Imagine being in Microsoft’s position on this day back in 2013. Coming high off your successful run with the Xbox 360, you have all the optimism in the world in showcasing your next console for the eight generation of gaming. By taking perfect advantage of Sony’s failed launch of the PlayStation 3, you were able to stream roll passed your opponent and make yourself the grand face of gaming for the seventh generation of gaming and for the foreseeable future.
You have the chance to shock the world in amazement, proving that you are still at the very top of your game. By just making good first impressions with your latest console, you are pretty much guaranteed to win another console war or at least make yourself competitive. Nintendo is struggling big time with their Wii U and Sony is most likely gonna play it as safe as imaginable with their console reveal. This latest console war within the eight generation of consoles is not yours to win but yours to lose.
Taking in all of those facts, you would think that the reveal of their newest console should be the easy win in the books. All you have to do is take what worked about your previous console, improve on aspects that didn’t work as strong, showed off the advancement in technology, and be sure to show your exclusive games and features that gamers can NOT get with a Wii U or PlayStation 4. Do at least two or three of those things strongly and you are pretty much guarantee another successful generation. Was Microsoft able to do just that on this exact day over 11 years ago? No, no they did not whatsoever.
The reveal of the Microsoft’s eight generation console known as the Xbox One has to be one of the worst reveals of a gaming console of all time, if not the absolute worst! Microsoft and former CEO Don Mattrick did just about the exact opposite of what you are suppose to do for a consumer product reveal. It was a reveal that was so bad that it not only lost them the eight generational console war by default to Sony but it practically damaged Microsoft’s brand, losing half of their customers and still suffering the consequences from this reveal even a full decade later. How exactly could Microsoft screw up what should be the easiest console reveal ever? Well, it’s a real step-by-step process that I would like to go over in complete detail.
“Xbox One?!” Really?!
The first misstep was the title of the console itself, Xbox One. That is about the worst and most confusing title imaginable for Microsoft’s newest console. The Xbox One wasn’t even Microsoft’s first Xbox and by this point, was their third iteration of the Xbox. You could have just gone with the easy name such as Xbox 720 or Xbox Infinity or any name that makes your console identifiable but really Xbox One?! That just makes it seem easy for someone to mistake the Xbox One as referring to the original Xbox and NOT the Xbox that Microsoft was releasing for the eighth generation. After all, there are still people to this day that believe the Wii U was just an add-on to the original Wii.
According to Microsoft, the reason why the console was called Xbox One was because they wanted to market their console as an “all-in-one entertainment system”. It wasn’t just about showing off the next evolution of gaming but showing off the next evolution of entertainment medium in general. While that is certainly ambitious to include so many features onto what is suppose to be a video game console (We’ll get DEEP into that later!), that doesn’t really justify calling it Xbox One. That still opens to door for major confusion among consumers who probably mistake the Xbox One as referring to the very first Xbox or thinking that’s some add on to the Xbox 360 (Again there are still folks that don’t believe the Wii U was a real console). Unfortunately, the dumb console name was the least of this console reveal’s problems.
Is This A TV Console Or A Video Game Console?
Despite the Xbox One intending to be the next upcoming console for video games for Microsoft, video games seems to be the last thing on their mind when revealing their latest product. As a matter of fact, games weren’t even talking about until over halfway through the presentation. I’m dead serious!
Instead a good majority of focus were spent on the television features that Microsoft look to include to add to the entertainment experience with the Xbox One. Whether it’s for streaming services or watching regular television, this reveal was all about showing the multiple different ways that you can watch your favorite shows, movies, or sporting events. If you were to take a sip for every time the word “TV” was mentioned throughout the entire reveal, you would be so drunk that you likely think you have 12 fingers, 15 toes, and 5 d**ks/v***as.
Sure, the 360 had tv elements to it as well but Microsoft knew throughout that entire console run that it was a gaming console first and everything else second. I don’t know if it’s because Microsoft wanted to showcase elements that Sony was unlikely going to have with the PlayStation 4 but the entire Xbox One reveal felt more like a reveal of a new movie player and/or streaming service than it did of a legit video game console.
Always Online Along With Multiple DRM Restrictions
Once the focus actually went to the gaming feature of the console, Microsoft initially announced that the Xbox One would require internet connection 24/7, even for single player games that don’t require online service. As if that wasn’t enough, they also said that you would not be able to share games easily with friends and family, requiring you to follow an overly complicated set of rules to reserve your copy of the game, share it with others, or even sell it. For example, you would only be able to share a certain game with a friend who you have had on your friend list for 30 days and each game could only be shared one time. If you want to talk about consumer annihilation at it’s finest, look no further than this initial feature for the Xbox One.
