Xbox One launch game reviews have just started, and Microsoft’s UK marketing boss Harvey Eagle has claimed that while the console has the “right” launch line-up, it’s also important to keep the releases flowing strong over the next six months.
Speaking with MCV, Eagle was asked how his team found the year leading up to Xbox One’s launch, given all the marketing challenges along the way. He replied, “We unveiled Xbox back in May and it has been an interesting journey for us, I don’t think that will be a surprise for me to say. Where we are now, a few days from launch, we are in a good spot.
“There’s great demand for the console out there and we are wholly focused on launch. There have been challenges along the way, and I think we have done our best to respond in what we think has been in the right way for our fans. And we think we have a great launch line-up for games.”
The site asked Eagle why Microsoft’s marketing has recently shifted from towing the entertainment line, to focusing closely on Xbox One launch games. He replied, “When the judges at E3 give us 110-odd awards for our launch line-up, which is far in excess of what the competition has got, then it is clear there is an appreciation that we have a set of great games for launch. When you are selling a console, and people are thinking about buying a console, at some point they’ll ask themselves: “What are the games I want to play?” So that is critically important.
“We have the right line-up and a good balance between some great third-party titles and first party titles. But what is also really important is that we have a great pipeline of games coming after launch, which is something that perhaps the industry hasn’t done tremendously well over previous years. We tend to get very focused on the Christmas period. But I think it’s important to have a good line-up throughout the year. And with Xbox One, not only do we have that great launch line-up – which is imperative – but also some great games coming over the next six months.”
