Zelgon said:
I'm going to assume I'm not the only one who'd point out that this thread is the first thing talking about any Xbox One hate for awhile.
...quick question, in case you don't read the rest. When you said 'Your Solutions' about the whole check-in, does that mean you yourself don't have a very strong Internet connection?
Second, for the love of Pete, Sony did not announce that they are using 3.5GB. Digital Foundary is assuring us that an anonymous developer is assuring THEM that this happened, but Sony hasn't released a number. The only statement they released was to clarify the different between the types of memory. Now, maybe it will turn out to be 3.5GB, maybe not, but there is no confirmation either way.
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DRM/Family Share
You know what innovation would have been? A console with no disc-based media whatsoever. Digital only games. I'm serious, think about it; if it's all digital-only, then clearly those with strong Internet connections would be the only ones who would be able to use it. There might be some grumbling, sure, but it would die down pretty quickly cause... well... dere's no DISC DRIVE, whaddya gonna do? You can have Family Share, cloud uploading whatchamajigs, all that fun stuff, and the only downside is that you wouldn't be able to buy a game at the game store. This would have been true innovation, a pioneering spirit to push games forward into the Digital Age.
It also would have been an unmitigated disaster. Though I've heard plenty of people insist that disc-based games are dying, they're nowhere near dead yet. Every single person who didn't have an unlimited data cap, or a slow connection speed, etc, would just have gone to the competition. Folks with poor Internet would never have been able to play a single game on it. You yourself have said you enjoy physical disc copies, so this would have disadvantaged you, but this isn't about you or me, this is about innovation and moving the industry forward!
But instead, Microsoft decided to insist that digital was the future, that the Cloud was the future, and discs were there just out of some nostalgic optional generosity. But that wasn't it; Microsoft would never have willingly ceded the physical media market to Sony or Nintendo, not in a billion years, because that slice of the market is still sizable.
And therein lies the rub. Microsoft wasn't Ahead Of Its Time, it was trying to MAKE the Time come faster. If they succeeded in making digital media more appealing to a larger market, then more and more people would have been inclined to skip the Gamestop altogether and purchase directly from Microsoft. But they did it backwards. Instead of making digital media MORE attractive, say by making it cheaper than physical, they instead just decided to 'nerf' physical media by attaching to it the same restrictions as digital, and then touting a Family Share program that was supposed to be better.
And even this Family Share program has some doubts, simply because Microsoft avoided the press like the plague, and never gave us an opportunity to ask some hard questions that could have made it a lot more solid, and potentially appealing. Examples;
"Would I be able to play any of the DLC my friend bought, or just the core game?"
"How about multiplayer, can I access that?"
"Are Publishers able to opt-out of this program, or is every company that signs on required to make all their games available with Family Share?"
"Does this apply to indie titles, or only Triple-A games?"
And so on. The most information we heard about Family Share came after they CANCELLED it, and it's still got gaping holes left unanswered. Now, if they'd only stuck it to digital media, I agree, it would have been better, but this wasn't about making digital media better. This was about prying people away from discs.
As for the check-in, the problem wasn't that it was there, the problem was that there was no CHOICE. I personally don't need to share games with random people- anyone I game with, we game together anyway, therefore need our own copies- and so this perk wouldn't have outweighed a requirement that would have made the console useless for a long trip to the cabin with friends. No Internet, but hark! Electricity! So PS4 won in my book, hands-down, even though I have excellent Internet at home. If Microsoft had made it an opt-in feature, (one you weren't allowed to opt-out of afterwards, even, or with restrictions on it,) giving you a choice on the check-in and the goodies it apparently required, then it might have been taken with a little less hostility.
But instead, it was 'Our Way Or The Highway.' So more than a few of us just chirped 'Highway It Is, Then!'
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Kinect 2.0
Actually, it has been well-established that it can be 'completely turned off.' But the one thing that hasn't been established, to my knowledge, is why it has to remain connected in the first place. The 'It encourages developers' excuse doesn't work, because I'm not talking about having to BUY it with the console, I'm talking about requiring a physical connection, every minute you play, regardless of whether you've turned it off. Why? The closest answer I have found, which is more a rumor, is 'They installed the controller's receptors in the Kinect.' In which case... WHY? Why design it like that?
Bottom line is, the requirement could just be an example of shoddy design on Microsoft's part- and, I'm sorry, if there aren't any nefarious purposes, then it IS shoddy design to brick the system if the Kinect isn't connected- but Microsoft has not been straightforward as to why the camera must be connected. And in the absence of fact, what else can arise but rumor and speculation?
As for why it got out of hand... well... PRISM much? The timing of Snowden's revelations were devastating, because even as Microsoft was telling us 'We would never release your personal information without a warrant!' there came news of a government program that allowed the release of personal information without a warrant, in which Microsoft was a part, among many others. The added revelation that it applied only to non-American citizens has given the U.S. the image of a great big bully on the international stage, and has made the Xbox One's chances in the wider world market significantly smaller.
What is funny about it is I was around when PRISM was still just leaked documents, before the government actually confirmed the program's existence. The Xbox One defenders just laughed and laughed and called those talking about it Tinfoil Hat people... and when news came out that it was REAL, that the tinfoil hat people were RIGHT? "....Pffft, I don't care if I get spied on! Why should I worry?" Not so much as a '...sorry, man, you were right,' they just switched defensive tactics.
If Microsoft wants to be trusted, they need to take steps that aren't just TELLING us we can trust them. Because recent events have already proven we can't take their word for much, and even if there's a tiny chance the camera would be used as some sort of surveillance tool... well... plenty of people wouldn't need to be certain, they might just decide not to take the chance.
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The games are entirely subjective, so Imma not bother. x3
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Anyway! tl;dr. You of course have the right to make your purchase decision as you see fit, according to what you believe best suits your personal needs. But the mistake here seems to be that you've decided those who oppose it are wrong to do so, or perhaps wrong for voicing it; but how are you any better, in writing this thread? To put it another way... would it be wrong for me to tell you to shut up and stop supporting the system?
On another note, methinks you're slightly overplaying just how 'innovative' Microsoft was trying to be. When it came to changes that actually benefited the game development industry, as opposed to major publishers, they've been steadily one step behind everyone else.