Microsoft Seems Unsettled With Xbox One

We are finally coming up to the next generation of consoles; we will have the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. When E3 came about and Microsoft leading up to it and during it was doing everything wrong. The problems seemed endless and on top of all of it they didn't seem to grasp the concept of what gamers wanted. Almost felt sorry for their ignorance. However, Microsoft just kept digging themselves deeper.

[PSVita]

Actually a fair and honest article.

[Cmk0121]

they had a clear vision, fans hated it they changed it to meet fans vision. Fanboys complain endless that changing to meet there wants is doing 180 thus here her are.

[colonel179]

But that's the point. Just like the article said, what is Microsoft's vision for the Xbox One then? Right now they have a different product than what it was revealed. What people don't get is that Microsoft doesn't care about vision or the product or the consumers. They want the money. If the Wii U was selling like pancakes right now, they would have put a screen on the controller, or do something to counter that and do it too. Microsoft did all those 180 because they don't want Sony to have any advantage whatsoever with the PS4. Their product wasn't well received, so they preferred to make it as equal as possible to the competition.

[abzdine]

worst console in history so far, shame that such a big corp makes so many mistakes in a very short time.

[Rimeskeem]

im not sure if they changed policies because of fans or because of pre orders but either way they made the console better and I am thinking of buying it with my other consoles

[creatchee]

@colonel79

"But that's the point. Just like the article said, what is Microsoft's vision for the Xbox One then?"

The vision has changed, albeit not the direction. What Microsoft originally going for was a uniform user base - everyone with a regular connection to the internet, everyone with Kinect, and everyone with their games installed onto their hard drives.

DRM/check-ins, always-connected Kinect, and an unclear trade-in system were the prices of these. These were the also the main complaints about the Xbox One after the reveal.

However, the vision of uniformity would have had many benefits. Developers could assume a near-constant internet connection and a 100% Kinect adoption rate and develop games accordingly, whether with cloud or persistent online aspects, and of course, Kinect functionality where appropriate. DRM/check-ins would have significantly cut down on piracy and "unauthorized" sharing, while allowing "authorized" sharing with the family plan, whatever it really was. The trade-in system would have allowed developers and publishers to be compensated for their intellectual property rather than JUST resellers.

The problem is that Microsoft's first 180 was not the DRM elimination - it was the Xbox One itself. The One in its original form, whether you loved it or hated it, was completely different than what every other console was before it. It wasnt just one big change or upgrade like most consoles are from their predecessors - it was a complete about face from what any of us were used to. And it scared a lot of us.

Game ownership, spying, connection issues, and a bunch of other things (whether justified as true problems or not) were right in the faces of people who had to decide whether they wanted it or not, or at least wanted to see what it was all about. Bottom line - the One was full of concepts dissident to what we as gamers had come to expect for a home gaming console. And we weren't ready to make such big changes or accept what Microsoft was telling us was their best presentation of the way a console works for the next generation.

As for now, I think that while they've made significant changes to their policies, they are still headed in the same direction as their original vision, albeit in a limited capacity. Kinect is still in every box (at the moment), but you don't have to hook it up. You have to connect to the internet at least once, which typically means that you do have internet available at least occasionally. The DRM is gone on disc-based games, but they've kept full game installs and have hinted at bringing back family sharing for digital games. So while there have been changes on requirements, you can still operate as the original Xbox One was intended to run for the most part.

Time will tell if they've made the right moves or not. However, they have given us no shortage of things to talk about, and we're now being informed at levels that some might consider overkill. All in all, we're back at where we began - we'll see how it turns out when it's released.

[devwan]

@colonel197 "If the Wii U was selling like pancakes right now, they would have put a screen on the controller"

Had to laugh there, nicely put.

[rainslacker]

@creachtree

"The vision has changed, albeit not the direction. What Microsoft originally going for was a uniform user base - everyone with a regular connection to the internet, everyone with Kinect, and everyone with their games installed onto their hard drives."

Snipped the DRM stuff because we know the argument.

So the gist of this argument is that MS tried to be as non-inclusive as possible. They turned away users who didn't meet THEIR criteria. Isn't that kind of a ass-backwards way of releasing a gaming machine?

