Should Microsoft ditch the xbox brand name ?

N

NarcolepticNerd

CAGiversary!
So I've asked this question once before, but just in the Cag Bag where it got quickly lost. The question is "should Microsoft ditch the xbox brand name".

Here's my reasoning, I don't feel like "Microsoft" or "Xbox" are very good brand names for the living room, I think they've done an excellent job of making a console and getting great software on it, but not such a great job of establishing a brand that the everyday (ie, Wii type) consumer recognises or cares about.

I think a great choice would be to just buy the Atari brand name and use that. Atari already has great hardware brand recognition in the US, and although some of their games of late have underperformed I'm pretty sure that the casual consumer wouldn't know (or care) and that the more informed consumer would know it's an xbox anyway.
 
Use a console name from a failed 80's console or stick with the current console name that has sold over 20 million world wide....
 
OP is an idiot. Xbox has enough brand recognition already and those who don't know what it is aren't the ones who'd want it to begin with.
 
Today's casual gamers likely have no clue who Atari is outside of being some toy their dad played with.
 
[quote name='rabbitt']The thing I like most about the Xbox 360 is that it doesn't cater to a casual audience.

See: the Wii.[/QUOTE]So what's it like living under a rock :roll:
 
While Atari has brand recognition with the over 30 crowd, I don't know if it would evoke images of quailty or confidence. See also: Sega

I think that MS has done a good job at building the Xbox brand. To ditch it now would be silly but Nintendo did drop the Gameboy name so I guess anything is possible.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']So what's it like living under a rock :roll:[/QUOTE]

What the hell are you talking about?

OP doesn't understand the appeal of the Xbox brand, so I spell it out, plain and simple. What is it that you don't understand?
 
Microsoft has pumped a lot of money into marketing the Xbox name to the public. They don't want to piss that money away and start a new brand. Why throw away your brand marketing for no reason. They don't have a bad name so their is no reason. It would be a massive waste of money.
 
[quote name='rabbitt']The thing I like most about the Xbox 360 is that it doesn't cater to a casual audience.

See: the Wii.[/QUOTE]

Right now the xbox 360 has only casual games available for it, there are no hardcore games available for the xbox 360. And I'm not aware of any hardcore games in the future roadmap for the xbox 360.

The only current gaming platform that has hardcore games available is the PC.
 
[quote name='slickkill77']Use a console name from a failed 80's console or stick with the current console name that has sold over 20 million world wide....[/QUOTE]


I think they are over 30 million now.
 
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[quote name='Morrigan Lover']Right now the xbox 360 has only casual games available for it, there are no hardcore games available for the xbox 360. And I'm not aware of any hardcore games in the future roadmap for the xbox 360.

The only current gaming platform that has hardcore games available is the PC.[/QUOTE]

.....what? Xbox has plenty of hardcore games, thats actually aimed at us gamers.
 
Yeah, the 360 has plenty of hardcore games. Also, the 360 probably has more casual games than does the Wii, based off of the XBLA alone.
 
I agree that Atari probably has stronger brand recognition with the older crowd but disagree that it's a problem, those 30+ gamers are now the parents who pay for the console and have considerable input (parents trust the Nintendo brand).

Besides the question isn't should they use Atari as much as should they ditch Microsoft and XBox, both of which seem like horrible names to me to put on a consumer device (most people don't associate Microsoft with fun and leisure).

As for the 30 million sales, I think they've done well to get there, but think it's more because they've released an excellent product rather than created a great brand. Just look at the wii which sells an inferior product for more money (and outsells the 360), or the PS2 (which in it's first 4 years sold closer to 70 million).

I think the 360 is excellent, but that the one thing missing is a strong brand... and as much money and time as Microsoft throw at the problem, it's not getting better.
 
