Zune zooms straight past gaming?

by Conrad Quilty-Harper on Jul 21st 2006 6:55PM

Microsoft has confirmed the existence of Zune, a brand-name that will eventually come to represent an entire line-up of portable media devices. The first device is said to be shipping this year, with more to come in 2007. At the moment, Microsoft seems to be attempting to draw attention to Zune's music and movie capabilities, which is no doubt an attempt to position the brand as a direct competitor to the iPod. This announcement (and the media blitz surrounding it) is intended to put a maximum amount of pressure onto Apple; mentioning Zune's gaming capabilities would dilute the "iPod killer" message that Microsoft is trying to plant in people's heads. Despite this, there are certain tidbits that we can extract from this official announcement that could influence how Microsoft's entry into portable gaming will play out.

Rumors about J. Allard's disappearance were true; he's emerged as one of three people heading the project, alongside Robbie Bach and Bryan Lee. Don't be surprised if J. Allard turns out to be the "face" of Zune, just like he was the "face" of Xbox 360. The drive-based and integrated WiFi aspects of the design as well as the community orientated software strongly suggest that the gaming device will feature Xbox Live Anywhere. What's still unclear is how Microsoft will market their portable gaming machine. With the introduction of a new brand name representing portable entertainment, how will this link to Microsoft's established Xbox brand? Are we talking "Zune w/Xbox" or will the portable gaming device be distinctly associated with one of the two brands, to the exclusion of the other? One way the two brands appear to share a connection is through their respective viral campaigns: they both feature rabbits (Origen, Coming Zune).

The overriding message conveyed by this announcement is that Microsoft is going out of its way to tackle the different portable entertainment markets on an individual basis. This approach contrasts sharply with Sony's entry into portable gaming. With the PSP, the company simultaneously took on the likes of the iPod, the Nintendo DS and more expensive video-only devices. As a result, the PSP has suffered from a degree of brand dilution which has resulted in the near failure of the UMD format and has limited the device's popularity as a gaming machine. By ignoring the gaming capabilities of the Zune (for now) and singling out the iPod and other portable media players, Microsoft is attempting to learn from Sony's mistake. Currently the Zune's immediate target is the iPod, and to some extent, future video-centric iPods, but when Microsoft finally decides to reveal the gaming capabilities of Zune, expect gaming to be singular focus.

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Tags: Coming Zune, ComingZune, DS, Engadget, Gaming, iPod killer, IpodKiller, J. Allard, J.Allard, JALLARD, Marketing, Microsoft, Nintendo DS, NintendoDs, Origen, PSP, Sony, Viral, Xbox, Zune

Reader Comments (32)

Wow... competition = good.

competition = good, but monopoly = bad, and that is what Microsoft is trying to achieve. I hope this fails or soon we wont be able to buy an electronics item without the Microsoft logo on the box.

Not suprised by the move, and it hasn't got a chance of even making a dent in the iPod market (Microsoft, you've supported MP3 devices before, and that didn't work, what makes you think designing your own will fare any better?)

It does look quite nice though, in a minimalistic sort of way.

I don't think a gaming handheld would stand much of a chance either. Honestly, Zune? Alien handheld names = automatic failure, and something tells me an X-Boy won't quite grab the market by the balls either.

Ah well, I could be wrong.

Should be Xune and not Zune

Xune (pronounced the same as Zune) Including the "X" makes all us Xboxers happy, but still keep the non-Xboxers from associating it with gaming or Xbox.

This will also make naming a gaming handheld difficult. Will it fall in the "Zune" family or the "Xbox" family Xbox is gaming but Zune is handhelds where does it go?

I dont see a "Z" or anything to do with "Zune" in the cubey-x-thing that is their logo. All I see is a cube with an "X" in it. So why is it called a Zune?

If the name is going to be pronounced "Zune" I would just as soon have them use the X makes more sense since apparently they are about integration. A good start with that would be the name

I doubt it. This is a multimedia machine, plain as frickin' day. It's vs. iPod, not PSP. It MAY have gaming capabilities, but nothing along the lines of a dedicated gaming *machine*.

Also, @2, are you fricking stupid? ALL companies try and get on top of their business, also known as a monopoly. I guess it's evil now to try and succeed...

I'm not exactly sure where's Microsofts head's at. This might have been something worthwhile several years ago but Apple is already into its 6th generation of iPods. What makes them think they can penetrate a market like that (not to mention the portable gaming market)?

Um...Lynx...Zune is an internal name for the project. It has already been said that it most likely won't be the name of the final product.

"Microsoft, you've supported MP3 devices before, and that didn't work, what makes you think designing your own will fare any better?"

This quote sounds awfully famalar. Oh thats right...It's what everyone was saying about MS and the orginal xbox. Give em a chance won't ya?

