I have claimed before that this will be the last mainstream generation of gaming consoles. I was thinking that between tablets/smartphones/smart tvs/ and computers and laptops, there just wouldn't be a need.
But, I can see clearly that the need for a gaming console will be greatly diminished in the US and Western Europe, but it has a place in most of the rest of the world for at least one more generation if not 2. Will there be another generation in the US and Western Europe? Yes, but it won't include an XBOX.
If you look at how the sales of the Xbox's have always been, they have been mostly in the US and Western Europe. This generation has seen that even those markets are extremely challenging for Microsoft. MS isn't really making money on the XB1, and probably never will if they want to sell any consoles. They will have to keep dropping the price below the PS4 and that makes no financial sense. This current generation will probably only sell 150-160 million total consoles. The US and European markets will shrink dramatically from last gen. This is where the problem really lies for MS. Having only 10-25% of the market outside of the US and Europe doesn’t leave much for them next generation.
So, that leads me to believe that the XBOX itself as a console is on its last lap. MS will not drop the brand altogether though. They will not sell it either. MS will license the brand to 3rd parties. With the Windows 10 integration, MS will have 3rd parties making consoles. They will just license a special Windows 10 OS and simple base configuration for the hardware. Software developers will be able to easily make games for the 3rd party Xbox’s and Windows 10 simultaneously. Seeing as how Sony went X86 this generation, the cost to develop will be much lower for everyone, as porting the games will be much easier. Heck, you never know, maybe MS and Sony will work out a deal and the PS5 will have Windows 10 compatibility?!
One thing is for sure, this will be the last Xbox made by Microsoft.
It is near the end of the end....
