Everything is there Xbox: Your phone, your ROG Xbox Ally, even yours Nintendo Switch2. The days of the console wars are coming to an end, and Xbox CEO Sarah Bond wants to unite everyone – for better or for worse. In response to Bond’s recent comments, former Blizzard Entertainment chief Mike Ybarra points to Nintendo as the technology giant with exclusive rights to the games.
But is leaving the era of exclusivity a good thing? Or maybe there should still be vigorous competition to motivate every company? When Master Chief comes to PlayStation 5, who knows, maybe a port of Halo: Campaign Evolved to Nintendo Switch 2 will be possible. Following the launch of ROG Xbox Ally, Sarah Bond talks to Mashable in a recent interview about how these handheld devices are opening up Xbox gaming to a wider audience.
“We have always believed that people want to be able to play any game they want, wherever they want and with anyone. Gaming is entertainment. You shouldn’t be limited to one device; you shouldn’t be limited to one store,” explains Bond.
In the grand scheme of Xbox ROG plans, Xbox Ally is a “manifestation” of these assumptions. The recent Xbox-branded handhelds don’t offer one-on-one console experience, but recent additions like Xbox Full Screen are a step closer to filling that gap. This means, of course, that your Xbox Game Pass library is the most significant thing. If this isn’t clear upon launch, there are tons of ads popping up in the app before you even have a chance to run anything in your library.
However, on the other side of the coin, Bond echoes Phil Spencer’s view on sharing his once-exclusive titles with other platforms. Additionally, another interview with Bond details the upcoming Xbox console, which could take over from Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Even though a next-generation “premium” Xbox console is in development, ensuring gamers stick to the platform isn’t a priority.
While you can probably see the benefits of bringing different games to more players, some companies like Nintendo are joyful to establish the Nintendo Switch 2 as the definitive place to play recent Switch games like Pokémon Legends: ZA. Fighting for this point of view, Mike Ybarra jokes that someone should “go tell Nintendo that exclusives are obsolete.”
Commenting further on Nintendo’s strategy, Ybarra says that “Nintendo continues to dominate with great games. Sure, some platforms have failed, but they have always taken risks and come back strong. It’s the opposite of obsolescence. It’s risk and return.”
Should the centuries-old rivalry between PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo continue? This is certainly a strange development, as PlayStation continues to play its cards close to its chest in the middle of all this. Apart from Helldivers 2, we won’t see The Last of Us or Ghost of Yotei jump ship – at least not yet. If you are curious about the recent Asus handheld, you can read my article ROG Xbox Ally X review to see how it compares to previous models.
