I love consoles but Microsoft has me less excited than ever about the Xbox Series X successor

The prospect of the next Xbox Series X is not Microsoft-ing me crazy.

[Vits]

The only thing a console should excite anyone about is its role as a middle-of-the-road solution: a cheaper entry point than a PC but with fewer features and worse graphics/performance; more expensive than streaming but with the benefits of native gaming.

Anything else is either gone or extremely reduced from what it once was. Innovative controllers? Not really. Nintendo still tries something, but overall, they have aligned more with traditional designs. Exclusives? They still exist to some extent, but fewer games than ever before are exclusive. Most of Sony's titles eventually end up on PC, and while the Switch had a solid run, a good chunk of its 'exclusives' were just Wii U ports. I doubt they will be able to repeat that with the Switch 2.

Ease of use? The more features they try to incorporate, the less user-friendly they become. Even something as basic as finding a good game on their store without an external resource is a pain. Standardized experience? Not anymore. Now we have at least three different performance modes, plus whatever exclusive mode the 'pro' console will introduce.

Physical media? PlayStation still supports it, but many games are now digital-only. On the Switch, it’s already a coin toss whether the full game is on the cartridge or if you’ll need to download a large portion of it. With the Switch 2, I fully expect that to get even worse. And with Xbox, they might as well not exist as the games are rarely on the disc.

[Profchaos]

You've said a lot here but I have to disagree
Controller wise Xbox is the only one of the big three that keeps their design the same
The ps5 has tons of innovation in the duelsense and VR controllers the switch has countless controller designs and ways to play

Ease of use they are largely still plug and play they need the internet more these days buy you can still take a ps5 out of the box and as long as the game doesn't have a internet require or downlad required you can play

The switch is very user friendly to the point I've seen young kids pick it up and play with no instructions

Physical media well that's going to die off eventually unfortunately but for the moment pretty much every first party Sony and Nintendo game runs from a disc without a patch or a cart in switches case

Consoles are as great as they've ever been in my view

[Vits]

It doesn't. The DS5 is merely an iteration of a very basic design that a couple of people on the internet try to hype more than it should, because their company is great. The Switch, as I said, does offer something more unique, but Nintendo has fallen into the basic controller trap as of late. Pretty much every single one of their games can be played with the same basic method used decades ago.

VR controllers are a completely different beast because VR itself is a completely different beast. They are barely related to consoles unless you consider the Meta Quest a console in itself.

It is not. Give a console to an older person and watch them try to set it up. Ask them to buy something from the store. Ask them to freaking leave the game. The Switch is, again, a bit different because Nintendo has stripped it of pretty much everything what in theory made it simpler, unless when it doesn't. Because they stripped it of so much that for months you couldn't even log in to a public wifi with the device, as Nintendo had stripped it from a browser.

Every first party game from Sony and Nintendo is quite literally just a handful of titles on quite literally thousands are released. You are aware of that, right? Plus, that also ignores updates. Some Nintendo games have, quite literally, half a dozen of updates.

Sure, if you were born a decade ago and have no clue what they once offered, they are still great. If you did, you would agree that the only thing they have going for them now is the low admission price while keeping most things running natively.

[Cacabunga]

Same goes for next gen Sony console.. first time ever i will pass if they don’t change their broken vision

[Knushwood Butt]

I'm pretty happy with my middle of the road console.

[Vits]

And you should, they are great value after all. Being the middle of the road solution.

[S2Killinit]

What a bunch of incorrect assumptions.

[derek]

Keep your pc evangelism to yourself. Most people don't want to game on a pc with its stupidly expensive parts and constant tinkering with settings and updates, get a grip, lol.

[Vits]

?
Read again kid, I'm talking about consoles. Not PC.

[zypher]

@Vits

You’re talking about consoles by comparing them unfavorably to PCs … ie, you’re PC evangelizing.

[Profchaos]

Yeah to be clear my first console was the NES and obviously by the nature of those systems they were extremely simple out game in press power and play I still have my old systems console gaming has evolved because it had to we wanted more everything more graphics more social elements and we ended up with what we had today.

Its not perfect and has trade offs like games requiring the internet and patches but it's about as simple as we will get.

Thing is with the hand a game to a older person example is that it was no different 40 years back old people didn't know what way the cartridge had to go in the NES what button did what how to tune it in if using the RF signal Same thing goes on today.

