Despite speculation that Microsoft may be on the cusp of announcing some kind of new hardware in the near future, Xbox One boss Phil Spencer has said otherwise on the Major Nelson podcast.
Am I going to break open my console and start upgrading individual pieces of my console? That’s not our plan. There is something special about what happens with a console. You buy an appliance-like device; you plug it into your TV; it works when you plug it in. It’s not like I’m going to ship a screwdriver set with every console that comes out.
The tongue-in-cheek response comes as recent comments made by Spencer – some speculated – suggested that the Xbox One would follow suit with the PC and introduce some form of system that would allow users to keep the power of their console more in line with the the open source platform.
Spencer may be ruling out any potential upgrades for the Xbox One, but he goes on to clarify in the podcast that he still believes that keeping up with the evolution of technology on a timely basis, rather than waiting several years for a new console generation, would be ideal and a potential reality in the future.
What I’m saying is as hardware innovations happen we want to be able to embrace those in the console space. And make those available and maybe not have to wait seven or eight years for things to happen. But right now, we’re not announcing hardware.
Clearly, the prospect of such a reality – if it ever even comes to fruition – is still just an idea, but it’s interesting nonetheless. It’s also unclear what Microsoft considers to be ‘new hardware’. Many are expecting an updated Xbox One model to be revealed at some point this year, but if that sort of thing is classed as new hardware, we may just be setting ourselves up for disappointment.
If anything is in the works, don’t expect to hear much until E3 in June.