Xbox’s European charm offensive might just work this time | Opinion
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Xbox’s European charm offensive might just work this time | Opinion

Make no mistake, Xbox was the star of Gamescom 2024.

Properly, that and Monster Hunter Wilds. However by way of firms, there was no sales space greater or extra concerned than what Xbox had in Cologne.

In fact, it helps that Xbox’s historic rivals – Sony and Nintendo – have been totally absent from the occasion. It was a shock, to me a minimum of, contemplating each console giants have fairly massive video games arriving on cabinets in early September, and there is playable occasion code for each. Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge is playable at PAX this weekend, whereas Astro Bot was playable in LA again in June.

Due to this fact, the choice from these two to skip Gamescom was totally strategic, and taking a look at how busy and excited the present flooring was in Germany, I can not assist however really feel it was a strategic mistake.

It additionally meant that Xbox might waltz in unchallenged because the present’s most important attraction, however even when its conventional rivals have been on the present, I am not satisfied they’d have been capable of compete.

Xbox’s sales space for the primary time introduced collectively video games from Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft, which meant a plethora of huge AAA titles on show. However there was additionally quite a few third-party titles, indie video games, photograph ops, stay talks and competitions all through Xbox’s large house. It was an evolution of their Fan Fest idea, but it surely really jogged my memory extra of Nintendo Stay, which is a collection of fantastic fan occasions that Nintendo runs (and Phil Spencer visited one final 12 months).

Xbox has had robust Gamescoms earlier than, and it has all the time been proactive in placing on a present that it thinks Europeans will react positively to. It has used Gamescom to announce and promote technique and PC titles, similar to Halo Wars, Age of Empires, and Flight Simulator, that are video games it feels will resonate extra with European gamers than, say, a Gears of Battle.

This 12 months was no exception, and with main PC video games like World of Warcraft and Diablo within the line-up (Blizzard has all the time had a powerful presence at Gamescom), it was most likely essentially the most European-friendly slate we have ever seen from Microsoft.

“Strolling round Xbox’s sales space at Gamescom and I noticed a large writer that is wanting decidedly extra European than ever.”

Past the video games, the studios on-site have been additionally extra Europe-focused. There have been 20 third-party studios on the sales space that heralded from locations such because the UK, Ukraine, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, and The Netherlands, selling video games together with Two Level Museum, Planet Coaster 2, Star Wars Outlaws, Prepare Sim World, Farming Simulator, Funko Fusion, Stalker 2, Descenders Subsequent, and The Alters.

So Xbox was again on its European charm offensive. Now, up to now this all the time felt like a barely futile effort, or a minimum of one which hasn’t resulted in a lot long-term success.

Exterior of the UK, Xbox’s market share is minimal in Europe. Throughout its presentation to the EU regulators over the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft revealed it solely had a 20% market share in Europe vs PlayStation’s 80%. And over the past two years, PlayStation 5 has continued to cement its place in Europe, and has even constructed a large lead within the UK. This makes it tougher for Xbox when attempting to safe shelf house or media protection in these markets.


Xbox’s European charm offensive might just work this time | Opinion
Indiana Jones and the Large Circle will enchantment to much more European avid gamers now it is coming to PS5

However issues are totally different now. Xbox is no-longer in regards to the console, or a minimum of not all in regards to the console. I discovered it fascinating that Microsoft selected to announce Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle coming to PS5 on a stage watched by thousands and thousands of individuals on-line. Beforehand, these tales have been confined to social posts or press releases, however right here it was handled like information value celebrating. And that is as a result of it’s. For the overwhelming majority of console gamers in Europe, Indiana Jones was not a sport that even registered with them pre-Gamescom, even whether it is being made by certainly one of their very own (Sweden’s MachineGames). However now it is one which’s again on the radar with European followers, and one other one so as to add to that rising checklist of thrilling 2025 video games.

We have talked about Xbox’s technique of going to the place the gamers are, reasonably than anticipating them to come back to them, on numerous events now. However being on the present flooring at Gamescom, and seeing the 335,000 people who walked the present flooring final weekend, and you’ll bodily see why this is such a prudent enterprise technique.

And through my time on Xbox’s sales space I, for the primary time, did not see the platform holder it is traditionally been, however as an alternative the enormous video games writer it is now grow to be. And with all these simulation video games, fantasy titles and strange (usually comedian) indie fare, I noticed an Xbox that is wanting decidedly European, too.

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