The Xbox One Lives!

I post this blog both just in case you didn’t hear the news, and because it is the kind of thing you post about. Today, Microsoft almost completely reversed its policies regarding the Xbox One. No longer do you have to check in every 24 hours, you can now trade your games amongst friends and/or sell them freely as well as lend them, and there is also no region lock. In short, all its DRM policies have been nixed. Now, it will be more like the Xbox360 is, which is a very good thing.

There is an interesting tradeoff here. Up until now, with the DRM policies in place, it was implied that once your games were installed, you did not have to insert the disc to play them. Now, much as you do with 360, you will need the disc to run a disc-based game. It’s a change, but certainly not one anyone’s complaining about. That’s what they’re used to as it is.

But just as important as the good changes Microsoft made today are the things that didn’t change, which still need to be taken into account. Firstly, the price. Xbox One is still $100 more expensive than the PS4. Secondly, the Kinect requirement. Yep, that still needs to be hooked up when the Xbox One is turned on. These may seem like smaller concerns now, and I’ll admit I’ve backed off on the Kinect a little since Microsoft has said you can apparently turn all that off if you want, though again it still needs to be connected, but to some people, these are still valid concerns, especially the price. Good news or no, the PS4 still remains the economy choice, and some will purchase the PS4 for that reason alone.

There are even some who actually view this as no change at all. Some say the PS4 should still be praised over the Xbox One for sticking to their guns, and remaining all about the consumer. They say that Xbox One is not making these changes for you, they’re making these changes to give themselves a shot. This is reactionary to Sony’s announcements, and to the tons upon tons of negative feedback they’ve received since the Xbox One’s announcement. To an extent, admittedly a great extent, I agree with these points of view. Microsoft is trying to save themselves, I believe that. These are not changes made because Microsoft loves us, I believe that as well. Still, the fact remains that they did make these changes. This is a step in the right direction, and as my own little way of showing that, I have actually replaced my Xbox One preorder, which some of you may know I had canceled just this past weekend. I just hope this doesn’t mean my fiancĂ© will forget the PS4 exists.

Seriously though, I want to make sure this news is spread around. I want anyone who reads this blog to consider it carefully, both its positive and negative connotations, but most of all I don’t want you to take my word for it. I will totally give you all the link to the post in which Microsoft made these announcements, verified by news sites all over the globe. No, it’s not a hoax.
See? The link is right here!
I hope, as always, that this article has been informative to you all, and that you can now take a second look at where you’re going when the next generation arrives. Whether your attitude has changed, or whether it hasn’t, this has definitely now become much more of a fight.

5 Comments

  1. Mike Rudenick says:

    I am and always will be a playstation gamer! I dislike pretty much everything xbox.

    1. Brandon Cole says:

      And that is a completely fair statement. There are still certainly things I don’t like about it, but I’m glad to see the improvement nonetheless.

  2. Daniel Perry says:

    Hi there Brandon, my name is Daniel Perry and this site is right up my alley. Like you, I too am an avid blind video and computer gamer having played everything from the atari right on up to the xbox 360. I think you and I will get along just fine, and I have my own ideas about what I think should be done to make video games and consoles accessible. I wish I knew how to contact you, I really think we could chat and get to know one another better. Have a wonderful day, and I’m pleased to meet you

    1. Brandon Cole says:

      Hey, thanks for the comment! Always glad to meet another gamer. As for contacting me, you’re welcome to do so. I go by Superblindman on just about everything, including Twitter. It’s pretty easy to find me.

  3. Craig says:

    Maybe this is a bit of an ask but have you considered some time making posts regarding firstly what to look for when you’re considering whether or not to buy a game which may or may not be accessible, and secondly how you think the accessibility of consoles and console games is moving due to technoogy and trends? I know that last one might have to wait till the XBox 1 and PS4 come out. I’ve been blind maybe 10-12 years but before that was sighted and I’m having difficulty figuring out what I can and can’t play, I own an XBox 360 but only own Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat versus DC, I’d really like a little more variety.

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