Key Takeaways
- Xbox Series X lacks innovation and excitement compared to PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
- Few exclusive must-play games on Xbox Series X result in declining console interest.
- Xbox Game Pass model raises questions on the future success and appeal of the Xbox Series X.
In the current world of consoles, the Nintendo Switch reigns supreme. The PlayStation 5 may have “no games,” but at least people care enough about it to crack jokes. There is, a third console. One that seemingly gets nowhere near the amount of chatter that its peers get. That console is, of course, the Xbox Series X/S .
Yes, there is chatter about the Xbox. But for the most part, it feels like that chatter is mainly centered around Xbox as a company, and not Xbox as a console. Sure, there’s lots of talk about major acquisitions, and subsequent closures , by Xbox. But, none of that really pertains to the console itself. Whichever way you slice it, it just doesn’t feel like there’s as much passion for the Xbox as there is for the PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch. But why?
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Console upgrades should be exciting.
One of the most obvious reasons to point to a lack of enthusiasm around the Xbox is the lackluster nature of the Xbox Series X/S as an upgrade. Yes, the Xbox Series X is significantly more powerful than the Xbox One. However, the days of blindingly obvious leaps in console power are behind us. And while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is a boring thing.
This boring factor becomes exponentially worse when you look at the console itself, and the user experience that comes with it. For all intents and purposes, the Xbox Series X really does feel like the Xbox One 2. The controller is nearly exactly the same, the UI is almost exactly the same, and the console itself isn’t visually striking. In the midst of the console’s release, physical game releases began dropping the console title from the box and began simply baring the Xbox label.
The days of blindingly obvious leaps in console power are behind us. And while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is a boring thing.
Personally, I love this. The blending of the Xbox lineup makes complete sense from a consumer standpoint. I can use my Xbox Series X controller with an Xbox One, and vice versa. My Xbox One games will play on the Xbox Series X. The UI isn’t a huge departure, so the whole experience feels familiar. But, there’s an undeniable appeal to change and innovation.
Meanwhile, the PlayStation 5 looks bizarre. Depending on your setup, the PlayStation 5 can look downright garish. But, it is visually striking. Along with its look, the DualSense is one of the biggest steps up in the basic controller layout in a long time. While the UI for the PlayStation 5 is different from the PlayStation 4’s, it still maintains a sense of familiarity.
Of course, the reasons that the Nintendo Switch is an exciting console hardly need to be described. It’s a home console, and it’s portable. That very basic premise combined with Nintendo’s absolutely incredible first-party releases for the console have catapulted it into contention for possibly being the best-selling console of all time when all is said and done.
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The double-edged nature of Game Pass.
Much like the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X has a bit of a game problem. While there haven’t been a mountain of PlayStation 5 exclusives, it’s been significantly more desolate for the Xbox. What exclusives there are have been fantastic for the most part, but the true Xbox Series X exclusive that sells the console just hasn’t appeared.
Last year, Starfield was hyped up as a killer app. Bethesda Game Studio’s first big single-player release since Fallout 4 seemed like a no-brainer for getting controllers in hands. Instead, the game was pretty widely panned. Personally, I put a little over 100 hours into Starfield and had a pretty good time with it. There’s just one problem: I never bought it. Instead, I paid $15 for a month of Xbox Game Pass on the game’s release day.
Personally, I put a little over 100 hours into Starfield and had a pretty good time with it. There’s just one problem: I never bought it. Instead, I paid $15 for a month of Xbox Game Pass.
Some documents that came out in the midst of Microsoft’s merger with Activision Blizzard showed that Xbox Game Pass does cause a decline in a games’ sales. While this isn’t astounding, it does create a cascading issue.
If I only own an Xbox One, there are still quite a few games coming out that still run on my Xbox One. Any potential new titles coming out that I really want to play will come to Game Pass on day one. The games that do come out exclusively for Series X aren’t exactly must play. If I don’t care too much about owning a physical copy, why would I not just pay for Game Pass? If I’m not too concerned by faster loading times, or if I’m part of the 66% of Americans that don’t own a 4K TV , what motivation do I have to buy an Xbox Series X?
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What will make people care about the Xbox again?
Is the Series X beyond saving?
The days when the Xbox 360 was the console to have seem like a very distant past. The levels of energy and enthusiasm that once surrounded the Xbox just don’t seem attainable anymore. While it’s hard to say what will make people care about the Xbox again, it’s fairly easy to point out reasons why the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch work.
What have Nintendo and Sony done right that Microsoft could take note of? Larger changes to the current look and feel of the Xbox could go a long way towards making the console stand out. As much as I personally like the branding of just Xbox, it probably also wouldn’t hurt to make their new console generation feel distinctly new.
In the near future, Nintendo will be tackling the same kind of issue. The Nintendo Switch 2 is on the horizon for next year, and it remains to be seen how Nintendo will drive excitement for their new console without it feeling like too much of the same. For the company that made the Wii U, this is a subject they certainly have experience with.
Whatever Microsoft ultimately does with the Xbox in the near future, I can only hope they return the Xbox to its previous cultural prominence. What was once one of the most exciting console lines on the market that innovated online gaming into the massive beast we know it to be today has fallen into a pit of apathy. The Xbox deserves better, but at the same time, we deserve a better Xbox.
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