According to Phil Spencer, new console releases are said to come at a loss. To combat this, the Xbox Team expects the Xbox Series X and its siblings to help push the “Xbox All Access” service subscription to help “lessen the single impact” of buying a console.
In case the introductory paragraph makes no sense to you, Spencer believes that selling new consoles won’t offset the manufacturing price, and thus the console is often “sold at a loss.” To make a profit from a next-gen console or any console, according to Spencer, you must do it through video games, subscriptions, and accessories.
Nevertheless, Spencer believes that subscriptions and accessories are the most profitable. And on the topic of subscriptions, the Xbox Team thinks that the current service known as “Xbox All Access” will blow up next fall thanks to the upcoming Xbox Series X.
The Xbox All Access program charges a customer $24.99 a month for the Xbox One X, $22.99 a month for the Xbox One S, and $19.99 a month for the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition (SAD). This program also includes 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and an 18-month console upgrade option.
This service plan is expected to help bolster profits as noted in a recent video interview with IGN:
In case you may have skipped out on the video interview, Spencer thinks the current service will “go big” next fall:
“We have Xbox All Access, which is something that we expect to go big with the launch of the consoles — Xbox All Access is our program with game paths and hardware all in a monthly fee — which can help some people kind of lessen the single impact of a purchase. We think that it’s going to be an important thing for us next fall.”
It’s unclear if the new console’s price tag will bring people to this service or if the console’s promotional campaign will push people into buying it like Xbox Game Pass?
However it goes, Spencer believes the price is a “critical” factor for the Xbox Series X since he thinks the Xbox One struggled at launch because it was $100 more than the base PS4.
With that said, it looks like the Xbox Team will likely churn out more service options leading up to the Xbox Series X as well as post-launch seeing that the company is betting on both Xbox Game Pass and Xbox All Access.
