Xbox One

[AirLobo23]

Re: Xbox One

If the tables were turned and the PS4 was getting flamed I would be defending it. I don't think people trashing the X1 for doing things differently is warranted. If its not for you, then don't buy it. And I'm not accusing anyone on OS of doing that. Speaking in general terms.

[MrSerendipity]

Re: Xbox One

I've been seeing a lot of comparisons for the XBL marketplace (and PSN) to Steam recently, but I think the comparison is a terrible one because of the differing economics between PC gaming and console gaming.

Steam has been largely successful because of the amount of sales they have and because they have pricing competition with other companies. Amazon, GOG, Greenman Gaming, Humble Bundles and retail physical copies/codes are all competitors to Steam's digital distribution.

Steam didn't start these sales because of "used games", they started them because PC Gamers have shown that they are EXTREMELY price sensitive about games (don't want to pay for multiplayer, don't want to pay for pretty much anything) and because PC Gamers could easily pirate the ever-loving f*ck out of a title if they didn't want to pay retail.

Fundamentally, why do people care about renting, reselling, trading? Because they want to pay less for games. Steam has shown that you can eliminate renting, reselling, and trading by just offering the games at a price so low that they become like a pack of gum at the supermarket check-out stand. Games as gum: You buy them, you chew them, you throw them away and never think about it again. Money well spent...because you didn't spend much money at all.

Who cares about used games or account-locking when you can buy a new version of a AAA 4-month-old title for 7 dollars, or a smaller indie game for 2 bucks? This is the bargain that PC users came to accept, but they came by it honestly because the alternative was a total PC Gaming collapse (or at least severe scaling back) due to piracy.

Consoles are more heavily controlled and less compromised. They are not nearly as widely pirated (they "can" be, but we're living in the reality-based world where it is MUCH harder and MUCH less frequent then PC). This completely changes the economics. On PC, the downward pressure on price comes from the ease of piracy. On consoles, downward pressure comes from used games, rentals, and of course falling demand over time.

Which brings us to the problem with Xbone's former plans for DRM and no used games/rentals. there is much less downward pressure. Two of the three drivers of game price reduction: gone. There could have been no used games, no rentals. So it's only natural that games would be more expensive. They will still go down in price but much slower. They would be much, MUCH easier to keep at an artificially inflated price because there were no 3rd party markets that publishers can go to. There's one centralized license server and one storefront. Pricing contracts will have already been buttoned up by Microsoft. It's really not a very good thing at all. So good thing they changed the policy.

But surface-level analysts just didn't get this. Steam = digital. Xbone/PSN = digital. Therefore Xbone/PSN = Steam, and Steam Digital Sales = Xbone/PSN Digital Sales. They're wrong, and gamers could have paid the price.

This is one of the better posts I've seen on the topic. Thanks for the write-up, very informative.

[kingkilla56]

Re: Xbox One

If the tables were turned and the PS4 was getting flamed I would be defending it. I don't think people trashing the X1 for doing things differently is warranted. If its not for you, then don't buy it. And I'm not accusing anyone on OS of doing that. Speaking in general terms.

Its warranted if people dont like the changes. And considering that all the changes were negative, I dont think the outcry is all that surprising or uncalled for.

If the tables were turned PS4 would be getting hammered today. So this isnt an anti MS sentiment. Its anti MS policy reform. People saw through the BS and here they are today trying to make up for it.

[AirLobo23]

Re: Xbox One

Someone who isn't so naive as to believe everything MS says, especially at this point when it's so obvious that they could be saying it after the fact to save face.

Lol, I'm spending entirely too much time and energy on this. Haha... Peace

[trobinson97]

Re: Xbox One

If the tables were turned and the PS4 was getting flamed I would be defending it. I don't think people trashing the X1 for doing things differently is warranted. If its not for you, then don't buy it. And I'm not accusing anyone on OS of doing that. Speaking in general terms.

If Sony attempted the things Microsoft attempted, they'd deserve the flames, IMO, and any defense of Sony by anyone not working for them would still be puzzling to me.

[ubernoob]

Re: Xbox One

If the tables were turned and the PS4 was getting flamed I would be defending it. I don't think people trashing the X1 for doing things differently is warranted. If its not for you, then don't buy it. And I'm not accusing anyone on OS of doing that. Speaking in general terms.

I don't think anyone has trashed the XBox (aside from PS4 / Nintendo fanboys [do those people even exist anymore?]). You seem to have piled "trashing a system" on with "voicing legitimate concerns." If they are losing a good number of sales due to something, it's a legitimate concern.

DRM has no place in the video game marketplace. If you don't see why that's anti-consumer and think DRM is the future, I don't know what to tell you other than most people disagree due to what they've experienced on the PC.

I've already conceded that the XBone is not for me (due to the forced Kinect), which is sad because I have owned 5 360s. Nowhere have I ever seen it said, by a rational person, "It will be a **** machine. It will suck and people are dumb for buying one, MS should fall off the face of the Earth."

[zanner]

Re: Xbox One

Now that we know that Family Share was just a way to demo games, im really confused on why they took it away now!? I don't understand why it has to be all or nothing, why not let those who choose to digitally download games enjoy all the benefits they had planned for us? Im sure over they years once others see the benefits of going digital they will jump on board just like they originally planned and the physical gaming market would slowly die out, they don't have to abandon their entire gameplan do they?

