5 ms·

Reliance on Kinect and always online killed the Xbox One. Sure, they backpedaled but it was too late. They really messed up.

endorphone 9y ago
Positioning at introduction is what hobbled the Xbox One -- we mostly forget it now, but while the PS4 was introduced as a gaming device -- all about the games and for gamers -- the Xbox One was introduced as a cable pass-thru device with augmented TV watching, a smart livingroom, an NFL experience, etc. The gaming seemed almost ancillary, and of course classic television was dying (especially among the target market) so a smart TV guide hardly was compelling. It was just a massive misstep, and was years too late for its focus. They've regrouped but the PS4 has retained the lead from that early head-start.
- ballenf 9y ago
  The misstep for a non-hardcore gamer like me was that they didn't really deliver on the home entertainment hub either. It was a device halfway to nowhere. The extra $1 it would have cost to include a digital broadcast tuner (vs. a $75 add on; down to $50 these days) would have been a big draw to cord cutters. Second, the removal of the windows media tools that the 360 had made it less usable as a streaming device. Felt like design by disjointed committee. I bought it as a media hub (and for the Forza series), but ended up being somewhat abandoned by MS as the focus shifted, understandably, to hardcore gamers.
larrik 9y ago
The Xbox One is hardly dead, though.
- ekianjo 9y ago
  Not dead but a massive failure compared to what the Xbox360 did on the market.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - partiallypro 9y ago
    If I'm not mistaken the Xbox One and PS4 both sold at faster paces than their predecessors.
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      The Xbox One? I'd be very surprised if it did. The PS4, certainly, because the PS3 was a pretty bad experience for Sony.
      - partiallypro 9y ago
        Yes, and as of current, and the Xbox One X is the fastest selling pre-order in Xbox history. Each generation has sold faster than then next. I think this is largely attributable (in the XB360 -> XB1; PS3 -> PS4) to the fact that there was such a large gap between generations, so there was pent up demand. Don't mistake "faster selling" with more overall sales by the end of the generation. As for the PS3 being a bad experience for Sony, that only applies to the first units. By the end of the generation, Sony was almost parity with Microsoft on units sold. So too has Xbox One started to catch up with PS4 (in the U.S.) Microsoft still sells more software per unit though, if I am not mistaken.
- sotojuan 9y ago
  Xbox line has always lost MS money (even back in the glory days of the 360) and Xbox One has lagged way behind PS4 since it launched. "Dead" was an exaggeration, I admit. But it has mediocre if not poor sales.
  - lawnchair_larry 9y ago
    No, it hasn't. Read a recent 10-K.
    - WillPostForFood 9y ago
      Microsoft has always lumped the Xbox in with other divisions so you can't tell from the financial reports whether it is or has been profitable. The only indication from Microsoft that it is profitable is this statement from Nadella, which is at least a little ambiguous. Our gaming business now is more than $9 billion and growing profitably.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
cwyers 9y ago
There's nothing dead about the Xbox One. Yes, the PS4 outsells it. But most games releases are on both systems, and Microsoft comes through with some solid exclusives ever year. I have an Xbox One and a PS4, and with games that come out on both systems, I play those on the Xbox One because Sony's UI is frustrating to me and it just seems like the software is less polished.
- sotojuan 9y ago
  Meh, don't want to get into a console war argument, sorry. I'll just say this: Xbox One is doing poorly compared to PS4 and its exclusives are becoming nothing special. This is especially true this year when many high profile console games are either Sony exclusive or Japanese so they are not on Xbox One. If Microsoft had launched Xbox One in its current state, it would be neck to neck with PS4. Unfortunately they spent its first year pushing for Kinect, an "entertainment center", and always-online requirements.
- Retric 9y ago
  XBox is missing several exclusives like Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Persona 5 so there are plenty of games on just one system. IMO, if you have both then it might not seem like a big deal but PS4 seems to have better exclusives and it's consistently selling 2x as much. It's also at 1/3 as many sales as the Xbox 360 so 'dead' may be over rated but it's not in a great place.
  - cwyers 9y ago
    I have bought and played all of those games, and they're good games. 2017 has been a better year for PS4 exclusives than Xbox One, although maybe I just feel that way because I like the Forza Horizon games more than the Forza Motorsport games and I suck at Cuphead. There's still plenty of Xbox One exclusives that I'm happy I've played.
    - zabuni 9y ago
      It doesn't help that Microsoft cancelled a large amount of their second party titles like Scalebound.
Ralfp 9y ago
Their advertisement summing to "look at all those awesome extra features that you'll never use because they are US-only!" while at same time Sony advertised with "for the players" focus and solid, LOCALISED exclusives didn't do them any favors outside of US either.
nikolay 9y ago
Xbox One never relied on Kinect.
- sp332 9y ago
  MS did threaten to require the Kinect to be plugged in or the console wouldn't boot. They reversed that decision before launch though. http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/163796-xbox-one-no-longer-requires-kinect-but-itll-still-come-in-the-box-and-youll-still-pay-500 http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/163796-xbox-one-no-longer-...

