BackWill universal apps bless Xbox One with PC capabilities?
Putting one app across a variety of devices makes the platform enticing for developers, and gives the gaming console a lot more flexibility and relevance
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One of the biggest under-the-hood changes in Microsoft’s latest desktop operating system, Windows 10, was the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) for applications. Simply put, this would allow app developers to write their apps once and they would seamlessly run on any device running Windows 10—PCs, tablets, hybrids, smartphones, the Xbox One gaming console as well as the HoloLens augmented reality holographic goggles. While we are already seeing examples of that on Windows 10 Phone-based smartphones, the next in line to get this capability is the Xbox One console.
Jason Ronald, principal group program manager for Microsoft Game Studios, confirmed this at the Game Developers Conference at San Francisco, saying that Windows 10 apps will run on the Xbox “later this summer". Microsoft also confirmed that the Xbox Store and the Windows Store for downloading apps and media content will be merged, which in essence, would make it easier to download and sync the same apps across devices.
The app developers will now find it even more attractive to develop apps for the Windows platform, considering the fact that one app will now reach even more users, with a variety of devices. The UWP was designed with that in mind, and implementing it on the Xbox One console is definitely a big step in that direction.
For consumers, this could actually mean that the Xbox One gaming console suddenly becomes a lot more relevant. The united app platform will give the console access to productivity, social media, messaging, music and video streaming apps. Pair the console with a wireless keyboard and mouse, and you could pretty much have a console transform into a PC instantly. On 20 February, Twitter user @jeffkingston posted on Twitter, “You mentioned once that Xbox One would support keyboard and mouse. Is that still going to happen?" To this, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, Microsoft, responded, “Yes, we will get this done."
Microsoft has not yet confirmed whether their Office 365 suite as well as other apps will be available on the Xbox, but we could get more clarification on that at the BUILD 2016 developer conference later this month. (Read more here.
The timing works perfectly for Microsoft, as the Xbox One faces tough competition from Sony’s PlayStation 4 console in various markets around the world.
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