There was a recent leak, out of Brazil of all places, that seems to indicate Microsoft is set to reveal a new version of its Xbox One at this year’s E3. Almost everywhere you see that headline it’s coupled with speculation that we’re about to see a slimmer Xbox One. Some are predicting an Xbox One focused on digital content, with no optical drive and an expanded hard drive. Others say we’re about to see the addition of a Blu-ray player and 4K capabilities. It’s hard to imagine what Microsoft has up its sleeve, but considering Nintendo is on the verge of revealing its own new, powerful console and Sony may be working on an upgraded “PS4K,” this seems like the time for Microsoft to step up and announce something exciting. Phil Spencer has given us some mixed signals, though, and we’re not sure what to expect.
Earlier in the year during the Xbox Spring Showcase, Spencer went on record expressing enthusiasm for the concept of an upgradeable console. This was long before we heard anything about a PS4K. Spencer suggested that consoles should be upgradeable in the same way PCs are – stating that the age of console generations may be coming to a close. “We see on other platforms whether it be mobile or PC,” he said, “that you get a continuous innovation that you rarely see on a console. Consoles lock the hardware and the software platforms together at the beginning of the generation. Then you ride the generation out for seven or so years, while other ecosystems are getting better, faster, stronger… When you look at the console space, I believe we will see more hardware innovation in the console space than we’ve ever seen. You’ll actually see us come out with new hardware capability during a generation allowing the same games to run backward and forward compatible because we have a Universal Windows Application running on top of the Universal Windows Platform…”
That’s enough to conclude that Microsoft might be working on an upgraded Xbox One – something like the PS4K – right? Think again. During a more recent press conference following Microsoft Build 2016, Spencer was asked if Microsoft would follow in Sony’s footsteps if the PS4K came to fruition. Spencer responded in the negative. “I’m not a big fan of Xbox One and a half,” he said. “If we’re going to move forward, I want to move forward in big numbers. For us, our box is doing well. It performs, it’s reliable, the servers are doing well.” These statements seem to directly contradict Spencer’s prior enthusiasm for an upgraded Xbox that takes advantage of the Universal Windows Platform.
I can only speculate that Microsoft plans to ride out the rest of this generation with its current hardware. A slimmer Xbox One seems probable to me – released for the holiday season with an expanded hard drive, compelling bundles, and an attractive price tag. I have a feeling that we can view Spencer’s comments together and guess that another, completely new Xbox is in the works. Not an upgrade for the Xbox One, but a successor to it. That successor, I’m assuming, will be built from the ground up to take advantage of this Universal Windows Platform with plenty of room for growth and expansion. Whether that means the console is easy to crack open to swap parts around, or perhaps comes with several high-speed ports for external upgrades is beyond the scope of my ability to make anything resembling an educated guess.
What do you guys see in Microsoft’s near future? Do you think it can afford to get left behind this holiday season as Nintendo and Sony come out with more powerful hardware, or could the Xbox One Slim / Elite / Whatever see some subtle CPU / GPU upgrades? Let me know your predictions for E3 in the comments below.