As Microsoft gears up for the launch of the Xbox Series X, we're sure they're ready to forget about the Xbox One generation. That's not to say the third unit in Microsoft's home-console was bad, but compared to the insane success of the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4, it's safe to say the house of Halo is ready to move on to greener pastures.
Still, before they do so, the Xbox brand has a bit of work to do to get players back on their side. They've already started, as GamePass, accessibility on PC, and cross-platform play have gamers praising Microsoft, so it's only a matter of riding the momentum. With that in mind, here are 10 Things Xbox Needs To Do To Win Next Generation.
10 More First-Party Content
Microsoft may have Sony beat in the online-competitive play department, but Sony and Nintendo's first-party single-player titles really leave Xbox players salivating. Outside of Halo and Gears of War, the Xbox One is lacking in this department. But that wasn't always the case. With early life-cycle releases like Ryse: Son of Rome, Dead Rising 4, and Sunset Overdrive, the Xbox One looked to be a console that would consistently have new and interesting games exclusive to the platform. Then things changed.
Throughout the generation, Xbox One was the unfortunate platform that saw a lot of high-profile cancellations like Scalebound and Fable Legends, while PlayStation players were treated to God Of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted 4 and more. While we appreciate some of the big Xbox titles listed before, if Microsoft wants to compete in today's landscape, players need a little more variety.
9 Great Japanese Games
Japanese RPGs are slowly gaining popularity in the West again! Just not on the Xbox. Whether its Trials of The Cold Steel 3, Persona 5, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, or something else, it appears that the big-time JRPGs are on every platform except the Xbox. This is especially strange considering many of these titles are making their way to PC as well. Now, we're not going to sit here and pretend that the Xbox platform was ever really a destination for this genre, but in order to win the next generation, there should be a little bit of something for everyone.
Microsoft is actually trying to fix this mistake by ensuring Yakuza Zero, Kawami, and Kawami 2 will be on GamePass sometime in early 2020, so we're interested to see where this goes. If they can ride this momentum into the next generation, things could look bright!
8 Get That Timed Exclusive-Content
Love them or hate them, timed exclusives are huge. In fact, they can really sway the tides of battle in a console war. In the Xbox 360 generation, a lot of timed-exclusives for big titles like Call of Duty. More recently, Rise of The Tomb Raider was a great example of this, but following the end of the series, Xbox hasn't had much go their way in that department. When it comes to multiplatform releases, a little bit of an extra incentive to purchase a title on your platform could go a long way. Right now, however, these perks have been a little more frequent on the PlayStation 4.
7 Diversify Exclusive Genres
Halo and Gears of War are great franchises, don't get us wrong, but Xbox's first-party content needs a little more flavor. While we got glimpses of it in the form of Ori and The Blind Forest and Cuphead, those were smaller-scale projects that both ended up on other consoles. While Xbox does the few genres it's known for well — shooters, racers, and RTSs — there are tons of other experiences to explore.
All of this is said without even mentioning that Xbox is the only console platform without a dedicated VR experience as well. While not a must-own for players, PlayStation VR and the Nintendo Labo VR experiences are options for players to enjoy, giving them more than the basics in gaming.
6 Home of Sega Again
When Sega announced it will no longer create content for the Dreamcast, it was a sad day for gaming, but it was an important moment in history. We got the first Sonic The Hedgehog game on a Nintendo console and some quality new experiences like Billy Hatcher and The Giant Egg, or Yakuza — but we also witnessed a different partnership between Microsoft and Sega. The two companies already had a history as the Dreamcast ran on Windows CE, but now, the roles were a little different, — Microsoft had the platform, and needed Sega's genius game design to help put it over the top.
The result was titles like Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and the only North American version of Shenmue II! A renewed partnership between the publisher and console-maker could be a great thing going forward and renew interest in the Xbox brand with some old-but-missed franchises from Sega's historic library.
5 Revive Xbox Live Arcade
Alright, kiddos, sit down and let us tell you about the old days of Xbox Live Arcade. A service originally created for the first Xbox, Live Arcade was created to be like an "App Store" for gamers looking for a shallow experience like Bejeweled, or a retro game like Galaga. That quickly changed, and by the time the 360 rolled around, Xbox Live Arcade became the go-to store for the best indie games around. Once the Xbox One rolled out, however, the storefront faded away. We want it back!
4 Stop Porting Big Titles To Other Consoles
Microsoft! Stop this! We get it, games should be played by everyone, but when some of your most talked about games get ported to other consoles, it really makes it difficult to sell players on sticking to your system. This happened with Cuphead, Super Lucky's Tale, and Ori and The Blind Forest, and while they're small enough titles that one could ignore that Microsoft did this at all, it's disheartening to players who were expecting some special games. Still, if Microsoft is keen on making an ecosystem rather than a console, it's hard to tell where this will lead.
3 Remaster/ More Classics
Xbox has been around for almost 20 years now. That's a long time to build-up an impressive library of games, and they've done just that. Whether it's less talked about titles like Crimson Skies, Brute Force, or Mech Assault, or big-time games like the Fable franchise, or Crackdown, there are a lot of games that Microsoft hasn't touched that are ripe for a remaster.
Now that we think of it, there is a whole library of Rare games that are just waiting for the remaster/remake treatment. Conker's Bad Fur Day, any of the Banjo titles could be massive if Microsoft ever decided to do something with them aside from including them in a compilation pack.
2 Be Cool Again
Look, we're not saying Xbox is lame, far from it. In fact, its interface, "ecosystem" functionality, and raw power has changed its perception from a rocky launch. Yet, there's something missing from this generation from the 360 era — the cool factor. Whether it was some insanely creative Halo and Gears of War ad campaigns, or being present in the backgrounds of TV shows and movies, the Xbox 360 reached a pop culture status that the Xbox One just couldn't do. Hopefully, in the next generation, it will be a little more visible.
1 A Graceful Start/Price-Point
When the Xbox One launched in 2013, it was priced at $499 USD while the PlayStation undercut that by a cool $100. At the time, Microsoft was battling bad press following some initial DRM plans and some ill-advised comments regarding "always online functionality". While in hindsight, the latter of the two issues would be almost standard in every home, 2013 was a different time and the way the Xbox One launch was handled left an opening for players to jump to the less expensive option that was making jokes about the competition's "restrictive" ideas.
Even if those ideas weren't that bad looking back, it really set the tone for the generation, and Microsoft was playing catchup from the get-go. Now, with a fresh slate ahead, Microsoft has hopefully learned how to handle the narrative regarding their home console, and some of the good-will they've accumulated from some of their recent endeavors could help prevent another Xbox One launch.