As a software company, Microsoft appears to understand that it can rebrand the box it makes at any time, so long as the guts of the container are properly molded. No one buys a game system or a computer because of what it is. People buy tech devices because of what they can offer. Over the last few years, Microsoft has added avatars, Net Flix, and numerous dashboard and Live features to supplement the game offerings of the Xbox 360. A
longside these “media functionality” features, Microsoft has also slowly blurred the line between the Xbox and Playstation brands. Major franchises formerly associated with Playstation such as Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and Guitar Hero have moved to multiplatform status. Brands like Halo and Splinter Cell and Gears of War augment the shared content by avoiding the Sony systems.
For Microsoft, the migration of content to its platform has been a huge gain because the
Xbox 360 offers similar experiences to PS3 at a much lower price with many of the same games. As recently as early 2007, this migration of content from many sources, into one box – the Xbox 360 – during the slow PS3 launch period meant that many expected the system to become Microsoft’s de facto living room media center, which would allow Microsoft to control multiple avenues of living room content distribution in one box.
However, the rise of the Wii coincided with this migration of content of features, leaving Microsoft and Sony to deal with a Nintendo more powerful than at anytime since it held a monopoly with the NES in 1989 and launched the Game Boy in the same year.
As the Wii has grown Microsoft has quietly changed its Xbox focus from taking key Playstation franchises augmented by exclusives and building advanced gaming features for its dedicated, traditional audience and tried to become more Wii like. The question of course has been whether or not Microsoft could finish the job and move quick enough to catch Nintendo while maintaining the full court press on Sony and continuing to exist as the ‘more’ mass market HD console.
Despite widespread cynicism before the conference, the answer appears to be yes. Microsoft announced Project Natal which can morph the Xbox 360 into a “Super Wii” of sorts, given undisputed graphical prowess over Wii and motion tech likely at least on par with Wii and its successful accessories. Since Project Natal is not launching now though, Microsoft continued to add to both the depth of the Xbox 360 game lineup, as well as the depth of the Xbox 360 media features.
With Wii unlikely to get any major new motion control initiatives after motion plus, and PS3 likely to remain more expensive than 360 throughout its life Microsoft probably can lower the lifespan of both systems by being superior late in life to Wii graphically and in terms of interaction, and similar enough, but significantly cheaper than PS3 for the rest of the generation, forcing both Nintendo and Sony to release future systems years ahead of schedule (Sony wants to try to recoup the losses on PS3, Nintendo wants to milk the Wii for profit but will not sacrifice its long term profit). Trying to bleed Nintendo dry, a company with only 4,300 employees and $10 billion in cash reserves that is laser focused on one industry will not be easy for any company, even one as powerful as Microsoft. But preventing Wii from continuing to explode at 100 million units and beyond has to be the first step if Microsoft is to win the larger battle – for future supremacy in videogames - and Project Natal is the first step to that end, for better or for worse.
With Sony continuing to lose power in the industry due to financial woes and miscalculations, learning how to cope with the revitalized Nintendo will be Microsoft’s biggest internal challenge in at least the near term. Project Natal, if successful, is probably the one device that could make Xbox 360 a true mass market media center. For restoring investor faith and forcing Nintendo and Sony to change their approaches to gaming, there is certainly an argument to be made that Microsoft outperformed its competitors.
In part two, look for an argument as to why Nintendo beat its competitors at its conference, followed by an assessment of why it was actually Sony who did. The final section, part four will demonstrate which ‘case’ is really the strongest despite the pitches by the other two competitors.
The Case for Why Microsoft Won E3
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by semitop
