Viewers of yesterday's Xbox 20/20 game's showcase were thoroughly disappointed by the online event's lack of gameplay footage, and one Xbox executive admits that the console manufacturer failed to meet the high player expectations that it had set. While that level of transparency is welcomed by those wanting to see what the upcoming Xbox Series X can do, this is beginning to feel like somewhat of a PR repeat of 2013.
Microsoft has spent considerable time hyping up its next-gen console's immense power since it was still code named Project Scarlett, so the movement of major E3 and other summer announcements to monthly Inside Xbox games showcases seemed like an exciting idea leading up to the first one. Rebranding the video updates as Xbox 20/20 streams, players were understandably underwhelmed when the first one scheduled showed off very little actual gameplay from major titles like Assassin's Creed Valhalla on May 7, despite the word "gameplay" having been frequently thrown around by the Xbox team leading up to the showcase.
Responding to a fan coming to the Xbox team's aid (who cogently points out that gameplay was not the only thing promised for the May Xbox 20/20), Xbox Games Marketing GM Aaron Greenberg admitted, "Clearly we set some wrong expectations & that’s on us." He guarantees players that Microsoft "[appreciates] all the feedback" and that future Xbox 20/20 events and similar Xbox Series X reveals will be handled better in terms of anticipation generated and what will actually be delivered. Still, Greenberg argues that if the Xbox team had simply "not said anything" and treated the showcase as the "May Inside Xbox show like we did last month," there would have been far less controversy.
Greenberg's probably correct in that regard. However, that doesn't change that the expectations that he and Microsoft's gaming division set are still to blame for players' irritation, having willfully spent time hyping up an aspect of the event that they knew to be lacking. The marketing executive seems aware of that and genuinely apologetic, but Xbox needs to be firing on all cylinders on the entire lead-up to the Xbox Series X launch, especially when some first-party titles are at risk of delay due to COVID-19. Those that remember the disastrous unveiling of the Xbox One in 2013 will recall how some retrospectively minor missteps completely sunk that console's chances of properly competing with this generation's PS4, and the company needs to be doing more to avoid a similar advantage rather than recreate it.
For several reasons, this next-gen console launch is one of the most unique in the history of the home console market. As such, Microsoft stands on the precipice of getting a second chance to recapture its Xbox 360-era lead over Sony and shape the future of console gaming as it sees fit, but that opportunity will quickly fade if June's 20/20 announcements aren't stronger than this month's disheartening showing.
Source: Aaron Greenberg