Xbox 360 Arcade: The Xbox for Families?

Filed in archive News on October 24, 2007

Microsoft finally announced (for real, with a press release and everything) the Xbox 360 Arcade, the new replacement for the Core unit, and there's some interesting marketing at work here - they're positioning the Arcade as the Xbox for families:

"As families gather together this holiday, it's the perfect time to launch a new low-priced, high-value Xbox 360 that plays games, TV shows and music for everyone to enjoy," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "In addition to offering an incredible all-in-one package for families to get right into the fun, the Xbox 360 Arcade system features the industry-leading Family Settings, which allow parents to control what their kids are watching and playing - and we know how important that control is to families around the world."

Yeah...except the Arcade doesn't come with the hard drive you need to download those TV shows and movies, does it? Nintendo may be making strides into getting non-gamers as customers with the Wii, but I don't see the Xbox 360 ever reaching that same audience. Kudos for trying, guys, but I think your dollars would be better spent serving the audience you already have instead of pushing an ill-equipped package on people who aren't interested.