Microsoft’s Xbox Strategy is the Most Inspiring Story of 2017 (Premium)

2017 was an amazing year for Microsoft by any measure. But my year-end recap leaves out a bigger, overarching story around Xbox that spans multiple news stories, decisions, announcements, events, and product releases and updates. It’s a narrative that spans multiple topics.

And it goes like this.

Losing the console wars is the best thing that ever happened to Xbox.

I know. That sounds crazy on the face of things.

But think about it. By not succeeding at the traditional corporate metric—units sold— in gaming, Microsoft was forced to rethink its entire strategy. In doing so, it is now approaching this market like a newcomer would, and not an established player. It is providing much more value to customers. And it is taking advantage of cross-platform integration that it may otherwise have handled more tepidly if at all.

Yes, I normally complain about Microsoft’s use of alternative metrics—for example, its “engaged user base” on Xbox Live—over what I think of as hard numbers. (I refer to this practice as “making lemonade.”) But in shifting gears and focusing on just making the platform better for everyone, because it has to, Microsoft has rewarded loyal and new Xbox gamers in completely new and exciting ways. And it has found a strategy by which Xbox can be successful. A win-win.

I’ve already argued that the doubter and haters are wrong about Microsoft’s Xbox strategy. In 2016, I called this then-nascent strategy “an audacious plan.” And in 2017, I called it a full-fledged turnaround. “Microsoft, finally, is doing the right thing for Xbox,” I wrote. “And, more important, for Xbox fans.”

Exactly.

Here are some of the wonderful and pro-customer advantages that Microsoft’s Xbox strategy has given us.

Backward Compatibility. All three Xbox console generations have run on different architectures, but Microsoft has always provided backward compatibility with previous generations, a wonderful gift to gamers who have invested in the platform over time. With Xbox One, this strategy reaches a new pinnacle, with the ability to play a growing library of both Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. Some of those latter games are almost 20 years old, folks.

Xbox Play Anywhere. After coasting for years in PC gaming, Microsoft has woken up to a key differentiator it can offer over the competition by providing digital purchasing rights, and cross-platform play, progress, saves, and achievements, across both Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. It’s called Xbox Play Anywhere, and with compatible titles, you can begin playing a game on an Xbox console, pick it up later on the PC, and then go right back to the console later still and never lose a step. Incredible.

Minecraft. As the poster child for Microsoft’s pan-Xbox dreams, Minecraft is a cross-platform and cross-generational success story for the ages. But Microsoft in 2017 took things to a whole other level when it made most of the many different versions of Minecraft—on Windows, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, mobile, whatever—compatible with each other. This means that Minecraft fans can play with and against each other regardless of which hardware each user owns. And it opens up the possibility of gamers bringing their created worlds with them as they move from platform to platform. No, this support isn’t perfect: Sony refuses to play along, sadly, and some older Minecraft versions won’t make the leap forward. But there is, perhaps, no better example of doing right by gamers than this.

Games with Gold. Xbox Live Gold provides various perks. But the best, perhaps, is Games with Gold, an initiative by which subscribers to the $60 per year service receive at least four free games every single month. Those games include two Xbox 360 games and two Xbox One games, but because the former are always Backward Compatible, that means they will work on Xbox One as well. This is an excellent way to build up a games library that will move forward with you.

Deals with Gold. Another Xbox Live Gold perk, Deals with Gold provides subscribers with savings of 50 to 75 percent on select game purchases. The selection changes regularly, and these aren’t toss-away games: As I write this, Injustice 2, Van Helsing: Double Pack, Shadow Warrior, Layers of Fear, and many other titles are all at least 50 percent off.

Xbox Game Pass. New to 2017, Xbox Game Pass is the hidden gem in Microsoft’s Xbox strategy: This affordable $9.99 per month subscription service provides access to a growing library of games that subscribers can download to their consoles and play as if they were owned outright. It’s sort of like Netflix for games—but not really, because you can’t stream the games—and an incredible, incredible value. This is especially great for those who prefer variety over bingeing on the same game over and over again.

Xbox One X Enhanced game titles. Those who upgrade to the Xbox One X, which provides 4K graphics, HDR colors, and Dolby Atmos surround sound capabilities, will find that it makes allgames better. But developers can also choose to specifically take advantage of those new capabilities by enhancing their existing or new games specifically for Xbox One X. And since so many have done so for their most popular Xbox One games already, gamers receive another great reward for their loyalty to the platform.

Xbox One S. Rather than replace the still-excellent Xbox One S with the more powerful Xbox One X, Microsoft has done the right thing and made its previous console a better value than ever. Yes, even Sony was smart enough to continue selling its non-4K PS4. But Microsoft has gone Crazy Eddie on the pricing of the Xbox One S, and it would be hard to find one for more than $200 and/or with any number of free games. This is a great way to get into Xbox cheaply now, knowing that all of your games will just get better whenever you do upgrade to Xbox One X.

It’s amazing when you look at this list collectively. There has never been a better time to be an Xbox fan and gamer.

And it’s only going to get better, I think.

Looking to the future, I can see that Microsoft is moving to a model where gaming is cloud-based and hardware agnostic, similar to what OnLive tried earlier but failed. There will always be doubters, and haters. But Microsoft’s cloud acumen is what will put this over the top. And it is energizing to realize that the software giant’s key capability for the enterprise, its most important customer base, is what will drive its future successes in gaming—with consumers—too.

And that’s ultimately what this is all about: As Chris Capossela said recently on Windows Weekly, Microsoft doesn’t see the enterprise and consumers as two different or opposing things. Instead, the firm sees ways in which advantages in one area can benefit the other. And with Xbox and gaming, in particular, it’s easy to see how this idea becomes a reality. And that the future, despite some setbacks and some down notes, looks mighty bright indeed.