Haha, that gave me a giggle MattM.
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I was appalled by the press conference. Mainly for the following reasons:
1.) I do not like, nor do I want, Kinect. Simple. Thus, by bundling Kinect with "One" as a mandatory extra I am automatically paying for something I
do not want. That is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make selling anything - forcing the consumer to pay for an extra they know they won't use.
Also - Why the fudge call your console "One" (pointing to the console as an "all-in-one" device) but then include two separate devices? Mind-boggling.
2.) Tying game purchases to xbox live account. It has been confirmed, last I checked, that you must install a game to the hard drive (which is, importantly, only 500gb) and from that point on the disc cannot be used on another machine without paying a fee.
That means
no borrowing your games to friends/family. It means you can't buy 2nd hand games without having to make an additional purchase to activate it via xbox live.
The reason for this is pure and simple: Greed. Microsoft, like EA (-> Online passes) have decided they're not happy with the billions generated through first-time game sales. No. They want to get their claws into the re-sale market. They want to destroy the idea of being able to borrow a friend a game.
Buying a game the first time around - at an already quite expensive price - is no longer enough for Microsoft. £40 a year subscription for Xbox Live is no longer enough for Microsoft. The huge amounts generated by DLC is no longer enough for Microsoft.
Up until now this has been just about bearable in the form EA have operated things. You buy a 2nd hand game and miss out on a few features of the game (namely online play, in most instances).
Importantly - Microsoft have gone one further. You can't play the game at all without paying a fee. The fee hasn't been discussed yet but there's been indications it could be anything up to the full price of the game.
3.) No backwards compatibility. /facepalm (Presumably because Xbox 360 games can't be force-tied to the Xbox One in the way new titles can. Meaning developers will continue to work on Xbox 360 titles and, probably, will release the same game for both One AND 360 (in much the same way as many developers kept releasing the same titles for PS2 and PS3). Not enough money in that!
4.) It looks near on the same as an Xbox elite. No originality in the thought behind the design. Its yet another, rather ugly, black box. Only with a peripheral that you also need to find space for.
5.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ekOtn7L1N0
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TL;DR - Microsoft has been making less and less from its conventional revenue streams (Windows 8 hasn't exactly been flying off the shelves) and is looking to balance that by raping its Xbox brand for all its worth.
[edit] Kotaku Interview: (
Source)
Microsoft Corp VP Phil Harrison said:
But what if you want to bring a game disc to a friend's house and play there? You'll have to pay a fee and not just some sort of activation fee, but the actual price of that game in order to use a game's code on a friend's account. Think of it like a new game, Harrison said.
"They would be paying the same price we paid, or less?" we asked.
"Let's assume its a new game, so the answer is yes, it will be the same price," Harrison said.
