As E3 starts to creak to its foregone conclusion, and the ash settles on the major press conferences, the world is trying to get a clearer sense of Microsoft's strategy for its Xbox One.
And that strategy is this strategy: turning it into a PC, by stealth. Albeit the sort of stealth which involves breaking into a building via an open window, putting your foot in a metal bucket, walking face-first into a mop, and pulling down a bunch of shelves.
It makes a certain degree of sense, given Microsoft's history, and the fact that the Xbox One has the heart of a PC. Also, you can't blame them for retreating to their safe space, given that they've struggled to compete directly with the PlayStation 4.
However, whatever it is that they're up to, it isn't entirely clear what Microsoft is trying to achieve, and the message it's sending out seems confused, now that the fanfare has died down. The days since it unveiled the Xbox One S have only obscured that message further.
And that strategy is this strategy: turning it into a PC, by stealth. Albeit the sort of stealth which involves breaking into a building via an open window, putting your foot in a metal bucket, walking face-first into a mop, and pulling down a bunch of shelves.
It makes a certain degree of sense, given Microsoft's history, and the fact that the Xbox One has the heart of a PC. Also, you can't blame them for retreating to their safe space, given that they've struggled to compete directly with the PlayStation 4.
However, whatever it is that they're up to, it isn't entirely clear what Microsoft is trying to achieve, and the message it's sending out seems confused, now that the fanfare has died down. The days since it unveiled the Xbox One S have only obscured that message further.
WOULD YOU PLEASE DO A RECAP?
I will do a recap: just as PC owners are confronted with a bewildering array of choice when it comes to hardware options, Microsoft will soon start offering the Xbox One in different power configurations, at different price points.
By the end of next year, there may be three available Xbox Ones: the thing we have now, the slimmed-down S, and the much more powerful Scorpio, with its amazing pixels. All the games will run on all the Xboxes. They'll just look better on some models than the other models. But only if you have a 4K TV.
Additionally, the new Xbox Play Anywhere function is going to bring most of Microsoft's major exclusives to the PC (and vice-versa). At least, it will going forwards - alas, this doesn't extend to its back catalogue, and so you won't be playing last year's Halo 5 on your PC. However, perhaps most significantly, PC and Xbox One gamers who play online will now be able to play against one another.
So, "Xbox Exclusive" will now actually mean "Xbox and PC Exclusive".
And to ensure that PC owners won't have an advantage, a keyboard and mouse adaptor will be released for the Xbox One in "months".
Many seem to be seeing all of this as a revolution, but I remain sceptical that any of it is going to have a major impact on Microsoft's business. If it has any impact, it risks being a negative one.
And here is why.
I will do a recap: just as PC owners are confronted with a bewildering array of choice when it comes to hardware options, Microsoft will soon start offering the Xbox One in different power configurations, at different price points.
By the end of next year, there may be three available Xbox Ones: the thing we have now, the slimmed-down S, and the much more powerful Scorpio, with its amazing pixels. All the games will run on all the Xboxes. They'll just look better on some models than the other models. But only if you have a 4K TV.
Additionally, the new Xbox Play Anywhere function is going to bring most of Microsoft's major exclusives to the PC (and vice-versa). At least, it will going forwards - alas, this doesn't extend to its back catalogue, and so you won't be playing last year's Halo 5 on your PC. However, perhaps most significantly, PC and Xbox One gamers who play online will now be able to play against one another.
So, "Xbox Exclusive" will now actually mean "Xbox and PC Exclusive".
And to ensure that PC owners won't have an advantage, a keyboard and mouse adaptor will be released for the Xbox One in "months".
Many seem to be seeing all of this as a revolution, but I remain sceptical that any of it is going to have a major impact on Microsoft's business. If it has any impact, it risks being a negative one.
And here is why.
WHY IS WHY?
Here is why.
The keyboard and mouse - fair enough. It's not unwelcome as such, but consoles are primarily used in the living room or bedroom, rather than at a desk.
I know that when I play on my Xbox One, I'm doing it laying down on a sofa. I'm not sure how I'd use a keyboard and a mouse with my Xbox One.
The multi-level entry thing. Well, alright. Lots of people I've spoken to online seem more excited about it than I expected them to be, but those people are serious gamers. Consoles appeal to a very different audience, traditionally, than the PC.