Take a basic marketing class and you'll understand how incredibly hard and important it is to establish a brand or household name. Microsoft is already a worldwide brand and while I'm sure they could pull it off with ease if they wanted to switch things up, it just doesn't make any traditional business sense to. Do some google research on "coke" brand name and your mind will be boggled at the value placed on a single word ;)
 
i think both microsoft and xbox now have negative brand recognition, when the joe average sees "Microsoft" he thinks windows, computers, high tech, confusing and when he sees xbox(depending on how informed he is), he thinks television, news, breaking, failure rate. However the joe unaverage :) recognizes both names and thinks they are good or doesnt recognize them and could care less. And atari did kind of fail with their hardware and the media would probably mention that when covering this new brand
 
The question is ill-conceived. The Xbox brand was created in the first place to be something attached to Microsoft that could stand on its own and be seen as an entertainment brand. That aspect has succeeded.

One example of this is the way Xbox has entered the vocabulary of people who don't know it well enough to tell it from another console. By the late 80s Nintendo had achieved for game consoles the status Xerox had for photocopiers. The brand became synonymous with the product category. You'd hear a parent decribe their child as playing Nintendo whne the device connected tot he TV was actually a Sega Genesis.

This has now happened with Xbox. People who couldn't tell you which of the three consoles was which if the badges were covered do know the Xbox brand. And despite the losses of the first gen and the reliability issues in this generation, it remains a strong brand with positive recognition.

Giving that up now would be madness.

(It should be noted that the GameBoy brand was only allowed to go dormant after its replacement was well established and doing so well it cause the company to change its original strategy for handhelds. Don't expect it to fade away forever. There are plenty of ways Nintendo can make use of it in the future.)
 
[quote name='NarcolepticNerd']As for the 30 million sales, I think they've done well to get there, but think it's more because they've released an excellent product rather than created a great brand. Just look at the wii which sells an inferior product for more money (and outsells the 360), or the PS2 (which in it's first 4 years sold closer to 70 million).[/QUOTE]

The Wii could be called anything else and it would still sell because of the stupid motion controls. All the media hype sold that shitty system. Its a stupid gimmick and I hate that MS and Sony want to do it too.

PS2 selling 70 million units in the first 4 years? PS3 has sold about 23 million units since launch. So does that mean that Sony should drop "Sony" or "Playstation" or "3"?
 
Stop using a brand name that's arguably the 2nd most notable and trusted name in the VG industry (right behind Nintendo Wii)?

I think Sony would have to ask itself if it should ditch the Playstation moniker long before that time.
 
Kind of hard to say that Microsoft and trusted go hand in hand. They have done nothing but release faulty hardware, because they decided to cut corners and reduce cost.
 
[quote name='NarcolepticNerd']I agree that Atari probably has stronger brand recognition with the older crowd but disagree that it's a problem, those 30+ gamers are now the parents who pay for the console and have considerable input (parents trust the Nintendo brand).

Besides the question isn't should they use Atari as much as should they ditch Microsoft and XBox, both of which seem like horrible names to me to put on a consumer device (most people don't associate Microsoft with fun and leisure).

As for the 30 million sales, I think they've done well to get there, but think it's more because they've released an excellent product rather than created a great brand. Just look at the wii which sells an inferior product for more money (and outsells the 360), or the PS2 (which in it's first 4 years sold closer to 70 million).

I think the 360 is excellent, but that the one thing missing is a strong brand... and as much money and time as Microsoft throw at the problem, it's not getting better.[/QUOTE]
Microsoft is one of the biggest company names out there in the world. Whether it be good or bad publicity, people know 'Microsoft'. Yes, people may know 'Atari' from way back when but that right there could be a problem; "Atari? Nah, those graphics suck, you remember Pong right?" Think about it, all the money spent on ads, R&D, everything the Xbox brand has built you...Xbox Live, one of the largest gaming services...all of it would have been for nothing if MS bought the Atari brand and switched to it. And for what? A 'possibility' that they may capture some of the older crowd, something which they are already doing? Sounds like the OP fails at logic.
 
[quote name='Guerrilla']
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Kill it with nostalgia fire.

Don the pre-troll ridden CAG armor.
(+1 to friendliness, -1 save rolls versus people getting away so freely on slamming people)
 
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