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

[UnnDunn]

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.

Now the disc has to be inserted if you want to play. The 10-friend library sharing feature has been removed. Disc-based games are no longer added to your online library so they can roam with you. All of that functionality is gone, because you people couldn't deal with connecting the console to the internet.

 

[klaynexas3]

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're welcome, and I hope you have learned your lesson about liking things that are unpopular.

But more so, I will say that I am sorry that you lost the features about the console that were actually good. However, with the trade off, I'm not sorry about the reversal, and if we had to sacrifice small conveniences to protect ownership and stop Microsoft from alienating a vast majority of the world, then so be it. I hate to say it, but I'd rather you be disappointed than live in the all digital world Microsoft envisioned had things actually gone well.

OT: I would have liked to have seen the train wreck, and it would have done wonders for Sony, maybe returning them to their former PS2 and PS1 days when they ruled the market, but it's better this way, as it prevents even a small chance of the horrible things that were apart of the Xbox One from reaching past itself. Better to stop it dead in its tracks than to let it run rampant.

 

[captnb2thep]

I'm only disappointed because it makes my decision hard again. Used games and available to play in a rural area (with poor or no internet connection) is very important to me, so that made the PS4 a no-brainer. Now I actually have to weigh the pros and cons of each...grrrrr thinking.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

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.

Now the disc has to be inserted if you want to play. The 10-friend library sharing feature has been removed. Disc-based games are no longer added to your online library so they can roam with you. All of that functionality is gone, because you people couldn't deal with connecting the console to the internet.

Why are you blaming us? MS decided to remove the good things along with the bad. Unless you can prove to me that the always online, no used games and all the other restrictions are needed to be able to optionally have a game on an online library or to be able to play without a disc, you're talking out of your ass.

Edit: might want to check this thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.819419-Stop-complaining-about-the-loss-of-the-shared-library-feature-It-was-a-smoke-screen], just in case you still had delusions about the shared library (unless, again, you can prove that it was indeed all it was cracked up to be).

 

[Olas]

Ya I'll admit I'm disappointed, I was never going to buy the XBone anyway so I had nothing at stake but the shitstorm sure was fun to watch.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I'm disappointed for two reasons: 1, because now some people will buy the console that these assholes were willing to subject to all sorts of anti-consumer crap, and they'll be free to try again next time with more tact rather than being left in the dust by companies that intend to provide for their consumers and 2, because there were a couple of features, sharing and discless play, that some people actually wanted the Xbone for, which will now be removed instead of supplemented, which I think is stupid. And in fact, I'm beginning to think MS has done this out of spite to lend false credence to their assertion that you get the whole system or nothing and can't give and take good and bad features.

 

[MPerce]

Yeah, I'm a little disappointed since I never had plans to get the One in the first place. So many lulz, lost to the infinite cosmos of possibility....

Oh, well. It's a huge win for consumers, so I can't feel too sad. And I'm sure Microsoft will find something else stupid to do that'll make up for it.

 

[tilmoph]

Now the disc has to be inserted if you want to play. The 10-friend library sharing feature has been removed. Disc-based games are no longer added to your online library so they can roam with you. All of that functionality is gone, because you people couldn't deal with connecting the console to the internet.

I did catch them dropping the digital sharing option and tried to correct myself in my above edit. That does suck, and I'm sorry they decided to take away that neat feature.

However, fixing the things the people who didn't like the 24-hour checks and the no used games thing did not require them to chuck those options. Nothing is making them do that. Microsoft decided, on its own, for whatever reason, that if they can't have absolute control over your games library, then they can't use the tech they already developed. We didn't do that. Microsoft could have implemented an offline mode to get around the opposition to the 24-hour check, they could have allowed you to upload your games to a cloud if you wanted to. They could have still allowed the digital friend lending if they wanted to. Hell, if they had said "To keep people from just buying one copy and spreading it to all of their friends, we're going to only allow one loaned digital copy to be played at a time, owner gets priority and can assign priority to other users if they want to" I know I would've seen that as reasonable.

All they needed to do to calm everyone down was to allow options on how you want to use your games and console, you know, adding optional features. Don't trust the MS servers to not crap out and lock you out of all your games; keep'em on a disc, don't tie it to a given account. You give up some sharing options in exchange for not risking your console basically going brick on you, and can sell or trade a physical copy. Microsoft chose to throw a big fit that people didn't like the degree of control they were mandating, and decided to take their ball and go home instead of compromising. Don't blame us for Microsoft's decisions.

 

[Yopaz]

Well, I guess I'd have to say yes and no here.

I kinda wanted to see the Xbox crash, but why did I want that? It would send a message that the consumer wouldn't stand for such things. That the company trying to screw us over wouldn't fly. It would cause a huge loss and it would likely be dropped from future consoles (for at least one generation).

Now why is there one way I am not disappointed? Because as much as the internet has spoken I don't think there would be such a huge crushing defeat of the Xbox. I bought a GameCube because it was a Nintendo console, I bought the Wii because it was a Nintendo console, I even bought the Wii U for the exact same reason. Quite a few of us will buy things because we know that they will be a source of a few games we want that might be exclusive for that console. People would buy the Xbox One, they might grumble about it, they might be overjoyed lugging that thing back home on day one, they might be one of those who have claimed to boycott Microsoft for all eternity. My point is that we would buy it despite of our reasons to shy away from it. We would buy it despite how horrible it is to consumers. We really aren't that idealistic. I bought a PS3 due to some shiny toys that I really wanted, I bought the 360 due to some shiny toys. The only difference is that with the Xbox One they would have to show me a few more shiny toys in order to make me buy it, but it could still end up being bought.

