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[fluffydelusions]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it comes to hyping next-generation hardware, the video game industry doesn't typically opt for simplicity. However, during a presentation at the GameStop Expo in Las Vegas to promote the upcoming Xbox One console last week, a no-frills, old-school approach is exactly what Microsoft employed when confronted with a convention room full of passionate gamers.

There were no flashy videos, sensational demonstrations or celebrity appearances. Instead, Xbox Live programming director Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb candidly took questions on stage from the crowd for 30 uninterrupted minutes, a refreshing reprieve considering the backlash Microsoft has continued to endure since unveiling the Xbox One in May.

"Look, at Xbox, we really care about the community," Hryb replied when asked point-blank how Microsoft would win back consumers. "We're very focused on what is right for gamers. Everybody at Xbox is a gamer. It's not like we just show up, do our work and go home. We want to make this the best game system that you are going to own for the next 10 years."

The presentation was apparently the first stop of an apology tour for Microsoft, which originally said the successor to the Xbox 360 would be required to go online every 24 hours and limit how users could access previously purchased games. A month later, citing feedback from consumers, Microsoft Corp. announced it decided not to implement such restrictions.

Microsoft's atypical about-face continued last month when the Redmond, Wash., company declared that an updated version of its Kinect sensor, which detects motion and voice, would no longer be required to operate the Xbox One. That turnabout came after the company, at events like the Electronic Entertainment Expo, defended how integral Kinect was to the Xbox One.

Hryb said he'll embark on a cross-country tour this month, making stops in U.S. cities to similarly assuage concerns about the next-gen console — just like he did at last week's GameStop Expo. The 180-degree reversals and low-key repentance are unprecedented moves for a company like Microsoft, which once hired Cirque du Soleil to theatrically unmask the first Kinect.

Microsoft announced this week that the Xbox One will debut Nov. 22 — a week after Sony Corp. unleashes its PlayStation 4 console on Nov. 14. The PS4 will cost $399 and feature comparable computing power, high-definition graphics and online features to the Xbox One. Microsoft's console is pricier at $499, but the system comes bundled with a Kinect sensor.

"I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm getting a PS4 and not an Xbox," said Jeff Lane, a gamer from Reno, Nev., who paid $100 for VIP access to the GameStop Expo. "I know Microsoft has changed course on a lot of their unfounded policies since they announced the Xbox One, but what's to stop them from just implementing them next year after the console is out?"

The worries come at an important time for the gaming industry, which has seen sales slide in recent years as Microsoft's 7-year-old Xbox 360 and Sony's 6-year-old PlayStation 3 have entered their golden years. The arrival of Nintendo's Wii U last year didn't invigorate game sales, which research firm NPD Group said have dropped 9 percent over last year.

"Education is job one," said GameStop CEO Paul Raines at last week's event, which primarily served as the training grounds for the retailer's 5,000 managers. "We have thousands of people in classrooms upstairs receiving training on the Xbox One and others on the PS4. We're trying to arm our staff on how these devices will be different and how they'll work."

Raines said GameStop expects this fall's debut of the PS4 and Xbox One to make for the biggest console launch in history, while Microsoft announced that pre-orders for the third-generation Xbox have sold out faster than both the original Xbox and Xbox 360, which was released in 2005 and has been the best-selling console for the past two years.

No doubt Microsoft could use a boost to its bottom line in the coming months. The company's stock fell this week after announcing it was spending $7.2 billion to buy Finnish smartphone maker Nokia in an effort to better compete in the hot mobile market. And Microsoft absorbed a $900 million charge in its last quarter to account for the flop of its Surface tablet, which runs a version of its Windows operating system.

David Wesley, author of "Innovation and Marketing in the Video Game Industry," believes Microsoft is headed in the right direction with its refocused Xbox One strategy. Wesley and other analysts don't expect the fallout from this year's botched unveiling of the Xbox One to ultimately affect sales or the public's perception of the console this holiday season.

"The reality is these concerns likely won't affect Microsoft's marketing of the Xbox One," said Wesley. "The challenge for Microsoft is conveying the value of the console without overhyping aspects that don't really meet expectations. They don't want to create such high expectations that people are letdown when the console is actually launched."

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3880863?utm_hp_ref=technology

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Jeff Lane is smart.

 

[qa_engineer]

Aww how sweet, MS is doing an apology tour. Still can't have my money... Yet.

 

[ElTorro]

The presentation was apparently the first stop of an apology tour for Microsoft, which originally said the successor to the Xbox 360 would be required to go online every 24 hours and limit how users could access previously purchased games. A month later, citing feedback from consumers, Microsoft Corp. announced it decided not to implement such restrictions.

