Xbox One X Predictions: Will It Fail Or Succeed?

The Xbox One X launch is just days away, and many people around the world are excited to get their hands on Microsoft's new console. By now, we know almost everything there is to know about the device, from its release date and price to all its enhanced games. We also know a special Scorpio Edition is coming and we have all the details on how to pre-order an Xbox One X.

What we don't know is how the Xbox One X will do after launch. So we asked a bunch of GameSpot staff what their thoughts on the console were. Check out their responses below and let us know what you think about the new Xbox console in the comments. Oh, and be sure to read our Xbox One X review!

Chris Pereira | News Editor

As someone who bought a PS4 Pro right away, I'm obviously eager to get my hands on an Xbox One X. The absence of a headlining new game to showcase it is not a problem for me, as that's not really the point. This system is the console equivalent of someone who buys a new video card for their PC when the old one still works; it's meant to let you experience a better version of the games you could already play--a proposition that is certainly not for everyone, as Microsoft admits.

But I'd argue that its arrival is good news for everyone. Xbox One is four years old, and we could easily be facing a more traditional console launch in the next year--one for a system that doesn't play the games on your shelf and won't let you play with friends who decide to stick with their Xbox One. Instead, we're letting the people who care about framerate and resolution get what they desire without upending things with a completely fresh generation of hardware. I don't expect Xbox One X to sell to a massive audience, but it should make people like me happy without impacting the Xbox One owners who don't care. Seems like a win-win.

Jimmy Thang | Technology Editor

On paper, the Xbox One X features great specs and seems to be great value despite being cost-prohibitive for many. I predict it will sell extremely well into early next year, but like Phil Spencer said, it’s not for everybody. Considering the Xbox One S is roughly half the price, I see Microsoft’s white variant selling better overall for a long while.

If you ask me, with both the release of the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro, the traditional five-to-seven-year console life cycle is dead. It’s been replaced by a quicker, more gradual release cadence. While this can be a boon to both game developers and console manufacturers, it can also make it harder for Microsoft to fundamentally rock the boat against Sony.

Its US $499 / £449 / AU $649 price point will keep it primarily in enthusiasts' hands for a while, but I believe the Xbox One X (or newer variants of it) will overtake the standard Xbox One / S in the coming years. How fast it does that will largely depend on the adoption rate of 4K TVs, how aggressive Microsoft will be willing to lower its price, and how many compelling exclusive games it will be able to deliver.

Oscar Dayus | Staff Writer

With just a few days to go until launch, there seems to be a great buzz around the Xbox One X… for seemingly little reason. It sounds powerful, sure, but I think Microsoft is lacking a big, fresh exclusive to really show off what the device is capable of, and to give me a reason to go out and buy one. After all, my original Xbox One is perfectly capable of gathering dust by itself…

Eddie Makuch | Associate Editor

When Microsoft announced the Xbox One Elite controller in 2015, some balked at its US $150 / £120 / AU $200 price point. That's more more than double the cost of a normal gamepad. Who would buy that? As it turns out, Microsoft saw huge demand and more than a million have been made. I see a similar path for the Xbox One X. At $499 / £449 / AU $649, it's double the cost of the Xbox One S. It's not for everyone. Microsoft itself has admitted as much. Microsoft has also gone on record to say the Xbox One S will sell better than the Xbox One X this holiday and into the future. So who is the Xbox One X for? Given the price point and specs, it seems to be aimed at the enthusiast crowd. Xbox One X is for those looking for the very best. While that is a smaller market than what the Xbox One S will appeal to, there are more factors to consider.

For one, if multi-platform games look and perform better on Xbox One X--as we're expecting them to given the console's extra horsepower relative to everything else out there--Microsoft gets a leg up on Sony in the messaging department. Want to play Call of Duty: WWII at its highest possible graphical level? You need an Xbox One X to do so. Microsoft is hoping to swing the pendulum back in its favor with the Xbox One X, as it was the PS4 that took the cake early on by being the most powerful console on the market. No more. Finally, it's exciting and encouraging to see consoles finally get closer to the PC space in that, if you want to spend more for better performance, you can.

Tamoor Hussain | UK Editor

I don't think Microsoft is overly concerned about hitting big sales numbers, though that would no doubt be nice for them. Phil Spencer's messaging has been clear: the Xbox One X is intended to be an option to those that want to play games in optimal conditions. At this point in time, given the price of 4K TVs, that's not a massive number of people, certainly when compared to the amount of people that have traditional HDTV setups.

Microsoft's goal with Xbox One X is to bolster its ecosystem and having the X alongside the original Xbox One and Xbox One S, in addition to Cross-Buy, is a good way to do it. Of course that makes the metrics by which it measures success a little more tricky to ascertain, but after the mixed multimedia messaging around the Xbox One's launch, the key concern for them is reminding people that they are about games. They've started to shake that off a bit but I think the One X will be what really helps them turn the corner since they can say, "This is the most powerful games console on the market." From that perspective, I think the device will be successful and it will pay dividends in the next generation, where Microsoft will be able to truly shed that baggage.

Peter Brown | Senior Reviews Editor

While I don't predict Xbox One X will translate into a watershed moment for Microsoft, I do think it's an exciting if small kick in the pants for console gaming at large. It only loosely counts as a new console (it's a refresh, albeit a significant one), but it gives players something new to consider, and hopefully greater room for developers to experiment. We may also see Sony react with new hardware of its own, at least faster than it would have otherwise. I haven't seen a reason to be head over heels for X but I'm at least looking forward to the reactions it inspires on all fronts.

Michael Higham | Associate Editor

The Xbox One X will be a slow burn. Nobody should expect it to fly off store shelves week one, but it's significant for establishing an 'upgrade path' for console games. As games start to showcase the power of the new console, its place in the gaming hardware space will be more apparent. We'll see it surpass the capabilities of the PS4 Pro and PCs within the same price range, but it's not going to make a clean break from the original Xbox One (or S) and those versions may hold back games' full realization from a technical perspective. Look at Destiny 2: it runs in 4K, but at a locked 30 FPS, and I'm willing to bet the limited framerate is for parity's sake for the game's competitive space between the different consoles. Maybe by the time the One X hardware becomes 'old,' we'll be ready for the next generation. Or maybe this is the next step towards an iterative console cycle in which companies will have to decide how generations of games are handled.

I admire the technical achievement that is the Xbox One X, but personally, it's not enough to change what I want out of games. In that regard, the new console isn't for me, and I'm not the target audience. But if you want the best version of console games without shelling out the money for an equivalent or better PC in today's market, the Xbox One X is probably for you.

Justin Haywald | Managing Editor

I'm holding out for the retail release of the HoloLens.