Xbox Chief Says Amazon & Google are its “Main Competitors”

I think if you were to ask most people to name the three biggest names in console gaming at the moment, they would all probably say Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Fair enough, right?

Well, apparently, while that may be the case today, in a report via The Verge, Microsoft’s Xbox Chief Phil Spencer believes that in the future, this will change to Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

Xbox Chief Phil Spencer – ‘Amazon and Google are ‘The main Competitors Going Forward’

So, initially, you might think that he’s said this to merely snub the fact that, at the moment, the PS4 has outsold the Xbox One by a ratio of around 3:1 while the Nintendo Switch recently passed the consoles (estimated) lifetime sales. In other words, in terms of products leaving shelves, the Xbox One is in third place in a three-horse race!

It seems, however, that his comments may have a little purpose behind them. You see, he’s not talking about gaming in its current state, but more what the future may hold. Just to give you a clear picture of what he said, the quote is as follows:

“When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward.

That’s not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony. But the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to re-create Azure, but we’ve invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years.”

Game Streaming

Phil Spencer believes that the future of gaming lies within streaming and cloud services. Something that, to a degree (and maybe even entirely) could be proven to be correct.

So, taking this a step further, if we were to take Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google as of today, only the latter three currently have the infrastructure in place to really make a go of this. A factor that, for example, was recently proven with the launch of the Google Stadia.

Now, do we think he’s right? Well, it depends how far into the future he’s talking. Based on the upcoming console war, we’re pretty convinced that Sony is going into it in a better position. What the market may hold in 10-years, however, could certainly prove Phil Spencer to be correct.

10-years, however, in technology, is a very long time. As such, although Phil may be right, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Sony or Nintendo to at least start getting something in place in the meantime! We will, of course, have to wait and see what the future holds!

What do you think? Is Phil Spencer correct? If you think he’s wrong, why? – Let us know in the comments!