The reason Sony is so popular among so many different groups isn't just because they make some good games...it's because they are extremely inclusive with their devices. Even with their $600 PS3, they put as many things as they could in there to include different markets and customers. Same with Nintendo. Their whole company line is centered around inclusion and they are liked by most gamers, even though they go through dry spells, there aren't many who hate Nintendo.

[Thatguy-310]

They should have just gone with the vision they saw. They sort of lost sight of what they want to go for. I mean hopefully at Gamescon they can explain their new vision.

[Godmars290]

And by pre-orders that was shaping up to into a train wreck.

[s8anicslayer]

Instead of backtracking they should've just fully explained the benefits of their visions instead of the "If you don't like it, we have the 360 for that" approach and marketed it better,or maybe just actually sold their policies like true salesmen! Everything just seemed like smoke and mirrors, the public saw that and they got the backlash that they deserved for being unprepared for the big show.

[MWong]

Gotta agree with you. While their initial vision didn't sound great, they should've explained it. They should have told us what the benefits of this vision were. What they did as you mentioned was say,"oh you can't go online, we have a console for you called the XB360."

Now, M$ is explaining a little bit of what they're doing. However, they really have no vision, they just want to clean up the train wreck.

[rainslacker]

I honestly wondered if people would have accepted anything MS said if they tried to explain it. But I will agree that they should have tried. When asked the serious questions, they talked down to the fan base, or pulled out lines like "Did you see the games!!!?".

It's car salesmanship, and MS should know better.

[Transporter47]

Their Vision atm is non existent. They developed this console over so many years just to be changed months before release, honestly I as a customer I am weary of this and on a wait to see, not getting it launch day but maybe next year if I see something i like. Ps4 Day One for me though.

[ShwankyShpanky]

Vision this, vision that... more like a hallucination born of unchained hubris.

[jmac53]

It's the 3rd console curse!

[DivineAssault]

they dont know what they wanna do.. I think theyre sweating & dont know what to do cuz PS4 pre orders are stomping them into the ground world wide.. Im not dismissing XB1 anymore cuz theyre making better decisions now but unless i see strong eastern support, i dont want it.. PS4 has everything i need/want in a nx gen system & have no use for xb1 at the moment.. Bring on some more 3rd party exclusives i want & maybe ill get it when they dont force kinect on u

[ape007]

make a kinectless xbox one at 399$ or 350$ or sony gonna win easily

people don't care, they jumped from SNES to PS1 and from PS2 to Xbox 360

all they want is an affordable system that have games and ps4 is cheaper and at the same time is not weaker, not weak like PS1 compared to N64 or Ps2 compared to xbox

ps4 appears to be the ULTIMATE choice based on that model of thinking, cheap and not weak

kinect is not the next big thing, making something that is a side prephral as a mandatory purchase is wrong and will backfire at MS, no xbox gamer i know like kinect, not that it's bad or something, just make it OPTIONAL

[Dno]

good point.

[AceofStaves]

Agreed. If nothing else, this current gen proved that a higher price can hinder a console's adoption. It didn't matter that the launch model PS3s were backwards-compatible and the cheapest Blu-Ray players on the market at that time. The price tag was too high for the average consumer.

Price is a stronger factor than some people realize.

[shivvy24]

true! i got a ps3 but didnt see its advantage over xbox until 2009 when games like killzone2 and uncharted2 showed what the console was capable of !

[Cmk0121]

while winning is the goal for them its not for the consumer, MS will put out a top notch console to match sonys and all will be ok. perspective is acknowleding the wii won last gen BUHHHH.....

[hardcorehippiez]

last gen is not done yet and when all is said and done the ps3 will outsell the wii putting it back into number one although not by a great margin this time . congrats to nintendo and micro though because all consoles did well this gen. next gen will be a different story though.

[McScroggz]

I just don't see "winning" as a binary thing. Sure, the Wii sold the most units and copies of games while making by a good margin the most money. From any financial standpoint the Wii did "win." However, it was a short term success that quickly died down and now Nintendo's next console is struggling mightily and a part of the reason is because Nintendo further cemented their reputation as a maker of weak consoles without third party support, and only a few new IP's. Because of the Wii and now Wii U, Nintendo seems to have a growing divide between what modern gamers want and Nintendo's philosophy.

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 developed a bad reputation the second half of this generation that it clearly hurting the Xbox One. Sure, 80 million units sold is good (and Xbox Live makes a ton of money) but with or without the 180's the Xbox One was always going to have a negative perception starting this generation.