I for one am glad they are comming out with a portable music/video player. I had two broken Ipod Video's before I gave up on Ipods. Granted, my nano works fine, but I want something that plays video also. I was about to go purchase a gigabeat S series, but I will wait to see what MS has to offer.

The logo is a 'Z', it just isn't obvious at first. It's a Z rotated 45 degrees, tilted down, and extended into three-dimensions. Not sure how to explain it but it's there.

"Zune is the name of the project, the brand, and the device."

That is from Engadget after they got off the phone with MS after MS confirmed the device today.

My opinion as above... should be Xune

http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/21/zune-what-we-know-think-we-know-and-dont-yet-know/

I don't know where the line running down the middle comes from though...

@ Geof: Check out the Zen Vision: M. They're nice machines...

My bad, I thought I had read that Zune was a codename, along with argos and something else. You are correct.

Charlie, I'd agree that spelling it "Xune" would be a better choice. It grabs your attention when you read it more than "Zune" because of the fact you do a double take to figure out how to say it. I'm glad Microsoft is entering the MP3 player market, iPod's are complete garbage. Don't get me wrong, I own an iPod, but anyone that seriously says they're good quality is just a jackass. In all seriousness, I've had my 4g iPod replaced 11 times. That's right, 11 times. I don't go running with it, I don't treat it poorly, all I did with it was go to class and workout (lifting) after school but I never would drop them or anything like that. I'm sure the number would even be higher but I don't even know where it is right now, I'd rather just use a $45 sandisk player that works. I don't have the highest of expectations for the Zune, but I'm expecting it to have good navigation (all I care about basically) and be of better quality (life-time wise) than iPods.

the wifi should really set it apart and allow mobile web browsing too.

Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs.... What was old is new again. Soon Bill will be gone and I don't suspect Jobs is as worried about where Ballmer will be taking M$.

What's next? Is Microsoft going to try to compete with Pixar and put them out of business?

Good luck, Ballmer!

The thing EVERY company misses when making an alleged "iPod killer" is that they HAVE TO support AAC/MP4 to win over the iPod owners- the millions and millions of them- because they've got their library in the newer, better AAC format and want to use their music instead of spending a day converting to MP3 (an 11-year-old, lossy format which the MPEG board replaced with AAC) or worse, to a lesser proprietary format like WMA or ATRAC.

The second thing they always screw up is the interface and ease-of-use. The iPod wins every time because it is designed to be elegant and easy. No "drag-n-drop" or clicking to connect. You dock, your music is synched, you disconnect and go. That's it. All the other players require you to actively manage your music and frankly, that's no fun for most people. We want to grab the player and get in the car, get to work, get on the train, and spend those precious minutes LISTENING to our music on the go, instead of managing it at home.

I love my Xbox 360, but I serious doubt I'll bother with this device. I'm a Mac user (Windows on another partition, but just for games) and I know the device will not be friendly to OS X. It won't play nice with iTunes or AAC files. It won't sync like the iPod. It's just not worth it to me to switch.

Maybe some PC loyalists will buy it as the anti-iPod statement, but if you need to make statement with your technology instead of just buying the thing that works best for you, you have other issues I won't address here.

I have an iPod because it works, because it's easy, because it's got the most third-party support, and because I like having my whole library with me when I'm on the go. Every CD, vinyl album, and cassette I own is in a space the size of a deck of cards.

Tory Amos you are saying Monopolies are good? Every company tries to have a monopoly in their business, which Microsoft does in its business. Microsofts business is computing. Now they are breaching out to try and monopolise everything, they want PCs, they want home consoles, they want music players, they want celluar phones. Monopolies are BAD for customers, but fuqing tops for the shareholders.

Ugh.. Zune? That's not appealing at all.
Or at least make it "Xune", as Charlie said.
Then again, that's what I said about the Wii's name.. And I'm well over with that.
Oh well, probably not going to buy this anyway. I've already got an iPod Video, PSP, and DS, what more do I honestly need? Too late to make a name, in my opinion. iPod is already a household name, I don't know if "Zune" is going to get the attention from the mainstream that Microsoft wants so bad.

All I can say is how happy I am that the nickname XBoy might finally come to an end. And the fact that this isn't another thing coming to oversaturate the portable market. Microsoft should just make games for the other portable platforms, and reap rewards without insane investments. (Probably Nintendo since Sony doesn't need the 3rd party support, considering the name Playstation will sell enough units of an overpriced object well enough, PS3 will sell 10 million sales in 6 months I'm guessing.)

Someone talked about ACC and formating. Microsoft has said that, they will give you a download of all the son you bought off iTunes for free. I had doubts about this getting onto the final product but...

Also, I think that the name sony carries less waight than people think. I think that nintendo has plenty of fanboys.

I think what microsoft sould do, is back the DS. If the DS can beat out the psp, than sony will be weakened and microsoft can come in with a handheld next hand held cycle.