Even taken away the fact that following those guidelines would results in constant absolute messes with online services, that is about the most anti-consumer way to sell your product imaginable. Microsoft was basically trying to get gamers to play their games THEIR way and not the way the gamer likes to. That would be like being fed a diner meal at a restaurant but you were only require to eat it in the exact way that the workers there tell you to do. You can’t force costumers to like your product the way you want to, they can only like your products the way THEY want to.
This had to be the most arrogant thing Microsoft could have possibly did when revealing the Xbox One. After the Xbox 360, they thought everyone would roll over for them like an adorable puppy and go along with everything they want. Instead, this was one of the many features that killed public interest in the Xbox One from the day it was revealed.
Lack Of Backwards Compatibility/Used Games
As if the confusing ways to play new games on the Xbox One wasn’t bad enough, Microsoft wouldn’t even allow for backwards compatibility for games on the 360 or even used games on the Xbox One. You couldn’t play prior games on the previous console on the Xbox One nor could you get used games or even rented disc copies to play on the system. If you were someone that was looking to save money for a Xbox One by selling your 360 with the mindset it would support 360 games, you were screwed. If you were someone that wanted to hold off on the newest Xbox One game you were looking forward to and wanted to wait until there was a cheaper, used copy at your local GameStop, well you were screwed too.
Microsoft claims that the reason for this move was that they wanted to push forward with the ways to game instead of going backwards. From that reason alone, it sounds more like they were going backwards with their way of thinking than in the ways of gaming. A main selling point of a new console is that it would show support towards prior games of the prior console. It also helps to be able to access a copy from a friend or a disc rental from Game Fly to try out the games to see if you want to spent your hard earned money on it. And that’s not even going into how previous games from the previous console can help the support of a newest console in it’s early days without relying strictly on launch titles. Yet again, this was another simple aspect to get right and yet again Microsoft botch it completely.
What About The Games?
If you were to ask anyone what actual games got revealed during the Xbox One showing, I don’t think anyone would have an exact answer for you. As I said earlier, games seemed to be the last thing on Microsoft’s mind when talking about the features of the Xbox One. Outside of your typical games such as Call of Duty, Madden NFL, and Halo, there was virtually ZERO Xbox One exclusives to get people excited to purchasing a Xbox One console.
To be as fair as I can, this reveal did take place about a few weeks before E3. While it’s understandable that Microsoft didn’t want to completely blow their load at once, they needed to least showcase something other than the typical FPS and Sports Games that gamers have grown accustomed too. Just something to make the games at Xbox One stand out more compare to games on their previous consoles. However, that was not the case whatsoever. Video game consoles are all suppose to be about the games first and everything else second. The fact that Microsoft didn’t get that memo while developing this mess of a console made them put their own writing on their own wall.
Humiliation At E3
While Microsoft did try to response to their disastrous reveal by focusing more on gaming exclusives for E3, they still refused to change anything about their piece of software they were selling. You still have the overreliance on television/streaming features, you still have the required online connection, you still have the confusing ways to be able to play or share your games, you still didn’t have the option to play Xbox 360 games or used games, and you hardly had any exclusive to look forward to for the Xbox One. This is setting up your gaming console for failure if I’ve ever seen one.
Although I have been talking nonstop about Microsoft and the awful way they promote the Xbox One, what about Sony and their PlayStation 4? How did they respond to that? Well, by performing the most embarrassing beat down imaginable. Nearly every single thing that Microsoft did wrong, Sony did right spectacularly.
They put big focus on the software and the multiple ways to play games, they didn’t try to force online restrictions or drms down the throats of consumers, they didn’t try to make the gaming experience more convoluted and confusing than it needed to be, they allowed for anyone to play any game on the PS4 regardless if the disc is old or new, they allowed for PS3 software on the PS4, and they were also selling the console at a reasonable $400, as opposed to the Xbox One’s sale of $500. If the Xbox One reveal was the most anti-consumer reveal imaginable, the PlayStation 4 reveal was the most pro-consumer reveal imaginable.
If you don’t believe me, just look at these two videos right here of Sony sticking it to Microsoft right up every single of their greedy little asses.
Don Mattrick Telling Those Who Didn’t Have Internet To Go F**K Themselves
As if nearly every single possible aspect with this reveal and E3 could not have gotten worse for Microsoft, the real nail in the coffin was the response that former Microsoft CEO Don Mattrick gave as a response to those that were unable to play games online for the Xbox One. He basically said that those that don’t have an internet connection can just go get an Xbox 360. I’m not even joking.
Do I even need to say anymore?!
