According to the dude who correctly revealed the Xbox One’s announcement date, discarded mandatory internet policies and release month, Microsoft…
According to the dude who correctly revealed the Xbox One’s announcement date, discarded mandatory internet policies and release month, Microsoft is soon to release a cheaper “entertainment-only” Xbox One that will “dramatically” outsell the original Xbox One.
In a post on his Supersite for Windows blog, Paul Thurrott wrote the following summary:
As I exclusively reported previously, Microsoft originally planned to ship a second Xbox One unit focused solely on entertainment, but temporarily killed this effort earlier this year. That device is still coming, will be much less expensive, and will dramatically outsell the Xbox One. Which of course is why they held off.
Keep in mind, Thurrott has been wrong in the past, as OXM states, “…not all his predictions have come to pass…we’ve yet to lay eyes on a subscription-driven Xbox One, for instance.” As for this rumour having any weight – he’s the only person talking about it right now, which makes him either crazy or a frickin’ genius.
In the same blog post, Thurrott says he doubts the next-gen consoles will sell more than 50 million units each, as gaming trends seem to lean towards more mobile use and consoles are just too expensive. He says about the consoles:
They force you to go to a special room in a certain place to use them. And as with the move to laptops and, more recently, to smart phones and tablets, the freeing nature of anywhere/anytime gaming and entertainment on mobile devices is what makes these consoles seem so … ridiculous, almost. Paying $99 or less for a Roku or Apple TV makes sense for the occasional users that represent the mainstream. $400 or more does not.
The P.E. Perspective: It’s pretty easy to make these kind of predictions, and we won’t know how right or wrong he is for some time – but I’m not sure I’m convinced that hardcore gamers will be sold using tablets, laptops and mobile phones. I don’t see companies like Crytek, id Software or 4A Games lowering their standards for graphics by pandering to smaller mobile screens – no matter what the mainstream numbers say.
Or, maybe I’m just old…