Razgon
3610
So, can we agree by now that internet backlash is a useful thing from time to time? The xbox one of now, is rather a different beast than the one proposed at E3.
Is that supposed to help? Honestly, I’m so disgusted by their back-and-forth and their lack of direction that I look at the entire company even more poorly than I did when they first announced the console. It’s good that they’re listening to the masses but what they should have done is performed product testing with actual demographics and figured out if their ideas were sound. They would have found out that their ideas were bad and they should feel bad, and approached the release with a more level-headed and consumer-friendly product. I’m assuming this is how Sony got it right – they did their homework and gave us something that worked for gamers.
Instead Microsoft tried to forcefeed everyone their concept, said “eff you” to the people who didn’t agree with it, then got hit hard by the backlash and decided to change things up. It’s like they didn’t do any product testing at all; they operated from a position that they were already better than the competitors, got arrogant, figured people would take everything they gave and allowed their hubris to be their undoing. So now they are trying to fix everything and it makes them look as if they are lacking conviction, leadership and vision and, frankly, quite pathetic. They are still doing damage control from damage that never would have existed if they had done things properly.
So how are we supposed to react? “You gave us a headset for free, instead of making us pay for one? Oh thank you, most benevolent Microsoft, how can we repay you?” No. They should have done it from the start, like they did with the 360. They’ve got egg on their face again and it’s not coming off.
Razgon
3612
Yes, of course it helps. The Xbox is tons better than was originally planned. That helps.
I don’t recall saying it was a good thing of Microsoft to do, or that I particularly liked them. I don’t, but anything that forces big companies to rethink stupid ideas is a good thing. For the consumer, this is good.
Yes. Absolutely. Pressure makes a difference. In the Vita thread, I wished (emphasis on wish) that Sony were the one making changes and that every PS4 sold included a PS Vita. Such a sweet little machine
It’s a page old now, but it’s worth noting that Ustream is still very popular in Japan, which may explain why Sony opted for them instead of Twitch.
Of course including the headset helps. ALL of these changes - no DRM; no always on requirement; reversal on the indie games policy; upping the GPU speed; adding a headset in the box - help.
The Xbox One that Microsoft unveiled and the console as it exists today are very different - it’s better. This is why the winner of the next-gen console war is… you. Competition is a beautiful thing.
What’s the point of having a new Xbox team if you stick to the playbook that got you into trouble to begin with? The gals and guys at Team Xbox are doing what you would want a company that has made a mistake to do - they are both listening and making changes. I give them credit and look forward to seeing how this console race will look come November, because I’m still willing to bet that BOTH sides will make changes/announcements that will impact how we think of the next gen consoles.
Amazing, score one (or four or five in this case) for the internets. Power to the people.
Now if they will just unbundle the Kinect and/or knock $100 off the price. I’m already leaning heavily towards Xbone with all these concessions to the players, erasing the price difference would irrevocably tip the scales.
Joe_M
3617
I’m not disgusted with them but I definitely no longer trust them to make the right decisions on anything. I’ll probably pick up their new console five years down the line when they offer a kinekt-free package at a steeply reduced price, assuming there are a handful of non-multiplayer exclusives worth playing.
I’ll give MS lots of credit for reacting to the backlash, listening to the complaints that people had, and fixing the issues. I think their indie dev self-publishing program could use more detail (I seriously doubt Gamescom is going to answer the devs’ questions) but even having a program is a pretty major concession after the last couple of years of snubbing indies and making enemies out of everyone in that scene. The headset being included is a good move. Dropping the DRM was a stunning decision.
I’m not convinced that the $100 premium is worth the Kinect stuff that I largely don’t care about, but I have a feeling that they won’t budge from that since it’s a big part of the “value” MS is saying the XBONE brings to the living room. All the cloud stuff being only available to Gold subscribers was not a surprise, but it’s still a negative mark compared to the PS4.
Things are shaping up to be a lot more interesting at Xmas. The one-sided blowout during E3 was promising to make the holidays a dull affair, but this is going to be fun to watch them slug it out.
