Following the announcement of the Xbox One yesterday, there has been a huge flurry of news that went from excitement over a new console to trying to survive a dungstorm of poorly communicated information and poorly revealed policies. Well, Microsoft is backtracking and we should all be glad.
Going into the announcement for the Xbox One just about any gamer worth their salt as a consumer was concerned about two things: Will the Xbox One be always on and will it block used games?
During the pre-E3 conference Microsoft didn't bother addressing either of the two biggest controversies for the console. Instead, Microsoft released a FAQ addressing the always-on DRM, which turns out is a bit of a mixed bag after it was revealed that there is still a 24 hour check-in required and that you can't use the system without Kinect. Microsoft's biggest slip-up was conflicting messages regarding the pre-owned games market, which eventually sent some hardcore gamers into a frenzy.
Thankfully, Microsoft appears to be considering a backtrack on some of those policies as Microsoft's frontman Larry Hyrb, also known as Major Nelson, took to Twitter to post the following message in response to many gamers asking about the used game fees and always-on feature, writing...
We are months away from the launch of #XboxOne & policy decisions are still being finalized. When they are, we will let you know.
Thank you!
I don't know if Microsoft will actually take this to heart or not but this is a good step in the right direction. We really don't need this kind of thing permeating the gaming space: console games that require a 24 hour check-in or console games that require additional fees just to play on a different console.
It's such a drag that gamers have been put into this position. I'm just going to go ahead and say it, the PlayStation 4 is looking like the true frontrunner right now. It doesn't have always-on and it allows you to play used games. Heading into E3 Microsoft has a lot to do to rebound their reputation because even if they're aiming for casuals they will need the core gamers as first-adopters to get the system off the ground, otherwise they'll be facing the same uphill climb as Nintendo with the Wii U.
