Dice Dave goes blunt while giving his perspective on Xbox.
It is a known fact that Microsoft Corporation’s Xbox One is not doing as well as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4 hardware functionalities and sales on an average. At this point the Windows maker is trying its best to break this massive lead; it is still uncertain whether Xbox One will be successful in making a mark. This fact was admitted by Phil Spencer who is the head of Xbox but now another party having thorough knowledge about gaming that is Electronic Arts Inc.’s DICE has also passed his verdict on the issue.
Electronic Arts is said to be a popularity that is behind various top notch games and digital content. They are the mastermind behind "Star Wars Battlefront" which will release soon. Moreover, Battlefield is equally their creation. According to Alan Kertz mentioned while exchanging a series of statements on Twitter stated about the Xbox One “is an inferior horse in the horsepower race” that is destined to be behind the PS4 this generation”. Where Mr. Alan is confused that why people beat about the bush” on matters that are so straightforward. According to him, despite MSFT’s numerous efforts they can succeed top some extent to bag customer trust and loyalty but they themselves cannot deny the fact that the PlayStation 4 is relatively more successful and powerful than Microsoft Xbox One.
Mr. Kertz while explaining his stance over the matter was extremely straightforward and blunt. For developers it is not really common to criticize one brand and take the side of others at such an open platform since in this scenario, Mr. Alan Kertz is actually working for both the companies. When you will go through the conversation, you are liable to see two types of people. The principal ones are those who are cheering him and appreciating him for the audacity he has to speak up making it extremely argumentative and constructive whereas the other people are criticizing him for his approach.
A pretty vague statement was when Mr. Alan Kertz claimed that since they haven’t done well lately, they are not likely to do well in the times to come to which are extremely absurd. The prior performance is never a threshold to judge and label. Instead of this, if the Xbox comes up with a price point along with a unique product lineup then things can change for them eventually.
Making such blunt comments can disrupt the ties between the two companies.
Microsoft is optimistic about its gaming console market in China.
Sony Corp and Microsoft Corporation have been keeping a close watch on the Chinese market since the country raised its ban from video gaming consoles. Both the companies were extremely spontaneous about launching their gaming consoles in the Chinese market. However, the response has been relatively disappointing so far.According to a recent report published by Niko Partners clearly highlights that Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 will not be able to do quite well in China at least this year. As estimated the accumulative sales of Microsoft and Sony’s gaming console is said to be 550,000 units by the end of FY15 as estimated by the company.The company has suggested that these firms need to come up with more high budgeted and high-quality AAA games so that sales boost in the region. Currently the list of games being offered in the Chinese gaming market are extremely narrow and many big games like the Call of Duty it yet to be launched.Another reason why these gaming consoles did not do quite well is that the Chinese market has more gamers interested in PC gaming where these consoles are extremely expensive for them. Ironically, the Xbox is priced at $607 in the Chinese market which is $200 more than the US pricing.On the other hand, Phil Spencer of Microsoft is optimistic about this venture where a conference for gaming is scheduled in China for the coming month. Microsoft seeks to capitalize on the conference where they hope that they will engage more gamers. Moreover, the report also claims that the sale of smart TVs will also supersede the sales of gaming consoles FY19. The reason behind this is that smart TVs have various functionalities, they are cheaper and also have several games available on them. The founder and managing partner of Niko Partners, Ms. Lisa Cosmas Hanson mentioned, "Despite China being a predominantly PC online gaming culture, Chinese who are now 26-35 years old grew up in the days of Nintendo Super Famicom consoles and are accustomed to playing games with a controller via a TV." Moreover, these gamers will have the ability to adopt OTT games that can be played on this television along with gaming consoles which will transform the living room into an entertainment station.Hence in a nutshell, despite the criticism Microsoft is still optimistic about this venture and believes that they will soon capitalize on the Chinese market for gaming consoles.
