Microsoft revealed an interesting bit of information over the weekend regard the Xbox Series X|S consoles. According to company, the Xbox Series X|S has outsold all previous Xbox consoles at this point in their lifecycle. This is despite the chronic shortages plaguing the consumer electronics industry, a quality that’s more or less inline with other home entertainment devices. Xbox’s Phil Spencer cited the greater amount of people staying home as at least partly responsible for the increase in consumer interest. He also seems confident that Microsoft will be able to sell an even greater number of systems once supply problems are eventually alleviated.

This all makes sense. If more people spend more time at home, then they’ll naturally look for more ways to entertain themselves there. For all we known, these past couple of years could have minted untold number of new video game enthusiasts. Xbox is hardly the only system that’s benefitted from people spending more time at home, both Switch and PS5 have seen at least as much interest in the past couple of years. While this is certainly great for Microsoft, I’m not so sure it’s good for everyone. As a lifelong gamer, I’m concerned about all the people coming in who have no idea of what the hobby used to be like. That is, they don’t know a time before live service models and getting nickeled and dimed for every little thing. How many will simply think ” this is just how it is” and buy into the all the microtransactions? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that more people are enjoying I love, but I worry that game publishers will take advantage.

I also wonder if it’s really a good thing that we’re retreating indoors as a society. Regardless of whatever dangers may lurk outside, is it really healthy for most of us to spend most of our time in our homes? I realize there’s a certain irony in a gamer asking that question, but still. I don’t think life can be lived online. All the video, voice and text capability in the world pales in comparison to real, in-person interaction, and digital adventure is no substitute for real life exploration. I think this’ll even hold true once true virtual reality is realized. Eh, that’s enough waxing philosophical for one post. Congrats to Microsoft, and here’s hoping we can all achieve a good balance in our lives between the digital and the actual.

Have you been enjoying one of the new Xbox consoles? What do you think about the state of gaming?

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