Anathrax said:
"Customers don't like a change."
This is sort of true. I mean if you were a customer, would you like the change from a normal body to a normal body with a halberd shoved down your arse? Education my arse, Microsoft you need the education. If I didn't know better I'd say they'd be insulting customers.
Yeah... except I don't think I "know better". I'd say they ARE insulting their customers. This is not a new phenomena for Microsoft either (go back and take a look at their press-releases for the infamous "Windows ME".)
But the best line has to be this:
"In a broader set of community, people don't pay attention to a lot of the details."
Maybe not, if they're buying budget. Has Microsoft forgotten that they're trying to make people pay hundreds of pounds (or dollars, or whatever your currency is) for this purchase? This is a premium purchase with a premium price, and Microsoft appears to believe that their target market will treat it as the same kind of impulse buy that you might make if you're considering a £2.50 iPhone game. Do they even understand that the vast majority of potential buyers of their product have budgets that they need to stick to?