It's really sad that people like Squeezem Joe have such a diluted view of what the word "monopoly" truly means. "Oh a company is successful and I don't like them, they are a monopoly! Get em boys!" Punishing a company for doing something well; anywhere that holds that logic sounds like a place I'd like to stay the hell away from.

Tell me, oh business wiz Joe, should companies strive to be friends with their competition, never trying to make a better product than them? Should the market taste stagnation once one company comes out with a product? How can you possibly think that's good for us consumers? I'll never understand your logic because your logic is derived from an illogical hate of a company's name with disregard for what they've done and can do properly.

If you want to be loose with the term monopoly, then Apple is a monopoly as well - no two ways about that. Since they are a monopoly, why wouldn't you want to see them challenged by Microsoft? Again, it all goes back to what's burned into your ignorant mind: Microsoft = bad, Apple = good. People who claim they want to prevent monopolies are really only out for the best interests of the companies they believe in.

Do you want to know what monopoly really means? It means that Company B cannot do as good of a job as Company A so they want to make an issue out of it and have somebody step in to give them a chance, because they can't make it on their own. It's literally like running to your mommy, tugging on her shirt, and saying that your older brother won't let you win at tag; she yells at your brother, he lets you win for a while, and you scurry off with a smirk of deception on your face.

I would much rather see competition in the portable market than trying to hold a company back because they might be better than your current favorite brand. I'd argue that the PS3 is a lot more than what it would've been had Xbox and Xbox 360 never existed. The Wii wouldn't be what it is today without the pressure from Sony and Microsoft and the direction they chose to take. Competition leads to progress for all companies and that means every customer wins.

People can have brand loyalties, that's all fine and good, but to let those loyalties get in the way of progress is simply selfish. It constantly astounds me the lacking foresight people have and the lengths they go to when trying to keep the status quo.

Nick

Monopoly = MS Windows 98

The zune wifi capabilities are crucial because the set the zune apart. MS cannot compete with apple directly so they need to differentiate.

well well sony was right all along they have copied the ipod exactly the same design. as well as the sony console. sony was right. by the way microsoft will never catch up to the apple ipod.

I'd love for someone to tell me where Microsoft said they were making a portable gaming system. People continuously throw that around like it is fact, and have been doing so for a number of years. Still, Microsoft developers and Microsoft IP continue to appear on Nintendo handhelds. You'd think, if Microsoft were to make a handheld gaming system, they would tell Rare to stop developing for the DS.

I'm not as smart as all these analysts I guess. I just can't see it.

Microsoft has something we call DEEP POCKETS, it doesn't matter how bad the Zune will be, they will keep coming out with more of them. Look at the X-Box for god's sake, didn't they lose money on the hardware for the entire span of the first generation. And from what I understand the 360 is losing them money now. How much money does Microsoft have in assests or even cash, probably billions.

This isn't going to be another one of those things that's touted as an alternative to the iPod then is only released in 512MB and 1GB versions is it? Cause I'm sick of those. Either release a product to compete with the 60GB model or don't release one at all.

Another year comes and another 'iPod-killer' is announced... Will Apple add it to the list of IPOD-KILLED?

Creative
Sony walkman brand
Napster
Walmart music online
Coca Cola Music store
etc...

To counter jGerka's amazing '11th ipod story,' I would like to state that my first-gen 5gig ipod is still kicking, battery and all, only retired for my 30gig iPod video, which is an awesome little device. I do understand that many gadgets have lemons in production occasionally, but iPods are definititly not 'garbage.' Apple makes solid products; that's part of the high Apple prices people bitch so much about.

.

"20. Someone talked about ACC and formating. Microsoft has said that, they will give you a download of all the son you bought off iTunes for free. I had doubts about this getting onto the final product but..."

you missed the point. AAC is the default encoder in iTunes. get it yet?

26. Microsoft has something we call DEEP POCKETS, it doesn't matter how bad the Zune will be, they will keep coming out with more of them. Look at the X-Box for god's sake, didn't they lose money on the hardware for the entire span of the first generation. And from what I understand the 360 is losing them money now. How much money does Microsoft have in assests or even cash, probably billions.

Just for the record, the hardware always sells at a loss. The companies always make their money back on the software. Sony will lose a lot more when per unit when the PS3 comes out. Nintendo is the only company to actually make a profit off their consoles.

Oh, and MS does have billions in the bank. Duh.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that this is just a rumor.

Either way, I laughed when I saw this thing. MS has to be kidding itself if it thinks it's little Zune will have any success...
First things first, MS...make Windows Media Player suck less. the interface is awful

It's not a rumor. Its a fact. You can even win a free Zune at the Zune Forums http://www.zunemax.com/forum/index.php

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Zune zooms straight past gaming?

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