"I really don't understand what Sony are offering and I don't understand what Kutaragi talks about half the time." UK and Northern Europe Xbox boss Neil Thompson told it like it is when I interviewed him last week during the X06 event. He also defended the HD-DVD drive - "something we needed to do" - while admitting the focus on core gaming content over casual may have had an impact on consumer perception of the 360 as a console for hardcore gamers.
What are your thoughts for the Xbox this Christmas? Can Microsoft reach the 10 million worldwide sales target?
This Christmas is important, especially as it is the first Christmas with general availability of 360. I don't think there will be stock issues. We've planned well for it and feel we are now in the 2nd generation of hi-def games. The quality of the games is better than those at launch and those were pretty stunning at the time. Titles like Gears of War, Viva Piñata and exclusive HD football. Then there are things like Guitar Hero and Totem Ball which broaden the appeal base of what we can offer people. Likewise Arcade is proving to be a runaway success and will further widen the appeal. We just hope people check out the Xbox without any bias this Christmas and we'll think they will like what they see.
How does Nintendo's launch affect your plans? Do you see it as a complementary offering to yours?
There are certain customers out there who will see Wii as a compatible offering with ours as it offers them a different gaming experience. But we see Wii as a strong competitor and one that can take a share of revenue that we would like to get. They are offering a very different product to us. They will sell their Zelda's and appeal to the fanboys and yes, they will do well but they are not an intense focus for us this Christmas.
How do you convert the remaining 40% of Xbox 360 owners to join Live?
Our aim is to get as many people as possible onto Live. The 60 % stat of 360 owners joining Live is a global one, in the UK it is slightly higher. Probably the biggest barrier is still broadband access in the home but that is decreasing daily. The silver service is important as it lets users see what Live is all about. Once they see and experience it we think they will love it. Our ambition is 100% and to get that we need to offer a diversity of content, such as Arcade, that will get the audience onto it. We don't want to Live to be seen as just a hardcore offering for hardcore gamers.
The 360 line-up still seems skewed towards the core 16-24 male audience and not the casual market that is supposedly so important?
Everyone always says to me that we don't have a Buzz or a Singstar but if you look at the platform we have Banjo coming out and Viva Piñata too. Arcade has a lot of games that appeal to the casual audience as does Guitar Hero and Totem Ball. On top of this content we have things like next-gen football which is also child friendly, plus all the racing titles. Apart from singing quiz shows we have a broad platform. Don't get me wrong, Buzz and Singstar are great products but I don't think they define what you would term as a broad platform or family gaming. Perhaps we need to present our family offering and other more casual games more clearly. But such is the visual quality of titles like Gears and Bioshock that we focus on these more.
Last year at X05 you made a big deal of titles like Hexic but there was little casual games focus at X06. Are you embarrassed or worried that a core gaming media will give you poor coverage?
Gears and Bioshock and the other top games look so good that you can't not show them. But did we get the clarity of delineation in the content genres right at the X06 presentation? I didn't think we did. We have a much stronger variety than we did a year ago and it makes sense to clarify this.
How important is the camera?
It lets us enter a new area of interactive games and is potentially exciting. Obviously it is a bit of an unknown at the moment it depends on what the developers can do with it. But when you hear them talking about adding more emotion to games then the camera can play an interesting role in this. For example putting your face onto in-game characters, obviously with all the right safeguards. We need to offer new experiences if we are going to grow the market.
How important is the HD-DVD player to the 360? Are you worried it will deflect focus from the gaming?
We felt HD-DVD was something we needed to give consumers the choice of but it is not core to what we do. For the next year HD-DVD will be in its infancy but maybe by next Christmas the market will have grown and become more important. If you want to offer the definite high def entertainment platform then you have to have HD-DVD, but I don't want us to lose sight that fundamentally at our core we are a gaming machine. The other platform holders may be a little schizophrenic about what they are offering but we are focussed on the gaming experiences. Once this is nailed we can look at attachments like music and movies but gaming is core.
Do you regret having two different 360 offerings? Doesn't it just confuse customers?
No, not at all. We're selling both and customers like to have a choice and build their system in their own way. Parents may buy the core system and tell little Johnny to save up and build up his system. The more power you give to consumers generally, the more positive brand experience you generate. Rather than forcing something on them we would prefer to offer a choice. We think it was the right strategy and we are sticking with it.
What do you think worked and what didn't work in the 360 launch period?
One of the things we were most proud of is Live. No one has done it before and we have delivered on what we said we would do. Live is a great achievement. Things we would do again? Perhaps we should have lessened the focus on the hardcore and chased broader content earlier. Maybe persuaded developers to develop content in this area more quickly that we did. That's now hurting us in some ways as people are still left with the impression that 360 is a platform for hardcore gamers only. The reality, of course, with Live Arcade and the others, is different. Also I would have reduced barriers to entry in the first generation of Live by removing the need for credit cards. But we're in a healthy position now and attracting really good IT to Live. We don't have to go out and debate with people to get on the platform, they are now really keen to get involved creating content for Live. It's pretty easy to develop for now and allows developers the freedom to express themselves.
Has the gamerpoints system become more important that you expected?
Not really. Community is at the heart of what Live is. It's part of the currency, along with friends list and identity that glues the community together. Without it online gaming becomes quite random and you could be anywhere. Gamerpoints was a conscious decision and has become a really important of the gamertag. Gamertag is now such an important personal brand and could easily be used across other things in the future.
Do PC games have a future or do you think the PC will gradually become the home of the sim, leaving the console as the home for all other genres?
No, I think PC gaming has a very strong future. When we launch Vista in January it will really re-energise that that category. And when you look at the interoperability between Windows gaming, console and mobile platform you can see how strong it is. People naturally want to play different games in different environments with some games simply more convenient to play on a PC. I saw Crysis at E3 and thought it was amazing. I would play that on a console if possible but it will be fantastic on the PC. It's all about giving people a choice.
Sony's PS3 launch problems have given you a chance but how do you make the Xbox the gaming console of choice, especially when looking at the next round of console launches in 5-6 years time? Sony has strong brand loyalty and we have never underestimated that position. All we can do is as clearly communicate as we can what we have to offer. We have a fantastic product that has unique services on it and fantastic content. The challenge is to get that emotional attachment to the console and get a number of users who will evangelise the console to their friends. Maybe things like Pro Evo 6 will help persuade tilt the balance toward us. We will rely on having the best games and the best services, like Live, as well as keeping all our commitments. If we fail to meet a commitment then we will have trouble as I think people would be hard on Microsoft quite quickly.
What do you think about the PS3 and what it will offer?
I really don't understand what Sony are offering and I don't understand what Kutaragi talks about half the time. He's incredibly bright and has done amazing things but I'm very confused when I look at transcripts and am unsure of what they are positioning where and who they are going for. You can't really go head-on with them as I don't know what I'm going head on with. So we are just going to concentrate on creating great games and constantly improve Live and ultimately whatever will be will be. That's all we can do.
