Microsoft's Ryan Moore

We grill Xbox's worldwide product marketing manager...

It's a largely accepted fact that Microsoft's Kinect-dominated E3 press conference didn't exactly set the hardcore on fire.

Until, that is, for those final moments - when a 250GB Xbox Slim was (finally) confirmed, and a sigh of relief was emitted from 'Xbots' everywhere.

It's hard to deny Microsoft the claim of having a iron-strong hardware line-up moving towards Christmas - but what does the console giant have to say for itself on the matter?

We caught up with Xbox's worldwide product marketing manager Ryan Moore to find out...


Why did you feel the need to replace the Elite's two fans with one fan - and what's the instant benefit to the consumer?

When we approached the design of the new console, we took a lot of consumer feedback to heart. We know that we've had reliability issues. We know people want Wi-Fi; that they want it to be quieter, they want it to look sleeker. We made all those changes.

Adding Wireless-N, making it a quieter console, slimming it down a bit; people had asked us for all these things. It's not just about makig it smaller - it's about making it smaller and adding features. We've made it a better console.

Have you fixed the Red Ring Of Death? Do you have any stats to share on failure rate improvement?

I don't have any stats, but obviously it's something we have taken very seriously. The engineering teams have done a great job and we're confident that this console is of extremely high quality.

And more reliable than previous models?

Certainly.

What does Xbox 360 offer now that your competitors cannot?

One of our main focuses is HD video and HD video over Xbox Live. Adding Wireless N makes it easier for consumers to get that HD content from Xbox Live into their living rooms and the best way to do that is with Wireless N. That was something we had to adopt to stay ahead of the competition.

We were quite surprised to see so much Kinect at the MS E3 conference. Are you confident hardcore gamers will adopt it

Yeah. I think we know that hardcore gamers will be the first to go out and buy it, as they are with any product. So we know we have to have a wide range of experiences, from things like the animals game you saw today to... to... games that are more geared towards the core. So I would expect a wide range of products to be released this holiday.

At E3, Metal Gear Solid Rising was sandwiched between Kinect demos. Was that a deliberate hint? Is it compatible with Kinect?

I honestly don't know. I don't know if that was inspired timing or incidental timing.

What about pricing of the Xbox 'Slim'? Will we see a similar price in Europe to that you've announced in the US?

In the States, the [250GB machine] is $299 - the same pricing as the current Elite. We're actually dropping the price on both the Arcade and Elite by $50.

In the States, that translates to $149 and $249 respectively. The currency translations are math I can't do in my head right now, but you'll see an equivalent drop in Europe.

Were you at all influenced by Sony's Slimmer PS3?

I think the decision to do this was made before their announcements last year. It's part of the natural generation of a console to refine the components and make it sleeker and quieter and all that. I wouldn't say it was directly related [to PS3 Slim].

We've had a few comments from CVG readers saying they were disappointed with what you showed for the hardcore at E3...

I think [our E3] was a great show for all consumers. With the announcements around Halo: Reach, Gears Of War, Fable III - this would be a great year even if we didn't have the launch of Kinect.

So we've got a great core line-up, along with all the exciting new experiences we're delivering Kinect. This leads us into a great year ahead.

Do you think that Kinect will lead to more Xbox 360 exclusives - particularly from third parties?

It's hard for me to say, but it is a technology we're very excited about and that we think can drive the industry forward. Hopefully we'll do that through some exclusive titles.

Source CVG

A nice interview: I agree with most of what he said

But what was that bit about MGS: rising being in the middle of kinect demos, it was in the middle of cod and gears.

Yes good interview although it makes sense that the core gamers would give Kinect a try first since they would be the first ones to know about it and are usually the ones to adapt new tech first.  

for wich games? MGS Rising isn't out yet and none of the others seem that good.. lol

I don't think the core gamers will be the first to jump on it, I think the general early adopters will. Unless Microsoft show some compelling core games for Kinect, I think the only core gamers who will want it are the ones who are also early adopters.

...

When did your opinion = everything?

Everyone has different taste.

I'm as hardcore as the next gaming feind...and I'm sorry...The Dance game's and Kinectamles*w/e sp* yeah ...When i dont game I enjoy dancin in the club..game like that really helps. And who the fug doesnt want to play with a cheetah???

You have a good point...but how can we tell?

What defines ''Core"?

If you by chance try to say moves sorcery*harry potter* or some ''GAME UPDATES'' then really...   /thread...game over.

We both know msft/sny are EXPANDING thier market...Sony took the 33/33/33 route*means equgal to each grp* while msft took that 90/5 road....and hell...last time I cheacked...us core guys very very picky about what we buy. Were the cazy...yeah...just wanna have fun.

sorry phone typin=errr!

For me, a "core" game is a game that isn't built around minigames and can satisfy gamers who have been gaming for some time. So yeah, Sorcery is a core game to me, and I'm rather looking forward to it actually. "Core" is still a wide term of course, and will defer from person to person.

I agree that they are expanding the market, but Microsoft are targetting one group pretty strictly right now with only a few games that go beyond it, and that means Kinect isn't all that interesting right now for people outside that group. If Microsoft wants my money, they'll have to do better, and I have a feeling many "core" gamers feel the same (unless they are Microsoft fanboys and/or have legitimate interest the lineup/device and/or have a lot of money (if Kinect will be expensive, time will tell)).

But as you say, it's not our money Microsoft want, it's the expanded audience they want to attract. I just wish it was our money they went after as well, because I want to want Kinect.

On behalf of me; nope. I don't see a single reason to buy it at all.

Money is money, it doesn't matter if it come from your mom or your pocket. So, yeah, Kinect will sell on its dancing and fitness training routines, and it doesn't have to cater to you or me, since grandma can pay the same as you can.

Forza Kinect is a joke.