McDonaldsGuy said:
Microsoft, IMO, quit caring so much about "core" gamers with the Kinect. I became very interested in why MS got into the video game business because I have no clue why they did. Like people have mentioned, they should've did a Windows Store that resembled Steam instead. I would've canned the Xbox after the $4 billion in losses it caused to be honest. So I was always interested in WHY MS continued to the Xbox brand. To save it from embarrassment perhaps? And this is coming from someone who likes the Xbox. I am looking at it from MS's perspective. So here's my theory on whythe Xbox One was such an Eff up: I have read some behind the scenes stuff, and Robbie Bach (President of Xbox division) was in the theater when Iwata introduced the Wiimote at the TGS in 2005. Robbie said he knew immediately that was a problem. Sony realized this as well and half-assed implemented motion control in the SuxAxis controller. So Microsoft secretly changed their focus from core games. Which is why you realize that once the Kinect was released all of a sudden MS quit caring about exclusives and all that and focused mostly on that. With the initial release of the 360 they were going after PS2 gamers - which is why they made sure to lock up games like Final Fantasy XIII and Grand Theft Auto IV as day one releases. So the Xbox One wasn't really meant to compete with the PS4, but it was meant for Kinect to get data in order to help MS with mobile/A.I. Basically, the Xbox One was created with the intent of competing with Google/Apple and not Sony. Only until after the intense E3 backlash did the Xbox One become a PS4 competitor. So my theory is that MS quit caring much about the "core" gaming audience right when Kinect was released. |
It's really baffling....all that US-centric TV, Kinect "spy on consumers" and only DRM shit...I really wonder what they were thinking back then. You're right, they didn't target Sony back then....they tried to target Nintendo imho! They thought they could get the casuals buy the thing, just like Ninty had succeeded with the Wii.
They also tried to force a "Steam like" service on people in order to get more control over the software market, which immensely backfired. I must say, I am still baffled on how they could still manage to sell almost half of what PS4 was selling in the same time frame, until today.
I don't think their actual third party focus will pay off, most people won't care if the same game looks marginally worse on a much cheaper PS4Pro. So I think they have done a lot of things right...I just wish they had spent the money, which they have invested in making the X1X in order to fight their inferiority complex, for new I.P.s and studios instead.
MS not only seems to have a very confused marketing team at time, they also seem to be very confused in what the focus of the whole brand should be. Which all comes together in a way, that people, like me, are having huge problems to trust this company at all, after all their constant 180s and back-paddling.
I also don't think Spencer is the right person for the job, despite a lot of good stuff he might have done for the brand. I just look in his eyes and see he's a liar, he just has this fake smile that I dislike about American PR people.
