Microsoft – We’re still Focused on the Core

While Microsoft are hell-bent on broadening the appeal of their console with the casual fare presented by their full-body flailing peripheral, Kinect, they have reassured Xbox 360 owners that they’re still committed to the core audience,

“I know there’s a lot of controversy over, are you turning your back on the core gamer? Are you just focused on the Wii bunch? My answer to that is an emphatic no,” said Xbox Live Studios boss Jerry Johnson.

“The reason I say that is because I realise that Live was built on the back of the core gamer. It was built to benefit the core gamer, and it was built solely focused on the core gamer when it was originally launched. We also know that is our best advocate to continue to grow our user base and grow the engagement with Live.”

“So, we are still squarely focused on the core, and building mechanics that appeal to the core. But also realising that is a path to actually reach up to the broader audience.”

Expanding on that “broader audience,” he started talking up Kinect, and the effects that Kinect will have on Xbox live.  “Kinect, we believe, introduces the ability to interact with content in a way people haven’t even imagined yet,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of different things you’ll see that one might expect from Kinect, but some of the magic is going to come from the things that people don’t expect.”

I’d like to believe him, but barring Live itself, I’ve been seeing very little from Microsoft lately that really appeals to the “core.” With the loss of Mass Effect, the Xbox 360’s list of valued core exclusives has been whittled down to just a handful. There’s Gears, Fable, Halo, Forza, Alan Wake and…not much else, really. You’re going to have to show me a lot more than Kinectimals and Kinect Adventures to have me convinced.

Source : Eurogamer

Last Updated: August 27, 2010