Consoles failing isn’t going to make PC gaming any better, though. It’s certainly not going to drive prices down. Though I’m not sure the inverse is actually true: hugely successful consoles with good competition isn’t going to drive component prices down.
Microsoft actually sort of did try that. The Xbox was originally (internally) referred to as the “DirectX box”; it was basically a computer stripped of all parts not necessary for gaming. Microsoft has been pushing DirectX and gaming technologies for decades. You’re right though, the games should have also been Windows compatible. I don’t know why they weren’t. Microsoft is going that way now, sort of, with Play Anywhere games that, if you buy them on Xbox, you can also download them through the Windows Store (which still sucks).
I don’t know for certain but I have guesses. They probably thought they could make more money from a more closed system. Some middle manager probably had a kpi that benefitted from incompatibility.
Consoles failing isn’t going to make PC gaming any better, though. It’s certainly not going to drive prices down. Though I’m not sure the inverse is actually true: hugely successful consoles with good competition isn’t going to drive component prices down.
Microsoft actually sort of did try that. The Xbox was originally (internally) referred to as the “DirectX box”; it was basically a computer stripped of all parts not necessary for gaming. Microsoft has been pushing DirectX and gaming technologies for decades. You’re right though, the games should have also been Windows compatible. I don’t know why they weren’t. Microsoft is going that way now, sort of, with Play Anywhere games that, if you buy them on Xbox, you can also download them through the Windows Store (which still sucks).
I don’t know for certain but I have guesses. They probably thought they could make more money from a more closed system. Some middle manager probably had a kpi that benefitted from incompatibility.