Moore: Critics of 360 Hardware 'Need a History Lesson'

GameDaylyBiz grilled the (now former) Xbox exec on 360's hardware problems, the console's continued struggles in Japan, and more. He also tells us that Microsoft's "plans for price cuts have been laid out for years" and he knows "exactly" when they'll happen. Dig in...

[THAMMER1]

Awesome read.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

yeah great read indeed, I hope EA guy is no wimp

[Maddens Raiders]

BIZ: One thing that's a bit concerning to me, though, is that Microsoft refuses to say what's at the root of the problem. An analogy I would use is that if your car breaks down and you need to get it fixed, the mechanic will tell you what's causing the problem.

PM: That's because they're giving you a bill [laughs]...((and.....you know....things break))

============================= ==========================

BIZ: I get the monthly Famitsu data reports, and the 360 sales numbers are still pretty darn low. Hironobu Sakaguchi has publicly criticized the marketing for Xbox in Japan. Do you agree that the marketing is a big problem, that the message of Xbox has not been properly conveyed to Japanese gamers?

PM: I've made a big deal about our Japanese relationships; we've spent an inordinate amount of time traveling back and forth to Tokyo, working with the publishers... best proof of that I guess is the Capcom performance with both Dead Rising and Lost Planet, and more importantly for me to stand on the stage on Tuesday and talk about Devil May Cry and Resident Evil.((&MGS4? No!))

((Um.....then I'm going to leave!))
============================= ============================== = ======
BIZ: It's a bit ironic, because when MS first got into the console business, critics laughed because MS is a software company at its core. It's not in the business of creating hardware. Now the company has discovered some faulty design in its 360 hardware, seemingly proving the critics right. What do you say to those critics?

PM: Those critics need to do their homework and look at some of the hardware product failures that this industry has seen in the past 30 years that maybe have not got as much publicity...

BIZ: You're saying that this is not an unprecedented failure for a video game console?

PM: Probably the size of it may be unprecedented, and certainly the financial implications, but if people say that previous consoles have all been perfect and not had failure rates, then they need to go get a history lesson.

Classic, just classic. Fade the heat Peter.....fade the heat my man.

[power of Green]

What are you talking about Idiot!. You're on ignor but no doubt you have paste something with some smart ass comment that doesn't make any sense.

So many Sony fanboys in here i wonder if 360 fanboys are spaming the PS3 threads because this is getting aout of hand.

[Bathyj]

POG
You are a pot calling a kettle black.

As if you ever needed an excuse to sling sh*t in a PS3 thread.

[Maddens Raiders]

this is the first time you've come out to publicly attack me. Maybe you're hate-thoughts are finally spreading and affecting other vital organs of your body. Mainly one major organ. Maybe.

I can still remember that post a long, long time ago where you said that I was one of your favorite SNE fanboys simply due to my magnanimous personality and thoughtful responses ~ boy are those days gone?!.

Well I guess since you put me on the ignore list, that wore off, but something's still appealing since you took me off! =]

Look, to answer your rhetorical question directly:

-- "What are you talking about Idiot!." --

It's quite simple. I only took PM's words and added the real thoughts and actions in parentheses for a little fun. Didn't mean to insult your boyfriend. I take it all back.

good day

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Dang I will miss Moore at MS. Oh well...I am sure he will do well for EA.

[Phantom_Lee]

I just hope he can make EA sports better

[Vertius]

I don't understand why he thinks Sony is failing in Japan. It's selling over twice the amount of the 360, after all.

I don't recall anyone saying that consoles never had failure rates before, either. The problem with the Three Rings is that it's a critical error, you can't even operate the machine when it breaks down, and the fact that it's a very high rate. That's why it's getting so much publicity!

[witchking]

Moore's reasoning is based on planned shipped vs. actual shipped. What he's saying is (and I'm making up the numbers) "Sony expected to ship 5m units in Japan but they've only shipped 1m, so 20% of their target. We expected to ship 250,000 units in Japan and we've shipped 200,000, so 80% of target."

When you look at it that way, he's basically right. He never expected to ship millions and millions of consoles to Japan; he wanted to do better than the original Xbox there, but no one expected MSFT to win in Japan. However, everyone thought Sony needed to win in Japan, and they're not winning there. Does that constitute "failure?" Probably not, but he's paid to spin these things.

