We are nearing the end of the current console generation life cycle, which means that gamers all over the world are latching on to any and all information that they can get their hands are regarding the upcoming offerings made by both Sony and Microsoft.
It stands to reason that whenever executives from either company sit down for an interview over the next year, there will undoubtedly be questions regarding the new generation of consoles, which are slated to release before the holiday season of 2020.
Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, recently talked about the company’s upcoming console, which has been going by the codename “Project Scarlett.” Spencer made it clear that the company has learned from certain mistakes that it made during the initial launch of Xbox One.
“I would say a learning the Xbox One generation is we will not be out of position on power or price,” he said. “If you remember the beginning of this generation, we were a hundred dollars more expensive and, yes, we were less powerful. And we started Project Scarlett with this leadership team in place with a goal of having market success.”
Spencer added that the company had decided to continue producing new consoles years ago and thinks Scarlett will not be the last we see of Microsoft in the gaming world.
“We’re all-in on Project Scarlett and I want to compete in the right ways, which is why we’re focused on cross-play and backward compatibility.”
The launch of the Xbox One was mired in controversy. It originally debuted at a massive price of $499, while competitor Sony rolled out the PlayStation 4 at $399.
On top of that, Microsoft took a beating from hardcore gamers because the original hype behind the Xbox One seemed to center on everything but gaming.
The Xbox One was originally designed to be an all in one entertainment system, going all-in on the motion sensor and voice control system, Kinect. The company saw success with the Kinect for the Xbox 360 but leaned too heavily on its functionality for the current generation. Hardcore gamers felt left out as Microsoft continued to hype the multimedia capabilities of the Xbox One, attempting to make it a centralized piece of smart living rooms.
Originally, the Xbox One plugged into your cable box, meaning users never had to navigate away from the system in order to enjoy entertainment. When the PlayStation 4 took off, leaving Xbox One in the dust, the company refocused its efforts away from the Kinect and started to concentrate on gaming once more.
Xbox’s Project Scarlett is expected to release in time for the 2020 holiday season.
