Xbox One Doesn’t Have to Be the ‘Best’ Gaming Console to Win

Quick, besides the Xbox can you name one hardware product Microsoft developed that was a success? Tick, tick, time’s up. The company will be releasing the Xbox One this year but faces competition from Sony’s coming PlayStation 4 and Nintendo’s already released Wii U. The unveiling of the Xbox One last month has stirred a lot of talk about how Microsoft is “abandoning” gamers because of the presentation’s focus on what the new Xbox can do besides games. Microsoft is not counting the Xbox One being the best gaming console to winthis generation of the console wars. The living room experience will be at least as important.

[zerocrossing]

I can kind of understand MS's reasoning for not wanting to compete with Sony games wise, Sony do arguably have the better exclusives and they are the dominant force, outside of the US that is.

But is it really practical for MS to be attempting to "revolutionise" our living room entertainment experience? the joke about the Xbone being not much more than a glorified VCR that lets you "watch TV on your TV" and also begrudgingly being able to play video games, is still a popular topic amongst gamers as ever, and for good reason.

MS would do well to remember that as much as they would like to try and pass a games console off as a multimedia entertainment device onto consumers, games consoles are still pro-dominantly used to play games, I'm not saying that the Xbone doesn't have certain entertainment features that could hold potential, but placing restrictions like 24 hour online registration, mandatory second hand game fees and the Kinect potentially being a privacy issue are still valid points that don't do the console nor MS any favours.

[golding89]

will microsoft win the gaming battle..? I honestly do not think so.. but could they outsell ps4 with all the entertainment features packed in the Xbox one.? that is a possibility...only time will tell i guess..

[jaredhart]

I think they have a decent chance to win the US and UK. Anywhere else in the world is unlikely.

[Blackdeath_663]

no, we have yet to know if the TV service will even work outside the US according to this http://www.vg247.com/2013/0... it won't support other countries at launch. if it does fine uk,us,Australia maybe i can see that working for them slightly but what about europe,middle east and asia? the likelihood of the TV service functioning in Japan for example is small at best i wonder if they even plan on selling the XBone there

[PeteDoherty]

Microsoft might as well leave the Gaming Industry and just make entertainment devices with just cheap and casual games. That's their market. Leave real console gaming to Sony.

[josephayal]

Nice Article, the new Kinect is so awesome

[ShwankyShpanky]

Your omniscience in judging the value and quality of an unreleased and essentially untested "in the wild" peripheral is impressive.

And the article barely even mentions the Kinect... so you're going to have to try a little harder to keep your PR on topic.

[Foxhound922]

Considering the xbox 360 lost this gen with a year head start, hardware issues inflating sales, and the ps3 having the worst launch in their video game history, what makes you think they will win this gen? Sony have corrected all their past mistakes, releasing at a reasonable price, amazing launch line up, and massive amounts of positive hype, before during, and after the xbox one reveal. I don't see ms having much of a chance, even in the us.

[Death]

Xbox360 lost this gen? What did they lose? They gained a tremendous amount of marketshare and made a very nice profit.

In your eyes what does a win look like? Barely moving more consoles than a competitor you outsold by a margin of 8 to 1 last time around or losing money on an annual basis year over year?

I hate to break the news to you champ, but Sony isn't racing against Microsoft. Sony is racing against Sony. Both companies look at year over year growth and profit based on their own past performance. Who sells more consoles is a game played by the kids at home that feel the need to justify their purchases.

[Minato-Namikaze]

I look at who has the best games......that's what winning looks like to me.

[Spontogical]

Lol it's not just fanboys that play that game sir. Sony and Microsoft consider eachother as competitors.

I believe at E3 2008, Don Mattrick said during the press conference that the X360 will outsell the PS3 this generation. It was also shown on their large cinema screen behind him. So they were serious. They lose that battle.

It seems like that didn't happen. I'm surprised there isn't an article about it actually - especially now that the PS3 has surpassed the X360 in sales.

http://www.thatvideogameblo... - there you go, found it.

Also, people keep saying that Sony lost marketshare etc. Sorry to burst your bubble but the moment a generation starts, everyone is set to zero.

Your position in the previous generation has NO effect of where you will end up the next. Just look at Nintendo in Generations 6, 7 and now 8. Marketshare means shit when a new cycle of consoles are released.

[Death]

How on earth would you even think that marketshare means nothing? If Sony looks at their sales and profit in 2005 and release a console in 2006, do you really think the shareholders don't expect Sony to atleast maintain their existing numbers if not grow? Marketshare is extremely important to a company since it is what dictates their sales forcasts. Nobody is in business to lose marketshare.

As for the remarks any exec says at a conference, yeah, they like to get fans stirred up. That is 100% marketing and has little to do with internal business practices. Never, ever take anything an exec says at a public event/conferance as the gospel. They are there to sell not inform.