[WaggleLOL]

What an idiot.

Trying to rewrite history that all of us lived firsthand. That interview is as pathetic as how there are now over the past year an amazing number of 360 owners who magically both owned a PS2 last gen and claim to have had them die four or five times.

[Marceles]

I knew this was gonna be stupid once I read the interview.

"We don't need to follow since we're the market leader". In NA? Yeah but for how long? They're already trying the casual mass gamer approach...if the Wii never came out, they would've stuck to PC inspired console games. But I won't point the finger...every exec sounds like this, what else is he supposed to say

[witchking]

XBLA is their entry into casual games, and they had this up and running before the Wii shipped. Heck, the 360 shipped with Hexic playable on the Arcade, and if that ain't a casual game, nothing is.

The problem is that people want to play casual games on their Wii because it's got that friendly family vibe to it. The 360 is still for hardcore gamers. Now, so far it looks like more of the hardcore gamers are picking the 360 over the PS3... but wasn't everyone saying "buy a Wii60" last holiday season? Isn't that what they're doing?

[DaEnforcer]

"So yeah you're concerned that [the brand] does take a hit with consumers, but the other thing I'm actually seeing is a lot of kudos for Microsoft in actually standing by its product and a lot of commentary like, "I wish more companies would do that."

LOL MS didn't have any choice as the sh1t was starting to hit them back. They were lying as long they only could, "Xbox 360 failure rates not higher than usual" anyone?

[ShiftyLookingCow]

still we or at least I didn't really expect a three warranty. I expected a repeat performance of last gen. Microsoft could have pulled it through with a bunch of blockbusters and then onto the next console (ofcourse that would have meant 20-30 million consoles overall which PS3 would have easily overtaken in time)

[Ju]

I still think the warranty is a marketing instrument. Fact is, and as it looks now, even a 3 year warranty cannot guarantee that the machine won't break (in fact, just last week a friend of mine had to send his in). It just gives you the a guarantee, that if it will break, you will get a replacement. Would you buy a car, which you know will break, but the dealer promises you to fix it for free anyway ? I'd rather make sure what I buy doesn't break. Kind a weird to handle that situation.

Maybe if they come forward with the real cause they might be attacked legally? I have no idea. But not telling the real cause sound fishy to me. Sure, because of the warranty nobody can really complain - possibly the hope is, that after that time they'll have replaced the current models anyway and get rid of the problem - but what if it still breaks after 3 years and one can pinpoint to an error MS already knew about ?

Doesn't anybody else think, a main reason is the pressure to keep the price low and thus sacrifice quality to some extend and further more push the box into more competitive position? Well, wrong bet, I'd guess, now $1B additional costs which they might have save doing it right the first time...I can't believe, this doesn't push them back on their price reduction strategy (well, with MS's financial stunt, maybe it won't).

[3sexty rulzzz]

the only reason phony is selling more systems is because playstation is a japan made product. they dont spend their money w/outside developers the way that we here in the US does, so i can validate is argument

[Odion]

kinda like how Sony didn't have a choice but to drop the price of their overrated blue-ray player because they were collecting dust?

[WafflesID]

WHY the hell are you sony fanboys EVEN IN HERE?

Why do you give a rats? Go read your ps3 news and stay the hell away from the 360 related articles. Whats the point in reading about the 360 when you obviously hate everything about it.

Christ almighty you people are retards. especially to people like who own/will own all three sysems.

It's like hanging around in McDonalds all day and screaming about how BurgerKing is better to all the people just trying to eat their big macs.

[VaeVictus]

Why is he still commenting on his failed tenure @ MS? He should stfu and deal w/ EA's job descriptions and develop relationships w/ every console maker instead of whining about his past. Failed @ Sega, Failed @ MS. 3rd times a charm.

[witchking]

Pure genius post.

I still remember grade school, when everyone fought over Ford vs. Chevy (yes, I'm that old).

It's human nature to be retarded. At least for about 90% of the population, anyway.

