Then can we agree that the TV features aren't actually going to sell the XOne. Doubly so if features like Netflix are behind a further XBox Live Gold subscription? And why would you say that hardcore gamers aren't the bulk of the people who are buying Call of Duty, Madden, FIFA, and even motion control games? They're still games, and the hardcore play games.

Two times have game consoles dipped into the mainstream, that's the PlayStation 2 and the Wii. The PS2 caught the wave of DVD adoption. The Wii captured people's imagination with Wii Sports. The PS3 tried to ride the wave of Blu-ray adoption, but that fizzled. Kinect tried to cash in on the Wii audience, but they'd already left their Wiis dusty and forgotten.

The only reason people are going to buy an XOne is because of a game. All of that TV, internet streaming, HDMI pass-through, fantasy league, skype shenanigans are just value-adds, cherry-on-top, sprinkles. They're toppings where as games are the ice cream, banana, and fudge.

Microsoft's emphasis on all these periphery features shows that they're less concerned with what will actually sell their system. The hardcore will be ones taking a chance to buy a system that may be a possible flop. The hardcore will be the ones to report with word-of-mouth to the mainstream if the XOne is worth purchasing. Regardless of that, developers will do the best with the system they're given. If some developer makes a great XOne game, then the system will sell. That's how it works.

The irony here is that, in making this move, Microsoft are scaring people away from the world they want. And yeah, Microsoft's version of the future clearly isn't the only option, as Sony has proven.

@mandude:

I have no hard evidence, but then there is no damning evidence either. It's pretty dang early to doom the console's launch based on the sales rankings 2 whole days into E3. Besides, what I'm estimating is their target audience are NOT really the people that are going to be closely following E3. The sorry was meant to be sarcasm, aimed at the how the internet likes to decry anything video games that are not for the typical gaming audience. I myself am thrilled. Both consoles seem solid, and hell, $399 is less than I figured either of them would be.

If you don't work for Microsoft do yourself a favor and try too. If you are passionate about the company you should apply it in a more productive way.

There is absolutely no need to persuade people in a direction that has zero benefits for yourself.

@keris:

@keris

: Well, no, I don't expect anyone to buy it JUST for TV or Netflix, neither does Microsoft. But a huge market buys a console for one or two games a year: Call of Duty, Madden, Fifa, maybe even motion control games for the family....games that appeal far beyond the hardcore gaming audience, games that will always sold more than those aimed strictly at the hardcore audience, like The Last of Us or Infamous. Microsoft, by focusing more on these broad reaching titles, and then also including features like TV and sports, which also have a very broad reach, will entice those people who are not that into gaming, but like having a console for one or two things. Those people greatly outnumber the hardcore community. Add in the fact that the Xbox 360 built up a number of fans over the last gen, and that will pull people back, regardless of the knee jerk reaction following E3.

@shinjin977: I am neither a fanboy nor a corporate loyalist. I have no plan to buy an Xbox One myself until I see that their server structure is sound and they come up with some games that interest me. If I do buy a console at the end of the year, or early next year, it will likely be a PS4. I'm not arguing in favor of the Xbox One, just trying to rationalize why Microsoft is doing things this way. Believe it or not, flipping the bird at gamers and the people you mentioned is not in their corporate strategy. It's unfortunate that the online verification check is going to exclude people without internet capabilities, but that's all. They made a decision to run that risk with a new product. Microsoft is not enacting some great evil by doing this, they are simply trying to adjust their business plan, and likely dip their toes in the water of a digital only hardware. As for the Amazon pre-sale numbers, it's early. This is a knee jerk reaction from E3. I would still bet Xbox One sells more units this year.

Nice try, Microsoft!

What evidence is there to suggest that they're hitting their target audience? If E3 was anything to go by, Microsoft did not hit their intended audience well at all. Why are you sorry for the hardcore gaming community, anyway? They seem pretty thrilled at the moment.

DRM isn't the problem.

It's using that DRM and abusive, one-way EULAs to strip all ownership power from the customer. Just because it's digital doesn't magically mean you have no more ownership rights. We should be demanding a fair marketplace where owners can barter and sell their software licenses.

We should also be building online public libraries of single-user licenses.

