What I'd like Xbox to improve in 2022

Every year at E3, the heavy weights of the gaming industry outline their plans for the remainder of the year, announcing new games, features, and hardware. With Microsoft enjoying some solid momentum on the dorsum of the powerful Xbox One 10, it'll be interesting to see how Redmond leverages its resources equally information technology takes on Sony's PlayStation and a remarkably resurgent Nintendo.

Whether or not these are the smart choices is upwardly for debate, merely here are a few things I would like to see Microsoft improve in 2022, as nosotros move through the yr.

ane. Games offer

Quantum Break: awesome, underrated.

I think first and foremost, Microsoft needs to move to reassure fans that it is capable of delivering "AAA" experiences that have become synonymous with Sony'due south PlayStation in recent years. Microsoft had a fairly strong showtime early, but information technology hasn't had much luck with its first-party portfolio in full general, save for the genre-dominating Forza series, and titles similar Gears of State of war 4.

Hopefully, Microsoft will brainstorm to outline how it plans to win gamer'due south affections with its exclusive portfolio.

New IP like Quantum Interruption, RYSE, and Sunset Overdrive didn't seem to capture the audience's imagination in a way Microsoft likely wanted, despite being decent in their own rights.

Microsoft has found success licensing exclusivity rights over titles like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Cuphead, but when it comes to photorealistic activity games that take hold of headlines and, presumably sell consoles and drive the perception of ecosystem value, Microsoft is coming up short.

Things are looking up already for Microsoft, with Sea of Thieves capturing remarkable mindshare on streaming sites, chirapsia out titles like League of Legends and Overwatch for the tiptop spot. Microsoft also plans to release Crackdown three and State of Disuse 2 this year, with at least timed exclusivity for the intriguing Ashen.

Is Sea of Thieves an impending smash hit?

Hopefully, Microsoft will begin to outline how it plans to win gamer's affections with its sectional portfolio at E3. In previous years, Xbox lead Phil Spencer has noted how E3 is all about "games, games, games," and I doubt that sentiment is going to change this year. I just hope we see some big, bold, must-accept titles that can slam home the idea that Xbox is the all-time identify to exist, without sacrificing the range and genre variety Microsoft has put forward in more recent years.

2. Xbox Live communities, and that pesky Xbox app

As Xbox's platform squad works to improve other areas, such equally dashboard performance, other aspects that have been a tad neglected are condign a little more obvious. The Xbox app for Windows x and other platforms is a pet peeve of mine, for it's unbearably slow speed, awkwardness, and more often than not poor usability.

Redmond could be doing a lot more than in this surface area to provide a quality feel for Xbox gamers away from their consoles.

Nowhere is this more credible than Windows x itself, where the Xbox app is prone to crashing (particularly on the Game Clips page), while existence miserably slow to navigate, as though yous were struggling through a lake of treacle. Because Microsoft uses engagement to illustrate Xbox's growth and success, Redmond could exist doing a lot more in this area to provide a quality experience for Xbox gamers away from their consoles.

Discord has become the de-facto way to create and engage gaming communities online and mobile. Microsoft had both Skype and Xbox Live years before Discord fifty-fifty existed, which marks Discord'south ascension equally a spectacular failure on Redmond's part. If Microsoft could set the speed and usability of its Xbox Club systems, and its apps, information technology might have a shot at catching upwardly. But as with many things Microsoft, information technology may be likewise belatedly.

three. PC gaming and the Windows 10 Microsoft Store

Speaking of "likewise tardily," it would be overnice if Microsoft at least attempted to make meaningful improvements to its frequently-derided app and game shop.

Gamers hate the Microsoft Store, and they have plenty of reasons to do so.

Many improvements to the Microsoft Shop (previously known equally the Windows Shop) hinge on OS updates and platform features that simply aren't there yet. The app offer is an entirely different topic that I'm well enlightened Microsoft can't ready overnight (but, they are making steps, recently announcing PWA back up). When it comes to games themselves, you but demand to scan YouTube comments about Age of Empires Definitive Edition, which is a Microsoft Store exclusive, to get an idea about how people feel about this store. Gamers hate the Microsoft Shop, and they have enough of reasons to practice so.

