Original Xbox Boss Believes Next Gen Consoles Will Be Digital Only
In an expansive interview with Geekwire, original Xbox boss Robbie Bach has explained how he believes that the next generation of consoles will shun physical media and instead focus completely on providing content digitally.
When he was asked by the website whether he thought future consoles would use physical media, he said: “Probably not, so how does that look? Is it just a game box or is it more? What’s the balance between what an Apple TV is and what an Xbox or a PlayStation 4 is? These are really interesting questions, and the teams going to have to wrestle with those. That next generation will be a whole new game.”
Bach spent 22 years at Microsoft and was made the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at the company. In that role, he was primarily responsible for developing and designing the Xbox, Xbox 360, Zune and Windows Games and helped launch the computer and software business into the video games market. He held that position until 2010 when he retired and left Microsoft to concentrate on public speaking and academic interests.
He also gave his insights into the future of virtual reality and the challenges it faces to become a viable commercial venture. Speaking to the website he went on to explain some of the problems virtual reality technology faces to become an accepted media format.
“My observation is that the key question is commercialization. I think that the technology and the concept is wicked. I mean really powerful, and not just in gaming. The problem is, right now, you’ve got to walk around looking like a complete goofball wearing this crazy thing on your head. You look like you should be in a Star Wars movie. By the way, they have problems with people getting sick using it. There’s certain conditions where it’s really tough. They have to figure out how to commercialize it.”
Finally, Bach weighed in on the debate surrounding whether Microsoft should look to sell its Xbox division or spin it off as a separate company. Some shareholders have recently called for the company to look into doing exactly that, but the former boss believes that this would be a mistake as the Xbox and software divisions share technology and are very closely intertwined.
“I don’t think it really matters because I think Microsoft has been pretty definitive about the direction they want to go. They spent a lot of money on Minecraft. They’ve been very definitive about restructuring the group to put Phil Spencer in charge and he really is running the business now. I think they’re investing in the games. I think it’s somewhat of a moot point.
“I also point out, people don’t realize how intertwined the Xbox business is with Microsoft technology. It’s not a simple thing. I think Xbox as a standalone business would have its own set of challenges.”