME M.2 SSD and 1TB HDD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super 12GB GDDR6X.
35.48 Teraflops
 

BlackTron

Member
How about Windows PC with Xbox translation layer type tomfoolery?

Except Windows' suckage is reaching critical levels

Maybe they can license SteamOS in dualboot Xbox, and we can get Macs.

Kids, don't do drugs
 

meech

Member
A mobile console with a dock that contains a powerfull gpu instead of of only power supply and hdmi would be nice. Maybe even using something like crossfire to use both gpu or the smaller gpu as a coprocessor.
 

Parazels

Member
A mobile console with a dock that contains a powerfull gpu instead of of only power supply and hdmi would be nice. Maybe even using something like crossfire to use both gpu or the smaller gpu as a coprocessor.
It's technically almost impossible, do not even dream.
 
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I'll probably buy the next Xbox solely to play with Game Pass, that's how low they fallen, but no big deal to me.. will keep enjoy what they have to offer.
About your topic.. i have to see how this thing will work(if ever, doesn't seems possible to me), having steam on console? sounds good on paper but really how will this even work?
 
I'm an Xbox owner ( as well as PS5 & switch), I still want a traditional Xbox console for next gen. The main problem is not the hardware but the vision, focus & leadership. Oh boy, I miss the Xbox 360 era.

Probably never going to repeat (X360 days).

I had only Xbox 360 and Series X, X360 was kinda legendary... you actually had games you could only play on Xbox, never again (perhaps time exclusive).
 

King Dazzar

Member
I'm always interested in new console hardware. And I have a large, but aging digital library on Xbox. The problem I have though is one of trust. So unfortunately its highly likely that I just keep my XSX for the few BC titles I still play and that's it.
 

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
Same here. I am most probably done with their shit. Never was interested in the shitty PC experience, and current Xbox is already way too much of that.

They shifted their business to something else that probably generates them a ton of money, but that is going to take us further away from a classic console experience. So largely to the detriment of the current player base. No thanks.

It’s interesting that they took this route of handing XBOX over to another division and effectively demoting Phil Spencer. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt that the strategy is a good one to increase revenue and keep Apple at bay… why would you keep Spencer around who plunged the division into the red?
 

HogIsland

Member
I want next XBOX console to no exist so it will clear the path for SteamBOX
I'm ready to go 100% steam, but if Xbox does this hybrid thing, it actually helps by making a PC a bigger development priority. What needs to die are bespoke, non-PC builds of a game, including PlayStation. The next PlayStation should be a PC too.
 

Crayon

Member
The only way it works is if they do an expensive console sold for a pretty margin. It's the Surface people in charge now so no different to those devices. People and some media outlets will pretend expensive consoles are fine now when it happens.

Per title sure, but what if MS is prioritising GP? I mean it hasn't worked so far (at the level projected) but if they are serious about subscription being the earner and hardware not, then the goal has to be putting GP on every piece of hardware they can. I could see them making big concessions to get there.

This is why I have no idea why people who are big on the Xbox ecosystem want steam on the next Xbox.

Its one way to kill of the ecosystem even faster. Steam os is also a future threat to ms. Makes no sense for MS to help steam grow at their expense of the own platform.

Yah whole thing is weird. There's a chance it's all pure bs. Remember when Scorpio did "high end vr"? It didn't add up how only the midgen console could do it but Phil said it so it was believed. 100% fabrication as it turned out.

What if this whole thing is less about selling a rebranded pc and more about establishing permission to pretend there's still an Xbox? If they want to successfully come off this big pivot to 3rd party, they don't want it to be because the box itself failed. A rebranded pc lets Colt, Jez, Forbes contributors, and the rest pretend Xbox still exists even while they mostly use steam on the thing.

Too cynical? Too crazy?
 

intbal

Member
Modern games just don't suit me. It's unlikely I'd buy another Xbox even if they committed to 100% exclusivity of all their games.

I'd prefer an Xbox 360 mini with a built-in AutoSR NPU. Something in a form factor similar to a Sega CDX. It could come with a few games bundled digitally, but would also be able to play 360 discs (and OG Xbox discs for the BC compatible games).
The primary value to me would be new hardware (including a new controller) that would last longer than my current 360s. Much greater portability. And, of course, the aforementioned NPU, which they already have in the Copilot+ PC.
I'd pay just as much for something like that as I would for a new console.
 
There's no good reason for Microsoft to sell a price competitive hardware platform if they can't be certain to get a great deal of software sales money on top of it. So Steam on a Microsoft razer thin margin or subsidized Xbox doesn't make sense. And Valve has no incentive to split revenue with Microsoft to have Steam on a closed software platform Xbox hardware. If the next Xbox can install other stores, any stores, it's an Xbox Surface which don't undercut the competition on price

Xbox Series consoles have sold like 30 million with the past year being the year where Xbox games have embraced selling on PlayStation so if a new Xbox was released today that was Xbox Store only like it currently is, how many Xbox's would sell over a 7 year period? I was under the impression that Xbox hardware sales have tanked this year. So I would think the selling games on PlayStation strategy should already have Valve and any other store vendor projecting less than 30 million Xbox hardware for future Xbox Store only hardware.

So for Valve/Epic/etc, it would be broker a deal with MS to be on a closed hardware platform where they give a cut of their stores sales to MS or just focus on open software PC platforms where they get their full cut and let Microsoft hardware sales flounder with its day one PC multiplatform and not long after PlayStation strategy. Nintendo probably too especially considering that ActiBlizz COD 10 year deal.

