When it comes to crafting powerful systems that revolutionize how online play is handled, there is no better company to go than Microsoft. Entering the video game console race fairly late into the game, they made a huge impact with their Xbox and have since been going strong, with the Xbox One X to be soon released at the time of this writing.
However, with all of its popularity, there were many things that the company did wrong over the years. Regardless of which big corporation you cling to when it comes to video games, there are days where you wonder what they're thinking. That said, Xbox fans have felt the sting of this reality all too well.
To be fair, their consoles are impressive machines that seek to bring amazing graphics and great games combined with a hub for watching all different kinds of entertainment. The Xbox One is like the Swiss Army Knife of game consoles in that regard. Still, that alone doesn't make a company perfect.
Some ill-liked memories are about to be dug up from history as we take a look at 20 Xbox pictures that perfectly explain why gamers have trust issues today.
20 Rare's Glory Days Are Long Gone
When Rareware first got into the big leagues with Nintendo, they created great games like Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie. Then, they went the way of the dodo and were bought out by Microsoft. However, that didn't mean they were prohibited from making games. As a matter of fact, it gave them the opportunity to make more games, just for another platform.
Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't exactly utilized Rare to their full potential. Sure, they have Viva Pinata and Gears of War under their belt, but it never reaches the heights of their glory days. They were even allowed to use the Banjo Kazooie property again, but that game was devoid of everything that made the original such a classic.
19 No Eyes, Always Watches
When it came time for Sony and Microsoft to unveil their new consoles, it's easy to see that the former of the two companies had control of the market. The reason for this is a lot of the practices Microsoft was going to place with their new Xbox One X. Needless to say, most of them were astonishingly bad.
One of the big issues is that the Kinect would essentially be always on and recording information. Why this had to be included, we'll never know. The problem here is that it brought a lot of privacy concerns for the public, and it wasn't long before the press picked it up. This led to a lot of bad publicity regarding the Xbox One Kinect.
18 Get Ready For Next-Gen Minecraft
VR is a newer concept that is still desperately trying to gain relevance. Oculus, HTC, and Sony have all jumped on the bandwagon, and Microsoft is following suit with the reveal of the HoloLens. That being said, there isn't a lot to the HoloLens that allows it be to any more viable than its competitors.
The demo shown off on the HoloLens was someone looking into a Minecraft world as some omnipotent being. While it's cool to see, we have a hard time imagining that would be useful beyond a few "wow" moments. We do like that it's trying something new with AR functionality, but that alone isn't enough to make the device relevant to consumers.
17 Just In Case You Didn't Know What Controller It Was
When the original Xbox came out, there were a lot of things that Microsoft did right and a few that they did wrong. On the latter side of the spectrum is their controller. While it contained a lot of the necessary features, like face buttons, dual analog sticks, and a D-pad, it became one of the most uncomfortable peripherals to use.
The controller wasn't designed with usability in mind, as the size and shape almost required the user to have big hands. Furthermore, a big Xbox logo was plastered over the front, which was way bigger than it had any right to be. Fortunately, they made a brilliant move with the Xbox logo button on the 360 and One.
16 Remember This?
As the world moved into a more technology-focused age, many companies and developers tried capitalizing on that fact. Sometimes, the result works well, and other times it doesn't. Case in point: the Xbox Smartglass app.
On paper, this little peripheral seemed like a great idea. If you download the app to your phone, it allows you to essentially play your Xbox games with it as well as control your console. However, the idea wasn't fleshed out enough to give it any weight in the long term. Apart from a few cool gimmicks, there wasn't much to like about the Smartglass.
Further proof of this is the fact that it's not really a feature marketed on the Xbox One, despite you being able to do it.
15 Always Better In Bulk
Nowadays, gaming consoles are sleek, attractive, and powerful-looking in just about every way. With Microsoft learning how to do this right with the Xbox One S and One X, it's nice to see them embracing a more cosmetic side. That said, it wasn't always this way, and one would simply have to look at their history to know what we mean.
