Xbox One Microsoft has No Regrets About Their 180

[KN1GHTMARE]

Xbox Europe VP Chris Lewis talked about the logic behind the initial Xbox One policy and the thought process behind the switch-ups in an interview with MCV:

… we remain true to our vision that we want to be wherever our consumers want us to be. We think that digital consumption patterns will change and grow over time. We think that the Cloud gives you a level of sophistication, depth and breadth that people can only dream of. And overtime more people will embrace that.

That said, we want to offer consumers choice, including physical discs and being able to do all the things that they want with those physical discs. We want to be available in any format that our consumers are looking for. We've always been very committed to consumer choice."

"As a business, the minute we don't listen to our customers attentively, and adapt and react in an appropriate way, then we would be in a dangerous place," Lewis observed, when asked whether Microsoft could have stuck to its guns. "I love the fact that we are reactive and agile in that way. We remain true to our vision - digitally and physically - and we are genuinely in an enviable position versus anyone else in being able to deliver that. I wouldn't trade places with anybody.

Many were very upset with the XB1's initial policy and yet many more were upset when they reversed course. I personally reserved my console because of their original vision and was among the many saddened when Microsoft decided to reverse their policies. It thought having an always online console would be very beneficial and the good would severely outweigh the bad. Microsoft was simply a little too far ahead of the curve with their vision, but make no mistake that if Sony had gone first this last E3 the would have announced similar policies. Sony had the advantage of hindsight and took control from there. I think eventually Microsoft will implement their original policy and other companies will follow suit, case in point, Steam has announced family sharing. You can read about it here: http://store.steampowered.com/sharing/

For the full interview visit MCV here: http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/xbox-we-wouldn-t-trade-places-with-anyone/0120873

 

[Sugarhill]

So, basically he is saying, once we get the install base that we want, your digital consumption patterns will change because we're flipping the switch with the quickness.

And, I can't wait. Hopefully, the install base will get to the number they need before three years, as I don't see a Microsoft price drop before then and they should be cutting off the 360.

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

So, basically he is saying, once we get the install base that we want, your digital consumption patterns will change because we're flipping the switch with the quickness.

And, I can't wait. Hopefully, the install base will get to the number they need before three years, as I don't see a Microsoft price drop before then and they should be cutting off the 360.

Yeup, that's basically it. I'm with you, I can't wait for them to turn the XB1 into full potential mode.

 

[Kerosene31]

They should have found a way to let physical media follow the same old ways (used games, offline play, etc), but put their policies in place for digitally downloaded games only. People who didn't like the original plans could stick with an old fashioned disk and be happy (minus online sharing).

My problems with the way things went down:

-People who weren't buying an X1 anyway were steering the product

-People didn't understand how the system worked (partially MS's fault for not getting it out there)

-We lost the ability to share games online with friends <- this really sucks

-We're at the mercy of companies throwing their own "always online" systems on us which are way worse than a check in. You think EA and others are just doing to drop the whole DRM thing? They are the ones pushing it. Sure, EA has their happy PR face on now, but give it time.

 

[bifftape]

I'm happy that they changed their policies for the sake of the consumer. I understand why people didn't like that they introduced those policies in the first place. But the alternative outcome would be for them to say, "I guess you'll just have to #dealwithit", so I'm glad the change was made.

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

I'm happy that they changed their policies for the sake of the consumer. I understand why people didn't like that they introduced those policies in the first place. But the alternative outcome would be for them to say, "I guess you'll just have to #dealwithit", so I'm glad the change was made.

I disagree. I mean I understand from a business perspective why they did it, but as a gamer I disagree with their actions in reversing the policy. I have no problem with always online DRM.

 

[dyzposableherox]

I agree that 24/7 drm was a great idea. Consumers who were unhappy had a valid reason because MS never came out and explained what it actually was and the benefits. It can only improve the online gaming community and I'll bet we see it around or before the 360 is done.

 

[StingerNLG]

I'm happy that they changed their policies for the sake of the consumer. I understand why people didn't like that they introduced those policies in the first place. But the alternative outcome would be for them to say, "I guess you'll just have to #dealwithit", so I'm glad the change was made.

I wonder if part of it wasn't the backlash itself but the KIND of backlash it got. It's one thing to simply say you don't like the policies and you think they are wrong for you. It's another to call Microsoft evil, and anti-consumer, and say they are purposely out to screw everyone. I'm sure that got to people. I'm very sure it got to Larry Hyrb and Albert Penello.

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

I wonder if part of it wasn't the backlash itself but the KIND of backlash it got. It's one thing to simply say you don't like the policies and you think they are wrong for you. It's another to call Microsoft evil, and anti-consumer, and say they are purposely out to screw everyone. I'm sure that got to people. I'm very sure it got to Larry Hyrb and Albert Penello.

Yea, the aggressiveness behind the backlash was a bit much imo.

