Lack Of Notable Microsoft Exclusives At Launch
Wooing tech-savvy gamers on the merit of the Xbox One X’s impressive hardware wasn’t difficult – the console is an absolutely beast. Convincing the wider market of its value, however, was always going to require more meat than just resolution figures and CPU speeds.
Unfortunately, that isn’t what was showcased at the conference. The Xbox One X might well be a beast, but it’s without any meaningful content, it’s missing its teeth. Where were the head turning AAA exclusives for launch day? Where is the immediate content to convince the market that the Xbox One X is absolutely and without question, the future of gaming is on the Xbox One X? Microsoft needed a home run with respect to its games lineup, and though there were 42 games shown, precious few were of any consequence and truly exclusive.
Crackdown 3 was the most notable mention. Having gone AWOL after E3 2015, releasing on the X’s launch day is a boon more along the lines of what we wanted to see. But here’s the problem: that was it. Remember how initially reserved gamers were to pay $400 for Nintendo Switch to play Zelda? Well, they surely aren’t going to like the idea of paying $500 to play Crackdown 3.
Other games, such as Sea of Thieves and State of Decay, have far-flung or unconfirmed release dates, too. And as important as it was for Microsoft to roadmap content to potential buyers, the Xbox One X needed immediate content to make it a must-own on November 7th.
