Winner: Xbox One Brand and Marketing Department
As a PlayStation-only site some may think that us awarding Microsoft with this dishonor is a little bias. But to be one of those people, you will have to have missed the past 7 months of gaming news.
The Xbox One itself has a lot going for it, from games to multimedia, but it was unfortunate enough to be burdened with the worst marketing team in the history of gaming. After the incredibly successful 360 gen (particularly in the US), the stars were aligned for the next Xbox to be a runaway hit. Then Microsoft announced it, naming it the baffling Xbox One and shoving “TV, TV, TV, TV” down the throats of core gamers. Next came bizarre and arrogant statements from MS heads, along with shockingly tasteless ones.
But the most horrifying and bafflingly stupid aspect of the Xbox One launch campaign was undoubtedly the 24 hour check in and anti used games digital rights management endeavor that stirred up the entire internet against the brand. Microsoft then doggedly stuck to the idea (“we can’t just flip a switch), before capitulating and committing an embarrassing one eighty.
The Xbox One would be in a significantly better place, and have far more supporters, even if Microsoft had released the console silently. Instead, they chose to repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot.
No one knows why.
Runners Up:
- Ouya
- Knack/PS4 Launch lineup
- DualShock 4’s Battery
- PSN Stability
- Games Journalism
- Ouya supporters who genuinely believed it would kill consoles
- Xbox One price
- Multiple collector’s editions and retail exclusives that make it impossible to get everything
- Microsoft’s indie policies
- Aliens: Colonial Marines
- YouTube’s Content ID system
- VGX
- Diversity Lounges
- The Vita’s AAA lineup (or lack of)
- NSA/GCHQ WoW accounts
- Games Churnalism
- DRM
- LucasArts
- Wii U sales
- The launch day for almost every multiplayer-centric AAA game
- Target’s security
- Battlefield 4 bugs
- People who still call the current gen ‘next gen’
Be sure to stick to PlayStation LifeStyle for the Game of the Year award next, and for more on our awards and the process behind them, go here. For all the awards given out so far, go here.
