This Post Has to Have "XBox One-Eighty" in the Title

I do believe that the Earth quaked a little earlier today when Microsoft announced one of the biggest backpedals in recent memory, vowing that most of the policies described as "Toxic" about the XBone will be absent from the console at launch.  Instead of the XBone being this thing that acts as a sort of hub for your games (since it would rip them to the HDD) with all sorts of restrictions on it, it has now become....well....a game console.  A game console that has a bunch of extra stuff that we've also been whinging about from day one (TV stuff, I'm looking at you as is....you know....every not in North America) but a game console nonetheless.  Finally.  It is...something of an absurd situation, much like the celebration of Sony's PS4 announcements, when this has to be something brought up and explained.

Specifically, the list of changes looks like this:

• No more 24-Hour Check-In
• No Mandatory Internet Connection at all aside from games that require it (Obvious) and a first-time connection when you set up the console
• Disks work like today and like they will with the PS4 - Buy them, sell them, trade them, loan them, the game is on the disk and the disk is your key
• Disks will not rip to the HDD, thus you have to have them in the console to play
• Family Sharing Plan thing is dead, dead, dead
• Digital Games work just like today in that you cannot sell or trade them
• The Console is Region-Free (Which I don't think it was ever stated as it wasn't?  This is probably due mostly to, y'know, blu-rays anyway)

All in all, it's a win for consumers.  So, basically this has been met with overwhelming positivity, right?

Hahahaha.

If anything, this has simply made people angrier as a whole than anything else and it's all at once completely understandable and not.  Fans of what the XBone was going to be are now angry because "whiners" have ruined their "perfect digital console" and are further incensed by the people who are still not buying an XBone because they're still suspicious of a company that was ready to go full-steam-ahead with these ideas until they were very loudly shouted down.  They're mostly incensed because they view these people who were 'never getting an XBone anyway' as non-essential - they were not part of the 'target market' (I'm really running with the air quotes, huh) so their opinions should have never factored into it.  All of these thoughts and opinions have me feeling and thinking so many different things that I find it's far, far too difficult to really condemn or defend them, but at least try to explain the sides and facets to them.

While it's true that every product simply has some people that just won't buy it no matter what - you're never going to sell your new chicken product to a vegan, for example - and they should really be factored in, you need to keep in mind just what your target market is and be able to determine if your target market is large enough and willing to buy in.  The target market for the XBone as it was was basically:  People who had reliable, stable and fast internet, people who have no qualms about digital purchases and sharing (and also have reliable, stable and fast internet) and people who live in the countries that Microsoft can reliably support with such a plan.  That target market....is honestly smaller than many people would like to believe thanks to the poor state of global infrastructure, and even a bulk of the people -in- that market weren't willing to buy in, meaning it was an even smaller one to begin with.

Conversely, it was completely within anyone's rights, interested buyer or not, to complain about how the XBone was shaping up, because it was a terrible machine for this point in time.  As far as I'm concerned, it was a terrible machine for -any- point in time, because I don't think Infrastructure is going to get to the point that everyone pushing digital is assuming we are anytime soon (soon meaning decades here) but I'm in the minority there.  The internet is not a right.  It's not water, it's not food, it's not housing - it's not classified as something necessary for your quality of life and as long as it's in the hands of the same people that refuse to improve upon it because they're making mad bank as it is, it won't be.  So this goes for everything as far as a 'digital future' involves, not just gaming.  Online banking, purchasing, straining out physical media more and more as time goes on is silly, but I worry that we're not going to figure that out until someone's gone over a cliff, so to speak.  Microsoft curiously toed that edge with a machine that will not work without the internet and thankfully was talked back from that precipice (because of pre-order numbers, I assure, not care for the consumer personally) but it sets a dangerous precedent all the same.

This was Microsoft's vision of the future today.  This missive from the company clearly states that it has not lost that vision of the future,

For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future.

but rather insists that you'll be fine with that vision anyway since you'll abide by what the restrictions were regardless,

While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.

which simply means, to me, that we'll have to worry about Round Two of this nonsense whenever the XDeuce is announced.  That's...not particularly appetizing to me since I simply see trends continuing as they are, meaning the five, six or seven years between now and then might be the difference in a lot of people standing up for consumer rights and instead adopting the 'fuck you, got mine' manner of thinking that many XBone supporters were clinging to.  That's likely a little unnecessary at this point, granted, since it's hard to tell what'll happen next week, much less in the next half-dozen years, but I'm sure it's something that a lot of people with the distaste of the XBone as it was before today are considering as well, given the level of Microsoft-distrust that still exists.  It can't -all- be simply residual, after all.