[Foxhound922]

Haha it's funny to see the fanboys try to twist the numbers to make last place seem like first place. First all the fanboys cried sales as their last defense, now that they lost that battle, they try to bring up a past generation's market share nominal growth. Sorry to burst your bubble, but different products (generations) growth rates do not have a factor in determining the success of the next. Different products, costs, price points, and other economical factors. You first judge a console's success based on how good v it was for gamers, and then how it sold compared to its competitors second. As far as facts are concerned, Sony beat inthem in both of those categories.

[Death]

I'm pretty sure the Wii is still in first place with around 100 million unists sold worldwide. We can twist that around if you'd like though and say they don't count and declare Sony and/or Microsoft the winner. Nintendo would also win the top prize in both marketshare growth and profitability this gen too. Microsoft came in second in growth in both categories followed by Sony who has lost money almost every year since the PS3's debut and marketshare since the launch of the Xbox 360 and Wii.

With all that said, surely this makes the PS3 the winner of the current gen of consoles. Microsoft only sold twice as many units this gen than last and Sony already almost sold half as many. The Wii which doesn't count for obvious variable reasons depending on who you talk to more than quadrupled (sold 4 times as many).

[koolaid251]

Said no one ever Xbox lost lmfao Bill Gates ain't one of the richest mofos in the world for nothing I don't see anybody with the last name sony or playstation 1234 in the top 20 on the Forbes list of richest people in the world lol.

[PurpHerbison]

This guy.

[SpinalRemains]

If you're going to debate this factor, then you must account for price, because that is the all encompassing X factor when determining the winner when not solely looking at hardware power.

Right now, the Xbox One comes inundated with fees and add ons which all add to the cost of playing, and none of them are optional.

[Neko_Mega]

I fail to understand why anyone wants to buy a Xbox One outside of gaming, pretty much what it offers can be found in some of the new HD TV's that are out/coming out.

You got Samsung's tv that works with your voice and you can use your hand to do stuff. Plus I fail to understand whats the point of having Xbox One hook to your HD cable box.

Its like a VHS hook to another VHS (it seems pointless), I don't know. The only thing I'm wanting out of the Xbox One is games, everything else I can careless about because I won't use it.

An for those that are like "Well you say that now", I rarely used Kinect for games (only my friend used it) and when I did use Kinect. It was just being used to do cross party chat (which it works perfect for).

[koolaid251]

that samsung tv that does all that cost $2500 plus and it still not gonna do it bettr and faster than a dedicated system.

[Spontogical]

Of course it doesn't have to be the best gaming console to win. It just needs to show off Gears, Halo, Forza and Fable in rotation and they'll be fine. Not to mention timed-exclusive content like they've been doing so far with the COD series and now with FIFA as well.

To be honest, they don't even have to do much from a gaming perspective anyways. Each one of the big 3 are catering to very different audiences and rightly so - they're all playing to their strengths.

Disregarding the Wii U for the time being (all it needs is games and a good marketing campaign) - the Xbox One and the PS4 will sell far more than the PS3 and X360 have sold.

I just have a feeling. Then again the economy is down compared to the awesome times of 05-08 so we'll see.

[ShwankyShpanky]

“The reason the Xbox 360 has had such a long and healthy life is precisely because people have been using it for things other than games. Last month, it sold 130,000 units in the U.S., and was the best-selling console for the month—again,” [said] Ishaan Sahdev.

Another spin doctor that likes to pretend USA=world.

[Fakdafakinfakerz]

Let's not forget that MS didn't win this gen. That's probably why they're taking a different direction for the next gen. It could work.

[Sony fanboy here]

[OrangePowerz]

The Xbone is a flawed system. MS wants it to be the one device in your living room, but you still need a TV box that you need to connect to the console.

I wish they would have designed a games console, instwad they waste hardware resources to be able to switch around constantly and run 3 different OS.

If I watch TV I don't want to skype ( the movie didn't even pause when he got the skype call, how stupid is that?). I dont want to constantly switch between TV and game. Make a console that's designed for games and I buy it.

[-SIXAXIS-]

I can agree that the total package as a multimedia device might be of greater value to some than just a gaming console. However, I believe that the vast majority of people either want solely gaming or only TV. If that's the case, then bundling the two multimedia capabilities together is stupid because consumers can just go out and buy an Apple TV/other multimedia box for much cheaper if they want TV. If they want games, then can go out and buy a PS4 where they don't have to worry about privacy or DRM.

In addition to that, outside of the US, most of the TV/movie stuff isn't available. So you're left with just the gaming aspect of the system; something that they're clearly not focusing on enough.

It just seems to me that packaging the whole multimedia thing together doesn't make sense.

[DivineAssault]

The best gaming console is what i want as a consumer.. Not a media device

[TheKingslayer]

Be a gamer...Not a hater

[SOULJER]

X-box one just have to sucker enough johnny's to buy the system in the first place. Then cash those clowns like their paying rent. BOOM winner.