LogIn"And it’s kind of funny that people think about the console and PC as two different things."
Bangla press, Shutterstock
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has big plans for Xbox. The company has long admitted that it can't outrun Sony and Nintendo in the console market, so it is now trying to change direction closer to PC gaming.
Speaking to TBPN, transcribed by VGC, Nadella was asked about his views on gaming, and he alluded to bringing the next console closer to Windows and its PC business overall.
"Remember, the biggest gaming business is the Windows business," Nadella said. "To us, gaming on Windows, and of course, Steam has built a massive marketplace on top of it and done a very successful job. So to us, the way we are thinking about gaming is, first of all, we’re now the largest publisher [after acquiring Activision]."
So Microsoft wants to be "a fantastic publisher," similar in approach to what it did with Office.
"We’re going to be everywhere, on every platform. So we want to make sure, whether it’s consoles, whether it’s the PC, whether it’s mobile, whether it’s cloud gaming, or the TV. We just want to make sure the game is enjoyed by gamers everywhere."
Reports say that the next-gen Xbox will be a hybrid system allowing players to enjoy PC games from multiple stores.
"We want to do innovative work on the system side on the console and on the PC. And it’s kind of funny that people think about the console and PC as two different things. We built the console because we wanted to build a better PC, which could then perform for gaming. And so I kind of want to revisit some of that conventional wisdom."
However, he thinks that console offers an "unparalleled" experience and performance "that pushes, I think, the system forward. So I’m really looking forward to the next console, the next PC gaming."
In this new direction, PlayStation and Switch are no longer the biggest competitors to Xbox, apparently. Nadella agreed with Xbox games boss Matt Booty that it's TikTok and movies that are the most concerning for the business.
"Gaming’s competition is short-form video," he said, so Microsoft might have to invent some new interactive media.
"And so if we as an industry don’t continue to innovate, both how we produce, what we produce, how we think about distribution, the economic model, right, the best way to innovate is to have good margins, because that’s the way you can fund."
Subscribe to our Newsletter, join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.