Seeing the latest moves, it feels like Xbox is doing everything it can to remain relevant and accessible to the larger public. The PlayStation 5 has been outselling it by many leagues, and now rumors of a PS5 Pro must have Microsoft on edge.
In an attempt to get on more screens, the company has announced it will partner with Amazon and bring cloud gaming to its Firestick platform. The setup is far from ideal, and gamers are already creating memes regarding the news, showing they are not on board with this venture.
Xbox’s Partnership With Amazon May Not Win Over Gamers
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With both of the company’s current-gen consoles having been released almost four years ago, users are now expecting to hear some news of a possible new iteration in the series. Even if it is not a jump in generation, a more powerful version of the consoles would be greatly appreciated. This is compounded by the fact that the competition may be pulling ahead.
We already have rumors of a PS5 Pro releasing soon, and some indication as to its potential specs as well, but they’re not entirely baseless. PlayStation had earlier announced the PlayStation 5 is already in the latter half of its life cycle, which is usually when people start to speculate a new generation console is in the works.
So, when Xbox announced it would be bringing its cloud gaming functionality to select Amazon Firestick devices, people were not thrilled with the idea. For one, it’s cloud gaming, which has issues like requiring a constant internet connection and input delay. Secondly, it’s a bad look for the company when competitors are announcing new hardware.
The company has banked on Xbox Game Pass for a while, and this is undoubtedly another attempt to get more subscriptions. However, this may backfire on the company if fans and potential customers feel Microsoft is not serious about its gaming division. As the gap between the companies grows ever larger, Microsoft needs to chart a clear development strategy for its console or risk losing further market share to Sony and even Nintendo!
Public Opinion for the Company Continues to Sour
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It really does seem like Xbox has been unable to make any moves in recent times. One of the most criticized decisions of the company was to close down three prominent studios: Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog. The reason behind their closure was stated to be resource allocation, but many feel it was because their titles were not bringing in the expected Game Pass subscriptions.
Those who already invested in the hardware are also a bit annoyed with how Phil Spencer is breaking exclusivity on major projects. This was announced during a podcast interview and stated that four exclusive games would be available on other platforms, with hints that even more could make the jump soon.
This move was made to help these first-party titles grow by leveraging their existing audience on other platforms. While this may be achieved, it could also disincentivize people from purchasing any hardware from the company if exclusivity is broken regularly.
What do you think of the new partnership? Let us know in the comments below!
