Xbox One Video Game

Words: 1918
Pages: 8

Microsoft’s release of the Xbox One represents the eighth generation of the video games consoles along with the PS4 and the WiiU. The video game industry started with the release of Atari’s Pong’s in 1972. This simple game kicked off the world’s obsession with video games that continues to this day. The video game has gone through many different generations of consoles and companies have come and gone throughout the years. The three largest video game consoles companies remaining are Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. These companies last produced a new console in 2005 for Microsoft and 2006 for Sony and Nintendo. These companies have helped to grow the video game market to the point where it is now valued at around $58 billion dollars (1). Consumers …show more content…
E3 is a trade show dedicated to displaying computer, video and mobile games and related products (E3). This trade show is the best in the world because it brings together thousands of industry professionals and showcases never before seen technology (E3). E3 is a stage that can make or break the success of a product’s release. By showcasing the Xbox One on this large stage Microsoft was setting their product up for success if they could convince consumers of the superiority of their product compared to competitors. Instead the approach Microsoft took drove consumers into the arms of their competitors. Either thing that Microsoft did during their 2013 E3 presentation alienated consumers from their product. The first thing that upset users was that the Xbox One with Kinect was priced at $499 while the PS4 was priced at $399 (13). This a large price gap for very similar systems and many consumers were not willing to pay an extra hundred dollars for the Xbox One. The WiiU, which was released in November of 2012, dropped its price from $349 to $299 to better compete with the Xbox One and PS4 (61). Nintendo did this because they understood that there are multiple options for consumers and that price may be the deciding factor in a purchase. Microsoft’s pricing of the Xbox One ignored the fact that the buyer power in the video game market is very high and may have driven consumers to Sony’s product. Another announcement from E3 that really upset consumers was that the Xbox One would have to be continually connected to the internet in order to function (13). Consumers were outraged by this as it had never been a requirement on any previous consoles. Some consumers do not have access to the internet and would be unable to play any games under Microsoft’s current policy. Sony capitalized on consumer’s anger about this when they announced that their would be no