Despite all the X1 Improvements, geographical bias will be its biggest problem.

[sales2099]

The Xbox 1 has become more gamer centric by the week as MS continues to surprise me for the better. Below is what they have improved and amended:

Improvements over 360 Era

Bluray drive

Standard harddrive with external HD support

Improved gamepad (D-pad and trigger)

No MS points

Live Gold Free Games

Dedicated servers

Region free

Smart Match > Truskill matchmaking

More reliable

Quiet

Improved 1st party Studio support with increased 3rd party deals

Since X1 Unveiling

Indie Self Publish/X1 is a dev kit too

Not always on

No restrictions on used games/lending

Kinect can be totally OFF

Headset included

GPU Clock speed increased

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Quite an impressive list when you see it all in one place. Quite literally the only con left is the price gap and kinect being mandatory, which is essentially the same thing. But this in itself can be remedied over time and history has shown that a higher priced console can still catch up with another over time (PS3).

          But when it all comes down to it, features, price, and even exclusives take a back seat to mindshare. We know North America has no established bias, as they buy PS1, then PS2, but then buy the Wii/360 in the recent gen. It is by no means "Xbox turf" but it can be to whomever captures the masses interests. European gamers have a slight cultural disposition towards Sony products, but even then this continent is a true battleground.....where cost, games, and marketing all make a impact on what are largely unloyal masses.

          Unfortunatley the secret to X1 losing out on 1st place is Japan. Yes I am playing the Japan card. Unlike NA and Europe, rejection of the Xbox brand is rooted in the culture itself. Despite great efforts in the 7th generation, the masses just refuse to adopt it. While console gaming in Japan is on the decline, there is still bound to be a several million gap between the PS4 and X1 in Japan. And globally, that will make all the difference, just as it has now. NA and Europe can essentially cancel eachother out, but imbedded cultural rejection of X1 in Japan will seal the deal.

          Doesn't anybody find this....unfortunate? Offcourse the X1 will still sell respectable and likely make a nice profit. It will beat WiiU for 2nd if its sales don't drastically pick up so X1 gamers will have nothing to be ashamed of. If X1 is successful over PS4 in NA/UK......where most of us posters are from, that matters more then global sales anyday IMO. But theres still that feeling that no matter how good MS improves themselves, that it can't change geographical biases that are too rooted in the country to change any minds. It's a shame.