Microsoft has acknowledged it set expectations too high for this week’s Inside Xbox event, which delivered little of the advertised gameplay footage from the first crop of Xbox Series X titles.
Although the company brought us a ton of details on games that will be available on the next-gen console, many fans expressed disappointment at the abundant use of trailers and in-engine footage rather than showing consumers what they can expect when actually playing games on the new console.
As VGC points out, a recap video of the event posted to YouTube entitled “First look Xbox Series X gamplay” has racked up a whopping 23,000 dislikes (in proportion to 18,000 likes), which is somewhat of a surprise given it was our first look at the likes of Madden 21, FIFA 21, Chorvs, DiRT 5, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and more.
Related: Inside Xbox 2020 highlights
Top comments on YouTube all focused on the lack of “gameplay” and the term even began trending on Twitter around the time of the event.
“Sorry Microsoft, I blinked and completely missed that “gameplay”,” wrote septillion2501 on YouTube.
GS79 added: “I somehow missed the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay that was supposed to be shown here. Instead we got in-game cinematics? When we were told and shown it was gonna be GAME…PLAY…”
Responding to criticism on Twitter, Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg said the company would have been better served by hosting a regular Inside Xbox event, rather than bigging it up as a big debut for Series X gameplay.
“Had we not said anything & just shown May Inside Xbox show like we did last month, I suspect reactions might have been different,” Greenberg wrote on Twitter. “Clearly we set some wrong expectations and that’s on us. We appreciate all the feedback & can assure you we will take it all in & learn as a team.”
Had we not said anything & just shown May Inside Xbox show like we did last month, I suspect reactions might have been different. Clearly we set some wrong expectations & that’s on us. We appreciate all the feedback & can assure you we will take it all in & learn as a team. ???
— Aaron Greenberg ??♂️❎ (@aarongreenberg) May 8, 2020
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.