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“HOLIDAY 2020” what does that mean? The assumption is that they mean November range of 2020. But, they released the actual console design 1 year ahead of a launch??? Right before Christmas to slow down their current Holiday sales?
It seems to me that they may have a different “Holiday” in mind. I think they are going back to what they learned with the 360. Launch first to get the early adopters and community built up to stand a chance against the PlayStation powerhouse. It won’t be a whole year like the 360/ps3, but why not some random spring 2020 Holiday?
It could be any Holiday after Valentines Day (Feb. 14). Just release series X first in the early part of 2020. Then in the fall, release series R or S for their budget system. It launches against the PS5 in the “HOLIDAY 2020” period at the end of 2020 and Microsoft will have the sales price of the PS5 already announced and can undercut it with a more budget friendly system. Microsoft can advertise 2 systems that fit the budget of buyers. Hell, each year cell phone companies roll out 3-5 variants of the same product to hit multiple price points.
I think Microsoft is at a crossroads for the console space. They either go big or go home. In today’s world, the internet has no mercy. They learned from the Xbox One that you really only get one shot to impress the media and the core gamers. Those are the influencers. Even if Microsoft had released 2-3 more decent game exclusives each year for the last 5 years, it would have been too late. The Xbox One launch was so bad and the minor power deficiency compared to the PS4 were enough to create a narrative that it was just silly to not have a PS4 as your primary gaming console. That narrative was etched in stone within 6 months of the launch of that generation.
So, it only makes sense that Microsoft jumps from the sinking ship that is the Xbox One (just like they did with the original Xbox did when launching to the 360).
The next gen may start sooner than you think...
It is near the end of the end....
