Should Xbox build a Nintendo Direct-style game showcase?
Recently, one of my colleagues Miles Dompier wrote an article calling on Microsoft to adopt a Nintendo Direct-style format for its Xbox game news. And increasingly, I think that is certainly the way to go. However, I also recently ran polling on my Xbox Two podcast, which showed a fairly even split of 50/50 between those who would like to see a Nintendo Direct style-show, and those who prefer the once-a-year E3-style showcase that typically takes place in June.
As we move through the pandemic into a post-pandemic world, it’s hard to imagine that E3 will return with the same power.
Nintendo Directs (and PlayStation State of Plays for that matter) occur every few months, showcasing a few games that are coming in the near or distant future. Right now, Microsoft tends to focus on large Xbox-focused marketing blitzes during the old-school E3 summer period, while sprinkling info across events like The Game Awards, Gamescom, and the Tokyo Game Show, where Xbox isn’t the focus.
Nintendo recently had another Direct showcase, revealing a new Pokémon game generation, after another showcase, which revealed a new Kirby among other things. The hype and intrigue about the mere mention of a Nintendo Direct almost always immediately builds hype for Nintendo, leading to memery and viral marketing in a way that Microsoft simply isn’t seeing for Xbox. This past week, PlayStation also announced its own State of Play showcase, after eschewing the E3-style presentation for some years now.
As we move through the pandemic into a post-pandemic world, it’s hard to imagine that E3 will return with the same power it once had. There were already questions about its relevance in a direct-to-consumer world, where Amazon can blow up its games to 20 million players leveraging its Twitch platform, and viral games like Among Us appear out of nowhere without a shred of big-budget marketing.
Direct-to-consumer narratives are more potent and more popular than ever, which really begs the question: Is it time for change within Xbox’s marketing ideology?
Inside Xbox wasn’t the right format
Source: Microsoft
Nintendo Directs are videos designed for the YouTube era, where algorithmic scrolling and eye-catching fast-firing eye-candy is far more important than lumbering TV-style addresses. Indeed, Inside Xbox almost followed the TV-style complete with ad breaks, to push Xbox Game Pass in between the juicy bits of news people actually wanted to hear.
There are, of course, massive hurdles to creating a showcase that meets Nintendo Direct’s format. Asking developers to build flashy and playable gameplay slices for marketing purposes is by no means a simple and easy process. And while it seems almost interwoven into the development cycle for Nintendo games, it certainly doesn’t seem to be the case for Microsoft’s games. If you’ll remember the outcry that revolved around Halo Infinite’s lackluster 2020 showing, with unfinished textures and half-implemented lighting, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
As Microsoft consolidates the absolute enormity of its operation, with games from Bethesda and possibly Activision-Blizzard soon falling under its remit, it’s going to be more crucial than ever to explain to the average public that these are Xbox games, in much the same way people associate Mario directly with Nintendo.
Associating updates with the Xbox brand
Source: Windows Central
Xbox has games, but you might not know it, because Microsoft doesn’t do enough to associate its games with the Xbox brand.
Microsoft has shown reluctance to be too aggressive with consolidating acquired studios under the Xbox brand. Indeed, Bethesda is going to remain separate operationally at least in the short term, much like Mojang and Minecraft has. At least from a platform marketing perspective, I personally think that’s a mistake.
Microsoft seems almost shy about associating some of its franchises directly with the Xbox brand for some reason, beyond a simple “Xbox Game Studios” logo that appears in some of their titles. Brand association is one of Nintendo’s and PlayStation’s biggest strengths, and by avoiding the common association between titles like Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, and Halo, Microsoft is perpetuating the common narrative that “Xbox has no games.”
The perception that Microsoft can’t compete with Sony on raw quality is an epic failure of marketing and branding, given that Metacritic revealed that Microsoft was indeed the highest-rated gaming publisher of 2021. Xbox has games, but you often wouldn’t know it, because Microsoft doesn’t do enough to associate its games with the Xbox brand.
What do you think?
Source: Windows Central
Search algorithms demand conviction and consistency, and as Microsoft’s gaming operation is increasingly fragmented by its acquisition spree, consolidating it under a definitive brand that appeals to the hyper-connected and insatiable gamer crowd seems like the correct path to take. They could even just use the Inside Xbox brand, with a refocus on simply showcasing the best upcoming Xbox games, instead of overthought production, and heavily scripted on-camera interviews.
What do you think, though? Hit our comments, vote in our poll, and let us know!