I like being able to play without needing a cloud account. Can XBox do that?

I like being able to use emulators. Can XBox do that?

I like being able to use mod's for any given game. Can XBox do that?

I use Linux for my gaming these days because I just don't like Windows, but even Windows is much more powerful for gaming than a console.

There's a place for console's, but they don't replace everything.

I say this as a console guy since the 1980s: There’s also a huge chunk of PC games that have not and will not find their way across to console. Classic games, indie titles, niche tastes, etc. If I want to play Stalker, CDDA, Cogmind, Caves of Qud, DCS World or even the (extremely popular) Escape from Tarkov, I can’t do any of that on Xbox.

PC gaming is a weird and wonderful ocean; console gaming more like a highly curated pond.

> I like being able to play without needing a cloud account. Can XBox do that?

I suspect XBox isn't good for this, but the Nintendo Switch is actually probably better than a PC for this particular usecase.

The general-purpose stuff (emulators, mods) I agree with, though.

Good point on the Switch, I own both and would agree there. PC is defintely better than XBox (Account on PC is frequently required to purchase, but not to play).

XBox I actually called out specifically because when we got an XBox 1, we discovered there is no way to do anything - setup of the console, launching a game, etc - without having an XBox Live account per user of the machine.

I only have ps5 and a switch. I never knew microsoft got into gaming recently. Cool thanks. /s