 

[Sugarhill]

They should have found a way to let physical media follow the same old ways (used games, offline play, etc), but put their policies in place for digitally downloaded games only. People who didn't like the original plans could stick with an old fashioned disk and be happy (minus online sharing).

My problems with the way things went down:

-People who weren't buying an X1 anyway were steering the product

-People didn't understand how the system worked (partially MS's fault for not getting it out there)

-We lost the ability to share games online with friends <- this really sucks

-We're at the mercy of companies throwing their own "always online" systems on us which are way worse than a check in. You think EA and others are just doing to drop the whole DRM thing? They are the ones pushing it. Sure, EA has their happy PR face on now, but give it time.

Exactly!

But, I don't think Microsoft really had a chance to explain, once D-R-M escaped lips, people shut down from listening. To this day, I don't understand how anyone that saw that E3 presentation could be unhappy with what Microsoft was going to do and didn't understand that this is going to happen anyway.

You're practically doing it already when people download and buy movies from Amazon Video or whatever.

One check in every 24 hours, a check in that you didn't have to do if you're an exclusive SP? What was the real problem? Wasted time on great tech.

 

[incredibleone]

I can't imagine why they floated the trial balloon in the first place. There was no way that people would stomach not being able to play their games on friends consoles. Microsoft was so far off on their initial prediction that you wonder how in touch they actually are with their customer base. I mean, who really thought that the policy would work? At least they reversed course quickly.

 

[bifftape]

I disagree. I mean I understand from a business perspective why they did it, but as a gamer I disagree with their actions in reversing the policy. I have no problem with always online DRM.

I was referring more to the policy on second-hand sharing, because that was bollocks from the beginning. Unless I have been misinformed...

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

I was referring more to the policy on second-hand sharing, because that was bollocks from the beginning. Unless I have been misinformed...

I thought the friends and family sharing plan was a great concept

 

[bifftape]

I thought the friends and family sharing plan was a great concept

From what I understood they wanted constrictive limitations on digital and physical game sharing (IIRC you needed to have a friend on your list for 30+ days to share a digital game with them?). The family cloud sharing thing looks like a step in the right direction, but didn't they set it up so that 3rd party developers had the option of not allowing any sharing whatsoever? Please tell me what I am misunderstanding here

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

From what I understood they wanted constrictive limitations on digital and physical game sharing (IIRC you needed to have a friend on your list for 30+ days to share a digital game with them?). The family cloud sharing thing looks like a step in the right direction, but didn't they set it up so that 3rd party developers had the option of not allowing any sharing whatsoever? Please tell me what I am misunderstanding here

Considering your friends list carries over, why would the 30 days be bothersome? I don't plan on lending my games to strangers.

 

[bifftape]

Considering your friends list carries over, why would the 30 days be bothersome? I don't plan on lending my games to strangers.

I'm not in the crowd that utilized the friends list, I do most of my gaming in the same room as my friends. It seems fine for someone who has put the time into it but for a gamer like me it is cumbersome. And I'm sure you're not a fan of potentially not being able to share some games at all, which is my main gripe anyways.

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

I'm not in the crowd that utilized the friends list, I do most of my gaming in the same room as my friends. It seems fine for someone who has put the time into it but for a gamer like me it is cumbersome. And I'm sure you're not a fan of potentially not being able to share some games at all, which is my main gripe anyways.

I guess we're just in two different demographics. As an older gamer my friends and I don't really share games since we each have our own game collection. We play with each other mostly online.

 

[bifftape]

I guess we're just in two different demographics. As an older gamer my friends and I don't really share games since we each have our own game collection. We play with each other mostly online.

Which makes sense, but what doesn't make sense is putting restrictions on some demographics for seemingly no reason. Thus my happiness that they removed barriers from game sharing.

The DRM is another thing altogether, moving everything to digital is likely the way of the future, but for people like me it's not feasible to check in every 24 hours just to play my own games.

 

[John Henry]

The problem is, they only hear the voices of a few people - the usual whiners! People love to complain about everything. The thing is, the people who are happy with things never say anything.

 

[Kerosene31]

I don't understand why people cling to the need to give a disk to a friend over being able to share our games online and still keep them. Again, MS never gave details on the policy which is why it never had a chance.

I would have chosen online sharing without question. It would have been nice to be able to browse through friends' libraries and check out other games.

The consumers who think they "won" just took away a big feature many of us wanted. I actually almost switched to PS4 when they announced the 180. I was so angry at it. It was so silly that ignorance won.

The problem is people think they need Gamestop and used games to keep the price of gaming low. If you are looking for a company who's out to steal your money, Gamestop is the perfect example. Selling used games at only a few dollars off regular price while paying gamers a tiny fraction of original price. It is a total ripoff.

However that whole mess shows you that you need to use the carrot and not the stick. Give gamers a choice, and they'll choose the one that's best for them. Force them into something and they'll kick and scream and hate it no matter what.