Looking Back On Microsoft In 2015

 Microsoft's journey through 2015 was one filled with zig-zags and unexpected news, the attempts of a company trying to win back customers after a series of missteps that had people pulling away from the Xbox One. Just how successful were they?

Let's take a look back on Microsoft's achievements and stumbles this year and find out.

Games With Gold Improves

This year Games With Gold, Microsoft's answer to PS Plus, was seriously improved, with a plethora of great games available to Gold members: Assassin's Creed IV, Rayman Legends, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.

R.I.P. Kinect?

The Kinect hasn't ever been the strongest part of Xbox's brand and it seems like Microsoft is doing its best to leave the device in the past, selling Xbox units that don't include the Kinect and not mentioning the device at all during the E3 presentation.

Rare Replay Is A Delightful Surprise

Rare Replay, a compilation of 30 games developed by Rare, was unveiled at Microsoft's E3 announcement. Nostalgia grabs and remastered collections are all the rage these days but Replay is notable for the generous amount of content you get (essentially a whole game for every dollar you spend) and the clear amount of care that was taken with compiling these games and polishing them for the collection.

Kyle Hilliard gave the collection a score of 8.75 in his review and wrote: "I have little reason not to recommend Rare Replay, even to those who don't have nostalgia for the studio. The breadth of content is impressive, and each game has been faithfully ported and upgraded in ways that don't interfere the original experience. It serves as an exciting reminder of Rare's best years and makes seeing the developer's iconic blue and gold logo exciting all over again."

Microsoft Gets Into The Premium Accessories Game

Microsoft teamed up with Scuf Gaming to create a very nice (and very expensive) controller, The Xbox One Elite Controller. Is it worth the cash? Brian Shea played around with it and had some thoughts:

"The Xbox One Elite controller is one of the most versatile controllers ever released, but it's meant for the hardcore gamer. At $150, it's an outstanding premium option that holds several advantages over Scuf's pads. However, if you just want a more comfortable controller and don't plan on digging into the tuning options or learning to use the paddles, you can probably save some cash by using aftermarket products to modify your existing gamepad."

The publisher also later put out a bundle containing the Elite Controller and a 1 TB SSHD as an attempt to court hardware enthusiasts. It'll be interesting to see what other high-end peripherals that Microsoft decides to trot out for the Xbox next year.

Microsoft Admits Stumbles

During a candid interview in October, head of Xbox Phil Spencer said he felt as though Microsoft had "fundamentally lost" the trust of the company's most loyal customers. Spencer went on to say that he would stop talking about competing with Sony and would focus on improving the console and keeping customers happy.

The New Xbox One Experience Launches

In November, Microsoft brought a large update to the Xbox One called the New Xbox One Experience (NXOE). This update included a new, less cluttered dashboard, better community features and, most notable of all, backwards compatibility for over 100 games. NXOE didn't fix all of the console's problems but it's a good start.

Microsoft's E3 Show Is Strong

Outside of the noticeable absence of the Kinect, Microsoft's E3 show had a lot going for it. The games they showcased (Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears Of War 4) were interesting enough on their own, but the news that blew the house down was that Microsoft was bringing backwards compatibility to the Xbox One as well as early access to games before they've finished development.

Halo 5: Guardians

Halo 5 was released in October and received mostly favorable reviews as well as bringing in $400 million during its first week of sale. Matt Miller gave the game a 8.75 in his review and wrote:

"If the last major entry represented 343 taking possession of the Halo house, this new installment shows it is ready to move the furniture around and make it their own. Some aspects of the game feel different than what longtime players have come to expect, but I'm happy to see a willingness to innovate. Despite some missteps, Halo 5 is an easy recommendation for the predominant moments during which the game shines."

Backwards Compatibility!

Microsoft rolled out the backwards compatibility function alongside the dashboard update in November as part of the NXOE, letting players play any of these titles on the Xbox One for free as long as they have a copy of the game (digitally or on disc) they want to play. An update in December added more backwards compatible games, and Microsoft has committed to regular updates. If nothing else, having backwards compatibility is a great PR move for the company, especially when compared with PlayStation selling emulated PS2 games on its store.

Developers and publishers wasted no time putting backwards compatibility to use. Popular Xbox One game series released in 2015 often included installments from the previous generation as an incentive for buying that copy of the game. Fallout 3 was included with Fallout 4, Gears of War Ultimate edition gave players access to every Gears of War game, and Rainbow Six Siege included copies of both Rainbow Six: Vegas games. Not too shabby.

Bundles Galore

Microsoft hit the holiday season hard with a number of console bundles to tempt people on the fence of buying an Xbox One. Among the most notable was a bundle that packaged both The Tomb Raider reboot and Rise of the Tomb Raider, another that had Halo 5, a bundle that included Rare Replay and Ori And The Blind Forest. The amount of bundles available here isn't too surprising, as news editor Mike Futter points out: "Holding the price steady and incentivizing purchases with software that doesn’t increase the purchase price was a winning success last holiday."

Microsoft Stops Reporting Consoles Shipped

In late October, Microsoft announced that they would not be reporting console shipment statistics every quarter and would instead focus on Xbox Live usership instead. A curious choice, but one that might be tied to Spencer's statement about not focusing on competition with Nintendo and Sony as much.

The Tomb Raider Rises

Launching as a timed exclusive on the same day as Fallout 4 might have been a questionable series of decisions, but that doesn't stop Rise Of The Tomb Raider from being a quality adventure game. Kimberly Wallace reviewed the game, giving it a score of 9.5, and said:

"Rise of the Tomb Raider captures the thrill of being an adventurer and leaves you thinking about Lara's next move. You have daredevil sequences, heroic moments, fun exploration, and exciting fights that even Indiana Jones would envy. If Crystal Dynamics keeps raising the bar from here, I can't wait to see what's next for Lara."

Strong Looking 2016 Exclusives

The Xbox One had some great exclusive games this year and chances are it'll have at least a few more next year, with Crackdown 3, Quantum Break, Gears Of War 4, Scalebound, ReCore, and Cuphead all on the way.  After a rough start Microsoft is getting back on track by focusing on what Xbox One owners want, like backwards compatibility and a less cluttered user interface, and getting an appealing lineup of games ready for 2016. For both Microsoft and Xbox One owners, there's a good chance that the best is yet to come.