There's a big comeback inbound for the Xbox One that will be as monumental and epic for Microsoft's entertainment Panzer as Rocky's comeback in Rocky II. Well, that's according to the IDC.
The International Data Corporation gave GamesIndustry.biz a highlighted preview of their upcoming report forecast for the video game industry over the next couple of years.
There is an expectation of continued growth for the PlayStation 4 that will see the console having an install base of 51 million by 2016. But there's something even more shocking that the IDC report extrapolates...
"The presumed unbundling of Kinect and Xbox One, which should facilitate rough price parity between it and the PS4, should lead to a spike in Xbox One sales; assuming the console and sensor are unbundled in 2015, IDC expects Xbox One to recover and emerge with the largest installed base of any console in North America by the end of 2016,"
Bwahaha – oh, wait, are they serious?
Sounds similar to when the analysts all believed the PS3 would dominate the market in 2010, which never materialized... ever.
There is a difference between these two scenarios, and it's how the systems are viewed by the general public. It's funny that some firms still think that the Xbox One's poor sales are entirely dependent on price. Yes, price has something to do with it, and yes taking out the NSA Spybox from the Xbox One will definitely help it appeal to a broader market, but the poor sales of the Xbox One is the result of something a lot more obvious... if you're a gamer: It's the core community punishing Microsoft for all their anti-consumer BS.
It's really that simple.
The Xbox One will eventually recover as more gamers forgive Microsoft, and the company rolls out more game-centric features. As it stands, the Xbox One is the least game-oriented home entertainment console on the market for hardcore gamers.
With Phil Spencer now in charge of the Xbox division it could mean that the turnaround and stronger focus on software could help boost the appeal of Microsoft's console.
Of course, the real topic of discussion is whether or not people will be inclined to purchase an Xbox One without Kinect? Unbundling the device removes all of Microsoft's touted “new generation” features such as voice commands and facial recognition. Essentially, Microsoft is losing a lot of their so-called “future” features at the cost of bringing the system down to a competitive price point with the PS4.
But would anyone want to pay the same price for a device and get something less? ...1,152,000 pixels less, to be exact.
I don't think removing features from an already underwhelming media box will help it on the market, but Microsoft will have to do something to boost the general appeal of the console, and we all know that watching TV on your TV isn't working out so well after people realized that they can get cheaper alternatives at a fifth of the cost of the Xbox One... like the Amazon Fire TV.
As for IDC's claim that the Xbox One will dominate 'Murica in 2016? Well, I'm sure someone has a really good meme for that one.
