- Xbox Series X vs. PS5: Xbox head Phil Spencer says he feels good about the Xbox Series X after watching the PS5 Future of Gaming event earlier this month.
- Spencer says that not only will the Xbox Series X have a hardware advantage over the PS5, but also thinks games will be “a strength for [Xbox Series X] at launch.”
- Microsoft will hold a major Xbox Series X first-party games showcase in July.
When it comes to rolling out information about the next generation of video game consoles, Microsoft and Sony have taken divergent paths up to now. Microsoft has been an open book, revealing the design, features, and specifications of the Xbox Series X, while Sony was all but silent until its PS5 event in June, where we saw tons of next-gen games in action and got our first glimpse of the hardware. We have yet to see either company take aim at the other, but last week, Phil Spencer stirred the pot a bit with some interesting Xbox Series X vs. PS5 comments.
Last Wednesday, Phil Spencer participated in the Gamelab Live keynote to discuss the state of the industry ahead of the new generation, and was asked to comment on Sony’s huge event. After revealing that he watched the show and sent Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan a congratulatory note, he explained why it made him even more confident in the Xbox Series X’s ability to compete with the PS5 (via Video Games Chronicle):
Just being honest, I felt good after seeing their show. I think the hardware advantages that we have built are going to show up as we’re talking more about our games and frame rates and other things.
I thought the games line-up that we’re going to have at launch I felt really good about, and we got more clarity on what they’re doing at their show which just helped us focus in on more of what we have, and I think that will be a strength for us at launch.
So I thought they did a good job, I thought they do what they do very well and they did that, but when I think about the position that we’re in, with the games that we’re going to be able to show and how they’re going to show up, and the hardware advantage that we have, I think we’re in a very good position.
Spencer has been refreshingly honest throughout his tenure as the head of the Xbox brand, and if he was unfazed by the incredibly well-received PS5 Future of Gaming event from Sony, that bodes well for future Xbox Series X owners. We’ve known for quite some time that the Xbox Series X will have more raw power than the PS5, but Spencer also suggests that the library of games on Xbox Series X at launch might upstage the PS5.
Microsoft stumbled with its first Xbox Series X games showcase, promising gameplay from next-gen titles and instead delivering pre-rendered footage from smaller third-party titles. Spencer says that the team has “taken feedback” (most of which was not especially positive) from that underwhelming May event and believes that fans will be much more enthused by the July showcase. “Halo Infinite will be a big part of it,” Spencer added.