endorphone 9y ago

Positioning at introduction is what hobbled the Xbox One -- we mostly forget it now, but while the PS4 was introduced as a gaming device -- all about the games and for gamers -- the Xbox One was introduced as a cable pass-thru device with augmented TV watching, a smart livingroom, an NFL experience, etc. The gaming seemed almost ancillary, and of course classic television was dying (especially among the target market) so a smart TV guide hardly was compelling. It was just a massive misstep, and was years too late for its focus. They've regrouped but the PS4 has retained the lead from that early head-start.

ballenf 9y ago
The misstep for a non-hardcore gamer like me was that they didn't really deliver on the home entertainment hub either. It was a device halfway to nowhere. The extra $1 it would have cost to include a digital broadcast tuner (vs. a $75 add on; down to $50 these days) would have been a big draw to cord cutters. Second, the removal of the windows media tools that the 360 had made it less usable as a streaming device. Felt like design by disjointed committee. I bought it as a media hub (and for the Forza series), but ended up being somewhat abandoned by MS as the focus shifted, understandably, to hardcore gamers.

larrik 9y ago

The Xbox One is hardly dead, though.

ekianjo 9y ago
Not dead but a massive failure compared to what the Xbox360 did on the market.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- partiallypro 9y ago
  If I'm not mistaken the Xbox One and PS4 both sold at faster paces than their predecessors.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    The Xbox One? I'd be very surprised if it did. The PS4, certainly, because the PS3 was a pretty bad experience for Sony.
    - partiallypro 9y ago
      Yes, and as of current, and the Xbox One X is the fastest selling pre-order in Xbox history. Each generation has sold faster than then next. I think this is largely attributable (in the XB360 -> XB1; PS3 -> PS4) to the fact that there was such a large gap between generations, so there was pent up demand. Don't mistake "faster selling" with more overall sales by the end of the generation. As for the PS3 being a bad experience for Sony, that only applies to the first units. By the end of the generation, Sony was almost parity with Microsoft on units sold. So too has Xbox One started to catch up with PS4 (in the U.S.) Microsoft still sells more software per unit though, if I am not mistaken.
sotojuan 9y ago
Xbox line has always lost MS money (even back in the glory days of the 360) and Xbox One has lagged way behind PS4 since it launched. "Dead" was an exaggeration, I admit. But it has mediocre if not poor sales.
- lawnchair_larry 9y ago
  No, it hasn't. Read a recent 10-K.
  - WillPostForFood 9y ago
    Microsoft has always lumped the Xbox in with other divisions so you can't tell from the financial reports whether it is or has been profitable. The only indication from Microsoft that it is profitable is this statement from Nadella, which is at least a little ambiguous. Our gaming business now is more than $9 billion and growing profitably.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]

cwyers 9y ago

There's nothing dead about the Xbox One. Yes, the PS4 outsells it. But most games releases are on both systems, and Microsoft comes through with some solid exclusives ever year. I have an Xbox One and a PS4, and with games that come out on both systems, I play those on the Xbox One because Sony's UI is frustrating to me and it just seems like the software is less polished.

sotojuan 9y ago
Meh, don't want to get into a console war argument, sorry. I'll just say this: Xbox One is doing poorly compared to PS4 and its exclusives are becoming nothing special. This is especially true this year when many high profile console games are either Sony exclusive or Japanese so they are not on Xbox One. If Microsoft had launched Xbox One in its current state, it would be neck to neck with PS4. Unfortunately they spent its first year pushing for Kinect, an "entertainment center", and always-online requirements.
Retric 9y ago
XBox is missing several exclusives like Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Persona 5 so there are plenty of games on just one system. IMO, if you have both then it might not seem like a big deal but PS4 seems to have better exclusives and it's consistently selling 2x as much. It's also at 1/3 as many sales as the Xbox 360 so 'dead' may be over rated but it's not in a great place.
- cwyers 9y ago
  I have bought and played all of those games, and they're good games. 2017 has been a better year for PS4 exclusives than Xbox One, although maybe I just feel that way because I like the Forza Horizon games more than the Forza Motorsport games and I suck at Cuphead. There's still plenty of Xbox One exclusives that I'm happy I've played.
  - zabuni 9y ago
    It doesn't help that Microsoft cancelled a large amount of their second party titles like Scalebound.

Ralfp 9y ago

Their advertisement summing to "look at all those awesome extra features that you'll never use because they are US-only!" while at same time Sony advertised with "for the players" focus and solid, LOCALISED exclusives didn't do them any favors outside of US either.

nikolay 9y ago

Xbox One never relied on Kinect.

sp332 9y ago
MS did threaten to require the Kinect to be plugged in or the console wouldn't boot. They reversed that decision before launch though. http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/163796-xbox-one-no-longer-requires-kinect-but-itll-still-come-in-the-box-and-youll-still-pay-500 http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/163796-xbox-one-no-longer-...