However now we have won by simply bitching on the internet. Microsoft has backed down and admit defeat. We no longer have to rely on the willpower of the consumer. We won. For now.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Sure a showdown would be epic, but there is a high chance things would turn out badly.
Right now MS is getting blasted with responses from people who actually give a shit about gaming, but at launch all the monkeys who don't care would come into play and then MS would quickly realize they are still doing great.
Sadly people with spines only make up about 10% of the gaming community and loosing those would actually give MS a great opportunity to hustle people out of all their consumer rights.

 

[crimson sickle2]

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.

I'm always inclined to gawk at magnificent train crashes, but a train derailment jump-canceled into the train realigning with the tracks, at a slightly slower pace, would be more fantastic than any single crash.

Unrelated: is it possible to reword the poll? The post makes it sound like the poll is asking if viewers were looking for a crash, but the poll itself is asking if the viewer is hyped for the next-gen console wars.

 

[OctoH]

I was not going to purchase an Xbone before, and I still am not going to. But I would have respected Microsoft more (if only by a little bit) had they actually stuck to their guns. I would have still laughed as they crashed and burned though.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

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.

Yeah, it's kinda weird that they just ditched the family-sharing without even a second thought. Almost like it was never going to amount to anything because no publisher in its right mind was going to opt-in and allow 11 people to play one copy of a game that costs tens of millions to produce.

Family-share was a ruse to quell some of the hatred for Xbone's new restrictions. Now that those restrictions are gone, there's no reason for them to pretend they were ever going to let you share your entire library with 10 other people.

OP: I'm split. On the one hand, it would have been fun to see MS suffer actual financial ruin for their ideology. They've reversed course with enough time to repair most of the damage, so I'm not sure how lasting this lesson will prove. On the other hand, we were all relying on consumers to be educated and strong-willed enough not to buy the Xbone, and I wouldn't bet a ham sandwich on that - to say nothing of the future of the industry.

I guess I'd rather be happily (if warily) surprised right now than massively, depressingly disappointed later.

 

[Zetatrain]

Yeah I admit as much it pleases me that Microsoft reversed all those dumb decisions I too am disappointed that we won't get to see them crash an burn. Seeing themselves dig a deeper and deeper hole every time they tried to justify their bonehead decisions has proven to be most entertaining.

 

[zefiris]

A bit disappointed, yeah, but overall it's a good step. As long as they learn in the future.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Wow, you just made yourself look like a terrible, terrible person.

I have severe issues with Microsoft and their practices, and most of their recent high-impact business decisions.

I criticize them pretty much every day. Not all day, but multiple times for various unrelated reasons and specific, real-life triggers encountered by people relying on Microsoft and their products and services.

I keep piling up Windows 8 licenses that I do not intend to use, as I plain hate it.

And yet - I rely on Microsoft. I want Microsoft to prosper and stay in business. I want Microsoft to evolve, not randomly mutate into yet more bubblegum-coloured nonsense.

I want a strong Xbox, no matter how silly they decide to name it.

Actively hoping for the worst is nasty. And that's coming from a nihilistic, misanthropic pessimist. So... you might want to go have that attitude checked and fixed. Life's just too darn short.

 

[Lilani]

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.

That's nice and all, but they didn't have to be such assholes about how it works. Charging extra for used games? Requiring connectivity all the time just to play the stupid things, even if they're completely installed on your hard drive? Hell people say Steam isn't too different from the way the x-bone was going to work, but at least when I had 9 months of shitty Internet Steam let me play offline and didn't just lock me out because I wasn't able to install updates.

 

[The_Echo]

There was a part of me that really, really wanted to see Microsoft crash, burn and explode out of the gaming industry.

So yeah, I'm a little disappointed.

But they're still starting the race with a broken leg, so who knows what'll happen.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Of the three possible scenarios (Xbone w/DRM Succeeds, Xbone w/DRM crashes, Xbone wout/DRM), we ended up with the best one.
So no. I am not disappointed. For once, the market finally pulled its head out of its ass and forced Microsoft to do the right thing or face oblivion.

 

[Olas]

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.

Now the disc has to be inserted if you want to play. The 10-friend library sharing feature has been removed. Disc-based games are no longer added to your online library so they can roam with you. All of that functionality is gone, because you people couldn't deal with connecting the console to the internet.

Dude, some people don't HAVE internet. 4 days of the week I'm one of them. Why shouldn't they be able to play a singleplayer game just because they don't have an internet connection? And unless all your friends live 1000 miles away you can still share your games with them, just give them your disc. I assume there are no longer any 10 person restrictions or anything like that anymore.

And Like KarmaTheAlligator said it's not like we were asking them to remove those additional features anyway, we just wanted the restrictions taken out. Who knows, maybe after their engineers get some time to tinker around they'll be able to bring em back and give us both