Microsoft had a difficult time communicating just what the Xbox One was early on. Is it a gaming system that can’t play used games? A cable box to sit next to your other cable box? The all-in-one Ryse machine? It took quite a bit of time – and a policy change or two – to get the right idea across, but Phil Harrison, corporate vice President at Microsoft, finally feels that the message has been delivered to the consumers. When asked by GameIndustry International about if the consumers actually know what the Xbox One is, he pointed to the pre-order numbers.
“Yes, and the only reason I can say that confidently is because of the pre-order volumes we are going to be sold out,” Harrison said. “But I would also back that up by saying that some very thoughtful critique of our hardware and system have just recently hit the internet and clearly people who have thought quite deeply about Xbox One, have spent some time with it, recognize that it's a great place to play games but it's also the all-in-one entertainment system and a great place to enjoy TV, music, movies, simple and instant. Those messages and themes come back very strongly in almost all of the criticism or reviews of the console and its system.
“So what we set out to achieve, our vision, has turned into reality and I think that's now reflected back in what people think and experience with Xbox One.”
The Xbox One is now available to purchase, so if you aren’t too sure what the thing is, now might be the time to figure it all out.