I'm a Marvel fan, and so naturally, I'm extremely hyped about Deadpool and Wolverine. As a grown adult that's actually a teenager inside, Deadpool is one of my favorite franchises.
Xbox has got in on the action, too, with a promotional collaboration with Marvel to tie in with the big launch of the new movie. I chose the words very carefully there, because this is, in almost every sense, a promotion of Deadpool and Wolverine, less so anything Xbox fans can really be excited for.
And I'm pissed. I don't need an excuse to be excited about the movie (I've actually already seen it as I write this), and I don't usually need an excuse to get excited for Xbox. I love Xbox. But this hook up with Marvel is everything wrong with Xbox marketing.
Why the hell can't we buy any of this stuff?
A controller and console built for social engagement
This whole collaboration seems to have been created for little more than social media engagement. I guess that's what keeps the lights on at Microsoft these days, rather than cash money? I've even literally just seen a reel from the Xbox UK team where the presenter was holding the Deadpool controller, and didn't even mention it.
It's like they're taunting us at this point.
Do I want to buy an Xbox controller with magnetic butt cheeks? You bet I do, and I know I'm not alone. Would I settle for a less curvy version that was still dressed up in Deadpool red or Wolverine yellow? Of course. Again, I'm not alone.
Xbox releases a new colorway of its controller so often I've lost count of how many there even are these days. And yet this one, even if it was limited in time or quantity, would absolutely fly off the shelves.
I get it on one hand, everyone wants a piece of the hottest movie of the summer. Ryan Reynolds has been tapped up by Tim Hortons, Fortnite has, naturally, skins coming back into the game. Xbox wants in, but doesn't want our money? Is this social media play expected to somehow increase sales of consoles? Game Pass? What's the endgame?
The thing we can get, but also can't buy
Then there's the Deadpool and Wolverine controller holder. Great, a product us mere mortals can actually acquire! But not too hasty Fat Gandalf, there's a $130 catch called the Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 Core controller.
You can get the controller holder for free, but you have to buy the controller. Not the Deadpool controller, which would make way too much sense, but an expensive controller completely unrelated. So that's the play!
You're probably detecting a lot of snark and cynicism, and you'd be right. Recently, my colleague, Jez Corden, explored the fact that it seems like Xbox doesn't really care about marketing in the EMEA region, and we all remember the lack of Hellblade 2 marketing right up until the last moments before launch.
Oh, and naturally, the free controller holder offer is only available in the U.S. and Canada anyway. Because of course it is. The rest of the world is a pretty big place, and we all have money we'd like to spend on nice things.
A big missed opportunity that the competition hit with
PlayStation has been seen as more of a platform for Marvel fans in recent times, with their incredible Spider-Man games, and the already announced Wolverine title being made by the same team. Sony seems to get it, too. The video above shows the Spider-Man 2 edition of the PS5 and a controller people could actually buy. I almost, almost, succumbed to it myself.
And yet Xbox has teamed up with Marvel, and we get, well, nothing. Why isn't there a wrap for the Xbox Series X? Why no controllers at all, and why on earth can't we just BUY that controller holder? I'm annoyed enough I didn't get to the cinema early enough to buy the limited stock Deadpool head popcorn buckets.
I'm a good example of the type of person Xbox could be targeting here. I love special editions, I hit buy the moment I could on the 20th Anniversary Xbox controller, I've since sourced a pair of the anniversary shoes released in collaboration with adidas. I've got money ready and waiting, as do many others, but Xbox doesn't seem to want it, rather our clicks on their social media. It's incredibly frustrating.
