How to sell next-gen consoles, Marketing, Positioning, and Pricing [2020]

[Sonic]

Any guesses on what Microsoft will name their mid-gen refresh?

 

[iroboto]

Any guesses on what Microsoft will name their mid-gen refresh?

I don't have a lot of faith that they'll have one. But I hope it's not named Xbox Series X Enhanced Edition

 

[goonergaz]

Your first link doesn't actually prove anything except that previous generation console sales were up. However it was also written in sept when all consoles were hard to find because of covid and the new consoles weren't released yet. Also at that point the one x was already discontinued.

It shows that when the new consoles went on sale (for pre-order) there was a huge spike in sales for the old consoles. Yes, pure coincidence that proves nothing like people buying the wrong console!?

Your second link is some rando reddit person who ordered it from another country .

Do you really think people are going to post how stupid they are, you're talking about someone with a reddit account who is on the gaming loop who bought the wrong console. This is a very small chance of happening, so to find this is actually quite surprising.

Now think about the uneducated who are buying these and not posting on the web about it (clue - it's the majority).

Good try making a case for this being a wide spread issue. People can simply read Xbox one s vs Xbox series s. They are two different names

Not sure I said it was wide-spread? I'm certainly not saying that...I'm just saying it can happen due to the naming convention. As I said, I've worked in retail so have experienced first hand people getting confused between Xbox and PlayStation, so imagine the confusion here. Just because you cannot comprehend it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I think you're completely overblowing my comments out of context (try re-reading). All I said was I could see it being confusing for mums and dads not in the loop, you said 'no chance' and I linked to reports of people buying the wrong consoles and you poo-poo those links.

People Keep Buying The Xbox One X By Mistake Instead Of Series X | GGRecon

All I'm saying is it would have been better to break from the S and X names that they used last gen. Last gen it made sense, you had the original release then the slim version (S) and then later the souped up version (X). People would even refer to them by these letters, I would say 'I have the X' - I wouldn't say 'I have the Xbox One X'.

This gen you're releasing 2 consoles at the same time and there's already (at least) 2 others on sale, would have been much better to do like they have done with every other generation and have completely new names, but that's just me.

 

[eastmen]

It shows that when the new consoles went on sale (for pre-order) there was a huge spike in sales for the old consoles. Yes, pure coincidence that proves nothing like people buying the wrong console!?

During a pandemic when people were paying 3x the retail price for switches ? When people were and still are standing in line for hours each morning trying to get cpu's and graphics cards at microcenter ?

All electronics were hard to get and continue to be.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertain...-sales-and-deals-for-october-2020/ar-BB1ai4kc

Here is an oct 2020 article pay attention to this part

Xbox One S: $299.99 at Best Buy Best Buy currently has stock of the Xbox One S in stock, which we haven't been able to say for a while. The price isn't great considering the new Series S will also launch at $299.99, but if you're looking for a disk drive while the Series X price falls over the next year or so it might be worth a look.

Notice how they state it hasn't been in stock for a while ? Because all consoles were harder to get and of course at the launch of a new generation its extremely difficult getting one of the new ones. Most pople don't care enough to try and get a new one when an older one will do.

Do you really think people are going to post how stupid they are, you're talking about someone with a reddit account who is on the gaming loop who bought the wrong console. This is a very small chance of happening, so to find this is actually quite surprising.

Have you been on the internet ever in your life ?

Now think about the uneducated who are buying these and not posting on the web about it (clue - it's the majority).

Seems kind of high and mighty of you. I worked in retail at gamestop during the ps2/xbox/ gamecube releases. No one had any trouble figuring out what system they wanted to buy. Once in awhile we would get a grandma come in and ask for a nintendo playstation but it was a rare problem. I have also never heard stories of people going out and buying 2ds systems when they wanted a 3ds.

Not sure I said it was wide-spread? I'm certainly not saying that...I'm just saying it can happen due to the naming convention. As I said, I've worked in retail so have experienced first hand people getting confused between Xbox and PlayStation, so imagine the confusion here. Just because you cannot comprehend it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I think you're completely overblowing my comments out of context (try re-reading). All I said was I could see it being confusing for mums and dads not in the loop, you said 'no chance' and I linked to reports of people buying the wrong consoles and you poo-poo those links.

