Microsofts biggest problem isn't too many restrictions, its too many options.

[The Fury]

wilco said:

The Fury said:

You seem to be mistaken that MS need to please anyone but the gamers. No gamers on your console, publishers won't sell games, they'll produce less for it and spend less time on it. Retailers will notice your console games don't sell well and dedicate more space to the ones that do.

Please gamers, then please everyone else.

On your points, 1 isn't an option, they'd alienate too many people too quickly. In option 2 though you are right, they are in a weird middle ground and they aren't quite a TV box but it is hard to enter such a market like that when established companies already hold huge ground.

You seem to be mistaken in thinking that they need to please ALL gamers. There are many different kinds of gamers, microsoft needs to decide which audience they are targeting and stick with that. If microsoft feels digital download is the future, they should target internet connected gamers and let that be the end of it, the kind that are used to being strictly digital. Physical discs is just a waste of time for that audience. People forget how big of a deal it was when microsoft chose to go broadband only with the first xbox. A LOT of people still had dial up back then, myself included. But they made the right decision.

Also, you think microsoft isn't alienating people already? Atleast by getting rid of the optical drive they could alienate them and save money at the same time. I'm sure apple alienated people when they released touch screen devices without input keys, but guess what? Forward looking individuals saw the value in it and they bought it anyways. The console does not need to be for everyone.

Pleasing ALL gamers and even those who aren't considered gamers is their goal however you mistook my meaning. When I say gamers, I mean potential customers. A customer will buy games but if you do not have enough customers your product will not succeed, regardless of if you attempt to secure a certain audience. Included in this certain audience are those that would be alienated.

You are saying they should not have gone for that bigger audience/customer base but a far far smaller one but one more likely to spend the cash? but that is against their intended goal and not something they would have done. They want to be in the living room of the family home, not the bedroom on a 20 something guy in a shared household (disposable imcome or not).