Technology
President of Xbox Sarah Bond talks Ally X, next-gen console, and recent price increases
Last week, Xbox players finally got their hands on the long-awaited ROG Xbox Ally X handheld gaming console, and it's been selling out fast. Best Buy is currently showing a 30-day wait for new orders, and the Microsoft store is completely out of stock. We have an early review of the device, but on launch day, I also got to sit down with Sarah Bond, President of Xbox, at the Mashable office in New York City.Bond talked about all things Xbox, including what the Ally X tells us about Xbox’s long-term plans (a lot, apparently). Bond also had some intriguing tidbits to share about the next Xbox console.“Well, we are hard at work on our next-gen console,” Bond said. “There is a lot to come there where we're building our next-gen console, which delivers that premium experience, and that's always the center of what we do, but we want to give other people choice and options around that.” Hence, the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X. I also asked Bond about the rumors that the future Xbox console will be a more high-powered device, more like a gaming PC than a traditional Xbox console. “Well, I can tell you you're right that the next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end, curated experience. You're starting to see some of the thinking that we have in this handheld. But I don't want to give it all away.”So, what is that thinking? In our conversation, Bond said Microsoft wants to let you play games from any store, anywhere, at any time. You can read my full back-and-forth with Bond to find out more. We also discussed how the new handheld fits into Xbox's big-picture strategy, how Xbox thinks about exclusive titles (and the lack thereof), and even the recent price increases for Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass.The president of Xbox — that has to be the coolest job title I can imagine. I mean, I know you have kids, they must think that's the coolest thing ever, right?It is the coolest job title. It is also the coolest job. My kids do think it's pretty awesome, but they're always asking for stuff, of course.Oh, yeah, I would imagine they want to play the [ROG Xbox Ally], which we'll talk about in a second, early. They want all the games early…Everything early. And they are actually really good at giving me ideas and testing things out.
How Xbox president Sarah Bond became a major player in gaming
So, we're obviously here to talk about an exciting new device. I know we’ve been waiting years for this one. Tell me about this device.This is the Xbox Ally. It is the first time ever that we have created an Xbox handheld. The teams worked with Asus and with Windows to create this device. It's really groundbreaking in a lot of ways. We worked on the ergonomics, we worked on the experience, everything. So now you can finally actually take Xbox with you anywhere you want to go, in your hands.It feels like Xbox controllers in your hand, obviously a little bit heavier because there's more hardware there, but it does have that kind of familiar Xbox feeling. And then it's also a full-powered Windows gaming laptop in a way.When you hold it and you close your eyes, it feels like an Xbox controller, and that's intentional. So, our hardware team actually worked in deep partnership with Asus on all of the aspects of the ergonomics, how it feels, the triggers, the buttons, to give you that really comfortable feeling that you could get with an Xbox controller, where you can game for hours and hours and hours on end, yeah? So, you can pick it up and do a short session or a long session really comfortably, but you're right, it is powered by Windows, which is a pretty cool aspect of it…But because it's Windows, any game that you have, that you've bought from a PC store that's on this device, it all shows up in one library, which is so awesome for gamers. We're having to go between all of these different stores and places. It's all sitting for you here, all in one place.Can you kind of tell me how this fits into the Xbox big-picture strategy… So, why this? Why the handheld?Well, we've always believed that people want to be able to play any game they want, anywhere they want, with anyone. And gaming is entertainment. You should be able to take it with you everywhere. You shouldn't be constrained to a single device. You shouldn't be locked to a single store. And this is the manifestation of it. And so we said, look, why can't we actually break some of these old barriers the way that the industry used to work and create a device that you can take with you anywhere that does have all of your games. You can play them natively. You can stream them from the cloud. You can also stream them from your console. So it's a great way to add to the experience that we already have in the living room, to have it be possible that you can take gaming with you on the go.So do you imagine most people will have an Xbox console, and they'll also have the new Ally handheld? Is that kind of the big picture vision? You know, I think that we'll see