Regardless, what this honestly means is that the XBone has been elevated from this very niche market to something that is as accessible as everything else, meaning it's much, much more attractive to quite a few people out there.  Not everything is fixed with the console as Mandatory Kinect is still something many folks have been grumbling about, rightly or no, and will continue to grumble about because that's not looking like it'll change.  Combined with a higher overall price, the fact that many, many people have been indoctrinated into the wonders that is Playstation Plus and the idea that a lot of people have simply found reasons to attach to the PS4 means that this might not do a -lot- for Microsoft in the short-term, but thankfully it might in the long-run.  I know I've personally elevated the XBone from "Never buying it ever" to "Might get on the cheap for exclusives" like Project Spark (even if I'm still grumbly about the Fable filter) and there are likely plenty of people who -wanted- to like Microsoft, but couldn't and now feel that freedom with these policies taken down.

Personally, I'm just....disappointed by it all, really.  The fact that the XBone was presented as it was as a viable machine in the first place speaks more to a dissonance between companies and consumers than anything else possibly could, aside from the abysmal PR that's gone on since then.  And the basic fact is that we got lucky.  Microsoft was very easily in a position to force the XBone as it was down all our throats to attempt to make it the standard and the resistance would've been fierce at first (obviously since it was), but, well, people end up moving on.  Nobody was going to press the issue everyday it existed, much less multiple people and eventually fatigue sets in for the people who -can- run with that model but don't particularly want to, so long as the games were there.  Microsoft clearly flashed a lot of cash to developers and probably could've continued to do so for a year or two which would've been all that was needed for the final "ugh, fine" moment.  I'm obviously glad that none of this is going to transpire, but if Microsoft of all companies, thought this was viable, who's next?  And how many 'next' companies is it going to take to 'force' this model to be viable?  If we continue to be lucky, we won't find out, so....well, let's just start banking on luck, folks.

I kinda bummed myself out with all this, to be honest, how annoying

Bonus Post - Can I Gloat for a Minute?

Because I am absolutely going to gloat.

And by gloat, I mean repost a couple points that I made in the days leading up to E3.  Because I was so very very right and it doesn't happen often and it's a sweet feeling.

The way I'm thinking of things, it seems like Microsoft might think this was their way to keep the train going from this generation. Yes, the Wii out-sold them by miles and miles, but to Microsoft, competition was Sony. For a -long- time, they completely out-paced Sony and only here towards the mid-end was Sony actually catching up. Still, things like Sports games, big multiplayer focus games all sell better on the 360 because of whatever reason you could think of - 360 was out first, People really dig XBox Live, etc. etc. But with this new round, they know they're launching around the same time, so the slate is 'clean' and they have to have something to drive it.

So they go, "Games". And how do you get games? By sucking up to Publishers/Developers.

It is entirely possible that this is Microsoft's baby because it is a fucking huge power play. If you set up this system, it's enticing to the Publishers/Developers which brings them around for big exclusives (Respawn's thing) and great partnerships to make your version of a game more enticing (EA's Special Partnership). As many, many, many, many, many companies have proven time and time again, people who have objections about a product because this and that really don't matter in the least so long as that product is shiny enough to make a larger amount of people buy it and not care.

So, really, it is very possible that Sony will come out and win our hearts by saying "Off-line always is totally viable, no DRM", because the way Microsoft figures it, they've already won our wallets if that is the case. Barring big, big backlashes (not a bunch of people being angry on internet forums) that -might actually be the case-, since if you have the publishers, you have the games, and if you have the games, you have the customers.

For all you folks going "Oh, the PS4 is going to be just as bad!", well, there is your scenario that suggests it might not be.

- Me from this post ("Get Fucked, Microsoft", June 6th, 2013)

What I'm -hoping- (and expecting) they hammer in first is what a lot of people are hoping for:
No XBone-Style Restrictions.
It's simple.  And if you'll allow me, I'll try to explain my own reasons for why I absolutely believe that the PS4 -won't- have those restrictions.  (Which means more bullet points, yay!)

