‘We set some wrong expectations’
Mismanaged expectations — that’s mostly the culprit for the backlash to yesterday’s Xbox Series X first-look gameplay reveal. On its own, the event was fine — good even! — but it was heavy on cinematic trailers and light on raw in-game footage. The star of the show was supposed to be an Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay reveal, leaving the director to apologize to fans on Twitter.
Xbox is in a similar position. Marketing boss Aaron Greenberg lamented “Had we not said anything and just shown [the May episode of] Inside Xbox show like we did last month, I suspect reactions might have been different.”
Had we not said anything & just shown May Inside Xbox show like we did last month, I suspect reactions might have been different. Clearly we set some wrong expectations & that’s on us. We appreciate all the feedback & can assure you we will take it all in & learn as a team. ðŸ™ðŸ»ðŸ’š
— Aaron Greenberg 🙅ðŸ¼â€â™‚ï¸âŽ (@aarongreenberg) May 8, 2020
He’s absolutely right. Without explicitly teasing what to expect, this would’ve been regarded as the best episode of Inside Xbox yet. Yakuza: Like a Dragon launching on Xbox Series X, Scorn‘s freaky Alien-inspired horror, Raw Fury’s underwater fish mystery adventure Call of the Sea, Bloober Team’s next game being scored by Silent Hill‘s composer — there was a lot to be excited and intrigued by. However, there wasn’t any substantial gameplay segments or any reveals that really qualify as a system-seller (which is probably only Halo Infinite if we’re being honest), and that rubbed people the wrong way.
It feels like no one is nailing next-gen announcements. But, Xbox is lightyears ahead of the Xbox One disaster in 2013, so things could definitely be worse.
