Well, it’s over… Xbox hardware is dead! At least that’s what Laura Fryer, one of the founding members of the Xbox team had to say in a recent video on her YouTube channel. She was obviously speaking in hyperbole, but through sharing her concerns, her message was clear; “It’s style, not substance. Just because you say something, it doesn’t mean you can do it, and it also doesn’t mean that you won’t change your mind.”
The major focus of Fryer’s disillusion was centered around the same thing that Xbox themselves have been focusing on so heavily in recent months, Xbox Play Anywhere, and the overarching effect that it will have on the potential for future innovations in Xbox console technology, and the brand as a whole.
The dichotomy found between these parallels however, is apparent in Fryer’s belief that Xbox’s rapidly rising shift towards cloud based gaming, multi-platform capabilities including cross-play and cross-progression across PC, console, handheld, virtual reality, etc., as well as their steadily decreasing desire for first-party game exclusivity, are all factors that will eventually contribute to the death of creativity and innovation for the brand that she helped build.
This is sharply contrasted by Xbox’s own President Sarah Bond, having only recently indicated that all of the above-mentioned initiatives and strategies were going to be the key elements of continued growth for the brand.
“At Xbox, our vision is for you to play the games you want, with the people you want, anywhere you want. That’s why we’re investing in our next-generation hardware lineup, across console, handheld, PC, cloud, and accessories.” she stated, before going on to explain that the company is determined to deliver an Xbox experience that is “not locked to a single store or tied to one device.”
When comparing both of their conflicting perspectives in regard to being provided the exact same information, Fryer’s concerns seem valid in such a time of true uncertainty for the future of the brand, especially when taking into account her nurturing hand in creating and growing the Xbox brand from its infancy, into the gaming powerhouse that it eventually became.
With that said, Bond seems to believe that the right direction for Xbox is to become more widely available and broadly consumed by a growing audience, through the utilization of the Play Anywhere initiative and the future roll-out of all the upcoming announced hardware and accessories. This, coupled with the fact that many of their first-party titles and previous Xbox exclusives are now being released on PlayStation, Nintendo, PC, and various other gaming devices to contribute to that audience growth, really does make Fryer’s concerns for the future of the Xbox console hardware all the more poignant.
“What is the long-term plan? Where are the new hits? What will make people care about the Xbox 25 years from now?” Fryer inquired.
Perhaps the next generation of Xbox consoles will take the same approach as the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X by having a more open-ended user experience that utilizes Windows to support player access to various gaming libraries, and other advantageous features that are typically only associated with PCs. In support of this supposition, Bond did say that Xbox is “working closely with the Windows team, to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming.”
Even former Microsoft Corporate Vice President Mike Ybarra shared a few choice words, while maintaining that he is still, “Cheering the team on from the sidelines.”
With all of the buzz around the Xbox brand lately, due to the recent announcements of the continued multi-year partnership deal with AMD, the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X handheld gaming devices, and the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition, much of the fanbase is divided on the future of the beloved company.
Many fear that if the brand spreads itself too thin and overextends its reach, it may become little more than a glorified games service, rather than one of the “big three” gaming consoles. Others feel that the steps the company is taking will elevate the brand and provide increased profit which would presumably increase the quality and quantity of games and services from Xbox. I just hope that we can continue getting to have quality gaming experiences at an affordable price, but perhaps I’m too naive.
One of the primary hot topics of late is how, in an effort to restructure and better focus their departments on the future of the brand, Microsoft has been putting increased pressure on Xbox which seems to have led to a new batch of recent layoffs from within the company. This increased pressure may subside in due time, provided that Xbox can turn a greater profit with their new multi-platform strategies.
“Obviously, as one of the founding members of the Xbox team, I’m not pleased with where things are today. I don’t love watching all of the value that I helped create slowly get eroded away,” Fryer lamented. “I’m sad because from my perspective, it looks like Xbox has no desire or literally can’t ship hardware anymore. So, this partnership is about a slow exit from the hardware business completely.”
Fryer also commented on the current state of Xbox Game Studios titles by indicating that the era in which they knew how to make good games has long-since passed:
“Xbox has a deep portfolio. The remake of Oblivion was obviously a huge success, and they can continue to outsource that work to external companies and make a lot of money releasing their older games. Older games from an era when Xbox knew how to build them.” she said with a bit of snark.
With all of that said, Fryer was relatively concise in her analysis and critiques, though personally motivated as they may have been, she ended on a cautiously optimistic note, that perhaps the brand she helped build might still turn things around and do something special.
“Next year marks the 25th anniversary of the Xbox, and I’m sure that they will have some big announcements and plans for honoring the milestone. Maybe next year is the year. Maybe next year is the year that the fog will clear and all of us will see the beauty in these latest announcements. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