People Keep Buying The Xbox One X By Mistake Instead Of Series X | GGRecon

All I'm saying is it would have been better to break from the S and X names that they used last gen. Last gen it made sense, you had the original release then the slim version (S) and then later the souped up version (X). People would even refer to them by these letters, I would say 'I have the X' - I wouldn't say 'I have the Xbox One X'.

This gen you're releasing 2 consoles at the same time and there's already (at least) 2 others on sale, would have been much better to do like they have done with every other generation and have completely new names, but that's just me.

Didn't you just say uneducated people wouldn't be posting about this on the web ?

Oh never mind , I looked at the article. Lets break it down

First tweet used for the article. Xbox One X rank shot up really high in canada. Second tweet. Someone saying that microsoft should rename the console to stop people from buying the wrong console.

Finally on the third tweet you have a person who preordered the wrong system . One tweet to base an article on.


Now here is the thing. The xbox series X was discontinued last July. Stock of new systems has dried up and there are very few out there. Xbox one S all digital is also EOL at the same time. Again it wont exist out there. The only one still in production is the Xbox one s. But that will also come to an end at some point ( most likely extended out due to the virus and production issues).

 

[goonergaz]

During a pandemic when people were paying 3x the retail price for switches ? When people were and still are standing in line for hours each morning trying to get cpu's and graphics cards at microcenter ?

All electronics were hard to get and continue to be.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertain...-sales-and-deals-for-october-2020/ar-BB1ai4kc

Here is an oct 2020 article pay attention to this part


Notice how they state it hasn't been in stock for a while ? Because all consoles were harder to get and of course at the launch of a new generation its extremely difficult getting one of the new ones. Most pople don't care enough to try and get a new one when an older one will do.

Seriously? You think that coincidentally the day that the new Xbox goes on pre-order that people think 'what the hell I'll just get the console I could have bought last year for $100 less instead? XOX sales had flat-lined for some time leading up to the pre-orders.

I worked in retail at gamestop during the ps2/xbox/ gamecube releases. No one had any trouble figuring out what system they wanted to buy. Once in awhile we would get a grandma come in and ask for a nintendo playstation but it was a rare problem. I have also never heard stories of people going out and buying 2ds systems when they wanted a 3ds.

Well yeah, one I worked in a general electronics store so the footfall was less game focused, secondly of course you wouldn't buy a 2DS instead of a 3DS - the naming is quite clear

Didn't you just say uneducated people wouldn't be posting about this on the web ?

No need to get offensive, just accept that people might have a different opinion. And for the record, by uneducated I was referring to them being uneducated in gaming circles and forums. For example, mums and dads not really into 'tech' - it wasn't a dig or diss - sorry if it came across that way...it was lazy typing on my part.

Now here is the thing. The xbox series X was discontinued last July. Stock of new systems has dried up and there are very few out there. Xbox one S all digital is also EOL at the same time. Again it wont exist out there. The only one still in production is the Xbox one s. But that will also come to an end at some point ( most likely extended out due to the virus and production issues).

True, but there is a second hand market - eBay where people buy empty boxes or pictures of items for example!

Can't see why you can't accept that just going for completely new names would have been easier to understand!? :/ We'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[eastmen]

Seriously? You think that coincidentally the day that the new Xbox goes on pre-order that people think 'what the hell I'll just get the console I could have bought last year for $100 less instead? XOX sales had flat-lined for some time leading up to the pre-orders.


Well yeah, one I worked in a general electronics store so the footfall was less game focused, secondly of course you wouldn't buy a 2DS instead of a 3DS - the naming is quite clear


No need to get offensive, just accept that people might have a different opinion. And for the record, by uneducated I was referring to them being uneducated in gaming circles and forums. For example, mums and dads not really into 'tech' - it wasn't a dig or diss - sorry if it came across that way...it was lazy typing on my part.


True, but there is a second hand market - eBay where people buy empty boxes or pictures of items for example!

Can't see why you can't accept that just going for completely new names would have been easier to understand!? :/ We'll just have to agree to disagree.

1) Again sales of all consoles would spike as stock allowed. Also MS's messaging was that their biggest games would be cross generational.