• Shuhei Yoshida has already said "Oh yes, yes, you can go offline totally" when referring to the PS4's online necessity.  (At the time, the "Always-On" question was being asked)  Detractors are saying that, if you use the highest order of bullshit semantics, you can go offline totally with the XBone (just only for 24 hours), but -come on- already.
• Microsoft is planning on using the Azure cloud for just about all of this stuff, including MP and their Used Games things.  Azure is a big fucking cloud that Sony simply does not have an equivalent of.  Without requiring online, this essentially kills all opportunities -to- enforce such a system anyway, which means Shuhei Yoshida would be a dirty, dirty liar.  Which could still be the case, but -come on- already.
• One of the main arguments has been "Publishers wouldn't go forward without -both- companies doing it" which is stupid and you're stupid if you honestly believe that.  Here's why:  What happens if Microsoft goes forward with their plans, and Sony doesn't, offering an alternative without the restrictions that most gamers will (apparently) happily run with instead of the XBone (which will still see a lot of purchases)?  They get to play both sides of the fence.  They take Microsoft's buddy-money in one hand for exclusivity and such with DLC (and the 'big bucks' from the used shenanigans) and they probably sell more copies on the PS4 because of the lax restrictions, thereby making the amount of money they look to make about equal from both.  Eventually, they'll figure out which has been the better fit for them and go from there.  It's actually the perfect scenario for Publishers instead of a scenario where both consoles have such a measure since that will, ultimately lead to less sales overall.
• There have been absolutely no rumors about it yet.  No inside information.  No leaks.  Let's face it - Sony's ship isn't the tightest out there, and neither is Microsoft's.  These restrictions and such, we had heard tell of months before the announcement (The only thing we didn't know about the XBone, really, was the name) and simply refused to believe because who would be that stupid?  But you bet your ass if there was anything anywhere about this from Sony's camp, especially after Microsoft, we would already know it by now.
  
  -Me from this post ("E3 - My Sony Predictions", June 9th, 2013)

It's not often that I can point at one of my predictions/expectations and say "NAILED IT", so, especially for something this big, I did want to toot my own horn here.  It's unnecessary, of course, and self-serving, but, well, I called the PS4 not doing the XBone stuff.

Let me enjoy it.

Sony's E3. Hot. Damn.

• $399 / €399 / £349 This Holiday Season
• Versus 13 is now Final Fantasy XV for PS4
• Kingdom Hearts 3 for PS4
• GTAV PS3 Bundle With Specialty Headset - $299
• The Walking Dead Gets Bundled with Vita Plus DLC
• The Order: 1886 is Announced, PS4 Exclusive From Ready at Dawn
• inFamous: Second Son is PS4 Launch Title Q1 Title (before 3/31/2014)
• Playstation is still the Indie Darling with Transistor, Don't Starve, Mercenary Kings, Secret Ponchos, *Deep Breath* Outlast, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Galak-Z and Ray's the Dead all announced for PS4
• The Elder Scrolls Online Announced for PS4, Will receive Beta 'First'
• Mad Max announced for PS4 from the guys behind Just Cause 2
• NO USED DRM, NO ONLINE CONNECTION CHECK-IN
• Playstation Plus carries over to PS4 Will include one PS4 Free Game Every Month to start, but is unfortunately required for Online Multi-player
• Playstation Cloud Gaming launches 2014 Will Stream some PS3 games, launches on PS3 and PS4 first, Vita at a later date

So, the presser was pretty much -all- about the PS4 which, as a Vita fan makes me sad sad sad.  Still, we did get Destiny of Spirits announced, and with the Indie Push, I would hope most, if not all, of those indie titles also end up on Vita (as well as some others that are current) and there is still plenty of time to announce things on the showroom floor.  Though, I suppose we might have to wait for TGS to see the likes of Gravity Rush 2 announced.  Also....probably all the other stuff I suggested since most of it is Japan-centric anyway.

Except a new Vita God of War/Uncharted.  Come on.  Give me -something- here.

Regardless, Sony came out swinging with the PS4 and I shouldn't have to point out how.

Hot.  Damn.

Get Fucked, Microsoft

I'm not supposed to be so outwardly negative.

