More rumours about the next generation of Xbox consoles have emerged and yes, that’s consoles, plural.
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According to tech news website, Thurrott, Microsoft is working on two new pieces of hardware, one being a traditional console, and the other being a cheaper variant for game streaming only. Of course, it’s far too early for specifics, but it looks like the company is serious about fundamentally changing the way we play video games.
While you won’t be forced to get onboard straight away – you’ll still get your beefy console if that’s what you prefer – the new hardware will be supported by Microsoft’s upcoming streaming platform known only as “Scarlett Cloud“ for the moment.
This kind of hardware is already around in early forms, like Nvidia‘s Shield box, but Scarlett is rumoured to pack fancy hardware that’ll help reduce latency, which is the most important factor when it comes to streaming, particularly in reaction-heavy games. Because of this, it’s not going to be quite as cheap as similar units currently on sale, but will still be far cheaper than dishing out for a dedicated console, Thurrott reports.
If a streaming-only console is indeed the intention, then Microsoft will certainly be looking to make the majority of its revenue from subscriptions similar to its current Game Pass service. Both consoles are currently set for release sometime in 2020.
Game streaming looks fantastic on paper, but as any Aussie online gamer will tell you, our internet infrastructure simply isn’t up to the task in its current state. It’s hard enough to stream Netflix, let alone games, which require far more data than the former. I would assume Microsoft has already considered this issue, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plans on tackling it.
Fingers crossed the NBN is up to scratch by 2020.
