Despite all the excitement building up about the next generation of consoles, people still know little about whatMicrosoftandSonyhave up their sleeves. At least Xbox Series X has a concrete design, but all the competitor has revealed are a few technical details and a name.
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Whatever the two end up doing, let’s hope they don’t shoot themselves in the foot by making any of these mistakes when they announce and launch their next pieces of hardware. At least thanks to modern technology most of these errors can be fixed with patches. With that being said, they’d still negatively affect sales and the way the public perceives both the device and the company.
10Increase Online Subscription Prices, Strip Features
9Make Always Online Mandatory
Microsoft already made this mistake in the last generation, but they remedied the issue before launch. More people are connected than ever before, making the prospect of staying online more feasible, but making it mandatory would still be a huge inconvenience for gamers. If their Internet is down or something else prevents them from plugging in, are they supposed to just be content not being able to play games that would otherwisework without a connection?
8Make Games $70
Games have been sixty dollars since thePS3andXbox 360generation. With theprice of developmentincreasing all the time, one would expect the price to go up. Instead, publishers have found other, sometimecontroversial, ways to gain revenue like loot boxes and consmetic upgrades.
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If this is the tradeoff for keeping base games at sixty dollars, then some consider it a worthwhile price. Increasing the regular cost by ten dollars may just cause an uproar no company wants to deal with.
7Restrict Game Sharing
This was another feature proposed for the Xbox One which was quickly overturned after extreme backlash. With the new systems coming up, the same worries start to flash in gamers' minds that one of the companies will attempt to prevent used games from working in other consoles or enact a licensing fee before allowing the disc to run. Players have not changed in the seven years between generations, so a similar announcement would likely cause an equal amount of upset among fans, perhaps prompting some to switch loyalties.
6Cost More Than Five Hundred Dollars
Using what little we know about the systems, they both seem to be pushing the technological envelope. Using the best of the best resources often means incurring a high price tag. The PS3 sold at a loss despite its then astronomical cost of five hundred and six hundred dollars. Costing this much again would might prompt many to just go for the cheaper option, regardless of quality. Maybe it would be in their best interest to offer budget options, like the Xbox One S, if the premium model’s price gets too high.
5Gimmicks
New features are always welcome and expected with a new generation, but they are always intended to make the user interface smoother or heighten a gaming experience.
Related:10 Things Old Consoles Did That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
Gimmicks, on the other hand, present a facade of comfort while really being no more than a party trick. Kinect’s use on the Xbox One didn’t really change the way it worked in one’s living room and was eventually phased out of the console. The Wii U’s Gamepad was just a second screen, not adding much to the experience like the WiiMotes did for the Wii.
4Red Ring Of Death-Like Incident
Maybe this one is unforeseeable if it does happen. No one likes a console destroying itself, and both companies went through a similar crisis. Many earlyPS2models stopped working after two years, and the Xbox 360’s crisis was so infamous it is the namesake for this entry.
Should the worst happen and such an incident occurs, the company must take all steps to save face and ensure replacing the dead systems don’t cost the gamers an arm and a leg.
3A Weak Launch Lineup
Many of the new games are expected to be cross generational. If this is the case for both consoles, it could make early adopters feel like their investment is not worthwhile. At the same time, it could be a welcome change, giving players and the industry a nice transition period as opposed to making anyone feel left out just because they cannot buy the newest, most expensive console right away. Without some killerexclusivelaunch titles, however, the consoles could potentially suffer at first. TheWii Uis a recent case of a system which had a rocky start due to its lack of any big launch title.
2Shortage At Launch
Does scarcity create hype and demand? Maybe in some cases, but in other situations it may just cause a more casual audience to look for the next available option. The Wii had a notorious shortage back in its launch, though its luxury of being the cheapest modern console around prevented this issue. Should the PS5 and Series X have similar price tags, a solid handful of consumers will go for the option stocked in stores if what they originally intended to purchase is out of stock. Unlike most of the entries on this list, this mistake won’t hurt the hardware’s quality, but instead the company’s wallet.
1Being Less User Friendly At Launch Than The Current Generation Systems
One would hope the consoles function and run smoother than what is currently in gamers' living rooms. One has to remember, though, this is new hardware and it goes through its growing pains. However, if features are missing or the act of navigating the menus is more difficult, it would be a detriment to the console. Some people are probably still sore about the PS4’s lack of a CD drive. Other potential examples include Spotify potentially working poorer or the plethora of streaming services being harder to use at launch.
Next:5 Consoles That Lasted The Longest (And 5 That Lasted The Shortest)