I'm supposed to be responsible.  Supposed to try and take everything objectively and lay it out that way.  Supposed to have a certain level of separation between the news and my opinion of it.  I like to think I accomplish that more often than not, whether that's actually true or not.

Tonight is the exception.

Allll those things we were told in 'rumors' about the XBone that made it seem like this horribly ill-conceived idea that nobody really should've expected to go along with because they are that dumb?  All of those things that are so unbelievable consumer un-friendly that it has entered a realm of absurdity to assume they were true?  All of those things that should, by all logic and rights, be a fucking death wish for the product?

They are all true.

Internet Check-In Every 24 Hours or else your gaming console cannot play games?  Confirmed.  Officially on XBox.com.

With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies. 

Thank fucking Christ for the under-lined, though.  I mean, if you don't have internet for an extended period of time, at least you can use your $500 GAME CONSOLE to watch a fucking movie!  Because who needs to blow off steam with a video game when you can't do anything but watch TV/movies or read physical copies of things that this type of product specifically expects you to eschew.  Why buy DVDs/Blu-Rays when Netflix is right there with all sorts of stuff (Mogs Note:  Netflix does not actually have all sorts of stuff that you want.  Did you hear about South Park and old Bond movies being de-listed?  DIGITAL FUTURE!) until oh no, it's not right there because the fucking internet is out which is a common fucking occurrence.  But gaming?  Every 24 hours if you want to play it, which is fine and dandy if you live in wonderland where your internet ever ever ever goes out for more than an hour or so at a time.  Less so if you live in the real world.

Is giving your copy of a game to a friend or a store more complicated than it needs to be?  Confirmed.  And on XBox.com.

Today, some gamers choose to sell their old disc-based games back for cash and credit. We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers.  Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games.

In our role as a game publisher, Microsoft Studios will enable you to give your games to friends or trade in your Xbox One games at participating retailers. Third party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers.

Cutting the bullshit out, what this all means is that 'certain retailers' (Meaning, likely GameStop, -maybe- Best Buy and/or Wal-Mart since they're in the Used business) will be able to take your XBone games when you want to trade them in and it will likely be fine.  And you can buy that game used and it will also probably be fine, maybe.  Because third-parties will be allowed to decide every single thing that happens with their game.  EA decides they don't want you to be able to sell your games?  Well, they opt out of supporting that.  That simple.  Activision wants to assign a transfer fee instead of just blocking resale entirely?  Hell, they're more than able to do that.  The optimist in me wants to say that most companies will maintain the status quo since, well, that is entirely possible with this method....I think, but the optimist in me is stupid.  Also, it...kind of directly clashes with something else that's being hailed as 'the good news' in all of this.

Your friends and family, your guests and acquaintances get unlimited access to all of your games.  Anyone can play your games on your console--regardless of whether you are logged in or their relationship to you.

Xbox One will enable new forms of access for families. Up to ten members of your family can log in and play from your shared games library on any Xbox One. Just like today, a family member can play your copy of Forza Motorsport at a friend’s house. Only now, they will see not just Forza, but all of your shared games.  You can always play your games, and any one of your family members can be playing from your shared library at a given time.

I'm gonna be honest.  I don't know what the fuck this is, but I certainly don't think it's as good as they're making it seem.  There's absolutely no way the XBone is designed in such a way that you can associate your account with someone else, stating that they're your brother or what have you, and then only one of you has to ever buy one copy of a game ever.  Mostly because it's this exact scenario that this draconian bullshit is meant to do away with.  Things like this, allowing people to experience a game without paying a dime for it, that is literally the only reason for this whole non-used game bullshit, so to say that it's possible leaves me wondering exactly what the catch is.  Normally, I'd say, you know "They have to be signed into your account", but the first part kind of cancels that out...somewhat.  I dunno, maybe you have to initially sign in as you, but then they can sign out or something.  I don't know, but that is just -weird- and goes completely against everything else.  There -has- to be a caveat.

Especially since this is still true.

Xbox One is designed so game publishers can enable you to give your disc-based games to your friends. There are no fees charged as part of these transfers. There are two requirements: you can only give them to people who have been on your friends list for at least 30 days and each game can only be given once.

