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'Xbox One' could confuse average gamers

C

Canis lupus

Member
Yesterday, when Microsoft finally announced the successor to their Xbox 360, Don Mattrick took the stage with a giddy grin.

"Today, we're thrilled to unveil the ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system," the Microsoft executive said. "The one with the power to create experiences that look and feel like nothing else. The one that makes your TV more intelligent. The one system for a new generation. Ladies and gentlemen: introducing Xbox One."

One. One. One. The rhetoric has a nice rhythm, doesn't it? And indeed, when I first heard the name, I thought it was kind of neat. Xbox One: the one device you need in your living room. The Power of One.

Then I started talking to friends about it. Not hardcore gamer friends—the friends who play Call of Duty and Madden and occasionally Skyrim, and who don't read websites like Kotaku unless one of our articles happens to pop up on their Facebook feeds. Here's an example of what these conversations have looked like:

Jason: "So have you heard anything about Xbox One?"

Friend: "Nope. What's that?"

Jason: "The new Xbox. It was just announced yesterday."

Friend: "Oh. Wasn't Xbox One the first Xbox?"

Now I'm worried. I'm worried because Microsoft's press conference yesterday was not designed for the hardcore gamer, yet the hardcore gamer is the person who needs to explain to his or her friends just what an Xbox One is. I suspect that a lot of us will be calling it "the new Xbox," which strikes me as a recipe for disaster. Just ask the Wii U.

Granted, the Wii U was its own kind of disaster: I'll always remember sitting in the audience and watching the looks of confusion during Nintendo's E3 press conference in 2011, when the Mario makers announced a new console that looked and sounded like a Wii accessory. The name "Wii U" still confuses people today, to the point where Nintendo needed to write up special marketing materials just to explain that it's a new machine. (Seriously, why couldn't they just go with "Wii 2"?)

But the situation might be similar. This is the year of the prequel, and the name "Xbox One" sounds like it will fit nicely alongside Batman: Arkham Origins and Assassin's Creed IV. When your average video game fan hears the name "Xbox One," he or she will not think, "Oh, that's the one device I need in my living room." He/she will think, "Why did they go back 359?"

Average people might not see Xbox One as an accessory, but they sure could think it's a remake of the first Xbox. Or a lesser version of the Xbox 360. And while this sort of brand confusion may not destroy Microsoft's new console, it could very well hurt Xbox One in the single market Microsoft is pursuing hardest: casual TV watchers and video game fans.

CNET asked Microsoft program manager Jeff Henshaw about this confusion, and his answer was not comforting:

I think after today, there's just no question about it. I think there was a few minutes of "hmm" but then as soon as people realize what it's all about and understand the experience, the One brand immediately gets applied to this new generation of experience.

The thing you have to bear in mind, is that if you look at the original Xbox, the experiences have grown to become so dramatically rich and different. There's no resemblance anymore between the two. You can't confuse them in any way. So when people say "Xbox One," it's going to be reflective of this new generation of experiences. I really don't think there's going to be any confusion.

Hubris! There might not be much of a resemblance between the old Xbox and the Xbox One, but can "Xbox One" really dig its claws into pop culture the way "Xbox 360" did? Or will we all just casually refer to it as "the new Xbox" when talking to our friends and family members, for fear of confusing the heck out of people who don't religiously keep up on gaming news?

As Microsoft touts the futuristic new features that really could be game-changers, like cloud computing and an overhauled version of the Kinect body sensor, they have saddled their system with a name that evokes the past. "Xbox One" does not say next-gen; it says "we're starting over." And I think it will confuse more than it clarifies.
Click to expand...

http://kotaku.com/whats-in-a-name-xbox-one-could-confuse-average-game-509292190
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
I don't think it will be a big deal.

The confusion with Wii U was that it looked like something you could reasonable expect to be a peripheral if you're not technically inclined.
 
C

Courage

Member
benny_a said:
I don't think it will be a big deal.

The confusion with Wii U was that it looked like something you could reasonable expect to be a peripheral if you're not technically inclined.
Click to expand...

Right, and Microsoft also knows how to advertise their products.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
It could. But it's far less likely to confuse people than Wii U, which is often confused for an add on peripheral.

Microsoft will probably offer clearer marketing than the Wii U received in NA as well. The television ads in NA didn't even make it clear that the product you were seeing was a new console, an add on, a game. At least EU / UK marketing they explicitly said "THIS IS A NEW CONSOLE"

Who knows though, maybe Microsoft will fuck up their advertising like everything else so far.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
Its how you market it. The Wii U struggles because every early commercial featured people using wii remotes and the gamepad which made it look like an accessory. Microsoft is a bit better at overall marketing than Nintendo.
 
depths20XX

depths20XX

Member
Not the same situation as the Wii U.

Honestly the example in the OP seems really stupid too.

"Hey did you hear about the new console just announced, Xbox One?"

"Wut? But that was the first xbox they are releasing it again? heheheh"

People are dumb but not that dumb.
 
C

chickdigger802

Banned
Yeah it's gonna be a problem. At a glance 360 and one's feature set is comparable.

And Ghosts doesn't look noticeably better than anything.

I'm betting the quick fire TV ads won't be enough.

