Well the core gamers aren't really buying Xbox one's but the generation is less than a year old...

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer says early console adopters are "critical" to long-term success because they provide detailed and meaningful feedback.

Microsoft's plan for the Xbox One is to "win that core gamer," Head of Xbox Phil Spencer told Bloomberg in an interview. Asked what role the core/enthusiast crowd plays in helping extend Xbox One sales beyond the initial push of 3 million units, Spencer said these users are "critical." This is because, Spencer says, the core audience is often the most vocal group, which can be particularly meaningful when Microsoft thinks about implementing features that can appeal to a wider audience further down the road.

"Those early adopters I think in any consumer category are the people that are giving you feedback on the things you're going to try to do," Spencer said. "Every year, we're going to try to win that core gamer. Not just because it's a great audience, it's a consumptive audience, but also somebody that's going to give you feedback on the new things you're doing. At lot of the new things actually impact the broader audience over time. Winning that core gamer year after year is a focus of mine as Head of Xbox."

Earlier this month, Microsoft launched an official Xbox Feedback website where users can submit and vote on new ideas for Xbox. Microsoft also has a beta testing program in place for its monthly Xbox One system updates, where users are given unreleased features and functionality, and are asked to provide feedback so Microsoft can improve the experience for general release.

Another recent example of Microsoft's attempts to "win" the core gamer was the company's E3 briefing this month. It was 90 minute of games, games, and more games. Instead of going broad in talking about various TV and entertainment features or Kinect games, Microsoft doubled down on core games, talking about new titles like a Phantom Dust reboot and Inside, the next game from Limbo developer Playdead.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-we-re-going-to-try-to-win-that-core-gamer/1100-6420674/

Beta confirmed!

Go for it! Let Sony have the casuales, you can get all the hardcore!

Anfebious said: Go for it! Let Sony have the casuales, you can get all the hardcore!

Then what will Nintendo get?? 

Well, then next time... Don't do that Conker shit! Only the core care about Conker and mocking them doesn't do you any favors

I have to say this: The seeds were sewn for this at E309 when Microsoft attempted to court the casuals that the Wii was bringing to the market. Up until this point Microsoft's game division was considered an "edgy" company, going so far as to name their console the "X" Box. I said it then and I'll say it now...they should have stuck to their guns, doubled down on the hardcore market, and relied on them to keep up their sales. Anyone could see that Nintendo's philosophy, while profitable, ultimately had a shelf life. Casuals of any kind always move throughout media searching for whatever excites them for the moment, whereas enthusiast and hardcore gamers will continue on the same trajectory as long as they are being rewarded. A gimmicky Xbox One was not what the hardcore market was craving.

Sure, but why did it take them so long to figure that out?

You really need to target the core gamers earlier than this if you want to get them on board. They watch E3, and Gamescom the year your console comes out. They keep track of what the launch price will be; what launch games will be there and whether that exclusive you're pushing as being the main game for the console is actually on other consoles.

Going after that audience now is fine and certainly not a lost cause, but if that was their intention then they should have been aiming for that far earlier than they did; and with a clearer message than they had (because forced Kinect & forced DRM really won't appeal to many core gamers, apart from the ones who were already on Microsoft's side).

Maybe they were expecting the casuals to buy loads of X1s for the kinect. 

The problem there is that Kinect 1.0 sales had already fallen off a cliff long since.  If they'd had some really compelling Kinect software lined up for launch, maybe I could see some logic to their approach, but ... well, we know what happened with that.

The really puzzling thing is that they seeming ignored the core gamer, not for the casual gamer, but for the person who wanted to watch a lot of television and couldn't be bothered to use a remote.