XBOX One - A Disaster of Sega Saturn Proportions

[Saint_]

Hello fellow gamers. As someone who has weathered every console war and launch since the days of the Atari 2600, I have to tell you that the upcoming war between Microsoft and Sony is shaping up to be a world sized conflict and possibly the worst example of corporate suicide in recent memory.

First some history: After battling each other to a standstill in the Sega Genesis vs. Super Nintendo war, Sega, disregarding the upcoming technology of 3D, unwisely chose to go with a 2D powerhouse. Then, realizing their mistake, instead of helping developers figure out the ridiculous archetecture, they limited the number of 2D games the Saturn could have.

Result? People bailed off the ship like it was the Titanic and went for the new 3D monster, the Sony Playstation.

Now the present: Microsoft releases the XBOX One, confusing everyone with the name which is associated with the previous generation prior to XBOX 360. No backwards compatibility is possible, since it's not that much of an upgrade in hardware, so there goes your whole collection of 360 games.

Now...they do something that might make sense as an intention, but is sheer death as a business decision. Digital Rights Management.

Each new game will come with a code. You must actually download the game with a code from the net, so just owning a disc isn't enough. You can't loan your games to your little brother or friend, since they would have to sign in as you, and if they don't they will be charged a fee.

No problem, you'll just buy the game used? Nope. There will be a fee for buying a used game. That might not have been so bad unless....are you stting down?

The fee is rumored to be $50!!

So you have to pay that fee and then buy a game for $30 or so. $80 bucks for a USED game! You might as well have bought a new game, which I'm sure is what Microsoft had in mind. The problem with that, of course is that all gamers are not made of money and that basically says, "Too poor? Tough!" to lots of families.

Not enough for you? How about this: The required Kinect module is always on so that it can sense how many people are in the room. Nevermind the intrusion of privacy issues, Microsoft can and will now charge an extra fee for more than one person watching a movie on the damned thing!! And if the unit can't accessthe internet at least once a day, they it won't let you sign on at all. Good luck with that option in developing countries.

Designers usually take the opportunity to make a design statement on a new console because they can. Microsoft's brave new design? A squat, ugly, faceless black box.



So...what would you pay for the wonderful opportunity to be spied on, overcharged, denied used content, and stare at a cube of black plastic?

$499. Over a $100 higher than the rumored price of Sony's PS4. All of this right at a time that major developers are jumping ship for Sony on exclusive games like the next Call of Duty.

Microsoft has basically alienated the MASSIVE part of the gaming community.

Armaggedon it? My prediction: XBOX One: DOA.

Personally, I plan to be buying USED 360 games from the Amazon.com library of hundreds I haven't played for the next two or three years until this sorts out.

So bite me Microsoft.

[Snowfire]

Looks like Microsoft have learnt some marketing lessons from Apple. Greed is good

[Saint_]

lol. Unfortunately, they haven't learned that "too greedy is bad." Bigger companies than Microsoft have bought the farm because of a huge marketing and business decision disaster.

[Ahso!]

They all play this game these days.