Reminder: Console devs can and will rip you off

Firstly, slow clap for Microsoft separating Xbox One from Kinect, finally. Not a sarcastic clap, I'm talking honest, building-up slow clap from movies after somebody makes a big, heroic speech.

Now, in no universe is this not a good thing. For Microsoft or gamers. The Kinect was not the future. I don't think we're going to like motion control until it's done in conjunction with a holo-deck. Microsoft is admitting that; God knows we all should. And something weird happened to me after that: Xbox One started looking kind of appealing. I didn't wanna touch it with a ten-foot pole earlier, even after it dropped DRM, but I can now actually picture myself owning one, assuming it gets some good exclusives to back it up. I've never really been big on Xbox's typical exclusives so we'll see if that happens. It took a game as big as Mass Effect to make me get a 360, and I think Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia might be the only exclusives I really like that actually stayed exclusive. (Quantum Break and Sunset Overdrive look promising though.)

And hey! Netflix isn't gonna be behind a paywall anymore, either. So thank you for listening, Microsoft. IT ONLY TOOK YOU YEARS.

Like people were saying after the DRM-reversal: you can forgive, but do not forget. Yeah, okay, the Xbox One was designed to be used with the Kinect, it's believable that they couldn't change THAT right away (like they did with their precious cloud and 24-hour check-ins) But there was absolutely nothing preventing Netflix from being accessible to free users except Microsoft's own greed. And they did it for as long as they thought they could get away with it, even well after PlayStation was offering it for free.

And before you call "fanboy," yes, Sony and Nintendo do this too. Sony didn't ship the PS4 able to play mp3s (it still isn't to my knowledge, but I've heard they're going to change it) in order to push their "Music Unlimited" and make you buy all your music again. They've also dragged their heels until their legs were just stubs when it came to backwards compatibility on Vita. (And the proprietary memory cards certainly aren't helping, anymore than it did with 360's HDDs.) And Nintendo only offers Game Boy and NES titles on the 3DS virtual console, even though it could easily handle SNES and GBA games, because they need you want a Wii U.

BUT... I have seen so much more of this from Microsoft. Let me tell you about when I tried to buy Windows 7 for my new PC last year.

This should have been a couple-minute download from the Microsoft store. Instead, it was a wild goose chase, that should have ended in piracy.

It's not on their online store (even though it would cost nothing to keep it there and probably make them money)
It ain't on Amazon.
It ain't in any of the retailer chains.
I asked someone at such a chain if they carry it still. They explained to me that according to their contract with Microsoft, they are not allowed to sell Win7 anymore.

Why is this? Well (caps for importance) THIS IS SPECULATION BUT...

There are some executives whose job it is to come up with new ideas to sell to people, be it an OS or a console controller.
People don't really need that idea and they know it.
It doesn't sell.
Those executives' jobs are riding on this, so instead of improving the idea, or moving on to something else, they eliminate the alternatives their customers have and make sure their idea is sold.
It's not "our future" or "the future of entertainment" they're thinking about at this point: it's their financial future.
This is why you couldn't get an Xbox One without Kinect. This is why I had to buy goddarn OEM (a version intended for manufacturers) of Windows 7 from a shady corner of Amazon. It's why I will have to seriously consider piracy if I ever have to change my C drive. The only reason you'll be able to get a Kinect-less One is because those people have dragged the Xbox down so far, they can't let it carry on.

That said, they didn't have to "release" Netflix, but they did. Perhaps it was a "token offering" on the side to restore some consumer trust, but it's an offering nonetheless.

But as long as those kinds of executives, those kinds of people, are steering your platform, you don't owe them loyalty. You don't have to convince yourself that everything they do is a good idea. They don't care about you, you shouldn't care about their success. Realize when you're getting ripped off. It's okay to buy their products when they're good, but you don't have to fly under their banner. Understand your options. Don't let them have power over you. Don't let them have power over the industry.

Thanks for reading.

And stop trying to make the lower resolution on your console sound better, for God's sake! That's not even denial, that's some kind of self-inflicted brainwashing! It's unhealthy! I worry about you, sometimes.

[DragonKnight]

Yeah, I had a similar situation trying to legitimately buy Win7. If you google search it, google will show you a result of MS' own site saying it's for sale, but when you click on it up pops Win8 that no one wants or a ridiculously expensive Win7 Home Premium copy for $225, which just happens to be out of stock. I didn't want to pirate it either because of Microsoft's ridiculously annoying Windows Genuine Advantage B.S. so I had to settle for an OEM copy which was also SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than retail copies of the OS.

Also, if you have to change your C drive you can still use the OEM copy because it signs based on the motherboard, not the drive, so as long as your motherboard is the same then you should be ok, though some people say that you can get away with changing the motherboard to but you have to call Microsoft to re-authenticate.

