Soon after the launch of the Xbox 360 in 2005, some customers found their console unusable. The console's way of telling people something very bad had happened was by displaying three flashing red lights, what was dubbed the "Red Ring of Death".
It feels like the video game console is at a crossroads. With Xbox Series X and S floundering in the ‘console war’, Sony suggesting PlayStation 5 is approaching the second half of its life after missing sales targets, and uncertainty around the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, there is growing concern that the traditional video game console business could be under threat.
It's obvious that MS is leaving the console biz. MS may have tons of money, but that doesn't mean they want to keep losing money on the gaming division to prove a point. Thanks Phil
Good article and this is not a duplicate. The link that @Maximus Prime shared is just a small portion of the full interview. This post is the full interview.
Times are changing quick, the same ol way the industry been is changing. Where people play is changing.
“What I think Phil is doing is setting up some smoke signals that we're thinking very differently”
I’m surprised how slowly Microsoft is moving toward Xbox as a software platform. They usually don’t care so much about upsetting their customers with unpopular changes like they do with every other version of Windows.
This "console market hasn't grown narrative " is overblown. The market has grown just not as fast as say smartphones. But so what? There is still money to be made in the business and just because Microsoft has failed doesn't mean the entire industry is facing sudden collapse. Gaming will be fine, every industry has to go through periods of restructuring. AAA games are made becuase its what attracts gamers the most and is where they spend the most money. (Demand/supply) Microsoft abandoning hardware should have happened years ago, they clearly lost interest at a base level in producing games and/or paying 3rd parties to back during the tail end of the 360 generation. Tired of hearing about the future of gaming, just make great games and/or invest in one's made by other to attract people to your platform.
Peter Moore has revealed how the console wars narrative helped foster a competitive spirit at Xbox.
For money.
And because brand loyalty can help you hold onto a market share without actually having anything new to retain said share of the market.
That era was insane, might be the reason N4G even exists. I still remember Peter Moore would show off tattoos of each exclusive Xbox would steal from Playstation 3. And the N4G community was on fire, each story would get like 300 comments of fanboys fighting each other.
How come that "competitive spirit" never translated into regular production of games? Not even talking quality games just games in general.
There were like 2-3 game droughts during the 360 era alone.
From GI.biz: "As an executive at Sega, Microsoft, and then Electronic Arts, Peter Moore was unquestionably part of the games industry for the better part of two decades. Then he left for the world of sports and the chance to be CEO of his favorite childhood football team, Liverpool FC.
After three years in which Liverpool enjoyed considerable success and a Premier League championship, Moore stepped down and seemingly returned to games with an executive appointment at Unity and a board position for mobile publisher Nifty Games."
Great read..... I find this behind the scenes/curtain interviews fascinating. This is one of if not the biggest story from last gen and now we are getting a great inside baseball look at what went down.
I had 7 X360s between launch and 2011 each time the machine was away for repair 2-3 weeks. Compared to my launch day PS3, PS2, snes, megadrive, Saturn and Dreamcast I still have to this day.
Strange thing about this interview Microsoft never publically acknowledge the problem, Moore makes it sound like they did.
Really? The possible cause was the lead free solder drying out?
That does make sense. But why were they forced to use this inferior solder across the whole world?
Perhaps manufacturing costs from switching out the solder?
Meanwhile throughout the world MERCURY filled so called 'green' light bulbs are being pumped everywhere.
Europe would rather have a few billion mercury filled lights than a few million xboxes with lead solder.
What about all your millions of lead acid car batteries?
Hypocrites...
You took this info from the interview done by IGN. If off the great interview the only thing you can talk is the only bad thing that was mention. Sad. Yes the RRoD were bad but MS back their product with a 3 years warranty.