Was it a mistake to reveal Xbox Series X without the usual build up hype?

[Fatmanp]

No. If anything this is probably the smartest way to do it during an event catered to the hardcore gaming public. I bet we get more info on the tech specs around CES or GDC and then at E3 they can do a two hour sizzle reel on the games and then drop the price bomb at the end of the conference.

MS has proven with the last two iterations of Xbox that they know how to build a competent console. They need their showcase events to be about the games and with the amount of money they have invested into first party anytime over the next year that the talk next gen it needs to be about the games.

 

[DarkChronic]

I actually kind of liked the surprise. Still iffy on the naming (at first I thought, "Is this just another model of the Xbox One?") but after seeing Holiday 2020 I figured it was the new console.

 

[Phoenix Splash]

They caught us off guard, for better or worse but I'd say for better.

They knew all kinds of people would be watching because TGA is not an Xbox event nor conference but a general one. What I mean is, people who wouldn't be watching the Xbox reveal at an Xbox event still watched this reveal.

People not interested on Xbox:

1st scenario: Announce Xbox event(or Next-Gen reveal or whatever) -> X person doesn't care -> X person does not watch event

2nd scenario and what happened: Person watches TGA because of possible game announcements they might like -> Next Xbox is revealed + a cool first showing by Hellblade -> perhaps this person's interest grows.

It was like the first announcement of the main show, after all.

 

[Linus815]

i wish it was the last thing they shown instead of the fast and furious game, thats for sure.

 

[flattie]

It definitely felt underwhelming to me, although it was nice to see the box just put straight out there. I also appreciated how they made a point of commenting on how quiet they expect it to be when running, something I hope Sony will also be taking seriously this time. X

 

[A. D. Skinner]

We can always get more hype as there is more to show, other models, and prices.

 

[thepenguin55]

I just wish they had more than one game to show.

Click to shrink...

And I wish that they showed gameplay of that one game. Having played games for as long as I have now I've just grown so tired CG trailers of any variety. Show me your game or wait to show me anything until you can show me everything. CG trailers are more forgivable with sequels as you generally go into sequels having some idea of what to expect but even then CG trailers still annoy me.

 

[chromatic9]

I only watched a few VGA pieces live and didn't know until this morning what had gone on.

Obviously surprised they didn't wait till E3 or some special MS event next year and it's also before this Christmas. Bit of risk but getting your box and name out early but this is the game now.

 

[number8888]

People already know it's coming next year. There's already plenty of hype. Not exactly out of nowhere.

All this is is a name and form factor reveal.

 

[CrypticSlayer]

Considering I never expected it to be revealed at the game awards and the trailer playing was assumed to be a game, It was crazy exciting. For me it dampened the impact of the announcements that followed it.

 

[Governergrimm]

It doesnt matter, there will be the usual hype explosion whenever they hold their presser announcing a date/price/etc

Click to shrink...

I completely agree. It was more than we usually get from a teaser but it was pretty good. It was a trickle of the info we care about and gives them time to judge the response. Ultimately what they showed wasn't too much info. Like you said date/price/launch titles are the big hitters.

 

[CloseTalker]

It was revealed on a livestream that will be watched by tens of millions of gamers, got marquee placement on every website, and became the talk of the night. And this was all just for the physical box and name reveal, which when all the dust settles doesn't actually mean very much. They'll get to have the spotlight all over again when it comes time to talk specs and games.

it was very smart, and the exact right venue to show off the console design.

 

[Zelretch]

It was at the right place and right date, but TGA kinda screwed them on that in the sense that it should have been the last reveal and not one of the first. It would have given it the gravitas it deserved and it would have landed amazingly. But because it was on of the first it took some people by surprise, lacked gravitas and people quickly jumped to expecting more anouncments which made this one fade in the mind.

 

[RF Switch]

It's honestly all I remember from the game awards

 

[Deleted member 2254]

I don't understand gamer culture at all sometimes. People absolutely lose their shit at stuff getting announced out of nowhere. Remember The Cloverfield Paradox announced as available after the Superbowl during the ads? That shit was hype as fuck because few people expected something like that. The next Xbox was always gonna happen next holiday season, but people thought it wasn't being shown this year. Then bam, out of nowhere, they even showed the console and some in-engine stuff running on actual hardware to bring the point home. It was very smart and the fact there's so many threads about it shows they got people talking. Nintendo obviously doesn't have new hardware anytime soon and PS5's reveal is also probably like 2 months away, so for a while they've got the spotlight for themselves.

 

[VideogameVices]

yeah. Its like wut? Seems like a non event.

 

[SP.]

Seeing as half the threads on the main page are about the X and it was the clear takeaway from TGA, I'd say they did a pretty good job.

 

[DavidBoring]

At least their first next gen game announcement, even though it's a sequel, was a lot more exciting than the boring looking game sony showed

 

[Deleted member 49611]

i think it was a dumb move.

they need to start showing off more about the console now but i feel most people will quickly forget about it or get tired of waiting. obviously not majority of people on here but the average gamer.

should've left it another few months. i think they just wanted to get out first before Sony.

 

[RPGamer92]

Getting ahead of leakers was smart.

 

[Gundam]

It would have been okay either way, but I think it was maybe smart to surprise us with it since it has a very unusual form factor and name. Building up hype to something a bit unconventional would maybe lead to greater disappointment?

 

[nelsonroyale]

I think it was fine. It didn't have to much impact, but what was shown was pretty good. Aside from the design of the thing, which I think is weak.

