Some might say that some of the comments made about gamers were downright disrespectful and included these, “…gamers can’t understand what the advantages are till they use it,” and “…for those not able to hook their console to the Internet, they should just buy an Xbox 360.” From the messaging we are hearing, Microsoft does not intend to and/or has no desire to listen to what the user community wants regarding Internet connectivity and DRM.
To show the lack of seriousness with which Microsoft is regarding the user community, it seems that Microsoft regards the daily connection of the Xbox One to the mother ship as not a big deal, and that in extreme cases you could tether the console to your cell phone in order to make the daily connection. Apparently, the data transferred is in bytes and they claim should not eat into your mobile data allowance. This was the solution recommended by Microsoft itself when asked about unexpected Internet outages due to something such as a storm or provider problem.
In the end, Microsoft believes that it is the software and abilities of the console that are going to drive consumers to choose Xbox One. As far as the software goes, the line up looks pretty good, despite the fact there was no Gears of War title announced. Titanfall makes up for that. Still, we have to wonder if sales are sluggish out of the gate because consumers are flocking to the PlayStation 4, and what impact this will have right away for developer plans for the Xbox One. Right now, if we were a publisher we would feel much more confident in the success of the PlayStation 4 than the Xbox One; and that is a feeling that Microsoft can’t make go away.
