A new report claims that Microsoft will stop marketing Xbox consoles and reduce stock in some regions, which — if true — will vastly change the landscape for the PS6 and Nintendo Switch successor. The report comes from The Verge’s Tom Warren, who has received a tip that Microsoft is changing its strategy in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Why Xbox scaling back in EMEA isn’t great for PS6
Warren said that although he was unable to “fully” verify his source’s information, Microsoft’s new marketing message that players no longer need an Xbox to play its games came a few weeks after he received the aforementioned tip, adding weight to it.
While it’s true that Microsoft has not experienced much success in EMEA since the Xbox 360, the company just announced that it’s bringing its largest ever gaming booth to Gamescom and has said on numerous occasions that it’s fully committed to Xbox hardware.
If Microsoft’s plan is to focus on the U.S. and promote only its software elsewhere — as opposed to hardware and software both — the PS6 will barely have any competition and little incentive to improve its offering for players in said regions.
This strategy may also end up restricting Xbox to the U.S. only, given that the console doesn’t have a big presence in Asian countries either. Microsoft will effectively hand the console market over to Sony and Nintendo on a platter.