For the past two decades, Xbox has been a leader in the gaming industry. In 2001, the Microsoft-developed console made its debut and since then, it has become one of the most popular gaming systems in the world. But why is Xbox so popular?
Let's take a look at some of the reasons why gamers love their Xbox.
Before that you validate my point on the popularity of Xbox, let me make you all go through some of the most astonishing statics related to Xbox.
In January 2022, the number of Game Pass subscribers reached a new high of almost 25 million, which was the previous high.(Source: Subscribers to Statista Game Pass)
Game Pass is very popular, which shouldn't be a surprise since it is a tiered Xbox membership service with a lot of benefits. Xbox users with a subscription are still growing, with about 10 million in April 2020 and 15 million in September 2020.
(Source: TheGamer / Gamerant).
NBA Elite 11 is currently one of the most sought-after games on the console, selling for up to $30,000 on the secondary market. According to Xbox Game Costs, Dead Space is the second most expensive game ever.
When this game was released in 2008, it cost $150 for the Ultra Limited Edition. The Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition is now being sold on eBay for between $8,500 and $12,900, which is more than it was before.
Despite costing $168 million, this object was not among the most expensive ever sold on eBay.
A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros from 1985 sold for $2 million. It was the most expensive video game ever sold.
(Referring to VisualCapitalist)
Xbox owners play offline games 19% of the time, while 31% play online games. Other activities account for only 15% of Xbox One usage.
(Referring to GamesRadar+)
Microsoft reported that 6.5 million Xbox Series X and S units have been sold as of June 30, 2021. Xbox One sales, on the other hand, were 5.
(source XboxNews or Xbox)
The Xbox 3-month subscription offers gamers a savings of $24.99. The 6-month and 12-month subscriptions are no longer available, likely due to the platform's impending changes.
3.4 million PS5 consoles were sold in the first month after its launch, according to PlayStation.
Here you'll find the Xbox OS version numbers for 2022 as well as the features that have been added or updated, as well as known issues.
The OS version of your console can be found by following these steps:
- Click on Profile & system > Settings on the Xbox button to open the guide.
- You can find console information by selecting System > Console info.
- In the second column, you can find your OS and Shell versions.
What Makes Xbox So Popular? Here are the top 10 reasons
Like a lot of other markets, the market for gaming consoles is very competitive.
PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo are the main competitors.
PC gamers are in a class of their own because they play games on computers instead of game consoles.
Most of the time, people will talk about PlayStation vs. Xbox and which is better or more popular.
Here are 10 things that make Xbox so popular
1. Backward Compatibility
One of the main reasons why Xbox is so popular is that it can play games from the past.
This means that players can play their older games on newer consoles and don't have to keep their old systems.
Not all games can be played both ways.
But Xbox tends to have more games that can be played on older systems than its competitors.
This is important to the console for more than one reason.
The biggest benefit is that players don't have to buy their favorite games again every time a new console comes out.
This helps them save money, which is something everyone likes to do.
Another reason is that sometimes new graphics are added to the game.
This lets players play their favorite games while looking much better than they did before.
Lastly, it means that they don't have to stop playing their favorite games while upgrading to a new console.
Not everyone wants to keep their old consoles for a long time.
Some people just don't have enough space.
So, they often have to sell their older consoles to make room for the new ones.
If the new version doesn't work with the old one, they won't be able to play their old favorite games ever again.
Most of the time, Xbox avoids this by making its consoles compatible with older games or by providing a service that lets its players play old games.
With Xbox's backward compatibility, players can play both old and new games, which is the best of both worlds
2. Free Games
With Xbox Gold, players can play free games once a month.
Some of these games are hits, but others aren't.
It all depends on how you like to play games.
Still, there are times when you can get highly-rated games for free.
One of the best things about getting free games on Xbox is that you can keep playing them even if you stop paying for your Gold membership.
This is not the same as being a member of PlayStation Plus.
If you stop paying for your Plus membership, you won't be able to play any of your free games.
Even though you used to be able to play the game for free, that's an annoying thing about it.
Xbox gets rid of that rule and lets anyone, Gold member or not, play the game for free.
Xbox is popular because it gives away free games every month that you can keep playing even if you stop paying for Gold.
3. Xbox Live
Xbox Live is another great thing about Xbox that adds to its popularity.
Xbox's online services have been in the works for a long time.
Even before it was common and expected for people to play online with friends, Xbox was already testing it out.
