After the fallout of the Sega Dreamcast, it became just Sony vs Nintendo. Nearly 25 years ago, Microsoft came on board and revealed that there is a 3rd choice again, and that is the Xbox. What started as a big debut for an all new console that changed the gaming industry, has evolved into a big state of doubt and confusion. Many are now critical of any kind of decision made by the company. Many even wish for its total collapse. How can the company such as Microsoft that helped lead a trilogy such as Halo that created excitement for so long, turn into all this? Is there any hope? No is probably the answer by a lot of people. I believe there is. As we approach this milestone, it is time to take a look at all this…
I never owned the first Xbox. But I can recall reading short articles that were encouraging people to check it out. Bars, and other places for entertainment were advertising Xbox tournaments. Halo was being advertised as the tournament game. I didn’t know anything about it nor was I attempting to look it up. Having been a PS2 owner and doing fine with it, I carried on. I didn’t know anyone that had an Xbox or talked about Halo. My college I attended started an Xbox Club. It was during that time when I first picked up a controller and played Halo 2. One of the big lecture halls on the campus was reserved and a lot of people were in there. I was amazed to see all these people hooked up to the same game and playing multiplayer. It was a good time, no questions asked. That was my first Halo experience and immediately got hooked. I saw why it was the tournament game of choice.
Xbox showed the world that having multiplayer sessions in the same room with multiple consoles connected to the same internet router was possible too. Xbox revealed that you can save your game progress inside the console’s hard drive without having to put in a memory stick. Despite Sony’s first attempts for online gaming with the PS2, Xbox could just capitalize with its own service. With Bungie (the company that first started Halo) signed on make Halo games for the foreseeable future on Xbox, they were on a roll. Halo boosted their revenue a lot. It helped sell the first 2 Xboxes. Most people that owned the first Xbox, more than likely had or at least played Halo 1 and 2. Other titles like Gears of War, soon followed. Despite having a smaller library of games compared to the PS2, the first Xbox was still successful. The PS2 and Nintendo GameCube were going good too.
The successor, Xbox 360, was on the way. Advertisements and articles began advertising it four years after the release of the original. It revealed graphics never seen before. After I learned what a LAN (local area network) party was, experienced Halo, and with Halo 3 on the way, I decided to go the Xbox route and bought an Xbox 360. It was a very successful console. It was the first Xbox to introduce a wireless controller that could power on/off the console. The Xbox button on the controllers could even indicate what player number the controller was when having a split screen session. People were liking all of that. It was nice to be far back from the TV and being able to play wirelessly and power on and off the console. The Plug and Play charging cords sold separately, worked well if the battery went dead during gameplay. They were long enough that you could sit back a considerable amount of distance still. The Xbox 360 was the first console that could be played flat or be stood up vertically. Real helpful when space around your TV was limited. The games took it to whole new level. The library was way bigger than the PS2s and the Nintendo Wii. Many good games were for it. With titles like Halo 3 and Gears of War, it was winning. Sony at the time began to go downhill. Gamers were still enjoying their PS2 and not ready for a new PlayStation. The PS3 costed more than the 360, which was even a bigger factor. Even offering online play for free didn’t persuade enough people to get a PS3. The Wii was actually the competition for the Xbox during that time because they believed that improved graphics should not be the focus. Instead, just make the remote interactive like never before like you really are playing. The remote could be used as a steering wheel, a tennis racket, and so on. It was selling, and Nintendo sold arguably just as many systems as the 360.
Microsoft was still just getting started with Xbox Live during the time of the 360. Like PlayStation, it adapted the idea of looking at gamer profiles of who you recently played online with. You could message them and add them to your friends list. You could have private group chats with your friends too and accept invitations to join their games. It wasn’t long after I bought the 360 that I signed up for Xbox Live. At the time, it was five dollars a month. You were billed once a year for sixty dollars. That was a good deal. Halo 3 came out and it took advantage as not only custom map making was introduced, community map sharing too. This was where you could make a map and upload it to Xbox Live where others could download it and play it. That wasn’t all, as you could replay your previous game and upload it for all to see. Other hit titles like Gear of War, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare debuted on this Xbox.
The Xbox 360 was not without some hardware problems despite its success. We all know about the Red Ring of Death. It happened to my 360 and it was unrepairable in the final days before I got the Xbox One. It had a tendency to overheat after playing awhile. There were moments when 3 flashing rings would show up and the Xbox would shut down. It didn’t mean it broke down, just over heated. The attachable fan you could install in the back of it, was supposed to keep it cool by blowing air into it. I had one and it was not a successful accessory. It actually blew the warm air coming out of it back into it, which again caused it to shut down. I had times when I fired it up when it would not work at first. I eventually had to discontinue using the fan attachment. If that wasn’t enough trouble, it was loud when it was powered on, especially with the fan attachment. To fix all this trouble, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Slim. It seemed well liked by those who owned it. It was much quieter for one. It could be powered on and off by the simple touch of the finger. It offered up to 250 GB of storage internally, and ultimately, no Red Ring of Death. This carried the Xbox 360 for the rest of its life cycle.
