It won’t be long now until the new range of Xbox consoles from Microsoft, theXbox Series Xand Xbox Series S, will finally release. In fact, it won’t be long untilthe consoles are available to pre-order, with those in the UK only needing to wait until September 22nd in just under a week.
However, the launch of these consoles is going to be rather interesting, in that the new Xbox won’t have any exclusive games.All of the confirmed Xbox Series X launch titles, such asAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, Dirt 5,andWatch Dogs Legion,will also be releasing on PC, current gen consoles like the Xbox One, and the PlayStation 5, the main competition this holiday.
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Theone next-gen console exclusive the Xbox Series X did have wasHalo Infinite, which certainly would’ve shifted units on its own despite also coming to Xbox One, but Microsoft and 343 Industries have opted to delay it until next year, causing some to believe that this will only further help the PS5.
Cindy Walker, an Xbox marketing executive, admitted in an interview with the New York Times, that having the newHaloat launch would have been great, but she seems to believe that what theXbox Series Xdoes offer will be enough to win over potential consumers, stating that Microsoft isn’t relying on exclusive titles.
“… We are not reliant on massive exclusive titles to drive console adoption. Our players will have thousands of games from four generations of Xbox available to play on launch day.”
This does match up with Microsoft’s early plans for the new console.Halo Infinitewas originally the only exclusive the console had for this year, with other exclusives likeAvowedand the newFablenot due for at least a couple more years.
Instead, Microsoft is going all in on backwards compatibility and providing players numerous ways of playing a massive library of available titles. This is the exact opposite of Sony’s strategy, with that company going all in on the PS5 and so far no first-party games releasing on both it and the PlayStation 4.
With such fundamentally different ways of ringing in the next generation of consoles, it will certainly be interesting to see how both consoles do in terms of sales this holiday season. One advantage Microsoft does hold over Sony, though, is that we know how much its consoles cost, something Sony is still tight lipped about.
That could change later today, as Sony is holdinga PlayStation 5 showcase, which seems like the perfect place to announce release date and price. How much the PS5 will end up costing could be the deciding factor for those debating over which console to buy.
TheXbox Series Xand Xbox Series S will release on November 10th.
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