Xbox : What should MS do next? *spawn

[SlimJim]

...

Your excellent post really got me thinking.

MS should put a big emphasis on friends as well.

A friend program; register op to 10 of your best friends, and as a group, you receive 15% off on all new multiplayer releases, purchased through Xbox Live during release week if everybody in the group gets the game. Xbox Live subscription will be 15% off as well.

This will make sure that people like you will stay with Xbox in the future. And it will identify the Xbox as the number 1 console for friends who like to play online.
Also they should add in some tight mobile integration; receive push messages whenever friends start a multiplayer game or something. (unless that is already happening for MS)
edit:
Titanfall should be free as well: so if you register a friend group; everybody gets Titanfall. This will get people hooked on Titanfall; so when the next one drops; the whole group purchases it.

 

[SlimJim]

Another thing that MS should do, which I learned today; is give physical retailers an extra incentive to sell/stock Xbox One consoles and games.

I'm thinking of an added bonus; for every Xbox One a shop sells; the shop gets an extra cut.
If the Xbox One is at the forefront? Extra cut as well.
Random MS employee walks into the shop and asks if the Xbox One is a good console. If the shops give a positive answer? Extra cut.
Have a Xbox One as a demo so that people can play with the Kinect > Extra cut.


These bonuses stack up and the store can make a lot of money. And they will have a positive attitude because they expect every customer to be a secret MS employee and thus, be super friendly and positive about the Xbox One.

also: have random hardware developers visit stores during launch-week/month. They can sign boxes, or just give information on how positive it was to design the next Xbox and whatnot. A lot of old Xbox1/Xbox360 fans will have an extra reason to visit the store and buy a console I think

 

[tuna]

It will also cost MS quite a lot. You always have to optimize your marketing.

 

[dumbo11]

I meant: how could they green lit Xbox 360 after losing billions, and then green lit Xbox One after losing billions as well?

In terms of the XB1, one interpretation of the design is that MS knew that to make a profit, the console had to appeal outside the (probably shrinking) console market.

It was greenlit because it wasn't going to follow the xb/xb360 into the deep core market, but instead compete against google TV whilst also grabbing some of the Wii goodness and appealing to PS3 owners.

 

[pMax]

...but instead compete against google TV whilst also grabbing some of the Wii goodness and appealing to PS3 owners.

It could compete if it were able to replace my sky box, or at least to add VR features.

it doesnt, it will not.

 

[dumbo11]

It could compete if it were able to replace my sky box, or at least to add VR features.

it doesnt, it will not.

Indeed, but nor does google TV or apple TV etc. I'd imagine the XB1 is probably outselling all of those products in the US? on a "competiting against google/apple" spreadsheet it's looking good in the home TV sector.

Analysts have long wanted MS to compete in the more profitable markets against apple/google. The XB1/TV would have been an opportunity for MS to leverage the XBox brand into the burgeoning IP/TV market - whilst also cutting into the Wii market and competing against Sony.

It turns out the IP/TV market isn't all rosy, kinect was shipped without games, the XB1 was overpriced and Sony shipped a better console .

In terms of the thread title, I have no idea where they go from here.

 

[Silenti]

Your excellent post really got me thinking.

MS should put a big emphasis on friends as well.



This will make sure that people like you will stay with Xbox in the future. And it will identify the Xbox as the number 1 console for friends who like to play online.
Also they should add in some tight mobile integration; receive push messages whenever friends start a multiplayer game or something. (unless that is already happening for MS)
edit:
Titanfall should be free as well: so if you register a friend group; everybody gets Titanfall. This will get people hooked on Titanfall; so when the next one drops; the whole group purchases it.

I really don't think that would be enough. Really, not even close. At this point, I don't know what they can do. Just from our standpoint as a group, they lack exclusives to keep us, if you are going to play 3rd party may as well go with the more powerful box, no BC for anything - discs/ arcade/ dlc ->may as well jump now if we are going. As of this moment, the only element preserving us as potential XO customers is the controller. Maybe a bit of inertia.

