The Xbox situation these days has something surreal about it, between conflicting voices and an inevitable inability to communicate.
“Hi-Fi Rush could come to other consoles”, then “Starfield comes to PS5”, maybe even Halo, in fact practically all Microsoft games on PS5, “Microsoft cross-platform” up to “Xbox will close soon”: we are witnessing a 'escalation of rumors about the fate of Xbox as they have rarely been seen, in an area that has always had a lot to do with rumor, hype and the “cordless telephone” effect. On the one hand there is the typical emotionality of the gaming public, which is guided by the passion for games and tends not to think very coldly, letting itself be carried away by the impetus, but on the other hand there is actually some communication problem to be part of Microsoft, which often fails to be clear about its intentions.
A possible partial overcoming of the concept of absolute exclusives by Microsoft shouldn't be too scary: many of the company's titles, in fact, are already multiplatform, so the matter should be taken with more philosophy. However, the anxieties and psychodramas of users have a certain basis if you think about how the relationship of trust with Xbox can be undermined by years of uncertainties regarding results on the market. Windows Central published an interesting study on the fact that Satya Nadella's Microsoft, despite many successes and exponential growth that has brought it to three billion dollars, somehow has difficulty establishing a solid connection with users. So the idea that the management could burst into the management of Xbox and close hardware production at any moment becomes an almost real risk, which generates fear not so much for the affection for the brand but for the investments that perhaps have been facts on the digital bookstore front.
Between catastrophes and marginal changes
In light of this, the fact that Phil Spencer took one week to respond, instead of immediately placing a relaxing message, understandably increases the anguish of a public which – let us remember once again – often does not think calmly and is easily overcome by desperation and enthusiasm. This stalling tactic is difficult to understand and leaves room for catastrophic interpretations for even the slightest presumed clue. We also saw an example today, when suddenly someone (especially the Twitter users closest to the PlayStation faction) noticed some changes made in the graphics of the Xbox Store already a few months ago, seeing them as clear signs of – in order – the opening of exclusives to other platforms, the weakening of the Game Pass with no more first party at launch and finally, invariably, the closure of Xbox or almost.
It's just one example of the many sensationalisms that regularly pop up every day in this very long week of waiting for Phil Spencer's statements on the future of Xbox and Microsoft Gaming. The discussion is obviously limited to the circles of video game enthusiasts but it is certainly not good for them perception of the brand and the choice of radio silence has disturbing aspects, because it would take little to deny at least some more daring constructs. However, it is likely that Microsoft simply wants to avoid getting into further dialectical and interpretative battles, revealing the cards on the table all at once.
Although reasoning easily leads us not to follow the most grim catastrophisms, this uncertainty leaves us in the strange situation of not being able to exclude a priori the idea of the greatest changes and at the same time thinking that it could also be relatively small variations, which would make the great dramas these days rather ridiculous. One thing is certain: in a period perhaps not very rich in great releases and topics of discussion, now there is certainly something to talk about.
This is an editorial written by a member of the editorial team and is not necessarily representative of the editorial line of Multiplayer.it.
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