Former Xbox VP Choosing PS5 Console Over Xbox Series X
The game industry is a lot more fluid behind the scenes than most give it credit for, with a job at one company often providing a bridge directly into the employ of another. A top Sony executive may find work at Microsoft designing the new Xbox, although it appears brand loyalty may not always follow wherever they go.
Such appears to be the case with former Xbox executive Mike Ybarra. Up until recently, Ybarra was the Corporate Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft, and it seems he did a good job considering his former colleagues praised his work and thanked him for his effort even as he left the company.
Ybarra was already the center of a surprising announcement a few months ago when it was revealed he was leaving Microsoft to work at Blizzard, where he was appointed Executive Vice President. More surprising however was his recent tweet that stated he would be choosing the PS5 over the Xbox Series X as his purchase for the next console generation. He did quantify the statement by saying that he intended to play Xbox, or more accurately, Microsoft exclusives on the PC, further stating that he wished "they were all on PC." Presumably, he was referring to the PS5 exclusives that had not made their way to the PC.
This caused an understandable amount of surprised responses, especially since the tweet was in response to being asked what he would be buying, and this was no doubt the opposite of the expected response. Ybarra went on to quantify that he would be subscribing to the Xbox Game Pass, which he explained would be more financially beneficial to Microsoft in the long run as he would still be buying many of their exclusives.
On the one hand, Ybarra's reasoning seems sound. So long as the biggest titles can be played on the PC as well as the new Xbox, and the Xbox Game Pass allows easy access while still helping his former company, there's no reason to take a Series X off the shelves. The Game Pass has its own money saving deals as well, so the software over hardware choice does hold water.
However, since Ybarra was still with the company during the Xbox Series X's development, the decision does lend itself to speculation as to the quality of the console itself. With how much still isn't know about Xbox Series X, it is easy to speculate that Ybarra is more avoiding the hardware than simply ignoring it. Only time will tell.
The Xbox Series X is set to release in the Holiday Season of 2020.
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