@darkghosthunter One aspect of next gen that will be interesting to pay attention to is how digital purchases will work going forward. We know Microsoft wants games to support cross-buy (to work on both the Windows Xbox app and Xbox consoles) but what happens if the next gen Xbox can run both (either via a compatibility layer, or by just mandating cross-buy going forward)?

On one hand, one of the biggest incentives to purchase games digitally on Xbox over other consoles for me is because games will often work on both my Xbox console as well as my gaming rigs (which are both dual-boot).

However, if Xbox purchases effectively become Windows Store purchases for everything going forward, and the next gen Xbox can play games from other digital store-fronts too, I might as well just get all of my games from GOG or Steam. That way, I can play them on Xbox, or my gaming rigs using either operating system — not just Windows.

It will also be so much harder for Microsoft to sell GamePass subscriptions, when everyone can play all of the games they got from Epic Store at no cost, and the Xbox app has nothing on Steam. That people are basically forced to ask questions about problems with Xbox versions of games on the Steam forums speaks volumes. PC GamePass already has to cost less than the regular console version because of these kinds of issues. It will be interesting to watch how Microsoft attempts to navigate these waters.

They'll likely use a next gen handheld to completely transition away from consoles from that point onwards (with successors just being Windows machines with an Xbox dashboard component like Steam's Big Picture mode) so it opens up the possibility for Microsoft to exit the the console business relatively cleanly after that, if they decide to throw in the towel and just focus on selling AAA games.