I'm usually a lurker here at the Escapist but this thread has prompted me to break the silence.
While there are many real concerns and intelligent points raised among the reactionary comments expressed within this thread, I have to say I think a lot of you are a little blinkered amidst the real fury being directed at Microsoft .
The fact of the matter is that Sony and many publishers for the PC platform have been edging towards this same practise for a while now. There's real money to be had by selling us our entertainment as a 'service' rather than allowing us to own our entertainment in perpetuity like we've always been able to up to now. Games are not the only things affected here - TV, Movies, and even Music is following this same line of thinking and if taken to it's ultimate conclusion we will find that as consumers we lose control over what we can do with our entertainment while still paying as much, or even more, than we ever did to use it.
Think Sony is different in this case? Want to jump to the PS4 as a reaction to MS admitting that this is where their strategy is going? I think you should hold your horses because Sony want to pull the same BS that MS have just done (but haven't been brave enough to admit that openly yet). EA, Ubisoft and the like clearly want to sell a 'service' to you too - this approach gives the publishers and providers all the control and allows them to market to you in any way they see fit.
THIS PRACTISE IS BAD FOR ALL OF US AS CONSUMERS
I've been watching the froth and fury over the Xbox One for some time now and have convinced my friends to not believe the half truths and hype. With Major Neilson's announcement I am saddened to see that many of the fears expressed before (and immediately after) launch do seem to be true. I only hope that the backlash this is creating cause Sony and many software publishers to think again about the path they are trying to lead us down. Hell, I hope Microsoft see how unhappy this is making consumers and think again before launch. As cynical as it sounds, however, I don't think this will be the case but that will (hopefully) be their loss.
Now, I've been a big gamer for several decades. I started on the C64 and have played games on just about every platform since. I watched piracy kill the Amiga. I avoided the over-hyped plastic brick that was the Xbox and remained with Sony happily. I watched in disbelief as Sony screwed up the PSN and happily paid for the Xbox live service as a result. I lament what Xbox 360 has become with my dashboard now more advertisement than anything else on a service I ALREADY PAY FOR. I hate having to spend lots of cash on a PC every year to be able to play the latest games because software devs are too damned lazy or put under too damned tight deadlines to optimise their code properly........I love console gaming and want it to continue but this incoming generation makes me fear that the age of no-advertising, pay-and-do-what-you-will, easy access gaming is over.
We as consumers must stand firm against abhorrent business practises and fight to ensure that we get the solutions we want. More than ever before we need to stop bitching, whining and moaning and speak with a unified, consistent voice and tell these businesses in the strongest terms that we DO NOT WANT this sort of thing and will not put up with it for the carrot of exclusives or simply because 'that's the way gaming is heading'. I live in hope that we can reverse this trend because if we simply let this happen and allow all our games to be sold to us as a service, accepting whatever connectivity or payment BS publishers throw at us we will find that there will be no way back to being able to game when you want, how you want on the platform you prefer.
While I wait for more details before making a final judgement, right now I have to say NO to Xbox one.......and I am saddened by that.
