Microsoft

This little rant is more about my interest in Microsoft as a company and why they have choosen gaming, in the larger scheme of things. I'm not to deft in regards to anything else I have said! I'm always learning!

I've been thinking quite alot recently about Microsoft's foray into the videogame market way back in 2001.

Why did they do it?

What would compel a company to invest such copious amounts of money into gaming?

Brand recognition?

Obviously the growing games market was really only being fought over by the two gaming giants, Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft must have observed this situation and realised they could capitalise through a different yet subtle approach to gaming, and how people played them.

I feel that before the original Xbox had even been conceived, Microsoft had been losing alot of credibility and consumer support. The initial idea of entering into the gaming market was one that would have far reaching implications, ones that would hopefully change Microsofts image.

In fact I feel that creating a form of brand recognition in a market that contains a younger age group was a deliberate move. It would allow Microsoft to capture and involve a generation that in the future would be that much more associated and comfortable with Microsoft and the products it sells.

Considering these ideas I'm sure Sony must have also realised before they launched the Playstation, how powerful brand recognition can be. Especially when you're selling so many other products which will have much more relevance later on in the lives of the kids and teenagers who would own a Sony console.

One of the important reasons why I feel the Xbox and the 360 have gained such a following is what they have done differently to Sony and Nintendo's offerings. One of those differences has to have been how easy it was to connect up multiple consoles with the original Xbox. Without a great game to go along with the console this aspect could have failed.

Halo was that great game! Sitting down with four or more friends for some multiplayer shenanigans was something that had not been so easy and effortless to do with other consoles. The Xbox had 4 controller ports and only needed an ethernet cable to link up to another Xbox. Simple, fun and inclusive!

A by-product of involving friends in you're gaming was that it created an environment where people would encourage friends to come around for a game, or even buy a console to join in on the action! This form of advertising cannot be bought, and is one that allows people to associate a really fun and enjoyable social activity with the Xbox brand. The Xbox moniker, "It's good to play together", besides the corporate akwardness of it, only concreted the path on which Microsoft had begun.

Sony and Nintendo had not tapped into such an involved and mulitplayer friendly experience with their respective consoles, and they still really have'nt. The jump from the original Xbox Live experience to the one on the 360 highlights this fact even more.

The cohesive and easy to use interface for the 360 is one of elegance and simplicity. It allows the user to have a streamlined and fun online experience regardless of what you're doing. I could go through my own experiences of live and how everything just clicks, however it really is something that must be used to understand. Of all the people whom I have talked to about their experience with the 360, all have agreed on the awesomeness(thats a word!) of Live.

It is not a perfect system though, glitches and slowdown do appear from time to time. However considering it's online and there are so many different variables contributing to the overall experience, it is a pretty stable system.

End amateur history lesson/ slightly opinionated view!

So to leave people with a question; do you think that Sony or Nintendo will be able to offer a similiar or improved online component to Live for FREE, for the PS3 and Wii respectively?