Matthew Ball: 'It Has Become Difficult To Articulate Why You Should Pick An Xbox'

The differences between video game consoles have been fading for years. Performance is generally in the same ballpark. Prices are often comparable. The only real question when a new console owner walks into a GameStop anymore is "Do you want to play God of War or Halo?" Xbox’s recently appointed analyst-turned-chief strategist, Matthew Ball, articulated this challenge on stage earlier this week in a live interview with The Game Business at Summer Game Fest 2026.

"For the last while, it has become difficult to articulate why you should pick an Xbox console," he said. "Players have told us that. I think everyone in the audience understood that exclusives are an important way to do that. "We as a company—and this is why you have seen such a quick shift to exclusives and again why it was important for us to do two titles, not just one—is we need to ask people to spend a lot of money today to become an Xbox player." He added, "That is a real ask.

It's expensive.

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