Well, yes. Microsoft never stood a chance because of it. The Xbox brand and even Microsoft's brand has not always been the better received ones. Yeah Microsoft is a strong brand in the business sense, but not in the consumer sense. The Xbox itself is a poorly realised achronym in my opinion and reveals how centered in the american market microsoft is because they did not ponder what it meant in other languages.
It was mismanaged since the start, the xbox brand and both the content and business models were adopted with the north american market in first sight and others as an afterthought. The consoles will always struggle because of this and its too late to change it unless they go Nintendo style and change the name of the console and try to build a new more worldwide friendly brand.
As to why PS is a strong brand it stems from saving the market from the slump the Nintendo 64 and Saturn were bringing and going widespread with RPG's and the 3D gaming revolution while beeing more affordable than the competition. Then they followed that with the hugely sucessful PS2 and after that they showed they wont abondon their console with the PS3. Even though on portables they have stained this image, on consoles they have more than earned strong consumer trust, and their consoles have a world wide appeal, without the focus of a single region standing out too much.
So, in conclusion... yes. Microsoft should either be content with 2nd or 3rd place or just leave the market, because with the Xbox brand its not going to happen.
Existing User Log In
New User Registration
Register for a free account to gain full access to the VGChartz Network and join our thriving community.
