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[Draugoth]

​

Today’s announcements were baby steps, but they all point in the same direction: Xbox is no longer just a console.​

In an internal memo to employees after the today's podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explained the strategy like this:

We have a different vision for the future of gaming. A future where players have a unified experience across devices. A future where players can easily discover a vast array of games with a diverse spectrum of business models. A future where more creators are empowered to realize their creative vision, reach a global audience, unite their communities, and succeed commercially. A future where every screen is an Xbox.

It’s a bold idea, particularly because right now, the word Xbox is synonymous with a console that sits under your TV. So if it’s not a physical machine, what is Xbox?

 

[Little Chicken]

The way you can just pay for an Xbox game once and pick it up and play on the same save on your console, tablet, phone, TV or PC is something Nintendo and Sony should be doing.

 

[Nydius]

Looks like Phil’s got new marching orders.

Minimize the value of exclusives.
Minimize the concept of hardware.
Maximize the concept of Xbox as a “brand” across devices.

I don’t see how anyone with critical thinking skills can listen to the 20 minutes of PR spin and read fluff like this and still feel confident about Xbox as a long term brand.

 

[reinking]

 

[Beechos]

Xbox on pregnancy test confirmed!

 

[GHG]

 

[Durin]

Microsoft does have some of the worst messaging, but the general idea of wanting their services everywhere along with Xbox being more than a box brand has been their goal for years before Xbox Series X was doing this poorly.

Windows 8 was their first (bad) step to make their OS work for touch-based devices, the Xbox console runs a stripped-down version of Windows, and their digital games store + game pass is the "Xbox" app on PC. Now Windows 11 brought in Android emulation and they've ported over various app/services to Android to sell there. They've been hoping for more of a way into the Apple ecosystem, but they already have some of their apps on iOS/iPadOS.

They can't compete directly in the console market, so they'll just try to have their services everywhere, and in the long-term I'm sure cloud gaming will eventually be a thing for at least casual consumers.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Today’s announcements were baby steps​

 

[rofif]

The way you can just pay for an Xbox game once and pick it up and play on the same save on your console, tablet, phone, TV or PC is something Nintendo and Sony should be doing.

It makes no sense. Do you really want that? You come home, you play your damn game.
You are not going to play a real game on a phone on the bus or in work.

Besides - that's not what they mean. They just want xbox to be available everywhere