The Xbox Series X is just a few months away from release and, like with the PS5, console gamers are faced with one giant question: should I upgrade? There are many factors related to this question, including price, launch games, and more. But at the heart of the question is one core idea, that being how meaningful a step forward the new console is. And while Xbox boss Phil Spencer may not be an unbiased source to ask this question, he's nevertheless confident in his response. Spencer says that, having upgraded to the Xbox Series X, it's "hard to go back."
It deserves to be clarified that when Spencer says he's upgraded to the Xbox Series X, he means just that. Not only has Spencer been playing games on prototype Xbox Series X hardware for months, but he's now officially upgraded to a retail version of the console. He says he recreated the "experience" a typical Xbox buyer would have, opening the box, setting the Xbox Series X on a new TV, putting batteries in the new controller, and so on. He's perhaps one of the few to have the authentic experience of picking up and owning an Xbox Series X.
Having had that Xbox Series X experience, Spencer lays out his experiences in an interview with Gary Whitta on the Animal Talking talk show. "It's a different experience," Spencer starts, clarifying one of the most important ideas when it comes to selling a new console -- that it's new and different than what's come before. "This generation will be more about feel than pure look," says Spencer, driving the idea that the "difference" he's experienced is something that can't necessarily be seen in trailers.
Spencer does lightly explain the driving factor behind this "feeling." It's not something intangible. Spencer says that the CPU upgrade for this generation of consoles, not to mention other hardware improvements, leads to frame rate and loading time differences. These are specific and easy to understand examples, but obviously game developers will use the more powerful console hardware in unique ways to enhance each game's gameplay in unique ways.
That's what Spencer means when he says that it's "hard to go back" to the Xbox One after using the Xbox Series X. He doesn't elaborate any further, but it's easy to see what he means. The Xbox Series X may not add any incredible new features. It's not jumping from standard-definition resolution to high-definition, though plenty will be stepping up from 1080p to 4K still. It's just a better console all around in tangible ways players will be able to experience on their own.
Whether that's enough to persuade Xbox users to upgrade is another matter entirely, but Spencer will tell anyone himself that outselling Sony and Nintendo in consoles isn't the company's goal right now. The Xbox Series X will be there for those who want the best Xbox console experience, but Xbox's priorities are earning gamers' business in other ways first, whether that be Game Pass, PC support, or otherwise.
The Xbox Series X launches holiday 2020.