How The Future Might Look

There has always been a bias against Xbox. Ever since the Xbox One launch disaster. I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling that vision either and picked up PS4 at launch. One of the things we can agree on is that the Xbox One was ahead of its time.

Like a generation or so. Microsoft should never lose that visionary aspect it’s held for such a long time with the many innovations in its time. I feel like it’s playing the long game. You’ll understand why soon.

Ever since, PlayStation has accumulated a following that far exceeds the expectations of Sony. They’re doing so based on the goodwill based on the PS4 generation but there are glimmers of unrest within that fan base with its direction. With PS5, you can only really see the Nintendo Switch 2 being able to compete in both hardware and software. It’s becoming a two-horse race. Sony dominates every aspect of the market currently.

It might be time to realise that Xbox is going in an entirely different direction. For good reason. However, Nintendo are the ones to watch. They’re the only ones that can realistically compete in the way that gives Sony a run for its money. This is especially valid because it’s obvious the next Switch is going to bring the same flexibility that all players want these days. The key is increased power and it’s catching up enough to run games anywhere and any place in a way where all third-parties will want to get involved. The key word here is hardware. Not cloud.

Microsoft might be taking the Nintendo Switch approach in a way with the cloud. Of course, doubling down on that comes with risks but when we look at how well PlayStation Portal is doing. It certainly isn’t unreasonable to suggest that making games more accessible via these means would be the best way to differentiate yourself using most of the talented studios you’ve acquired as well. Nintendo is going to be in an extremely healthy position if they just improve on the next Switch in the way we all expect.

The internet will say, Xbox has nothing. But do not believe a word of that. Because even if Xbox isn’t doing so great hardware wise. It’s making great strides within its own vision of how they see things. Especially with the latency reductive technology it has on the Bethesda side. That is very much significant in it’s own attempts to go handheld and make Cloud Gaming and TV’s everywhere with a dongle Xbox central.

That has to be Xbox’s next aim. It probably will be, can they pull it off? Time will tell, but let’s just say things are going to get really interesting in the future. That’s for sure. If Microsoft can make Xbox a viable location for cloud gaming using all the technology it has its disposal. It might have a one up on its rival Sony who are running on Azure Cloud but without that acquired technology at its disposal which would see Xbox pretty much in every household that has a decent enough broadband connection.

Of course, Xbox hardware will still be there. But the bigger picture at Microsoft is that more screens means more players. Let’s get this done. Let’s innovate again because it’s obvious we’ll be on the right side of history this time with such an innovation with practically lag-free gaming via the cloud.