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Don’t Expect Xbox VR As Microsoft’s Phil Spencer Says Xbox Is “Focused On Software”
Virtual reality is an ever-growing platform that enables people to play games in new ways. It brings us experiences we wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise, such as playing through Valve's Half-Life: Alyx, and it gives us new ways to play old classics, like Resident Evil 4 VR on the Oculus Quest 2.
While virtual reality continues to expand in the gaming space, it’s nowhere near as popular as traditional video game console experiences, and it’ll likely remain that way for now. That’s why Xbox is remaining committed to software, rather than hardware such as virtual reality, this generation, according to Xbox head Phil Spencer.
“I think that the hardware innovation that’s happening is great and it’s an important enabler, [but] right now, I’m deciding to stay more in the software side of that enablement,” Spencer said during the Wall Street Journal Tech Live event, as reported by Video Games Chronicle. “I believe it will scale better in the long run.”
This falls in line with Spencer and all of Xbox’s commitment to Xbox Game Pass this console generation. Just today, Xbox announced that Age of Empires 4, The Forgotten City, and more would be coming to Xbox Game Pass this month, bolstering the service’s already massive lineup of games yet again.
Spencer even nodded to Sony’s PlayStation VR hardware during the WSJ Tech Live event, citing that he applauds what Sony, Oculus, and Valve are doing in the VR space.
“[We’re] gonna stay as a company right now in the consumer space focused on software, and I think that’s a good bet,” he said.
The Xbox head also alluded to the fact that many VR hardware platforms use Microsoft-developed Windows, so in a way, VR experiences are making their way to consumers of Microsoft products. Spencer said they “talk to a lot of partners that are there,” too.
Do you think Xbox should jump into the virtual reality space? Let us know in the comments below!
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