The original Xbox console was fat, ugly, and full of all kinds of mid-2000s tropes. The design was improved with the Xbox 360, but even that machine was kind of chunky and ugly. Then when the Xbox One was announced, it was still a massive product and could barely fit on most entertainment shelves. At least they're doing better in this regard nowadays.
14 Such A Great Launch Line-Up
Consoles, in their early days, don't sell that well. Anyone who buys them is simply an enthusiast of the company seeking to have the latest and greatest tech (not a bad thing). All of the GameStops in the area were crowded by people wearing Xbox t-shirts at the time. For the casual consumer, there aren't many games, and therefore incentive, to purchase the new device.
For many companies, console launches are heavily marred by lackluster launch line-ups and the Xbox One was certainly no exception. Having games like Zoo Tycoon and Ryse: Son of Rome gracing its doors wasn't exactly putting their best foot forward. It wouldn't be until months later when they would start acquiring games that were worth peoples' time and money.
13 The Silver Ring Of Death
By the time the Xbox 360 launched, it's clear that Microsoft was trying to go for a competitive edge. How do we know this? Because the console was riddled with defects that could've been properly dealt with had the system sat in the oven for a little while longer. One of those issues is what the disc driver would do to the game discs.
Simply put, the disc drive wasn't exactly stable while the discs were being read. This meant that the games would shuffle around while being played, which led to a circular scratch being put on them. Taking their games out, many people would notice that their shiny $60 game discs didn't look as nice as they once did.
12 What's The Point Of Physical?
Before we continue, it's worth noting that this issue isn't just exclusive to Xbox but is covered across the majority of the games industry. With a lot of the platform going digital, people have to sit through hours of download time before they get to play their shiny new games. One solution was to buy a disc and just pop it right into the game.
With the Xbox One and PS4, though, games are becoming so incredibly massive that, regardless of whether you have a disc or not, you still have to sit through a crazy download. What becomes a problem is that you are suddenly running our of storage very quickly, as most AAA titles can take up to 90 GBs of data. It's only going to go up from there on the One X.
11 Why Is This Necessary?
The Xbox One was home to a lot of strange business decisions when it was first announced. When Microsoft unveiled it, they stated that regular consoles were yesterday's news and that online play was the way of the future. However, they took that concept and ran with it when they announced that the Xbox One would require an internet connection to run. If you didn't have that, then you were out of luck.
Granted, most people who could afford an Xbox One could already afford an internet connection, but the problem comes in the little things. Internet can be spotty and not always work properly, meaning that you won't always have easy access to the system. Furthermore, it would almost require that your internet service be higher than normal to accommodate such a heavy console.
10 What Could've Been
While Microsoft has some of the most powerful gaming machines ever created, they struggle in terms of exclusives. Sure, they have everything related to Rare and the Halo franchise, but that's about it. One title was set to give them a powerful exclusive game that would bring over people who used other platforms, though: Scalebound.
This game saw you as a dragon rider with a diverse combat system and some intense mechanics all around. It was in development for a while before it was canceled earlier this year. Going forward, we're not sure what Microsoft is going to do to make up for the game, but as of right now, it doesn't seem like much.
9 Having A Used Game Is Easy
The Xbox One had a lackluster reveal for multiple reasons. There was one that stood above all of the rest in determining who would initially win the next gen race: the issue of used games. Having a used game is a staple of the industry. You buy a disc, you're done playing it, and you either sell it, keep it, or lend it to someone else.
What Microsoft initially proposed with the Xbox One was that the concept of used games would go out the window in favor of a more digital format. Players wouldn't be allowed to buy used games or lend items to other friends. Sony took this opportunity to change their marketing strategy to communicate that used games were there for the long haul with the PS4.
8 This Is About Games, No?
E3 2017 had some exciting and strange announcements. Of the three big companies, Microsoft was the first one to present their content for the next year. They spent a lot of time talking about the Xbox One X, as well as the new Forza Motorsport 7, which they made an incredibly big deal of.
