Missed opportunity

Missed opportunity
As a I was reviewing the Xbox 360 launch list, I realized Microsoft made a giant marketing blunder.

Actually, not so much a blunder as a big, fat missed opportunity:

It should have focused its original Xbox emulation efforts on titles that could help sell the new platform.

Face it, if you're not sold on Perfect Dark Zero as a substitute for Halo 3: The Rest of Halo 2 That We Had to Cut to Meet Holiday 04, you've probably already canceled your 360 pre-order. Some major system sellers like Dead or Alive 4 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion have predictably slipped, and there's not much to fill the void.

This is where Todd Holmdahl and his Xbox emulation crew could have really stepped up: by filling in the holes with original Xbox games. They have a great marketing pitch, too, thanks to the visual overhaul that's being promised due to the Xbox 360's much-touted HD upconversion of emulated titles.

"Waiting for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion? Play The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Game of the Year Edition on Xbox 360, where being an axe-wielding elf has never looked so good!"

"Can't wait to stealth kill as Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell 4? Pick up Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for Xbox 360 and see how good billowing fabrics can look in night vision thanks to upconverted graphics!"

"Sure Kasumi will still kick high in Dead or Alive 4. But in the meantime, her little underwear flashes have never looked as nice as they do in Dead or Alive 3 - now with upgraded graphics on Xbox 360."

This last one they can actually use, though they passed on having the online-enabled Dead or Alive Ultimate ready for launch - something hardcore Tecmo fighter fans will find hard to forgive.

I can think of one good reason that Microsoft might have held back on this strategy: attach rate. No doubt, they'll be judged on how many Xbox 360 games are sold at launch, not on how many original Xbox titles get picked up with the next-gen console. And there's always the risk that gamers will seek out used copies rather than picking them up new, leaving some money on the table for both Microsoft and game publishers. Of course, some slick point-of-purchase displays at key retailers could have minimized this by spurring impulse buys.

In the end, money is money. And this could have been a winning strategy for moving consoles once the first thirst for them has been quenched. Because it will be even more embarrassing if there's a glut of unpurchased consoles in mid-December.

-=Gamewatcher