Windows Central Insider
The ongoing memory shortage that's been in effect since last year has proven to be a significant issue for hardware manufacturers all across gaming and tech, with developers struggling to find adequate supply of RAM and storage for their devices as AI gobbles up the vast majority of available stock.
Even the biggest players like Microsoft, Sony, and Valve have been affected greatly by the RAM crisis, with the cost of gaming consoles and devices like the Steam Deck having slowly but surely risen over time.
Increasing costs is indeed one of the biggest concerns players have going into the next console generation, but the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has gone on record saying she believes Microsoft can minimize the need for raising prices through hardware innovation with systems like its upcoming next-gen console Project Helix.
"I think it's expensive if we do not innovate. I came to help that problem," she said when asked if gamers would buy a very pricey console to access next gen in a new interview with Bloomberg Tech. "Look, it's natural that prices go up, every generation around us is raising prices, but I don't think you can raise prices through the hardware crisis that we're seeing, and so it will require fundamental change in terms of how we innovate and how we think about the business models and how we go bring this to market, and we're working on that."
It's an ambitious plan to bank the profitability of Project Helix on, but as Sharma said moments prior, the state of the industry is both a "challenge and opportunity" — one that could pay off majorly for Xbox, if it finds success. Perhaps we'll see some significant efficiency advancements come with Helix, which would help the system do more with less.
Still, it calls the long-term viability of consoles into question, leading to an inquiry about whether or not Microsoft will still be selling them by 2030. Sharma commented that "I look at console as core," but noted Xbox does plan on elevating its positions in other gaming markets.
"So, look, the console market is stable and it's core to who we are, but at the same time, there's a lot of other growing markets. And so we're certainly going to continue to put out great reference experiences but we're also going to push into new spaces," she said.
Sharma went on to reference Microsoft's own Windows platform on PC as well as mobile as areas that Xbox wants to expand into moving forward. "Look, I look at console as core, and I look at our responsibility to not only serve that really well and get that healthy, but to also look at bringing the next generation online."
I'm very interested in seeing how Xbox will ultimately try and keep the price of Project Helix down — something we'll no doubt learn about when Microsoft has more to share about the console later this year. Above all else, though, I'm just glad that it's doing so. A scenario where gaming is too expensive for most folks to enjoy is is one in which nobody wins.
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