[carlman23]

N4G has just become Sony fanboy heaven (was MS fanboy heaven for a while earlier this year). I actually used to like coming here before all the PS3 owners felt threatened so that I could have some really meaningful discussions about games. Now I get to read awesome time lines involving bigoted stories about 'Bill Ga(y)tes' and Peter Moore.

Something Awful was right, the internet DOES make you stupid.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

"It's human nature to be retarded." Thats one way to put it.
"At least for about 90% of the population, anyway." First thats a retarded statement, Second 100% of human population are retarded, its in our nature to be retarded one way or the other, some things are more noticeable than others

[PS360WII]

carlman23

This site is filled with about the same amount of diehard loyalists. It's pretty even in regards to flaimers and trollers.

[XxZxX]

hey carlman23, if you think N4G is filled with PS3 fans. Do you think we will let you have so many bubbles?

[carlman23]

I've seen nothing but flames. I remember when the hardcore 360 flamers used to be at it (TheMart, etc.) and that used to bring posts down. But lately it's been harsh. I don't mind people having their favorite consoles, but the comments on all the threads I've been on have been ridiculous. No company is perfect and they're all out for your money. There are great games coming out for PS3 like there are great games coming out for 360. The black-and-white is what's made me only come to N4G every few days instead of every day; because the best discussions happen in the grey...

EDIT: I guess I just find that the general mood of the threads is so stand-offish. Everyone ends up getting offended because the comments become so personal. Instead of discussing what Peter Moore actually said, the whole thing becomes "Screw you Peter Moore, you ruined SEGA and Microsoft, now you're gonna ruin EA...". What does that even mean? I guess I'm expecting too much to want to have a point-counter point discussion on a game site aren't I? Or maybe I'm too old for this...

[Ju]

While I have to admit, I don't have an 360, there are still a couple of games which might me make consider buying one (Ace Combat 6, Halo, Lost Planet and some others). But with a machine that unreliable, I am having a hard time to justify that purchase (even if I'll get it replaced in case). So, yeah, I think there's nothing wrong in checking back the 360 scene once in a while.

[djt23]

lol lol lol hahaha that just wrong ..... nononono
yea, why is the sony fanboy here

[dantesparda]

Hey Waffles, i see that you are still sounding like a 360 fanboy, for someone who claims not to be.

[PS360WII]

Yea good read to bad it was his last for MS. Maybe he'll do some speaking for EA

Didn't know that Microsoft Game Studio was in business for that long too

Also I just don't understand the need these people want on what was wrong with the hardware. They are fixing it! That's the important part

[DaEnforcer]

I'm giving just the love back and btw also enforcing the truth. Xbot trolls on the other side spitt just bullsh1t haha

[3sexty rulzzz]

my friend # 8 of course

[Chava]

2000: bill g(ay)tes got bored of xbox1 so decided to make another disaster

2001: erm, nothing, he continues to make plans on how to make the new worst console in the world

2002: has sex with peter moore

2003: gets his 360

2004: has sex with his 360

2005: makes sure that 360 is as geeky as possible (achievements, g(ay)merscore etc)

2006: impatient ps2 owners upgrade to 360, then get killed because of explosion caused by rrod

2007: ps3 comes oout, sells badly, but owns 360

[aaquib2]

He said that Sony missed their 6M PS3 target by 2.4M. Thier target was to ship 6M and they reached 5.5M. Why doesn't he talk about how Microsoft missed their 12M target by 400,000 shipped, and a bunch not sold? There's 25% failure rate on 360 according to fox, so doesn't that mean Microsoft only has around 8M install base? Not 11.6 like that idiot claims. He's insulting Sony for getting outsold by WII? Why doesn't he talk about how WII is outselling 360 18:1, and PS3 is outselling it 4:1 week by week? PS3 has sold over 1M in Japan, Microsoft is at what? Like 100 000? Microsoft can buy all the exclusives they want, but Japanese dont fall for bull. People don't want HOME? Yeah, not according to the buzz around the internet, ya @ss. He's such a b1tch. I thought Kutaragi was bad, but Peter is worst. Oh well. Not too long ago, he was insulting Sony and PS3, now he's working for them, making games on the platform.

[sajj316]

He also tells us that Microsoft's "plans for price cuts have been laid out for years" and he knows "exactly" when they'll happen.

