Xbox 360 Core System is critical to global market - Moore

[Mael Duin]

http://eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62115

Peter Moore has reiterated Microsoft's conviction that Xbox 360 will exceed expectations in Japan, and has spoken in more detail about the importance of offering a "Core System" alternative outside the region - both in terms of price-sensitive regions at launch, and as the system matures throughout its life cycle.

Speaking to US website 1UP on the eve of the Japanese launch, which took place on Saturday, Moore said that the Core System - which retails for UKP 209.99 and consists of a bare bones Xbox 360 without a hard disk - was important going into countries like China, Russia, India, Poland, Hungary and Latvia. "Those are markets we're going in. We're going to globalise this industry, and price becomes a big issue."

"[W]e need to offer cascading price points in 2008, 2009, 2010, to bring in tens of millions of gamers each year. And the flexibility the Core System versus the Premium SKU gives, is that," he added.
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In terms of the Japanese launch, Moore said that the "overall strategy" was the same in terms of branding and tagline while TV advertisements and "tactical marketing" would differ slightly.

Moore was robust in his defence of the global launch strategy, although he did effectively concede that the Japanese day-one line-up was less than ideal. When it was suggested that having big titles at the Japanese launch would have been important, he compared it to the PlayStation 2 - widely thought to have grown stronger following a weak launch period. When asked if the global launch was the right decision, however, he responded, "Absolutely. It's a marathon, not a sprint."

Dead or Alive 4's slip to December 29th, widely publicised in the past week, was a question of integrity, he said - it was non-negotiable that it be finished before it shipped. He went on to argue that, "a year from now, everybody will have forgotten that it was two weeks after launch."

Microsoft has also raised eyebrows with news that Japanese-developed or produced titles like Ninety-Nine Nights, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and Enchant Arm won't be ready until 2006 either, but Moore insisted that all were quality propositions, and argued that the free beta of Square Enix's port of PC and PS2 massively-multiplayer RPG Final Fantasy XI available to Japanese Xbox 360 buyers was "a big deal".

The Xbox gamer in Japan, Moore said, was quite insular compared to his European or American counterparts due to the language barrier, but some did make forays into the worlds of Halo 2 and other Westernised gaming environments. He also said that he expected Xbox Live Silver, which allows for chatting between Xbox 360 owners although no gameplay, would be popular, and that Xbox Live Arcade, which allows players to buy and download older arcade games and submit scores to global leaderboards, would be "huge" and "a killer app".

Reflecting on the US launch, Moore expressed regret that more units hadn't been available, but said, "The fact of the matter is, there are a lot of people loving playing Xbox 360 around the world right now." The US launch sold out "in minutes", he said.

Whether the console would see that kind of success in Japan wasn't something Moore was prepared to be specific about. "I sense the demand is strong," he said, but didn't offer any estimates. Xbox 360 is technically on sale worldwide now, and Microsoft hopes to meet demand by re-supplying retail channels on a weekly basis.

And the source is 1up :]

[Hypx]

Moore doesn't know what he's talking about. Without an included HDD, Xbox 360 has torpedoed much of their momentum in the US, and put themselves at parity with the PS3 on this issue. Now they have effectively no selling point over the PS3. This attempt to capture the smaller markets with a lower price has been easier annihilated by Revolution's extra low price, leaving them between a rock and a hard place so to speak. "Ten of millions" new gamers each year? I would like to smoke some of stuff you're taking.

PS: What happened to weekly resupply? Didn't quite happen did it?

[Lefein]

Of course it's important to Microsoft to sell an overpriced HDD for. They have an Xbox division to turn around after all!

[JordanL]

Of course it's important to Microsoft to sell an overpriced HDD for. They have an Xbox division to turn around after all!

Even if the XB was profitable... their Home Entertainment division loses almost $8 billion a quarter...

[Boogie Woogie]

What about Nintendo Revolution VS Xbox 360 Core ???

[Lefein]

What about Nintendo Revolution VS Xbox 360 Core ???

Oh, you mean the console that costs half as much and has free online? lol, haven't I been saying that the core is marketed to a demographic that doesn't exist? I'd say "that's a cheap shot, Boogie" if you weren't right on the money!

[Steroyd]

meanwhile while nrev and Xbox core are battling it out to be the cheapest, PS3 has the "you will work extra days to get this, the PS3 will be something that you must have no matter what" lingo.

Guess what Ken says has meaning to more than just the rich regions.

[Aleman]

Moore doesn't know what he's talking about. Without an included HDD, Xbox 360 has torpedoed much of their momentum in the US, and put themselves at parity with the PS3 on this issue. Now they have effectively no selling point over the PS3. This attempt to capture the smaller markets with a lower price has been easier annihilated by Revolution's extra low price, leaving them between a rock and a hard place so to speak. "Ten of millions" new gamers each year? I would like to smoke some of stuff you're taking.

PS: What happened to weekly resupply? Didn't quite happen did it?

