Go Easy On The ‘next Xbox’ Peripherals, Microsoft

In the not too distant future, we’ll all get to see whether Microsoft has learnt the harsh lessons of 2013 when they launch the Next Xbox.

Those were dark days for Microsoft. It was the equivalent of Sony launching the PS3 in 2006 and pricing it at €599. That almost killed Sony as a company, while Microsoft suffered with poor sales throughout this generation.

So in 4 steps, what do Microsoft need to do to right the wrongs of 2013?

4) Improved first party line up

Xbox has gone a long way to improving their first party studio situation. In the past 6 months, they’ve acquired 5 studios and built another from the ground up.

However, these new studios won’t be making games for the Xbox One. It’ll take another two to three years before the games these developers have been working on are made available to the public.

We should expect Halo Infinite to be a launch title on the ‘Next Xbox’. Or at least that would be the smart thing for Microsoft to do. A new Forza Motorsport could also be on the cards in 2020-2021. Gears 5 is launching this year, so it’s unlikely we’d see a new Gears game until 2022 at the earliest.

3) Don’t call it an ‘all-in-one entertainment system’

Back in 2013, Microsoft made a long spiel about how the Xbox One would be an all-in-one entertainment system. You could play games through it, and then with a simple command make Skype calls or watch your favourite TV show, all without having to unplug anything.

Of course in practice this didn’t work at all. Marketing the Xbox One as an all in one entertainment device was a massive own goal for Microsoft. It’s a games console first and foremost. Any TV integration should only be promoted as a side show.

2) No Unnecessary Accessories that increase price point

The Kinect. The word that sends a shiver down the spine of Xbox gamers throughout the world. It has to be up there as one of the worst accessories ever to grace a console.

Not only did the Kinect increase the price of the Xbox One to €499, a whole €100 more expensive than the more powerful PS4, but it also made the whole experience of actually owning an Xbox one, a chore.

There are so many examples of peoples Xbox One turning on when people didn’t want it to, all because of the damn Kinect. Because it’s voice controlled, if you said Xbox too loudly, it would turn on the console. The lack of Kinect integration into AAA games was a death knell for the hardware.

1) Make it a looker

We can all agree that when the Xbox One launched back in 2013, it looked dreadful. It looked more like a VCR from the 80s rather than the supposed cutting edge technology it was promoted as.

Not only was it significantly larger and heavier than the PS4, but it also had a power brick on the outside unlike the PlayStation 4 where it was built in. It also had poorer specs than the PS4, it didn’t have a lot going for it to be honest.

Thankfully, Microsoft seems to have learnt the lesson. With both the Xbox One S and the Xbox One X being 40% smaller than the original Xbox One. Not only that, but it’s far more pleasing on the eye than the VCR box that was Xbox One. With consoles; looks matter.

So there we have it. My four simple steps to stop Microsoft having another clusterf*** of a console launch.