Unless you see a Pokemon style evolving footage of 360 to One :)
 
D

dragonflys545

Member
darkwing said:
were people confused with HTC One?
Click to expand...

u0yuoXL.jpg
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
From my experience speaking to people who aren't gaming-inclined...most of them didn't even realize there was a "first Xbox."
Yeah, they know what a 360 is, but didn't have any idea there was an "Xbox" before it.

My experiences may be anecdotal, but I really don't think the fact that the Xbox is called Xbox One will cause any confusion.


1. The people who might have been confused (extreme casuals, non-gamers) don't realize there is an Xbox before the 360, so there isn't a frame of comparison that would mess them up.

2. The people who won't get confused (gamers) can clearly distinguish between "Xbox," "Xbox 360," and "Xbox One."
 
B

Burai

shitonmychest57
The original Xbox hasn't been on general sale for the best part of eight years. I don't think it's going to be a problem.
 
D

Dead Prince

Banned
retail employees will give them broad answers if they ask the different between xbox and ps4. 8GB will go along way and directX.
 
P

Persona7

Banned
The part that confused me is how the friend didn't know what it was and then suddenly remembered the original xbox.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Clearly there are cases where product naming is confusing and muddled, and there are cases where product naming is not confusing or muddled.

I am not confident that the cause of either of those things is the name itself, but rather how it is promoted, what kind of materials are distributed to retailers, and what else is available in retail areas next to the product in question.
 
Z

Zoramon089

Banned
It's a terrible name. And I don't get why people keep pushing the same "Butbut MS can advertise!". Uhh, did you forget Nintendo had good marketing last gen with the Wii? Marketing can only go so far. Some people just won't understand regardless
 
M

maabus1999

Member
Stumpokapow said:
Clearly there are cases where product naming is confusing and muddled, and there are cases where product naming is not confusing or muddled.

I am not confident that the cause of either of those things is the name itself, but rather how it is promoted, what kind of materials are distributed to retailers, and what else is available in retail areas next to the product in question.
Click to expand...

This is right on. Look at the Wii U, what did you see the most? Console or Controller Pad?

What do you STILL see in marketing materials?

Now look at the One? Besides pretending to be the savior of the Matrix, you see the Console centered perfectly AND it looks A LOT different from the 360 (unlike the Wii U).
 
T

TheGreyHulk

Member
all it needs is a good advertisement program and confusion will be gone. people weren't confused when apple released the "new ipad"... they knew it was the next version because apple is great at marketing.
 
D

daveo42

Banned
gutter_trash said:
it confuses search engines that's for sure
https://www.google.ca/search?q=xbox...g&biw=1475&bih=581&sei=E_WcUeuUBrKq4AOhhIDYBA
Click to expand...

Image searches aren't really telling the whole truth here. A web search shows something a bit more accurate...

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=ww#safe=active&hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=xbox+1&oq=xbox+1&gs_l=hp.3..0i3l2j0l2.34241.38338.2.38593.17.11.6.0.0.0.167.1104.8j3.11.0...0.0...1c.1.14.psy-ab.Z0-GXAiHk88&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46751780,d.eWU&fp=f606cc16aa63f8fd&biw=946&bih=946

...though it still seems to pick up a bit more in comparison to using the spelled out name.

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=ww#hl=en&gs_rn=14&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=3WXGSUVCnjRsn1ZXKM1bHQ&cp=8&gs_id=9r&xhr=t&q=xbox+one&es_nrs=true&pf=p&safe=active&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=xbox+one&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46751780,d.eWU&fp=f606cc16aa63f8fd&biw=946&bih=946
 
B

Basileus777

Member
It's not going to cause any market confusion. The original xbox is gone and forgotten and not many people owned one. Their last console was best known as the 360. There's no meaningful confusion to be had here.
 
Z

Zaraki_Kenpachi

Member
There could be some confusion but I think it's way too overplayed in that article.

Part of the confusion is impossible too since you can't buy the first xbox anymore so if a confused part walks into a store you can't get it wrong. The same can't be said about wii/wiiU yet.
 
M

madmackem

Member
depths20XX said:
Not the same situation as the Wii U.

Honestly the example in the OP seems really stupid too.

"Hey did you hear about the new console just announced, Xbox One?"

"Wut? But that was the first xbox they are releasing it again? heheheh"

People are dumb but not that dumb.
Click to expand...

Dude did you hear about the new wii u

Wut like the wii

Yeah like the wii but wii u

People are the daft and its up to ms to make sure this doesnt happen.
 
A

Absoludacrous

Member
madmackem said:
Dude did you hear about the new wii u

Wut like the wii

Yeah like the wii but wii u

People are the daft and its up to ms to make sure this doesnt happen.
Click to expand...

I think the main difference is we're far enough away from the original Xbox that a confused customer can't walk into a store and buy one.

Not that I think it's a great name, but it's not quite Wii U levels of confusing.
 
B

Basileus777

Member
The WiiU was confusing because it was a similar looking console based and marketed around a tablet controller that could easily be mistaken for a Wii peripheral. XboxOne doesn't have this problem.
 
T

Tenks

Member
I didn't watch the live stream for the reveal and I had no idea what the Xbox one was for a while until I realized the reveal was going on. It just doesn't make sense. In fact really only Playstation is making sense with their names.
 
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