Is this the 12 months we could lastly begin an editorial on Xbox's fortunes without having referring into the catastrophic consequences of Xbox One's botched start in 2013? I guess I've answered my own question there, but at least I really feel slightly bad over it. Phil Spencer and the rest of your Xbox management team deserve much better than possessing past mistakes raked in excess of still all over again, because they've got achieved what at just one time seemed impossible. They commence the new calendar year no longer over the back again foot, with some notable successes below their belt, and with, for the 1st time in several years, a strategic advantage around their rivals at Sony.
So what went right in 2016? To start with and foremost, you have to glance to cheap office 2013. The repackaged console is effectively thought-out, future-proof, good-looking and attractively priced - quite simply just, a desirable bit of kit in its possess right. Furthermore, it brought the Xbox hardware in step using the changed priorities and philosophy of the Xbox enterprise for a whole, which ended up no longer reflected from the bloated unique layout with its vestigial Kinect concentrate and set-top box pretensions. Here in its place was a neat games console with bonus capabilities, reminiscent, if anything, in the primary PlayStation two. It rewarded Microsoft by using a much-needed and well-deserved sales boost, outselling PS4 (in some markets, several of time).