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Xbox Series X Is the First Video Game Console Born in a Pandemic

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The debut of a video game console is a carefully choreographed event. It matches state-of-the-art electronics with complex software and big-budget games. It takes years of development and billions of dollars in collective investments, all building to a single deadline.The Xbox Series X was the fourth go-around for Microsoft Corp., and the company had a plan to improve upon the lackluster performance of its last console.

Then on Jan. 20, the first confirmed U.S. case of the coronavirus was reported in a suburb of Seattle. Over the next six weeks, the area surrounding Microsoft’s headquarters became the country’s first hotspot. After the virus claimed some of the first lives in a nearby nursing home, Microsoft closed its doors to most employees on March 4. “Everyone has a plan until a global pandemic punches you in the face,” said Jerret West, the marketing chief for Microsoft’s Xbox.

At first, Microsoft worried about whether manufacturers, many of which are in Asia where the virus originated, would be able to deliver hardware on time. But China soon contained the spread, and the supply chain issues proved to be less severe than anticipated. The biggest problems for Microsoft were at home.

The games planned for the Xbox Series X couldn’t be developed on the kinds of laptops people have lying around the house. So Microsoft and its game development partners went to work on aPlan B. They shifted to cloud computing tools and bulked up their network infrastructure to enable workers to remotely access more powerful machines located in dark offices. It still wasn’t enough for some Microsoft engineers, who took turns ransacking the office and piling heavy equipment into their cars, one executive recounted. For one star employee, Microsoft explored running a fiber-optic cable underground to his home in the woods.

After a chaotic final year of development, Microsoft releases on Tuesday a pair of new game consoles, the Xbox Series S and X. The products arrive on deadline but not quite according to plan. Microsoft delayed the most-anticipated game, Halo Infinite, after a tepid reaction from fans to an early demonstration. That leaves the new Xbox without a single major exclusive game this year. The turmoil didn’t end at launch day. Microsoft’s online gaming services suffered an hour-long outage Tuesday.

The rival console, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 5, debuts Thursday with a stronger game lineup and momentum from its predecessor. That will make it difficult for Microsoft to catch up, but analysts said the new Xbox is compelling enough to chip away at Sony’s lead from the last generation of consoles, which began in 2013. The PlayStation 5 is expected to sell 4.6 million units this year, compared with 3.2 million for the Xbox Series S and X, according to market research firmOmdia. Microsoft has said it expects to sell every Xbox it ships this year

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