So we all know MS is converging Xbone and PC, Xbone exclusives are coming over to PC, Xbone gets mouse and keyboard support, etc. Everyone sees this as the end of the Bone. But are they right? I think MS is onto something.

The way I see it, MS is changing its business model, they no longer want to play on equal grounds with Sony. They know Xbone will never win in EU and Japan and they have to fight hard even for US - that's not a fight they want to take, so they switch the rules. Traditional console is a typical 0/1, closed experience, you have to buy the console and games for that console or we have nothing for you. MS is changing that and the key is the incoming cross-buy!

Everyone has a PC. Every console gamer has a PC and nowadays even average laptops (top tablets soon as well) are close to Xbone in performance, since the hardware race has slowed down the last couple years, we're hitting dimishing returns and manufacturers are more focused on power efficiency than raw power of the hardware. Many gamers do have OP OC OMG PC Master Race PCs. But we have them next to our desks where we work, not many people hook it up to the TV next to the couch in the living room. We can get a second PC for that (the famous Steambox idea), but it's a big box, OS is not optimized for couch experience, it costs more than a console - you know the drill, all the reasons, why we buy consoles in the first place. So, how about MS turns Xbone into the ultimate Steambox?

Just think, you get the ultimate gaming experience from your rig, but when you actually wanna play on a massive screen, on the couch, in the bedroom, give a console to your kids, etc. all you have to do is put a cheap $250 (soon to be) Xbone Slim and you can play all your PC games there for no additional cost, since you share your library! How about that? Isn't that a massive gamechanger in favour of the Bone? PS4/NX can't offer that, cause you still need to buy their platform-specific games, while MS can offer you cross-buy Xbone/PC games. Obviously, they have to tackle Steam to do it, since I can't see them sharing profits with Valve and giving up Xbone games' sales at the same time, but that is a great incentive for people to switch over from Steam. Why buy a game on Steam for PC only, if you can pay the same price and have the PC and Xbone (and tablet?) version? After all, nowadays we have multiple screens at home in multiple rooms and this Xbone/PC experience would be an answer to that. And as the second step, they would extend this service to Windows tablets/phones and take on Apple/Google in the mobile market by making their products the go-to gamers' choice - just hook up the Xbone controller to your Windows tablet and you can play your whole library anywhere you are! That would be massive and would make picking up a Windows tablet over an Adroid one a no-brainer for me.

What do you think? Is this the direction in which MS is going? Isn't this a great way for expanding their business and turning the cursed to be 2nd/3rd console into a Steambox killer and the most reasonable and complete choice for household entertainment? Console gamers still get the same experience if they just want to go with Xbone, but at the same time they get PC/tablet versions as a free premium. PC Master Race guys will be tempted to get the console for other rooms even just as a cheap gaming hub.

Obviously, I can see this multi-device support as a part of the Live subscription to keep the subscriptions money flowing.

I think MS is onto something potentially very big here, despite so many nay-sayers.

XB1-level PCs aren't that cheap and probably won't be in a while. By the time they are, the next consoles will be coming out.

I do agree about your point though. I don't think MS cares about individual platforms but their whole ecosystem instead. It's a difficult goal though, and won't happen as easily as you make it sound.

PC and consoles are not in competition and PC players won't buy an Xbox anyway. There is no downside to releasing X1 games to PC. It's just a win for both PC players and Microsoft.

Only thing I disagree with that you posted is you mentioned the NX.

We know nothing about it so it can't be used as a valid source in arguments. We don't know what the NX will offer or anything.

I've literally been saying this for over a year.

You really think so? I think PC gamers don't bother, cause they'd have to not only buy the console, but also buy the games for the console - you have to go all in into the ecosystem and PC gamers don't want that. Come the new converged Xbox experience and they can simply buy the Xbone, pay for Live and automatically get their library on the device without having to separately buy games for the console! You just buy the box once and you're done. Later they can buy their games on the Windows Marketplace like always! And possibly get tablets and phones compatibility as well down the line! This can reshape the entertainment landscape, since it would give both PC and Xbone gamers much more value for the same price, if only they decide to give their money to MS instead of the competition. Small price, a lot to gain.

Console gamers suddenly can play their games on their laptops as well when on the road (or in classes ) - can PS4 give me that? No, so let me have that Xbone instead, please.

PC gamers get the option to play their games in the whole household for just the price of the console - another PC won't give me such convinience, price-point and guaranteed game optimalization from the developers.

And the possible tablet wildcard on top of that.

Obviously, with this one move MS takes on Sony, Nintendo, Apple, Google and Valve - all at the same time, but if one company can pull it off, it's MS.

I'd say, top tablets, top ultrabooks and "normal" laptops are more in the ballpark of an Xbox360 or PS3 right now and far away from XBO performance:

Desktop replacements with ultrafast mobile GPUs like GTX970m or GTX980m aren't "average laptops", they are niche. The slower mobile GPUs like GTX950m, GTX860m or anything AMD has to offer in laptops have no chance against the XBO performance.

I have no idea what point(if any at all) you are trying to make. PC and console will be seperate for the forseeable future since they have different use cases. Microsoft will always treat them as different entities, no matter how similar those boxes become. The cross playability won't hurt or help the other.

The good thing here is just that MS has the ability to garner more favorability amongst PC gamers and at the same time make an easy buck.

Really I still don't know where you're going with all this.

We really needed this...

With tablets I said "soon" - there are claims that in 2017 tablets will be in same ballpark as Xbone/PS4. That's fast enough, MS isn't launching tablet integrations in the upcoming months.

I've recently been playing GTA5 on my friend's over one year old laptop, which has an i5 and a 2GB nVidia video card - forgot which one, but I've checked that it's only slightly better than the newest Intel 530 iGPU - a rather average laptop. The game ran great. On PC you can always scale down the graphics a bit and the game will run - and that's all that's neccessary! Since gamers get this for the price of the Live subscription, without having to re-purchase the game (so Xbone gamers get this for free), nobody would complain and this would be a selling point.