Just because publishers are demanding something doesn't mean society should automatically comply. Copyright is a temporary monopoly granted by the people to promote the arts and sciences. It can just as easily be taken away by the people.

Huh, I hadn't seen that until now. Thanks for sharing, good article. Cant say I know anything about this Yusef Mehdi guy other than this interview and him demoing the Xone UI at their unveiling, but he seems to at least acknowledge the backlash and seems more qualified to talk about this stuff than Don "I'm just sewing my foot to my mouth permanently at this point" Mattrick.

The sidebar about the "Family" stuff is kinda intriguing. The bomb crew seemed to be struggling (like the rest of us) to know what the hell that meant in their reaction video to Microsoft's policy FAQ they put out pre-E3. But the concept of sharing games with a handful of friends regardless of how far away they live sounds kinda cool in theory? There could be horrible fine print attached to it that makes it less useful, but if it's as simple as that dude indicated in the article, then I guess it could be nice feature. I dunno what to even compare it to, maybe it'll be sorta like cellphone plans where you can designate a set number of people to have unlimited minutes usage with?

Steam's DRM isn't 24 hours. It's weeks bordering on a full month.

I feel like some spin-masters at Microsoft have just said, "The bullet point right now is comparing it to Steam. Comparing it to the PS4 or Wii is a failure, so change the argument."

Steam also doesn't have a camera watching me during a time when the NSA can tap into anything and everything you do onlinet, whenever they feel like.

An all-in-one box for the TV would be great. Unfortunately, the XB gives off the impression that it will be a huge pain to use. Advertisements, bloatware, subscriptions, questionable requirements, and of course the $500 price tag all push me towards just getting content from my PC. Of course, nothing is set in stone until the console launches, so who knows?

@shinjin977: Fan boys exist because they're already deep in the XBox ecosystem. They're definitely already going to buy whatever games come out on the XOne. I don't think that anyone who isn't already in the XBox (i.e. the mass market) would actually get the XOne for its multimedia pass-through capabilities.

I will say this: for those saying that while Steam gives so much in terms of low digital prices and sales, the Xbox will only take away...uh, well, the system isn't out yet, so they haven't really been able to sell digital games to you in that way, using that system. I'm not saying they for sure will, or that past actions indicate they will, but the new Xbox is a big departure in strategy from the 360 so its not exactly fair to assume 360 digital sales strategy accurately predicts future strategy.

Who? Fan boys, they exist. On other news, Wall street journal just quoted on exceeding demand of the ps4. Go on amazon.jp/uk/us etc. right now and you'll see ps4 being number 1 best seller while Xbox One is dropping to being behind the Last of us. Stop your corporate loyalty guys buy shit that support gamers not rejects it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yC8FbgGnd0 Are you seriously defending this middle finger they just gave to part-time worker college kids and people in the army? Seriously?

@mcdayman said:

How is that going to sell to a mass market audience though? Who's going to pay $500 and then $60 a year to have a Kinect-enabled viewing experience? Is there actually a market segment that chose to buy a 360 and then paid for XBox Live Gold just to only watch Netflix?

I finally understand Microsoft's plan: Selling more Xbox 360's.

That's actually a really good article.

Agreed, we're really seeing internet bi-polar disorder in full swing here. If I were a betting man, I would put money on the Xbox One to sell just as well, if not better than the PS4 at launch. They're hitting the mass market audiences (tv viewers, online shooter players, sports fans) much more effectively than Sony. I'm sorry duders, but there may just be a game console launching that contains features directed not towards the hardcore gaming community. It does not make it a piece of shit, nor does it make Microsoft the worst thing ever.

I agree that MS are being pigheaded with the DRM and poor old Don is just towing the company line.

The Windows 8 disaster shows they will double down on bad calls.

I think we're all pretty clear that the Xbox One is meant to be an all-in one media device, Microsoft have been very upfront about it, but I think there's reasonable scepticism about whether the Xbox One is going to be a successful and viable media box, and the bottom line is that gamers are going to care about its capabilities as a gaming machine, and the criticism of those capabilities seem entirely valid.

Whenever always-on gets brought up people say it doesn't matter because we're living in a world where everything has a constant broadband connection, but that's just not true. We are not yet living in a world where people can or should have to maintain a constant internet connection. It's not just people on nuclear subs who will encounter issues with the Xbox One. The comparison with Steam in terms of DRM has been brought up before, but for reasons that have been mentioned many times elsewhere the two situations aren't directly equivalent.