The biggest advantage consoles offer is simplicity - no bewildering array of choice. By the end of next year, potential Xbox One owners will be faced with potentially three types of Xbox. Admittedly, having more than one option of product doesn't seem to have damaged, say, Apple's business, but... right now, it's not entirely clear what the gaming advantages of these three options will be.
And the Play Anywhere initiative... it's not a bad idea, but I just don't know how attractive it's going to be. It might add some convenience for certain existing PC and Xbox One owners, but I honestly don't think it's a game changer in any shape or form.
Everyone playing online with one another, regardless of their chosen format, feels like something that should always have been there, rather than something that's a game-changer now.
And is there much cross-over, in terms of chums, between console gamers and PC owners? Is this really something people were clamouring for? I don't think so. I think I've only ever heard Microsoft prattling on about it.
Here is why.
The keyboard and mouse - fair enough. It's not unwelcome as such, but consoles are primarily used in the living room or bedroom, rather than at a desk.
I know that when I play on my Xbox One, I'm doing it laying down on a sofa. I'm not sure how I'd use a keyboard and a mouse with my Xbox One.
The multi-level entry thing. Well, alright. Lots of people I've spoken to online seem more excited about it than I expected them to be, but those people are serious gamers. Consoles appeal to a very different audience, traditionally, than the PC.
The biggest advantage consoles offer is simplicity - no bewildering array of choice. By the end of next year, potential Xbox One owners will be faced with potentially three types of Xbox. Admittedly, having more than one option of product doesn't seem to have damaged, say, Apple's business, but... right now, it's not entirely clear what the gaming advantages of these three options will be.
And the Play Anywhere initiative... it's not a bad idea, but I just don't know how attractive it's going to be. It might add some convenience for certain existing PC and Xbox One owners, but I honestly don't think it's a game changer in any shape or form.
Everyone playing online with one another, regardless of their chosen format, feels like something that should always have been there, rather than something that's a game-changer now.
And is there much cross-over, in terms of chums, between console gamers and PC owners? Is this really something people were clamouring for? I don't think so. I think I've only ever heard Microsoft prattling on about it.
PC INNARDS - "PINNARDS"
The Xbox One needs to do something to stand out from the PlayStation 4, and exploiting its own native PC-like innards is a sensible move. Making the Xbox One a bridge between the worlds of PC and console gaming is, on paper, a smart one. It is, essentially, a third option for punters.
However, as it stands, it feels as if everything announced this week is just a bit... meh. It feels like a first step, rather than a plunge into the deep end. It seems tentative, like joining the dots, but the whole picture hasn't yet been completed.
Imagine something like Steam on the Xbox One. Imagine if the Xbox One could run every PC game that had ever been released ever. Every indie game, every major release, dating back decades. With the convenience of a console. Imagine that. Imagine what it would do to sales of the Xbox One.
Alright, what I'm describing there is kind of the thinking behind the Steam Machines - but they've hardly set the world alight, due to being a bit watered-down. PC gamers don't want them, because they're underpowered, and console gamers aren't buying them because... well... why would you when you could buy a console or a PC instead?
The Xbox One needs to do something to stand out from the PlayStation 4, and exploiting its own native PC-like innards is a sensible move. Making the Xbox One a bridge between the worlds of PC and console gaming is, on paper, a smart one. It is, essentially, a third option for punters.
However, as it stands, it feels as if everything announced this week is just a bit... meh. It feels like a first step, rather than a plunge into the deep end. It seems tentative, like joining the dots, but the whole picture hasn't yet been completed.
Imagine something like Steam on the Xbox One. Imagine if the Xbox One could run every PC game that had ever been released ever. Every indie game, every major release, dating back decades. With the convenience of a console. Imagine that. Imagine what it would do to sales of the Xbox One.
Alright, what I'm describing there is kind of the thinking behind the Steam Machines - but they've hardly set the world alight, due to being a bit watered-down. PC gamers don't want them, because they're underpowered, and console gamers aren't buying them because... well... why would you when you could buy a console or a PC instead?
THE FEELS
What all of this feels like to me is Microsoft taking a step back from its battle with Sony. They're too far behind now to win the race, so they're retreating to a place of comfort, somewhere familiar, somewhere they know and understand: the PC.
