Swappable faceplates on the Xbox 360 wasnât a bad idea, says the consoleâs marketing boss but, looking back, it came in a little late, especially for a fad based on mobile phones.
âWe donât ever create an accessory with the intent of having it failâ, Albert Penello told Official Xbox Magazine. âThe idea wasnât bad ⌠people used to put faceplates on their cell phones. Rewind five years, faceplates were what everybody wanted to do.â
Rewind four years,though, and people had already given up on it for the 360. Modders and artists who took the time to custom-paint their consoles found the swappable faces a convenience, and there were more than a few cool pics of what some had done with theirs. But commercially the thing was a flop.
âIt turned out nobody bought it. We killed that one pretty quickly,â Penello admits. Microsoft has not made official faceplates for a few years, and the Xbox 360 Slim, of course, does not have the option.
Perhaps the reason the swappable faceplate craze couldnât catch on with a console is because the thing stays in your living room 24/7; no oneâs pulling it out of a purse to show off at a bar or a party.
Penello: âNobody Boughtâ Xbox 360 Faceplates [Official Xbox Magazine]
