MICROSOFT Developing Game Console That Plays STREAMING Titles from CLOUD

In 2001, then-monolithic computer company Microsoft officially made its entry into the ring of videogame home console competition, with its revolutionary Xbox taking up the position of the failed Sega Dreamcast in the major three-way against Nintendo (with the Gamecube) and Sony (with its powerful PlayStation 2). This has been the state of things in almost two decades, with three companies fielding consoles with considerable game libraries to win the most consumers on the market. Recently however, Microsoft is taking a major step with its Xbox console line with future developments, making it more affordable by connecting with the Cloud.

Gaming news website IGN reports that new information was revealed about the proposed next step in Microsoft gaming consoles that was first hinted during June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). This info states that Microsoft has two alternative versions for future console hardware. One is a traditional console in line with previous Xbox incarnations that plays games on discs or stored locally in its hard drive. The alternative console, codenamed Scarlett Cloud, is a lower-powered and stripped-down version with no disc tray or internal game storage; that is because the console will access game titles that are put on streaming instead.

The design concept for this Scarlett Cloud console is that it will evolve playing streamed computer games to the point that the gamer can no longer tell the difference between it and a console with a “locally” processed game title. The console’s processing power, rather than dedicated wholly to running a game on the drive or storage, will instead only work to counter issues with latency that is the one shortcoming of existing online games. Furthermore, this console will as a result be much more affordable than the conventional Xbox, which only gives slim profits to Microsoft per unit sold.

Indeed, the Xbox line has always been on the average steeply priced compared to its competitors from Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft makes up the profit margins by selling game titles and online service subscriptions. With the Scarlett Cloud console playing cloud streaming games instead, they could spruce up their earnings by streaming prospective games on their own Azure Cloud platform.

Microsoft hopes to have their two alternative consoles be released sometime in the year 2020. There have been no indications yet as to what game titles may be available for Scarlett Cloud when the time comes, but there has been speculation that Bethesda Games’ “Elder Scroll” series and new game “Starfield” are most likely candidates to debut as launch titles.

The most current Microsoft game console is the Xbox One X, either the fourth console of the Xbox line or merely a higher-spec version of its predecessor the Xbox One.

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