After the news about the XBox One from this past Tuesday, and picking up from where I left off here, I'm almost stymied at how poorly they played out their hand.
This information came entirely too soon after how forcefully they presented it both at the console reveal, and at E3, yet it still feels like a case of "too little, too late", and even if it weren't, it's definitely coming from the wrong voice, as this is straight out of the mouth of the same person who said "The 360 is an offline product."
So, let's dive right into the update released earlier this week, straight from the desk of everyone's favorite President of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick himself, translate some of this PR spin, and get to the root of what is really said.
"We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future. " - We had a bunch of great ideas, then you all complained because we tied it into our terrible policies. We deep-sixed all of it, though we stand by it, and may revisit this in the future, when Kansas finally gets off dial-up.
"Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback." - We tried to wait until after E3, but the bitchmob was already too large, and still growing at an alarming rate. We're going to try and turn this ship around, and if we fail, it's your fault as consumers. You can also stop sending death threats now.
"I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One." - We really just don't have a fucking clue what we are doing.
"You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you." - Okay, so you guys know about first sale doctrine, and refuse to go the same route as PC games because our consoles aren't backwards compatible, next gen probably won't be either, and you don't want games to vanish from brick and mortar stores.
"Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world." - We were so looking forward to slamming you with Doritos and Mountain Dew ads during matchmaking, and making you repurchase all of your games every time our servers went down for extended maintenance.
"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds." - We know we're right, but you're stupid, so we'll let you have your way. You want it both ways, and we'll claim to give you that right here, but we're actually taking away all the interesting things we previously unveiled when we do away with the draconian DRM.
It's pretty clear that this is a thinly-veiled "Fuck you" to everyone who criticized their policies, while attempting to put on a facade of pro-consumerism in a bid for your dollars. While it may work in the short term, the sheer audacity of the situation, and to have it come from Mattrick is a slap in the face to anyone who has followed this story for more than two days.
If it was this easy for Microsoft to just pull an about-face, there's nothing to stop them from doing so again in the near future, with even less functionality, and even less consumer goodwill in mind.
This man has alienated more than half of your intended audience, including all of those serving in the US armed forces, who were huge supporters of the 360. Having him make the announcement is insincere at best, and a sign of things to come at worst. There is very little to gain by having some of your worst PR blunders embodied in one of your highest ranking executive posts, and very little to lose by promoting one of his subordinates, even if in an interim manner, as a show that, even at the corporate level, this man's methods, statements, and policies were not what was expected of someone in that position, are all undergoing review, and may be changed in the future.
Though, if you really want to save face, and possibly the embarrassment of a bad launch with all the pre-instilled distaste for the X1, consider taking this year off the table as far as a release, work on upgrading the hardware further, refine its aesthetic, lower the price, and re-brand it for a summer release next year. I don't want to see you fall flat on your face come release, because the market needs competition, and between the Wii U's current-gen hardware, and your PR calamities, I'm not seeing a lot of that around.
This information came entirely too soon after how forcefully they presented it both at the console reveal, and at E3, yet it still feels like a case of "too little, too late", and even if it weren't, it's definitely coming from the wrong voice, as this is straight out of the mouth of the same person who said "The 360 is an offline product."
So, let's dive right into the update released earlier this week, straight from the desk of everyone's favorite President of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick himself, translate some of this PR spin, and get to the root of what is really said.
"We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future. " - We had a bunch of great ideas, then you all complained because we tied it into our terrible policies. We deep-sixed all of it, though we stand by it, and may revisit this in the future, when Kansas finally gets off dial-up.
"Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback." - We tried to wait until after E3, but the bitchmob was already too large, and still growing at an alarming rate. We're going to try and turn this ship around, and if we fail, it's your fault as consumers. You can also stop sending death threats now.
"I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One." - We really just don't have a fucking clue what we are doing.
"You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you." - Okay, so you guys know about first sale doctrine, and refuse to go the same route as PC games because our consoles aren't backwards compatible, next gen probably won't be either, and you don't want games to vanish from brick and mortar stores.
"Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world." - We were so looking forward to slamming you with Doritos and Mountain Dew ads during matchmaking, and making you repurchase all of your games every time our servers went down for extended maintenance.
"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds." - We know we're right, but you're stupid, so we'll let you have your way. You want it both ways, and we'll claim to give you that right here, but we're actually taking away all the interesting things we previously unveiled when we do away with the draconian DRM.
It's pretty clear that this is a thinly-veiled "Fuck you" to everyone who criticized their policies, while attempting to put on a facade of pro-consumerism in a bid for your dollars. While it may work in the short term, the sheer audacity of the situation, and to have it come from Mattrick is a slap in the face to anyone who has followed this story for more than two days.
If it was this easy for Microsoft to just pull an about-face, there's nothing to stop them from doing so again in the near future, with even less functionality, and even less consumer goodwill in mind.
This man has alienated more than half of your intended audience, including all of those serving in the US armed forces, who were huge supporters of the 360. Having him make the announcement is insincere at best, and a sign of things to come at worst. There is very little to gain by having some of your worst PR blunders embodied in one of your highest ranking executive posts, and very little to lose by promoting one of his subordinates, even if in an interim manner, as a show that, even at the corporate level, this man's methods, statements, and policies were not what was expected of someone in that position, are all undergoing review, and may be changed in the future.
Though, if you really want to save face, and possibly the embarrassment of a bad launch with all the pre-instilled distaste for the X1, consider taking this year off the table as far as a release, work on upgrading the hardware further, refine its aesthetic, lower the price, and re-brand it for a summer release next year. I don't want to see you fall flat on your face come release, because the market needs competition, and between the Wii U's current-gen hardware, and your PR calamities, I'm not seeing a lot of that around.
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