What if next-gen console(s) could run PC games too? [2020] *spawn*

[Deleted member 11852]

: in that I don’t think it would do it unless it somehow benefitted their subscription game.

That is the problem right there because the vast majority of PC owners/Windows users are not using Microsoft-subscription services.

With everything crossplatform, it doesn't matter where people buy their games?

Games may be cross-platform but with the exception of Microsoft first/second-party 'Play Anywhere' games and GAAS, you have to buy your game on every platform you own. Even GAAS on console drives people to pay for multiplayer (Live/PS+) which is mostly free on PC. Then where and how you buy the game are hugely important because the retailer takes a cut as well. If I mostly play Fortnite and buy a XSX for cheap I can download the Windows version and play online without paying Microsoft a dime. Thanks for the cheap box Windows-based Steam-box, Microsoft.

Increase userbase by offering a product that caters to a wider range of customers. If the SeX supports windows 10 then I'll probably decomission my HTPC.

So Microsoft has just sold you a nice powerful and cheap PC. And..

And then I'll most probably switch it to XBox mode to purchase and play exclusives and some 3rd parties.

..you will "probably" play some exclusives, some of which you can play on the PC which Microsoft just sold you at a massive discount.

The goal of proliferating products to a wide user base is having a strategy to monetise that user base. Once you've sold somebody a PC, you have no control over how they use the PC or whether or not they'll use the PC for any of your services that actually do make money. And then, even if they do, will you ever recoup the loss you made sell powerful hardware so cheap in the first place?

XSX could make a very appealing HTPC box and I can a lot of folks will load it up with Kodi/Plex, emulators and never give Microsoft another dime.

 

[Pixel]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1215417027025874946

If anyone knows Jez Corden of Windows Central should know.

After all Steam/Epic would damage 2 of their 4 main pillars of profitability: Gold and 3rd party licensing fees
1. Less money from licensing 3rd party games & associated dlc/mts
2. Less money from Live Gold due to not needing it for PC multiplayer.

 

[iroboto]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1215417027025874946

He’s not wrong. There’s no way it could support windows 10.
10X is a different scenario. 10 is impossible.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

He’s not wrong. There’s no way it could support windows 10.
10X is a different scenario. 10 is impossible.

Grateful for any explanation, including a breakdown of the differences between 10 and 10X.

 

[iroboto]

Grateful for any explanation, including a breakdown of the differences between 10 and 10X.

10X is a completely separate and ground up build of windows. Designed for devices and not PCs. Mainly mobile tablets; dual screen devices (Neo), and dual screen laptops. It cannot be purchased and installed in your PC. It is installed directly onto the device like IOS is to iPhone and iPads.

10X is entirely container based, all applications are run in a sandbox container and cannot affect the rest of the system. So the expectations around vulnerablilties should be lower etc. One of the main goals is to allow for the use of win32 into a sandbox; not sure how that progress is going. 10X is due later this year. It is built on Core IIRC. So it does allow the switching of shells. So swapping between Windows and Xbox is native to the OS. If they want it to be like that.

that’s all I know so far. Most of the announcements where around the time surface neo and duo were announced.

10 is... what you know it today.

 

[Pixel]

10X is a completely separate and ground up build of windows. Designed for devices and not PCs. Mainly mobile tablets; dual screen devices (Neo), and dual screen laptops. It cannot be purchased and installed in your PC. It is installed directly onto the device like IOS is to iPhone and iPads.

10X is entirely container based, all applications are run in a sandbox container and cannot affect the rest of the system. So the expectations around vulnerablilties should be lower etc. One of the main goals is to allow for the use of win32 into a sandbox; not sure how that progress is going. 10X is due later this year. It is built on Core IIRC. So it does allow the switching of shells. So swapping between Windows and Xbox is native to the OS. If they want it to be like that.

that’s all I know so far. Most of the announcements where around the time surface neo and duo were announced.

10 is... what you know it today.

Sure, but aren't we talking about the silly Steam and Epic store coming to Xbox Series X (and maybe XSS) rumor?
1. Less money from licensing 3rd party games & associated dlc/mts
2. Less money from Live Gold due to not needing it for PC multiplayer
Those are two of some of highest margin revenue streams Xbox division generates

 

[iroboto]

Sure, but aren't we talking about the silly Steam and Epic store coming to Xbox Series X rumor?
1. Less money from licensing 3rd party games & associated dlc/mts
2. Less money from Live Gold due to not needing it for PC multiplayer

Yea. That part is a complete unknown to me. For that to work MS and EGS and Steam would have to work out something on the back end of business things at the very least.
Microsoft also must not give a shit. Which is something people have mistaken; their ability to not GAF.

Which moving exclusives to steam is representative of. Which no one expected. Moving exclusives to switch. Which no one expected. Leadership role in Enabling cross play for all consoles.

so maybe they don’t gaf

 

[Shifty Geezer]

10X is a completely separate and ground up build of windows.

Microsoft duly win the lifetime Utterly Shit Product Names award.

