X is for XBox 360

X is for Xbox 360

I enjoy playing video games.

Mostly because I find them relaxing after a long day, and a bit more interactive than just watching TV.

I’ve owned many different systems over the years, Nintendo, Turbo Graphix, Intellivision and PlayStation 3 to name a few.

You know which system I don’t own? XBox 360

You want to know why?

Well, too bad, I’m going to tell you anyways.

Today is “X” day and that, quite frankly, limits my topic pool considerably. So deal.

Despite the considerable amount of gaming choices the Xbox 360 offers up I’ve decided to pass it up in this – and probably future - generation of gaming consoles from Microsoft.

My first reason?

Microsoft is evil.

When did people forget this? Wasn’t this like a given just a few years back? Sure the US and EU governments have successfully neutered some of their more atrocious business practices. But an axe murderer without an axe is still a murderer, no? Their business goals have not changed. They let someone else discover a market where there is a sizable amount of money to be made. Then they will bring their considerable resources to bear in an attempt to dominate that market.

At which point they will cease innovation and trickle out “new “ products every few years with minimal changes(like MS Office) and force people to buy them by stopping their support of the old stuff (like XP to Vista).

Great for them, bad for us. Nothing will kill a market like a monopoly.

Second reason?

Microsoft doesn’t like games.

They like money. Oh sure, there are people at Microsoft that love games –WE ARE EVERYWHERE! - but the company as a whole stepped into the market because they ‘ve always known there’s money to be made “owning” the living room. They’re top level management hasn’t always had a passion for gaming. It’s why they bought – foolishly as it turned out– WebTV all those years ago. And now the new additions to the Xbox 360? Twitter, Facebook and Netflix. For the most part, they already “own” PCs. They are trying with Music. Now they want TV. They want everything you do to go through them.

And I know, I know, every company is in their business to make money– well except for nonprofits but they don’t fit my analogy so I reject them. Let me put it to you this way; would you rather go to, say, a person that was looking to make some money so they did some demographic work and found that there was a shortage of auto-repair specialists in the neighborhood so they learned to be a mechanic? Or someone for whom cars have always been a passion and that passion led them to starting their own business where they get to do what they love every day? Both people have business that need to make money but one of which I would feel more comfortable going to when my car broke down.

Third Reason?

Microsoft makes shit hardware.

If you haven’t heard, the Xbox 360 is prone to experiencing mechanical difficulties. Of which Microsoft is accused of being acutely aware of. I can’t speak to whether or not MS knew about this, but they clearly denied anything was wrong and did nothing, while everyone was crying foul. Personally I don’t know a single person who owns an Xbox 360 that hasn’t had to send it in for repairs, at least once. Yes, Microsoft extended the warranties, allowing people to send in their broken Xbox’s for repair, but that was only because it was cheaper for them to do this than to recall the initial lot.

They wanted to get that head start on selling consoles before the PS3 hit the market, so they sent out shitty hardware to market (allegedly). Then they deny claims of its massive shittiness so people will keep buying their product because they know more often than not people will send them in to get repaired rather than get a refund to go buy a PS3. They’ve got them hooked at that moment. They would rather put the onus on their customers to send in the faulty product than to suffer the bad publicity by doing the right thing; recalling their initial units and pay for better quality control for their assembly.

Which all sort of adds up to the final reason I’ll never buy a Xbox 360:

They care more about dominating the market then than the market that they dominate.