It looks like Microsoft and the Xbox development teams are looking to create an all-star team ahead of the Xbox Series X launch. According to LinkedIn, Netflix’s Head of Marketing has joined up with Microsoft, specifically looking to boost the Microsoft Gaming division. With a ton of previous experience in gaming, the Xbox team is looking to avoid the PR and marketing blunders that handed the PS4 a win this generation.
The news comes from LinkedIn, where a December listing shows Jerret West has joined as the Chief Marketing Officer over at Xbox — coming from a seven-year stint as the Head of Marketing at Netflix. Even better, West is no gaming or Xbox novice — he previously oversaw some of the largest products and highest highs of Xbox, with an eight-year tenure from 2003 to 2011. In other words, he was heading the marketing teams that helped the Xbox 360 dominate the console market.
While new executives at companies rarely make headlines at DualShockers, this one carries a strong narrative and is an exceptionally savvy play by the Microsoft team. Obviously, Phil Spencer has used much of the Xbox One’s life cycle as a way to both rebrand and refocus on the gaming market — something that he has done incredibly successfully by introducing winning initiatives like Xbox Game Pass and Backwards Compatibility. With the Xbox brand being increasingly rehabilitated, it’s time to focus on some of the issues that dogged the Xbox One — how the game was marketed upfront.
With this in mind, there may be no better person at the helm to help direct this than Xbox 360 veteran Jerret West. Not only did he help launch the Xbox brand to a household name, but they were strategically (if momentarily) able to create an industry leader with hardware. In short, we likely won’t be seeing press conferences dedicated for TV guides or Kinect-required pricing for the Xbox Series X.
In other Xbox Series X news, the next gen scene has been rife ground for both leaks and rumors. On the leak side, we showcased the first images of the Xbox Series X prototype that leaked earlier this week. Meanwhile, there was some fairly credible rumors that Ready at Dawn’s next project may be coming to the Xbox Series X… though it is far from confirmed.
In any case, the Xbox Series X is planning to launch this Holiday 2020. As more information becomes available about Microsoft’s next console, DualShockers will make sure to keep you updated.
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Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/xbox-series-x-news-marketing-microsoft/
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