If Microsoft ever has a prayer of casting off any of the Win32 legacy that shackles Windows and prevents it from competing with more modern operating systems, getting gamers on board is an absolute must. Gamers drive PC growth, they represent some of Microsoft's nigh hardcore, savvy, and influential users, and Microsoft has pretty much done everything in its power to alienate them over the years. And it'south a shame, because UWP as it pertains to PC gaming has some truly corking features, such as Xbox Play Anywhere, Xbox cantankerous-play, and more.

Hopefully, 2022 will marker at least some course of meaningful growth and development in this surface area, peculiarly if Microsoft has any desire to win over PC gamers.

4. Xbox hardware

With Kinect vanquished, I retrieve we absolutely have to run across some form of defended speaker play for Xbox I this twelvemonth. For millions who purchased the OG Xbox One back in 2022, Microsoft made a hope that the Xbox 1 wasn't just a console, but the center of your home entertainment organisation. Without Kinect, that vision is a total bust.

The failure to capitalize on the Xbox's Cortana possibilities is staggering, and a continued bespeak of perplexity for yours truly.

The Xbox I picked upwardly Cortana digital assistant support a couple of years ago, and her capabilities are practically non-existent without a microphone. Yous tin can use a headset microphone, of course, only sometimes when you're sitting in your living room playing games solo, y'all simply don't desire to exist wearing ane.

Microsoft'southward failure to position Cortana has practically given the connected speaker marketplace away to Amazon, who take come to boss it with their Repeat devices and their own digital banana, Alexa. Alexa is even encroaching on Windows itself at present, coming to PCs throughout 2022, and I wouldn't exist surprised if it comes to Xbox also some mean solar day. Microsoft has all the tools and software features in place to make Xbox an incredible abode automation eye, hooking in Cortana to command IoT devices, your Telly via the IR blaster on the Xbox One Due south and 10, and across. The failure to capitalize on the Xbox'southward Cortana possibilities is staggering, and a continued point of perplexity for yours truly.

Beyond Cortana, we're likely going to come across an updated Xbox 1 Elite controller this year, bringing in some much-needed refinements to the previous model. Hopefully Redmond can solve the quality issues with the original version, which suffered from wear and tear on the rubber grips and triggers.

A new Xbox Elite Controller is probably coming this year.

Heading off into more than speculative territory, it would be absurd to see new Xbox One 10 SKUs this twelvemonth as well, perhaps with expanded HDD infinite, or fifty-fifty a slimmed down version which omits the Blu-ray bulldoze. However, to do that, they would need to better the Microsoft Store for 4K content, which leads me onto my adjacent point.

5. Movies & Idiot box, where is the 4K goodness?!

Microsoft trumpeted "4K" with choral enthusiasm all throughout 2022, only when it comes to movies Microsoft's 4K offerings are, well, pathetic. Almost every new movie hitting the Microsoft Store is available in SD or HD versions, with only a handful coming in 4K. Apple tree, on the other hand, announced last yr that they would be updating every Hd moving-picture show purchase from iTunes to 4K for free as the higher resolution copies became available. Apple lists around 300 4K HDR movies in iTunes, Microsoft has maybe a dozen — what'due south the deal hither?

Non only that, but Microsoft's maligned store was also left out of the Movies Anywhere party, which is a new consortium that aims to bring titles from Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, and more than, under a unmarried roof. The very notion of investing in Microsoft's store for digital entertainment content might seem a risky proposition in general considering what happened to Groove Music, and Microsoft'south (lack of) endeavor to improve the range of 4K titles available, combined with the Movies Anywhere fiasco, doesn't exactly bode well. Hopefully, Microsoft will piece of work to improve things in 2022.

Wrapping up

On the whole I'm more than happy with my Xbox One, and the things it does well it does very well indeed. Third-political party multiplatform games almost e'er wait ameliorate on the Xbox One X, Xbox Live is arguably the most stable and user-friendly of all the major gaming platforms, and the features, from Xbox Backwards Compatibility, Play Anywhere, and now Xbox Game Pass, have just been getting better and ameliorate.

Where Xbox goes from hither is anyone's guess, only I think 2022 will exist an heady 1 for Microsoft, every bit Gaming EVP Phil Spencer moves to implement his vision now every bit part of Microsoft'south senior leadership team.

Where practise yous think Xbox is declining? Where would you lot similar to see improvement? Let us know in the comments.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/improving-xbox-in-2018

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