a whole range of people using it. For some folks, this will be the device they want to game on. They want to take their games with them anywhere. They're a PC enthusiast. They want to be able to access all of their stores in one place. Or you just love to have this option, because you can also plug it into the TV and project to the TV as well. And then there's going to be other people we know that are console users, where this is a great add-on to your console experience. One of the cool things we did for console users in here is, in the UI, if you have a game that you started on the console, and then you stopped in that game and you grabbed your Ally…it actually knows right where you left off, and you can go right back in and play that game. And if it's installed on the device, you're playing it natively. But if, for some reason, it's not on a device, you could actually play it over the cloud.This is actually one of my favorite scenarios. You ever been in that situation where you really, really want to play on your console, but someone else in your household is monopolizing the TV? Well, what you can do from this is you can actually pick this up and play remote play in your house, sitting in your living room, right next to someone…And that way you can do whatever you want. You can be with your partner. They could be watching their TV show. You could be playing your game. Everybody's happy. No more fighting over the TV. One of the coolest features I've seen so far is Copilot integration. So, I imagine AI is only going to take on a bigger and bigger role in gaming, and everything, probably. I'm playing Cyberpunk for the first time…and I was recently on a level where I had to find some clue, and I knew it was obvious, and I was just running around in circles, and I didn't want to spend 20 minutes just trying to figure it out. And I really wish I had a way to just, like, hit a button, ask a question, and say, “Hey, where's this thing I'm looking for?”So we obviously built this for you! [Laughing.]Is that the vision: That everyone has their own built-in AI assistant as they're playing games from now on?Well, we just believe that anyone should be able to jump in and play a game, and we should make it easy and accessible, and it should be in a flow state with you. So, there's a ton going on in AI, right? We're just at the beginning, but we saw this opportunity to actually make AI integrated into the experience so that it was easier to play and easier to do exactly the things that you wanted to do. So yeah, the way it works is you, like, long-press this button. You could be in the middle of a game, or you could come back to it, you can't quite remember the controls. You can ask it, “Hey, can you tell me how I actually use the A, B, X, Y, or what do I do now?” Or, “Which way do I turn and what happens?” And it will help you out. And so it really opens up more games for more people. There are some games that are super intimidating. So many people were intimidated by Elden Ring, right? So people will be more likely to try more games, and people stay in games longer. So the team worked really hard to integrate it into the full experience for you, versus having to go out go ask something else. Here it is, in flow state.I assumed it would be watching your screen, and that's how it would know, but it seems like it's also reading other data, like it knows what game you're in, or it knows, kind of, what you have in the background, what tools are available. So it's actually pulling in info from a few different places, not just what's on the screen, right?Yeah, we wanted to build your own gaming sidekick. You should never have to game alone ever again, even if you're just holding this device. And so it does do that when you push the button, it knows where you are in the game. It also knows what game you're playing. It also knows your gamer profile, and a whole bunch of things about all of your gamer identity with Xbox, and it uses all of those to give you recommendations, to give you tips, to recommend other games for you.To put it in Xbox terms, it kind of feels like your own personal Cortana. I’ve had a couple people say that!Is that kind of the idea? It's a voice in your head that talks to you, that helps you solve problems. It's your friend. It helps you through your game. So you talked about making gaming accessible…I know this starts at $1,000, and I know we've recently seen some price increases with Xbox Game Pass, some increases on devices and consoles, and I mean that that's got to cut into accessibility a little bit. How do you think about that, as President of Xbox, in terms of making games accessible when we have all these price increases? What would you say to gamers who are [saying], “It's just getting to be a bit too much”?Yeah, there is a lot going on. But at Xbox, what we're focused on is, how do we create options for everybody? So with this device, we have two devices. We have the Ally X. It's for a premium experience for the most demanding player. It has all the latest innovation. We also have the Xbox Ally if you're a more casual enthusiast