In two weeksâ time, we may look on this as one of the smartest PR moves of all time. But for now? Itâs been a bad day for Microsoft.
Seeking perhaps to head off criticisms that it had been vague (at best) and incompetent (at worst) in its messaging of core Xbox One services at the consoleâs reveal last month, Microsoft today unleashed a flood of news, detailing the specifics of how the machine handles things like internet connectivity and used game sales.
https://lastchance.cc/that-xbox-one-reveal-sure-was-a-disaster-huh-509192266%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hereâs a recap:
The console must connect to the internet once every 24 hours in order for you to play games. For many people, from military personnel to students, thatâs an inconvenience, maybe even an impossibility. Never mind what happens to everybodyâs console if Microsoftâs servers ever come down.
The Xbox One will allow the sale of used games, at âparticipating retailersâ, but only if the publisher allows it. Publishers being the very people opposed most fiercely to used video game sales.
There are restrictions on how you can âgiveâ and âloanâ your games away. Whatâs more, lending wonât be available at launch, with Microsoft still âexploring the possibilities with our partnersâ.
Even some of the âgoodâ news is really just ânot as bad newsâ. Or âan avoidance of bad newsâ.
Responding to fears over privacy issues surrounding the âalways plugged-inâ Kinect, Microsoft says you can turn the Kinect off.
Leaving the sole piece of âoh, OK, thatâs pretty cool newsâ to be:
You can have up to ten people in your Xbox One âfamilyâ, and can share all your content among them, regardless of which console theyâre using.
If Microsoft canât answer now, it creates the impression it doesnât know now.
Response to the bulk of the news, which challenges a lot of long-held norms like the lending of game discs and the ability to play a games console whenever you want, has been predictably damning, the Xbox One being labelled everything from anti-consumer to dead on arrival across gaming forums and Twitter.
Making matters worse is that while some of the information provided is vague and confusing, the company is refusing to clarify, saying the news details âeverything we can share todayâ, and that âWe look forward to sharing more details in the months aheadâ. If Microsoft canât answer now, it creates the impression it doesnât know now.
While itâs hard to fathom why Microsoft would walk into the fire like this, only a few days out from the biggest video game trade show of the year (E3), the timing and nature of the info dump may actually be the very reason
Youâd have to hope so. Otherwise the Xbox One is going to have a very steep hill to climb to win over a market growing increasingly dismayed at its core services and âfeaturesâ.
Note: Itâs important to remember that, while Microsoft is catching all the heat today, Sony has likewise been vague about many of these same issues, and it remains to be seen whether the PlayStation 4 will share any similar restrictions or policies.