 

[Shortbread]

If Microsoft drops to $299, then get ready for Microsoft to actively look for potential buyers of their Xbox division. That could cause serious losses for the company. Keep in mind that Microsoft doesn't have tons of first parts games to prop of the financials of their Xbox division. Taking big losses on each console, when you don't have exclusive (high profit software) to offset those losses, is a quick way to lose a lot of money. The reality is PS4 will sell 2-3 times as many units as X1 this gen. Sony can match the price of the X1 at any time, and Sony has the better exclusives. When two consoles are very similar, but one is a litter more powerful with better exclusives, why wouldn't consumers choose that consoles? X1 is in bad shape. Im expecting them to not only sell less than 35 million units this gen, but to lose a lot of money in the process.

Without a serious price cut, I can't see MS leading any off the NPD sales this year, or even accumulating over 6.5 million worldwide by years end. Sure, Halo MCC, might/will push a few thousand units, and sale >2.3 million copies across the current user base... but I don't see the sustaining power needed when PS4 has more AAA titles this year, not to mention the PS4 GTA 5 bundled that's bound to appear in November.

 

[Goodtwin]

Without a serious price cut, I can't see MS leading any off the NPD sales this year, or even accumulating over 6.5 million worldwide by years end. Sure, Halo MCC, might/will push a few thousand units, and sale >2.3 million copies across the current user base... but I don't see the sustaining power needed when PS4 has more AAA titles this year, not to mention the PS4 GTA 5 bundled that's bound to appear in November.

Come on now, Wii U sold over 2 million units during the holiday months last year, so certainly X1 will sell 2-3 million during the holiday months this year. Still, there is no stopping the PS4 momentum. X1 and Wii U are distant seconds in this race. There is nothing wrong with being niche products, but can Microsoft be a niche product and make money? History says no.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Come on now, Wii U sold over 2 million units during the holiday months last year, so certainly X1 will sell 2-3 million during the holiday months this year. Still, there is no stopping the PS4 momentum.

Of course there could be stops to the PS4 momentum and MS doesn't need to go to $299 to do it, $349 would probably be good enough or at most, $349 with a game.

However, as was mentioned before, Sony also has an equal opportunity to lower their price as well. Because this consoles were launched at a profit, this is the first generation where we really could see a race to the bottom, if both Sony and MS were so inclined.

 

[messyman]

Dropping the price again after 5 months and $100 cheaper? I don't see that happening.

 

[function]

MS haven't dropped the price yet.

 

[Shortbread]

Dropping the price again after 5 months and $100 cheaper? I don't see that happening.

They dropped the Kinect, leading to a cheaper sku.

 

[messyman]

I still consider that a price drop.

 

[Brad Grenz]

Me too. And that 131K number basically puts the Xbox One's weekly sales rate about the same as it was pre-price drop so it has changed very little.

 

[Globalisateur]

Me too. And that 131K number basically puts the Xbox One's weekly sales rate about the same as it was pre-price drop so it has changed very little.

In fact we can't know that.

Without the price cut, it could have sold much less that 131k, like 80k, but we'll never really know.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

MS haven't dropped the price yet.

The minimum price to own an XB1 has dropped $100 since launch.

 

[function]

I still consider that a price drop.

Well you shouldn't.

The Kinect SKU is still the same price. People that want that haven't seen a price drop.

A new SKU was introduced at a lower price. That is not a price drop. It is a new SKU with a lower price than the still-exisiting SKU that is still selling for the same price that it always was.

Calling the new SKU a price drop is lazy thinking. This is a different thing to the price dropping or the price staying the same.

It is something else.

 

[DrJay24]

The price of entry is $100 less. The fact that most people don't want a Kinect makes it a defacto price drop.

 

[function]

The minimum price to own an XB1 has dropped $100 since launch.

This is true. However, it is not a "price drop".

In the same way that when the Jaguar X type was introduced, it did not mean that the Jaguar S type had received a price drop (lol car analogy). Or when the salvaged Athlon X4s were introduced, it did not mean that the Phenom X4s had received a price drop.

It's a different, cheaper to produce item being sold at a lower price.