Posted on February 11, 2008, Chris Xbox 360 Wants to Fight Hardcore Gamer Perception
More Xbox 360-centric news continues to come out of Las Vegas at DICE, as Shane Kim had a sit down with New York Times reporter Seth Schiesel on Thursday morning. The discussion was very much focused on the casual market and Microsoft’s desire to “fight against the perception that we are a Mature-rated box for hardcore gamers.” Schiesel countered by suggesting that Microsoft “missed the boat on [expanding the market].”
Kim was cagey on any new titles that Microsoft Game Studios has in the works, stating, “What’s in the pipeline is very exciting, you just don’t know about it.”
“Microsoft needs to take its mission as a first party developer very seriously — believe this or not, we’ve hoisted [the fate of the platform] on our shoulders,” he said while implying that Microsoft would become more and more responsible for exclusive content as third-party exclusives become gradually more difficult to come by.
In typical Microsoft exec fashion, he had nothing but good things to say about Nintendo and the Wii, suggesting that their success “is great for the entire industry, including us.”
Despite the success Nintendo is having, however, Kim doesn’t believe a second place finish is the best potential outcome.
“This generation has a long way to go, so it’s way too early to declare a winner.”
While I believe he’s right on that last point, it’s hard to understand Kim’s optimism given the aforementioned caginess when discussing what Microsoft has in the works outside of Too Human and Alan Wake.
via Game|Life