XBOX LOST several billions of dollars, which made it quite a failure from a business perspective. Like PlayStation 3 and unlike the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft plays a losing game, but it can't quit now, only the management can. Yes, managers of Xbox left the company, but there are still signs of life in this division, even if in addition to many dead products we now have this revelation that, according to Joseph Tartakoff [1, 2], "Microsoft cancels its TV-style game show on the Xbox."
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is canceling 1 vs. 100, the live game show it launched for its Xbox Live online gaming service a year ago, which was a pioneer in bringing TV style entertainment to video game consoles.
“Not so long ago it was revealed that pre-orders of Kinect were too few.”As we noted earlier, peripherals for Xbox 360 are too expensive to be competitive (consider the price of a Wii) and the name "Kinect" is problematic now, due to Kin dying (more on that later in the week). Some say that Kinect does work when sitting down -- a claim that's disputed by Microsoft, obviously.
In an open letter titled "Dis-Kinection: How Microsoft Has Lost Focus," Gamasutra shows its pessimism. In another Web site, Microsoft is accused of using sexual provocation to sell Kinect (and doing it badly). Not so long ago it was revealed that pre-orders of Kinect were too few.
Microsoft's struggle is even described by CNBC ("Can Sony and Microsoft Replicate Wii's Success?"), which is typically sympathetic towards Microsoft, maybe because of MSNBC. Not good, not good at all.
To make matters even worse, Microsoft is insulting the best customers and banning innocent ones. As The Consumerist put it, "Zach's Xbox 360 opted to play for Miami rather than Cleveland, but what he expected to be a routine repair has turned into a standoff. He says Microsoft accuses him of modding his console despite Zach's contention that the unit, which he says is clean, shows no physical signs of being modded."
That's just an overall bad "engagement" with fans. Here is another:
Microsoft – Rare blocks fan site’s documentary project
Microsoft owned studio Rare was once a mighty force in the video game industry, with iconic titles such as GoldenEye 007. The studio had a decent following from the fan community. One fan site will be closing its doors after Rare blocked the fan project.
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Apparently talks between the site and Rare/Microsoft on creating a documentary started going bad. Rare/Microsoft finally put the kibosh on the project by stating that the film wouldn’t be “on message.”