This has made Xbox Live even better. The service has been updated and changed a few times, which has helped it become one of the best online services for consoles.
Xbox Live also lets you get two services, which gives players a bit more freedom in how they play and how much they spend.
Xbox Live Free gives you what you need to get started playing online with friends. You can talk to them and play online with them for free.
Xbox Live Gold is the paid part of Xbox Live. The Gold membership is part of this version.
With this version, you can get two free games every month.
It also gives you access to a number of apps that let you watch sports, TV, and other shows on your console.
One of the best things about Xbox Live Gold is that you can get games at a discount. Most of the time, there is a sale in the Xbox store every month.
People who have an Xbox Live Gold membership can save a lot of money.
Some games are sometimes discounted by 50% or even 70%.
Xbox Live Gold is a reason why many gamers love the Xbox. It has great online service, free games, and discounts.
4. Streaming Capabilities
Xbox is owned by Microsoft. PCs are also made by them.
Xbox Live is already on PCs that are newer than a few years ago. This lets Xbox users stream their games on their PCs.
This is perfect for times when you want to play a game but none of the TVs in your house are free.
You can stream from your Xbox to your PC if you want to.
You can stream your Xbox game even if you only have a simple laptop.
That's because your PC or laptop isn't running the game.
In your console, it's still going.
Instead, you use your PC or laptop as a second screen that you project.
You only use your screen to play games.
This is perfect for when you want to play a game but everyone else is watching TV.
You can even go outside and stream to your laptop from your yard.
As long as your controller is still in range of your console, you can play games while enjoying the sun.
Because the Xbox can stream to your PC, you can play games without bothering other people.
Because of this, it's very popular with gamers who have families or don't have a lot of TVs.
5. Streaming PC To Xbox
You can stream from your Xbox to your PC screen, but you can also do it the other way around.
What's on your PC can be sent to your Xbox.
This can be helpful in a number of ways.
If you want to play PC games on a bigger screen than your monitor, you could stream them from your Xbox, which is connected to a big screen.
Even for work, you can stream a PowerPoint presentation from your PC to your Xbox.
Using a projector or horizontal screen, you can show virtual battle maps to your tabletop players by streaming them from your PC or laptop.
There are a lot of ways to use it, but one reason it's popular is that you can stream from your PC to your Xbox.
The close connection between PC and Xbox will probably lead to more tools and benefits in the future.
6. EA Access
Whether you like EA or not, you can't argue that they aren't behind many AAA games.
That means that EA Access and other exclusive apps will make Xbox more popular.
A year of EA Access costs $30. You can buy a lot of things with that amount.
For one, you can try out EA games for free for up to 10 hours.
If you're not sure if EA's next shooter will be worth your time, you can play it for free for 10 hours to find out.
That's more than enough time to decide whether or not you want to play the game.
Remember that these are just demos of the game. So, the demos don't show what the final product will be like.
But it's usually a good enough experience to figure out how the game will be played and where it's going.
This can save you a lot of money because after you try the game, you can decide if you want to buy it or not.
Even better, EA puts out demo versions of their games five days before the full versions come out.
This is a great chance for streamers to get a game before anyone else so they can try it out.
You can make sure you don't waste money on another broken EA product by using the EA Access app.
If you like the older games from EA, you're in luck.
With the EA Access app, you can look through The Vault to find older EA games.
You can download them and play them to remember the past.
The full versions of these games are also here.
Lastly, the EA Access app will sometimes offer discounts on older EA games.
If you play a lot of the company's games, then the app might be worth the price.
One of the things that makes Xbox so popular is that it can only be played on that console.
7. Controllers
Some people might say that controllers for other consoles are better, but the Xbox is popular because of the features of its controller.
The Xbox controller has a lot of great features.
For one thing, the analog sticks aren't quite centered.
Xbox chooses to place its right thumbstick slightly lower than its left thumbstick.
This lets the thumbs rest in a more natural way, so they don't get cramps as often.
This is important for people who play games for long periods of time.
The impulse triggers on the Xbox controller are also a great thing about it.
Racer, shooter, or any other kind of game, players can get a few nudges that help them feel more like they are in the game.
Additionally, the impulses improve gamer performance in competitive games since distance and draw strength can be determined using the impulses.
One of the best things about the Xbox controller is that it can be charged in a lot of different ways.
You can charge an Xbox controller by plugging it into the system or by using a battery.
