Xbox is in a state of flux right now, and no one is really sure what the company's plans are after another very disastrous generation. With the next PlayStation reportedly set to begin production in 2027, all eyes are on whether Xbox will actually release a console this time, or if it has another strange strategy.
Of course, there were a lot of rumors going around. There have been hints that Xbox's next line of consoles could be traditional consoles, with the very often talked about Xbox/PC hybrids, but nothing has been confirmed so far. Thankfully, Mashable pressed Xbox boss Sarah Bond for more information in a recent interview, and while she remains tight-lipped as always, she revealed very little information.
Xbox's next console will be a “very premium, high-end” system
“…the next generation of consoles will be a very premium, high-end, curated experience,” Bond said. “You’re starting to see some of the thinking we have in these portable devices. [ROG Xbox Ally]“But we don’t want to give it all up.”
It's not much to go on, but personally, the word 'premium' immediately comes to mind. We know this is a buzzword that's usually used in place of 'expensive' in the industry, and Bond appears to be hinting that Xbox's next-gen console could actually cost a pretty penny when it launches. However, the higher price point means there's likely to be technology to back it up, and the high-end Xbox/PC hybrid will certainly be at the priciest end of the console spectrum.
This also lines up with what our insider Moore's Law Is Dead recently said about the next-generation PlayStation consoles. He claimed that the console would be less powerful but cheaper than the next-generation Xbox console. Looking at the way things are going with Xbox, we can definitely see the company shifting more into the PC market as people are priced out of purchasing existing Xbox consoles, and building a powerful console/PC hybrid to bridge the gap.
Whether it works or not is a completely different matter. Xbox has been raising prices on almost all of its products lately, including its own developer kits. So, if you're planning on making your product more “premium,” as Sarah Bond said, you may find that you have a lot fewer users. At least we won't have to wait too long to find out what exactly Xbox is planning.
- brand
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microsoft
- original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499
- operating system
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Proprietary (Windows-based)
- processor
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Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8GHz
- solve
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720p – 4K UHD
