The video game console market “isn’t growing,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a new interview, and that’s part of the reason why you don’t need an Xbox to play Xbox these days.
“The console space all up isn’t growing, across all of them [Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo]. We love those customers, but in terms of continuing to expand and grow Xbox, it’s about PC, it’s about cloud, and it’s about making our games more available in more places,” Spencer told Rolling Stone.
Just because the console market isn’t growing, that doesn’t mean Microsoft is abandoning consoles. Spencer said Microsoft will “definitely do more consoles in the future,” as well as “other devices.”
None of this is a surprise, as Microsoft has already confirmed a next-gen Xbox that promises the “largest technical leap” in Xbox history. As for the “other devices,” Spencer may be referring to the Xbox handheld device that is a “few years out.”
Also in the interview, Spencer reiterated that Microsoft is probably not planning a mid-gen Xbox refresh, like Sony did with the PS5 Pro. He said, “We don’t need to do incremental hardware for our own benefit. Does a new device really give you a unique experience on screen in some way?”
Years ago, the leap between the original Xbox and Xbox 360 was significant in terms of graphics and performance, Spencer said, but these days “it’s harder to show the benefits” of more powerful hardware alone.
A new “This Is An Xbox” ad campaign reminds people that Xbox is no longer limited to being a piece of plastic under your TV. Your phone is an Xbox, as is your TV, and any number of other devices, because Xbox games–and Game Pass–are available in those places. Spencer said he understands some part of the Xbox audience enjoys the “simplicity of a single box, single platform, single game.” But the reality is that, “Today’s largest games are bigger than any of the individual platforms.
He said the Xbox platform should be about games, characters, and worlds, as opposed to any one dedicated device. “That’s how we think about Xbox today,” he said.