Poll: So, how many of us are actually a little disappointed?

[Zeh Don]

As we've all heard, no doubt, the Xbone (are we calling it the Xbox One80 yet?) will no longer feature those terrible anti-consumerist practices that the internet has been hating on since May 21st.

It is now confirmed that Microsoft has reversed its highly contentious Xbox One DRM policies, dropping the requirement for a 24-hour internet check-in and restrictions on used game trade-ins.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125204-Microsoft-Drops-Xbox-One-DRM-Restrictions-UPDATED?utm_source=latest&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all

Make no mistake, I think this is a great day for gamers. We made this happen, with our actions, our words and our wallets.

Having said that... I can't help but feel a little disappointed. I really, really, really wanted to see the show down come launch time for the Xbox One80 and the PS4.
It's terrible, I know, but I wanted to see another 3DO or Virtua Boy. I wanted to see the spectacular fireworks, the train wreck and the incredibly fallout.

I'm the kind of guy who, when hearing the screeching of car tires, waits for the crash sound afterwards. And who is also secretly, strangely and possibly even disturbingly kinda disappointed when there isn't one.

How many of us wanted to see it all go down?

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see the XBone crash and burn. The changes they made today just seem like we forced them to and they could still change their mind about them, and it would have had much more impact had they launched the console as is (was?) and see first hand what happened.

On the other hand, the wallets haven't voted yet.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see the XBone crash and burn. The changes they made today just seem like we forced them to and they could still change their mind about them, and it would have had much more impact had they launched the console as is (was?) and see first hand what happened.

On the other hand, the wallets haven't voted yet.

Pretty much this.

All that Microsoft learned from this is that they can't fuck us all in one big sweeping change to how game ownership works. Now they'll re-implement all the bad things that they just took away, but this time they'll do it slowly so that every change we can say "well it's not THAT bad" until in 2 generations we have the exact same thing that the xbox one was going to be.

Microsoft has shown us it's hand, we now know exactly what they want this industry to become. The fact that they've backed down for now is nice, and gives us some breathing room, but we all know Microsoft, along with various publishers, are still totally intent on having what the xbox one originally promised.

 

[Zeh Don]

I don't like to post in my own threads but...

...it would have had much more impact had they launched the console as is (was?) and see first hand what happened...

that's a really good point, and I didn't consider it. The first hand experience would've removed a lot of the guess work, and could be used as an example for any company when they contemplated the same policies.
I guess, as always, we need to remain vigilant. We won the battle but not the war, so to speak.

 

[Soviet Steve]

I really wish I could have just seen Microsoft walk the plank.

 

[alphamalet]

I could imagine a few people being disappointed. The Sony fanboys will be; that goes without saying. Who I think will be disappointed are the people who really liked the idea of family sharing. That entire idea has been discarded in the wake of this announcement.

 

[Doom972]

I've no interest in getting a next-gen console, so I would've liked to see it play out. I'm sure it's a relief to some console gamers who were previously torn apart because of it.

 

[Miss G.]

This is all well and good for now, but we as a community need to keep this from happening. Just like in history there will always be that one guy/group that looks back at the failings of their predecessors and sees where they can 1-up them in douchebaggery/evil. They can always come back to try this again or get more allies when we least expect it and they might actually be prepared to knock us down then.

 

[Dryk]

All that Microsoft learned from this is that they can't fuck us all in one big sweeping change to how game ownership works. Now they'll re-implement all the bad things that they just took away, but this time they'll do it slowly so that every change we can say "well it's not THAT bad" until in 2 generations we have the exact same thing that the xbox one was going to be.

That's what they should've done from the start, same with Windows 8. They jumped the gun, and now they're going to have to live with the fallout from that for a long time.

 

[Saltyk]

I'd be lying to say that I didn't want to see the console Crash and Burn. I wanted to guarantee that no one would ever try the same dumb ass DRM policies ever again. But now, I fear we'll see it again in a generation or two. Obviously, we "just weren't ready" for the policies. For "the future."

It would've been funny in a grim way to see the Xbox One crash and burn. Of course, the gaming industry would've taken a bit of a tumble if MS pulled out of the race due to the catastrophe of X1 so I'm also glad that never happens...for now.

I don't think they would have pulled out that easily. They choose to get into console gaming. I doubt they would have gave up that easily. I'd compare it to the PS3, but Sony's troubles were different.

 

[unstabLized]

Yup. I still wish that it burns, but it probably won't happen anymore. Nothing against the console specifically, but I hate Microsoft's attitude towards their customers. All that defending of the shitty features even when it was clear that people didn't want it, all that "We need to educate gamers","If you don't want online buy a 360","The world is going from offline to online" bullshit. Yeah, I was hoping they would crash and burn because of that crap.

