Just over a fortnight ago, Microsoft's newest console, the Xbox One hit the shelves, and it's safe to say it hasn't exactly set the world on fire. Oddly enough, while it's usually been said that it's the games that make or break the system, in the case of the Xbox One, it's actually the clunky, slow, and rather tricky to navigate interface that's been giving people the most trouble.
So if you were Microsoft, and you were running an ad campaign, the chances are you'd want to play up to your strong points - big up the games, while playing down the flawed interface as much as you can. Right? Nope.
Instead, here's the latest ad campaign for the Xbox One:
OK, so the basic idea is clever enough. Rather than go to an ad break, the ad kind of automatically takes over during an episode of the TV show to show off the Xbox One's TV functionality. That's all well and good. But then we go to the Home interface - the aforementioned Problem With The Xbox One - which we're shown for just long enough to realise what a cluttered and unorganised mess it is, as our guide scrolls aimlessly around, seemingly trying to find the game he was playing before he started watching TV (pro tip: it's nowhere to be seen on the Home screen. Yes, the Xbox One can sometimes actually hide the game you're playing). After a few seconds, frustration kicks in, and our guide abandons his search, relying instead on Kinect's voice controls by saying "Go to Forza 5" to switch to the game. Only problem is, that actually wouldn't work on the Xbox One, as you need to say the exact game name - which is Forza Motorsport 5 - not just Forza 5. Finally finding his way back to his game, no sooner has our intrepid console explorer taken the wheel than a Skype notification pops up warning of an incoming call. Rather than doing what the sane amongst us would do, which is either ignore it 'til it goes away or make a mental note to check the settings and turn Skype off later, our player instead chooses to answer the call (using his voice, of course), where we're shown just how daft the Xbox One can be.
You see, when you answer a call, surely, surely the logical thing to do would be to snap the Skype window at the side? After all, you're playing a game on a game's console, timing is of the essence, and what your friend wants you to pick up from the shops most likely is not. Yet that's not how the Xbox One thinks. Instead, as soon as he answers the call, the Skype window takes up the entire screen (without pausing the game, you might note), for just long enough for you to turn your brand new Lamborghini into the world's most expensive accordion, because the console stopped you seeing where you were driving. A few seconds later, Skype shrinks back just a teeny, tiny bit, as it gracefully allows Forza 5 to take up about an inch of the screen in the top right, and our test subject, presumably having taken out his opera glasses, somehow manages to continue his race.
But why should a games console put a chat window first? Which is it most important to be able to see? The face of the person you already know, or the game you were halfway through, which relies on split second reactions and requires you to be able to see!
The mind boggles.
So rather than promote the Xbox One by focusing on the games, this advert instead shows everything that's wrong with Microsoft's new console in a succinct, 30 second snippet. If nothing else, at least it's efficient. For more on the Xbox One's new interface, check back soon for our full review, where we'll be pitting it head to head with the PS4 and Wii U.
