The most awkward moments in Xbox history

I recently touched on some PlayStation moments that I am sure Sony would love to take back. Now, to not have any favorites, I thought it was time to put Microsoft in the roasting seat, and go through the times when we all hid our heads in shame.

Microsoft have had just as many awkward moments in their console history, some of them were caused by an individual, while others were meant to be great but just fell flat.

Buy an Xbox 360

One of the most memorable awkward moments had to be after the reveal of the Xbox One in 2013. The console was first revealed at an event prior to E3, but it was not until E3 rolled around, that Microsoft really showed the Xbox One’s true colours.

DRM, always online gaming, no sharing, it was a disaster. The company stood by its “advancement” in gaming, and defended its features that would eliminate offline gamers, and sharing games in general.

It was not until Don Mattrick, a major executive at Xbox, spoke to the media, that the real cringe set in. As much as he tried to make the statement sound genuine, but failed miserably.

He made it quite clear, that if you don’t have internet, or you are not happy with the system of the Xbox One, and how it handles the online features, then you have the Xbox 360 to play.

Microsoft’s series of unfortunate E3 events

Out of everyone who hosts an annual E3 event, Microsoft have had some pretty awkward ones. They try a little hard to make their games and platforms, seem appealing to everyone, and by doing so, it makes the hardcore gamers watching the conferences, cringe a little.

We all remember that awkward Kinect presentation where we were supposed to see the bottom of the Avatar’s shoe, but instead saw him bug out. Who can forget the Minecraft presentation from this past E3, when the presenters were so freaked out, they almost had a heart attack on stage.

Then we have the bugs, like the infamous Battlefield 4 moment when EA took to the stage at the Xbox One E3 press conference. They hyped everyone up for the reveal, and when it did not start up, we all sat for over 60 seconds waiting for something to start.

Red Ring of Death

Probably the most iconic disaster in video game history since the great gaming crash in 1983 was the Red Ring of Death. This moment in Microsoft’s history will teach future console makers to actually finish tests on their products before they release them.

In an attempt to get the Xbox 360 on shelves before the PS3, the original Xbox 360 models had a failure rate of 30-45% due to hardware issues.

Although Microsoft themselves never really acknowledged the fault as a massive issue, it cost the company quite a load of cash.

The console manufacturer spent over $1 billion replacing and repairing Xbox 360 consoles. Some consumers even reported having to replace their console up to 5 times, with Microsoft having to fit the bill for everything from the courier to the Xbox Coffins, the boxes used to collect and send the consoles.

Goodbye Kinect

When the Xbox One was originally revealed back in 2013, the console was basically a Kinect device. Every bundle came with the Kinect sensor, and the console was not functional without it.

This also meant that the console’s price was higher than usual, thanks to the $100 (R1200) additional hardware in the box. Microsoft’s idea for this bundle was to make the Kinect feel like part of the Xbox family.

This did not go down that well with customers, as many either thought the sensor would not benefit them, and others just wanted the console at a cheaper price. Microsoft stood by their decision for 6 months until the company dropped the mandatory Kinect option in August 2013.

This did not mean that the sensor was not going to be sold with the console however. Although it was not a requirement to run the Xbox One any longer, it just meant you were able to turn it on with it unplugged.

It was not until 2014, a whole year later, that Microsoft actually released Xbox One bundles without the Kinect included.