The PSP Go disagrees with your digital-only philosophy.

I honestly don't think the backlash would be as bad. If you have a console with no disc drive there isn't going to be a backlash about not being able to resell games because it will be understood. You don't see ouya having to explain their used games/trading/lending policy, people just automatically understand what the deal is. But when you tell people that they don't really own a physical copy that they bought then you have just opened up a can of worms. The general consumer will have a hard time undertanding the concept of buying something physical and not actually owning it. That is a PR nightmare that could be avoided by going all digital. At that point there isn't much explanation necessary, it is what it is.

Players will only be mad if the trade off doesn't bring them any value. Imagine this, xb1 chooses to forgo a disc drive but ps4 keeps the disc drive. Lets say that allows xb1 console to be 50 dollars cheaper than ps4 (pretend they got rid of kinect as well) and it allows games to be 20 dollars cheaper. Would gamers still be mad? Sure maybe some might still decide ps4 makes more sense for them but I doubt you would see the kind of unbridled rage that your seeing now. That would be a real choice! I think the industry is better off if the two major consoles aren't almost identical. The only reason gamers are mad right now is because MS is literally giving them ZERO reason for the restrictions. They aren't adding any value whatsoever and their rival doesn't have them. Yeah, under those circumstances it makes no sense.

Honestly I completely agree. They are dragging down the benifits of digital by trying to have the best of both worlds. Instead they have the worst!

If they would just announce all digital, and games cost $50 instead of $60 = TONS OF SALES!

Again, PSP Go didn't add much value and it came to late in the psp's life cycle.

I agree.  Digital should be offered at a discount.  That's the way to push people into the future.

Steam sells games(content license install disks) at major retail outlets and no one has problems with Steam(....except me Ive been against it forever). There wasnt much PR needed for that. The back of the case says requires internet connection for activation via Steam....ect. MS trying this weird system certainly doesnt help matters but they are trying to give the benifits of traditional(or as I say "how it should be") consoles and usher in digital. I worry that people will accept it as is and the era of game ownership will come to an end.

How many retailers are going to support a machine that nets them next to no money? I used to work in retail during the 5th gen and we would make $3-$7 per console(PS2, PSP, GBA  and GC, never sold XBOX) sold. As with most retail outlets the money is in the sale of games. If MS goes full digital they will lose major retail outlets. Who are your retailers going to push if you arent making them any money, obviously the guy making them money(PS4, Wii U, previous gen). Your customer visibility goes down and you lose sales, you still require an internet connection(you can drop the 24 hour check since no used sales) and you have a system where games cannot be given/shared with friends.

So why is Steam so popular? Why arent people buying the newest releases DRM free at retail or on GOG or other DRM free services? Its because Steam is a well known DRM platform that cuts costs and removes ownership from the end user. Cant play COD, BF3, Skyrim or Bioshock via GOG. XBone allows control of ownership, and the big companies love this. MS was probably promised exclusives and will recieve many exclusives not for us nerds on gaming forums, but for the masses. Yes companies will lose a potential lot of sales but at the moment their bean counting accountants think this will be more profitable for them(cause they got rid of the used game problem).

In order to have a major retailer presence(one to compete with PS4), keep pubishers happy and keep gamers "happy" we have this goofy system. The trade off gives almost no value(perhaps XBone will have good sales I doubt it) to consumers, less value to retailers(but keeps them in the loop) and a percieved large value for publishers to put exclusive stuff on the bone which in turn can bring more sales. I think the systems biggest hurdle is the $500 price point not the anti DRM nerdrage. Whatever hurdle fails this idea is fine by me.

The audience of people with internet access is not a small audience. Most people in the US and UK have internet access. Microsoft should be focused on trying to hold on to those markets as well as growing and gaining market share in the rest of Europe. I don't mean to sound harsh but trying to cater to people in the amazon rainforest or people living in the amish community is not smart business. Sony is an established brand in many countries that are less developed, it makes sense for them to cater to that segment, it doesn't make sense for microsoft. And if we are talking about people with slow internet access, lets keep in mind that internet speeds are increasing. If ms is making a future proof console then they can assume that in a few years 20 GB+ will take less than 30 minutes on an affordable plan, after all very few people had HD tv's when the xbox 360 was released but that didn't stop them from making a HD console. Even if state legislators never get their heads out their rear, we can still assume that ISP's themselves will eventually get with the times. And even if that doesn't happen the OS should still allow for downloading to not be a big deal.

yep, thats true. But its not like what they are doing now is any better. I think they wanted an all digital machine but was too yellow to go that route. I think they would have gotten more respect and understanding if they just did what they really wanted to do. IMHO I think they just want a premium machine, user base be damned. I say go all the way, if youre gonna do something wrong, do it right. At least take the PSP route and have two versions one digital one not.

The type of consumer that would actually go out and buy a steam game at retail is not what I would call a "general" consumer.

I hate to agree with cliffy b on this but I think the retail model is broken. But you don't fix it with bandages, you abandon it all together. That may sound like suicide but is it really? Itunes proved that most people aren't slaves to the retail model. Look at netflix, hulu, amazon vs blockbuster. Why are people so afraid of retail? Their power is more perceived than real. One console maker with the balls to cut the cord is all it would take to ignite the digital gaming revolution. Microsoft is really the only one in the position to do something like this. Yeah its risky but it would either be a failure or a HUGE success. Unlike sony, microsoft can actually afford to fail, so why not go all out and take some risks?

When you say cut the cord? Do you mean have NO retail games at all, like no hard copies? Cause that would be terrible, no other entertainment media does that. Hell I can tell go to the store and buy a damn newspaper.