Well, Microsoft really took the wind out of my sails. I was
all set to do this whole big exposé on how they were burning bridges with
developers and alienating customers to the point that they were set up to fail
spectacularly this generation, but they went ahead and recalled most of their
horrible policies. No more DRM making all games online versions, no more 24
hour check ins, and no more being unable to sell and trade your games. Well, I guess that’s it, we win! Everyone take
to the streets and rejoice!
The Xbox One is no longer a train wreck on a crash course
with a hurricane, but rather just the “inferior” console right out of the gate
with its competitor, the PlayStation 4. The PS4 is $100 cheaper, doesn't come
bundled with the mandatory camera, and has stronger hardware right out of the
box. It looks bad for Microsoft still, but it looked bad for Sony at the beginning
of the last generation too, and they managed to come back in the last couple of
years.
However on the other side of the fight you have people like
this guy who is actually defending the old Xbone policies. Most of his claims are based on wild speculation of ideas
and features that were never really confirmed by Microsoft. He claims that this
digital marketplace would have led to way to Steam-like sales, despite the fact
that Microsoft has had a digital only platform for years (Games for Windows
Live) that doesn't have periodic “Steam style” sales, and that the current Xbox
marketplace is still releasing games for full price three months after release
when many retailers have already lowered the price on the physical version. He also claims that the family sharing feature would have
been revolutionary, allowing friends to share games over the internet. In
addition to the fact that I can already share my physical discs and cartridges
with literally infinite people, not just ten, that feature was never really elaborated
on by Microsoft, so we don’t know what it would have actually entailed. If he
thinks that Microsoft would have just allowed one out of every ten people to
buy a game with no downside he is sorely mistaken, especially considering all of
the other policies that were going to be implemented revolved around limiting
your ability to reduce new game sales in any way.
Sadly, I fear that all of this will go down in history
alongside the likes of “giant enemy crab”, and the Wii Music drummer guy as
something ridiculous a company did at E3, as opposed to the gigantic breach of
trust and loyalty that it was. The biggest thing to remember here is that
Microsoft did not change their policies because they felt bad, or because they
were being nice, they changed their policies because the PS4 was beating the
Xbone in pre-orders 8 to 1, and they couldn't afford to lost that much money.
They talk about listening to the consumer complaints, but the only people they
really listen to are their shareholders, and they would have gone right ahead
with this if they could have gotten away with it financially. In the immortal
words of an anonymous IGN commenter:
“Microsoft is the abusive boyfriend. Many Xbox consumers are
the girlfriend.
Microsoft had been occasionally beating his girlfriend for a
while. It started light (unnecessary fees, RROD, minimal exclusives, etc.), but
has become gradually more frequent. The girlfriend knows it's wrong, but has
become increasingly surrendered to it. Her self-esteem is broken; she feels
trapped and that this is the best she can do or even what she deserves. She has
even defended Microsoft in front of friends and family who have shown concern.
"He only does it 'cause he loves me." "He knows what's best for
us." "You don't understand him like I do."
One day, Microsoft came home and brutally assaulted his
girlfriend for no apparent reason. It was far worse than it had ever been
before (DRM, online authentication, resale fees, mandatory Kinect, no sharing,
etc.) Finally, the girlfriend had had enough. She packed her bags and moved
out. She thought, "This is too far! Why did I let it go on so long?"
Soon she began dating again. A man named Sony, realizing the
abuse of her past, welcomed her with open arms. He respected her, honored her,
introduced her to new friends and experiences, and she began to remember what
it was like to be happy. But Microsoft found out about the relationship, and he
was a very jealous man.
After returning home from work one afternoon, the girlfriend
found Microsoft, kneeling at her door, with roses in hand. "Come on, baby.
Gimme anotha' chance. I swear I can change! I'll be a new man! Don't hurt me
like this, baby. Remember all the good times we had togetha'?"
Unfortunately, he failed to mention his real reason for being there. He didn't
regret his actions. He wasn't there to apologize. The only reasons he came back
was because of how much he hated the integrity of the new man courting her and
because his attempts to hook-up with a rich young girl he had his eyes on was
met with rejection.
But the girlfriend finally knew better. She realized the insincerity
behind Microsoft's words. His intentions were not noble, not in her best
interest, but his desperate attempt to save what he (thought he) had before his
selfishness and anger drove her away. It was damage control, not remorse. So
the girlfriend stood at a crossroad between an honest man, and an abusive liar.
Who should she choose?
Who will YOU choose?”
No comments:
Post a Comment