What if Microsoft never reversed the original Xbox One Policy?

[Talal86]

You know the always online DRM, no used games, Mandatary Kinect, etc..

would the ‘gaming industry’ be in a different state right now? do you think people overreacted, and they would’ve gotten over it eventually?

or do you think that the original concept was destined to fail, and the Xbox one would've flopped even harder had they stuck with that policy?

also keep in mind that pre-Phil Spencer Microsoft were aggressive about their exclusives, so I think their lineup of games would’ve been different, and they would’ve probably bought 3rd party exclusives a la Rise of the Tomb Raider and Titanfall, so in that department they could’ve gave Ps4 a challenge and not an easy victory

[Batman90]

Originally Posted by Talal86

You know the always online DRM, no used games, Mandatary Kinect, etc..

would the ‘gaming industry’ be in a different state right now? do you think people overreacted, and they would’ve gotten over it eventually?

or do you think that the original concept was destined to fail, and the Xbox one would've flopped even harder had they stuck with that policy?

also keep in mind that pre-Phil Spencer Microsoft were aggressive about their exclusives, so I think their lineup of games would’ve been different, and they would’ve probably bought 3rd party exclusives a la Rise of the Tomb Raider and Titanfall, so in that department they could’ve gave Ps4 a challenge and not an easy victory

They would have changed the policy like they did or Xbox One would be a complete failure and I wouldn’t have been surprised if we wasn’t getting the Series X. Microsoft leaving the gaming industry all together.

[Musashi]

Based on the fact that the X1 was getting whomped on pre-orders by the PS4 pre-reversal, I think it reasonable to think the system would have been destined to a serious user shortage. Sure they might have made some aggressive deals for 3rd party exclusives, but they would all have a time expiry, and given that there would have been a lopsided userbase favoring the PS4, those games would have ended up getting PS4 ports afterwards.

Dying on the DRM hill would have meant major losses for MS. Not enough to undo much of the money they make hand over fist on Windows and Office software, but enough that the Series X would have been unlikely.

[WKoA13]

Originally Posted by Musashi

Based on the fact that the X1 was getting whomped on pre-orders by the PS4 pre-reversal, I think it reasonable to think the system would have been destined to a serious user shortage. Sure they might have made some aggressive deals for 3rd party exclusives, but they would all have a time expiry, and given that there would have been a lopsided userbase favoring the PS4, those games would have ended up getting PS4 ports afterwards.

Dying on the DRM hill would have meant major losses for MS. Not enough to undo much of the money they make hand over fist on Windows and Office software, but enough that the Series X would have been unlikely.

Xbox reversed course on always online/drrm before pre-orders went live though.

Granted, fanboyz gonna fanboy, so many of them never bothered acknowledging that change/kept spreading that that the DRRM issue was still a thing. Hell, even in 2018 I was still encountering people on social media and forums who believed that the One S/X still required constant connectivity verify ownership.

[GRD43L]

Originally Posted by WKoA13

Xbox reversed course on always online/drrm before pre-orders went live though.

Granted, fanboyz gonna fanboy, so many of them never bothered acknowledging that change/kept spreading that that the DRRM issue was still a thing. Hell, even in 2018 I was still encountering people on social media and forums who believed that the One S/X still required constant connectivity verify ownership.

By the time MS reversed the message, it was too late; the tide already turned.

Poor decisions of Don Mattrick crippled XB1 launch and the their effects are still felt. MS could not have appointed a better leader than Phil Spencer as a replacement.

Kinect that majority did not want? DRM? Always on line? High price (due to Kinect)? Lower performance (also indirectly due to Kinect)? Who TF thought these were great ideas to attract customers?

[Prog5000]

It struggled after the reversal.

Complete failure if they hadn't.