Then there is Sony, who I'm willing to bet made the least amount of money this generation. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are basically tied for hardware sales and the PS3 is behind overall software sales, but the PS3 looks to still have a decent few years to go. But, more importantly, even though there have been some issues with the PS3 - namely PSN getting hacked - Sony developed a reputation for offering the best and most diverse gaming library between the three consoles while also earning a lot of respect and love for PS+ and the feeling that Sony is very generous (really its just smart business, but we are talking perception).

It's easy to see why people disregard the Wii. For most people it was, or became, a secondary console or just a machine for casual gamers that don't play many games at all. Between the PS3 and Xbox 360 I THINK the PS3 is slightly ahead in hardware sales (after launching a year later) but the Xbox 360 is ahead in software sales. So what does it all mean? Who really won this gen?

I think it's silly to say anybody "wins." There are only losers, like the Dreamcast.

[Rimeskeem]

Problem is that the kinect is something they need or else the kinect itself wont be useful at all

[iHEARTboobs]

I'm willing to bet that they will eventually start to sell them without kinect. Moreso now that it doesn't have to be plugged in. My guess is they'll wait and see how it sells and come next year if it's not selling as well as the PS4, you'll most likely see the kinect-less xbone.

[theWB27]

These kind of articles make no sense what so ever.

They showed a product...people weren't happy.

They reverse everything people didn't like...and now they don't seem to know what they're doing. WTF kind of logic is that?

People must not know what they really want then. Cause that's what every reversal has been about...appeasing the customer.

[fossilfern]

Your right. Their vision was screwing over customers and people weren't happy and they saw the statistics and done something about it, simple.

[MasterCornholio]

"With any logic and intelligence you'd see that they were moving with the times - everything is going digital at some point. "

http://www.computerandvideo...

""We're shifting our platform more and more to the digital side - PS4 will be similar to PS Vita in that every game will be available as a digital download, and some will also be available as a disc...."

Whats stopping you from buying only digital copies?

"If you're an ignorant ....... then yes it would seem their vision was "screwing over customers"."

Also this was how the XBOX One was going to "screw consumers"."

http://www.ign.com/articles...

"“With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies.""

"“We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers...."

And what about those without an internet connection?

http://games.yahoo.com/blog...

""We have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity - it's called Xbox 360," Don Mattrick told Geoff Keighley on GameTrailers."

Many of their policies have changed but that doesnt change the fact that they tried to be unfair to consumers in the past with the XBOX One.

[GryestOfBluSkies]

its pretty sound logic actually.
a lot of people take brand loyalty pretty seriously. MS breached their loyal customers trust, and now people are unhappy with them and dont trust them.
in this case, 'my bad, heres what you want' is too little too late

[theWB27]

There's a distinct difference between not choosing to buy a product and complaining about it, getting the things you want and still complaining, saying they don't know what their vision is.

They had a vision, people didn't like it. Their new vision is giving people what they're asking for.

You can do that...brand loyalty is fickle. I'm a pretty decent guy, got some layers to me and care about alot of things. When it comes to electronics I'm pretty shallow, give me what I want and I'll be there, especially enjoyment.

I'm not a Playstation guy at all. But I bought a PS3 cause I wanted to game beyond my 360. Brand loyalty would've prevented me from experiencing what it had to offer this gen..and I would be stupid to voluntarily miss out. Same this coming gen. Don't care for the PS4 as a console...X1 fills my need. But I'd be stupid to miss on the games to come out on the PS4 cause of misplaced loyalty.

[rainslacker]

MS "Vision" started with the first Xbox. Their "Vision" was to be the center of everyone's living room. Even the most ardent fan boy should know this fact. MS said it themselves before the consoles release...with great pride I might add.

They saw the way PC was going long before the Xbox ever came out, and they wanted to be ready for it. I think what they didn't expect was the smart device/tablet revolution, which they were totally unprepared for, even years after it started.

MS is still holding true to their vision. It is more than apparent that all the changes they made are being made because it's the only way that they can become the center of everyone's living room.

There is nothing wrong with having this vision. To achieve it it means you have to give the customers what they want, in a package they're willing to pay for.