Don't worry, considering how quick they flipped the script - I'm sure there will be another flip months after launching that will get back to what they wanted to do before they had to save face - Why wouldn't there be?

If I was in the business of making money and didn't listen to the initial outrage before release, then I'd be arrogant and try to force something on consumers that they didn't want. When sales tanked, then I'd do a 180 and copy the competitor who got it right from the beginning. Once I flipped finicky consumers back to me at $100 for a less powerful machine and launched then no reason not to go back to the initial arrogant approach because I got the money and by that time might could sneak it in without as much complaint as got before the launch...


The guys in charge of this whole XboxOne fiasco - They should be slapped in the back of the head. I don't know how you could possibly be more out of sorts than what has went on so far business plan/marketing wise - I have no idea what their vision is or where XboxOne is headed. I'm not speaking about the console, but the situation itself is such a cluster that the amount of money for a 5 month wait and see approach just doesn't seem fun as a consumer.

[zanner]

Re: Xbox One

If the tables were turned and the PS4 was getting flamed I would be defending it. I don't think people trashing the X1 for doing things differently is warranted. If its not for you, then don't buy it. And I'm not accusing anyone on OS of doing that. Speaking in general terms.

LOL, well now they're not doing anything Differently!

[Skyboxer]

Re: Xbox One

It's funny how before the switch people were complaining and saying MS needs to drop the DRM etc..
now that they did it they are getting slammed for changing their "vision" to make a buck.

Seriously looks like no matter what they would have done, some would be anti MS all the way.

[NDAlum]

Re: Xbox One

I don't see the appeal of the Kinect. I would feel like a loser talking to the X1 to turn on. However if I'm in my car I don't mind. I also wouldn't mind if light outelts, appliances, and other things were voice command ready. I would be embarassed for my girl to hear me talking to a video game system. I also really don't want to lift my controller to raise a shield or anything like that. I guess I'm an old fashioned button pusher.

I also feel like a loser walking into GameStop which is why I avoid it at all cost. The stigma that video games are for losers/nerds definitely affects me. It's all psychological but it is there.

Does this make sense? Probably not! I think I'm a reasonable person but I have some sort of mental issue on this topic.

[NYJets]

Re: Xbox One

If Microsoft really had this grand vision that would be great for consumers, and that would allow 10 people unrestricted access to a game, and that would lead to significantly cheaper game prices, then there is no way that they would:

A. Barely mention these benefits

B. Change their whole gameplan after a couple weeks of bad feedback and preorders

I just think they expected Sony to have some of these same restrictions, and a higher pricetag, and they were wrong, so they had to change up.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Xbox One

I don't see the appeal of the Kinect. I would feel like a loser talking to the X1 to turn on. However if I'm in my car I don't mind. I also wouldn't mind if light outelts, appliances, and other things were voice command ready. I would be embarassed for my girl to hear me talking to a video game system. I also really don't want to lift my controller to raise a shield or anything like that. I guess I'm an old fashioned button pusher.

I also feel like a loser walking into GameStop which is why I avoid it at all cost. The stigma that video games are for losers/nerds definitely affects me. It's all psychological but it is there.

Does this make sense? Probably not! I think I'm a reasonable person but I have some sort of mental issue on this topic.

There really isn't a stigma associated with video gamers much any more. The average age is mid 30's I believe.
Games are pretty much mainstream and featured on talk shows etc...
So yeah you're mental

The Kinect was cool using the voice commands with Madden 13 (when it worked).. other than that I also am a controller guy. Daughters love the Kinect Dance stuff though.

[blacboy]

Re: Xbox One

Pre-orderd the xbox1, BF4 and Ryse

[ubernoob]

Re: Xbox One

It's funny how before the switch people were complaining and saying MS needs to drop the DRM etc..
now that they did it they are getting slammed for changing their "vision" to make a buck.

Seriously looks like no matter what they would have done, some would be anti MS all the way.

It's not being Anti-MS.

You see companies, hell even people, everywhere get hammered all the time for flip-flopping on something. It shows no dedication and chasing after something that they don't necessarily "deserve" if it's not what they want from their console/product.

Yes, there is a crowd out there that will write off MS no matter what they do, but I don't think we have any of those people here on OS. It seems OS is pretty heavily populated with regular gamers and not just console fanboys like other forums. I'm pretty sure everyone posting in this thread has owned an Xbox and/or an Xbox 360.

It goes back to that saying that people are only as good as their word. MS broke their word. That regained some customers and it turned off some customers. You can't please everyone in this world.

[MrSerendipity]

Re: Xbox One

It's funny how before the switch people were complaining and saying MS needs to drop the DRM etc..
now that they did it they are getting slammed for changing their "vision" to make a buck.

Seriously looks like no matter what they would have done, some would be anti MS all the way.

This is true. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. I've already claimed that I'm glad to hear that MS did away with the DRM restrictions and policies. I think it's a good thing for all gamers, X1 or PS4. With that said, I can understand why people would aim some criticism in their direction for flipping on those policies. Because in my opinion, it makes it look like MS never really had faith in those policies and was simply trying to "get one past" gamers. Which if that is the case, it would be really shady of MS. But even with that said, I do think that MS made the right decision in flipping on those policies. And I won't aim any criticism their way for doing it. However if they flip again while the X1 is still their newest console, I think at that point people would need to discuss the vision that MS has for it's products and the X1 in particular.