He explained how the console wars storyline fostered an atmosphere of competition among Xbox employees.
When Peter Moore, a former Xbox exec, remarked about how he “encouraged the console wars” among his staff, he was referring to the constructive rivalry that resulted. Sony’s PlayStation 3 system was Xbox’s major opponent at the time, which was countered by exclusive Xbox titles, Xbox Live, and a shortage of executives ready to get a tattoo to help sell new games.
During an interview with the Front Office Sports podcast, Moore remarked, “We supported the console wars, not to cause division, but to challenge each other.” It’s safe to say that today’s gaming market would be far less competitive if Microsoft had not stayed the course following the Xbox and the Red Rings of Death.
In the mood for more Xbox? Here’s how it all started: The Xbox One
The Red Rings of Death was a well-known error message caused by cracked ball bearings in system components as a result of the system being switched on and off repeatedly. Microsoft had to spend a lot of money trying to figure out and fix the hardware problem, as seen in the latest Xbox documentary. It turned out to be a $1.15 billion problem after all, according to Moore, in the chapter of The Story of Xbox detailing the Xbox 360’s downfall.
Moore left Microsoft in 2007 and has subsequently worked as president of EA Sports, CEO of Liverpool Football Club, and is presently an executive at Unity Technologies. There are still a few people who believe their console is superior to the other, but the fictitious fight has been mostly overlooked.
In an era where big-budget acquisitions such as Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard or Sony’s newest transaction that saw Destiny 2 creator Bungie join its ranks, cross-platform and cross-play capabilities has removed digital barriers for a number of titles.
