Microsoft and Adidas announced today a global alliance centered around the impending launch of the Xbox 360 and the Fifa World Cup 2006. The partnership will include placement of Xbox 360 kiosks in Adidas stores across the globe, Adidas will install content on Xbox 360 consoles (and vice versa, Xbox content will appear on Adidas' Fifa '06 online portal), as well as tie-ins with Adidas on MTV and at sports events.
The main point here is the placement of Adidas content on Xbox 360s. There are several unanswered questions about this particular aspect of the alliance. Will it mean limited edition Adidas Xbox 360s? Or does it mean Adidas branded content will be on every Xbox 360 out there? It'll likely mean the latter, as in the past Microsoft has hinted at pre-installed content on Xbox 360 hard drives. We just didn't know that the content would be branded until now.
The way in which the content is presented will be key to either creating annoyance or apathy with 360 owners. Microsoft would have a hard time justifying this deal to gamers if they tried to promote this content within the menu system of the Xbox 360. What do you think? Should Microsoft let gamers decide what to put on their hard drives? Or are a few video promotions sitting in a "movies" folder nothing to worry about?
