Work with Third Parties
While first-party exclusives are a pretty huge deal in swaying people into buying your hardware, it’s third-party support and relationships that will ultimately become the decider in 2017. Microsoft made some good progress in this regard last year, with Bethesda bringing full mod support to the Xbox One far earlier than PS4 owners received a watered-down iteration. Ubisoft’s The Division also saw all of its downloadable content come to the Xbox One a month prior to Sony’s system, and EA’s FIFA 17 and Battlefield 1 both received Xbox One S hardware bundles.
For Microsoft to really put the pressure on its competitors, it’ll need to continue to secure special deals with third-parties. Whether it’s third-party exclusives to help flesh out the Xbox One’s exclusive lineup for 2017, or more hardware bundles to drive sales, it’ll all help to make the Xbox One look appealing to potential buyers.
