Microsoft does quite poorly when it comes to network distribution. If Steam worked on Xbox, it would be absurd. The main driving point of this for me is largely niche, but Steam's download over...
Microsoft does quite poorly when it comes to network distribution. If Steam worked on Xbox, it would be absurd. The main driving point of this for me is largely niche, but Steam's download over lan priority actually works, unlike ms store.
You're correct. But Microsoft has been playing a very different strategy since the late Xbox One era. They are more or less focusing on trying to turn Xbox itself into a service and making sure...
Maybe I'm wrong though, but I understood that, at least in the early period of a new hardware release, that walled garden software sales were bolstering the potentially loss-making hardware. Maybe that's just an urban legend though.
You're correct. But Microsoft has been playing a very different strategy since the late Xbox One era. They are more or less focusing on trying to turn Xbox itself into a service and making sure any kind of thin client can connect and play, be it natively or especially by cloud. They were on record some 5 years ago mentioning that they are keeping the biggest eyes on companies like Google and Amazon in the gaming space, not Sony/Nintendo. And like these tech giants, they are used to playing a loss leader game for years on end to capture a market. That may have shifted oh so slightly in recent years, but it's clear Microsoft hasn't abandoned such goals.
Xbox Series X is just their own native client for this larger initiatve at this point. If having Epic on Xbox means more potential eyes on gamepass as they play their EGS collection, all the better. Conversely, they have also mentioned not minding the idea of putting Gamepass on the Switch/PS5. I doubt they'd be allowed to without a huge fight, but with that above mentality it's a natural conclusion. Gamepass is already on mobile (and ofc, PC), so consoles would be the last large bastion.
Steam is continuing to win by doing absolutely nothing at all. I get where Microsoft is coming from, yeah it's a barrier to entry when you can't always buy the game you want.. but why buy an Xbox...
Steam is continuing to win by doing absolutely nothing at all.
I get where Microsoft is coming from, yeah it's a barrier to entry when you can't always buy the game you want.. but why buy an Xbox at all then?
From a consumer perspective I'd love to see them open up all the walls, but from a business perspective I'm uncertain if this will pan out in the way they hope.
Would it just be a Windows Compatible layer like Proton for Xbox? Or would itch.io have UWP apps for download direct to console? Does this open the door to sideloading without a dev mode dual boot?
Would it just be a Windows Compatible layer like Proton for Xbox? Or would itch.io have UWP apps for download direct to console? Does this open the door to sideloading without a dev mode dual boot?
Microsoft does quite poorly when it comes to network distribution. If Steam worked on Xbox, it would be absurd. The main driving point of this for me is largely niche, but Steam's download over lan priority actually works, unlike ms store.
You're correct. But Microsoft has been playing a very different strategy since the late Xbox One era. They are more or less focusing on trying to turn Xbox itself into a service and making sure any kind of thin client can connect and play, be it natively or especially by cloud. They were on record some 5 years ago mentioning that they are keeping the biggest eyes on companies like Google and Amazon in the gaming space, not Sony/Nintendo. And like these tech giants, they are used to playing a loss leader game for years on end to capture a market. That may have shifted oh so slightly in recent years, but it's clear Microsoft hasn't abandoned such goals.
Xbox Series X is just their own native client for this larger initiatve at this point. If having Epic on Xbox means more potential eyes on gamepass as they play their EGS collection, all the better. Conversely, they have also mentioned not minding the idea of putting Gamepass on the Switch/PS5. I doubt they'd be allowed to without a huge fight, but with that above mentality it's a natural conclusion. Gamepass is already on mobile (and ofc, PC), so consoles would be the last large bastion.
Steam is continuing to win by doing absolutely nothing at all.
I get where Microsoft is coming from, yeah it's a barrier to entry when you can't always buy the game you want.. but why buy an Xbox at all then?
From a consumer perspective I'd love to see them open up all the walls, but from a business perspective I'm uncertain if this will pan out in the way they hope.
Would it just be a Windows Compatible layer like Proton for Xbox? Or would itch.io have UWP apps for download direct to console? Does this open the door to sideloading without a dev mode dual boot?