No matter how bullish Microsoft was on its initial vision for the Xbox One – which included online check-ins, stringent DRM policies, and a requirement to always keep the Kinect plugged in – the company hasn't been unaware of its consumers. The company has done well to placate the masses over the past few months, but Ken Lobb, Microsoft Studios’ partner creative director, understands the short-term effects of the poor PR Xbox One has gone through.
“Of course [the company’s messaging problems] hurt in the short term,” he told Edge in a new interview. ”We’re not blind, right? Did they hurt in the long run? We’re going to have to find out after we launch.”
People tend to have short-term memories, so it’s difficult to tell whether or not all the vitriol Microsoft experienced early on will actually translate to poor sales at launch. All we can do now is speculate, which was something that plenty of people did after Microsoft only gave half answers during the big reveal of the Xbox One.
“When someone comes in and asks a question about something we’ve decided we’re intentionally not going to talk about until a certain date, sometimes you get half answers,” Lobb admitted. “There’s no such thing as perfect PR.”
Microsoft has been anything but perfect, yet the console war has really only begun. The first test will come this November, when both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch just a week apart. Get ready for some fireworks.