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Just need to allow Xbox consoles to dual boot into Windows 11 and that will solve all demand problems.

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Reportedly, Phil Spencer (Microsoft Gaming CEO) wants to allow alternate app stores on Xbox consoles:

https://www.polygon.com/24108670/xbox-epic-games-store-phil-...

That would be a huge competitive advantage for Xbox, IMO.

Bring them on, squeeze out the other stores from the marketplace, and then make the terms worse over time.

This seems like an obvious strategy. Xbox's are basically high-end PCs already, they just need the software and more usb ports. Microsoft could corner the PC market even more than it does already.

Some people would still build their own PCs but I'm sure plenty of people would love a pre-built that doesn't suck.

Too bad we didn't stick with 10 being the last, then we'd have Windows X boxes.

So instead we get Windows Xi boxes?

That would not make any sense to Microsoft. Xbox consoles are sold at or close to manufacturing cost but it's worth it to MS because it locks consumers into their ecosystem that generates a lot of after-purchase revenue. Allowing windows on the Xbox would be equivalent to subsidizing a PC to consumers.

100% agree. Microsoft owns the de facto premium gaming platform, but has never been able to execute on a strategy that takes advantage of it. The money snapping up studios would have been much better spent putting in an aggressive offer to buy up Valve.

That would be one of the worst ideas for the future of PC gaming imaginable. Would it benefit Microsoft? Maybe. But it's not the future that platform independence is needing right now. It's impossible to trust them to execute Valve's vision. The only benefits in the purchase would be making Xbox a primary platform and killing Proton development for Linux.

Man, that would absolutely make the console a steal.

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