who wants to jump in, or you're looking for something cool to buy your kid to put under the tree this Christmas. And then within Xbox, we also have a full suite of options. We have the Series X. We have the Series S, or across Game Pass. We built Ultimate to be a premium experience for the power user…but then we have Premium and Essential at more accessible price points. If you want to jump in, you want to play that evergreen catalog, or if you just don't have a device at all and you just want to stream it over the cloud, straight to your smart TV, yeah. So it's all about having choice and option for players in a time when there's a lot going on and there's a lot of different things that people want.Where does Xbox fit into the console space right now?Well, we are hard at work on our next-gen console, so there is a lot to come there. We're building our next-gen console, which delivers that premium experience, and that's always the center of what we do, but we want to give other people choice and options around that. Because sometimes, yeah, you want to be on a big screen, sitting in your living room, and then there's other times when you're actually on the go…or you might be on a business trip, and you can just get on, get on your PC and get it over the cloud. So it's about a whole ecosystem and a whole system where you can have every option you want depending on how you want to play.The rumors are that the next-gen console will be almost more like a gaming PC, in a lot of ways. That it'll be super, super high powered… What can you tell us about the next-gen console?Well, I can tell you you're right that the next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end, curated experience. You're starting to see some of the thinking that we have in this handheld. But I don't want to give it all away.Okay, can you tell me anything about the timing?Oh, no, I can't give that away either.So, where do you want Xbox to live in people's home? Is it all of the above, or like you were saying before, is it just giving people options?I want Xbox to act like every other form of entertainment, where you can access it wherever you want, wherever you are. Like, I love this idea that Xbox can always be with you. It can live in your living room. It can be with you on your laptop, in your bedroom. It can be with you when you're on the road. The thing about games is that it's deeply personal. People meet their spouses in games. People make friendships in games. It's about community, but it shouldn't be locked to one place or one device. You should be able to take that with you and be able to access it and jump in anywhere you want. And so that's what Xbox is all about.We're talking a lot about the hardware. But you know, when we think about those pivotal gaming moments, like I mentioned Halo, or I remember playing Myst with my dad. But we haven't really talked a lot about games, and I know like exclusives have been less of a focus it seems with Xbox. We're getting more like cross-platform games.Where do big blockbuster exclusives fit into this, if at all, or is it kind of evolving past that place?We're really seeing people evolve way past that. The biggest games in the world are available everywhere. You look at Call of Duty, you look at Minecraft, you look at Fortnite, you look at Roblox. That's actually what's really driving community in gaming. That's where people gather and they have experiences. And the idea of locking it to one store or one device is antiquated for most people. You want to be able to play with your friends anywhere, regardless of what they're on. And we're really leaning into that with this experience.What’s your favorite thing about the [ROG Xbox Ally] so far? I’m putting you on the spot.I will say it's the gaming Copilot. Obviously, I have every console that there is, and I have bought every console I think that ever was. But now when I pick up this device I actually prefer it, because I'm in the middle of the game and I know I have that Copilot there with me, and there's something so magical about that, versus having to toggle away.I don't always have time to sit down on the couch like I'm sitting here in New York with you…But I actually have my Ally in my bag so that I can keep playing in between running around and doing different things. And so that idea, that you have the [Xbox] experience with you. I'm falling in love with that.Tell me more about Play Anywhere. I know that's one of the big features with this deviceSo, one of the things that we have pioneered at Xbox, that this device lends itself to perfectly, is the idea of Xbox Play Anywhere…One thing that has been true about the industry since its inception is that [your device] was locked to a single store, and you could only play your games on that device. And Xbox Play Anywhere is about changing all of that. So, what happens is, when you buy a game that's Xbox Play Anywhere, you buy it once, you can play it on the Xbox consoles. You can play it on PCs. You can stream it over the cloud. You can play it on this handheld. You truly can play it anywhere you like, on any screen.
