2020 will be remembered forever as one of the most important moments in videogame history, also for the arrival of a new generation of consoles. But with less than two months left, and a global pandemic underway, PS5 e Xbox Series X they have certainly not been able to express their potential. 2021 will be the real test for the two gaming machines.
Now, let’s try to see what does Xbox Series X need in 2021 (but also Xbox Series S), to solidify its position in the market in this beginning of generation.
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Xbox Series X e Xbox Series S
As trivial and obvious as it may be, it must be said that the first great need for Xbox Series X is itself. In other words, Microsoft must make more consoles available on the shelves, digital or real, from stores around the world.
Currently no official data has been shared regarding the number of consoles distributed, but according to VGChartz there is talk of about 2.4 million Xbox Series X. For comparison, Sony should have placed on the world market approx 4.4 million PS5, according to the data of early January 2021. These are obviously approximate numbers that we must read with great caution, but we can use them to obtain an idea of ”how things are going” a Redmond e a Tokyo.
It is therefore important to ask: why is PS5 (supposedly) ahead? Don’t think it’s tied to a pure question of public interest. Sure, PS4 dominated the outgoing generation and that’s a big plus, especially considering that backward compatibility allows you to carry almost any game you bought in recent years with you. This, in fact, will push many to stay in the same console family in order not to lose access to their favorite titles.
The truth, though, is that PS5 has (presumably) sold a lot more than Xbox Series X because it simply Sony has produced and distributed more units than Microsoft. The “sales figures” of 2020 and probably also of the beginning of 2021 are purely “production data”. The confirmation comes from Phil Spencer himself – head of Xbox -, who explained to The Verge that production began in the second half of the summer, “a little later than the competition”. The reason? Microsoft was waiting for AMD to supply some components. Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are therefore late games and must absolutely regain ground.
Microsoft also needs to put more Xbox Series S into circulation, which is the cheapest model. Spencer also confirms that Microsoft has produced more Xbox Series X: an understandable move, given that at D1 buyers tend to be historical fans, passionate “hardcore players” looking for the best hardware available. In the long run, as Spencer himself confirms, convenience beats power: especially in Christmas 2021, it is highly probable that a new slice of more “casual” players approach the next generation, giving priority to the less expensive next-gen console model.
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The exclusive games
Obviously putting the consoles inside the living rooms of multiple players is only the first step. Selling the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, in and of itself, is of little value. The real gain comes through the sale of games and services. So let’s talk first of all about video games.
Microsoft, with the reference of Halo Infinite, had to arrive on the market without real Xbox Series X weight exclusives. The console has in fact offered just a few indies and improved versions of Xbox One titles.
As already mentioned, at D1 there are mostly passionate players who have no particular doubts about the choice of the console and make a reasoned purchase in the long term. However, 2021 will see the arrival of new buyers who they will have to be convinced by the sound of exclusives. So let’s start by taking stock of the software situation.
First of all, let’s exclude indies from this discussion. No, “minor” productions are not true racism (bad term, but you understand). You simply have to admit that a handful of beautiful indies won’t move the masses. AAA products are needed or that, at least, they give the impression of being so.
Let’s start with, for example The Medium, a horror adventure created by Blooper Team (Layers of Fear, Observer, Blair Witch) that recalls the atmosphere of the lost Silent Hill. The game will come on January 28, 2021 and it is, sadly, the only certainty of the Microsoft videogame landscape.
In fact, during the year it could make its appearance S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, another third-party title, but a delay is never to be excluded. We are calmer about the possibility of playing Everwild, new title of RARE, ready to amaze after the success of Sea of Thieves. Unfortunately, for the moment we have not seen anything and, barring surprises, it does not seem likely that it will be ready for the first months of 2021.
Asobo positioned the arrival of Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X over the course of next summer. While not exactly new, the simulator is one of the most popular titles of 2020 and its arrival on consoles will likely be well received by fans. In the list of hopes we insert instead Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, an “indie with AAA production values”, hardly the most anticipated but still valid addition to the list of Microsoft exclusives; unfortunately the work of Ninja Theory does not yet have a release date and 2021 is anything but a certainty. Obviously, as already mentioned, we will be able to play Halo Infinite at the end of 2021, a period that begins to look like the real launch of the Microsoft console.
The names are not lacking, but the direct competitor – PS5 – can count on more popular video games and known, such as Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7 and – officially, as little as one might believe – God of War Ragnarock (unofficial name), as well as various third-party titles with high production values such as Destruction AllStars, Returnal, Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo. Again, we don’t consider indies.
We are not making this speech to emphasize an inferiority of the Xbox Series X | S, but rather to point out a great risk: during 2021 the Microsoft console could lose the media clash, because quite simply Sony has an advantage by having titles well impressed in the minds of players for many years.
To sell a console and related games, people need to know and talk about them: need to advertise, on several levels, from YouTube ADV to television advertising. And this is not a reasoning born out of nothing: according to the research of MediaRadar, Sony spent three times as much as Microsoft in advertising its new generation console in the period before its release (19/10 – 9/11).
Microsoft needs to scream from the rooftops that too Xbox Series X | S has a lot to impress fans with. He has to reiterate the Xbox Game Studios team number until boredom and he has to do whatever hardcore fans least love: show as soon as possible games that will not be released for several years.
Works like Fable, Avowed, the next Power, but also Starfield Bethesda must begin to be talked about, they must release various CG trailers that say absolutely nothing about the game but that make it clear how Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the right console right now. In other words, Microsoft has to make the “Xbox has no games” concept an absurd, ridiculous idea. It matters little if most of what is advertised is destined to be released at the end of 2022 or even beyond.
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Game Pass e Live Gold
As mentioned, games are only one side of the coin. Services are now a fundamental part package of a console and Xbox Series X | S can count on the incredible Game Pass. According to the most recent data, there are 15 million subscribers. During 2021 this number must absolutely grow. How?
In fact, we believe that from this point of view Microsoft he is not doing anything wrong. The relationship between offer and price is absolutely positive in favor of the user, especially since every exclusive first party is introduced since D1. What Xbox Series X | S doesn’t have to do is raise the monthly price of the subscription ahead of time. The Redmond company has shown that it is willing to invest large sums on the Game Pass and must continue to do so.
Game Pass must become the symbol of Xbox even in the eyes of the less informed masses. The reasoning of many must be “Xbox Series S + Game Pass = many games and little expense, which is the perfect solution”. The noisy entrance of Ubisoft+ within the service could be one of the smartest moves in this regard, considering that the French company’s shares appeal to a large audience.
However, we must not forget about Live Gold. The service gives the strong impression of being by now partially redundant. The games included on a monthly basis appear to be titles discarded from Game Pass, rather than Microsoft’s “gifts” to users. However, it must be understood that eliminating them without replacing them or merging Game Pass with Live Gold (with mandatory price increase) it would actually displease most users who need only one of the two services.
From this point of view, therefore, Microsoft just needs to continue on the path it has traced, without risking any moves that can annoy the user.
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