There was a time when even we PC avid gamers needed to admit there was a spot for console gaming, partially as a result of consoles had been only a lot cheaper than gaming PCs. It’s onerous to make that argument at this time, although, and it appears like that will not be altering any time quickly, as Microsoft is eager on making the next-gen Xbox a “premium” console.
By ‘this handheld’, Bond is after all referring to the ROG Xbox Ally X, a recent Asus-Microsoft collaboration that is certainly one of the best handheld gaming PCs but also so expensive at $1,000 that it’s not worth the cost for most people.
Microsoft has been calling the ROG Xbox Ally X an Xbox, but despite this, we all know it’s a handheld gaming PC that’s just running a slightly more optimised and curated version of Windows. But therein lies the question: What does make for an Xbox these days? If it runs essentially the same operating system and costs the same as a gaming PC, why call it a console?
These are some of the questions that will surely face the next-gen Xbox console, whatever it ends up being, if it is indeed a “very premium, very high-end” experience, and assuming Xbox sticks with its current Windows console strategy. A reminder, too, that this strategy isn’t exclusive to the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, because the Xbox Series X and other post-360 Xbox consoles run what is essentially a scaled-back fork of Windows. It even looks like a PC.
The same is more obviously true of the ROG Xbox Ally X: It’s a handheld gaming PC with Xbox branding.
We’ve seen the Xbox Series X rise in price quite dramatically over the past year, and that plus the ROG Xbox Ally X being so expensive has led people to assume the next-gen Xbox console, if it gets made at all, will be similarly expensive. So Bond’s words aren’t necessarily a surprise, but they are confirmation of this.
And I say ‘if it gets made at all’ because some started to doubt one would be made after declining console sales, not to mention the existence of the new handhelds and Microsoft’s push towards identifying Xbox with cloud gaming and an overall platform rather than any specific device.
In fact, in the interview with Mashable, the Xbox president reiterates this platform-agnostic position:
“The idea of locking [gaming] to one store or one device is antiquated for most people. You want to be able to play with your friends anywhere, regardless of what they’re on, and we’re really leaning into that with this experience, because it just opens up another way for you to play, as does cloud, as does PC, as does the consoles we all own and have in our living room.”
So: Increasingly open, crossplay-compatible, not pegged to one single device, premium, and presumably running Windows? Sounds like a gaming PC to me. And to be fair, Bond is pretty up-front about this, because her response came after a question about whether the next-gen console will be premium like a gaming PC.
The real question, though, will be how much of a premium that Xbox branding incurs compared to other gaming PCs. And whether anything will fill the spot that traditional cheap consoles used to occupy.