Will the Xbox One be Microsoft’s last video game console? Phil Spencer doesn’t think so

Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and (show all) Nick Summers is a technology journalist for The Next Web. He writes on all sorts of topics, although he has a passion for gadgets, apps and video games in particular. You can reach him on Twitter, circle him on Google+ and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Xbox One is unlikely to be Microsoft’s last video game console, according to Phil Spencer. In a response to a fan question on Twitter, the head of Microsoft Game Studios said local computation will remain an important part of gaming for the foreseeable future.

@BuldozerX I don’t. I think local compute will be important for a long time.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 13, 2014

Many have speculated whether the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be the “final generation” of consoles, as video game streaming becomes increasingly prevalent. Sony’s unveiling of PlayStation Now at CES, a new Gaikai-powered service that lets players revisit older PlayStation titles, certainly subscribes to that vision.

As we’ve seen with OnLive, it might be sometime before Netflix-style subscriptions and streaming is considered a true alternative to native rendering from either boxed titles or downloadable games.