The people behind Microsoft’s Xbox One have heard the criticisms of their console (especially from their main rival) and have changed their stance on a bunch of their digital rights management policies, affecting the console’s online requirements and the ability to share games.
According to Giant Bomb, Microsoft has confirmed that there will be no mandatory internet connection or online check-in every 24 hours. In fact, an internet connection is only needed when you are first setting up the console. Xbox’s new policies also get rid of their much derided used games policy, where instead of being able to share disc-based games with friends for free, users would have to pay an extra fee to play the game on a new console or buy a used game.
At the same time, Xbox dropped some of it’s more unique technological aspects that put an emphasis on using online capabilities to make discs obsolete and free up the gaming experience. Microsoft made a big deal at E3 about how once you installed your game on the Xbox One, you would no longer need to put the disc in the console. But that has been scrapped. The Xbox One’s other anticipated feature, family sharing, which would have allowed up to ten family members to log in and play their games from anywhere, is also no more.
Sony also had problems earlier this week when an online update of the PS3 turned buggy and made consoles that installed it unusable. It’s clear that Sony and Microsoft are still battling with the new technological landscape and growing power of online capabilities in the video game industry.
What do you guys think? Are the Xbox’s One new policies a sign of a company listening to it’s customers and changing accordingly or a company cutting and running from the future and trying to recover from a brutal lashing at the hands of the press, fans and competitors?