For those of you saying Microsoft needs to explain their plan, here you go:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/06/microsoft-defends-the-xbox-ones-licensing-used-game-policies/?rel=12971

It's a plan I'd rather not be apart of. An all digital future doesn't mean you have to fuck physical media in such a rush. The market will naturally shift to what is better/easier (digital), always has and always will. Let this generation be the bridge between disc drives and no disc drives by making every game available digitally on day 1 (which both companies are doing). Once the consumer decides, taking out the disc drive wont be so bitter.

@darji: Oh I agree, but its just funny how they are just upfront about it

It is not mattrick it is Microsoft.

I don't care what their big plan is. It costs more and restricts how I can trade my games. Multi-media is irrelevant when my PC plugs into my surround system.

He is pretty much giving a big Fuck You. Just look at the peopled in the armed services who wont have internet access and want to unwind with some Xbox...

Microsoft's plan is that people will buy the Xbox One regardless. And they're not wrong. The mainstream don't know or care what DRM is. But they know and care what an Xbox is. And the hardcore have shown time and time again that they cannot boycott anything. As soon as the XB1 has one or two "killer" exclusives, the vast majority will crumble and buy one despite their objections to certain aspects of the console.

I can point to twelve such things in my house.

Steam didnt want me to pay 500$ to be able to buy games. Steam is free.

Steam earned my trust. Microsoft is losing it.

I think it was at the E3 a coyple years ago when microsoft had everyone whear alien space panchos while fake family s danced in boxs above their heads that I realized mucrosoft lost it. and the modest sony confrence in comperison.

Hee no thanks, bee my guest if you like to be Xboned.

Microsoft did this to themselves because if they wanted to go "diskless" they should have never included the optical drive. People would readily accept the idea of "no used games" if it turns out there is nothing physical to trade beyond the console itself.

You shouldn't compare them to their closest competitor?

DRM:

How big a chasm is Sony going to have to make people jump if they already have a digital system in place? This is about DRM affecting physical media. As it stands Sony's system is already ready for a digital future.

Always online:

Why is it that you don't understand that it's not about being onine, it's the requirement to be always (or near always) online or else the device loses functionality. Everyone understands that should connection to the internet be broken, then stuff like multiplayer gets busted. If one loses their connection to the iTunes store, their iPad doesn't become a brick as a result. Whatever app that doesn't use a connection still works fine.

Furthermore, why would people pay $500, and then $60 yearly to be able to watch Kinect-enabled Netflix? Sure, lots of people have anecdotes of how their friends lists are filled with people watching Netflix instead of playing games. But do you really think that those people bought their 360s solely based on its Netflix capabilities?

It sounds like all MS has to do is say that all games will be $30 with Steamlike sales and all the haterz will sink. Or Sony will have to say that its games will be $70 or $80 and MS's will be a lot less. And then all the haterz will bend over and DRM will glide right in.

I lost internet for 3 days this past weekend, including making me have to miss day one of E3. Do you know what I did during that time? I played Steam games in offline mode and played games on my Ps3. If I had an XBONE then I wouldn't have been able to play it for the second and third days of my internet blackout. I am in the lucky situation where I almost always have internet, but Verizon had to come fix some shit at my house and before they could send someone I had to deal with no internet.

Also I feel bad for college students who get this system and then can't play it because they are at colleges that don't allow game systems onto the network. Trust me, these colleges exist.

I understand what Microsofts long term goal is, but its hard to know that for sure. Personally I'll probably wait a bit after launch to decide what console to get first, but right now I feel more comfortable getting a PS4 at launch (more safer, more known quantity at this point).

The stuff Microsoft says sounds super interesting in the long run (all diigtal future with steam like sales, cloud powered games and crazy kinect/tv integration), but I need to know if what they are saying actually works. If the new kinect is still some janky piece of hardware and the tv integration is laggy and compromises the system and the games; then Microsoft has fucked up. So i'm going to wait till Xbox one is out to pass judgment on the system, and wait and see if PS4 has better online than PS3 (and where my friends go)

The other thing is most of the new games at E3 are these always online persistent open world games where single player and multiplayer are integrated, if that is the future of gaming then an always online console might be preferable way to play those games in the long run.

