Microsoft surprised by 'how negative' reaction was to Xbox One DRM

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Microsoft's director of product planning Albert Penello says the firm expected controversy over its original always-online Xbox One pitch, but was surprised by "how negative" the reaction was.

"If I had to go back and wish that I could rewind time and redo one thing, that would be the one thing," he told Rev3Games, admitting flaws in the firm's messaging.

"I think with time, people have understood what we were trying to do, and in fact I'm sure you've seen it with the fans. They were saying, 'God, I wish some of this stuff would come back'," he said, likely in reference to the axed Family Sharing plan that would have allowed gamers to share all their games, digital or retail, with friends.

"People got in their minds that what we were trying to do was evil or anti-customer when, in fact, we were looking at what Steam does, we were looking at what iOS is going, we were looking where the customers were going and saying 'I think we can actually give you a better all-digital experience."

"So was I surprised that people had a reaction to it? No. I mean, we knew it was going to be a controversial decision. Was I surprised how negative the reaction was going to be? Yes," said Penello.

"We were surprised at how vocal it was, we were surprised at the reaction and the assumptions that people had about what we were trying to do. So we did the famous '180'."

But Penello insists that an all-digital future is imminent. "Nobody debates there's going to be a world, whether it's this gen, or next-gen, that discs are going to go away, it's gone away in just about every medium," he said.

"I think if anything we thought it was going to happen sooner than the customer. We took a hard stance on it.

"I hope that in some point in the future some of those cool features - some of the Family Sharing, the household sharing stuff, the games are always with you - we want to bring that stuff back."

Posted:
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/428147/ms-surprised-by-how-negative-reaction-was-to-xbox-one-drm/

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"Microsoft surprised by 'how negative' reaction was to Xbox One DRM" :: Login/Create an Account :: 128 comments

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DavidDo0MPosted:

Dr-J
daRealRush
-Mark I think they should of done a better job at explaining it. They never really gave detailed answers which caused confusions and people to exaggerate the terms.

I think it would of been accepted by the community if they would of flat out said the terms of use for the DRM policy.


I think that was the problem, when they was explaining how the DRM was, it really confused me, and a bunch of my friends. If maybe, they explained it better, than the DRM would still be here!


Besides that, the kinect always being on was a big problem to a lot of people. That would have had to go.


It all seemed rather simple to me. First of all, it was NEVER always on. It simply required a daily connection. That was required to keep people from robbing them blind through Family Sharing. Also, they NEVER said the Kinect was required for the X1 to be operational. That was another case of misunderstanding. It was NEVER required that the Kinect stay connected. They said it was necessary for initial set up and that it was required that you buy it, as it is part of the bundle. They didn't come back and change that policy. They merely clarified it since so many people, gaming sites included, had misinterpreted the message. I'll admit that Microsoft "screwed the pooch" in their attempt to convey their policies, making it confusing to those incapable of complex thought process or understanding. However, I stand firm behind my belief that none of their initial policies needed to be changed.

MPAAPosted:

It wasn't negative, it was common sense.

No one wanted it anyway, those that did didn't know what they were accepting.

xMizTekPosted:

When somebody mentions something about "change" in gaming, everybody starts bitchin.
http://gyazo.com/093fb9c698bcffe25004babb38551828

-CPPosted:

Microsoft just realized that the majority of their users are 12?

Evo8Posted:

It wasn't even that bad. Kids who didn't really know what it was were crying about it.

Dr-JPosted:

daRealRush
-Mark I think they should of done a better job at explaining it. They never really gave detailed answers which caused confusions and people to exaggerate the terms.

I think it would of been accepted by the community if they would of flat out said the terms of use for the DRM policy.


I think that was the problem, when they was explaining how the DRM was, it really confused me, and a bunch of my friends. If maybe, they explained it better, than the DRM would still be here!


Besides that, the kinect always being on was a big problem to a lot of people. That would have had to go.

MaggardoPosted:

-Mark I think they should of done a better job at explaining it. They never really gave detailed answers which caused confusions and people to exaggerate the terms.

I think it would of been accepted by the community if they would of flat out said the terms of use for the DRM policy.


I think that was the problem, when they was explaining how the DRM was, it really confused me, and a bunch of my friends. If maybe, they explained it better, than the DRM would still be here!

DJMarkyMarkPosted:

I think they should of done a better job at explaining it. They never really gave detailed answers which caused confusions and people to exaggerate the terms.

I think it would of been accepted by the community if they would of flat out said the terms of use for the DRM policy.

WageringPosted:

I think the community being so ignorant was the problem..

BozzzPosted:

At least they listened to what the customers were saying


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