MS vision is unchanged. There was no new vision with the Xbox One. The entire product is geared to be the biggest step they've ever made in becoming the center of the living room. Every feature showcased at the event made it blindingly obvious that they were finally making the big step to achieve their goals. It's their initial policies that screwed everything up.

I doubt MS is lamenting the loss of control over it's distribution methods, given how much they would have lost on achieving their true goal. The initial policies were to make an extra buck, but served no purpose to what they want to achieve in the long run.

Too many fan comments on here either have very short memories, or simply weren't around when the fist Xbox was released. I highly encourage anyone who blindly follows MS to go and look into the history of the console. It is quite interesting. It has it's ups and downs, but you would learn a lot about where MS started in the game industry, how they got to where they are today, and how far they've come to get to where they want to be.

MS was doing great taking the long road to get to the prize. One little pothole derailed them, and now they have to fix the wheel to get back on track. I wish them the best of luck.

[TrollCraftTales]

People are mad because they didn't want certain things, but some things looked cool, but then they took out everything to basically make a more expensive PS4 with slightly different games... Also some people don't trust MS after them trying to put those restrictions on us in the first place...

[Christopher]

@theWB27: My only contention here is that they had to backpedal on so much already and it wasn't because of "what" customers said but because of poor pre-order numbers.

Remember, these guys were the ones who said, absolutely, that they weren't changing their plans and knew what was best for the customer. They derided a few who questioned them on how easy it would be to change these concepts. They derided those who wouldn't be able to utilize their product by saying to stick with older products.

Then, with all that derision, they literally flip the switches that they said couldn't be flipped to appease the people they derided.

So, for me, it's not about them changing to make us happy, it's how it all went down all together and knowing that this would never have been done if pre-order numbers were going as planned.

If Microsoft comes out with a non-Kinect version of the Xbox One and keeps going "in the right direction" I will likely get an Xbox One. But, much like how I can't forgive Sony for their lackluster networking/online infrastructure, i can't forgive Microsoft for their fairly anti-consumer concepts.

[McScroggz]

What kind of reductive logic are you using? Microsoft had a vision for the Xbox One; what they wanted it to be and the policies to help shape that vision. By changing these policies, they are actively acknowledging that they had a poor vision and not the conviction to stick with it. Without vision, products end up being safe and not progressive. This is a problem.

Here's an example. Sony, after being burned by Nintendo on its CD expansion, decided to develop a console that only used CD's. Nintendo stuck with cartridges, but the low cost and ease of use for CD's helped lead to the PS1's incredible library and very strong first party support. It also made others use a disc based delivery system going forward. Without Sony's vision to use CD's the cost of development, thus the cost of games, would have been higher in the late 90's and who knows where we would be now.

Or, the original Xbox. Microsoft put an Ethernet port with no support for dial-up connections because they wanted to create a robust online community and dial-up connections were too slow and inconsistent for quality online interactions. Many people starting upgrading their internet to play the Xbox online, not only helping the country's online infrastructure but really popularizing online features. What would online play be like today if Microsoft wasn't so aggressive with their vision for online play? Well, Nintendo is still struggling.

So yeah, vision is very important for a company. And clearly Microsoft had a poor vision and wasn't confident in it.

[jmac53]

The problem is the execs at MS. When the first Xbox and the 360 came out they had people who really cared about gaming and wanted to take the PC experience to consoles. Now, mostly because of the Wii, you have people in charge that are chasing after the casual and TV watching market. Most of the people who had vision with the 360 are now long gone.

[cyberninja]

I'd say they clueless...

[NatureOfLogic]

I respected MS much more sticking with their original vision even though I didn't agree with it. All of these 180s has made me very cautious of MS products in the future.

[Convas]

http://n4g.com/news/1278919...

Anyone with a brain can see you've been against MS from day one, and looking over your comment history, you've been crucifying them every. step. of. the. way.

[No_Limit]

Yea, and I can't believe he said "I respected MS much more sticking with their original vision even though I didn't agree with i" with a straight face.

He is one of the worst at bashing MS on the old DRM policies and telling gamers that they need to stop buying XB1 due to DRM. Now it is " 180s has made me very cautious of MS products in the future". LOL, you got to love the logic of this cat.

[DragonKnight]

@No_Limit: How do you know he said it with a straight face? He could have been dying of laughter while typing it, or crying, or whatever.

