For me, this whole PR debacle will be used as a show case in the future in how to handle users (especially the internet user :).
Firstly the reason this is resonating with gamers is because the last few years honest gamers have been on the crappy end of DRM, and to be honest, this is the first major backlash. I know we had Diablo and SimCity, but they were contained to an extent, but gamer anger has been growing. It's just unfortunate for MS that they have created a device with too many seemingly bad decisions and a poor message. So of course it will run and run when they continue to gloss over the issues.
If you consider two things:
1. Many devices require access to the internet in this day and age with many people having good internet.
2. Digital hasn't been an issue for people at all.
So it might seem ok to go down a more digital device, but the way the PR has presented the information has been so mixed and in many cases terrible, it just re-enforces peoples attitudes.
For example, i only have two major issues with the Xbox, its the fact that if i lose internet for more than 24 hrs my games wont work and the fact that they could disable my games in the future. Now I have 78MB internet, hasn't been down in years, but as a user I know thats a slim possibility and 24 hrs is just not enough. I like to play old games like anyone else, and there is no clear message to say these will still play if i have the hardware in 10-15 years time.
What happens then, is that one doubt and issue, is magnified by issues that don't directly affect me, but it makes the product seem even more un-consumer friendly... Kinect always on, trade-in, family access/profiles, no swappable hard disk, the thought (unlikely but possible that the games could be switched off)... console not being multi-region.
So I guess what i am saying is that if they had thought about it properly they could have done most of that, and as long as they had a reasonable plan, you know most users would have been happy.
For example, why isn't the online activation longer to cover issues with moving house/isp issues (so a 31 day offline). Why not state that even if the XboxOne servers are shut down MS will allow you to access your games offline indefinitely.
I know they need activation to transfer software etc, but you know what they could have just said you must be online to "resell your software". These are basic things that have been so off key, all that happens is more comments (guy on submarine should just buy Xbox 360) just come across as worse. They need to fix this and the only way to do this is to truely attack the issues with sensible solutions... and you know what they can do this without putting themselves in a situation where the console can be offline all the time etc.
Making an indie game : Dead of Day!
