I can see EGS doing stuff to help out, they need share and if Xbox is offering theirs, then why not?
Yeah, that could happen. Epic may be more willing to develop a custom, native app than Valve that's for sure. But I still don't see much appeal it for Xbox if they "only" got EGS as an alternative, because there's not much interest in EGS in general.
So, if they'd be essentially forced into running Windows code & utilities through Xbox OS anyway to get Steam compatibility without Valve's help, they might as well just extent that type of functionality to Windows programs in general. They'd just control which ones via whitelisting and funneling downloads through their own storefront. And then work out specifics of alt-game storefront monetization after that (which I think would involve Game Pass in some fashion, probably how they would still be able to offer a SKU with (relatively) cheaper pricing on a semi-subsidized model (but where the money's made back with extra on top, through the Game Pass subscription contract).
Well I do have an engineering degree fwiw in manufacturing. Don't really use it though and don't pretend to be an expert. Also I suspect the number of people with actual experience developing consoles is vanishingly small.
My comments though are based around the amount of time it takes to move from concept to shipping (4 years seems to be that number roughly, and thats best case). There aren't really that many shortcuts available once you commit to custom silicon. Especially if you aren't willing to pay for it, and it seems like MS isn't in the mood to throw money at Xbox. Quite the opposite in fact. So I doubt they would do an Apple and spend big to lock in supply way ahead of time on process nodes. Roadmap documents and public statements also pretty clearly show 2023 was a reset of sorts for them in terms of future hardware planning so taking all that into account I arrive at the conclusion 2025 is only possible with a more modular off the shelf design. ie: a PC. All that goes out the window if they are in fact further along with the silicon, but I think we would have leaks by now.
Do you think there's any chance, IF they have new hardware coming next year, that it's going to be something with a repackaged/repurposed Series X APU (maybe slight improvements like CPU & GPU clock increases) but in a design with modularly upgradable components and/or expansion slots?
I don't see a hardware future for Xbox unless, at least in the non-handheld space, it basically takes on something closer to a mini-PC or NUC, and the user can upgrade things like the GPU (low-profile GPU expansion), RAM (DDR system RAM) etc. In theory they can test some of that right now using the Series X APU as a base, but the only major thing they could realistically allow for an upgrade is the GPU through some low-profile expansion port.
Which could be neat in a sense; establish some low-profile GPU upgrade options with AMD & Nvidia, designed for a form factor and the user just plugs it in through an expansion port so it'll work automatically, no tinkering required. It'd be like when inserting RAM cartridges in the Saturn or N64. But with a 2025 system, if it's reusing the Series X APU, then the real purpose would be establishing that feature so it can be built upon with a "true" 10th-gen hardware platform built around new technology, vs. just repurposing an existing APU.
All the same, that rumored handheld, it'll probably repurpose the Series S APU in some way.
They need to shift their corporate culture around xbox. They have had little brother syndrome for too long, they need to find out what they're good at in terms of games that they make (i'd say that right now it's shooters and wrpgs) and find a way to concentrate on pushing the industry forward as game makers, not as "we're the green version of playstation".
I think they can still make gamepass successful: turn it into an all-access pass to their most popular franchises. All battlepasses and DLC available for free* for CoD, minecraft, etc. monthly ingame currency allowances for candy crush. And focus all your effort into making those games as good as they can be.
Stop trying to make it a buffet of niche games that maybe 500k people will be interested in. Stop trying to be a platform competitor because you're bad at it. If you want gamepass everywhere, then you need to make it something that platform holders will be willing to host.
And to do all of that would require getting rid of the ego...which I think means getting rid of Phil Spencer. The guy's been with Xbox since 2008, and he's been with Microsoft since (IIRC) 1988. The ego he has as the showrunner for Xbox alongside being a true vet at Microsoft must be enormous, and we can kinda see it in the cult of personality he was able to form over the years with the community, listening to every word he spoke like he was a prophet. A lot still do, in fact, even after everything that's happened with Xbox the past year.
So either he's gotta fully retire or step aside; I think a retirement is coming up tho, I mean there's no higher he can really take his career and he's approaching 60. Ignoring how badly they've damaged Xbox as a console brand, he's had a good career run. If gaming were a sport and points measured in how money you could spend buying things, Phil'd be the lifetime MVP. Who else can say they spent $80 billion in points on two of the largest 3P publishers around?
Also with AI onboard, it could be the first fully AI console (not only used for upscaling) - sort of in lines with Sarah Bond statements about tech/gen leap. What does it exactly means - I have no idea. I know MS already got an upscaler running on ARM (that upscale every game without any need from dev input), have not idea what else they might be cooking. Maybe something like Ai game hints, when you are stuck, AI next game recommendations, AI NPC’s (that could be fun), AI procedurally generated worlds and quests/missions, so no play through is the same etc. But it always customised to your play style, maybe come back of proper physics in games (destruction), Lots of possibilities.
Sorry buddy, but you're not getting this with a 2025 or 2026 Xbox. What does "fully AI" even mean in this context? I doubt MS would have much that's customized & accelerated through hardware; they typically go for hardware-agnostic approaches that rely more on software solutions, since they're more easily deployable in the PC and cloud spaces. They'd rely on AMD & Nvidia to make the hardware-accelerated silicon, but fat chance convincing either to rush their own timelines and prioritize a hardware brand that's been on the decline for a decade (and heavily so this gen).
The things you're talking about, at least in terms of a dedicated gaming box with hardware to drive it, have a better chance of happening with the PS6, which is likely 4 years away. You might get some of it with an Xbox in 2026, but a lot of it would rely on software approaches running on general compute. If it's a 2025 console, we're looking at even less of it and almost all of it likely driven via software solutions, because I don't see a new 2025 Xbox being more than a repurposed Series X APU (at the base hardware level).
Tho technically, with game hints and game recommendations, you can already do that with the current hardware and it doesn't even need to really be AI-driven; it just uses algorithms that analyzes user habits through stored metadata.
demigod
. Just racking it up.
