Xbox’s Gift to all Gamers
Phil Spencer and his team at Xbox are playing a long chess match to get a leg up on Playstation, but more importantly, they have taken the most consumer-friendly path you possibly can. Xbox released in a Tweet that they are changing Xbox Game Pass to simply “Game Pass” possibly implying that it’s not going to be used for just Xbox and PC anymore. Rumors suggest that Gamepass could come to other consoles. But that’s just the start of Xbox’s consumer-friendly plan unfolding.
Xbox released Xbox Game Pass back in 2017 with a library of games available to players who pay for the Game Pass subscription. Since then the library has grown to over 100 games and Xbox is promising all 1st party games will be available on Game Pass on launch day. This has become the most cost-efficient way for gamers to have access to a large and ever-growing library of games. If you buy 3 or more new AAA games a year, that costs more than paying for Xbox Game Pass. Next, is that Xbox is still going to be supporting the last generation for along time. This is one of the perks of having the Xbox One run a version of Windows 10 and using upgraded versions of that same platform for future consoles. This also makes it easier for developers to make PC ports of their games, which Xbox encourages developers to do. Which leads me to my next point, no exclusives.
Phill Spencer, head of Xbox, has repeatedly made the point that exclusives are anti-consumer. He’s right, players should not be held back by which platform they prefer to plan on. With more and more games adapting cross-play capabilities, with Xbox leading the charge with PC and Xbox cross-play and even on the Switch with Minecraft. Xbox players have been hurt all too well this past generation when it comes to games being a Playstation or Nintendo exclusive, but the answer isn’t to turn the tables but to discourage games from being exclusive to certain platforms. We want all players regardless of their platform to be able to enjoy any game that’s released. Of course, there will always be limits due to hardware differences, but Xbox is doing well to bring their games to as many platforms as possible for the lowest price. It’s rather impressive. But I shouldn’t breeze past cross-play so fast, this is a feature that brings everyone together, and it’s been a feature that many gamers have been dreaming of ever since online multiplayer was brought into existence.
Xbox Live is also being phased out, meaning online gaming on Xbox will be free in the future, and your Game Pass subscription will be about twice the price, but you get loads of games and access to Xbox’s new xCloud. xCloud is Xbox’s new game streaming platform. Where the game is running on a server somewhere and it streams the game’s footage to your phone, console, among other devices. So you can theoretically play big AAA games on your phone, while on the go. Of course, Google Stadia’s game streaming service has proven that you’ll have roughly double the input latency and you’ll need a strong and steady internet connection with speeds of at least 10mbs per second download speed, and that’s just to play at 720p. But this is all included with Game Pass Ultimate which people will likely already be purchasing, xCloud is just the icing on the cake.
Lastly, Xbox is making sure all past hardware is compatible with the upcoming Xbox Series X. All your controllers, headsets, and whatever other accessories will work moving forward. In the past consoles often phase out the last generation hardware, partially to ensure gamers are using the latest accessories so that their gaming experience is up to par, but let’s face it, it’s mainly for the money. Xbox, Sony, and Nintendo make money on those products, forcing people to rebuy controllers and headsets is an additional fee that almost every console owner has to spend, eventually. But not anymore, after Sony announced that the old PS4 controllers won’t work the PS5 games, Xbox tweeted out how all past hardware will work with the new Xbox Series X.
I think it’s safe to assume, Xbox is bringing the costs down for the consumer extensively while also adding more features and bringing player bases together. All in all, if any existing Xbox player wants to get an Xbox Series X, you’d only need to buy the console and Gamepass and you’d be set. It’s hard to pass that up.