Xbox One: The Turning Point
As we were nearing the time for the next Xbox, Phil Spencer, the man behind the Xbox, gives the announcement. It probably had the least amount of excitement by many because this is what many saw as the start of its downward spiral: it was going to require a constant internet connection. Unlike the first Xbox and the 360, no longer would you be able to log into your account and play offline. If you didn’t pay, you couldn’t play. The console was not going to be backwards compatible for the first two Xboxes. Retail stores like GameStop, went ahead with the usual trade-in value offers. But what was the point still if couldn’t play your older Xbox games? The Xbox was not alone on this though. The PS4 started doing the same thing. To top it off, this new Xbox did not have a very good marketing tactic. A name like the Xbox Infinite floated around, but in the end, it was going to be called the Xbox One. The reason was because it was going to be the ONE for all system. It was planned to dominate your living room more than ever before. It wouldn’t surprise me if many would get confused in thinking of the first Xbox since it technically was the Xbox One. I think it should have been called the Infinite for this matter.
Looking ahead, the conference wasn’t a total flop. It at least could back up why it was the One For All system. I was impressed in the demonstrations in how you could switch apps without having to entirely quit them. One part showed switching from playing a game to live TV. The Xbox One was the first where you could record and take screen shots of the games you played and upload for all to see. It had its own version of Facebook where you could see other people’s posts of their games for you to like and comment. Many people use it to this day. Backing out of your game entirely without having to quit was a big step forward. Nintendo definitely caught on to this idea. Other apps like YouTube ran well on the Xbox One. You could back out of them too without having to quit. If the console would have just started out being baackwards compatible, I think the Xbox One title would have been completely fitting.
A constant internet connection meant some customers were being lost. Not everyone could afford this method. The price for many of the standard games had increased to $60 and even $70. This period of time was the real start of invasion of Indie games. These are low budget games from small companies. They don’t measure up to today’s complexity and graphics, but they are simple games. Many of them offer 4-player split screen which is becoming a thing of the past by many major companies. They are way cheaper than regular games too.
Back to Xbox, it continued to face much criticism for what it didn’t have that many gamers wanted. The console itself and many apps and games for it were beginning to constantly need updates. If your internet was not fast enough, you had to get ready to wait awhile. Nothing was more frustrating than when you had a get together for something like a Halo night, only to find out that your game or console needed an update. That continues to go on today. It had just 500GB of internal memory. Just transferring your account over from the 360 took half of that! The console itself was heavy and hard to pack around. You couldn’t stand it upright like the 360, but at least no more Red Ring of Death. It was also much quieter too.
Something was needed to give Microsoft a big lift and 343 Industry, the company that took over Halo, gave a big conference for its next project and that was Halo: Master Chief Collection. It brought Halo 1, 2, 3 and 4, into one. Because that was nearing the time of the 10th anniversary of Halo 2, a remastered version was part of it with remade maps and sound effects. It restore some hype with Xbox and it was a big reason still to get one. It is still being enjoyed to this day. Halo Reach and ODST even got added to it later on.
Sadly after Halo: MCC, Halo 5 was not as fortunate. It had no split screen with just a so-so campaign. It was advertised as a war with Agent Locke, and Master Chief. But the campaign showed otherwise as you spend time playing as Agent Locke to help Master Chief. The game did however debut bigger multiplayer matches. You could finally have more than 16 player big team battles with up to 24. That reason alone was still why you get the game if you ask me. But still, the game did not sell as well.
Before the current Xbox came out, to hopefully get its real momentum going again it once had, Game Pass was announced. It is basically Microsoft’s version of Netflix. With your $10 a month extra subscription, you got access to a library of games to instantly download and play for free. On top of that, there was also Game Pass Ultimate offered. It made better sense to get that one because it allowed you to pay the five extra dollars per month for Xbox live itself versus getting billed once a year. You were already paying for it without having it with just regular Game Pass. The PC had Game Pass too, but not as many games as the Xbox version. Phil Spencer comes out at the next conference and also introduces the new and improved Xbox One called the Xbox One X. I never owned one, but it had 4k output and more internal space. I never heard anyone complain about it so it wasn’t a total failure. In another attempt to boost sales, Microsoft finally listened and added backwards compatibility for both versions of the Xbox One. It all helper boost sales some. But I don’t know if it quite lived up to expectations. In any case, the time was near for the next and current Xbox as the Xbox Series X was revealed.
