Today’s podcast is all about the Xbox. Specifically what we think Microsoft is doing wrong, or just plain not doing, with their advertising schemes. Since Jones and I are clearly marketing experts with a better grasp of things than a multi-billion dollar global behemoth it is our duty to tell the world how the people in Redmond should be pitching this thing. Because hey – we just want to help.
Sort of the way Xbox is rolling these days.
Listen to Benheck.com Podcast Episode 24
In other news the first batch of Audio FX Pro 5.1 headsets have arrived from across the pond and will be showing up in stores very soon. I’m running a contest where the prize is yet another pair, signed by me no less! Here are the rules:
- As mentioned in our podcast, come up with a mascot that Microsoft should use in a cool new game for the Xbox 360. I’d like serious entries, not “Robby the Red Ring of Death” or anything like that.
- Use paper, MS Paint, 3D modeling, whatever you’d like to create it. Even B&W paper doodles are fine.
- For best results include snow-capped mountains in the background and some helicopters with machine guns.
- This contest has nothing to do with Microsoft so don’t expect million-dollar checks and your creation becoming a game. This is just for fun, with a headset as the prize. But just think, up to hundreds of thousands of people could see your work if it gets on the site – that’s more famous than half the cast of “Charmed”!
- The winning entry will be picked by me (and maybe Jones or whoever else is around) and shown on this site at the time of the next podcast.
Suggestions of what NOT to enter.
Send all entries to benjamin.heckendorn@gmail.com by July 31st, 2007. We’ll also show the best runners-up. Have fun!
More food discussion 😀
I completely agree with Jones. Coke much better then Pepsi by miles but Diet Coke is just like Brown Water. Pepsi Diet is better.
– Dj-spuddy,
Hey guys,
Great podcast, but we all know that Microsoft has a reason for their marketing, just as all major corporations do. I would have liked to hear WHY you guys think they are skirting the issues you spoke of. These are not dumb people. There is a method to the madness per se, so HOW would their advertising strategy be strategically beneficial? Here is a fun conspiracy to consider…..maybe Microsoft is branching into other high tech, high end areas in the near future (i.e. home technology) and are testing the functonality with Live before they launch a ‘real’ marketing campaign to high end consumers. That would mean we really are guinea pigs! Or maybe they feel their customers are savy enough that they don’t need to point out the bells and whistles. What do you guys think???
~Architete
While I enjoyed the podcast, I did dislike how you stated that the “big three” Wii games are all it has to offer, and everything else is shovelware. No More Heroes is looking fantastic, and the Sega fanboy in me is just waiting to play the new NiGHTS game. Then you also have Battalion Wars 2, which is going to be online. If done right, it will be an awesome game. There is also Geometery Wars: Galaxies, which is dealing out a ton of extra content, which is making it worth the price, for me anyway. (Then again, I have a niche for shooters, especially Gradius (Even modded my PS1 to play Gradius Gaiden, which is one of the best games ever.))
I also have a hunch that this year is a transition period for the Wii in terms of third parties. Developers like Ubisoft and Data East unloaded a bunch of shovelware to cash in on the Wii at launch (Ubisoft should have spent more hours refining Red Steel). Then you have companies like EA and Take Two who doubted the Wii at first, but are now making games for it.
Be sure to send in any mascot entries you’d like, I’d like at least 5-10 to choose from, if possible.
RE: the Wii, Eric, we bash it because we don’t like it. On most sites this is flip-flopped to PS3 bashing. As we’ve mentioned often before, we’re providing the dissenting opinion. I haven’t seen many signs of 3rd parties making AAA games on the Wii. Thus far it’s a Gamecube, with a media darling gimmick wand.
For $5 on XBLA Geometry Wars is fun (though I wish it had online), For $40 on the Wii it’s a shovelware port with a near-premium price.
What annoys me [about Nintendo] is that since the Super Nintendo they’ve always made great hardware, like the $200 Gamecube with games as good looking as the Xbox 1. Now they’ve bowed out of the hardware race but, like the Geometry Wars port, are charging near premium-prices for it anyway.
I got my headset today, and have a suggestion for future projects like this. You may want to include some kind of special Ben Heck Handkerchiefs so that I can wipe the tears of joy from my eyes. Force feedback is so kickass! Just been playing a little bit of The Specialists 3.0 with them. You couldn’t smack the grin off my face with a shovel.
I agree with the Geometery Wars thing partly, as the shallow gameplay of Geo-wars was greatly excusable for that price, (in fact, it was pretty much exactly what you would want from a price like that)but at a premium it does sound like you’re not getting a sufficent boost in content and design for the increase in price.
I guess you are right about Geometry Wars, because I could imagine the Wii AND DS Geometry Wars playing much like Crimsonland, which is a excellent shareware shooter for the PC, which you use your mouse to direct your fire and WASD to move your character.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Rock Band is not coming out for the Wii. Guitar Hero III is. I think that GHIII will be better, simply because with Rock Band, they have find interesting parts for all four players. Whats the motivation to play the drums if you consistantly get boring drum parts? Same thing with Guitar, Bass, and Vocals. With Guitar Hero, all they have to do is find interesting guitar parts. But what do I know? I haven’t played either.
I’m sick of people saying the Wii has no good third party titles. I can think of two right off the top of my head and I only know one person with a Wii. Elebits was very fun and The Godfather was just like the closest to gta the Wii will see and the controls are actually pretty fun.
That’s why I play DS. I won’t pay over 35$ for a game unless it is an import. The games are better also. Everyone and their mom develops for the DS. Oh well. DS Lite for the win!
Why does everyone think Blinx sucks?
“Why does everyone think Blinx sucks?”
Need I even answer that?
Whoa, whoa, whoa… wait, wait, wait…
What’s wrong with Blinx? What’d he ever do to you? 🙁