This is better than a controller like the PlayStation controller, where you can only charge the battery inside the controller.
PlayStation controller batteries must be replaced when they are completely dead.
But that's not true of an Xbox controller.
You can replace the batteries whenever they stop working.
When the battery dies, you don't have to worry about throwing away your custom Xbox controller.
The Xbox controllers are a big reason why the console is so popular. They are comfortable, and stable, and let you choose how you want to charge them.
8. Affordable
The Xbox is also a popular console because it costs less than most others.
Xbox is usually just a little bit cheaper than PlayStation when new consoles come out.
Some of the versions with more features are heavier, but if you just want a basic Xbox that lets you play games and play with friends, you can get one for a low price.
Since consoles in general are luxury items that cost a lot, it makes sense that the Xbox's low price would also make it popular.
Even though the console is cheap, it still competes when it comes to performance, power, and features.
Xbox is popular because it costs a little less than other games.
9. Game Pass
The Game Pass is one of the newest things that Xbox has added.
Game Pass is a subscription service that lets gamers play over 300 games for a single monthly fee.
A player can buy either of two different Game Pass services.
The option that costs the least is $9.99 a month.
You can download and play 300 games for free.
The second choice costs $14.99 every month.
It gives you access to the same 300 games as Xbox, plus PC Game Pass, EA Play, and Cloud Gaming.
You can also get games at a lower price when a promotion is going on.
Game Pass is a powerful feature because it lets you play new AAA games as soon as they come out on Xbox.
This means that people can almost play AAA games for free.
To use them, they only need to pay the monthly fee.
But if you stop paying the monthly fee, you won't be able to get to those titles.
If you pay the fee later, the titles will be made available to you again.
Xbox changes the games it has available every so often, so you might not be able to play a certain game forever.
But the fact that it has so many games more than makes up for it.
The Pass has games from all of Xbox's generations.
There's no doubt that Microsoft wants to make more money from Game Pass, which is one of its main sources of income.
Because of this, players can probably expect more games and features to be added to the Pass in the future.
10. Exclusives
Xbox had trouble for a while with its exclusive games.
The console became best known for letting people play games together.
When Microsoft started buying up big developers and game studios, everything changed.
Under ZeniMax, Bethesda was one of its most important purchases.
But because of the things it has bought, Xbox is more popular than ever.
People who like games from certain studios will probably buy a console or PC so they can keep playing those games.
Since Bethesda is a well-known game company, it could make more people want to buy an Xbox instead of or along with a PlayStation.
Since Microsoft is in charge of both the Xbox and the PC, many of the games that are only going to be on the Xbox are likely to also be on the PC.
So, Xbox players probably won't feel the need to upgrade to a PC, and PC players probably won't feel the need to downgrade to a console.
It's the players on the other consoles who could move toward one or the other.
Xbox is more popular than ever because it has so many games that can only be played on Xbox.
If Microsoft keeps buying popular studios, there's a good chance they'll get more gamers and the Xbox's popularity will keep growing.
Is Xbox or PlayStation More Popular In The United States?
People often say that PlayStation consoles are once again sold out in the news.
It sounds like everyone in the world is trying to get their hands on the console.
But that might not be true in every case.
In the United States, however, the Xbox is more popular than the PlayStation.
Xbox has a 50.18 percent market share in the US, while PlayStation only has a 49.8 percent share.
Now, there might be a reason why the PlayStation isn't as high as the Xbox.
When the PlayStation 5 first came out, people rushed to get their hands on one.
With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing in stimulus money, gamers had a little extra money to spend on gaming consoles.
The pandemic also slowed down the way things were made.
This made it hard to find and buy PS5s.
Gamers turned to the Xbox because they couldn't get their hands on the PS5.
The fact that Xbox is an American company is another reason why it might be doing better than the PS5.
As a US-based company, they are able to market it more effectively than a Japanese company, Sony.
No matter why the Xbox has a slightly bigger share of the market in the United States than the PS5.
Quick Links:Overall, there are a lot of reasons why Xbox is still one of the most popular gaming systems on the market today.
These include the fact that it has a wide range of games that can be bought, as well as online features that let players from all over the world play their favorite games together, and the fact that its Live Community service offers special deals and discounts on games.
With all of these benefits and the fact that more updates, like backward compatibility, are coming soon, it's no wonder that gamers all over the world keep buying this great console.