Minding that the publishers -also- likely have control over this area, which means you will likely -never see it implemented-, this carries the company line....directly away from that last bit.  So you can let up to ten friends and family members play your games with 'no strings attached' but if you want to give a game to them, you can only do it with that -one- friend (they can't give it to anyone else), and they have to have been your friend for a month for it to activate?  In what world is this step necessary when the other thing is so wide open and friendly and such?  Maybe it's just me.  Maybe I'm just not seeing the correlation which makes this good and that bad.  Maybe I'm the only one who thinks they managed to fuck up one single thing in their otherwise clear and concise "Fuck you" letter to everyone.

That's just me, of course.  If you're in a position that the XBone's short-comings will never cause an issue for you, well, more power to you.  If you're -also- in a position where you want to support it regardless of all this, well, I can't stop you.  Unfortunately.  This shit is just damaging and there is a very, very real chance that absolutely no one who matters will care.  Because all of this used game business is -likely- a Microsoft power play since we haven't heard word one of a similar thing from the PS4, yet we knew all about this for the XBone months in advance.  I think I can't say it any better than I did on the Penny Arcade boards.

The way I'm thinking of things, it seems like Microsoft might think this was their way to keep the train going from this generation. Yes, the Wii out-sold them by miles and miles, but to Microsoft, competition was Sony. For a -long- time, they completely out-paced Sony and only here towards the mid-end was Sony actually catching up. Still, things like Sports games, big multiplayer focus games all sell better on the 360 because of whatever reason you could think of - 360 was out first, People really dig XBox Live, etc. etc. But with this new round, they know they're launching around the same time, so the slate is 'clean' and they have to have something to drive it.

So they go, "Games". And how do you get games? By sucking up to Publishers/Developers.

It is entirely possible that this is Microsoft's baby because it is a fucking huge power play. If you set up this system, it's enticing to the Publishers/Developers which brings them around for big exclusives (Respawn's thing) and great partnerships to make your version of a game more enticing (EA's Special Partnership). As many, many, many, many, many companies have proven time and time again, people who have objections about a product because this and that really don't matter in the least so long as that product is shiny enough to make a larger amount of people buy it and not care.

So, really, it is very possible that Sony will come out and win our hearts by saying "Off-line always is totally viable, no DRM", because the way Microsoft figures it, they've already won our wallets if that is the case. Barring big, big backlashes (not a bunch of people being angry on internet forums) that -might actually be the case-, since if you have the publishers, you have the games, and if you have the games, you have the customers.

For all you folks going "Oh, the PS4 is going to be just as bad!", well, there is your scenario that suggests it might not be.  We'll find out for sure at E3, hopefully, but Microsoft is going to be there in force with a load of exclusives that I'm willing to bet aren't -all- from EA.  What Sony shows off as exclusive will likely just be because of good old-fashioned money, which might just be the only card they have in hand.  Sure, maybe we can hope that the XBone won't do so hot, thus informing everyone involved that we don't want this kind of bullshit, but I'm really not expecting very many people to ignore the allure of Halo 5, Respawn's thing and, well, other Halos.  So I'm not really too hopeful for this generation.  But hell, I'll be set with my PS3, Vita and 3DS if nothing else, though I imagine a PS4 will eventually find its way into my collection, since I don't foresee any of this bullshit landing on it.

XBox One - The Fallout

Yes, it's off-center, yes it bugs me

So, Tuesday was the day.  The day when Microsoft threw off the veil of the NeXtBox and dispelled all of the negative rumors that were swirling around it, tarnishing its image before it was even anno-

Oh, right.

That is not what Microsoft did at all.  In fact, it only seemed to confirm a bunch of rumors that were almost laughable to consider as rumors, not to mention the actual, honest truth.  And what it didn't outright confirm is still in a sort of nebulous half-truth-nobody-is-sure space that only Microsoft (and to a degree, Sony and Nintendo) can actually manage to do with this sort of thing.  Perhaps it's inherently tactile, some of this knowledge, but not a whole lot of it.  Certainly not the information that is the most important, which is what I'm going to head this up with - the information about the Anti-Used Game deal.

