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Peter Moore: "We encouraged console wars to have Xbox and PlayStation challenged each other" "RROD almost killed Xbox."

https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-encouraged-console-wars-peter-moore

On the console wars
While the games industry has shifted towards a more unified tone, during Moore’s tenure the console wars were arguably an even bigger part of the games industry — something Moore says was encouraged at Xbox.

“We encouraged the console wars, not to create division, but to challenge each other,” Moore says.
Arguably that resulted in some of the best games for the brand, so at least for his version of console warring, it was positive. Poor Nintendo was left out though.

On RROD
And when I say each other I mean Microsoft and Sony. If Microsoft hadn’t of stuck the course after the Xbox, after the Red Rings of Death, gaming would be a poorer place for it, you wouldn’t have the competition you have today.”


Moore joined Xbox in 2003 after serving as president and COO of Sega America. Moore is best remembered for helping launch the Xbox 360 and Dreamcast as well as his penchant for announcing high-profile games with fake tattoos. Xbox’s early dominance in the 360-era was driven by games like Halo as well as the launch of Xbox Live.

But Moore also talked about the lows such as the Red Ring of Death controversy. “If we didn’t resolve Red Rings of Death the way that we did I know darn well there’d be no Xbox today.”

RROD was a much bigger problem than expected and may have killed the brand if it wasn't taken care of quickly. But Microsoft did address it preventing calamity, and even extended warranties on repairs and replacements. RROD was arguably self-inflicted however, but at least they addressed the problem.

I do wonder what Moore's share of the responsibility was for the RROD fiasco.
 

ManaByte

Member
watch the xbox documentary if you want to learn more about that, tons and tons of Moore interviews and very candid takes on the whole thing.
Even with that people don't understand that most electronic devices from the mid-2000s suffer from a similar issue due to the industry using lead-free solder.

The documentary does explain what caused it very well though.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
This is going to be a lovely thread.

Happy Well Done GIF by Top Talent
Happy Kids Say The Darndest Things GIF by CBS
Happy Fun GIF
 

Quasicat

Member
watch the xbox documentary if you want to learn more about that, tons and tons of Moore interviews and very candid takes on the whole thing.
My favorite part is how they can joke about any subject at Microsoft…except the RROD.
It’s an amazing documentary, no matter which console you prefer. They even have some Sony executives sharing their unique perspective on it.
 

//DEVIL//

Member
I do like console wars. I don't like fanboys of either side.

He was right, some of the best games were released on during that era. Look at the games we get now....compared to before.
 

Begleiter

Member
I don't know about it being about "challenging" each other. To the extent manufacturers care about encouraging console wars it's been about marketing or maintaining engagement, like the fake competition between Infamous and Prototype.
 

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
I still remember his painful voice, when he was announcing Sega's departure from the hardware business in january 2001. It was a press call, and very bitter, almost tearful.

He got a second chance with Xbox, and did a pretty respectable job at it. He was vindicated in the end in my view.
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
A bit of good-natured tribalism is good for anything where it's possible to have sides, for both commercial and competitive reasons. If you took that element away from professional sports or gaming in general, total consumer spend would drop considerably. People like to root for teams, and for whatever reason gaming evolved in the same way with platforms in place of traditional teams. It even happens in music (typically with teen girls and those boy bands - where the fandoms fuel them all). In gaming it can encourage engagement among like minded gamers and can help highlight the biggest fans of these different brands. Which in today's social media world can be useful to spread messaging, even if it's just fans with podcasts/YT channels with a good following, etc. You could say groups around specific games could work instead, but you'd likely have too many groups to be effective. It's a strange phenomenon for sure.

Irrational anger and negativity aren't great, but there will always be the isolated few that take it there, with everything.
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
Had no idea this is a thing 🤣

OMG, I have sisters. Yeah, it's totally a thing. It becomes a real competition, and the combined energy fuels not just the one or two main competitors but some less known also rans as well. It happens a bit with the pop girls of the moment too.
 
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Crm114

Member
Console warring benefits all the companies involved and creates more engagement. The companies themselves don't even have to create the drama, just fan the flames created by dorks on the internet who overly identify with a particular platform and are more emotionally involved than is healthy.

This shit peaked in the 7th Gen consoles though, when social media was in its early stages. You still have console warriors now but it seems like theres way less than that era.
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
RROD was something else. I remember when the topic came up on some G4TV show, maybe it was Attack of the Show, and virtually every host and crew member chimed in that their 360 had died due to RROD.

As to the wars I missed out on all that. I had a Gamecube through most of the generation, blissfully unaware that people were attacking each other on the regular over 360/PS3.
 
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