Sometimes the discussions we have about software platforms and business strategies can seem like the cold and dry half of games criticism, while the games themselves feel like the true sources of interest, but after Microsoft’s briefing I’m more enthused talking about where they’re taking their console and compatibility than I am talking about the games. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the games, but the decisions Microsoft are making with Xbox as a platform speak to the grand, harsh, and ever-evolving conflict of the console industry. They have now all but abandoned the idea of the Xbox One as a media hub and a conduit for Kinect, and have turned their attention back towards the specs race, aiming to beat Sony at their own game by simultaneously offering more compact and more powerful machines. This may seem a complete left turn for Xbox, but it’s more of a new chapter in the same story they’ve been telling since they began conceptualising the Xbox One.

Consoles are financially threatened on all sides by media streaming services, PCs, televisions, and social networks, and Microsoft have been fighting hard against possible distractions from the Xbox as an entertainment product. They tried to kick back by making the Xbox One the frontend for anything you did with your TV or streams, and by providing features other platforms wouldn’t be able to replicate. The theory went that if all your shows and movies were being piped through the Xbox One before they got to your TV, Microsoft would retain a certain degree of control over your living room, and if you could only play Xbox console exclusives and use Kinect on the Xbox One, nothing else was never going to be a one-to-one substitute.

There is still that media integration in the Xbox One, but notice that for the first time in a long time there wasn’t a word in Microsoft’s E3 briefing about streaming services or sports networks, and we know that the Kinect is now given only minimal support in the Xbox One OS. This year their conference became all about showcasing more developed versions of the Xbox One, and working out more ways to link people, platforms, and games to it over the internet. As I’ve seen a few people point out, this seems to be Microsoft admitting that their original vision for the machine was flawed and that Sony’s approach of manufacturing the most powerful console with the best online services was always the way to go.

Not only would this mean Sony arguably “won” the first half of this generation, but it would also declare that Microsoft surrendered to the forces of live television and digital streaming platforms, or at least radically scaled back their attempts to control and subvert them. Still, that does not mean that they can’t now try to prevent Sony and the rise of PC gaming undermining their business. There may be a limited extent to which they can stop customers choosing the powerful and more customisable PC over the Xbox, but the high-end Project Scorpio console will discourage it, and will give people far fewer reasons to pass over the Xbox One for the PS4. Plus, where Microsoft can’t stop people choosing the PC over console, what they can do is try to control the PC. Windows 10 is being forced onto users to an insidious extent and the company are looking to build a walled garden for games within the OS. At the same time, making games cross-compatible between Windows 10 and Xbox One means that while you ultimately decide what platform you play on, Microsoft can give you an extra incentive to stay tied to their platforms. If you have an Xbox One and are looking for a gaming PC, you might be more likely to make sure your OS is Windows 10 when you know you’ll be able to play all your compatible One games on it immediately. Similarly, if you have a gaming PC but are looking for a console, the Xbox One will have all your purchases available for it, just waiting to be loaded up.

Of course, the risk with releasing a higher-end version of your current console is that devs will mostly end up developing for that model and not for your earlier, technically weaker version of the same machine. This would leave users of the less powerful platform without many of the biggest releases, dividing the consumer base. While the impression on-stage was that all games developed for the Scorpio would also function on the base Xbox One, a Microsoft rep more recently stated in a YouTube Gaming interview that that could change in the future, which may mean it’s only a matter of time until we see that division. As for the actual games shown at the Microsoft conference, most speak for themselves. There’s only a couple I feel like I have anything particularly interesting to say about.

One of those games is Recore whose central concept of letting you move your ally’s consciousness between different robot bodies is a slick idea. Games where you have a creature-like sidekick often convey a strong sense of camaraderie and friendship, but their gameplay can fail to evolve over time when that sidekick has a limited set of powers. Being able to change the fundamental nature of your bestial pal is an easy way to solve this problem and opens up plenty of opportunity for puzzles. Then there was my favourite game from the show so far: We Happy Few. It’s a title that feels like it’s reading from the same sheet as Bioshock and may well be a response to a new Bioshock game not having existed for four years now. The demo featured an evocative and well-realised dystopia with colourful but unsettling character design, and felt like it pulled particularly from Brave New World and A Clockwork Orange. The classic dystopian theme of a character who chooses to see the real rather than the pleasant feels vivid and alive in what they showed of that game. Someone not taking a pill so that they may see reality feels like a Reverse Matrix and the whole presentation was more about showing than telling. We need more of that this year. Thanks for reading.

P.S. The Xbox One S should come in at least one design apart from all-white. It’s going to be really weird if you can order Xbox One controllers in every colour under the Sun, but not even be able to get a black version of their new console.

P.P.S. Have you taken your Joy?