Xbox head Phil Spencer explains the company’s plan for the Xbox One X

THE head of Xbox has provide some insights into the company’s forthcoming console, explaining why it has taken the direction it has.

The Xbox One X will be the world’s most powerful console.

MICROSOFT is touting the Xbox One X as the most powerful console ever made and believe it will cater to both the high-end gaming enthusiast seeking the very best in graphics and performance, as well as the more family entertainment-orientated or casual gamer.

It’s all well and good to talk about processor speeds and RAM with fellow gamers and tech fans, but that sort of thing can make the non-enthusiast’s eyes glaze over.

With this in mind, Microsoft has been pointing to the big draws of the One X — 4K resolution support and better performance on standard 1080p televisions.

Xbox head Phil Spencer said even though his company had created the world’s most powerful console, he didn’t want to limit the exclusive titles to the platform.

Given the Xbox One X and Windows 10 share operating architecture, Mr Spencer said he wanted games to be readily available for both platforms.

“I try to think of us as a gaming company first and Xbox consoles are a great way to play our games on TV, but if you want to play our games on a PC, we want to make that both possible and great,” he told news.com.au.

He acknowledged some people would see that as a reason not to buy an Xbox. but admits he is fine with that.

“If someone decides that they’d rather be playing on PC, I’m not going to shun that ... we see that as a healthy thing,” he said.

The Xbox One X exclusive Forza 7 will look almost lifelike in 4K.

He also noted that console and PC offered different experiences — some people couldn’t play well with controllers, others struggled with a keyboard and mouse, and people might want different experiences such as playing a game on a large TV with friends.

“Each [platform] has its own strengths and I want to play to both,” he said.

With the One X’s positioning as the pinnacle of console power, the absence of Virtual Reality (VR) capabilities has raised a few eyebrows.

Mr Spencer said the company avoided the technology because he didn’t believe people’s loungerooms were the ideal place to showcase everything VR could do.

“It is true that last year at E3 when we announced Project Scorpio we mentioned VR … that was because when we looked at design spec in terms of performance, we knew we could drive a good VR experience on that console itself,” he said.

“As we’ve just watched the market evolve, I don’t want to try to force something in terms of market demand.

“I like the work Sony is doing with PSVR and I applaud them for the work they’ve done — but for us and the choices we’re making, I still see mixed reality as a place of incubation and learning.

Mr Spencer said Microsoft decided to keep their mixed reality tech development focused on the Windows platform.

“I think PC is a great place for that given the breadth of tools and openness of platform. We’re launching our Windows Mixed Reality headsets this year with OEM partners, at a very good price, with good performance where developers and consumers can continue to evolve that tech,” he said.

“In our family room with our console today we’re saying, let’s go focus on being a great game console.”