I Saw The Future of Xbox Five Years Ago

In 2017 I went to The Schomburg in Harlem, an African American cultural landmark and hertigage space for the arts. I was attending the Game Devs of Color Expo with my brother to check out the scene and listen to some of the lectures that would take place that day. My brother and I were attending as fans of the industry and we had no particular expectations for the event. My brother a quiet, autistic kid who loves racing games and music and I a fan of the games industry in general. Also for the sake of this story I was Team Nintendo and my bro was Team Xbox.

The Schomburg is a beautifully designed space, sun light pours in through its large windows and pillars and staircases stretch up to the roof. Kiosks and art displays and kiosks line the walls offering up information. The Schomburg is a pretty place, but we weren’t there to look at photographs and paintings- today we were there for games.

What we found was a scene more like a convention- long tables set up with PCs and lots of people sitting and playing demos. The space had two dedicated spaces for attendees, downstairs where the main event with PC demos and a lecture hall and an upstairs where one could escape the crowds and still have a good view of the event.

To be honest my experience felt brief, walking through the doors and towards the upstairs area you’ve seen it all, but I had one particular experience that had little to do with the demos offered up or the lectures taking place. It was with a Microsoft Rep who was there to greet attendees and answer any questions people might have. Microsoft was a sponsor of the event and it surprised me to see one of the Big Three game platforms showing face for a small event.

It showed a side of Microsoft I didn’t expect to see. Their support of diversity and inclusivity touched me because at the time Microsoft and Xbox especially didn’t strike me as the type to show such support for a demographic that always feels like its struggling to be heard and acknowledged. Gamepass had just launched and Xbox was setting themselves up for a large transformation.

I spoke to the Microsoft Rep, forgive me I forgot the gentleman’s name, telling him about my history with games beginning with the NES and moving toward exclusively to handheld systems. I expressed my aversion to the Xbox platform, I was not into shooters back then and still not really drawn to titles like COD or Halo (Infinite was my first and I enjoyed the single player more than the multiplayer). Though for all my gripes and rebuttals I had for Mr. Microsoft I told them one thing I felt was their strongest asset, the one thing Nintendo or Sony didn’t have- it’s something they and everyone else from Amazon to Netflix wants too.

The infrastructure that powers Gamepass was just blossoming, but it’s wasn’t the formidable platform that 25 million gamers subscribe to. I realized that Xbox being the child of Microsoft had access to a lot of technology and tools that were developed in house. Amazon at the time was paying Microsoft for hosting information on their servers- that’s huge and couldn’t be ignored. Online gaming was only going to get bigger and the scope of managing that information would only grow. I felt that they were the only system developer in a particular position where they would dominate that aspect of the industry.

Fast forward to 2022- five years later Xbox is experiencing what is arguably their best moments. From announcing their acquisitions of Bethesda last year to the recent announcement with Activision Blizzard. Gamepass has grown exponentially in just six months with Cloud Gaming moving from PC to mobile platforms as well as their own consoles. They’ve set themselves up for a line of success by allowing access to their platform regardless of your system of choice. Five years ago I wouldn’t have thought the reality would be what it is today.

Microsoft was always looking ahead with Xbox. Their dream of being a fully realized platform for everyone has become something that was also expressed at The Schomburg that day. There’s a future for everyone’s dream to be realized.