Yes the duelsense may be overhyped in its feature set but the thing is it is trying new and different things it's not the same as the ds4

And as for third parties requiring a patch that's out of the hands of the console manufacturer and first party it's down to the third parties mishandling of the development of said game But eventually became a shortcut.

But by your logic the grass isn't greener anywhere besides grabbing a mega drive.

PC , PlayStation, Xbox, switch all share the same flaws in many of these regards.

[Vits]

It's not as simple as it gets. Streaming is pretty much where that simplicity is. These days, it works just like old consoles. You pick a game and play it.

That is the silliest comparison I have ever heard. Really. There is no way you can seriously say that putting a little game cartridge into a slot is the same as setting up a new modern console. I'm sorry, but I will not engage with this level of dishonesty.

It is still nothing new. It is just the same thing but with a lot of hype. A lot of ads told people it was special, and then some people keep repeating that without thinking. The same way they do with the "super-duper mega SSD" and the "super innovative ML upscaling." All of it is just BS marketing, just iterations of things we have had for years.

I don’t care whose fault it is. That is not what we are talking about. What matters is that games on discs and cartridges are going away. Most games don’t come like that anymore, and the few that do are missing parts, so you still need the internet to play most of them.

Probably because, as my freaking post made clear, I was not saying that something else is better. Did you even read what I said, or did you just assume things because you really, really love consoles? My whole point is that consoles are mediocre by design. They are not the best at anything. They sit in the middle, not as strong as a gaming PC but not as simple and cheap as streaming. If at some point they had other core strengths, those have been stripped away or severely reduced. Now they are just the middle-of-the-road option. They are the Mario of Super Mario Bros. 2.

[Zerobalance]

Xbox might not as well exist because their games are rarely on disc? So Steam should not exist! I've not bought a disk since 2014. Should not exist. 🤷‍♂️

[neomahi]

Wrong. Look at PlayStation ports to PC for example. Having a console isnt just a cheaper option, everything is perfectly optimized and having it's closed ecosystem ensures top performance. You know, there was actually a time when game consoles were more powerful than PCs. Once Xbox 360 came along and everyone started griping about proprietary hardware that created innovation and gamers tried to tuck the PS3 away, we lost that. The Steve Jobs of gaming was suppressed and consoles went to off the shelf PC parts thus now leaving consoles behind PCs. It's really that simple. Look at Rise of the Ronin, for example. Runs great on PS5, but as usual, runs flawed on a PC, which is funny because ALL games are developed on a PC, that's the irony

[blacktiger]

I say that's exactly what they want, because they want us to go to streaming. Native hardware and game is necessary and online match, streaming is the worse. My wireless mouse is still laggy as fk and that's local

[robtion]

Yes Microsoft is all about control. They want you online only, subscribed for life, and GaaSed up to the eyeballs.

[BlackCountryBob]

I think there is a very good point underlying here that as consoles have adopted more and more PC features (updates, installs, user selected visual modes and features) then what has made consoles unique and easier to use than a PC has sort of been lost.

For me, the trade off of consoles compared to PC was that I was paying maybe more for the hardware and software based upon a certain level of convenience that the console just worked, I could drop in a game and just play it immediately in a format that a developer had decided was a best compromise which I was happy with. Now if I buy a new game it’s 30 mins to install from the disk, plus about the same again to download a 20gb+ update (100gb+ if wanting to go back to a old COD single player campaign) then making decisions about frame rates and visual fidelity, textures, shadows etc.

I understand that many want the choice and the flexibility, but the old timer in me feels I already made that choice and that’s why Ive kept choosing console instead of PC over 35 years. If game streaming gives me any hope, it’s that some of that console simplicity can come back (but with different trade offs about ownership and preservation).

[crazyCoconuts]

I like things about both console and PC, but there are still other painful things on a PC that consoles avoid. Like not downloading updates while on standby and having to do graphic card updates yourself only to find that your game takes an extra 5 or more minutes to start because it now has to compile textures.
Plus when consoles release new features like 3D audio and controller features, every game on the console is forced to support it. It's consistent.

[BlackCountryBob]

For sure there’s more consistency about using features on console, though not universal (see patchy 3rd party use of PS5 Haptic Feedback).

Don’t get me wrong, there seem to be some console type things which are now present on PC like the single launcher, user interface and achievements from Steam / Epic etc but I don’t think that has taken away from the PC experience.