Where everyone started to get lost was when they unveiled the new car on stage. Not only that, but the car was then talked about for several minutes before any games were mentioned. It's a sweet car but in the context of a massive game conference, there's not a lot of point to it. It just seems like a big stunt to garner the attention of the audience.
7 Hello, My Old Friend
When the Xbox 360 launched, there were several problems. None of them were more severe than this crippling issue with the software. Many owners would notice that their consoles would stop working, which lead to the ring around the power button flashing red. Being known as the "Red Ring of Death," by the public, it would be a main issue for the system.
A large majority of early Xbox 360 consoles suffered from the Red Ring of Death and had to be sent back to Microsoft for repair. They lost a lot of money on that deal, and it was a problem that they could've dealt with better if they spent more time finetuning the system before releasing it.
6 The Future Of Gaming
The Xbox 360 was the console meant to stay around for a long time. However, it wasn't long before Microsoft started looking toward the future with a peripheral known as Project Natal. The early footage showed off a new take on motion controls where the players themselves would be the controllers. The possibilities with a device like this were endless, and many people were talking about what it meant for the future of Xbox.
As we all know, the resulting Kinect was a major flop. Not only did it not deliver on most of the promises that were set out in the first place, but it was buggy and poorly conceived. Most of the Kinect games were broken and impossible to play, leading to an add-on that wasn't worth the money.
5 Entertainment First, Games Later
Nowadays, the Xbox One brand has led to a platform of not only powerful games but all kinds of media. It also brings it together in an interface that's relatively easy to understand and navigate. However, during the reveal, Microsoft wasn't exactly sure how to market this new take on the console.
They spent a lot of time beating people over the head with the fact that the Xbox One was going to be an entertainment center rather than a game console. Most people who invest in such devices wanted to see a product that put the games themselves first rather than the other media. It felt like Microsoft was going the other way around, and people weren't happy about it.
4 Would You Pay For This?
With every console, there will always be deals made between the hardware and software manufacturers that lead to special edition systems. It's been done time and time again with the PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems (although they usually use their own characters).
One of the newer examples of this is the Minecraft Xbox One S. It's a decent looking console and controller, but the problem is that it costs $400. When one could get a regular Xbox One S with a bigger game for less than $300, it's crazy to think that this one is so outrageously priced. For simply $100 more, you could get yourself an Xbox One X and get the big power boost.
3 RIP Your Wallet
Microsoft first unveiled the Xbox as a more powerful type of console that could do things that the competitors couldn't do. As you can imagine, that came at a bit of a higher price tag. This trend would only continue as the company went on to create other consoles. It became so extreme that many people would wait a few years before getting one so that it would go down in price.
The biggest offender in this regard is the Xbox One. Launched at $500 with an included Kinect, little to no games, and a focus on entertainment rather than experience, it almost wasn't worth it for anyone other than the hardcore fans. Even the One X priced at the same amount doesn't offer enough advantages to justify the hike in price.
2 Can't Play That Here!
Different parts of the world give rise to different markets where people crave different things. This bleeds into the kinds of games that are released in North America versus the rest of the world. However, there are some people who are ready to experience all kinds of new games and want to import titles from other countries. If you have an Xbox, though, you're not going to be able to do that.
Other consoles are guilty of this too, but the issue of Region Locking has been a pertinent one. There really is no point to it when you can just give autonomy to the consumer and allow them to buy whichever games they absolutely want to have. It's just a senseless business move that needs to be done away with.
1 Remember Those Painful Launch Problems?
The Xbox 360 had a lot of launch problems. There was the scratching of discs and the dreaded Red Ring of Death. However, the issues of the system were beyond just Microsoft not testing it properly. There were several features that weren't included in the base model that should've been standard for what it was trying to be.
For example, WiFi wasn't built into the console, forcing owners to fork over the extra cash to get another peripheral just so they could play online. For what a popular console the Xbox 360 eventually became, it wasn't exactly the cream of the crop when it came to the early days.