Is It One Console To Rule Them All?

This week, Microsoft underwhelmed the games industry and wooed television and Hollywood execs with its Xbox One unveiling. It’s less than three weeks until E3 and Microsoft has some serious ground to make up if it’s going to set hearts aflutter among gamers.

Tuesday’s big reveal took just one hour, compared to Sony’s two-hour, game-packed unveiling, way back in February. Microsoft’s presentation couldn’t have been more different from the PlayStation 4 event.

First, we actually got to see the console. Xbox One is a rather unremarkable black box, bearing more resemblance to the original Xbox. It looked like a return to the big, black brick of yesteryear. Sony, of course, is yet to give us more than a teasing glimpse of the PS4, which could prove annoying, unless it’s got major wow factor.

Second, almost the first words uttered on the Sony stage were ‘gamers’, ‘games developers’ and er… ‘games’. In contrast to Sony’s games-centric, developer love-in, Microsoft chose to focus on features. It took over 30 minutes for games to get more than a fleeting mention over at team Xbox. Instead, we were treated to the delights of Skype on our Xbox One. Call me crazy, but that just didn’t light my fire.

Next up was the buzzword of the evening, ‘intelligent television’. If anyone knows what that means, please email me. So you can turn on your TV using a voice command and you can use hand gestures to access the home page and switch between functions. That’s all well and groovy, but that’s what I’d expect to see at the Ideal Home Exhibition, not a next gen console launch. And was I the only one wondering, how well that would all actually work without a stage crew?

Then Microsoft walked and talked with some guy from the NFL and EA Sports was welcomed to the stage, for a 10 minute yawnathon about Skyping your friends during the ‘ball game’. We were shown some games at this stage, albeit briefly.

The sports line-up was swiftly followed by the Xbox One-as-TV-and-media-hub bit. Microsoft rolled out Spielberg and he announced Halo, the TV show, which was a bit strange, when really we just want to see Halo, the next game. Alas, the next Halo game wasn’t even hinted at, so I guess we’ll have to wait for E3 for that one.

When Microsoft did talk games, we got a brief glimpse of something called Quantum Break, from Remedy, the team behind Max Payne and Alan Wake. With no real details to go on, we got some live action footage, followed by some generic CG. It looks like it may be some sort of TV show/game hybrid. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. But other than that, all we got some sports game and the next Call of Duty ‘ so no surprises there.

Compare this paltry showing to the seven or so games Sony threw at us for the PS4 reveal and it feels like Microsoft is heading in a different direction. Maybe it’s arrogance and a feeling on Microsoft’s part that the hardcore will follow them wherever they go, or maybe it’s just a marketing and PR misstep. Whilst Sony was throwing all its energy into reminding us that they’re all about games and forging partnerships with the industry’s creative talent, Microsoft was all about TV, sports and Skype.

The message I took from the presentation is that Xbox One is a media hub that also plays games. I don’t need another set top box and I’m certainly not going to pay $400 for one.

In addition, to the lacklustre performance, post-event Microsoft hasn’t done anything to allay the fears of gamers. There are still major questions regarding Xbox One’s ‘always on’ status and whether there will be a fee to play pre-owned games. All these worries would just melt away if Microsoft came clean. One can’t help but suspect that they’re going to try and bury the bad news at E3, while we’re preoccupied by all the pretty trailers they’re going to show us.

This week’s unveiling did mention 15 exclusive titles, including eight new franchises, which is some much needed good news for gamers. E3 could have been an opportunity for Microsoft to build on the excitement of this presentation. Instead, it’s got some kissing and making up to do and it’s going to take more than some flowers and a box of chocolates. I have no doubt that E3 will be all about the games coming to Xbox One. Let’s just hope that the games are good enough. And there’s the small matter of what Sony’s got up its sleeve.

Microsoft’s failure to ignite passions this week means E3 is going to be more interesting than ever. Let’s hope they recognise this minor stumble, pull out all the stops and get this next gen console war started.