Summary of Microsoft's 3 Biggest Mistakes | Gaming Historian

00:00:00 - 00:30:00

Microsoft's three biggest mistakes in gaming history were not releasing the Xbox 360 in Europe, not releasing the Kinect sensor early, and not investing in the gaming market. These mistakes led to the company losing market share to its competitors.

• 00:00:00 Microsoft's three biggest mistakes were in the console wars, with the xbox, a system that took the best aspects of PC gaming and put them inside a video game console; Microsoft had been making video games for years but only in the personal computer realm with the xbox, the company envisioned a gaming console that was programmer friendly; the console could take advantage of pc technology without the complexity of supporting multiple hardware combinations; but it was about more than video games. Microsoft feared Sony had beaten them to it with the Playstation 2, and saw competitors Sony and Nintendo as a threat to their entire business; Microsoft wanted to get its foot in the door before it was too late; the company paid a hefty price in the first four years of the xbox, losing almost 4 billion dollars, but microsoft saw this as a small price to pay to entrench itself in the video game industry. Finally, in March of 2007, Microsoft had some news: Live Anywhere, which was now called Games for Windows Live, was now launching in May of 2007. Games for Windows Live seemed promising and ahead of its time, but it was a complete disaster.
• 00:05:00 Microsoft's three biggest mistakes with gaming were 1) trying to make their platform similar to console gaming, 2) charging for basic features, and 3) not supporting cross-platform play. These mistakes alienated many PC gamers, who eventually abandoned the platform.
• 00:10:00 Microsoft's biggest mistakes in video gaming include developing and releasing games for Windows Live, discontinuing services, and downplaying controversies.
• 00:15:00 Microsoft's biggest mistakes in gaming history include the xbox one's required internet connection, the focus on used games, and the xbox one announcement at 2013's E3 conference. The xbox one's failure to compete with Sony's Playstation 4 led to a loss of market share, and in 2015 Microsoft announced they would no longer share console sales data.
• 00:20:00 Microsoft's biggest mistakes include overheating graphics chips, cracking heat sinks, underperforming memory, faulty DVD drives, and more. In August 2005, a Microsoft engineer suggested they shut down production to fix the myriad of issues, but the man in charge of Xbox, Peter Moore, brushed it off. Microsoft then decided to simply set aside the faulty consoles into a bone pile and ship out the good ones. The Xbox 360 had an abysmal defect rate for every 100 consoles manufactured, and by March 2006, Microsoft had sold 3.3 million consoles. At the 2006 E3 conference, Microsoft had a spectacular show teasing several blockbuster games, including Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Halo 3. However, Microsoft's competitor, Sony, had an embarrassingly bad E3 presentation. Ridge Racer, remember that one genji 2? is an action game based on Japanese history. So here's this giant enemy crab and you attack its weak point for massive damage. Not only was the PlayStation 3 delayed until November 2006, but it would cost a whopping 599 dollars for the 60 gigabyte model. Microsoft had the whole next-gen market to themselves for most of 2006. However, by December 2006, Microsoft announced they were increasing the warranty on the Xbox 360 from
• 00:25:00 Microsoft shipped 10.4 million Xbox 360 consoles, but only sold 9 million. This led to a surplus of consoles on store shelves, and the red ring of death issue was growing. In July 2007, Microsoft announced that they were temporarily shutting down production of the Xbox 360. The red ring of death issue killed any momentum Microsoft had in the first six months of 2007. Microsoft replaced Xbox 360 consoles until 2011. Now, Microsoft has released a documentary series about the history of Xbox, and they are looking for feedback on which mistakes they should cover next.
• 00:30:00 In this video, Microsoft's gaming historian, Johnathan Berg, lists three of Microsoft's biggest mistakes in the gaming industry. These mistakes include not releasing the Xbox 360 in Europe, not releasing the Kinect sensor early, and not investing in the gaming market. The first mistake, not releasing the Xbox 360 in Europe, caused the console to lose market share to the Sony PlayStation 3. The Kinect sensor, released later, also lost market share to Sony's PlayStation 4. The final mistake, not investing in the gaming market, caused the company to lose money on the Xbox One and Xbox 360.