u/No-Obligation2563

Or rather, PC gaming hardware

Xbox should go after new PC gamers and then their competition becomes other prebuilt PC’s and Valve hardware. They’re in an unwinnable position with Sony. Why not swing around the brand (which is still iconic) and try to be the face of PC gaming hardware instead? They can pack up their bags, tip their hat to Sony, say “damn you got us bro” and then move onto a new battlefield that’s actually winnable.

Because let’s be honest, there’s no one singular PC that everyone buys to get into PC gaming. No big name to recognize. People do their research or ask a friend what to get and that’s how you get into PC gaming. It’s not simple. So it should be an easy sell if you think about it. Xbox can simplify the whole thing and even reach people who normally wouldn’t ever get into PC.

- Want to get into PC gaming and want a machine that will definitely run the newest games no questions asked? Get an Xbox.

- Ever wanted to get into PC gaming but it always seemed confusing and you prefer controllers and you aren’t the type to buy individual parts for upgrading? Get an Xbox.

- Lets also not forget that if you buy it you’re also getting access to BC games across all the generations of Xbox

Xbox needs to simplify PC gaming to open more people up to it and so that their hardware actually has a reason to exist instead of it just being PlayStation but worse. And to make people see that PC gaming isn’t just being cramped up at a desk but has an actual spot in the living room with a controller. Even Valve is onto this and trying to make PC gaming more accessible but they don’t have the brand identity of Xbox or trillion dollar daddy company AND they’re trying to do everything with Linux. Still didn’t take much though for the Steam Deck to immediately become the face of PC handhelds.

1. Exclusives are NOT the biggest sellers or the most popular games. Therefore, exclusives are not the reason that people buy into a console to begin with.
2. You’ve decided to buy a console and now you have to choose which one to get

Exclusives are now the most important factor.

Both statements are true. I hope this helps people understand that exclusives are still critically important when deciding which console to get, even though those games are not the biggest ones that people care about or get them into gaming in the first place.

Sony will cringe and foam at the mouth if Xbox Helix is able to play Spiderman, GOW, Horizon, TLOU, pretty much all the big PlayStation single player hits and their sequels through Steam. We all know they are protective.

That’s why they backed away from PC releases and next is delisting what’s currently there. Sales have likely levelled off for those games and they will delist them before Helix comes out.

Anyone who already has the games on Steam will keep them and even be able to play them on Helix but Sony will ensure that there’s never an instance of someone buying an Xbox and then afterwards buying a single player Sony game on it.

I have a lot of controllers but this is basically what it comes down to for me:

- G7 Pro 8K which I consider my “modern gaming” controller

- 8bitdo Pro 3 which I use for retro/2D/3D platforming gaming

Nowadays I start up a game and then decide which one to go with. Sometimes a game isn’t even retro but it just feels right to play with the Pro 3. And anything that has a more mature vibe I usually use the G7 Pro.

The Dpad is really what did it in for me. It’s so bad. I probably won’t even go above 1000hz so the 8K thing for me is just future proofing at best. The newer sticks and concave face buttons is a factor that helped feed the devil on my shoulder. Upgraded Gyro and rumble motors. And having full PC macros on it could help out one day. All the tiny details slowly drag me into buying the damn thing.

And I like the way it looks. Who else here is upgrading or already has? Was it worth it to you?

They just have to be the number 1 choice for people getting into PC

Here’s the why and how:

- Having BC with older games would be a nice perk for new people and an essential feature for everyone already on Xbox consoles carrying over huge game libraries.

- Likely to be smaller and better looking than a generic desktop tower

- Pricing would likely be better

- Comes with an Xbox controller which is already the most popular controller on PC

- Easy to use, controller-centric UI

- Have everything Xbox by default but let people use it freely as a regular PC and get things like Steam

- Game Pass codes bundled in could also be used so that more people play their very first games on the Xbox store. Instead of them just passing by to get to Steam (which MANY will do anyways it’s inevitable).

It wouldn’t be near PS6 sales but this could be a good camping spot to just throw a net on new PC players and see what happens.

I have a suspicion that Helix’s purpose is to just get all the current Xbox players transitioned over to PC and then kill dedicated Xbox hardware. Helix will be the last Xbox. They even say that Xbox players are frustrated with Xbox on PC. Which, of course, no console player is actually frustrated with that. But Asha says that because what they actually mean is Xbox console players aren’t ready to be forced into PC yet. They jumped the gun too early on “everything is an Xbox” but it’s still their goal.

What they will do is make Helix have everything that the console does and then after that they’ll make it so any Windows PC can essentially be turned into an Xbox with an upgraded Xbox app. Helix will eventually just be a PC that you buy directly from Microsoft that boots up straight into the Xbox app.

Now there’s no reason for them to even make a budget Xbox device. Any cheap PC can be your budget Xbox. Xbox can be as powerful or as weak as you want it to be. And they’ll tout it as a big change that allows for players to have unlimited freedom with what they choose to play on.

I’ve seen it come up before and was curious what people think. Who would line up to buy Xbox? It would cost well over $100 billion so that gives us an idea on what kind of entity would have to be interested that can even afford it. I think this would lead to new owners who are just as bad, if not worse than Microsoft.