So he also factored in the 1.1 - 1.2 billion dollar warranty plan? How the heck can you create a targeted price cut and still keep your target price cut w/ these overwhelming factors. Are you bloody stupid?

[carlman23]

Hey, I loved my original PS2, but the laser died (and I bought a new slimline). Come to think of it, none of my friend's first-gen PS2s made it all the way to present day without having had to be repaired at least once. Actually, one of my buddies used his PS2 as a DVD player and it broke 2 or 3 times. When I bought my first PS2, a guy at EB actually told me not to use my PS2 as a DVD player if I wanted it to last. First generation PS1s had similar problems with people laying the consoles on their side in order to get the laser head to line up properly.

Were the problems as significant as the 360 issues? Probably not (at least in terms of percentage of failed units), but for the people who had to pay the $160 CDN repair bill, it certainly wasn't great. Or how about how every single first-gen PSP had at least 3 burnt pixels on the screen? What did Sony say:

“Red, blue, or green spots (bright spots) or black spots (dark spots) may appear in certain locations on the LCD screen. The appearance of such spots is a normal occurrence associated with LCD screens and not a sign of malfunction. LCD screens are made using highly precise technology. However, a very small number of dark pixels or continuously lit pixels exist on each screen.”

http://spong.com/article/84...

You can disagree with me all you friggin' want, but stop being idiots about this. No one is saying that MS is perfect, but despite my love of PS2, Sony is FAR from being an angelic corporation.

[aiphanes]

These numbers are no where near what the early PS2s were at. Microsoft does not even know what is causing the defect...(they know but they are not saying) We knew what the PS2 problem was. And it was an easy fix. But on the Xbox 360...all they do is send you a refub 360 that might have the same problem as the one you send it. Fact there are xbox 360 owners that have gone through 10 xbox 360s units in less than 1 year. This was never possible during the early PS2 days.

Why are people happy with this? My Xbox 360 is fine...but i hardly use it for fear that it will break. But once microsoft comes out with the new design and mine does break, hopefully it will get replaced with the new design...but there is no guarantee....

There is a big problem here and most people are not seeing the big picture. What are you going to do when you are playing Halo 3, Mass Effect or GTAIV and you get the RROD? It might take 1 to 2 weeks to get your replacement Xbox 360 back. You are going to be gameless for those 1 to 2 weeks. And then you might get back a defective unit.

Are you guys and girls realizing this?

[SimmoUK]

come on you can't be serious, you can't compare the odd PS2 failure to a predicted 33% failure of xbox 360's by major sites, your comparing a small issue to microsoft's major issue, seriously if they hadn't exstened the warranty there would of been a recall and there whole mess has just cost them a billion dollars, Japan you say give me a break they just want a console that works for a start...

[carlman23]

Actually, among my and my friend's PS2s, the failure rate was 100%. And all 3 PSPs I got had at least 5 dead pixels. But that's besides the point.

I never said that Sony's failure rates were as high as Microsoft, nor did I say that Microsoft's failures weren't a bad thing. I simply pointed out that Sony is not perfect either, but I still bought their consoles because I liked the games on it.

What pisses me off about Sony fanboys is that you're gonna hate the console no matter what Microsoft does so why don't you do yourself a favor and stop wasting our time. When MS wasn't doing anything about the defects you complained, now they've done something about the defects and you complain. What's the point of having these discussions if nothing ever changes?

[XxZxX]

Really???Moore?? I dont think Microsoft Stock Holders agreed with what you just said or else you won't be heading out of Microsoft. BTW did you think you are cursed somehow? Because as soon as you join EA, Activision beat EA as the largest third party publisher.

Those who disagree too bad you are not microsoft stock holder.. Or else Moore will be in Microsoft longer.. just too bad.

[SimmoUK]

When he was slating PS3 numbers in japan we had the feeling that he ment he was staying around to actually make a difference to 360's slack sales over there, but no it turns out he's just running his mouth and then jumping ship, yeah great peter your really in the position to talk jack ass...

that is all...

[Arutha]

A very interesting read. Looks like there are some good things coming down the road.

