Ed Fries believes that the Xbox One can beat the PlayStation 4, but Microsoft is going to need to execute in a number of key areas. Fries, co-creator of the original Xbox, recently outlined what he believes are the keys to Microsoft winning the console war against Sony.
They need better exclusive games than the PS4, among other things
Fries says that “They need better exclusive games than PS4. They need to be more open to indie developers. They need to adopt free to play gaming more agressively. They need to continue to move Xbox Live forward as the leading online service. They need to show people why they included the new Kinect on every machine by demonstrating a compelling use for it,” the developer said on Yabbly.
These five key points seem to be the same ones that Microsoft is currently addressing. While “better exclusives” will be a matter for debate, Microsoft has recently been more open to indie developers. We’ve also seen the company dipping their toes into the free-to-play genre. And Xbox Live has been bolstered with new technology for the Xbox One, as well as seen some premium perks added to it with the Games with Gold program.
As for the Kinect, Microsoft has still yet to really make believers out of many. There’s been very little on the game front that utilizes the Kinect camera, and the voice navigation functions on the console have been hit and miss since launch.
Fries also chimed-in on the Xbox One DRM fiasco from last year’s reveal. Fries says that “the digital distribution/DRM thing could have been fine if they had just used Steam as their model but they proposed something that wasn’t like Steam and wasn’t good for their customers.” Fries believes that Microsoft should have tailored the digital distribution model, instead of scrapping it completely.
While Microsoft is playing catch-up with the Xbox One, Sony has had the wind at their backs with the PlayStation 4. Since launch, hardware sales reports have seen Sony selling more consoles than Microsoft.
