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[LouieGeetoo]

When you're such a wide-ranging company, I suppose you're bound to repeat yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_Groove

 

[PAULINK]

Better than having Xbox there. Regular people would otherwise associate those services with gaming somehow.

Yeah I did not understand why they were doing this.

 

[TharpDaddy]

I dunno I think I like the new name. Gives me a weird Zune vibe. I still think the Zune software is one of the best looking things out there.

 

[SwiftDeath]

So I think that rebranding them something not Xbox makes more sense if they want them to do anything outside of Xbox [i.e. on Windows 10 and such] but the names are kind of meh

 

[shandy706]

They wanted to brand everything Xbox when the brand was strong at the end of the 360 days.

Now they want to remove the Xbox brand now that it isn't as strong I guess.

Pretty sure it makes a lot more sense to change it to something that has nothing to do with gaming.

Confident it has nothing to do with the "brand" of Xbox and its popularity. Not sure how one even comes up with that?

Xbox music is a good service I gladly pay for, the new name is fine. Sounds like some back end improvements too.

I like it because they give away tons of free albums sometimes...lol. The only "music" service I "sort of" pay for is Prime Music...and that was added to my already long running Prime membership.


"Groove" is a million x better than "Xbox Music".

 

[FyreWulff]

I wouldn't go that far.

At one point the 360 had 3 different video services on it, all from Microsoft, before they collapsed them down to one.

 

[Majine]

I liked the word Zune more. You might suspect that I do since my avatar looks like the Zune logo.

 

[hawk2025]

Pretty sure it makes a lot more sense to change it to something that has nothing to do with gaming.

Confident it has nothing to do with the "brand" of Xbox and its popularity. Not sure how one even come up with that?



I like it because they give away tons of free albums sometimes...lol. The only "music" service I "sort of" pay for is Prime Music...and that was added to my already long running Prime membership.

You come up with that by seeing that it was changed to Xbox Music, then changed back. It was a clear attempt at leveraging the Xbox brand to other entertainment venues. It stands to reason that, if it's changing to something else, the plan didn't quite work.

 

[Trup1aya]

Sony renames their Music unlimited to PlayStation Music and MS renames Xbox Music to Groove which is quite opposite and strange. Even Sony Video unlimited now PS Video and Xbox Video to Movies & TV so Sony wants move to Playstation and MS wants move away from Xbox.

Well, Playstation is the best brand Sony has going for it at the moment, the same can't be said for MS and Xbox...

MS has too many non-gaming customers to be labeling their entertainment services "Xbox"... It was truly confusing for a windows only consumer to understand why they should subscribe to Xbox Music Pass... On the flip side of that, if you are a Sony customer right now, it's probably because you are a gamer...

 

[BlackBuzzard]

Jason Derulo

Rip ears.

 

[Begaria]

I'll see your Ash and Austin and raise both of you an Earthworm Jim!

 

[foxdvd]

they can call it what ever they want as long as the rumors of tivo/dvr coming to xbox one is true....

 

[RoyalLaFlame]

I dunno I think I like the new name. Gives me a weird Zune vibe. I still think the Zune software is one of the best looking things out there.

Zune had such a cool vibe around it. Amazing software too.



Groove... better than Xbox Music for sure.

 

[daviyoung]

Microsoft getting down with its bad self

 

[Aggie CMD]

I'm listening to a groovy song on Xbox Music right now!

 

[see5harp]

Jason Derullo is so shit. I don't even know how dude has hits.

 

[Carl]

Maybe the next Xbox will be called the Groovybox

 

[Jason Frost]

Microsoft are trying to be Edgy and Groovy with their names...

 

[urbanOSU]

I could care less what they call it, just catch up to Soony and allow me to stream music (not snapped) while I play a game. Sony nailed it with Spoitify.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

Will i be able to buy some MOJO baby, yeaaaahhh?

 

[jordan0386]

Microsoft Xbox Music or

Microsoft Groove

Your call.

 

[jelly]

I wonder how hard they tried to find a name for Movies and TV. I can't think of one.

 

[Mit-]

I'll see your Ash and Austin and raise both of you an Earthworm Jim!

Came to post this. Will reiterate with animated version.

Also this is a good call by Microsoft (removing Xbox from the names).

 

[facelike]

Groove, really?

They should have just called it Microsoft Music. That uses the strong brand and explains to anyone, no matter the age, what you'll find there.

Wondering if they were pondering names like "Watch" or "Look" for the Movies and TV.

 

[jooey]

What was it called two years ago?

was more referring to the xbox one reveal + general focus on entertainment crap

 

[The Mad Draklor]

Strongly reminds me of Grooveshark

Spoiler

which is now dead, btw.

 

[TharpDaddy]

Groove, really?

They should have just called it Microsoft Music. That uses the strong brand and explains to anyone, no matter the age, what you'll find there.

Wondering if they were pondering names like "Watch" or "Look" for the Movies and TV.

I think Groove is a more catchy name than Microsoft Music. Someone sees me listening to music on my phone and they ask what it is, I feel like "Oh it's Groove" would stick with someone more than "Oh it's Microsoft Music." Microsoft also doesn't have the 'cool' factor that Apple does. I think Apple can get away with Apple Music, I don't think Microsoft would have as much success with Microsoft Music.