 

[Derrick01]

I don't want to hear about how much they care about the community when they tried to pull the biggest screw job in the industry's history. Not to mention they damn near completely abandoned gamers on 360 years ago.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

less talk'y more do'y.

 

[Hyunashi]

"The challenge for Microsoft is conveying the value of the console without overhyping aspects that don't really meet expectations. They don't want to create such high expectations that people are letdown when the console is actually launched."

This made me laugh for some reason.

Regardless, this needed to happen anyway. Still wont be getting my money however.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

I don't much care for Major Twoface.

 

[Man]

A sorry doesn't make it cheaper nor stronger. And the DRM threat they nearly went with looms in the distance. Invest in a decent collection of 1st party studios while you're at it.

 

[Nibel]

Next time you reveal a dedicated gaming console, don't praise it as the next water cooler because of DVR features you idiots

 

[kadotsu]

MS really fucked up and it changed perception of the XBOX brand to this day. The behavior of the consumers has similarities to the Veteran/Red Cross Doughnuts perception change: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/08/02/187373801/episode-386-the-cost-of-free-doughnuts

They tried to fundamentally alter the ownership proposition of games and it'll take more than some PR to change that.

 

[Doffen]

A sorry doesn't make it cheaper nor stronger. And the DRM threat they nearly went with looms in the distance. Invest in a decent collection of 1st party studios while you're at it.

Nor does it make it available in Scandinavia.

 

[dragonelite]

Show some more games yo all i really care about.

 

[Brannon]

"Citing feedback"

Master of understatements.

 

[wilflare]

What Lane said bites... And is something MS will have to do a lot more to convince otherwise.

Maybe it's time to cue Maroon 5's song

 

[zainetor]

they need to cut the paywall bullshit and spit out games really fast.
that's it.

 

[travisbickle]

Has Major Nelson apologised to the poor interviewer he grabbed the microphone from and talked down to?

 

[LAMBO]

That's fine and all but now they have to spend a whole gen proving it. Everyone saw what they tried to pull, so instead of just bringing their already established fans on-board to the new gen, they have to win them back and hope to win over some new ones. Going to be tough.

It's funny, many say "the casuals will never even know about their old policies, it won't matter in the long run" but i think a lot of 360 gamers will know, and will remember.

 

[Gamerloid]

Everyone loves an apology. I understand that they wanted to take advantage of the digital future, but why did that equal overbearing DRM? I don't even get why the removal of some policies killed the sharing feature either.

You can take advantage of the Internet without screwing fans over.

 

[Impeccable]

Show me why Kinect makes sense to me, as a gamer would be a good starting point.

 

[The Bookerman]

I didn't trust microsoft as a company when they started the xbox back in 2001. But the Xbox group back then was run by passionate gamers and I learned to appreciate what they brought. But the Xbox one and it's earlier policies showed me I was a bit right. They got greedy and thought they could boss around their own fans/customers. Guess they got that reality check huh.

.

 

[SirMossyBloke]

Hey Microsoft, come back to us when you haven't spent $400 million on a U.S. only franchise instead of spending it on at least 10 games we can ALL enjoy.

 

[Prince Vultan]

Sorry enough to knock $100 off the price?

 

[Chuck Norris]

Yo baby come back you know I never meant to hit you, you know I'd never hurt you baby. You just made me a little mad. But you're right. Just come back to me, I'll make it up to you. I love you.

Love,
Microsoft

 

[OrbitScant]

A company that cared about gamers wouldn't have to embark on an apology tour in the first place!

 

[rvy]

The 2013 Flipping-switches Apology Tour.

 

[Sleeplessnights]

Too little, too late.

 

[Chobel]

Hryb said he'll embark on a cross-country tour this month, making stops in U.S. cities to similarly assuage concerns about the next-gen console

WTF? I didn't know that Xbox one situation is that bad.

 

[nib95]

In other words, please buy our console, pre order numbers and demand are not high enough. I'm wary of anything Microsoft do for the interim, but if they do a Kinectless $350 console I'm in.

 

[dragonelite]

they need to cut the paywall bullshit and spit out games really fast.
that's it.

The paywall is something sony does well.
I don't see the use for netflix and other apps to be behind gold paywall.
Just spit out good multiplayer games and 60+% will have gold anyway.

Come on return halo to its roots

 

[Uno Venova]

That's....real? He has to go on a cross country apology tour to try and ease concerns?

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Yo baby come back you know I never meant to hit you, you know I'd never hurt you baby. You just made me a little mad. But you're right. Just come back to me, I'll make it up to you. I love you.