There were two models, you could get the disc drive, or for a cheaper price, you could get a Xbox Series S. This was the same thing but no disc drive. All games had to be digital. Unlike the Xbox One, the Series X started with backwards compatibility. Both on the digital store and with many physical disc copies. Considering I have disc copies, it made more sense for me to get the Series X with the disc drive. For starters, it is a better console. It’s not as big and you can stand it upright again. The controller connect button is much more visible as it is next to the usb port on the lower front of it. It tough to deal with on the Xbox One as it was on the left side of the disc drive and you had to feel for it many times. There wasn’t an obvious button. Internal storage has more space with 1TB. Not to say that you won’t eventually need an external drive or two for later. If you can’t afford to buy extra controllers for it at first, no problem. The Xbox One controllers will connect to it.
Aside from the hardware, I want to believe that it had a better start this time around. Gamers that stuck with it, knew more of what to expect. With Halo Infinite on the way, many titles were advertised to hit Game Pass including Infinite. So what was not to get excited for? Well constant updates are still a problem. Microsoft increased Game Pass from $15 to $21 a month eventually. Halo Infinite released not all the way finished. Many of the features hardcore Halo fans got to know were not there. They eventually got added on as updates. The game was real buggy and it was tricky to add in splitscreen despite the fact that it was brought back. Going back to Game Pass, Microsoft near the end of last year, increased membership again to $30 a month. This has angered many gamers.
Exclusives
This has been what many are seeing as the real downfall of Microsoft. Many are questioning what is going on here and are seeing that perhaps Microsoft doesn’t care about exclusives. We’ve always had Halo, Minecraft, and Gears of War as core games. Even Starfield after Bethesda was purchased. But we’re seeing a trend now of games going to other consoles. Starfield apparently, is coming to the PlayStation. We saw the new Indiana Jones game head to PlayStation and Nintendo. The new Halo Combat Evolved remake will be out on PlayStation as well.
Where Do We Go From Here?
So here we are. Where does Microsoft go from here for the Xbox? Here’s what I see on what could help turn things around and bring back the excitement and passion again.
- Keep Going With Game Pass: Microsoft continues to always advertise with slogans such as Play Anywhere and Play on Day 1. If we are going to be asked to pay $30 a month, keep going with this and really give us reasons why we should. Microsoft certainly has as many titles are coming on day 1. I’m looking forward to playing the Combat Evolved campaign through Game Pass.
- Keep Going with xCloud: I have enjoyed this a lot. Being able to play games without having to install them and not requiring the Xbox has helped. It allows those to play Xbox games that can’t afford an Xbox. There have been long going rumors xCloud being an app for the TV. Make it happen!
- Keep the standard version of new major games at $60 at most. With Switch 2 games going for $80, it can’t hurt. I have always felt that Microsoft has been the choice for budgeting. Let’s keep it that way. Who knows, someone who is tight on money, may feel more compelled to get an Xbox due to the prices of games.
- Remember What Put Xbox On the Map: That is Halo, and simple four player local splitscreen. Let’s build a significant line up of games with splitscreen capability. Right now, it doesn’t seem like it matters what console you get as you can play many games over more than one console. Let’s change that. With all the Indie games that are taking over, let’s have some Indie games that can be exclusive to the Xbox. Let’s learn from Nintendo in this. They excel because there are games like Mario, Super Smash Bros., and Metroid exclusive to it.
- Give Players The Option To Go Offline Again: This is why the first two Xboxes sold like they did. Players did not have to subscribe if they couldn’t afford it or not quite ready yet. Microsoft may lose some money for online sales, but if it makes more people eager to at least buy an Xbox, that is a win.
- Really Advertise Towards The Future: There’s speculation about the next Xbox being compatible with Steam. Whenever the next Xbox is revealed, let’s already learn about it. Let’s find out what the price of it is. Sony and Microsoft were so slow about that during the last console debut. Let’s look at how we can upgrade Game Pass and xCloud. Is it possible yet to connect up to four controllers over the cloud to play one game? To compete with the Steam deck, Microsoft came out with the Xbox Ally X. This thing will allow you to play games anywhere that are not on Game Pass. But with so many games on it Game Pass, it hasn’t tempted me enough to spend $600 for the base model. I can’t imagine it has sold well. There needs to be some more advertisements about it and press conference too.
Thank you all for reading this. I believe in the Xbox and will always be a Halo fan. If the above things can be looked at, I am confident the Xbox will be viewed by many again as the console of choice. I am looking forward to the next Xbox Direct and we’ll see what is ahead. You can tune in live online on Thursday the 22nd at 10:00am PT. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. What do you think Microsoft should do from here?
In the next article, I just got back yesterday from the Shiloh Bible Camp that I went to last year as it was time for another board game retreat. I’ll tell how it went. Until next time, take care.
Comments
2 responses to “Xbox: Where Do We Go From Here?”
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Maybe Xbox won’t release a physical console. Just xcloud and a controller
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It’s possible. They need to figure out how to connect multiple controllers to it first if they choose to go that route.
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