[No_Limit]

All the changes are for the better like the Unity and self publishing announcement for Indies, the included headset, 53mhz increase in GPU speed, and of course the 180 DRM. Keep doing what you are doing MS and thanks for continuing on listening to feedbacks to make the product better.

[devwan]

Yes, all the changes result in a better games console than the one they announced for the potential consumer, but at the end of the day it's still not better enough to make many people rethink their decision to steer clear of the One after the initial outcry. It also begs the question "why didn't you offer all this to begin with?".

Also, there still 100 reasons why it's not even on a par with ps4, in US currency at least. And there's that camera many people don't want and now it turns out they don't even have to use... but *have* to buy and keep in the box...? Doesn't seem fair. Then there's the uneasy feeling one gets when considering a company that will seemingly now do pretty much anything to get you to buy into their system with all their flip-flopping - there's no confidence here in such a company from the neutral console gamer.

You're looking at things from an xbox brand loyalist perspective. It all seems so obvious to you because you know this and you know that and you want to believe. Most people aren't like that, they will go where the value is and will follow the pack. That's the hard reality Microsoft have to face over the next year and their challenge to overcome.

[No_Limit]

" It also begs the question "why didn't you offer all this to begin with?".

That statement makes no sense and is not important to most people except diehard fanboys because the system is still in production and in finalizing stages. It is not the same as say the PS3 releases the DS3 with rumble a year after the Sixasis due to backlash.

"You're looking at things from an xbox brand loyalist perspective"

Nope, I am looking at it from a logical point of perspective. For many people that are deciding to buy the console at launch, the DRM thing will be ancient history once they get to play with their new toy and games such as Killer Instinct and Forza 5. If people can get over RROD and the PSN hacked fiasco that actually took placed and affected their gaming , then changes made to better the customer's demand way before launch will be like a non-issue to most people (except diehard fanboys, of course).

Like I said in the past, people that have no interest in getting the XB1 in the first place will not get it regardless of what MS does. For X360 gamers that was upset about the DRM policies, they are elastic about the DRM 180 and for those that don't really care that much and preferred digital, it doesn't matter either way.

For me, I can care less if the PS4 sells more than the XB1 as long as the XB1 also does well and getting tons of games and services. I like the games, the services, the online structure, and the controller. That is all that matter to me and a lot of folks. Haters going to hate.

[devwan]

@No_Limit "For me, I can care less if the PS4 sells more than the XB1"

What you care about is irrelevant - it's Microsoft that we're discussing. They care if they're going to sell 4 or 5 times less units than ps4 at launch, especially when they previously said they're weren't aiming to sell 80m units this time but 400m to one billion. Those numbers seem a long way off right now.

"Haters going to hate."

Someone having an opposing persuasion to yourself if not haters hating, it's another human being who thinks just differently, that's all, that's why we discuss.

[DragonKnight]

@No_Limit: "That statement makes no sense and is not important to most people except diehard fanboys because the system is still in production and in finalizing stages. It is not the same as say the PS3 releases the DS3 with rumble a year after the Sixasis due to backlash."

Actually the statement makes no sense to Xbox One fanboys only. To the rest of the population it makes perfect sense. There was no logical reason to not offer offline gaming and remove a dependence on the Kinect camera right from the start. It was a cash grab plain and simple, one they could have kept had they made it optional. The difference between the DS3 and the Xbox One is a legal one, not a "vision" for the console.

"Nope, I am looking at it from a logical point of perspective."

Judging from your previous statement, you have foregone logic.

"For many people that are deciding to buy the console at launch, the DRM thing will be ancient history once they get to play with their new toy and games such as Killer Instinct and Forza 5."

If they are buying it at launch already, then the DRM issue is already history for them and won't be a consideration ever. It's the people who have always been on the fence or decided to skip the console due to the DRM that matter. They are the ones that need to be won over and they are the ones that have a percentage of people that won't trust Microsoft any longer.

"For X360 gamers that was upset about the DRM policies, they are elastic about the DRM 180 and for those that don't really care that much and preferred digital, it doesn't matter either way."

For one, I think you meant ecstatic. And secondly, you can't make those determinations. There are more than a few X360 gamers that have still skipped on the Xbox One due to lack of faith, cost, and other factors.