Totally agree. Metaphorically speaking, watching someone get knocked down (Sony cold-clocking Microsoft at E3) is always an edge of your seat moment, no matter who you are rooting for. But you know what makes for a dull evening? When after getting hit, the fighter just stays down. Here, we have a genuine slug fest - and those are ALWAYS fun to watch (change to your sport of choice if you are not a boxing fan).
maxle
3620
Sure, but I’d argue that it’s worse. The original version was going to, essentially, bring Steam to the consoles. Steam is pretty great. Console!Steam (or iTunes, or whatever your analogue of choice is) vs. traditional console? That would have been an interesting horse race. MS would probably have had an early disadvantage but it took time for people to come around on Steam, too. Long term, if MS had been remotely sensible, it would have had the advantage. What we have now? Two traditional consoles with slightly better graphics doing nothing we haven’t seen before.
Who cares who wins?
What has Microsoft done to come back other than moving closer to the start position by moving away from MOST of the anti gamer positions that were unique to them in the first place!
You don’t get points for deciding not to screw me over after being forced to change your mind.
Canuck
3622
As Murbella says, making concessions is hardly turning things into a slugfest. MS would have to actually throw a punch for that to happen. Essentially they’ve gone from a minus 5 to about a minus one in my book. Getting close to zero. Sony is still at about plus 3. It’s a lot better than what they started out with but nothings a game changer so far. If they released the same console for $399 that would be a game changer. Or a Kinect less version for $349.
Some people will never be convinced by anything Microsoft does either because they irrationally love the Sony corporation or irrationally hate Microsoft.
To me, it seems fairly evident that the changes the Xbox team have made are positive - even if you don’t plan to buy the console.
Some people will never be convinced by anything bad others say about microsoft because they have an irrational… wait, no. That´s dumb. Maybe they just have an opinion. Maybe even a strong opinion, because whatever, no need to try to build strawmen about irrational hate or fanboyism.
Seem a little defensive there Juan.
I’m a little irritated with my brothers and cousins, who are now leaning enough towards Xbox that they have canceled their PS4 pre-orders. I’m still leaning toward the PS4 personally. But now there’s some social pressure to go the other way. Still, since I don’t have time to play multiplayer, maybe I should strike out on my own and go with the PS4. The news that they are keeping all those features like Game DVR behind the Gold subscription really irritates me a lot. When I used to play multiplayer with friends and family, having additional features for Gold was always nice. Oh hey great, I’ll be getting more features, that’s nice. But when you know you’ll never have time to play multiplayer, suddenly all these features being Gold-only is really irksome.
Rock8man, I thought you were buying both?
Regardless, that’s a tough call. But here’s the good news: there’s time to decide. Even if you preorder it on Amazon, you can cancel it before the ship date, right?
My advice: wait! I continue to predict that more shoes will drop on both sides. If it’s financially possible, keep both preorders.
Jake, this isn’t hard to understand.
Lets say your neighbor has been nice to you for years. Then one day he tells you that he is going to break in to your house and steal your stuff! This sucks of course and is a huge turn in the relationship. The next day, after the police have taken him away in cuffs, he begs forgiveness and tells you he won’t rob you.
Now you tell me jake, how has this situation affected your relationship with the individual? Your neighbor declaring he wouldn’t rob you is undoubtedly a positive event compared to his previous position of robbing it, but it is not a net positive gain as we’re just back where we started.
The xbone is in exactly the same situation.
Microsoft: “FUCK YOU GAMERS, YOU WILL BUY WHAT WE TELL YOU TO. EAT IT!”
Gamers: “Screw you, even though we’re huge xbox fans, we’re going with sony because we don’t have to put with your shit, assholes!”
Microsoft: “aww come on guys, we won’t do most of the bad things we said we would…”
Gamers: “But your console is still less powerful and $100 more, right?”
Microsoft: “Yes, but kinect can do all kinds of things!”
Gamers: “Yes, but what realistic use does it have?”
Microsoft: “POWERED BY THE CLOUD!”
Xbox Fans: “WOOT now xbox isn’t completely not buyable! this isn’t a net positive and they didn’t do anything for me positive other than tell me they wouldn’t do negative stuff to me, but i am happy!”
Anyway, i admit to leaning more towards sony than microsoft when it comes to consoles, but i am anything but a fanboy for either side. Micrsoft still has a chance to win me if they either lower the price of the xbone to be competitive or justify the price. However, not being a xbox fanboy, which a lot of this board is, i’m not going put up with microsoft trying to have their cake and eat it too (worse specs, higher price). And if they want to say the kinect justifies the price, they need to actually prove there is a viable use for it, which nobody in this thread has been able to do, much less microsoft. Far fetched Dreams and hopes are not worth $100!
