Best Value in Gaming Going Premium?

We’ve already seen the reports about Stalker that’s dropping this month on Gamepass. It’s running at 25FPS. At least, that was stated at first before it was backtracked on. Honesty is key here and the developers are being more than honest. However, the Series S continues to be a major problem for Xbox even though it’s the console that’s most sold to fans.

I don’t see how next-gen, Microsoft makes the same mistake. I mean with the talk from Sarah Bond that the next-generation console from Xbox is going to be graphically the best we’ve ever seen. Ultimately, there has to be some credence to that statement. I also think going into the next-generation Microsoft will want to try and win-back fans. How the hell they do that, with most games going to PlayStation? I don’t know, but if anything, all we know right now is that games that are expected to come to PlayStation are going to be there from the likes of Bethesda. If Halo starts dropping on there then that’s another story entirely.

If Microsoft just truly cares about user numbers, then next-gen they might even consider taking a loss on hardware to get people back playing on Xbox. Of course, there is a push for cloud gaming coming from the Redmond firm. But truly, and honestly, do you think that that’s going to be the only way anybody plays games or the popular way? I don’t believe so. I actually think that there is a lot that Xbox can do to turn things around. One of them is making Xbox Online free. So there are plenty of cards that Microsoft has left on it’s deck. The other is making their console considerably cheaper and having a one spec console that fulfils the requirements of every gamer out there.

Game Pass might get pricier, but for the most part, you don’t raise those prices without considerably making the product better either. There is obviously a number of ways they could go and do that. Dropping games in to Game Pass can still be very big for Xbox. The more numbers that end up going over or using the platform in anyway is going to go up as well. That means that the handheld is going to be huge for them with Game Pass baked into the experience.

So yeah, plenty of stuff to think about here. Xbox are still very much part of the next-generation discussion. Even if, most players have decided PlayStation might be their only destination in the years ahead. Things can change very quickly in this industry and it takes one popular decision to really set the tone. We’ve seen that in years gone by.

I expect a premium experience from Xbox next-generation at the best value. I think if anything, the Series S could work to Microsoft’s strengths if they look at it that way. Especially when you consider the price rises we’ve been seeing with competitors. Flip the industry on it’s head and play to your strengths. If Microsoft are smart, they might just do that.