Xbox consoles are here to stay: 'Hardware is a critical part of what we do'

If everything is an Xbox, why buy an actual Xbox console? Microsoft hopes that the system's functionalities and capabilities will be the selling point.

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The base Gen 9 consoles are very similar: Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X have the same chipsets and deliver similar performance. What sets them apart is their feature sets--the Xbox Series X/S, for example, has Quick Resume, whereas the PS5 has features like ultra-fast loading via its SSD technology.

This is really how Microsoft wants you to think about Xbox hardware, to judge Xbox consoles on the merit of their capabilities based on your play style. That means a more enthusiast box would be capable of targeting 4K 60FPS, a cheaper box 1440p 60FPS (and maybe even a handheld at 720p 30-60FPS), but more importantly, it means Xbox being able to set itself apart from the competition with its own features.

In a recent interview with Gamertag Radio, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer answers a simple question. Why should I buy an Xbox?

"I want people to pick hardware based on the capabilities of that hardware, and how that fits into the choices they want to make about where they want to play and we want our hardware to win based on the hardware capabilities that we have."

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Read more:Xbox Series X Review: Dream Machine

Xbox hardware isn't going anywhere, though. Despite it not being profitable, and despite Microsoft's Xbox console holiday sales revenues being down to their second-lowest point in the last 10 years, new Xbox hardware will continue to be made.

Xbox gaming president Sarah Bond had previously announced that a new Xbox console was in development:

"When we look at hardware, it's where you really get the flagship seminal experience of Xbox...What we're really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they're building."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had also told investors that Xbox would continue making innovations in hardware.

Spencer goes on to discuss more about Xbox hardware and how it fits into the future of the brand:

Our own hardware...it's fundamental to what Xbox is. It's not lost to me that I've said over and over that 'box' is in the name of our brand.

In the position I'm in, that I look at hardware as a critical part of what we do, but not trying to gate-keep games off of other places for the benefit of it. Let's go build innovative hardware that people want to use to play, whether that's in their hands, whether it's on their television or even other places.

I love our hardware team and I spent some time with them just this week, and the roadmap that they have, and I think we're learning a lot from this.

Like Steam Deck--what does it mean for our games to be there? What does Xbox mean on those platforms? I don't think we've tuned it perfectly yet, and it's spent a lot of time with the teams on that, but I want to make progress there.