We DID Tell XBox Their Console Branding Was Going To Get Confusing...

[Shagger]

Pre-orders have now started for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, the next Generation of Xbox Consoles Replacing the 3rd Generation of Xbox Consoles that started with the Xbox One. Then we got later versions of The Xbox One in the form of The Xbox One S and the Xbox One X.

 

Now, imagine you not a gamer and don't follow the industry like, let's say, a parent trying to secure a pre-order for the new Xbox for Christmas, and today was the first chance to do so, would this get confusing? Well, apparently it did because sales of the Xbox One X consoles, NOT the new Xbox Series X have rocketed on Amazon apparently as high as 747%! This snip I got from a link to the US Amazon shows a figure of 431%, but I believe each region has their own stats and the stats may have changed as the day's gone on.

 

 

Sorry, but there is no other explanation for this to be happening on the same day the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S pre-orders start, it can't be a coincidence. There's going to be some very disappointed kids on December 25nth and some equally frustrated parents and I put the blame solely on Microsoft. The Xbox branding might make perfect sense to Phil Spencer and his fluent-in-geek PR department, but that doesn't mean it's going to translate well to everyone else. This is now second generation in a row that, in my opinion, Microsoft have messed this up, but even the Xbox One didn't cause this level of confusion.

 

It's not like Microsoft are the only ones to make this kind of mistake, like Nintendo did with the Wii-U, but they made that mistake once. Every other time, their branding, design and promotion made it clear what was the old and what was the new. Sony's method is also very simple, just name the consoles in a numerical scale. It may not be very creative, but nobody is going to get confused by it.

 

What do you guys think? Do you believe that this is Microsoft's fault? Do you think that Console Manufactures should stifle creativity with branding and naming to make things more simple for the customer to understand? Or do you perhaps think that the people who have bought the current console in error have nobody to blame but themselves? Let's hear your thoughts.

Edited September 22, 2020 by Shagger

[The Blackangel]

The fault falls entirely on Microsoft. Say someone is getting this for their grandchildren. Perhaps they don’t know a Nintendo from a PlayStation from an Xbox. How are they to know if what they’re buying is the right one? In all the hustle and bustle that is xmas shopping, all they may know is “new Xbox” and nothing else. Are they really going to notice the difference in name during all that insanity? I highly doubt it. You don’t have to be all fancy with the name if you have a quality product to push. The fact that they named it so close to the Xbox One X tells me that they aren’t very confident about the new system. Add in the recent acquisition if Bethesda, and I really think Microsoft is scared.

[ARx182]

Very stupid by Microsoft, and it's even worse that they didn't try to fix the branding after the Xbox One (i.e. Xbox Two, etc.). Maybe they tried to overthink the concept, but Sony did it in a simplistic manner and it's very straight forward for consumers to differentiate between Playstations (PS1, 2, 3, 4 & now 5).

[Kane99]

Yeah it's very confusing to consumers. Especially when it comes to parents, grand parents, etc. They're not going to know the difference between an Xbox One X and an Xbox Series X. I bet stores are going to see a lot of returns after the Holiday season lol. 

They should have just called it the New Xbox and be done with it. Or just Xbox. Or idk, go with the actual code names some of the consoles get. What was the Series X code name? Project Scarlet or something? If so, just call it the Xbox Scarlet or something. It rolls off the tongue better than series x and certainly won't confuse consumers. 

[killamch89]

It's kinda like the Zen architecture for AMD. They just got around to addressing the issue with the new set of CPUs they're going to release.

[Heatman]

On 9/23/2020 at 1:22 AM, The Blackangel said:

The fault falls entirely on Microsoft. Say someone is getting this for their grandchildren. Perhaps they don’t know a Nintendo from a PlayStation from an Xbox. How are they to know if what they’re buying is the right one? In all the hustle and bustle that is xmas shopping, all they may know is “new Xbox” and nothing else. Are they really going to notice the difference in name during all that insanity? I highly doubt it. You don’t have to be all fancy with the name if you have a quality product to push. The fact that they named it so close to the Xbox One X tells me that they aren’t very confident about the new system. Add in the recent acquisition if Bethesda, and I really think Microsoft is scared.

Yeah - it's actually a marketing strategy to push up the sales of both consoles. And to crown it all, if the prices aren't different, it would be very difficult to tell the difference between the console especially if you're not very familiar with it.