It’s been a terrible couple of weeks forXboxemployees withnumerous layoffs across various studiosand multiple project cancellations despite reaching record profits. A lot has been changing thanks tothe brand’s shift from a manufacturer to an ecosystem. However, former Xbox chief Peter Moore thinks the brand might not be alive today because of what happened in the 360 era.
While the Xbox 360 was a celebrated console, everyone who owned one lived in fear of the dreaded ‘red ring of death’. For seemingly no reason, the console would display a red light on its circular LED and that would be the end of it. Fixing the issue cost Xbox around $1.15 billion, but Moore believes it was worth it, as it saved the brand.
Xbox 360’s Red Ring Of Death Almost Killed The Brand
In a conversation withThe Game BusinessMoore revealed that the issue was pretty dire, and it could have led to the end of Xbox as we know it today. The $1.15 billion was used to extend warranties as well as posting and receiving consoles which were affected by the issue.
“It took us a while to figure out what was going on,” said Moore (thanksGamesRadar+). “Were the fans in the right place? […] Trying to figure out whether, you know, […] wrapping the towel around it would create more heat, which would rejoin some of the issues of the cracks in some of the units. All of this was going on, and it was stressful. But the one thing I will always say is, you know, this was, for us, a defining moment.”
“If we hadn’t done what we did, I’m not sure the Xbox brand would be around today,” he added.
However, he also said that the video game industry would have also suffered if Xbox went down. “Rising tide lifts all ships. Microsoft’s entry into the market created a massive rising tide. They put billions of dollars into marketing, advertising, R&D, and I don’t think the industry would be anywhere close to what it is today if Microsoft wasn’t involved.”