2) Ah yes 2ds vs 3ds is very clear both have 2 screens . Wonder about the 2ds , 2ds lite and 3ds / 3ds new oh and 3ds xl . People seem to figure it out just fine. I take it if MS added random numbers some where like samsung everything would work out peachy Introducing the xbox one s 32 and now introducing the xbox series s 48 .. hut hut hike

3) A mom and dad would have to have existed in this world at least long enough to become a parent. You think they would be unable to remember their kid wants an xbox series and not an xbox one ? My father an immigrant never had an issue finding any of the product I wanted growing up. He had no problem knowing that I wanted a game boy color vs game boy. He had didn't bring home a gameboy color or gameboy color pocket when I asked for a gameboy advance. Its not really rocket science. He was also the one that found an xbox series x for my nephew for christmas. That 72 year old man was able to go to gamestop during a pandemic and do just fine.

4) Yes they buy empty boxes and pictures of items because the sellers are covert in what they are selling and ebay is scummy to allow them to stay up.

5) What name would you want them to use ? The naming scheme makes perfect sense. Xbox is the platform. One/Series refers to the generation and then S/X refers to their place in that generation. S lower end and X higher end. Its actually not a complicated naming scheme. Lots of companies do this. Samsung for a long time had the Samsung Galaxy s 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and Samsung Galaxy Note 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 do you think people who wanted a galaxy note 9 buy a lot of galaxy s 9

 

[goonergaz]

1) Again sales of all consoles would spike as stock allowed. Also MS's messaging was that their biggest games would be cross generational.

2) Ah yes 2ds vs 3ds is very clear both have 2 screens . Wonder about the 2ds , 2ds lite and 3ds / 3ds new oh and 3ds xl . People seem to figure it out just fine. I take it if MS added random numbers some where like samsung everything would work out peachy Introducing the xbox one s 32 and now introducing the xbox series s 48 .. hut hut hike

3) A mom and dad would have to have existed in this world at least long enough to become a parent. You think they would be unable to remember their kid wants an xbox series and not an xbox one ? My father an immigrant never had an issue finding any of the product I wanted growing up. He had no problem knowing that I wanted a game boy color vs game boy. He had didn't bring home a gameboy color or gameboy color pocket when I asked for a gameboy advance. Its not really rocket science. He was also the one that found an xbox series x for my nephew for christmas. That 72 year old man was able to go to gamestop during a pandemic and do just fine.

4) Yes they buy empty boxes and pictures of items because the sellers are covert in what they are selling and ebay is scummy to allow them to stay up.

5) What name would you want them to use ? The naming scheme makes perfect sense. Xbox is the platform. One/Series refers to the generation and then S/X refers to their place in that generation. S lower end and X higher end. Its actually not a complicated naming scheme. Lots of companies do this. Samsung for a long time had the Samsung Galaxy s 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and Samsung Galaxy Note 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 do you think people who wanted a galaxy note 9 buy a lot of galaxy s 9

1) I have shown how sales spiked with the launch of the XSX pre-order, if you want to counter with evidence of similar spikes prior to that then please feel free to provide it...if it exists.

2) Again the clue is in the name, one being 3D and the other not. And yes, there were lots of variants of "2DS" but at least they were all the same generation. Xbox were and are completely random with their naming and now want to try and make something appear as it's been there forever.

3) You'd think that, you'd think that someone with a PlayStation who wanted to buy the latest Xbox would get the right product, but you'd be surprised. The whole world doesn't revolve around your family and their ability to buy the right product. I wanted a Spectrum for Christmas and got a C64, I was pleased but it wasn't what I asked for - my parents had not idea about computers. Also all the examples you gave have clear name differences, the confusion I'm talking about is having the 'S' and the 'X' moniker. If these had different letter even that would have been enough to make them completely different, but using the S and the X is what causes the confusion.

4) Point being that people don't fully read adverts and fully understand what they're buying sometimes, especially when it's something that's hard to get hold of or they are 'uneducated' in a particular field.