Plus, if Sony had gone the same way as Microsoft, Microsoft wouldn't have changed their policy, unless gamers decided not to buy either console. We all went to PS4, so they backtracked. Neither Sony or Microsoft really listen to the consumers as much as they just make business decisions based on the rival's actions, which is what happened. I honestly wouldn't care if either console didn't sell, but hey, Sony rocked on their presentation, which caused Microsoft to turn back.

Still though, might pick up a PS4, might not. I haven't touched a console since PS2, and I've been glad about it. Don't rest easy though, Microsoft can turn around and bring all this shit back at the snap of a finger, and something tells me that further down the road, they just might use the excuse of "We fixed it so now it works" and pop everything back in while laughing their asses off at all the pre-orders they got.

 

[Something Amyss]

I don't think it's over yet.

The only think I feel let down by is the lack of sharing options. I'm just not ready to give up disc games for it.

 

[Zhukov]

Yeah, a little.

An embarrassing reversal just isn't as much fun to watch as a flaming trainwreck.

Ah well, I'm hoping that at the very least they still come out last in the console race.

Also, I kind of liked how the previous situation made the choice really easy. Now whenever I decide it's time to buy a console I'm going to have to actually start comparing prices and exclusives and whatnot.

 

[UnnDunn]

I am quite disappointed. I liked the idea of being able to buy a disc, install it, and never worry about that disc again. I liked the idea of giving up to 10 friends access to my entire library. I liked that my games would roam with me from console to console without lugging a bunch of discs around.

Thanks a lot, internet. This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[Zhukov]

I am quite disappointed. I liked the idea of being able to buy a disc, install it, and never worry about that disc again. I liked the idea of giving up to 10 friends access to my entire library. I liked that my games would roam with me from console to console without lugging a bunch of discs around.

Thanks a lot, internet. This is why we can't have nice things.

Duck and cover, mate. Barricade your Escapist inbox.

Who knows, if you're lucky, your comment might pass unnoticed.

 

[skywolfblue]

No.

As much as the Xbox was/evil and draconian, I don't really want Sony to have monopoly either. So I can't say I was filled with glee at Microsoft's failures.

I'm the kind of guy who, when hearing the screeching of car tires, waits for the crash sound afterwards. And who is also secretly, strangely and possibly even disturbingly kinda disappointed when there isn't one.

I'd rather people avert/mitigate disaster, I'd rather see my enemy come to redemption then to wish him to crash and burn.

 

[tilmoph]

I am quite disappointed. I liked the idea of being able to buy a disc, install it, and never worry about that disc again. I liked the idea of giving up to 10 friends access to my entire library. I liked that my games would roam with me from console to console without lugging a bunch of discs around.

Thanks a lot, internet. This is why we can't have nice things.

You can still do those things. They didn't drop any of the connectivity features. What they did was drop the restrictions on who you can share with and how many people you can share with, stopped mandated call-ins every 24 hours, basically, they dropped the consumer control nonsense. Exactly none of those things require the control over the end user Microsoft originally planned. So, on behalf of the internet, you're welcome for the improvement to your product. If we complain enough, with enough focus, sometimes we do get nice things.

On the subject in general, mission accomplished. It's not a total victory, far from it, and we're all going to need to keep are eyes and ears tuned to what the big guys are up to to makes this stick. The DRM trends are still there, EA is still EA, but at the end of the day, we made Microsoft of all people back the hell down. I'm a PC gamer through and through, so my only real interest in this story just ended, since if MS hadn't backed down, and had succeeded with this scheme of theirs, it would have opened the floodgates to this kind of crap, already streaming in on a regular basis, to all platforms in an unholy tsunami of control, monitoring, and shackles. Hopefully, with this action, we can make everyone, from console makers to game publishers to dev teams to bloody marketing people working in these companies, realize exactly how sick of this we are, and give them pause before they start any of this nonsense again.

I don't doubt MS will start trying, a few months after launch, to reintegrate their controls piece by piece to see what, exactly, drove the massive negative response. They are going to want to know what the exact limit of bullshit they can get away with is, but I'm honestly glad this ended before launch.

EDIT: Just saw they were dropping the digital sharing. That does suck, so sorry for the smartass remark, kind of. Still say you made out here, but I can see your disappointment with the loss of that feature (it was the one thing I had to compliment about the XBox One).

 

[Thebazilly]

I was looking forward to watching Microsoft hang itself with its stupid decisions, so this is almost disappointing. I wanted to see some well-deserved, unmitigated failure.

Not that I'm a Sony fan or I hate Microsoft. I just wanted to see a fantastic disaster. Kind of like watching a NASCAR race just for the crashes.

 

[UnnDunn]

Duck and cover, mate. Barricade your Escapist inbox.

Who knows, if you're lucky, your comment might pass unnoticed.

Eh, my views are well known around these parts by now.