Much like the Always-Online thing, I don't know what to say about the Anti-Used thing going forward.  I sort of already said how I think they might spin it if they run with it, with the "Incentivised Purchases" or however they'll state it, but it's a hard thing to consider, because it's hard to figure how they won't make it positively Draconian.  Project Ten Dollar, the thing that sort of started Online Passes (for consoles at least) to 'combat the Used Market' is officially being put out to pasture but, being EA, nobody is very interested in thinking that this move is because EA cares.  Which lends credence to the idea that the NeXtBox might have this functionality (so that EA won't have to mandate it themselves) and as a result, EA/Microsoft might be really really tight Next Gen.  Which would, of course, give Microsoft a very nice incentive right there to do it, since it'll likely mean a lot of stuff that is exclusive to the NeXtBox from EA as a whole.  It'd be an unprecedented partnership (ha!) and it would be very, very dangerous for Sony and Nintendo (though not the PC market, since they'll likely get it on Origin anyway).

-Me from This Post, "Let's Speculate About the NeXtBox"

I am going to say that, more or less, I friggin' called how this was going to play out....if not for this particular sentence that finished off that paragraph.

For my part, I'm saying it won't be there, but whether or not that's more hope than thought is up in the air.

Oh, how naive I was.

To be fair, the only part that I was 100% on for sure that we know of at this point is that EA and Microsoft have that 'special partnership' that I speculated about, what with coming out in force to the event today, speaking of and showing off no less than four games, while also stating that something to do with the next FIFA will be Exclusive to The One.  Depending on how this whole cluster-fuck plays out (seriously, 24+ hours later and we still don't have a clear fucking answer because Microsoft doesn't even know), that may very well just be the norm for the generation, since this functionality is built directly into the XBone (that is what we're calling it, btw) and may or may not have been EA's dark bidding if we're buying into conspiracy theories.  Though the curious thing is that a lot of defenders are coming out and saying, "Well if the XBone has it, the PS4 -definitely- has it." and no, it doesn't definitely have it.  Allow me to quote myself.  Again.

Let's all remember something about EA. EA wasn't at the PS4 reveal. EA was at the One reveal in force. So, yes, maybe we can assume that Sony might not actually adopt this Used Game thing. And maybe we can assume Microsoft did it to score a ton of EA exclusives for the entire up-coming generation. Because if you are EA, this is fucking majestic.

-You can still release whatever you want for both the PS4/One.
-People -might- choose the One version of EA Sports Game because of Exclusive stuff, but you're still getting people buying PS4 versions of your games. Namely, everyone who didn't want to buy the One.
-Sweet, sweet Microsoft cash.
-You get to do away with a program that was only causing sustained PR backlash against you and was confusing your customers.

It is Win-Win-Win for EA. Microsoft thinks it's Win-Win for them as well since the Exclusive content might sway some buyers between versions. It still might be.

-From my post on the matter in the Penny Arcade thread for the XBone

It is a ridiculously good coup for EA if this is the scenario that's going forward, which I could really, truly imagine is the case.  Game and Console developers have selective and short-term memory, so they will take the fact that third-party software has sold the best on the 360 this gen and literally make decisions about next gen on -that- piece of information alone.  It's like the Wii U situation, but in reverse, yet it is still a large thing of bet-hedging and it still carries the massive risk for backfire.  So, is it possible that Microsoft went "Hey, EA, we sold a bunch more of your games than the PS3" and EA went "Oh, yeah, you did.  So, hey...let's talk shop" and thus the idea was born.  It is entirely possible that a Microsoft/EA partnership is an attempt to solidify Microsoft's tenuous hold on this generation and to make a foothold in the next that will leave Sony out of the equation entirely.  It is entirely possible that this is going to backfire tremendously!

It occurs to me that I haven't even explained this whole Used Games thing, so I should rightly get to that.  Of course, I will only be explaining the version that Phil Harrison initially stated (I am loathe to source Kotaku, much less Jason Schreier, but everything since is running with the back-peddled statements) because it is the only version of this whole scenario that was coherent and while it was later contradicted by Phil Harrison himself as well as like every single branch of Microsoft's Gaming Division PR, it was only contradicted in opposites ('oh no, this is not the case at -all-') or with vagueness ('we will reveal the actual plan at a later date') and is thus unreliable contradiction even though it casts doubt on the original statement.  You might want to strap in for this one.

