Push Online Gaming Further
Xbox Live has always been a cut above competing online gaming services, especially when it comes to consoles. Microsoft need to make sure that they maintain this lead. With Sony now charging for PS Plus subscriptions as mandatory to play games online with the PS4, they have now lost what was pretty much their only edge over Xbox Live. MS need to capitalise on this and continue to push Xbox Live as the dominant force in online gaming.
Further Promote Smart Glass
Second screen gaming is something all three major consoles seem to be gunning for, with the Wii U and its Gamepad, the PS4 and Vita, and Xbox One and Smart Glass. Though the other two are limited to specific peripherals (for the most part. I understand Sony have plans for tablet integration with PS4), Smart Glass functions using smart phones and tablets; devices most of us already have. This makes Smart Glass the most versatile of the second screen systems, a feature Microsoft will need to push.
Offer More Free to Play Games
Xbox One represents the future of gaming (potentially a bleak one), but many of its innovations are coming too soon. The move to digital content delivery is certainly advanced, but it comes at a time when many consumers aren’t yet ready to forego physical media entirely. That said, Microsoft’s push into free to play transaction models with the likes of Killer Instinct is a step in the right direction. Microtransactions and free to play games have become a decisive force in the PC market, one that consoles have yet to adopt successfully. If MS can do it with Xbox One, it will show that all their anti-consumer measures are just part of a unified push towards the future of gaming.
