Will Consumer’s ‘Get’ It?
As soon as you start calling two similar products at the same time, you’re instantly left with a recipe for consumer confusion. Sure, to the players like you and I who keep up with the goings-on in the industry, it might all seem very easy to understand, but for those less in-tune with the latest news and announcements, it could cause a lot of confusion. I mean, just take a look at the confusion that surrounded the Wii U due to the similarity in name to its predecessor, the Wii, despite a six-year gap between launches.
Could you imagine: ‘So Xbox Scarlett and Scarlett Cloud play the same games?’ ‘Why is this one half the price if they play the same games?’ ‘Will the Scarlett Cloud definitely work on my internet connection?’ Gamestop employees better have their spiels rehearsed, because the questions will be coming thick and fast. And Microsoft better make sure its messaging is clear if it does end up releasing two consoles simultaneously. They’ll need to clearly convey who the Scarlett is for, explain why it should appeal to them, and why they should want to shift to this new device over the familiar, conventional hardware.