Seriously, just sticking an X on the end of everything counts as a good idea in the MS offices?

Edit: On a more technical critique, they have used 'X' in 'Xbox One X' to denote 'better', 'X' in 'XBox Series X' to denote 'new', and 'X' in 'Windows 10 X' to mean different. The letter is being used arbitrarily; what on earth is the rationale for that?

 

[iroboto]

Microsoft duly win the lifetime Utterly Shit Product Names award.

View attachment 3512

Seriously, just sticking an effin' X on the end of everything counts as a good idea in the MS offices?

LOL. Yea unfortunate.
Article here:
https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10x

 

[mpg1]

I mean they already have Game Pass for PC. They could really just start by adding the pc-only titles from that to the Xbox version of Game Pass. They way it's still within their revenue stream.

 

[Davros]

The PS2 playing PC games?

Wasnt the ps2 up to the job of playing year 2000 and earlier p.c games (max DX 8.1)?

 

[PSman1700]

Wasnt the ps2 up to the job of playing year 2000 and earlier p.c games (max DX 8.1)?

Ports maybe, often heavily downgraded. Certainly not on Linux

 

[Davros]

Seriously, just sticking an effin' X on the end of everything counts as a good idea in the MS offices?

I dont know apparently just sticking an " i " in front of everything is pure genius

 

[orangpelupa]

I dont know apparently just sticking an " i " in front of everything is pure genius

So that's why ipin & upin shows got so popular

 

[Deleted member 13524]

..you will "probably" play some exclusives, some of which you can play on the PC which Microsoft just sold you at a massive discount.

I say "probably" because I don't have a crystal ball telling me which games will be worth playing next gen.
Putting it in a different way, if the best 3rd-party single-player games have low-level optimizations on the XBSX in XBox mode and the XBSX is the highest performing console with a noticeable margin from the PS5 (e.g. with a 30% difference), then I'd probably buy all those games from the Microsoft Store.

As for Microsoft selling me at a massive discount, we don't know that yet. They could e.g. sell the regular XBSX for 550€, and the Windows-enabled XBSX for 650€.
At 650€ it's a considerably worse deal, but I'd still get it if my financial condition allows it. It'd still be a 2-in-1 console+HTPC for the living room.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I say "probably" because I don't have a crystal ball telling me which games will be worth playing next gen.

No, and that's fair enough - I'm very much in the same boat. But Microsoft don't want 'probably' they want a platform ecosystem where the uncertainty about recouping costs is virtually guaranteed.

As for Microsoft selling me at a massive discount, we don't know that yet. They could e.g. sell the regular XBSX for 550€, and the Windows-enabled XBSX for 650€.

It depends what Microsoft's spend is on the platform. Not just BOM, because that is just the start of the costs. They're not a charity, their job is to make a profit.

 

[Nesh]

Wasnt the ps2 up to the job of playing year 2000 and earlier p.c games (max DX 8.1)?

When did that happen?

 

[Jay]

It depends what Microsoft's spend is on the platform. Not just BOM, because that is just the start of the costs. They're not a charity, their job is to make a profit.

Yeah, I guess it's easy for people to forget that it's not of the shelves parts, a lot of money has gone into the apu alone.
Selling at anything less than a profit wouldn't be a net gain for them at all under these circumstances.
As soon as they slap a reasonable profit on it, forget about a huge chunk of console gamers who would buy the cheaper alternative.
Especially as they would feel like their once again subsidising pc gamers.

 

[goonergaz]

Shame it won't play PC games - I guess there's literally no/very little reason to upgrade my X now.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Here's something that I haven't seen mentioned.

For years and years we've heard about the dreaded Windows as a subscription service. It has obviously never materialized because the hell raised on social media and whatever would make the furor at the XBO launch seem like a mouse squeak.

However, Windows as a subscription service on Xbox, a gaming console, would be more viewed as potentially a value add rather than MS trying to monetize your every single moment in Windows.

Also consider that games running on Windows on XBSX are likely to feature lower IQ due to the increased system resources that running Windows requires (not to mention Windows likely being run in a separate virtual machine) plus the fact that Windows games aren't likely to be as optimized for the XBSX hardware and there'd still be a reason for people to prefer the XBSX version of games compared to running the Windows version of games on XBSX.

Also, I could be wrong on this, but I swear I've read somewhere that your average non-"core" console owner buys 1-2 games a year on average. Those people are also the ones most likely to find a basic Windows installation suitable for their needs (as opposed to gamer focused owners of PCs). Combine those and a subscription based Windows service on the console might bring in more revenue than MS would get from royalties of 1-2 games a year (or maybe even 3-4 games a year).

Windows being available on the console only via a subscription service would likely also mollify any OEMs that might be concerned with XBSX running Windows eating into their revenue.

So, basically pay more for a PC but without recurring OS subscription fees, or spend less on hardware but have to pay continuing subscription fees in order to use Windows on XBSX.

Regards,
SB