The next thing MS have to change is putting MMOs behind the Gold paywall or else Xbox fans who like MMOs won't have any on their console.

[darthv72]

i bought windows 8 for $49.99 as an upgrade for xp about a year and half ago. Then after they released the update to 8.1 it feels like a whole new system.

i can see the disinterest in the original 8 as that is very tablet-ish but the 8.1 (IMO) is much improved and even better than win 7 pro i use at work.

I have used every iteration of windows since inception and can say that XP is my favorite but 8.1 ranks 3rd in my personal top 5.

those being XP, 98SE, 8.1, 2000/NT 4.0 (tie) and finally 3.11 (aka windows for workgroups)

Xbox related, with the changes made to kinect and drm I would hope they reconsider the non user replaceable hdd topic. Maybe not right away but at some point down the line.

[Tommy_titfer]

In your mini rant about Sony, why didn't you include Sony's insatiable appetite for proprietary connections and memory cards across its range for the sole purpose of extra cash?

Oddly enough one of the only things they don't force feed their proprietary components is the PS3 and PS4.

[SeraphimBlade]

Good point, I added that bit in. Though 360 also had stupid-expensive and relatively small proprietary hard drives while PS3 lets you use any laptop HDD.

[s45gr32]

Good blog

[slivery]

Yea it is called business.

I also don't know how anyone could commend Microsoft for removing Kinect, yea, it is great but how long did we hear it wasn't possible (once again) only to see it removed later when the Xbox One wasn't selling as well as they hoped.

The whole Xbox One was built around Kinect crap and then poof its gone, just like the DRM garbage.

I mean all companies are there to make money but damn, I don't know how people can put up with someone constantly straight up lying to your face and commend them for it. Other than Kinect being removed, a good thing for consumers who just didn't want it, I surely am not giving Microsoft credit for their bullshit good will PR stunts.

I promise you if the Xbox One had been selling better than the PS4, they wouldn't have thought twice about removing Kinect. That is one thing I can't stand about Microsoft, they lie and claim its for you, the customers but the customers were asking for this ages ago and you told them it wasn't possible but as always when their sales start dwindling... Then all the sudden, let's do something nice for our fans...

Nintendo and Sony are businesses also but at least they don't treat you like total idiots.

[Bimkoblerutso]

It's just important to acknowledge that ALL large corporations like that will try to get away with crap if they go unchecked.

I know it's fun to romanticize a company like Sony when they do something that is perceived as noble and consumer-friendly, but at the end of the day, none of these giant corporations are your buddies. They get away with as much as we all let them get away with.

Sony took the position they did this generation by and large because the contrast to Microsoft's plan made them look like goddamn gaming messiahs.

[caseh]

It took me a single search to find Windows 7 from multiple sources, all legit so not entirely sure thats a valid analogy. That aside, I get what you're saying but in some cases, especially with an OS the industry often has to force technology on consumers otherwise it won't be adopted at a rate to make it profitable. Most people who use Windows 8 didn't choose it, it came pre-installed on the shiny new PC they bought.

Mircosoft really did drop the ball with the XB1 though, I would have bought one had the price been in line with the PS4 but adding functionality many people don't even want is just a p!ss poor way of justifying a price tag.

[BitbyDeath]

I'm just glad it is gone cause MS can set dangerous precedents and they had one all ready to go with Kinect which forced you to pay to watch a movie in your own home per person.

Yes, so not just paying for a movie but for every person in the room to watch a movie.

http://www.thesixthaxis.com...

Patents like this are why I do not trust Microsoft one bit.

Yes others do it too but no where near the same extremes MS do. MS also introduced the likes of paying for multiplayer which again is a bad precedent that others like Sony follow once it gets accepted.

In short, evil corp is evil.

[Tross]

Yeah, I don't like MS, and haven't in years. Only every other OS of theirs is well regarded, in a remarkably perfect, alternating pattern, with 8 being one of the ones people don't like so much. In general, MS's tactic of forcing things on the consumer needs to stop, and if it doesn't, recent history suggests that we as consumers can change that, by not buying their products until they're forced to make changes.

Apparently, Kinect had to be shoved down people's throats because MS put just as much into developing Kinect, and needed to recoup the costs. The thing is though, A) we didn't ask MS to put as much resources into Kinect as they did, B) it's not our problem if they painted themselves into a corner, and need to resort to underhanded tactics to get themselves out of it, and C) consumers like to be able to choose if they want an accessory or not, and those who didn't want Kinect, didn't take kindly to having to pay $100 extra for it. At least Sony understands the concept of an optional accessory. I don't even think "optional" is in MS's vocabulary, and someone should explain the meaning of the word to them.