Former Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra recently criticized Microsoft's “This is Xbox” campaign, saying it was a bad move on the part of Microsoft. xbox brand. Microsoft's handling of Xbox has been controversial in recent years, leaving many fans skeptical about its future. Ybarra's opinion was the same.
Microsoft first launched its controversial “This is Xbox” campaign in November 2024. The advertising campaign compares the Xbox Series The campaign was not well-received at the time, as many fans argued that Microsoft was diluting the Xbox brand, especially considering its increasingly prominent multi-platform approach.
Mike Ybarra criticizes Microsoft's 'This is Xbox' strategy.
Ybarra recently referenced the controversial marketing campaign while responding to gamers complaining about the recently released ROG Xbox Ally using Windows instead of Xbox OS. Executives explained that the decision made sense considering the lack of Xbox exclusives. The former Blizzard boss also claimed that “only a fool” would continue to make consoles when all the games were third-party releases. He also noted that “This is Xbox” was a “bad idea” at the “wrong time.” According to Ybarra, if the games don't have parity between the console and other devices, it makes no sense to call these other platforms Xbox, which could be confusing to consumers.
Despite Ybarra's criticism, Microsoft seems to be focused on its current strategy of supporting Windows OS. Recently, there were also rumors that Microsoft was developing an official Xbox emulation for Windows. If the rumors are correct, this move could bring classic Xbox games to ROG Xbox Ally.
A multiplatform approach and console ownership will also likely continue to be part of the Xbox ecosystem. Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed that the next-gen Xbox is currently being developed in collaboration with AMD, responding to recent rumors that the idea could be scrapped. So it's yet to be seen how successful Xbox's next-generation console will be, and whether Microsoft will continue to release only a handful of first-party games on PlayStation and similar platforms, or whether it will go all-in on a multi-platform strategy.
- brand
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microsoft
- original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499
- operating system
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Proprietary (Windows-based)
- processor
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Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8GHz
- solve
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720p – 4K UHD
