The Slow Downwards Tumble of Xbox
When Microsoft decided to get into the gaming industry, one of their first ideas was to purchase Nintendo.
Nintendo said no.
When Microsoft needed some standout content exclusive to their new console, the original Xbox, they decided to buy Bungie along with Halo.
Almost every single time Microsoft has tried using brute force in their gaming pursuits, it blows up in their faces. But when they haven’t done so, and actually tried to run their business in a more involved and organic way, (such as fostering a relationship with Sega after the Dreamcast failed) it has often boosted their company’s perception. People were happy to game on Xbox.
I was a diehard fan of the Xbox 360. I spent a large portion of my depressed teenage years playing Halo 3, Halo Reach, Gears of War 3 and many more games with my friends online. Over a decade later, and I still speak to a buddy who was regularly in those online parties with me. I was provided with (at the time) a fantastic online service and a great lineup of games to either play alone, or with friends and strangers. When E3 2013 rolled around, I was pretty much dead set on giving Microsoft my money again. I was beyond ready for their next console.
But we all know what happened.
Microsoft had their presentation before Sony. Oh, and it was awful. The console name, Xbox One, sounded almost like satire. Your third console is called “One”? There was a large emphasis on the Xbox One being in all-in-one (hence the name) entertainment machine, instead of just a gaming console. In fact, television seemed to be a larger emphasis of the machine! Then there were the rumors of it being an always online console, and trying to eliminate consumers ability to play used games. Of course, Phil Spencer said in an interview many years later, that the Xbox One presentation “confused consumers”.
No Phil, the presentation didn’t confuse us. What confused us, is how a company that provided us with such a stellar online service and library of games, didn’t seem to understand that’s all they needed to keep doing.
Needless to say, I decided to get a PS4. And what’s funny is back then I didn’t have Twitter. I didn’t use Reddit, and I barely used Instagram or Facebook. So my decision to jump from the 360 to the PS4 just felt like a me decision. I wasn’t influenced by other people on social media. But as the years went by and I did start using social media more, I realized that I was far from alone. It seems like most people did the same exact jump as me.
Over the last decade, of course I kept my eyes on Xbox to see if they were doing anything cool. But I’ll be honest, I went from being able to laugh at how stupid their decisions were, to actually almost wondering if there’s some diabolical conspiracy to make the Xbox brand worthless. Speaking on a personal level, their biggest offenses are:
Their key franchise Halo still not being able to reach the heights of their former developer Bungie after 14 years.
2. It is a popular notion amongst diehard Gears of War fans that the series has been unable to hit the same level of quality after the initial trilogy. It has been thirteen years since the trilogy concluded.
3. Somehow there still hasn’t been a Fable 4. As a huge fan of Fable 2 and 3, I’ve been waiting for a proper Fable 4 since 2011.
4. They bought Rare, but seldom properly utilized the IP they own. The fact that there has never been a true sequel to the old Banjo-Kazooie or Conker games is embarrassingly clumsy. Remember how the opening of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was making fun of 3D platformers? It’s a little ironic, given that Nintendo (the company Microsoft wanted to buy initially), owns quite possibly the most iconic video game character of all time. And guess what games he’s mostly known for? High quality 3D platformers. But yes, go ahead and make fun of 3D platformers.
5. They seemingly don’t know how to give a console a simple and effective name.
And they LOVE buying studios just to barely use them beyond a game or two, close them down, and leave thousands of people without a job. Without health insurance or income. Isn’t it insane that Hellblade 2 comes out in a few weeks as of this article, and there’s barely been any marketing for the game? The game doesn’t have a physical release either, which if Alan Wake 2 is a good indicator, is a bad sign for sales. So the consumer either has to pay $50 for an 8 hour game, or subscribe to Gamepass (Pssstt, they want you to do the second option!) Oh yeah, speaking of Gamepass, their numbers haven’t been increasing enough over the past few years. Shocker. Gamepass itself is objectively one of the best deals in gaming for an average player, but it always struck me as a Hail Mary in the fourth quarter with twenty seconds left. Only a multi-trillion dollar company such as Microsoft could “afford” to make AAA games and hand them out almost for free. Gamepass to me, was always the move a desperate losing party would make, not a smart move by a successful party.
I haven’t enjoyed seeing Xbox flail around so much in the past decade. Basic logic would suggest that tough competition means better games everywhere. But if we’re being honest, even Xbox’s beloved games from the previous years (the Ori Games, Hi-fi Rush, Grounded, etc.) haven’t really left a huge mark in the gaming world. Perhaps their biggest mark is Sea of Thieves. Recently an interview with Xbox employees was reported by IGN’s wonderful Ryan Mccaffrey, and in it the following quote was pulled: “It’s no longer Xbox, it’s Microsoft Gaming”.
And with that, I think we can read the tea leaves a bit. We’ll be seeing more, if not all, of Microsoft’s games on PlayStation. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft goes the way of Sega, and chooses to only make software.
It honestly didn’t have to go this way. The teams over at Microsoft brought us many innovations specifically during the online boom of console gaming. But it’s clear to me now that the Xbox 360 was a happy accident. Lightning in a bottle. And we’re left with the old saying: “lightning never strikes twice”.
