The worst console announcement in gaming history

Lots of hate has been thrown in Microsoft's direction lately following the announcement of the Xbox One, and even many longtime fans of the Xbox consoles have been abandoning ship in the wake of Microsoft's PR mess. Quite frankly though, I'm actually surprised and even pleased to see this level of vitriol being leveled against the console. Anyone who has read my previous blog editorials would know that for some time now I've been speaking out against anti-consumer practices in the market even on popular platforms like Steam, and for the most part I have felt largely alone and isolated in fighting this battle. I see the industry going down the path toward an "Internet dark age" as boogie2988 has recently described it, and by my estimation prior to this console announcement no one really seemed to care. As you can imagine then, when I started seeing the public outcry pouring forth from the community following Microsoft's press conference on the new Xbox, I was pleasantly shocked to see such a sudden emergence in concern for the issue.

So what exactly is the big deal that is making the Xbox One turn out to be the worst console announcement in gaming history? Let's take a moment to examine the problem in-depth; because in spite of the large outcry against it, there still remains a plethora of gamers that continue to behave apathetically or dismissively toward the outrage, and I can't help but be bothered by it. Now, I could talk about how the Kinect 2.0 requirement poses many privacy concerns, or how there will be inevitable restrictions on used games as a result of granting publishers the power to control their distribution, but these issues really pale in comparison to the Xbox One's most crippling feature; the mandatory online check-in every 24 hours. This issue alone should be a deal-breaker for anyone.

O how backward things have gotten.

I already know what the apologists are thinking though. "So what? Obviously you have a good enough Internet connection to be posting this blog right now, so why should you be concerned about your Xbox One?"

This question demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of how the server/client system works when you require an Internet connection for a product; because something that is continually forgotten when apologists pose this question is that it's not *just* the Internet connection that is required once you implement this feature. It also becomes a requirement that you be able to communicate with Microsoft's servers; servers which can be hacked into and/or taken down for maintenance, and which will likely not exist in a few years once the next console cycle has started. Let's not forget the time when PSN was down for months following a hacking intrusion. In any one of these scenarios, your entire game collection would be rendered totally inaccessible whether you have the most stable and blazing fast Internet connection in the world or you're even just lucky to have 56k, so this is *NOT* just a simple problem for people who have no Internet. It's a problem for everyone. It's a problem for people running on Google fiber; for people running on high-speed cable and DSL; for people who care about the preservation of gaming history; for soldiers fighting for us overseas; for you and me. No one is exempt from the damning effects of this design model.

If all that isn't enough to get you riled up, I honestly don't know what could. I guess it's time for the next step in the evolution of the game industry with microchip implants into the base of your skull? I dunno, maybe Microsoft will find some marketing use for tracking GPS statistics of every location you visit. Are we ever going to draw the line in the sand? I understand that I'm being somewhat melodramatic here because in the grand scheme of things there are more important things than video games, but nonetheless I truly do view the medium as an artform and I'd really hate to see it be reduced to nothing more than a brain-dead corporate cash cow.

TV. SPORTS. CALL OF DUTY.

There is no reason you should be required to connect online to access content that can function otherwise perfectly fine offline. This is pure corporate greed running amok; plain and simple, and it's disheartening to see how easily people are still willing to give up their consumer rights for it. I realize the industry has to make money to survive, but there are bounds of reason, and sometimes the only way to enforce them is for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, which brings us to my final point on the matter.

The launch of the Xbox One will be a pivotal test for gamers and a crucial moment for gaming history; not just because it's another brand new console generation that will be open for exploration, but because it will be a test of our restraint and will to resist corporations dictating the course of the industry unchecked. Are we going to allow ourselves to turn games into disposable entertainment to be tossed away after a few months for temporary gratification, or do we care about our rights as consumers and the preservation of gaming history for future generations?

The saddest thing about this whole affair is that we will probably lose this fight if sales numbers for SimCity and Diablo III have been any indicator so far, and yet it's not even that hard to have our voices heard. All we have to do is resist the temptation to buy the system. That's it. There's nothing that makes a giant corporation cave in to pressure faster than seeing their bottom line collapse under its foundations, and seeing as all these issues are software-related, it can all be patched away and corrected out of the system easily within a couple months, and then we can all go out, buy our Xbox Ones, and enjoy the system anyway. See, this isn't about getting on the hate train and bashing Microsoft because it's the hip and cool thing to do right now. This is about protecting the future of the game industry, and whether it's Microsoft doing this, or Sony, or Nintendo, or anyone else, we all have to stand opposed to overreaching DRM no matter who's doing it if we want to put an end to this nonsense.

Git 'em boys!

Don't buy the Xbox One.