Edit: my thoughts after talking to several game designers and doing some research on the system. I am still really annoyed about he price though. $500 is too much for a game system…grrrr
This post will discuss why MS needs to change course now if they want their console to do well. Whoever came up with these ideas is not a gamer and should be fired from MS. Gamers are rebels. They do not like conformity and the marketing for this console is everything they hate, in this case the Google Correlate tool will work well for uncovering related marketing topics. Now just a word of warning – Sony is probably going to be doing this same stuff (well not price) they are just keeping quiet at this point as they should seeing what MS is going through. Its not really MS or Sony’s choice, rather the game publishers. I will also note that I am more than likely buying an xbox 1 (not on release though, I will wait for halo).
Edit: Here is a good explanation of all of these things. Basically what it comes down to is MS did a terrible job marketing some awesome new features and they actually made them sound bad: http://www.neowin.net/news/anonymous-xbox-engineer-explains-drm-and-microsofts-xbox-one-intentions
1. Price – this is the biggest. Given the current economy, people are not going to spend $499 when they could get the sony for $399. It does not matter what you include in the console. Its the price tag people will see. $499 for a console is too expensive regardless.
2. Features – 24 hr online check, no borrowed games, etc. – since these changes would only affect a small % of gamers, why have them to begin with? People are just bashing the system because of them even though they wont be affected. Do not try to educate the community, its not going to work. Whoever thought it would needs to be fired.
3. Kinect – People could care less about kinect and now feel like they are going to pay for something they wont use. Have a bare bones system with no kinect. Heck have no storage, let people use their own. Things like this would reduce the cost and people would be happy.
4. xbox live – there are rumors you are going to charge more for things like netflix and such? Keep xbox live pricing as is. Its only going to confuse people and make them mad. Dont do stupid stuff. If you want to be # 1 listen to gamers not your business analysts.
5. Exclusives – you better get your exclusives in check. The bigger games are all multiplatform. If bungie’s new game is awesome PS4 will win this gen for sure. COD and battlefield already make it not important which console you have.
I absolutely agree! I was greatly disappointed with Microsoft when they had their “debut” back an May and even more this E3. Not once did they address any of the issues that the core gamers have (24 hr check in – aka DRM, used games, making Kinect mandatory, etc) and when they did start answering questions about this, they still could not give a definitive answer. This is a real shame cause I loved my 360 (my PS3 was mainly for first-party exclusives). If Microsoft cannot change their course in this next generation, I will be almost certainly jumping ship ( I already pre-ordered a PS4). With Sony’s proven commitment to providing great first-party exclusive (Uncharted, The Last Of Us, God Of War, Killzone, Infamous, etc), support for indie developers, price point, improvements to network and infrastructure, and stance on used game, Microsoft is going to have to make some major adjustments if they want to gain any traction with the hardcore community.
Hey xhris, since posting this my views have changed somewhat as ive talked to several game designers who know a lot more about this industry than i do. I still think MS did a terrible job at marketing this but I actually really love their new system. I think its awesome, they just introduced it all wrong. At this point I am now leaning towards xbox.
1. always online – this is no different than my pc games. also sony will require this for all online games. I only play online meaning that with either system i am always online. i dont think this will really affect most people. i mean when i play wow its always online.
2. download/install – at first I didnt like this. Now I love it. I am probably going to pre order just based on this. Its awesome. first its just like my pc games. But now they are in the cloud. so when i go to my brothers or father in laws house i no longer need to bring my games. i just log into xbox live and i can play my games. its a pretty sick feature.
3. used games – i dont actually buy used games. i never have. i also found out there is a chance MS will be able to lower game prices if their piracy things work, just like a lot of PC titles have (ie steam). i want to hear more from ms but i do know used games are killing the industry so im not too mad they are trying to stop it.
4. 300,000 servers sounds awesome. I already like xbox live more than psn and now they will both be the same price. so it seems like xbox users will be getting the better of the bunch.
5. multimedia/kinect – the more i think about it, the more i am glad they have this stuff. i do use it a lot (well not kinect but i think my son will).
These are some valid points, it would just be nice if Microsoft would just explain to the public the specifics of how these changes that they are making is going to benefit us. While yes, I am connected to the internet at pretty much all times and their “always on” mentality does not affect me, there is still wide area of the world, even in this country, where the infrastructure for high speed internet is just not there. Why MS would chose to alienate these potential customers makes no sense to me. I do like the feature to have access to your games anywhere from any system. This will be much easier than bring my games and save files if I choose to play at family and friends houses. Live is much better than PSN and I do like the fact that they are trying to award their gold members by giving them free games like PSN Plus. As for the Kinect, I’m sorry, but I don’t want it. Yes, from a technological stand point, it’s awesome, but the fact is that I will NEVER use anything that they are trying to implement with it. I WILL eventually get a Xbox One, but it will be for playing the games the they are offering (Halo, Titanfall, Gears Of War, etc), not to watch TV or to control by media center with my voice and hand gestures. Since I consume most of by media through streaming and DVR, these would be of no benefit to me. I had the first Kinect and never used any of the extra features it offered, matter of fact, it was unplugged if I was not actually using it. It bothers me that the Kinect has to be connected for the Xbox One to work. And if it wasn’t mandatory and made it optional like the first, MS would be able to charge a lower cost for the system, which is good for everyone. Like i said, I will buy one, as I have with every system to come out, I just don’t think it will be my PRIMARY system this next generation.
Yep, forcing kinect is just not cool. I bet a lot of people would rather just spend $399 for the same system with no kinect. I actually wonder if both MS and Sony will have a few different bundles for the holiday season so we might actually see something like that. I am actually opting for kinect. Not that I will ever use it but I want to test it out and I think my son might really enjoy it.
Yeah, it would be nice if MS released a bundle without the Kinect. I’m also interested if they do the whole subsidized model that they are doing with the 360. If they do, that could be another way to gain more sales, especially if could bring the initial cost down to $299, that would be a huge hit to Sony. I will say that that is the best thing about the Kinect, it is fun to have with a family, especially kids, and when friends come over. That’s about the only time mine gets used.