I used to write some crappy blogs every now and then on Giant Bomb, I've since moved my crappy blogging elsewhere. You can read a whole bunch of ramblings there if you'd like. In the wake of the Xbox One disappointment that surfaces up here I thought I'd join in with the couple of topics I've seen that aren't so down on the matter. I'm not really talking specifics - used games, internet access, power just more looking at the actual reveal show and my thoughts on what Microsoft is going for. It's pretty long so I'll stop making it longer, read it, read it here with pictures if you're not into the wall of text thing - or don't, there's a lot of other Xbox One talk around here.

The big reveal was much maligned and disparaged by nearly everyone everywhere I went on the internet. I couldn't really understand why. That's a lie, I know why, it's the same why behind nearly every goings on in the world - people are self centered, selfish and arrogant as a whole. I'm not trying to insult what seems like nearly everyone on the internet but if they would take the time to step back and look at the reveal objectively I think it was pretty successful in what they were trying to do. This was a nationally televised conference in the United States and as such Microsoft wanted to reach out to the every man. This was not a reveal for the gamers.

Everyone complaining about the Xbox One is deep into games. They love them, it's a major part of what they do with their free time and they enjoy it. Microsoft knows this audience, they know what matters to them is games but lets face it, games are still looked down upon by most of the mainstream. Games are seen as a waste of time, and gamers are still maligned as geeks, nerds and social incompetents. Microsoft has since come out with the lofty sales goal of 1 billion console sales, which gamers have reacted to with bemusement, seeing it as proof Microsoft have gone batty and they would have, if they were targeting gamers. A quick look for Xbox 360 sales figures found that 77 million were sold worldwide, well short of the billion mark. Looking at their 1 billion aspiration and the previous super popular console sales number, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft might be losing their mind, but then remember the Xbox One reveal.

That's right, they weren't targeting gamers. They know most gamers will buy an Xbox One or an Playstation 4, and that's a battle they probably think they can win at a later date, say E3. This reveal they were targeting the mainstream. This is the first time anyone has seen the console, and they are televising it nationally. If they come out and reveal the console as just that, a console, the mainstream market will nod, put it in their collectively looked down upon console box and won't give it another thought. If they come out and reveal the console for something the mainstream market can use and position it as such, with games being a bonus feature, then all of a sudden they're a lot closer to that 1 billion sales mark.

Do I think Microsoft will hit their 1 billion sales mark? No, probably not, but they're fighting in a much larger area now. Collectively the sales for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii console total under 300 million (with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both selling around 77 million each while the Wii reached 100 million). Now some people bought multiple consoles, and the Wii sales were mostly to people who don't buy consoles and the Wii ran away with it. I think Microsoft saw this and thought "Wii killed it by selling to the mainstream, and it was a dedicated games console. Imagine what we could do if we convinced the mainstream that this box enriches something nearly 100% of people do - watch TV, playing games is a bonus".

Now I hope I don't have to point out to people that companies are in business for one thing, and one thing only, money. Microsoft positioning the console this way does something they want - it gets their foot in the door for mass market adoption. This isn't guaranteed obviously and as such they need to be able to rely on their already established market to catch them if they fall. It's because of this that I find it funny people have been saying Microsoft has forgotten about the gamer. They need us, we're their safety net! They haven't forgotten about us - they're banking on us saving their ass if they fail. Obviously Microsoft has been putting the effort in to make a games console for us. They've been securing exclusives and trying to give us the best gaming experiences they can deliver. This just wasn't the time for them to show it to us, Microsoft knew this and tried to temper expectations. Microsoft came out and said before the reveal that it wasn't going to show games or talk to much about anything gamers would find particularly exciting and they're saving E3 for that.

Will this gamble pay off? Only time will tell, Microsoft obviously thinks they have a really strong E3 line up and maybe they do. Personally the Xbox One reveal was exactly that, they revealed a box, it's called the Xbox One. The other stuff they talked about did nothing for me. I learned a little bit about the console and learned a lot about how they are trying to sell this console to people that aren't me. E3 is coming and coming soon, and E3 is my time. E3 is when I make my decision on what this console holds for me. They will show games, people will be talking about games, and developers for the first time will be able to talk about working on the next generation of games a little more openly. E3 is games and games are what I enjoy, the Xbox One will play games, in fact, contrary to popular internet opinion, it's main focus is games. How they advertise the Xbox One to non gamers is just that, advertisement. Advertisement's job is to bend the truth and sell things to people that they wouldn't otherwise buy, and it's the mass market Microsoft is really trying to hoodwink here. The Xbox One is a games system and I can't wait for E3 to roll around so I can make a more informed decision on which game system is really for me.

As a consumer, why would I buy an Xbox one when I can easily buy an Apple TV or any other alternative for the fraction of the rumored cost of 500 USD? If your answer is the added features, the Xbox one is more of a convenience than anything. Anything it can do is already possible to do without any additional equipment. I don't need an Xbox to watch tv, especially not a 500 dollar one. The only people who will buy this thing are gamers and rich people. Microsoft doesn't need graphics processing to run what is essentially a google tv. My fear is that Microsoft is trying to be a jack of all trades. My analogy is trying to sell a double cab pickup truck to a college student who only needs a daily commuter. Yes the pickup truck can transport 5 people and can haul things and has a towing capacity of 6 tons, but it just isn't necessary. If Microsoft could've taken out kinect and any of their superfluous features to sell me a device that is 200 dollars cheaper, then hell yes this would be the device for me.

@colorbrandon: Because its the Xbox One. The whole simplification of your life, no more input switching and voice control.

I agree they are fighting against already adopted technologies and this puts them on the back foot, but if you are a grandparent, and you're thinking about buying Apple TV or Boxee or whatever for a little more maybe you get the Xbox One because your grandson can play it when he comes over. Maybe you are confused by all the remotes and the voice feature and no input switching makes your life easier. My grandparents cant work their remotes at all, to the point where they keep one channel on all day because it's to confusing to find what they want.

My dad plays fantasy football and has a small surface level interest in games, the integration of the whole fantasy football thing may tip him over the edge and get one where he wouldn't of otherwise. Also as I touched on in one of the later paragraphs it's not necessarily what is "necessary" but what advertisement can convince the herd that is necessary. Remember we are the informed consumers, as someone who has a friend in retail sales that I talk to regularly it's shocking the amount of people who come in uninformed ready to drop hundreds on items they think they need.

@phr4nk0: For the people who don't bother to learn the current television technology, can they be expected to learn how to operate an Xbox one? That's a pretty large assumption that anyone's grandparents will learn to speak to a camera mounted on a television. Speaking to a machine vs pushing a few buttons, It all sounds so silly when it's boiled down to that. But that's the core argument here. You're "simplifying" your life with the "one". But in the end you're still buying an additional device. You still need to access other boxes for features like DVR. If someone doesn't understand inputs and outputs they're not going to understand how to even set up the cabling of this device. And the most appalling thing about this is microsoft's history with pay walling features. What a joke it would be to have this as your media device and have to pay for gold just to use Netflix or the Internet.

@colorbrandon: Fuck I just hit delete instead of edit on my comment lol. Oh well you get the idea.

There is really nothing to look forward to in the Microsoft E3 panel because lolkinect, exclusive cowadooty maps and another derivative FPS. At least Sony is backing independent development that can spawn more intresting ideas than brown and bloom shooters.