Speaking in an interview with Xbox 360 Achievements Microsoft UK Xbox & Entertainment Director, Stephen McGill shared the company’s outlook on the future of the console.
“I think there’s still a lot of legs left with the Xbox 360, so we’re years away from contemplating what comes next,” said McGill.
Microsoft clearly has plans to increase the longevity of the console, and McGill gave an example of how this has been taking place since its launch in 2005. “With Xbox 360 we constantly innovate with the current console you have, through extra services on Xbox Live that we can pump down the service, then obviously with Kinect; that’s a massive game-changer for the industry, transforming what entertainment in games can be for friends and family.”
Although it seems like only yesterday gamers were shelving the original Xbox behemoth and adopting the sleek new model, the Xbox 360 has already been around for five years. Hobbyist gaming industry pundits may be expecting a new system altogether and a revision of the existing hardware at the very least.
Microsoft believes that the Xbox 360S and the Kinect is this revision however – European MS executive, Chris Lewis has previously stated: “with this new sleek design and Kinect for Xbox 360 we’ve got at least another five years of this generation where we continue to offer great experiences for people.”
The device probably owes part of its long lifespan to the Xbox LIVE service, which has continued to evolve since inception. “Xbox Live is a phenomenal heart within the Xbox 360 and it’s been built from the ground up. I think people were surprised when we brought broadband gaming in the box from the word go, and we believe in that and have proven that the model works; it’s a great success and everyone’s enjoying it,” said McGill.
“It’s moved from being a purely online gaming service to supporting gaming and broader entertainment. It’s moved to movies and it’s moved to TV, so you’ll continue to see us move down that path as well as continuing to enhance all the gaming dedicated focus, like for fans of Halo and core gamers,” said McGill, speaking about the future of the LIVE gold subscription service.
“[Core gamers] need great gaming experiences and we’re going to keep delivering that in spades and keep adding great entertainment for friends and family, so something for everyone!” McGill concluded.
Loading ...
