It’s an old story at this point that Microsoft is struggling with the Xbox One in the current segment of the ‘console wars’ that fans bizarrely encourage, but the numbers don’t lie: PlayStation 4 has been the console to own in this console iteration. This is likely on the back of the failed E3 presentation where Microsoft attempted to drum up hype for the upcoming Xbox One that would charge users for movie passes if too many people were watching a film, and lockdown second-hand game sales. It was an interesting trainwreck to watch as Microsoft apparently got their cards confused and forgot whom they were presenting for.
However it ultimately happened, Xbox was on the back foot for this entire current generation until they realized that they had a huge market of gamers that were as of yet untapped, and they had an easy way in considering that PC gamers are stuck on Windows operating systems. Microsoft began looking that PC gamers with renewed interest, and it’s thus far been a symbiotic relationship.
I’ve waxed poetic in the past about the simple yet resounding functions of the Xbox Game Bar that has been added to Windows 10, allowing users to use a variety of tools without needing to alt-tab out of their application to conduct whatever task is called for.
Microsoft:
All-time record engagement for Xbox in Q3 of 2020.
90 million active users of Xbox Live led by strength on both console & PC.
Xbox Game Pass has more than 10 million subscribers.
Project xCloud has "hundreds of thousands of users."
Source: CEO Satya Nadella.
— Dom (@DomsPlaying) April 29, 2020
Even the Microsoft Store, that was an absolute headache to use in the past, has undergone a myriad of improvements in recent months that makes it…less of a headache. It used to be a sledgehammer on the temples, and now it’s more akin to a ball-peen on the crown; it’s still there, but less likely to give users long-term brain damage.
Arguably the largest success for Microsoft has been the development and inclusion of the Xbox Game Pass for PC, where users can play a surprisingly large library of titles, and it’s not only reserved for older releases, or titles with a flagging player base.
Streets of Rage 4 released on the Xbox Game Pass on the first day of its release, as did Gears Tactics, Moving Out, and countless other titles that are simply too numerous to be named individually.
CEO Satya Nadella has stated that Xbox is stronger now than it ever has been in the past, with the Xbox Game Pass passing 10 million subscribers. Xbox Live has similarly experienced fantastic growth as it incorporates both console and PC gamers together in that number. It seems as though Xbox is enjoying its new avenue of sales with PC gamers, and that’s likely to hold true for years to come. Until the day that Microsoft tries to push an online pass for PC players.
