Some may have believed that the Xbox One bashing would have died down after Microsoft dropped the most controversial features of its forthcoming game console last month. But now, there's a backlash to the backlash.
A Change.org petition that argues that "consumers were uninformed" about the advantages of the Xbox One's now-scrapped new features has garnered more than 18,000 signatures from angry game players.
When Microsoft gave gamers their first look at its next Xbox in May, many video game enthusiasts were upset that the system would need to be connected to the Internet once a day in order to work properly -- a difficult requirement for members of the military and those who live in rural areas. Microsoft also planned to place confusing restrictions on how used games would be sold.
After gaining steam in the past week, the petition, titled "Microsoft: Give us back the Xbox One we were promised at E3," reached its 15,000-signature goal 20 days after it was created, despite some extremely sarcastic signees. "I love restrictions," wrote one signee. "I want the game rental business to become obsolete. I don't want to let my friends borrow games." The petition's signature limit was recently upped to 25,000.
But others were serious. "MS [Microsoft] was just trying to pave the way towards the unavoidable digital future all consoles will follow," wrote signee Javier Marcano. "It's sad so many gamers are so short sighted." A sentiment that runs through the petition's signatures is that Microsoft could have made the controversial features optional, or chosen to remove some while keep others instead of getting rid of them all in one fell swoop.
Among the arguments for Microsoft's bold vision was that it had the potential to lower game prices by phasing out the used game market. Others speculated that Microsoft would offer a Netflix-style system for renting games streamed straight from the Internet instead of being encrypted on a CD.
Without Microsoft laying out the potential advantages of the new model, many gamers were left to dwell on the limitations. Sony poked fun at the Xbox One on at the E3 video game conference in June, and PlayStation fans ate it up. Many signees have drawn a parallel between Microsoft's discarded vision and the beloved Steam PC gaming marketplace, which despite initial growing pains has become beloved by many gamers.
Still, there is early indication that the Xbox One will sell well when it's released in November. Pre-orders for the new Xbox have already sold out at Best Buy four months early.
Related
Before You Go