 

[sturgboski]

I'm terrible at photoshop, but someone alter the box art for How Stella Got Her Groove Back to instead be about Microsoft/Xbox.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Hmm, moving away from Xbox branding.

Interesting...

 

[Guevara]

Hmm, moving away from Xbox branding.

Interesting...

Right?

For a while, Xbox looked like it was going to be their "cool" brand umbrella.

 

[etta]

Hmm, moving away from Xbox branding.

Interesting...

Xbox division being sold to Burger King confirmed.

I wonder how hard they tried to find a name for Movies and TV. I can't think of one.

Microsoft Flicks.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Calling it 'microsoft' or 'windows' anything would be a terrible move because those brands really don't have much positive mindshare.

Groove is still quite terrible though. Zune is a thousand times better.

 

[Alx]

I was ok with just "Music" and "Video". Groove is better than Xbox, though. Hopefully the new voice commands will be smart enough to make saying the full name unnecessary.

 

[TharpDaddy]

Calling it 'microsoft' or 'windows' anything would be a terrible move because those brands really don't have much positive mindshare.

Groove is still quite terrible though. Zune is a thousand times better.

I'm not sure they could go back to Zune. A lot of people have a pretty negative connection with the Zune name. It lost hard to iPod and was seen as the mediocre competitor, I still hear people mock the brand now and then. Starting fresh is probably their best bet.

 

[krypt0nian]

Suit coats and hoodies for everyone!

 

[facelike]

I think Groove is a more catchy name than Microsoft Music. Someone sees me listening to music on my phone and they ask what it is, I feel like "Oh it's Groove" would stick with someone more than "Oh it's Microsoft Music." Microsoft also doesn't have the 'cool' factor that Apple does. I think Apple can get away with Apple Music, I don't think Microsoft would have as much success with Microsoft Music.

I think that with a name like "Groove", a good amount of people would just ignore it without giving it a shot. I'm constantly teaching people about Streaming services and most people have no idea about them. Many of these folks are older than 30 normally but love our new music options when I introduce them to it. If I told them the service was called 'Groove', they probably wouldn't take it as seriously as a 'Apple Music' or 'Google Music'.

I'm sure MS wants many people of all ages, music tastes, etc to be part of the service and I don't think Groove works for that, unless the 'cool' demographic is their target audience, then I agree with you about the name.

 

[woodypop]

Reminds me of

 

[KAOS]

I like how they emphasize '"The Feedback Engine"! When they have yet to respond to this...

https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/251646-apps/suggestions/6028534-xbox-music

Not only that but they act shady as fuck by removing 5,000 votes without any explanation.

 

[godhandiscen]

Not a fan of the name, but it needed something to distinguish itself.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Good move, the Xbox name for anything other than the Xbox, or gaming related systems seems weird to me. Groove is a bad name though, so I guess it's maintaining the status quo.

 

[The Flash]

I do not groove when I listen to music. I frolic.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

They wanted to brand everything Xbox when the brand was strong at the end of the 360 days.

Now they want to remove the Xbox brand now that it isn't as strong I guess.

Or maybe they just want Xbox associated with gaming?

Makes sense.

 

[Steverulez]

I do not groove when I listen to music. I frolic.

They should have called it frolic, someone tweet Satya/Phil!

 

[Azure Dream]

Reminds me of

For years you could not find a bargain games bin in America without this lining the bottom.

 

[DownGrader]

I liked the word Zune more. You might suspect that I do since my avatar looks like the Zune logo.

This.

Why did they need to think of new name, let alone the one as generic as "Groove"? And it's not like Zune brand was damaged somehow or so... it's just faded without flop. (Not like flopped name can't be used for another time - Nokia used N-Gage brand for Symbian gaming service in mid-late 2000s.)

It would be actually a good idea to proberly introduce the Zune brand in Europe, by the way. I bet more people here know Zune for that free Windows XP theme:

Still, it's far better brand name than "Groove", and the Xbox services rebranding could be an ideal way to stop Zune brand from fading into obscurity.

 

[Storm Raider]

This is something PlayStation would normally do.

Awful thing to do though.

 

[shandy706]

You come up with that by seeing that it was changed to Xbox Music, then changed back. It was a clear attempt at leveraging the Xbox brand to other entertainment venues. It stands to reason that, if it's changing to something else, the plan didn't quite work.

Nah, would be stupid even if Xbox was the #1 brand in the world. When I get on a windows PC, looking for "Xbox Music" would be the last place I'd think my music is located or purchased.

Or maybe they just want Xbox associated with gaming?

Makes sense.

Yep

 

[Frog-fu]

Good. Finally. For years I been saying they'd reach a much larger audience if they rebranded XBM, which is a really good service with a huge selection but alienates people outside of their ecosystem. Groove is a good name, now they should find one for XBV.

 

[infinit777]

I really don't see the point in them rebranding stuff so often.

 

[chadskin]

Next up, the Microsoft GamesGrooveMoviesTVbox One. Gotta be as descriptive as possible.