The next generation of Xbox consoles might still be more than a year off, but Microsoft is reportedly still looking to switch of up its hardware game in 2019. A new report from Thurrott suggests that the company has plans for a discless, entry-level Xbox One for release next year. This will be part of the Xbox One family and not the upcoming set of next-gen machines codenamed Scarlett.
The intent would appear to be budget-oriented, and according to Thurott Microsoft is looking to price the new machine at $200 or less. It is also apparently working on another version of the Xbox One S for those that remain committed to physical discs, and even the discless version would feature an accommodation for those players: a "disc-to-digital" program that will allow people to trade in physical game discs for digital download codes at Microsoft stores. Microsoft stepped in it with regards to game ownership at the beginning of this generation, and it doesn't appear exactly eager to repeat those mistakes here at the end of the Xbox One era.
The company is apparently still deciding whether or not Xbox Scarlett will feature a disc drive.
If true, the push towards cheaper entry-level hardware makes a lot of sense given Microsoft's current push towards subscription-based services. It's currently selling its traditional Xbox Live Gold accounts alongside the still relatively new Game Pass, which gives you access to a wide range of games for about $10 a month. That means that the company can be getting something like $20 a month from a fully outfitted customer even if that customer doesn't buy any other games or make any other purchases. Game Pass needs some scale to be viable, and that would appear to be why Microsoft is making such a strong price push towards getting more people on board with the ecosystem.
A disc-less Xbox One would seem like a Game Pass machine more than anything else. People could still buy other games, of course, but the idea of a low price alongside an instant collection of games could be a tantalizing prospect for someone that just wants to show up and play some modern games. Storage would be a major concern for a disc-less system, and I'd be curious to see where Microsoft ends up with that. in today's ecosystem, anything below 1 tb would be seen as a sort of let down.
Sony just announced its plans to skip E3 this year, but Microsoft doesn't appear to be doing any such thing. With these reports as well as a soft confirmation of the next set of machines, the company would appear to be pushing hard to recover some of the ground it lost during the reign of Don Mattrick.
