Not worried at all. Microsoft screwed up majorly this gen and gained large amounts of market share. They're going to attack harder now than ever. The rumors about used games would only be true if Soy did it too. They wouldn't let them have that as an advantage above them. It would be suicide. Microsoft would also know how many people play their games offline too, they have the sales figures and they have the figures for xbox live. They'd also know that the online only model would be a bad move. Bill Gates is the second riches person in the world, (mostly because he gives billions away to charity instead of keeping it all) he didn't get there by making the wrong moves now did he?

Have some faith my friends. Microsoft are on the move.

Chances are most people who are Microsoft fans are invested in the brand and will probably defend whatever it is doing next-gen. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Xbox fans will buy it no matter what. Trivial restrictions such as no used games, always online and media focus won't matter once the next Halo hits stores.

If you look at this gen with the Xbox 360:
-Red Ring of Death
-No Wifi in early Xbox 360s
-Pay to Play Online
-Huge focus on Kinect

All this stuff didn't stop the XBox 360 from being the #1 consoles for months and months. Microsoft would have to fuck up really bad for people to switch over next-gen. The current negative rumors are unfortunate, but they're don't prevent the system from being competitive.

no. but to be honest, other than the "focus on media" i just don't buy into any of the rumors. and even with the media focus.. MS technically has enough move to put a major focus on media and still have a good focus on games. i have no problem with things like netflix on my console (and whatever else they cook up) just so long as the games come.

To early to tell.

Too much smoke from MS. The only things I can be certain of are that the next xbox will continue their current range of excellent and popular media services, that MS has saved all their games for the next gen instead of squandering them on the tail-end of the 360, and that there'll be os-supplied video chat via skype as per current xbox live chat.

Things I hope to see: 360 backwards compat, reasonable price, IR remote, more value for subs.

Even if the rumored specs are true, I'm sure it will be a great console. We have yet to see a reveal and its kind of impossible for the next box not to surprise us. Just look at what happened with the PS4 announcement. Oh, and Halo.

The issue of used games will die a natural death as and when digital distribution becomes the primary, then the sole, means of game purchasing. It could be as soon as the next console generation after PS4/NekBox/WiiU.

So really used games is a non-issue. Sony and MS will leave it to publishers to shoot themselves in the foot by trying to implement even more anti-used game policies than they have done this cycle.

If your worried about no used games or always online you may want to get a new hobby 2 gens from now because that is where they will eventually go. So either Microsoft does it now or later the end game is going to be the same for all companies.

I'm not worried at all.

I'm a little worried, cause I feel MS will forget about us core gamers and focus on appealing to casual gamers and people wanting a device that acts as a media device but I hope it doesn't end up like that, cause if it does, Halo 5 will not be enough to convince me to buy the 720. I don't mind that the 720 is less powerful than the PS4, but I do mind if they focus just on the next Kinect and not on new exclusives.