Xbox Keeps the Console at the Centre of Project Helix as US Hardware Sales

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has told Microsoft gaming staff that the next-generation Project Helix will start with a console, Inven Global reports. The comments came at an internal town hall, with a report on its transcript published on October 6.

They land as US hardware numbers worsen.

Circana executive director Mat Piscatella has described the American console market as being in its most precarious position since the early 1980s, an assessment GamesRadar also carried alongside record prices for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Sales Down on Both Platforms

Through August, US Xbox hardware sales fell 33% year on year, while PlayStation sales dropped 25%, Inven Global said. Xbox sank to its lowest level since Circana began tracking, and PlayStation to its lowest since 2013.

Average Prices at Record Highs

Over the same period, the average price of an Xbox sold in the US climbed 26% to US$529. PlayStation rose 20% to US$597. Both are record highs.

Piscatella said price sensitivity is turning into a genuine problem for buyers.

Sharma's Four Pillars

Sharma described Xbox's direction under four headings: Core, Content, Creation and Connection. She said the console market is not currently growing across the industry, but that Xbox still needs to invest more in it.

Sharma also suggested that if Xbox cannot properly serve its core console players, it will not earn the right to grow beyond consoles.

Project Helix as a Family of Devices

Sharma said the 10th-generation Xbox will not be a single product. It will be a family of devices, with several form factors in mind, handhelds included, though the console remains the starting point.

No single device suits everyone, she said. Xbox will deliver a great console first, but it knows many players want to play on the go.

Microsoft plans to build some of the devices itself and work with partner companies on others, according to Inven Global.

A Shift Back Toward Console Players

Inven Global notes that Xbox has spent recent years pushing cloud, PC and Game Pass. The town hall instead puts existing console owners back at the centre of the business, while still tying different hardware into one Xbox ecosystem.

Inven Global's own read is that price and supply stability, not just performance, are likely to be deciding factors for the next generation. That is a tough brief for a platform whose US hardware sales and average selling price are both at record extremes.

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