Microsoft Learns From Past Mistakes

J Allard talks about lessons learned with Xbox, how this will be used going forward and hints at the European release of Xbox 360.

With just two weeks to go until Microsoft debuts Xbox 360, there's a definite buzz in the air surrounding the console. The company has learned from past mistakes and is using its hard-won knowledge to ensure it comes out ahead of Sony next time around.

J Allard hinted that Xbox 360 would be out in
Europe in November

Part of the company's strategy is to emphasise personalisation, in a two-birds-one-stone approach that tackles fostering thriving communities on Xbox Live and making Xbox 360 attractive to trend-sensitive teenagers.

"I think we need to have a global foundation, and then personalise within region," explained J Allard, corporate vice-president at Microsoft, in a new interview with UK games trade paper MCV.

According to Allard, this personalisation will be done at the community (through the new Gamer Card online tracking system), software and hardware levels. Whether this means that we will see the much-rumoured Xbox 360 hardware replacement shells isn't clear.

Xbox 360 will put into practise the lessons learned with Xbox

Its experience with Xbox also taught Microsoft that Europe and Japan are worth paying attention to.

"We didn't take a worldwide approach [with Xbox]," Allard said. "We didn't listen to the European and Japanese communities. And so we didn't incorporate the cultural trends and sensibilities of our worldwide audience very well."

Microsoft has already taken strides to fix things in Japan. Big-name Japanese developers, including Hironobu Sakaguchi (who worked on the Final Fantasy series), Yoshiki Okamoto (Street Fighter) and Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez), are already making games for Xbox 360, and support is building among the major Japanese publishers.

Timing is an important issue in Europe, and Microsoft has hinted that closing the gap is high on the agenda for Xbox 360. Xbox was released in November 2001, and Xbox Live followed in November 2002. Is this a trend?

"I think ever since we've entered the market, November has been very exciting for Xbox gaming," said Allard. "So I think this year will be no exception. Even [in] Europe, maybe."

Microsoft will unveil Xbox 360 to the public during an MTV special titled MTV Presents: The Next-Generation Xbox Revealed, which airs in the US on May 12th and in the UK on May 13th.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games