Or for whatever reason MS decide to make a closed software platform that has mutiple stores, Steam/EGS/etc, where they take no cut - very unlikely. And if it's a closed Xbox platform with third party stores, do those stores have to abide by GamePass sub for onling gaming too. That's pretty big to make upselling GamePass Ultimate easier.

So really every time this topic comes up, my takeaway is, we're all just talking up an Xbox branded Windows box/handheld. I imagine making Xbox games work on Windows PC being technically very feasible for MS. My understading is that Xbox already runs a virtualized stripped down Windows OS through a stripped down Hyper-V on Xbox hardware. So there's a path to add support for Xbox's version of Windows in desktop Windows like how there's a Windows Subsystem for Linux running through Hyper-V. Those Xbox games run through Hyper-V would be worse versions than native PC games since they won't have graphics settings, ultrawide support, etc but at least the games would work if this happened

Whatever GamePass sub revenue is lost from not being needed for multiplayer can be made up from selling their published games on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms day one while still trying to grow back and further GamePass game catlog and cloud streaming subs without it being so heavily related to a specific piece of hardware

So the techinical barrier to retaining peoples Xbox library has a solution but what may be a barrier is legality. Xbox GamePass cloud isn't streaming every persons game purchases just like GeForce Now isn't every persons full Steam library. Publisher agreements may be the big hurdle MS is having in planning how to transition their Xbox user base to their Windows Xbox store but not burn them so bad that they say screw you and off to PlayStation, Nintendo, or Steam.
 
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Rob_27

Member
Like the switch. But there is an SSD is in the console. Plus the dock actually has some kind of extra gpu and stuff in it.
 
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Liek the switch. But their is an SSD is in the console. Plus the dock actually has some kind of extra gpu and stuff in it.
I think they showed this portable device for 2 seconds (including the OS if you pause the frame) during the 'This is an Xbox' special edition commercial at TGAs and no one noticed.



2:57:50 is the timestamp.

I could be wrong though. Anyone here feel free to correct me and tell me this is Lenovo, Asus, or someone else's device. It looks similar but different.
 

reinking

Gold Member
I think they showed this portable device for 2 seconds (including the OS if you pause the frame) during the 'This is an Xbox' special edition commercial at TGAs and no one noticed.



2:57:50 is the timestamp.

I could be wrong though. Anyone here feel free to correct me and tell me this is Lenovo, Asus, or someone else's device. It looks similar but different.

That looks like ROG Ally X.
 

Humdinger

Gold Member
Valve is rumored to be working on Steam Box Round 2, which would probably arrive around the same time. I'm not sure how that would work out. Would Valve allow MS to put Steam on their console, if it might undercut Steam Box sales? Would Valve even want Steam on an Xbox console in the first place? Or, as others are saying, does it even make sense for MS to want Steam on their console?

I'm a PS5 guy, so I don't have a horse in the race, but I'm curious what they come up with. Certainly a hybrid model sounds more interesting than another trad-console.
 
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Crayon

Member
Would Valve allow MS to put Steam on their console, if it might undercut Steam Box sales?

Yes! They'd love it. Steam is a platform in its own way. If ms wants to do a bunch of challenging work making, marketing, and distributing a machine that just puts steam in more hands, valve is laughing.
 

Drew1440

Member
It seems the next logical move, as they have Windows/DirectX which is the industry standard for PC gaming. Kind of how Nintendo merged its handheld and console lines with the Switch, the next Xbox being a locked down PC with games delivered through the Microsoft Store, only with the actual Win32 (or 64) executables and pre-cached shaders.
 

Iced Arcade

Member
If Xbox games launch on PS then I save a grand in hardware and buy just a PS that plays PS games and Xbox games (not to mention save on annual subscription). 💁


That's if I don't jump to PC gaming for next gen instead of consoles.
 
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reinking

Gold Member
Years ago, I wanted Xbox to partner with someone to make an Xbox branded PC. However, I wanted that in addition to their console. I am still interested in the hybrid but I do wonder what this means for Game Pass. Currently, I believe consoles make up the majority of Game Pass subscriptions. Will all of those people that move over to a PC/console system keep Game Pass if it is no longer required for multiplayer gaming? Will MS try to force pay-to-play online with a hybrid system? Will MS be happy if Game Pass subs start shrinking if it means more sales from software?
 

EverydayBeast

ChatGPT 0.1
Imagine opening a console box and seeing a keyboard and mouse in it, I think Microsoft’s plan should be one AAA game at a time, Xbox’s UI was great, no pc influence, 360 was legendary than Xbox One got the tiles that I can’t stand from windows phones and windows 8, so I think Microsoft needs to protect the Xbox brand, every step should be to make Xbox better for gaming and now they’re screwing that up.

See Ya Reaction GIF by WWE
 

SteadyEvo

Member
I'm good. Never used steam in 33 years of gaming. If it's there, fine, as long as the traditional console experience remains intact.
 

KINGMOKU

Member
I Dont Morgan Freeman GIF


I’m not likely to purchase any Xbox again after this gen.
I will never buy another Microsoft branded "console" again. Been there since the OG.

Done with the brand. Huge betrayal of folks who spent 600$. I like going scorched Earth, so I'll try and avoid anything that comes from Microsoft in the future, and enjoy myself whilst I do so.
 
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