In recent years the console wars have simmered down into more peaceful times, with Playstation porting console exclusives to PC and Xbox focusing more on the software behind playing games rather than the hardware, but that might all be about to change.
Feeling refreshed after a peaceful period, it looks like Sony and Microsoft are gearing up to go head to head once again, and while Playstation are reportedly scrapping a bunch of exclusives to see if it can continue to drive sales on consoles, Miscrosoft are taking Xbox in a slightly different direction.
Xbox – Project Helix
Project Helix was announced by Asha Sharma over on X on 5th March – and while there isn’t much information yet, Asha certainly left us with some teasers. The next generation console will apparently lead in performance and play both Xbox and PC games.
Now depending on how this is implemented could change console gaming forever, innovation in consoles have been lacking for want of a better term in recent generations, but having a console that could play PC games, could open up PC gaming for millions of people around the world. The big question is how?
Playstation – exclusives
Sony have said nothing about the next Playstation console – but they are pulling back their exclusives. Is this because PC sales of Playstation exclusives have been underpeforming, or is it a more strategic move ensuring players stay with their Playstation over Xbox?
Porting the likes of Ghost of Yotei, and Saros over to PC have both been reportedly cancelled, and this may disappoint some Xbox gamers as Saros has their interesting “come back stronger” mechanic.
Are Playstation exclusives the way to keep players returning? Time will tell, but if Sony doesn’t step up with their next console, Xbox may just take the lead in sales for the first time in years.
What Does This Mean For Players?
Well, as things stand, with no announcements from Sony about the next console, Xbox are looking in a strong position. The cost of memory at the moment is a concern for price of all future computer hardware, never mind a console/PC hybrid. The price may well be the main point of contention for players. If the price is right, Xbox could push the industry forward in a way not seen before.
Players may also find a lot more games available – but this is dependant on developers. Most indie developers start creating with PC in mind, with porting to consoles coming later. With a console being able to play PC games, we may well find that developers start creating for this new Xbox, since there will be a single specification to create games for, instead of the wide array of components and builds that shape a PC.
Microsoft own Xbox, Microsoft own Windows, could they put the two together? Will there be Steam support? Or will it simply be more of a case of being able to play Xbox Game Pass for PC games on the new Xbox console? Time will tell, but we’ll be keeping an eye on this one, and it may well just be the first generation of Xbox that can convince me to leave my playstation behind.