Xbox boss Phil Spencer doesn't think the emergence of game streaming platforms like the company's own Project xCloud will spell the end for home consoles.
Describing the relationship between streaming and hardware during the latest episode of The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook podcast (transcribed by Venturebeat), Spencer suggested it would be a symbiotic partnership that could actually result in players owning even more devices - including a console plugged into the TV.
"When I think about video and music, those streaming services have liberated that content to all the media devices around me. I now have way more devices than ever to watch TV. It hasn’t lessened the number of devices - it actually increased it," he commented.
"I think games are going to be similar. What we’re going to find is that as games are able to run in multiple contexts, you’re going to see a lot of different devices grow up to support different use scenarios."
Although some xCloud users might find themselves spreading their playtime across a multitude of different devices -- including tablets and smartphones -- Spencer is confident that home consoles will remain the best way to experience games on the big screen for the foreseeable future. It's about giving users more choice, without making them choose one device over the other.
"I think that getting to a world where you don’t have to own one device to play specific games helps the industry. That doesn’t mean owning a device isn’t part of my gameplay experience," he added.
"I think I’m going to have a game console plugged into my television for the next decade-plus. It’s going to be the best way to play on my television -- to download locally and play. But sometimes I’m not in front of my television. Sometimes I’m not in front of a device that has the native ability to play. So that’s our bet on cloud."
You can hear more from Spencer by listening to the podcast in full right here.