Microsoft has predicted that its own console, the Xbox One X, won’t be a massive sales hit, suggesting that the Xbox One S will continue to be the company’s market leader as a result of its affordability.
The Xbox One X has been described by Microsoft as the first “true 4K” console, with the company having spent the past 12 months putting all of its marketing weight on it and neglecting to release any major exclusives in the process. However, while many have expressed that this lack of new software means that the Xbox brand has a lot riding on the Xbox One X’s success, Microsoft acknowledges that they are appealing to a niche audience with the system.
“Whether you’re on a 1080p TV or a 4K TV, you’re going to have a great experience. But it’s not for everybody,” the Head of Xbox Phil Spencer told GameSpot. “It’s like when we built the Xbox One Elite controller, we didn’t try to say to everybody, ‘If you need an extra controller, go buy the Elite controller.’ We sold a ton of those controllers. We know in the gaming segment, there are a lot of people who play games casually and there’s also people where gaming is their number one hobby. Their number one form of entertainment, and we want to give them the very best experience.”
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This candid admission was pretty clear to anyone watching from the sidelines, but it does raise a few questions regarding the Xbox One’s 2017 — if Microsoft were aware that the Xbox One X wasn’t going to be a killer in terms of sales, then why has the Xbox One been left out in the cold for the majority of the year? Many were assuming that Microsoft were pitching the Xbox One X as the successor to the Xbox One, and would therefore have a slew of games waiting in the wings for its release, but if they believe that its sales won’t compare to those of the Xbox One S then where has the support been for the console throughout 2017?
“I’ve played games in true 4K with HDR, and they look fantastic. But it doesn’t mean everybody has to do that,” Spencer continued. “So we’re giving gamers a choice. Whether we’ve pushed the innovation too far? It’s hard to do that with gamers. I guess we’ll see; I feel very confident in the product we have coming to market.”
The Xbox One X is set to launch worldwide on November 7, 2017.
