Despite the raging console war, the head of Xbox Phil Spencer said that Microsoft's approach to next-gen consoles isn't focused on outselling their competitors (namely, Sony's PS5). Spencer stated that the traditional console war is over and that Xbox is focusing on building an experience around the player rather than a console.
This new attitude from Spencer comes after industry analysts with DFC Intelligence predict the PlayStation 5 will outsell the Xbox Series X in the first few months of the consoles' releases. The predicted margin for the first few months is 2-to-1 due to Sony's strong brand reference. However, DFC stated that Xbox could come back in the long run due to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service and Sony's "short-term" focus. The recent announcement of Halo Infinite being delayed until 2021 could also seriously hamper the sales of the Xbox Series X.
Phil Spencer recently appeared on the virtual talk show, Animal Talking, where the interviews all take place inside Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Spencer appeared on the show to discuss Xbox's new view of the console war, and why the number of console sales doesn't worry Microsoft. He started by saying the new console war is "fundamentally different" than it has been in the past. Spencer explained, "'How many consoles do I sell versus how many consoles does another company sell' - Sony or Nintendo or other companies back in the day - we're just not... that's not our approach." Xbox is now focused on giving players more of a choice of platform rather than building its entire next-gen experience around a console, with Spencer expanding:
"If that was our approach, we wouldn't put our games on PC, we wouldn't put our games on Xbox One, we wouldn't do xCloud and allow people to play games on their phones. And I'm not disparaging someone else's approach, but when I talk to fans and customers, what I say is when you're a member of Xbox, we want to build the experience around you."
Spencer's claim that Xbox isn't focused on the numbers is further backed by a statement he made in a previous interview where he had announced Xbox will not have any next-gen console exclusive titles for a couple of years. Pair this with the fact that a large number of first-party games will be available on the Xbox Game Pass on their launch day, Xbox is seemingly becoming more of a gaming service than a console builder.
This approach to gaming is new as it has traditionally been brand against brand fighting to offer the best exclusive content. If what Spencer says is true, Xbox is flipping the way gaming works on its head. Xbox's new approach also breaths new life into older consoles allowing Xbox One and xCloud on mobile devices to have access to the same games that are on the Xbox Series X. Also opening up Game Pass to PC allow an entirely new platform to have access to what were once Xbox exclusive titles. While it may not sell many next-gen consoles, Xbox is making some very big waves in the gaming industry, but its refocused strategy may be underestimating the long-term threat posed by PlayStation's hardware sales dominance.
Source: Animal Talking