Former Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra has recently criticized Microsoft's “This is an Xbox” campaign, calling it the wrong move for Xbox stamp. Microsoft's handling of the Xbox has been controversial in recent years, and many fans are skeptical about the future, a sentiment reflected in Ybarra's comments.
Microsoft first started its controversial “This is an Xbox” campaign back in November 2024. The ad campaign compared the Xbox Series X/S consoles to tablets, smartphones, VR headsets and laptops, labeling them as “an Xbox” due to having access to Game Pass. The promotion was not well received at the time, as many fans argued that Microsoft was diluting the Xbox brand, especially when considering the increasingly prominent cross-platform approach.
Mike Ybarra criticizes Microsoft's “This is an Xbox” strategy
Ybarra recently touched on the controversial marketing campaign when he responded to a gamer who complained about the recently released ROG Xbox Ally using Windows instead of Xbox OS. The executive explained that the decision makes sense given the lack of Xbox exclusives. The ex-Blizzard president also claimed that “only an idiot” would continue to make consoles when all games were third-party releases. He also mentioned that “This is an Xbox” was the “wrong idea” at the “wrong time.” According to Ybarra, if games don't have parity between a console and other devices, it just doesn't make sense to call those other platforms an Xbox, which could confuse consumers.
Despite Ybarra's criticism, Microsoft appears to be focused on its current strategy of supporting the Windows OS. A recent rumor even pointed out that Microsoft is working on official Xbox emulation for Windows. If the rumor is true, this move could bring classic Xbox games to the ROG Xbox Ally.
It is likely that the multi-platform approach and having a console will also continue to be part of the Xbox ecosystem. Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed that the next-gen Xbox is currently in development in collaboration with AMD, responding to recent rumors that the idea could have been scrapped. So it remains to be seen how successful Xbox's next-gen console will be, and whether Microsoft will continue to launch only a few of its first-party games on PlayStation and similar platforms, or will go all-in on its multi-platform strategy.
- Stamp
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Microsoft
- Original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499 USD
- Operating system
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Proprietary (Windows based)
- Processor
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Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- Resolution
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720p – 4K UHD