[corvusmd]

As far as opinion articles go, this one is actually rather fair. However, in the end, he states that if MS just announced the XB1 as the console stands today, he would have no reservations about getting one.... well in all fairness, he should consider it that way. After the change in leadership at MS...this console refined itself to how it is almost immediately...so in a way...this IS what the new leadership at MS revealed the console as. True, in actuality it was revealed already, and got backlash for some things...however, when companies release a product like this, they do research before hand to see what their consumers like, then adjust accordingly (just like how SOny too was planning on DRM then saw the backlash MS was getting, and they did a 180 before announcing it http://www.tomshardware.com... ) It just so happens, that unfortunately for the new leadership at MS, the old leadership gave them this "research" by announcing the system. Now the new leadership was placed in a position where they have to play catch up.

NO ONE knows the backlash of gamers now (esp about DRM/Always on) like MS does...they aren't the multi-billion dollar company with multiple times bigger pockets than Sony because they are stupid...they see that they will have to win the gamers they lost back....and over time they will. XB1 is an amazing system that does amazing things with amazing games...this generation ALL gamers are getting spoiled. As time goes on, and anticipation shifts to reality...we will all see how great the XB1 is, and fear of the unknown will subside. MS being the ever-adapting company that they are will use their deep pockets to win back the audience, and after seeing how badly it backlashed on them before...they will know to stay the course (just like how he pointed out Sony made mistakes with PS3...did 180s...admitted mistakes...and now are moving on...it's the same thing). Games on both systems look and play amazing, both systems have exclusives that drive their audience nuts. MS has GREATLY upgraded their network to nothing we have seen before. Gakai isn't even on the top ten in the list of most dedicated servers, where as MS has over 1 Million... at least 300,000 being dedicated to XB1 at launch...and with $700 million (more than double what Sony spent buying Gaikai just a year ago) going into developing a new server facility in Idaho. Not to mention that each individual server that MS is using is the best on the market right now. MP/Online gaming/MMOs/Massive world games will all make players want to play on XB1 and the integration of cloud computing (which only MS has and yes it's a real thing and will only get better,,but at launch over 500,000 updates a second!?!?!? http://www.youtube.com/watc... ).

Time will heal all wounds....just ask Sony...and MS has much deeper pockets than Sony to fix this.

*Easier to read sever count list: http://www.datacenterknowle...

[CRAIG667]

Well put man.

[solidworm]

All that money for a console that will likely lose them a fortune. Bet the shareholders are gonna be real happy. Microsoft have been throwing money at people and problems forever and see where its got them.

[DragonKnight]

"just like how SOny too was planning on DRM then saw the backlash MS was getting, and they did a 180 before announcing it http://www.tomshardware.com...

False.

http://www.playstationlifes...

"they aren't the multi-billion dollar company with multiple times bigger pockets than Sony because they are stupid..."

Windows is why they are rich, not intelligence. The market saturation of their OS is nearly absolute with pretty much no competition. They could come out acting like monkeys and still be rich because of Windows. Most people who buy computers from BestBuy or Walmart or wherever don't even understand who owns the OS or that there is any other option and don't care.

"MS being the ever-adapting company that they are will use their deep pockets to win back the audience."

Again, deep pockets doesn't mean anything. It never has. It's a smart strategy that will work over throwing money at something.

"Gakai isn't even on the top ten in the list of most dedicated servers, where as MS has over 1 Million... at least 300,000 being dedicated to XB1 at launch...and with $700 million (more than double what Sony spent buying Gaikai just a year ago) going into developing a new server facility in Idaho."

All of that is irrelevant when you consider that the two are using their cloud services for different things at the moment. Plus, don't buy into the hyped numbers because 300,000 servers could easily include virtual servers. Also, what Sony spend on buying Gaikai does not correlate to what will be spent in supporting it.

"Not to mention that each individual server that MS is using is the best on the market right now."

Source.

"MP/Online gaming/MMOs/Massive world games will all make players want to play on XB1 and the integration of cloud computing (which only MS has and yes it's a real thing and will only get better,,but at launch over 500,000 updates a second!?!?!?"

MS' history shows a disdain for MMO's so don't count on many. Plus you're naive if you think cloud computing is about that PR spiel of making one Xbox One have the power of 3 or X amount of Xbox One's. It will not work that way, bet on it.

"Time will heal all wounds....just ask Sony...and MS has much deeper pockets than Sony to fix this."