So, the example provided is that you go and buy the latest greatest game for your XBone, go home and open it up, eager to play.  You slot the disk and it 'instantly' rips the contents of the disk to the HDD, much like a PC, while also asking you for the code that's located in the case.  This is something we're use to by this point.  Then something else happens, however.  The code authenticates through the internet and that game, and that disk are tied to your XBox Live account.  That means exactly what you think it means - that disk is -yours- now.  Furthering the example, you take that disk to your buddy who also has an XBone and slot it in.  "I want to play it on my account", he says, which is perfectly reasonable since it is his XBone.  The prompt comes up an informs him the game is tied to a different account, but if he would like, he can pay the Full Retail price of the game to have access to it forever.  His friend has essentially become a GameStop delivery-boy, bringing him the disk so that he may spend the dollars in the comfort of his own home, sparing him all of the hassle of the outside world and possibly physical currency.

This is obviously the step put in place to keep you from just installing the game onto your XBone and selling it straight-away.  PC gamers have been used to this for 10+ years.  It is obviously the step EA feared implementing with Project Ten Dollar, as they simply resorted to making your disk worth -less- (rather than worthless, see what I did there) without a slip of paper that hadn't already been used.  Which is pretty much why I'm still suggesting that this is an EA idea through-and-through and that it's attached to the XBone which just so happens to have EA's full backing (whereas the PS4 and especially the Wii U don't) through no coincidence.  People thinking that Sony will reveal similar plans around E3 time are only moderately right to be worried (which basically accounts for paranoia and the thought that anyone, Sony especially, will always screw up given a golden ticket to -not- screw up with).

This is unquestionably the biggest thing that came from the conference, which is hilarious since nothing was actually said about it -during- the conference that went on for-fucking-ever to no avail for people looking to be interested in anything.  In fact, no single thing aside from the name are things that came from the conference itself that are actually being talked about.  Nobody cares about the NFL partnership, especially everyone who doesn't live in North America, nobody cares about TV TV TV TV TV TV TV TV, especially everyone who doesn't live in North America, and the games they showed off were not only expected, but wholly underwhelming in terms of number shown.  Because the number (EA not counted because, again, SPORTS) was three.  Two of them exclusive - Forza and Quantum Break - with the third one being Call of Duty:  Ghosts which was announced, what, a month ahead of time?

It's an unfair truth that people care more about negativity than positivity, but it's a truth nonetheless and you are always in a constant need to overcome that when you're announcing anything.  Microsoft didn't consider this at all, or, worse, they honestly thought being able to play Fantasy Football on your XBone while integrated with NFL '14 would be exciting enough to pull away from some of the other things they decided to speak on after-the-fact.  That being able to use a TV Guide through Kinect would make up for the used games thing.  That a Halo TV series directed by Spielberg was going to assuage the fact that it has to check-in once every 24 hours so you can use it.  That the new-and-improved (supposedly) controller with a better D-Pad would make up for....like everything else because I cannot glean any other single good point from the whole of it, manufactured by them or not.

The unfortunate reality to it is that Microsoft simply did not pull off a good presser on any level and anyone who doesn't have the utmost confidence and faith in Microsoft's ability to put out a 'good' product (subjective use, of course) can see that.  This isn't a 'fanboy' thing even though it's very obvious that I have a very Sony slant and openly admit that.  There simply wasn't enough in the presser (hell, even in the after-talks where a couple nice things actually were mentioned, like Ryse being confirmed as a game exclusive to the XBone and the friend limit getting increased to 1,000, which is actually kind of staggering) to make it entertaining for anyone.  Gamers, tech-heads, sports fans, none of them.  I'm well aware that there are the defenders of it out there and I'm not even saying they're wrong - they're just excited for the system and more power to them for that - I just don't understand it, even on an objective level.

I can't even say "We'll just have to look forward to E3 and see how they fix it" because I don't see how any of this can be fixed unless the actual system is completely changed - which would be a worrying idea this close to launch anyway.  Their showing at E3 will certainly be interesting however, and while I'm sure at least one of their exclusive games will be a big deal (I hope, at least), I don't rightly think they can pull out anything, anything that will be holy-shit-big-enough to do anything to really improve themselves in the public eye.  Still, I think it's, hilariously, going to be less about the games and more about the damage control that will keep things from getting too catastrophic for them.  Yet, I'm just curious if they'll manage to say and promise the right combination of things (and mean them) to get back to the level where their machine actually makes sense.

really, the 24-hour check-in is the most offensive thing to me personally at this point, but the rest is still bullshit