I do think Microsoft is thinking of the bigger picture and the more casual audience, I have seen a lot of my friends girlfriends and families with smaller children who really want to have a kinect for some reason, and I know a lot of people who just have a 360 for COD and sports games + netflix. They don't know what DRM is, their consoles never moves from the living room and they would probably buy the shit out of Xbox One if it was subsidized. I can't blame Microsoft for their business plan if it actually works and becomes a hit, fortunately in the worse case scenario we still have the PS4 which seems to be a competent hardware for gaming.

The problem is for one thing consoles are NOT PCs. Blurring that line is a huge mistake. If I want to deal with the same issues that a PC has I would just get a gaming PC. Plus the DRM issue on PC is not cut and dry. Everyone is comparing them to Steam but Steam is just one service. The PC has the luxury of not being a closed system.

A PC gamer has multiple options and venues to get their games from. A PC gamer can purchase a DRM free game from Good Old Games and use it how they want. That option simply does not exist on Xbox One, on the PC you are opting in to this arrangement that never existed on a console and is now being forced upon you.

And PC game's DRM was a necessary evil that was used to combat a problem that is for the most part non-existent on consoles, piracy. DRM on consoles is entirely about the used market. Its no longer about protection and becomes purely about control. And the entire threat of the used market is entirely overblown. Game publishers measure success in the first day sales, first week sales, and first month sales. In particular the day 1 sales. The used market cannot encroach upon the measure of success. Combating used sales isn't about protecting their property its about shaking you down to ensure they at least get a few more dollars when that title has already made as much as its going to make.

And all these DRM issues I completely would be fine with if they only applied to digital purchases. That is where all the licenses should come into play and ensuring your not doing something untoward with the content. None of this should logically apply to physical media but they are using anti-consumer loopholes in licensing laws to make it so. Microsoft by forcing you to install the game off the disc and be online with the game is not about enhancing your experience or allowing you to play without a disc its back to being in control. The way the One works physical media might as well not exist because Microsoft is forcing this restriction upon you that simply does not need to exist. If I have the physical copy of the disc that is proof I own the game. I should be able to do with the disc what I want.

If I eventually want to get a One it will be when I am ready to go all digital because essentially thats what the console is. Today I am not. This digital age is still new. We don't have any experience with what happens when these services disappear or what they do next time. Because right now Microsoft has already shut off one branch of Xbox Live forever and now digital content purchased on the 360 is incompatible with the One. When they stop making 360s and shut off that division of Xbox Live the same way they did before what happens? Same on Sony's end but they've already got a solution with Gaikai coming next year, a weird one to be sure but hey something is better than nothing. Who knows how it will shake out in the end.

Forcibly thrusting the "all digital future" into existence this way is sloppy and messy. The sad truth is once the market and the technology catches up and we are actually in the real all digital age we are going to lose content that we purchased as all these half measures get brushed aside. Thats the scary thing. Nothing is concrete the entire situation is fluid and can change on a dime because the systems in place are not planted solidly on one side or the other.

Thanks for the... explanation? Like I said, I already know all of these arguments. And despite them, I love Windows 8. I don't care if they were "arrogant" because to me, they weren't. I don't care if they should have done things different, because to me, they shouldn't have. And I don't see the "restrictive" bit at all because I can get things done so much faster on Windows 8 than any other OS I've ever used. Windows 8 made me buy a laptop/tablet hybrid PC called the Lenovo Yoga 13 which is the most flexible, useful, portable, and impressive piece of hardware I've ever owned. They are not starting to backpedal, as you can see with Windows 8.1 (which I am counting down the days until release). They are adding a desktop Start button, yes, but that's about it. They are expanding on the Modern UI and adding a ton more customizability options. I love everything they showed of the W8 evolution.

But no, perhaps Xbox won't bite them in the ass as much. I really do think that all of this outrage will die down as launch gets closer. And one important thing to note is that if a gamer buys both consoles, both companies are profiting. It's not like Microsoft would have money taken away from them if someone decides to buy the PS4. I'm going to buy a PS4, but not first. Simply because I love gaming and I will love the exclusives that the PS4 will have to offer by the time I get one. Competition is good because it leads to innovation, and Microsoft seems to be doing the most innovation out of any tech giant presently.