I'm going out on a limb here, but I bet you were one of those people arguing that a HDD wasn't important for gaming anyways (back in the day around E3).

[Steroyd]

I bet you were one of those people arguing that a HDD wasn't important for gaming anyways

i'm going on a limb, but i think the Xbox 360 loses about a dozen features without the Hard Drive, putting PS3 in an even more superior position in the poorer regions.

[Aleman]

I bet you were one of those people arguing that a HDD wasn't important for gaming anyways

i'm going on a limb, but i think the Xbox 360 loses about a dozen features without the Hard Drive, putting PS3 in an even more superior position in the poorer regions.

OK what's your point? Do you live in the poorer regions? Or are you guys being business analysts again?

[Perfect Sin]

Aleman, are seriously going to sit there and defend the Core unit? For $100 more you get everything that should be packeged with the 360 in the first place (the Premium) where as the core doesn't even have a HDD which costs $100.

How can you see the core as anything but a ploy for MS to make up the money the XBOX lost is my question.

[surtur]

i think the core is only going to sell for the launch sine the prem's are in such short supply people will have baught the core just so they can play right away and after launch i dont see the demand for the core system to be very high esp when sony and nintendo release there systems it will get M$ some money from the ones sold at launch and for a few months until they are able to keep a good supply of systems into the stores.

[Aleman]

Just because the Premium version is a good deal doesn't mean the Core version is a bad deal... it gives you everything the PS2 gave you at launch, plus more features (notably networking built-in) and (obviously) more processing power. Not to mention $300 is worth less now than it was in 2000.

Compared to the original Xbox, it doesn't give you a HDD, but it gives you a built-in DVD player.

[Hypx]

Moore doesn't know what he's talking about. Without an included HDD, Xbox 360 has torpedoed much of their momentum in the US, and put themselves at parity with the PS3 on this issue. Now they have effectively no selling point over the PS3. This attempt to capture the smaller markets with a lower price has been easier annihilated by Revolution's extra low price, leaving them between a rock and a hard place so to speak. "Ten of millions" new gamers each year? I would like to smoke some of stuff you're taking.

PS: What happened to weekly resupply? Didn't quite happen did it?

I'm going out on a limb here, but I bet you were one of those people arguing that a HDD wasn't important for gaming anyways (back in the day around E3).

In that case you would be wrong.

[surtur]

Just because the Premium version is a good deal doesn't mean the Core version is a bad deal... it gives you everything the PS2 gave you at launch, plus more features (notably networking built-in) and (obviously) more processing power. Not to mention $300 is worth less now than it was in 2000.

Compared to the original Xbox, it doesn't give you a HDD, but it gives you a built-in DVD player.

Yeah Think what are you doing comparing the 360 to the PS2 that is funny enough but you have to add the "and (obviously) more processing power." these two systems are almost 6 years apart i hope that the 360 would atleast have what the ps2 had but i would expect alot more.
and how is the core system not a bad deal esp if you have xbox 1 games that you now cant play (that is if they are even on the premium ed.'s b/c list) you lack total logic on this post.
and if you had to purchase the core system when you wanted the Prem system you are SOL and have to spend 250+$ to get all the upgrades.

[Sufi]

Just because the Premium version is a good deal doesn't mean the Core version is a bad deal... it gives you everything the PS2 gave you at launch, plus more features (notably networking built-in) and (obviously) more processing power. Not to mention $300 is worth less now than it was in 2000.

Compared to the original Xbox, it doesn't give you a HDD, but it gives you a built-in DVD player.

Here's a tip, if you're going to say that the $300 is worth less than you shouldn't compare the core system to PS2 as well that was back in 2000.

[Aleman]

Just because the Premium version is a good deal doesn't mean the Core version is a bad deal... it gives you everything the PS2 gave you at launch, plus more features (notably networking built-in) and (obviously) more processing power. Not to mention $300 is worth less now than it was in 2000.

Compared to the original Xbox, it doesn't give you a HDD, but it gives you a built-in DVD player.

Here's a tip, if you're going to say that the $300 is worth less than you shouldn't compare the core system to PS2 as well that was back in 2000.

My point was that people paid $300 for a PS2 back in 2000. That same amount would be worth a little over $300 today.

[Aleman]

Just because the Premium version is a good deal doesn't mean the Core version is a bad deal... it gives you everything the PS2 gave you at launch, plus more features (notably networking built-in) and (obviously) more processing power. Not to mention $300 is worth less now than it was in 2000.

Compared to the original Xbox, it doesn't give you a HDD, but it gives you a built-in DVD player.

Yeah Think what are you doing comparing the 360 to the PS2 that is funny enough but you have to add the "and (obviously) more processing power." these two systems are almost 6 years apart i hope that the 360 would atleast have what the ps2 had but i would expect alot more.
and how is the core system not a bad deal esp if you have xbox 1 games that you now cant play (that is if they are even on the premium ed.'s b/c list) you lack total logic on this post.
and if you had to purchase the core system when you wanted the Prem system you are SOL and have to spend 250+$ to get all the upgrades.