Love,
Microsoft

Really? Not cool.

 

[Into]

The entire "apologize" tour never needed to happen nor did opinions like this:

"I know Microsoft has changed course on a lot of their unfounded policies since they announced the Xbox One, but what's to stop them from just implementing them next year after the console is out?"

need to exist, if they just had 1 person on those meetings pre Xbox One reveal to beat some sense into them. Just one person who was not looking at a Excel spreadsheet of all the money he/she thought they were going to make and just for 5 seconds thought "hey, would our customers actually want this?"

Whatever mindshare advantage they had in the US and UK they pissed away when they focused so much on the Kinect and becoming Nintendo 2006, they threw all the hard work the original Xbox team made and then went 180 on their decisions.


There is a lack of faith in them, that they only are doing this because of poor pre orders and that they in the back of their minds still want all the original features to be implemented at some point.

They made this mess, they even argued for it on numerous occasions and even had "game journalists" argue how great it was. They fired a employee for it. All they accomplished was lose what mindshare and good will they had in markets they did well in this gen, and made themselves look like a politician come a presidential election.

 

[Amir0x]

We may poke fun at stuff like this because of Microsoft's behavior, but I will give them brownie points for doing it, because they're doing this immediately (well, relatively speaking: just a few months), whereas Sony took a number of years before it started coming back down to Earth after 2006. I may still have philosophical disagreements with how Xbox One is designed and what they're focusing on, but I won't diss this apology.

 

[Dead Prince]

That's....real? He has to go on a cross country apology tour to try and ease concerns?

Be easier just to livestream it. Little over 2 months from the biggest launch ever

 

[Rains]

Everyone loves an apology. I understand that they wanted to take advantage of the digital future, but why did that equal overbearing DRM? I don't even get why the removal of some policies killed the sharing feature either.

You can take advantage of the Internet without screwing fans over.

Indeed that sharing feature was and still is a great idea

 

[pants]

Amazing gif, keep on whaling bro

 

[Finalizer]

Gonna take a lot more than heartfelt apologies to amend their tarnished public image in the eyes of more hardcore gamers... It'll take years of earnest dedication.

 

[GenericUser]

You like my money microsoft? Sad for you, you will never ever again get it. Apologize as much as you want, we are not friends anymore.

 

[FeiRR]

Apology accepted, Microsoft.

 

[Chuck Norris]

We may poke fun at stuff like this because of Microsoft's behavior, but I will give them brownie points for doing it, because they're doing this immediately (well, relatively speaking: just a few months), whereas Sony took a number of years before it started coming back down to Earth after 2006. I may still have philosophical disagreements with how Xbox One is designed and what they're focusing on, but I won't diss this apology.

Sony seemed humbled very quickly actually. But they really didn't have much to fix besides the price point - which like Microsoft, they are kind of stuck with.

 

[Falcs]

We're sorry we tried to fuck you right up the a-hole.

 

[immortal-joe]

"Citing feedback"

Master of understatements.

Not just an understatement, it's an outright lie.

The "feedback" came well before they ever revealed their policies, and only got louder after the initial XBONE reveal (where they barely touched on those policies). Then they released the dirty details via a document right before they showed "the gamez" at E3, hoping that the loud chorus they've been hearing these past months belongs to a loud minority, and the software will take care of the silent majority.

When the preorder numbers showed otherwise, they caved.

Hopefully, when the dust settles on this gen, this won't be forgotten; after all, I still say MS is winning this gen.

 

[Amir0x]

Sony seemed humbled very quickly actually. But they really didn't have much to fix besides the price point - which like Microsoft, they are kind of stuck with.

I cannot agree with that assessment, Sony's PR was a disaster for a good year at least in the defense of the price and other decisions (like the year delay, 'next gen starts when we say it does'; on price 'get a second job')

 

[Winterfang]

MICRUSUFT I AM TEH ANGRY!!!!!. However a Day One Edition of the Xbox One coming my way will make me accept your apology.

 

[Happy-Bunny]

 

[Shiggy]

For your next console launch: Do some proper market research and ask people outside the company for advice. If you just have a group of Adam Orths who say "yes" to everything you suggest, then you'll end up in a position like this.

 

[web01]

The 2013 Flipping-switches Apology Tour.

Sponsored by Doritos and Mountain Dew.

 

[Coxy]

I really dislike how they're trying to sell "no longer fucking you" as a selling point.

 

[Racer1977]

Why apologies, when a MS guy said the other day, they'll bring the policies back in time, as they fully believe in the product they initially revealed?