The Xbox One X is an extremely powerful system, and a far more accomplished piece of hardware than any other console currently on the market. So it’s a bit of a shame that it will be hamstrung by Microsoft not allowing any games that can leverage it fully- since each game will also have to run on the base Xbox One system. In a sense, it almost feels like a waste of all that power, right?
Paul Norris of Mad Fellows games, the developers of Aaero, disagrees, and he feels that not allowing for exclusives is the right move. “I don’t think Microsoft are holding back the Xbox One X,” Norris said. “If developers made games at 1080p that pushed the hardware then, of course, they’d be better than the current console but I don’t think that’s the objective with the One X.
“To run the games we are playing now on the Xbox One in 4K and at 60fps takes a considerable amount of extra power. I think that the Xbox One X is well suited to meet that particular challenge. To do this without alienating those that aren’t ready to upgrade yet is a good move, in my opinion.”
He does make sense- Microsoft, after all, have specifically designed the Xbox One X to run existing Xbox One games in 4K (which means it might not be good enough to run new exclusives appreciably better than existing consoles). Moreover, by making the Xbox One X a new console so soon after the Xbox One launched, Microsoft might risk alienating their most loyal base.
So, yes, it would have been good if Microsoft had made the Xbox One X a new console entirely- but given the larger context surrounding how things stand, I suppose it is for the best that they did not, and that they went the route they did. Now whether or not it pays off for them is something that remains to be seen.
Stay tuned for our full interview with Paul Norris in the coming days. In the meantime, check out a couple of gameplay videos from Aaero below.