Gamers Have Their Voices Heard in the Next Generation Console War

I have avoided the topic of the new gaming systems for a while now because I was so extremely disappointed by what was going on.  Dating back to the Atari 2600 the advantage to being a console gamer was that you avoided many of the hasslse of PC gaming.  While there are many great PC game titles, there were many annoyances to gaming on a PC, while console gaming was as simple as inserting a game and playing.

Without the need for activation codes or having to understand system requirements, console gaming flourished into a grand past time for both hardcore and casual gamers.  Consoles were also a cheaper alternative to investing in a state of the art PC to run new games.  Gaming consoles were simple, user friendly ways to immerse yourself into a whole new world.  All that was required was to insert the game, and play it.

Some of Microsoft's ideas for the Xbox One weren't so simple.  Unfortunately I did fear when a company like Microsoft entered the gaming arena that the industry was about to move in the wrong direction.  In my opinion their first cardinal sin was Xbox Live.  Charging you to use your own internet is a sin and something that I flatly refuse to facilitate.  But just as i feared, it was only the beginning of their dastardly ideas.

Xbox President, Don Mattrick choking down the last bite of his shoe after constantly having his foot in his mouth at E3

The issue is that industry is beginning to plateau, and for a company like Microsoft anything other than rapid growth of earning potential is not acceptable.  So when information about how the company's plans for the new system began to surface many eyebrows were raised.

The first rumor to be addressed was that of a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system that Microsoft looked to place in the system.  The system would keep an online record of each individual game disc, and once inserted into a game system link that game to the user's Xbox Live account.  In the future if any other user attempted to use that disc, it would first require that an activation fee be paid to Microsoft.

This issue created quite an uproar due to the fact that this would mean that gamers would no longer be able to borrow, rent, or buy game discs that have already been used without paying Microsoft first.  With many gamers being able to buy more titles for their systems when choosing to buy used, this became a concern that their Xbox One libraries would have to be considerably smaller.  Even the most hardcore Xbox fanboys were forced to express their displeasure with this concept.  However when the time came Microsoft announced that this would in fact be a reality for anyone who bought their new system.

Always being connected to the internet, with a wide angle 1080p camera constantly peering into your living room...  someone else can write that article, but it is pretty scary to think about

The second huge issue to arrive was that of connectivity.  While online features have been a staple of the last generation of gaming consoles, they certainly weren't necessary for most titles.  Even great online multiplayer titles like Call of Duty had an offline single player campaign that players could go through.  Microsoft planned on taking that luxury of online ability and making it mandatory.  The "always connected" Xbox One was to require a daily internet check, or the system would not allow for games to be played.

Many people felt that this was a rather bold and conceited move by the brass at Xbox.  While the internet has grown substantially over the past few years, there are still many homes that do not have readily available internet.  Backlash on this topic met a fever pitch, when Xbox boss, Don Mattrick made some rather smug comments in an interview with video game journalist Geoff Keighley.  Mattrick said, "Fortunately we have a product for people who aren't able to get some form of connectivity, it's called Xbox 360."  He later made a comment about how they based that decision from reading the forums and only finding a guy on a nuclear submarine complaining about the issue.  Apparently those on nuclear submarines were to quit their complaining and be happy with their 360.

Sony reps were almost repressing laughter at E3 explaining that their PS4 was not only going to be $100 cheaper than the $500 Xbox One, but wasn't including any sort of DRM technology, or forcing online connection.  Combined with the horrible press and angry consumers Microsoft came out and changed their stance on the issues.  While they did listen to the public, they certainly weren't thrilled about the result.  They did act much like the pouting kid taking his ball home, declaring that some of the features now won't be able to work as previously advertised.

Thank you to blisteredthumbs.net for this wonderful apology photo from Microsoft

Well boo-hoo Microsoft, apparently you are going to have to find other ways to turn your new system into a revenue machine.  Just be careful, apparently winning one round of the console wars doesn't make you immune to public scorn.