A former Vice President of Microsoft, Pete Moore, now explains why he fueled the console war between Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the 2000s. After the major technical issues with the Xbox 360, they apparently found themselves with their backs against the wall.
Who is speaking? Pete Moore was a Corporate Vice President for Home and Entertainment at Microsoft from 2003 to 2007, and was responsible for the marketing of the Xbox game console. During his 4 years in the role, he oversaw the development of games and studios for the Xbox 360.
In the years that followed, he worked for Electronic Arts for 10 years and was the CEO of Liverpool FC (via linkedin).
Gaming would be worse off today if it hadn’t been done
Why did he escalate the console war? In a podcast, Moore said:
“We encouraged the console war, but not to create a division, rather to spur one another on: And when I say ‘one another,’ I mean Sony and Microsoft.
If Microsoft hadn’t set this course after the Xbox, following the ‘Red Rings of Death’, gaming would be in a worse state today, we wouldn’t have the competition we have now.”
Xbox 360 launched earlier than PS3 and was cheaper – But had technical problems
What does he mean by the ‘Red Rings of Death’? The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, against the PlayStation 3, which came out a year later on November 11, 2006.
The Xbox 360 had some advantages over the PS3:
- It was released a year earlier
- was more affordable
- and heavily invested in exclusive titles
However, the Xbox 360 was plagued by technical issues: The ‘Red Rings of Death’ error was a warning signal: Surrounding the power button of the Xbox 360 were 3 LED lights:
If the error occurred, “three red rings” would light up. When the error code arrived, players expected:
- a freezing of the game
- graphic problems during gameplay, such as artifacts
- sound issues – especially very loud noises
Even today, Microsoft and Sony are vying for the best titles of the consoles:
How did Microsoft deal with the issue? After the launch of the console, they downplayed the issue. The failure rate was said to be within normal parameters: Only about every 30th to 20th console was affected (via web.archive).
Later, they admitted that there were serious difficulties. Apparently, as many as one in six consoles were affected by the problems.
The technical deficiencies of the Xbox 360 were widely exploited by fans of the PlayStation 3 to mock the competitor.
Apparently, therefore, Xbox had to rely on the Console War, meaning aggressively releasing exclusive titles to stay in business. At least that’s the logic of Pete Moore.
Xbox 360 vs PlayStation 3 was balanced in the console war
How was the Console War back then? The Xbox 360 launched a year before the PlayStation 3 and had more first-party studios, along with some console-exclusive titles available. Additionally, it could remain priced under the PlayStation 3. However, Xbox was plagued by technical problems.
Ultimately, neither the Xbox 360 nor the PlayStation could decisively win the Console War, both being roughly equal with 84 million units (Xbox 360) against 87 million units (PlayStation 3).
In the next generation, however, the PlayStation 4 decisively overcame the Xbox One: The PS4 sold nearly twice as many units as the Xbox One.
In recent years, the “console war” has cooled somewhat, also because Sony and Microsoft have joined forces to fight a common enemy… Google:
Sony and Microsoft are working together – Is it against Google and Stadia?
