Why I am considering Xbox for next gen

I have always been a Nintendo guy, if we are not considering the time when I went deep in MMORPGs and Warcraft 3 mods, but I think I could say that. I grew up playing mostly SNES, N64 and GBA. Later, got an Wii and a 3DS, and now, a Switch. It's not that I never played Playstations or Xboxes, but for my choice I always went with Nintendo and PC. I acknowledge that there are fantastic games on the other platforms, is just that for my play style, Nintendo is the best fit.

I started following video game news more closely since 2010 and saw the PS4 demolish Microsoft's competition with Xbox One from the beginning. But in the last year or two I feel more and more like Microsoft is doing the right moves to evolve as a gaming platform to the point that it can compete with Sony on they lacked in the Xbox One and even offer something more.

For starters, they bought a lot of gaming studios. The big argument against Xbox One has always been that it lacks good exclusives, or exclusives at all, and it sure does. With all these acquisitions, at least the quantity will be there for the Series X, the next generation of Xbox consoles, all we need to see now is quality. But even in that regard, they bought some big names, like Obsidian and Ninja Theory, so we might be good on that front too.

Buying studios was the right first step, but the Game Pass is the main point of this transition in of mindset that seems like Phil Spencer is trying to do with the Xbox brand. The accessible price and ever growing list of games available for all subscribers at all times and even adding games on their release date is a huge deal. This sends a message that this company is making a lot of pro consumer decisions. Granted, they NEED that, but still is a nice thing to see happening.

Backwards compatibility for software and hardware is also a nice thing. The Xbox One's controller is already very good, so keeping that for the next iteration of consoles is a good way to keep fidelity; Bringing back old games is very good for the preservation aspect that is discussed more for cartridge games, but is always good to play more games from different platforms in one device; And even saying that all games developed for the beginning of next gen will also run on the current Xbox One line. These are all things, again, pro consumer.

Not having exclusives in the first years of the Series X might be a problem for the console sales, but I don't think they are too stressed about this specific point this time. All their moves are being made to incentivize people to play on their platform, not a specific device/console. They have been adding all their games to PC at launch date as well, since Windows is part of Xbox environment. This is not the most safe move, but looks like it is working for them.

XCloud is another technology that looks like could be a big thing. Streaming games to play is a hot idea at the moment (that I don't think it will work in the near future) and combining that with the Xbox Game Pass is a much better way to try to do that than Google's Stadia, that nobody talks anymore, two months after its "release".

All these things are adding up in my mind. It feels to me like these are going to take Microsoft in the right way, or at least a better path that it is now. It at least made me look more to its way and that made me realize all that I wrote here. We can never be sure of the future, but I have been saying for some time now that in the next generation in the very least Xbox will give Playstation a run for its money.