Unfortunately, it sends a strange message to Xbox One owners. I mean, it doesn't feel that long ago that I bought my Xbox One.
Typically in a console's lifespan, it's only around now that it would really start coming into its own, showing us what it can do. We'd be a few years away from the next generation.
But now I'm being told that the machine I spent hundreds of pounds on is, effectively, obsolete?
Just as Microsoft - having rammed its Kinect down our throat - quietly dropped that controversial spy-cam, now they seem to almost be taking a low-key step back from the Xbox One itself.
It doesn't help that in announcing the Xbox One S and the Scorpio in the same breath, Microsoft has confused not only its customer base, but the gaming press. Following up on the Microsoft presentation, journalists are asking for clarification, and getting obfuscation, as if Microsoft itself isn't entirely sure what it's doing.
CONFUSION.COM
All that has emerged is confusion: owners of the Scorpio - the most powerful console that has ever been conceived, apparently - will only see the benefit of that power if they own a 4K TV, and that there will be no Scorpio exclusives. And then for a while it seemed like there might be some Scorpio exclusives. But oh... no there won't be, Microsoft insists.
So what's the point of all that power, if developers can only use it to put more "pixels" on screen at once? What's the selling point, exactly? Why upgrade from Xbox One or Xbox One S to the Scorpio, if the games are only going to be better if you own a 4K telly?
Frankly, what is going on? Microsoft's message - once again - is not clear. On any of it. What is the S for? What will the Scorpio be for? Why release the most powerful console ever, if it's only going to be playing the exact same games as its three year-old brethren? Is being a PC owner a better bet than being an Xbox One owner?
Gamers want good games, not new hardware - unless that hardware is going to result in better games. The best thing Microsoft could've done this week is assault us with games. Show people why they should be supporting the Xbox One. All they did was imply that the existing Xbox One somehow isn't up to snuff, but it's okay - because there'll be a new one along soon. And another new one next year. But don't worry, because there's actually no reason to buy one of those.
I don't swear much on this site, but honestly... Jesus. What a bunch of fucking idiots.
What all of this feels like to me is Microsoft taking a step back from its battle with Sony. They're too far behind now to win the race, so they're retreating to a place of comfort, somewhere familiar, somewhere they know and understand: the PC.
Unfortunately, it sends a strange message to Xbox One owners. I mean, it doesn't feel that long ago that I bought my Xbox One.
Typically in a console's lifespan, it's only around now that it would really start coming into its own, showing us what it can do. We'd be a few years away from the next generation.
But now I'm being told that the machine I spent hundreds of pounds on is, effectively, obsolete?
Just as Microsoft - having rammed its Kinect down our throat - quietly dropped that controversial spy-cam, now they seem to almost be taking a low-key step back from the Xbox One itself.
It doesn't help that in announcing the Xbox One S and the Scorpio in the same breath, Microsoft has confused not only its customer base, but the gaming press. Following up on the Microsoft presentation, journalists are asking for clarification, and getting obfuscation, as if Microsoft itself isn't entirely sure what it's doing.
CONFUSION.COM
All that has emerged is confusion: owners of the Scorpio - the most powerful console that has ever been conceived, apparently - will only see the benefit of that power if they own a 4K TV, and that there will be no Scorpio exclusives. And then for a while it seemed like there might be some Scorpio exclusives. But oh... no there won't be, Microsoft insists.
So what's the point of all that power, if developers can only use it to put more "pixels" on screen at once? What's the selling point, exactly? Why upgrade from Xbox One or Xbox One S to the Scorpio, if the games are only going to be better if you own a 4K telly?
Frankly, what is going on? Microsoft's message - once again - is not clear. On any of it. What is the S for? What will the Scorpio be for? Why release the most powerful console ever, if it's only going to be playing the exact same games as its three year-old brethren? Is being a PC owner a better bet than being an Xbox One owner?
Gamers want good games, not new hardware - unless that hardware is going to result in better games. The best thing Microsoft could've done this week is assault us with games. Show people why they should be supporting the Xbox One. All they did was imply that the existing Xbox One somehow isn't up to snuff, but it's okay - because there'll be a new one along soon. And another new one next year. But don't worry, because there's actually no reason to buy one of those.
I don't swear much on this site, but honestly... Jesus. What a bunch of fucking idiots.
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