Microsoft: Xbox One's Lifespan is 10 Years "Conservatively"

Cognimancer

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Jun 13, 2012
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Microsoft: Xbox One's Lifespan is 10 Years "Conservatively"



Microsoft believes the Xbox One has enough staying power to last for over a decade.

The last console generation was a long one, clocking in at eight years now. Despite the fact that most previous console generations were significantly shorter, Microsoft is ready to keep playing the long game. According to Craig Flannagan, Microsoft Canada's Xbox director of marketing, the Xbox One has an expected lifespan of over ten years.

"Xbox One is going to start ahead, in terms of the experience we can deliver," Flannagan boasts. "And because we're built for the future, we're going to stay ahead ... And it's probably going to be a pretty long generation. We're probably here for a while because we're built for the future. This is a console that will last you conservatively a decade, if I had to put a bet down today."

It's not unreasonable to plan for another lengthy cycle, with the consoles' improvements starting to run into diminishing returns. At the same time, there's more demand than ever - Flannagan reports that Xbox One preorders are coming in at more than double the Xbox 360's numbers.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the initial batch of consoles will even survive ten years, let alone stay relevant. The Xbox 360 was not known for its reliability - I'm not convinced that there are any original 360s in existence that haven't suffered a Red Ring of Death in the eight years since their launch - but Flannagan says he feels "great" about the Xbox One's hardware.

That ten-year timer starts in just two weeks, when the Xbox One launches on November 22.

Source: Games Industry [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-11-06-xbox-one-will-last-conservatively-10-years-says-microsoft]

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Hazy992

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Aug 1, 2010
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But if games are struggling to get beyond 720p and in some cases (looking at you, DR3) 30FPS now, where's that going to leave the console in a few years time? Never mind 10 years, the Xbox One is going to struggle to keep up for even five at this rate.
 

Phrozenflame500

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Dec 26, 2012
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Comparing what I've heard of the xBone's specs compared to PC hardware this makes me shiver.

Let's hope to God this trend of sub-1080p games are due to poor optimization and not the actual hardware.
 

Do4600

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Oct 16, 2007
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And yet they're starting it off with call of duty at 720p instead of 1080p? They think it will last 10 years? A product that lasts 10 years in the tech industry? I have no words to describe this depth of hubris.
 

TheEvilCheese

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Dec 16, 2008
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Any product in this industry staying relevant for 10 years? That sounds like some high-grade bullshit microsoft. Please don't pretend you have the specs to compete in 2020. That's just not realistic.
 

Caiphus

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Mar 31, 2010
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That estimate is as conservative as my ass is purple.

Only on Saturdays, after I've paid $300 to a Bavarian woman named Helga.

But seriously. It's coming out less powerful than $1000 PCs *now*. In 2024, oof, it's going to struggle.
 

josemlopes

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Jun 9, 2008
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I even see the PS4 struggling to stay alive 10 years so I cant really see where a console that isnt even released yet and already runs most games at 720/30FPS is going to keep up.
 

AldUK

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Oct 29, 2010
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Hahaha! Good one Microsoft! It has no chance, one of the facebook comments nailed it; phones and tablets will have surpassed the Xbone in 5 years, nevermind 10.

PS4 will destroy Xbox this generation and Microsoft's PC OS stranglehold is going to be seriously shaken very soon with Steam OS on the horizon (and many large developers pledging to develop for it, since it's Linux based)

So honestly, nevermind the console surviving 10 years, I wonder if Microsoft will even be in a position to develop another console in 10 years. This could very well be their last.
 

TimeLord

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Cognimancer said:
The Xbox 360 was not known for its reliability - I'm not convinced that there are any original 360s in existence that haven't suffered a Red Ring of Death in the eight years since their launch - but Flannagan says he feels "great" about the Xbox One's hardware.
Weirdly, I was over at my girlfriends house yesterday and her brother has a working original Xbox 360. I asked him about it and he said it has never suffered an RROD in its entire lifetime. He must have just been one of the lucky ones!
 

SpAc3man

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I seem to recall both Sony and Microsoft saying something similar about the PS3 and 360. Although it was more like 13 years.

They may be hopeful but I think developers will start to get a bit impatient in terms of hardware capabilities like they have with the current generation. 7 or 8 years will be my bet.
 

Sarge034

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Well I guess it could have a ten year lifespan... I guess it might be preserved if you don't open the box and keep it in the freezer.
 

Saulkar

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Sigh... Everyone else already pointed out what I primarily wanted to say so I will merely quip that the Steambox and Smartphones may force them to rethink this strategy (a potential long shot as the likeliness that their audiences will overlap is debatable) or PC gaming becomes more popular and thus more titles are downscaled from that point to work on consoles in which case I will simply not care.

Edit: I just wanted to add for no other reason than I felt like it; The Steambox still perplexes me. It is a PC made to look like a console with a controller that will work with a normal PC and an OS that you can easily Dual-Boot with your normal PC. You also upgrade it like a normal PC. I guess the appeal comes down to price, I have no idea how much it costs though and how it will compare against a similarly specced, prebuilt PC you can install the OS on is yet to be seen.
 

Evil Smurf

Admin of Catoholics Anonymous
Nov 11, 2011
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What this means is, my computer still won't need an upgrade :D Go shitty non future proof consoles :D
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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wombat_of_war said:
if they are having to limit games before the consoles are even released then i dont see how they are going to last 10+ years. if nothing else my new pc shouldnt need upgrading for the next decade or so at this stage
This was the case last gen as well, stuff like FEAR, Crysis (five years and a change of engine later) and TF2 were super cut back right at the beginning of this generation, makes sense the multi platforms games would be the same this generation, they've only got $400 worth of hardware to play with.

As for Microsoft's comments, pull the other one, they (and Sony) said exactly the same about this gen, they've made it to eight and seven respectively. I'm expecting the life of this gen to be shorter as 4k TVs start to appear and the scale of games goes up and up.
 

Xanyr

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Dec 5, 2007
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Ronack said:
Bullshit PR for people to buy their console, much like how they lied about this generation.
I gotta say... The Escapist seems to be shilling quite hard for the Xbox One... They haven't reported on recent negative news about the Xbox and there's a feature for the system right on the front page. I don't see a PS4 launch titles splash screen anywhere...
 

Vivi22

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fix-the-spade said:
As for Microsoft's comments, pull the other one, they (and Sony) said exactly the same about this gen, they've made it to eight and seven respectively. I'm expecting the life of this gen to be shorter as 4k TVs start to appear and the scale of games goes up and up.
Just for the record, when Sony says a console will last ten years, they don't mean that they'll go ten years without releasing it's successor. They mean they'll support it for ten years. They supported the PSX with games and continued system production for ten years. They did the same with the PS2. They're going to do the same with the PS3.

And if Microsoft weren't claiming the XBone will stay relevant for ten years I would say that was what they meant here as well. They probably will support it for at least ten years, but if the best consoles available in ten years are still the XBone and PS4, we're going to have a big problem.