The Xbox One will not be the final-generation of physical games consoles despite the continuing move to digital media, Microsoft has suggested.
Having launched last November, it has been widely suggested that the Xbox One, and rival PS4, could mark Microsoft and Sony’s last forays into a physical gaming space. However, one of the manufacturers has now revealed it does not expect this will be the case.
Responding to questions on Twitter, Phil Spencer, Vice President of Microsoft Studios, has claimed that gaming will always require new hardware despite the introduction of cloud media storage.
Asked “do you think Xbox One is the last console as "we know it"? Running on local hardware,” Spencer responded simply: “I don’t.”
He added: “I think local compute will be important for a long time.”
Showing his workings behind the bold claims, Spencer went on to use mobile platforms as an example of why new physical gaming options will still be needed in the future.
He stated: “You can look at mobile, connected to faster networks, more cloud services but local power still increases each gen.”
He added: “Bandwidth caps clearly an issue, still believe HW & SW engrs working together will find local HW scenarios critical.”
It is not expected that any Xbox One replacing hardware will launch for at least another five years.
Despite Microsoft’s claims, the company recently confirmed it almost took the first step to remote gaming hardware by launching the Xbox One without a physical disc drive before changing its mind.
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