For me at least some of the console experience has been lost by becoming more PC like as the 2 different things have converged. It’s not bad, it’s just a different trade off

[derek]

Sure there seems to be even less of a rational to buy an Xbox than ever before with there first party being ported over to playstation and Nintendo (I've never owned one). But there remains a small community of gamers that will always chose a Microsoft/xbox console because they like their ui/ ecosystem.

[Obscure_Observer]

Precisely.

Next gen Xbox will be made with the core Xbox gamer as the target audience.

People will be able to enjoy all Xbox games on whatever platform they want. Console war is dead for good.

[goken]

Hehe it’s pretty obvious there are always some. ie you lol.

Also, there are still millions of gamers with large libraries of games and subscriptions. MS needs to continue servicing them. It’s the responsible thing to do.

[Yi-Long]

As someone who just wants a console to be a console, these are depressing times, TBH.

[MrSec84]

The successor to XBox Series systems, is Microsoft's open approach to dropping the walls that exist between Consoles and PCs.
They'll sell a handheld and console devices, which are full PCs, but also run both your older digital games, XBox titles and any PC games you may already have.

There won't be limits as far as using Steam, Epic Games Store, etc.
Expect to also be able to use the device as a productivity device, like a standard PC, but features will be more useable and intuitive than on a regular PC.
I wouldn't be shocked if it came with a regular control and a Keyboard/Mouse, since they want to appeal to the wider PC market and scoop up that audience.

I suspect there will be an entry level device, that sits where you would expect the Series X's successor would in performance, but also a much higher end device, in the ballpark of high end PC.
Maybe they'll launch the entry model and a handheld first, then shortly after there will be the high end launch.

The key to making this successful will be cost, because they still have economy of scale of a console release, they could make a profit, but be able to launch a device that has hardware that can run games maxed out, at 4K high FPS or 8K 60FPS, but for a price that is much cheaper than any comparable PC.

I also suspect we'll see more hardware refreshes and price cuts on the older gen of device.
This approach is the only one that makes sense for Microsoft to stay in the hardware business for gaming.

It's equally possible they make more Surface devices, like a handheld, XBox surface tablet and set top boxes with much more capable hardware.

Without exclusives an XBox console just isn't going to sell, but a shift in focus, of making good value, easy to use PC gaming devices, that can still run your old games, while also having access to Steam and Epic's stores is unique coming from XBox being a console brand.
It would give people a reason to still buy XBox hardware, Microsoft could even make user upgradeable devices, where they sell their own hardware modules, that can be easily upgraded by the end user.

[b00mFargl3]

👍

[jznrpg]

That has been the case since Xbox 1

[Elda]

I agree. I only got into XB due to me winning an XBSS at my jobs Xmas party back in 2021. Due to the limited resolution on the XBSS I decided to trade it in for a XBSX which I got a very good deal due to my membership at Gamestop. I own a Switch as well. Out of all the 3 current gaming consoles I own I play my PS5 Pro the most, due to the fact I don't play my XBSX nearly as much. I decided I'll still may remain an Gamepass subscriber but I won't be buying a next gen XB console seeing that spending $500 or $600 on a next gen XB is really not worth the investment.

[DigitallyAfflicted]

i can afford a pc; i just don't want one! i prefer gaming on the console

[TheColbertinator]

Nothing wrong with simplicity. PC gaming has been great to me but there is plenty to enjoy with the current consoles.

[DivineHand125]

Microsoft needs to make the series X and S more appealing. If they plan on making a hybrid console next generation, then start with the series X and S so we can have a taste of what that future is like. The Xbox is not selling well right now, so they have nothing to lose by ripping off the bandaid and making a version of Windows or Steam bootable from the Xbox.

[Destiny1080]

phil has promised 40 teraflops for 500 bucks

if phil under delivers by a single teraflop or charges 1 dollar more, its game over for this clown show

[Chocoburger]

Its been game over since 2013, people just refused to accept reality back then, and some still to this day.

[neomahi]

There's this really amazing piece of technology called PlayStation. While we're waiting for PlayStation's first-party to actually start flexing their talent, PlayStation does a lot of really amazing things. You've been looking in the wrong direction, sir

[anast]

I would let it go.

[RhinoGamer88]

PHIL!!!!!