And for a final time, deep pockets can buy bright watches but can't erase everything.

[corvusmd]

So the President of Sony tells a respected Japanese Magazine that it was the plan...but you're gonna take something out of context from the American Sony CEO and say I'm wrong...well done fanboy.

You've clearly already shown that you don't care about things like Facts...cause they get in the way of your argument. I won't dignify the rest of your ramblings with any response because it's not worth it..you clearly have no clue what is going on. Except one thing that cracks me up...I state source after source when it's not clearly something that is my opinion...then you find one little thing and tell me to state my source...but ALL of your ramblings have NO factual backing and the ONE thing you source is invalid and older than my source...well done sir. You keep swinging from Sony's testicles...I'm sure it'll work out fine for you...I recommend starting to look at facts BEFORE you make your argument from now on.

[DragonKnight]

The President of Sony Japan first of all, and secondly he never said they changed their minds, he said the feedback was a useful source but before that he said "It's not that our hardware policies are decided strictly based on user reaction like this" meaning they already had the plan in mind and user feedback merely helped them to see they made the right choice. Basic reading comprehension, learn it fanboy.

You haven't stated any facts. You posted one link that was disproven by the fact you don't understand how to read and that's all. Clearly you're a proponent of hype over fact and you will believe any little thing MS says to you. Try again MS Fanboy.

[CRAIG667]

I don't care about "vision" I just want killer instinct NOW!

[solidworm]

Microsoft are being led by the nose by SONY/FACTOID.

[corvusmd]

couldn't be further from the truth.

[tokugawa]

factoid, you are another annoying sony troll solidworm

[solidworm]

Thats the problem with the truth, shes a bitch.

[Gridloc]

Has the Xbox one passed its FCC certification yet? With the U.S. being the Xboxs home turf, wouldn't you expect the certification already? Hard to start mass producing a product without all your ducks in a row. With 3 months to launch , time doesn't seem to be on their side.

[tokugawa]

that is very strange gridloc. although i read that manufacture could commence without certification.

it seems that they are hiding something. but what?

yeah i am excited for gamescom. but in all honesty, i am looking forward to microsoft talking about xbo at hotchip at the end of the month

[Gridloc]

I think the console and Kinect have to be FCC certified. Not sure though...

[PtRoLLFacE]

Mandatory Kinect should stayed like it was, now there no point in including with every console, if feels like just another add on, this Kinect has a lot potential that the first one couldn't deliver, imagine a
scp 173 game with Kinect

[jmc8888]

What would keeping it mandatory of done?

None of the people that are rightfully understanding of its spying implications wants anything to do with it.

Thus they can stick their guns and lose tens of millions of sales, and the money from the software...

Or they could backtrack on the most advanced piece of spytech ever created and allow those tens of millions a legitimate reason to buy the Xbox One.

How does it not being mandatory change anything with how it feels.

Don't lead your life based on hype and perception, base it off reality.

If you liked it before, you'll like it now. But you will be spied on, and you will be exploited if you have it connected.

How can anyone with common sense say that it not being mandatory changes your perception of the product. It really makes no sense. Like you need to be told what something is because you can't make up your own mind.

Like you don't have a good time when you go somewhere unless one of your friends first says...this is great.

I'm not trying to knock you, just is seems rather silly why giving people choice bothers you. This choice is immensely beneficial for developers.

Non-mandatory Kinect2 will give devs far more sales and far more of a reason to use Kinect2 in their games, then a mandatory Kinect2.

Simply because you'll have millions and tens of millions more consoles out there to be sold to.

What Kinect2 games will be made if no one buys (relatively speaking) the Xbox One?

Because if 4:1 preorder rate of PS4 over Xbox One is accurate, then it's quite clear Xbox One would not be a very profitable system to make a game for....which wouldn't matter so much with multiplatform games.

But for Kinect games? If you don't have the install base to make a profit, you can't sell those games to anyone else.

Kinect will only work, if people have the console, and by having mandatory kinect, people weren't going to buy the console.

You can't force people into pretending Kinect2 isn't a threat. The only thing you can do is give them the option and hope some of them change from never having it connected to...only when I have X game in the tray.

This only happens if you give the people the choice.