The point is that with the Core you're getting a fully functional gaming system at launch for $300. Sheesh. I really have to spell things out for you guys. That's the same price we're used to paying.

Yes, you get a good deal on a whole lot of extra stuff with the Premium Edition, but none of that stuff is absolutely necessary for gaming. You can buy a Core + generic memory card and be done with it.

[Thebee4488]

Just because the Premium version is a good deal doesn't mean the Core version is a bad deal... it gives you everything the PS2 gave you at launch, plus more features (notably networking built-in) and (obviously) more processing power. Not to mention $300 is worth less now than it was in 2000.

Compared to the original Xbox, it doesn't give you a HDD, but it gives you a built-in DVD player.

Yeah Think what are you doing comparing the 360 to the PS2 that is funny enough but you have to add the "and (obviously) more processing power." these two systems are almost 6 years apart i hope that the 360 would atleast have what the ps2 had but i would expect alot more.
and how is the core system not a bad deal esp if you have xbox 1 games that you now cant play (that is if they are even on the premium ed.'s b/c list) you lack total logic on this post.
and if you had to purchase the core system when you wanted the Prem system you are SOL and have to spend 250+$ to get all the upgrades.

The point is that with the Core you're getting a fully functional gaming system at launch for $300. Sheesh. I really have to spell things out for you guys. That's the same price we're used to paying.

Yes, you get a good deal on a whole lot of extra stuff with the Premium Edition, but none of that stuff is absolutely necessary for gaming. You can buy a Core + generic memory card and be done with it.

Why would you even make a point that is so ignorant?

You guys keep comparing the core system to the PS2, aren't we talking about a "NEXT GENERATION CONSOLE" here? The 360 Core is no more than a graphically upgraded XBOX. There are no real next gen offerings in this new sleek package. If you really want to get anal, you can say that the 360 is less product for the buck than an original Xbox.

I stood in line to get this damn thing and the guy in front of me got the last premium unit. I got out of line and wrote a pretty nasty letter to Microsoft for trying to force an inferior version down my throat. I may not ever get a 360 because of this marketing ploy.

[Aleman]

The 360 is nothing less than a graphically upgraded Xbox? So what is the PS3? A graphically upgraded PS2 + Blu-ray drive? Whoopty doo. I guess you're basically ripping on the 360 for not including a HD disc drive.

[Perfect Sin]

Aleman you're logic is flawed especially since you compared it to the PS2 in general. The fact that MS pranced around the whole idea of BC with the 360 and then didn't put it in the Core unit is enough reason to say the Core is a ploy.
How can you type that the Core is a fully functional console when you can't even play BC games on it without dishing out an arm and a leg for a crappy HDD? The PS2 even included BC with PS1 for the $300 you talk about, going by your logic.

MS had to have some scheme in getting money back from the deficit the XBOX made. What better way then to charge large amounts of money for a component or components that would be a nice feature to have?

[Aleman]

So your point is that the Core is worthless because it doesn't have BC? Is BC really that important? Just asking. I know I won't be throwing away my old Xbox once I get a 360.

I can see BC being important to people who buy launch 360s that didn't have the original Xbox (and want to play games like Halo). But other than that, why is it such an important feature? I'm pretty sure most people buy a 360 to play 360 games on.

[Perfect Sin]

What 360 games? You've got less then 10 and the average consumer probably only wants 1 or 2 because they don't like certain genres. Obviously BC becomes less important later in the system's lifespan. But for now it's crucial.

By having BC you are able to get what little "boost" the 360 can offer to your BC game and feel like you're not neglecting your 360 to play it on your XBOX. In other words, you still feel like you're playing the 360.

BC is a phenomenal default feature to have.

What kind of message does that send to the consumer? That we care? Yeah right, you guys don't care enough to make a system that suppose to "Cater to all the gamers needs" and you don't have something so simple as BC in your most basic unit?

I think that is one hell of a conniving scheme. If Sony did this I would be burning down Sony corp. as we debate.

[Aleman]

Do you really think someone buying a "basic" unit cares about having lots of extraneous features? I think they're likely buying a 360 because they want to play 360 games. Not because they want a media center, not because they want to play old Xbox games, not because they want to watch movies. Just play games.

[Fallout Boy]

Fair enough that mose people on this forum are gamers and require the extra grunt, but for most people, especially families and non-gamers, the core system is sufficient for people who only want it to play games.
Some of my friends who have xbox's didn't even know they had a hard drive in it till i told them.

Seriosuly some of you forget that not everybody is on the bleeding edge & actually needs all the options.

You don't see car companies only selling 1 model of car with all the options, they offer a variety so different people with differnet needs can get what they want for value.

Theres no point also selling 50 million xbox360's with hard drives if only 15 million people are going to actually use it.