Microsoft isn?t afraid to try something. The company?s focus on making sure that they at least try something has lead to some interesting things over the past few years. In fact, just the fact that Microsoft is even part of the video game industry is a testament to the fact that they are willing to give anything a shot. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn?t.
The Xbox is obviously working for Microsoft, even amid some very stiff competition. Both Nintendo and Sony have been in the home video game console industry for a long time, but the veterans are certainly being shown a thing or two by the ?newcomer.? We?ve seen over the years as the Xbox has surpassed expectations, and managed to be home to some of the newest and greatest recognizable video game characters in recent history.
In some areas, the Master Chief is just as recognizable as Sonic the Hedgehog or Mario.
But now that gaming has obviously helped Microsoft score some funds, especially in light of failures like the Zune line-up of personal media players, it?s about time that Microsoft try their hand at something else. Unfortunately, though, they?re actually using the home console to make it happen. And the trade-off? A seemingly backwards approach to games, on the console that?s all about games.
Or at least, that?s what it used to be about.
The Xbox 360 isn?t just a gaming console anymore. In fact, we?ve heard not so far in the past that most people don?t actually use their 360 to play games anymore. Sure, Xbox LIVE is still just as popular as ever, if not more so than ever before, but it seems that a lot of those subscribers are finding entertainment via other means, like Netflix, or any of the other applications currently available for the console.
It would seem that Microsoft is ready to give the set-top box a shot, and considering they?ve already got a box that connects to the Internet through their own paid service, why would they waste their time making a whole new one? Just use what you?ve got. That?s why the Xbox 360 now houses things like Verizon FiOS, or Best Buy?s CinemaNow, Netflix, or any other video streaming service. You can even find baseball, thanks to the MLB.tv service, and applications for any number of other services are readily available to download.
Even in the image above, which shows the new Dashboard that Microsoft unveiled not too long ago, you can see where ?Games? stacks up against the other options. Why on Earth does it make sense for Games to fall so far down the line? It?s those same games, both from the Xbox LIVE Arcade and Indie Games (that are still ridiculously buried), along with the full retail choices therein, that made it possible for the Xbox 360 to get to where it is now.
So why is Microsoft acting like playing video games on their home video game console is just an afterthought? Why is Microsoft going in a new direction, but sacrificing the focus of gaming at the same time?
Microsoft needs to put the focus back on games. It?s this focus that has made the Xbox 360 the juggernaut that it is, and has made it possible for games like Gears of War and the Halo franchise to take off and become the in-home brands that people have come to know and love.
But that doesn?t seem to be happening. Even with Microsoft?s $99 contract-based 360 option, it?s obvious the Redmond-based company is positioning their video game console against the likes of Roku, or Apple?s Apple TV. Unfortunately, while Microsoft?s Xbox 360 has plenty of amazing options, those devices exist solely to be set-top boxes, and that?s why they?ll succeed (and have been succeeding for so long) in this particular race.
The worst part is that Microsoft knows that a growing mass of people are watching things on their Xbox 360, rather than playing video games. They know their Xbox LIVE service is being accessed now, more than ever before, to watch movies, use applications, and watch TV, instead of being used to play video games.
That?s why this new focus won?t change, and why it?s really not a surprise to see the ?Games? section so drastically segregated down the line of options.
Here?s hoping that Microsoft realizes that video games made the Xbox 360, and not these other options. These other options should be an added bonus, and nothing more. Put the focus back on gaming, Microsoft.
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