The console war is possibly moving to the next stage with Sony claiming PlayStation 5 is nearing the end of its life cycle. At the same time, Nintendo is gearing up for the release of their Switch 2. However, there are no reports of Microsoft’s plans for their Xbox console. From the looks of it, the American giants will be taking the service provider route rather than a console maker.
Xbox has been focusing more on their Game Pass subscription than developing their console. Moreover, they also stepped into cloud gaming, a revolutionary feature that allows a user to play games using data servers. This makes cloud gaming a dream come true for most as it can even run AAA games on basic hardware without any downside. In fact, Xbox Studios is using cloud services to build Hideo Kojima’s upcoming horror title “OD.”
In light of such developments, the former Sega of America president Peter Moore was asked in an IGN exclusive interview if he thinks this generation would be the last for console gaming. He claimed that Sony is a hardware-dependent company unlike Microsoft, which would love to shift entirely to cloud gaming. It will help them approach new territories from which Apple and Google are already profiting.
“Microsoft I’m sure would love it if everything moved into the cloud. The only thing that Microsoft doesn’t get to play in as well as anybody else is the smartphone business, right? Because that’s where Apple, Google, the handset manufacturers will benefit from enormously and they already are. They’re making tens of billions of dollars without really trying in gaming with the 30% royalties.”
Microsoft’s Azure would help the American giants make even more profit, as the company can focus on cloud technology and game development through AI, which is a lot more cost-effective than manual development. Moreover, Microsoft has always been a force to be reckoned with when it came to software and being a service provider.
Will the current console generation be the last for Xbox?
The Series X and Series S could be the last generation of Xbox consoles. Microsoft hasn’t been able to outperform its rivals Sony, who themselves were unable to meet their sales targets. Moreover, the newer generation of gamers is more reluctant to spend on gaming hardware. They would instead like to play games on their already-owned smartphones and PCs.
Given what the new generation wants, cloud gaming is the best option. It would let them play games on their smartphones and PCs without external gaming hardware. Moreover, Xbox won’t be able to outperform Sony and Nintendo unless they release exclusive games. However, the American giants are sticking to their plans to release their games across all platforms.
If Series X/S are the last consoles from Xbox and cloud gaming is their next stage, it would be a game changer for the American giants. They could become a dominant force in the gaming industry, as Sony and Nintendo haven’t yet shown any strong plans for working on cloud gaming.