[tk]

Any guy that come to the boss with the line:
Hey boss, I just made a tiny little error. It will only cost us a Billion dollars or so just to keep it on life support. Our customers will not trust us after this, but hey, we've got Billions in the bank to throw at this tiny little problem, OK?

Peter!

Yes boss?

You're fired.

[Shaka2K6]

Lovely just lovely, microsoft didnt learn anyting from the xbox or what its looking more and more like the dreamcast but ofcourse Sega back in the day was just a company making video games, microsoft has the OS monopoly to milk, but overall its been really terrible the x360 anyway you look at it xbugs should be ashamed to defend it.

[Itachi]

What the fock are critic thinking criticizing the xbox 360 when there are other sh*tty products out there they need a history lesson

yes peter moore that explains everything

[Itachi]

carlman23 shut the fock up microsoft made a massive mistake with the xbox360 and waited 2 years to even Acknowledge and instead of a recall sugar coat it with a sh*tty 3 year warrenty

Look at it this way

If this had happened to Sony and done this in 2001 so if your PS2 broke down in 2004 your focked mate go buy another one your not covered

So thats why people are complaing and ignorant focks like you should shut up, just cause your in love with microsoft dosent mean you should make excuses for them

I would not take this sort of crap from no company not sony, microsoft, nintendo, sharp, LG, BENQ not any company

And you as paying consumer shouldnt either

@CARLMAN23 BELOW

well im a bit skeptical about your PS3 issues and for you to change your opinion so fast since your previous posts you are acting like a xbox cheerleader and now your agreeing with me some part and still bashing the PS3 and sony products i still think your a xbox360 cheerleader

[carlman23]

Well, I partially agree with you. I didn't take Sony's crap and I sold my PSP. My Nintendo DS has never given me problems and thus they have my business. I had a PS3 and my controller would cut out regularly. I asked Sony about it and they said that it was normal for Blue-tooth devices. Here's a transcript of their email:

------------------------------ -------------------------------
Corrupt operating system in the SIXAXIS wireless controller
----------------------------- ------------------------------- -
Since the SIXAXIS wireless controller needs to maintain a Bluetooth connection to the PLAYSTATION(R)3 system, it needs to have a rudimentary computer operating system (OS) on-board. Occasionally, this OS can become corrupted and the controller will not function correctly, or the system may stop responding to the controller altogether. The SIXAXIS controller has a small reset button located on the bottom near the R2 shoulder button. The controller can be reset to default settings quite easily by clicking this button using a small, unfolded paper-clip or something similar (the button is inside a tiny hole). Once the controller has been reset, it will need to be
paired with the PLAYSTATION(R)_3 system again, using a USB mini-B cable.

So, to answer your rather rude comments: I got rid of my PS3 because I was unsatisfied with its performance and its current game library. I can totally see myself picking one up again once they've got rumble back in the system and they've got the bugs worked out.

I don't 'love' Microsoft, in fact, I hated the original Xbox. I own over 60 PS2 games. See, I'm not the ignorant one because I'm not assuming that you're an idiot when I don't know anything about you. I don't have to make you look bad, you do it to yourself.

[AngryTypingGuy]

"Our plans for price cuts have been laid out for years. We know exactly when they're going to happen."-- In other words, they're going to have a price cut to coincide with either Halo 3 or the holiday season.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Price drop is coming. And did anyone notice the poll on the left. The results were very funny!

[rowdy 1]

with over a 30% failure rate and stay successful. You can spin anyway you wanna spin it. When FOX and CNN have you going across the ticker every minute you are not going to be successful in the global market. After all this bad news and your President jumps ship. That's not a good sign. So Peter Moore can spin and twist the scenario anyway he wants to make 360 owners feel a little better, but the bottom line is sales are dropping as well as interest in the console. It may pick back up with some marketing schemes. But the way things are looking in Asia, Aus, and Eur the 360 will be behind in the next 3 quarters. The North American market will be interesting, if the y lose it though don't expect an XBOX 3 or 720.

[sak500]

Wow looking at the number of disaggrees on most posts in favor of MS shows how many fonybois are in here. Even though PM didn't design the 360 but he might have taken a fall for the RROD so? Did you guys forget what happened to Ken? Now all of you go back to reading about games coming on ps3 which will see daylight in 2008.