I think Microsoft has a plan alright, a plan to rip everyone off with their new confound fees and policies.

Out of all the interviews had with Microsoft not one has asked the simple question of why?

It seems to be this fear of not wanting to push back and challenge the decision of the company that we support with our dollars. Just ask question in a more direct way.

Yes I know I can only lend out a game once but why? Why can't I let multiple people borrow or keep a game that I paid for and play it for free? What do you MS as a company lose if I pass a game around to all my friends?

I know you want to give me a full experience, I know it will update 24/7 and keep me in tune with all the latest and greatest but why can't I play a single player game without internet? The reason I don't have internet on doesn't matter, why? What do you MS as a company lose, you've already made your sale?

Why am I forced to use Kinect? If you didn't mandate it to be bundled in every package would the price be less than $499? What happens if my Kinect breaks do I have to shell out $60 to $100 for a new one just to play video games again or do I need a entirely new XboxOne?

These 3 questions are what has led me to go with PS4 over MS. MS has this mysterious way of discussing the reason they do what they do. Sony has it's moments but for the most part they speak plainly.

Embracing their plan requires too much trust. I simply don't trust MS to do what's right when I'm trapped in their ecosystem. At least on PC I have other options.

Who cares if its spotty, it's not a solid connection just a check in. I can't imagine there being much data streamed, although going along with this guys blog, MS should be telling us these things. If all you need is a quick check in basic 56k can cover is it really that big of a deal. But they aren't telling us what the process will be like.

I don't think that's a completely accurate description. They want to be a service provider, a gatekeeper between the consumer and the content. Their end goal is that Xbox Live becomes the actual platform, streaming all of your entertainment to all of your devices, while MS skims their profit off the top of every transaction you make with the actual content producer. If they can layer that with additional charges while also becoming an advertising pipeline (literally making money by selling your screen-space to a third party while you pay MS for the privilege) then they'll jump on that too. If they can also sell you more devices which allow you to pay them more to carry their paid service around with you, all the better.

It's absolutely a corporate wet dream but I suspect that in practice Microsoft trying to establish good relationships with content producers while making all the rules, taking the lion's share of the profits, and finding a userbase willing to be exploited in that fashion and willing to pay for it might be like trying to wrangle a herd of angry cats.

Having online capabilities is one thing, FORCING you to be online in order to use what you bought is another completely different, ok how about this, what if you phone company said that from now you you can only make calls on your phone as long as you have a internet connection available on it? what if you go somewhere where 3g/4g coverage is terrible and you really need to make a call? would you like that?

Going back to games, what if my modem breaks and I'm unable to get online at all for 3/4 days until getting a replacement? it's ok to you to be UNABLE to play a fucking SINGLE PLAYER game because of that? really?

Microsoft has a plan: control all the entertainment in the living room. Internet, games, tv, twiter, facebook, netflix, ..., all under the strict policies they enforce. This was made pretty clear when Microsoft avoided introducting a browser in Xbox 360.

Yeah...Totally agree. The OP's argument is completely possible under Sony's infrastructure as well, and with less paywalls and restrictions. I totally agree Microsoft has a plan, but I'm not sure it's a good one...for me at least.

True that. True that. Customer is all ways right. They just dont know what the fuck they are talking about a good chunk of the time.

Yeah, people who throw that customer is always right argument around have never actually worked retail. The customer is usually an idiot and it's your job to make sure they don't hurt themselves too badly, or if you're a prick take them for everything they've got. As many have said including Jeff, sure Sony listened to the customer, because they thought it would benefit their bottom line, if it wasn't that way they'd have told us to go fuck ourselves with a Duke controller.

@bigandtasty: As an employee for an unnamed major used game retailer I can confirm that this is an accurate statement for the 360 right now.

@aiurflux: While I am on the same side as you in regards to the XB1 (I'm not calling it X1 or Xbone) You statement about the customer is always right is absolutely wrong. I understand your argument using it I just hate it when people use that saying. Other wise I'm just being a dick when I tell people Mario is Nintendo only or that the Wii won't play 360 games. (Those are actual things people have argued with me over when I tell them otherwise.)

To be fair, the Xbox One allows the use of an external harddrive.