The Aftermath
After a reveal and E3 event that had people jaws hit the floor in complete utter disbelief, Microsoft realized they had no other choice but to cave in and give the people what they wanted from the beginning. About a few weeks after E3 2013, Microsoft responded to the overwhelming backlash of the Xbox One by dropping the DRM charges and online restrictions entirely. Nearly every element that drew instant criticism was dropped entirely. The online services/check ins would not be required, you were allowed to play and share your games the way you want to, backward capabilities and used games would be supported, and there would be directed licensing changes to make games more accessible to the Xbox One. It was the only possible thing they could have done to save face. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the damage had already been done.
Even taken away the fact that the Xbox One still contained it’s confusing titles, too much commitment to non-gaming features, and very little commitment to the actual gaming features, the PlayStation 4 was able to sell leagues above the Xbox One at launch and would literally never look back for the remainder of the eight generational console war.
The latest accurate report confirms that Microsoft has sold 58 million Xbox One consoles, while Sony has sold over 117 million PlayStation 4 consoles. That alone gives perfect confirmation that PlayStation 4 did in fact range on top over the Xbox One for the eight generation console war, with Sony emerging victorious. And that’s not even going into detail about how the amount of Xbox One sold is at least 26 million short compared to the Xbox 360 or even how the PlayStation 4 eventually surpassed the Xbox 360 in total sales. Not only did Sony bested Microsoft in the present and future but they also went back to the past and bested them there too. That’s is butt kicking 101 at it’s absolute finest!
And if you are wondering how Microsoft latest ninth generational console has fared with the Xbox Series X/S (I still get confused with that title as well!), it’s not fared much better. While the handling of that console was nowhere near as bad as with the Xbox One, some of their biggest fatal flaws from that console would eventually carry over.
From still too much focus on other entertainment assets such as televisions and music to not enough intriguing exclusives or IPs to doing jack s*it with the exclusives and IPs from companies that they actually bought to it’s confusing as hell console titles, unable to tell the difference between which is which, the Xbox Series X/S was not the answer they were looking for, following their humiliating defeat in the eight generation. To this day, I still am confused on what the Xbox Series is even to suppose to be. And when I’m confused about something that should be so simple, then that must mean the majority of the human population would feel the same way.
And when it comes to the overall sales thus far. The Xbox Series X/S has sold just 21 million consoles to date while the PlayStation 5 has sold nearly 60 million consoles. That’s not to say that the PlayStation 5 has been completely perfect either but it’s the greatest console ever compared to whatever the hell that the Xbox Series whatever is suppose to be. Because of that and more, there is no doubt that Sony is walking away with the console war crown once again for the ninth generation.
In Conclusion
To say that Microsoft is still feeling the consequences of the Xbox One reveal would be an understatement. By fumbling the bag so badly on what should have been the most easiest sell for a console ever, they made just about every single mistake they could have possibly made. Whether it was motivated by greed, arrogance, or just plain stupidity, that not only caused Microsoft to lose the seventh generational console war to Sony but basically all future consoles wars as well.
Microsoft had all the motivation in the world coming into the seventh generation of consoles. They were able to take full advantages of Sony’s disastrous PlayStation 3 launch by steamrolling them throughout the six to seven year console window, providing the best possible gaming experience they could do players all around the world. Yet, somehow and someway, they completely shot themselves in the foot with the Xbox One, causing major damage to their brand back in 2013 and still to this day in the year 2024.
Microsoft has try multiple ways of keeping up the pace with Sony. They replaced Don Mattrick as CEO with Phil Spencer, they’ve tried buying other IPs and gaming companies out there, and they are trying to write every previous wrong they possibly can. Unfortunately, none of that has been enough to not just compete with Sony throughout the past decade but not even be in the same ballpark as them or even Nintendo.
With all the wrongs that Nintendo did with the Wii U, they’ve been able to make up for it big time with the Nintendo Switch, selling over 140 million consoles to this day and may soon pass the DS and PlayStation as the best selling gaming console of all time. Microsoft has not come anywhere close towards a redemption arc that Sony earned after the PlayStation 3 or Nintendo earned after the Wii U. It’s still a disaster to this day and may even forced them to pull a SEGA and drop out of the console war entirely. (I have a link for that at the very end of the article).
Just like how nearly every problem that America has faced can be traced back to George W. Bush’s presidential run, every single fatal flaw that Microsoft has suffered through can all go back to that Xbox One game reveal on this day, 11 years ago. It annihilated gamers and consumers all around, it gave the worst possible first impression that one could have when revealing their latest software, it added more confusion and anger than excitement, and most importantly, it made everyone look at Microsoft in a complete different way in terms of gaming. And that feeling is still mutual to this very day!
It just goes to show you how a simple reveal of a company’s newest product can not just ruin your present but also your past and future as well. And sometimes, it can do it all at once. It all goes back to the Xbox One reveal on May 21st, 2013.
*in Jim Gordon’s voice* This is how it happened! This is how the Xbox died!
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