XBOX is looking into "radically different business models" to lower the price of its consoles, CEO says

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says rising memory and storage costs have pushed the company to explore “radically different” business models to keep its hardware affordable to the average consumer.

The details:

• Speaking during a Fortune event (via Windows Central), Sharma said that she believes that the industry has “reached a point where it will be hard to imagine that mass audiences can afford thousands of dollars to spend on a console generation.” She highlighted rising memory and storage costs specifically, which has led Xbox to explore various solutions such as more flexible storage, improved compression, and even potentially designing “new types of games” to reduce costs.
• Sharma hints that some of these “radically different” approaches could be put in place before the next-gen Project Helix console launches, suggesting the platform could utilize methods such as cloud-powered systems to keep its price tag at a reasonable level.
• Project Helix is said to be a console that will not only run traditional Xbox games but also implement elements of PC gaming, potentially opening up wider support for other storefronts. However, as AI continues to develop at a rapid pace, concerns have been raised about the potential cost of the system, with Steam owner Valve also running into issues with acquiring hardware for its line of Steam Machine console-like PCs.