Dear Major Nelson,
I would like to consider you a friend and with that, I have to say that every single one of my die hard Xbox friends is disappointed to say the least when it comes to the One. Not a single person I know, who has an Xbox 360, is thinking about upgrading to the One. I’m not going so far as to say its going to be a failure, but right now, I can’t imagine how its going to succeed.
The once every 24 hour internet check, the focus on adding ANOTHER box to our media center, no backwards compatibility, and the focus of game installations to the HD are a bit much to take right now. I, a loyal Xbox user since the original, am thinking of skipping this next generation myself. I’ve spent countless hours playing, getting achievements and having fun with my friends, and that now seems to be coming to an end.
Why is everyone at Microsoft ignoring the gamers? We are the ones that will buy the console’s first and get them into the house. We were the ones that made the Xbox 360 the media powerhouse that it is now. Without us, it’s going to be a VERY hard sell on the mom’s and dad’s of the world that don’t have (guessing) $500 to plunk down on an extra media device.
Let’s not forget the countless number of gamers that will not be able to connect to the internet and therefore not be able to play due to the once every 24 hours internet check. I have a friend who is now retired from the Army after 15 years of service. He was deployed to Afghanistan Iraq and the Balkans and if he had an Xbox One, then he would have never had a fun outlet during those stressful days.
How about an always on Kinect. There are lives and privacy issues that are being brought up all the time over the internet these days. Even though promises are made, no internet traffic is safe from breach or miss-use. There are serious privacy issue’s that need to be addressed.
The lack of backwards compatibility is extremely hurtful to a lot of gamers. And I don’t care how backwards Don Mattrick thinks devices are, I’ve spent thousands of dollars on my gaming collection (both disc based and XBLA) and I will no longer be able to play those games when I purchase a One.
Speaking of Don Mattrick, since when it is a good thing to call your consumers that we don’t know what is good for us? Apple got away with that…for a while. Microsoft is not Apple, and we decide what we want from our entertainment and games. We are the ones that will be paying hard earned money for this device. Let us decide.
I really think that the Xbox One is the wrong direction that Microsoft is taking, and I really hope you decide to change it.
I hope I am listening to you a year from now.