 

[Azerth]

so its not a mistake for sony to randomly announce ps5 stuff but is a mistake for ms to do it.

They picked a night where alot of gamers would be watching an announced it makes sense to me

 

[Einbroch]

It's fine. We have twelve months. I mean from an enthusiast perspective it was boring, just like the PS5, but for these companies it dun matter.

 

[Hyun Sai]

Xbone reveal, THAT was a mistake. In comparison, this is some genius level move.

 

[danhz]

It was cool because it was unexpected, but I'd rather see their own events for unveiling next gen

 

[Terror-Billy]

lol the PS5 was randomly announced on a fucking article. This was miles better. I get the bias against MS is strong in here but c'mon.

 

[Trey]

It's no more or less hype than Sony "revealing" the PS5 on a Tuesday via a Wired article.

 

[Vonocourt]

so its not a mistake for sony to randomly announce ps5 stuff but is a mistake for ms to do it.

They picked a night where alot of gamers would be watching an announced it makes sense to me

Click to shrink...

Hey, here's this press release to say that PS5 is called Playstation 5.

It's clear that both companies are not interested in the usual console rollout cycle.

 

[Future Gazer]

It wasn't a mistake because it's not going to matter at all in the long run, but yeah, it felt odd to see the reveal of a major next gen platform being treated like just another game announcement.

 

[Vinc]

It felt bizarre, that's for sure. It honestly felt like it undermined both the game awards show AND the reveal. For me at least.

 

[Tom Nook]

I felt the Xbox should've been last before the GOTY winner.

Nope, Vin Diesel gotta promote Fast 9. LOL.

 

[Ebtesam]

what about the Wired article???

 

[DoradoWinston]

its not like we didnt know it was happening and releasing in Holiday 2020 so its fine with me.

Just means more time for games come E3

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Made for a fun and unexpected hype moment. Surprises are way more fun than knowing everything before it happens.

I like the back and fourth between Sony and MS over next gen so far. Sony gives out some specs unexpectedly, then MS dropped a bit of info. Now MS have made a bigger move, showing the box out of nowhere, looking forward to Sony's response now.

 

[JayWood2010]

Conversations / twitter retweets are still just numbers. People talking about a box with one game, will not generate hype that encourages people to actually purchase the console. The shape of the console is unique, which at least makes it memorable.

People are excited to hear about a new xbox, but that excitement goes hand in hand with 'next-gen', not just xbox.

Better graphics are expected, more games are expected. To make the reveal memorable I feel like it would have been better to tie a range of new games to the console, even if they are not exclusives, to get people imagining what it can do. Imagination is really where hype comes from.

tl;dr wait until later, or E3.

Click to shrink...

Im glad you know what millions of people are thinking right now. Its very impressive.

 

[OnPorpoise]

MS going this far this early wrestles back public attention after all those PS5 Wired articles.

At this point another article by itself isn't going to be enough for Sony after this, so this reveal seems like a pretty good strategy.

 

[Broken Hope]

I have no interest in XBox first party games so no hype at all.

 

[Falcon511]

I thought it was good. As I said in another thread, a co worked of mine mentioned it when he saw me this morning and he doesnt really play games at all. He also likes the design. I told him about Hellblade and he watched the trailer and thought he was watching a live action trailer or something.

It was smart.

 

[Prine]

It dominated the show, and seems to be looked upon favourably by gamers, Hellblade overshadowed everything even the GOTY award. My WhatsApp is filled with tech friends who had no interest in the show speaking about Series X.

It's a different, open MS then before, definitely a good move.

 

[Fudgepuppy]

I think it was smart to get out ahead. Now they can just watch as people go "what's in the box?".

The build-up to consoles won't really be the same anymore, since we got to the point of diminishing returns of hardware and software innovation. Speaking of affordable stuff here. Microsoft could blow the lid by announcing a console that's stronger than any PC on the market, but it won't happen due to the cost, so incremental upgrades are not as impressive anymore.

 

[RoKKeR]

It was a big surprise, pre-empted Sony, and now sets the stage for more hype in 2020. I think it was very well done.

 

[Jonathan Lanza]

People are acting like this is the only time they're gonna show the SeriesX for some reason. Obviously it's gonna get a big spotlight at E3. And if they want to they can do a big press announcement before then too. It's literally a year away.

 

[808s & Villainy]

You realize it's not coming out tomorrow, right?

 

[BananasWithGuns]

I think it worked out incredibly well. It caught people off guard and from what I saw it was far and away what people were talking about the most.

 

[Doggg]

It feels like a non-event to me.

 

[Theorry]

I mean it was announced already. If you do it on a stage or in a article. Times have changed and its not a simple "reveal event" anymore.

 

[Prine]

It's also just a hint of what's to come, they've not really showed much, no specs, no clarification of what series means, no Halo etc. There will be a blow out in the coming months, up untill then it's going to be the main topic of discussion, MS done well here.

Once we get Halo Infinite on there, my lord, hype thrusters will be set to 11 up until release.

 

[Donniewahlberg]

I thought it was a really great surprise. If you're going to stay up for a show between 2am and 5am for fun, you hope there's at least that one thing that hasn't been rumoured and makes it worth it. Console reveal trailer was cool and Hellblade 2 reveal was fucking awesome.

 

[Deleted member 17207]

I think it was a great move - it was unexpected and early, they got a head start - hope they run with that.