5) As I've said before, Xbox has had 3 prior generations and none have had an S and X edition, in fact the first X edition only came out a few years ago - as such there was no naming convention they needed to follow. I already suggested some examples, and yes, I totally 100% agree with you that S and X makes sense to you and me (and many others in the 'gaming forum' as it were)...but even then there was a lot of 'huh?' in the early days. They could have just used a word instead of a letter, Xbox Series Standard and Xbox Series Xtreme - something like that...it starts a trend, links into last gen and has no room for confusion. In the Galaxy example the interesting thing here is that the generational order is clear - so we know this is the 9th model (so clear to know where it sits in the order) and then one is S and one is Note...seems pretty clear to me...and again, you're talking about a long line of naming convention vs completely random naming and now we want to start a naming convention which doesn't even reflect what happened last gen (S was a full powered console and X was a significant increase on a launch full power console).

Anyway, as I said - I can see why you think it makes perfect sense, it's just a shame you can't understand why I think it might not. Let's just agree to disagree.

 

[Nesh]

Yes it is very confusing. XBOX Series S, XBOX One S, XBOX Series X and XBOX One X.
That One and Series product names dont make sense. People arent confusing Series S with Series X they are also confusing the Ones with the Series'.
I am 100% sure that there is a huge amount of people that ordered One X thinking they will get their hands on the next gen XBOX, the most powerful console in the market cause it's X.
Yes and depending if you are in the UK/US or some other European country, parents either call XBOX or Playstation the play thing you plug on your TV.
Parents certainly dont understand games.
I wanted a Playstation and my dad almost bought me a 3DO in 1996 because when we went to the store the seller told him they are equally good, and Goldstar and Panasonic 3DO machines play the same games. So it gave the impression to my dad that there were more 3DO games to play than Playstation. At the end we went for Playstation because the machines were US and we needed a power converter. That was so close.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

I just think that Microsoft looked at Capcom's naming scheme and considered it worth adopting the same conventions for their consoles.

Hyper Street Fighter II: the Anniversary Edition

Maybe the mid gen console should be called:

Hyper Xbox One Series X: The 1080 Edition

 

[milk]

You know I also want to address the naming schemes here. You guys think the names are hard to understand but they are simple.
You have the
Xbox
Xbox 360 and its variations like elite , s , se
Then we move on to the xbox one

XBOX ONE
/ \
Xbox One S (base) Xbox One X (high end )
/ \
Xbox Series S Xbox Series X


The Naming is simple.


You have

Xbox -( this is the brand name denoting its a gaming console)

One/ Series - This is the generation of console

S/X - this is where it sits in the in that generation.

If you have an Xbox One X you do not want to get a Series S if you want to target the high end of gaming again.

I think it makes more sense than current cell phone naming.

If you bought a Iphone XS or XS max what do you upgrade too ? THe iphone 12 ? 12 pro ? 12 mini , Pro max ? . What if you had a iphone 8 where is the new plus model or X model ?

Same with Samsung. I bought a Galaxy note 9 my wife is the galaxy 9 . There was a galaxy note 10 and they introduced the + in that line. But then they added a Note 20 and Note 20 ultra... what happened to 11 , 12, 13 etc. Same with the galaxy 9.

The galaxy 9 was the galaxy 9 or 9+ then what happened ? where is the 10 or 11 ? No idea. I think the galaxy 9 line became the galaxy s line and there was a s20 and s21 with + and ultras and what not.


I admit the sony naming line is a bit easier. They had the ps4 and ps4 pro. But they also only had 2 major refreshes last gen. MS did a lot of work between the xbox one and xbox one s mainly clock tweaking , HDR and a much smaller form factor. This gen they have the PS5 and PS5 DE. If they do a redesign of the PS5 to get its size down they may fall into the same trap as MS . They could end up with the PS5/ PS5 DE , PS5 Slim/ DE Slim and then maybe PS5 Pro / PRO DE.

Dude, are you seriously explaining to us that the S | X differentiator is a continuation from what MS was already doing with the One? Do you honestly believe there is anybody in this forum that didn't understand the logic behind this from the very beginning? Did YOU only realize this now? Come the fuck on.

 

[milk]

I just think that Microsoft looked at Capcom's naming scheme and considered it worth adopting the same conventions for their consoles.

Hyper Street Fighter II: the Anniversary Edition

Maybe the mid gen console should be called:

Hyper Xbox One Series X: The 1080 Edition

Not to be confused with the Xbox One X Hyper Box S ultra DirectX 1 EX BOXseries, which is a different model altogether that only plays windows 95 games.