Xbox, you have a problem
When Xbox started to talk next gen, many people took notice, because after fumbling, butchering and outright failing at the launch of the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 took off and Xbox never caught back up. But being first means that this might the time for Xbox to catch up and maybe take over, with their first party titles running dry over the last few years, the Xbox Games Showcase was there chance to sell people on Series X as a home of exclusives and they failed.
Well, I wouldn’t say that they failed so much, but they did not deliver on what they were talking about leading into the show and this is the second time that they have done that, this year. When they revealed they would be broadcasting a new episode of Inside Xbox back in May, they started to hype up that people would see Xbox Series X games and we got that, but due to them over hyping the event, people came away letdown and there were even tweets from the executives to admit that they made a mistake.
Had we not said anything & just shown May Inside Xbox show like we did last month, I suspect reactions might have been different. Clearly we set some wrong expectations & that’s on us. We appreciate all the feedback & can assure you we will take it all in & learn as a team. 🙏🏻💚
— Aaron Greenberg 🙅🏼♂️❎ (@aarongreenberg) May 8, 2020
So, with that in mind, you would think that they would have learnt a lesson about expectations, but it seems that they didn’t and with their moment, to prove to people that the Xbox Series X is a console worth paying attention to, they stumbled again and failed to deliver. In order to see why they failed, let’s have a look at the three things that caused the problems, starting with teaser trailers.
Xbox finally confirmed Fable was being created by the team at Playground Games, a rumour which would not stop and for good reason, all the evidence was there. Just as reports about Obsidian showed that they were also working on a new RPG game and again, just like Turn 10 were working on the next entry in the Forza Motorsport series, but that is where things stopped. Confirming the games was nice, teaser trailers were welcome, but not getting any other details is just pathetic and I use that word because that is what it is. Phil Spencer called out that the trailer for Forza Motorsport was captured in-engine and it looked nice, but that came after the words that the team at Turn 10 were ‘early in development’ on the title. Given that the studio last released a game back in 2017, 3 years is a long time and to only now be early in development is weird.
Of course, you can argue that they were helping set up Series X, ensuring the development tools were right for other studios, but Xbox have a hardware team for that. You can also spin an argument that they were building an entirely new engine for their new car game, but as engine work has been shared for years with Playground Games, that also doesn’t support their times. Regardless of their reason, to announce the game, but claim it is early in development, given the number of years, is simply weird. The problem is not to them, but the other games mentioned above as well, Obsidian are creating their new game, in a world that they already know, the lore has been created, so there is plenty to reference, but all we got was a teaser that honestly, showed nothing except it will be first person.
The problem that I have with their teaser trailers is that Xbox were adamant that this was the event where they would prove that they had the games people wanted and all they proved was that they didn’t. Teaser trailers are not game trailers, heck they might not even result in made games, so putting the expectation to gamers that they are going to get games confirmed, then offering up a teaser is just shitty.
That sadly, was not the worst thing, the only game they kept hyping up, leading into the event was that of Halo Infinite and I was ok with that. I have seen two trailers, one of which was a teaser and I was ready for gameplay, the problem is they capped their gameplay with a massive story piece that fell flat and that highlights the other problem, failure to deliver gameplay. The Xbox Series X is launching this year, Xbox have been extremely confident that it will happen this year, no delay and so far, the only game we have seen for the console from them is Halo Infinite. Yes, we know more games are coming, but one first party titles, does not a console make, and it is not even made for that console, regardless of what anyone else tells you, this was made for Xbox One first and with the game being delayed, it compounds the issues even more.
Everwild is a complete unknown and I say that because I don’t even know if Rare know what they are making, the game has been shown off twice now and there is no clear indication about what the game will let you do. They might have chosen to be a little more cautious, given Sea of Thieves initial reactions, but when you have an entirely new IP, for a new piece of hardware, you need to show it off. Producing a visually stunning trailer is nice, but for your second showing, gamers should be able to tell you what the game is, right now, it honestly could be a tabletop card game and we could not say one way or the other.
We also got another look at Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, well I would like to say we did, but in fact all we got was a guy with a man bun, telling us the game was set in Iceland. Now while interesting, given that this was our first Xbox Series X game from Microsoft, once the console was revealed, seeing actual gameplay would have been better, in fact seeing anything new, would have been better. In terms of actual gameplay shown, the list breaks down to Halo Infinite, The Gunk, Psychonauts 2 (and that one could be argued), Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, Destiny 2, Grounded and The Outer Worlds DLC. None of these games are exclusive to Series X and in more cases, they are on other platforms, (read not just PC), making their inclusion a little weaker. Xbox needed to show gameplay for their first party line up and they somehow made the choice not to and I can’t fathom a reason as to why.
Next up on their list of issues, the actual presentation, for the most part it was nice, it kept things moving at a brisk pace, mostly and they kept it up for the hour the show ran for. However, for no reason, or at least no valid reason, they kept taking detours from the games to have people talk at a camera. Having Phil Spencer make an appearance makes sense, he is the head of Xbox, but we didn’t need to see Matt Booty, Sarah Bond or any of the folks from the studios. Everyone loves to copy Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation have both done so with Inside Xbox and State of Play respectively and Nintendo learnt early on, let the games do the talking, but for some reason, Xbox love to show their people. As much as Matt Booty might bring to the games, he does not make the games and he is not a game you can play, so seeing him on camera makes no sense when your event is all about the games.
The other thing they need to do away with are the ‘World Premiere’ and ‘Exclusive’ things, they are annoying and no longer needed and anyone who argues they are, is doing it to be stupid. If your game is made by Microsoft, it will be exclusive, if it is made by anyone else, it is not exclusive and once we see the developer name, it will be easy to tell. Now exclusives are a big deal, it is the reason to get a console, you can’t play Halo on your PlayStation 5, just like you can’t play Horizon Forbidden West on your Xbox Series X, but constantly pumping the words out, like people care, is antiquated and pointless and it needs to be left alone.
The final point of irritation with Xbox is just how quick they dropped their plan to support Xbox One going forward, they dropped it faster than you might have expected. For 12 months, the Xbox leadership have been spruiking the word that games will be made for Xbox Series X, PC and Xbox One, with 3rd party developers being able to choose to support the Xbox One or not, but with Forza Motorsport, Avowed, Fable, State of Decay 3 and the other games, they all state Series X and PC only, Halo Infinite was the only game to list Xbox One. Given that the Series X is far more powerful than the One, dropping the older platform was always going to happen, but the fact that they couldn’t even make it to the end of their showcase, before it happened is just woeful and honestly, at this point, if you were going to be a Xbox One for future games, you had best reconsider your options.
Xbox have at best 4 months, for a November release and at worst 3, or even 2 before the Xbox Series X is rolling out in stores and at this point, I can’t see a reason to get a console day one. People will claim that they have game pass, which is absolutely true, but I already have that one my Xbox One, so I don’t need it for that. Apart from Halo, none of the other games are dated for this year at all, but with Halo hitting other platforms, including PC, it is not a console exclusive.
This was their chance to show games, not tease more games, but proper games, that we could be playing within the next year and they failed, they highlighted one game, and it is not the powerhouse it used to be. Xbox can still turn things around, but they have to push hard and do it soon, else the PlayStation 5 will keep the lead it has coming into the next generation and that will leave Xbox in a really bad place.
