The Xbox Series X Lacks Ambition

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a slogan t-shirt that’s been well worn enough that I don’t think it’ll make it through another wash. Sure, I suppose there’s nothing inherently wrong with liking something and wanting a second helping. I have a mini fridge sized pile of Tetris games that can attest to my guilt of buying what’s essentially the same game but with a tweak here or a new mode there. But still, it’s ambition that wins over the heart most of the time. The games that take the last entry as a base and try to swan dive off of it. Space Channel 5 Part 2, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask; these are all games that thrive as sequels taking a different direction from their predecessor, and end up being memorable because of it. Ambition is key to continued success of any company.

So why is the Xbox Series X taking the Tetris approach?

What’s Old Is Still Old, Probably

The Xbox Series X has been a good time for me overall, but forgive me if Microsoft’s attempt here leaves something to be desired. It’s hard to sell a game console for $500 while saying you don’t really have to buy it. The hours of updating and installing have brought me basically the same experience on Xbox One, but the loading is faster. Same UI, same menus, almost the same controller, and same just about everything else. The Xbox One was a nice feeling console and all, but just beefing it up without the song and dance of a new console interface gives me the impression that you aren’t…