Many fans are excited for the next generation of consoles and they seem to be boasting impressive upgrades from the current consoles. The current Xbox One consoles have had significant specs but early reports have suggested that the system will be discontinued. The team at Xbox has now shed some light on the situation although some iterations of the console still seem to have an uncertain future.
Despite its hardware, the Xbox One has been overshadowed by the PlayStation 4 and this is largely due to the number of exclusives the Sony console had. Some fans have been tempted by the console because of the expansive Xbox Game Pass library as well as its technical abilities, and many fans were disappointed upon hearing the news that the console may go out of production with the next generation.
Originally media outlet Press Start reported that listings for the Xbox One and Xbox One X had been removed from Microsoft's site. This was supported by retailers EB Games and JB Hi-FI confirming that they could not reorder stock for the Xbox One X system and Amazon no longer listing any version of the console as available in the UK or US. However, there seems to have been a misunderstanding. The Business Planning Lead at Xbox, Dan Tavares, has responded to queries on Twitter and stated that the Xbox One S is "very much still available." Tavares went on to explain that "We just changed SKU numbers" before adding that Amazon "is just messy in how they show products." Despite this explanation of the availability of the Xbox One S, there are still questions from fans of the console franchise.
It is unclear whether the Xbox One and Xbox One X will still be available in the future and the slowing and ceasing of production would align with the release of a new console. Realistically a new console will limit the need for the old consoles and having the cheaper less powerful console as the only option may appeal to casual gamers who are not particularly interested in specifications or the latest titles. This could be a smart decision if the Xbox Game Pass is continued for this generation, as players may want a subscription service on a cheaper console that delivers quality games.
It will be interesting to see if the high performing Xbox One consoles are being discontinued, but it would make sense as demand will slow as the new generation is revealed. Nevertheless, some players would like to have access to all consoles as their budget allows.
Source: gameindustry.biz