[PtRoLLFacE]

An essay seriously!? In the long run things will even out just like it happened this generation

[jmc8888]

They had a rough vision revolving around the aspects they were working on. People hated that vision, and they changed it, in stages, after months of lies and stonewalling.

But at least they did change it.

Again they seem unsettled because there was no way in hell they wanted to put out a console in 2013 until they caught wind that Sony was.

They were caught with their pants down, and when you combine how behind they are in hardware, with the idiotic vision that they've now scuttled, it's easy to see why people see things as unsettled and why Microsoft made big personnel changes.

[ElementX]

If any company made announcements about a product which caused backlash they would be stupid not to make changes. I don't understand why everybody is saying MS is copying Sony and only changing their policies because they are losing potential customers. Companies are there to make money, period. Sony went ahead and is charging for multiplayer to make money. Sony cares about profits just as much as MS. Any company knows that if they don't bend to the wishes of consumers then they will lose profits.

[devwan]

Often it's not so much what you do but how you do it that matters to people. And when it comes to money and customers feeling at ease with a company, even more so.

Sony lubed up the ps fanbase with the excellent ps+, offering value and opening people's eyes to games they would otherwise never have considered (which publishers loved btw). Them continuing to pay out to play online with ps4 for a service most hardcore ps fans already consider essential and utterly bonkers good value isn't such a bitter pill to swallow, not at all, it just feels like even more value for what they are already getting. Sony really planned this well.

Then look at m$ - their plan was to hold gamers and publishers by the neck and take a slice of everything everywhere without giving anyone a warm fuzzy feeling about anything, quite the opposite in fact. Going back on that when everyone saw them for the money grubbing megacorp they were made people wary... and continued flip-flopping only added to that feeling, even though the actual One itself became a better games console with every 180 that flipped on by.

So it's not a matter of companies caring about profits, that's a given. It's how they go about accumulating them and the tactics they employ to do so.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

But they're not, and they have effectively turned the tide of negative PR against the Xbox One in their favor.

[Hicken]

If that were the case, we'd see a marked uptick in interest in the XB1, and that simply has not happened.

Not to mention: the negative PR continues my Microsoft's own hand- as always, it seems- with the recent announcement that 8 countries were being cut from the launch list.

[JediDiah]

I feel vindicated because the FIRST Xbox claimed "it would do 1080 resolution straight out of the box"!! That was a BIG LIE!!! Games had to support that resolution so it was a no go. Gone from 1080 to 180...oh the irony! :)

[TheFutureIsBlue]

The problem with Microsoft is that they shouldn't of have had to worry about changing anything in the first place. They should have thought more about their vision.

DRM might have been good to go, but they should have made an alternate for people that can't go online. Or at least made it where you could play single player games without online. You get what I'm getting to. They just should have kept with their vision to keep those that want drm, kinect, etc. but made different skus or something to satisfy people that don't want all of that.

It's like they thought "They are GOING to like what we give them. No other options or questions. The end." when they were making this. I also find it strange how easy they can flip switches on a console that comes out in a few months. From a consumer standpoint it is very uneasy and from a business standpoint it doesn't make a lot of sense.

[JediDiah]

Maybe Master Chief will have his act together.

[nooneknows]

The Xbox One is completely different than what it was two months ago. But lets be honest, if it wasn't for Sony nothing would have changed.

If Sony had chosen the rout of DRM that the Xbox One would have it also. They've felt confident only because they were certain Sony would do the same. We would have consoles with DRM period.

I think MS just lost trust within their own fanbase. Xbox 360 owners are jumping ship due to the fact that PS4 looks more attractive.

[JKeyz90]

i totally agree with the article i mean for all those people who actually did pre order a xbox one including myself i wonder if it will have any initial technical problems or whether the system was always this way and MS just wanted to test out the gamers and see their likes and dislikes....it makes me worried and not worried but mostly worried to the point that i may want to re think some things

[Machiavellian]

What are you worried about. What exactly did MS change that would make you change your mind about the console now. I can only think of the always online DRM which really isn't something to based a buying decision on. Everything else is really not a big issue but made so by such articles because people like to bitch. What you should like is that MS is making positive changes which does affect a purchase.

[JKeyz90]

to say that you need kinect for xbox one to function then say you don't makes me wonder if that will effect play in any way as well as drm and 24 hr it was just a thought nothing to get all excited about i'm sticking with my decision I just always look at things from different angles