(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); [h=2]With two major policy changes for the Xbox One, can we trust Microsoft and it's next-gen console?[/h]
You might’ve heard? Microsoft has, once again, You must login or register to view this content. in a bid to make the Xbox One seemed like a more promising platform.
But can we trust a company that can so easily flip-flop on its previous strictly enforced? A company that can just as easily undo a concept the Xbox One was supposed hardwired to do as it can switch the lights on and off again?

Some will claim it’s a good thing that Microsoft is listening to its criticism, but in truth it only breeds distrust among the wary and confusion among the believers.
There are some gamers who are still clamouring for You must login or register to view this content. that Microsoft had spent the entirety of E3 trying to defend but ultimately removed.
So yes, it’s good that Microsoft is listening, but it’s bad – terrible even, devastating even – that it requires an angry and very, very vocal internet to wear Microsoft down, to point out with no uncertainty what is right or wrong.
It’s a PR nightmare for Microsoft. No wonder Mattrick left.
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[h=3]Is Self-Publishing A Good Thing For Microsoft?[/h] The worst of it is that we don’t actually know the details of what Microsoft is planning. All we’ve had so far is an announcement of an announcement, with the proper details being released at Gamescom.
Self-publishing will happen, but not at launch. The ability to turn an Xbox One into a dev kit also won’t be available until a later date.
In other words, this is a panic move by Microsoft. It never planned for this sort of arrangement, it wasn’t part of the vision - in spite of what Whitten might say. It’s damage control and nothing else.
Mark Whitten told You must login or register to view this content. that “this is a fundamental shift that needs to happen”, but if that was true surely Microsoft would have considered it from the start?
There’s two outcomes here: either Microsoft was oblivious to the criticism it had been getting for years about its publishing policies, or it flip-flopped on something it had concerned important to itself as a company.
There are benefits to having a fairly closed system, after all, but those benefits don’t carry over to the indies. As it currently stands, Microsoft is able to ensure only quality products appear on the Xbox Live Arcade.
Take a look at the XBLIG section, however, and that’s a different story. Sure there’s a number of successful – even high-quality games – that have appeared here, but largely it’s a mixed bag of choices.
Open the floodgates and the Xbox One could – in theory at least – become crammed with undesirables. Perhaps Microsoft wanted to prevent that for the Xbox One?
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[h=3]But What Exactly Are The Details?[/h] It’s not all rainbows and butterflies either. The Xbox One hasn’t suddenly become an indie haven, all Microsoft has done is said it’ll talk about something at Gamescom. It didn’t tell us anything.
But there are developers who are concerned, and have even expressed some details that could be the downfall of this supposed ‘good news’.
The key point from the You must login or register to view this content. – the people this new move affects the most – is one of discoverability. The Xbox Live Marketplace – and by extension the XBLIG – is often criticised for its awkward design, and will that be fixed next-gen?
Fez developer Phil Fish spoke out against the service when his game was not given a similar service to that of Minecraft. His game, while claiming a more-than-modest success, had not been given the specialist treatment.
Minecraft – which Microsoft secured as a console exclusive to the Xbox 360 – was advertised everywhere, and its developer – Mojang – was given regular updates to its sales success. Something Phil Fish was given nothing of.
Rightly so, then, developers are concerned over the curation of the new Xbox One indie treatment. Will developers still have as much difficulty gaining recognition as with Xbox Live Arcade?
Brian Proviciano has other concerns, and explains that You must login or register to view this content. as we might have been led to believe.
XNA – the coding software behind Xbox Live Indie Games – has been made obsolete by Microsoft and is replaced, instead, with Windows 8.
The problem is that apps built on Windows 8 for the Xbox One only have access to 3GB of RAM, and this could be the same limit in place for indie developers making games for the Xbox One.
Phil Harrison has come out and announced that ‘the goal’ is to have developers gain access to the You must login or register to view this content., and hopefully this will be the case, because otherwise it’s a severe limit for non-retail or published games.
That’s if they even deem it important enough to continue with, Microsoft isn’t known for its consistency.
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[h=3]Another U-Turn For The Xbox One Eighty?[/h] Ultimately this is the point. If Microsoft can switch policies as easily (and as often) as it has done with the Xbox One then what’s stopping it from doing the same again and reversing its ideals.
The mistrust among its consumers can only grow. But if Microsoft had the balls to stay true to the original design of the Xbox One, would that have been better?
Probably not, but conviction is a hard thing to sell when you change something that was considered ‘unchangeable’.
It’s unlikely that Microsoft will ever suddenly reintroduce the restrictive online DRM check, and its self-publishing policies can only be an improvement – even if it does only end up as the start of the change rather than an instant revolution.
But make no mistake: this is an attitude that Microsoft still has, it just has to go about it in a less-than-transparent way now.
It’ll begin with lower prices for digital-only games (which will require signing in to play, most likely). Then it’ll be a more common appearance of ‘persistent worlds’, AKA you-need-to-be-online-to-play-this games.
Let’s not forget ‘The Power Of The Cloud’ either. As more and more games make use of this, it’ll become standard – and as a result you’ll have a lesser game if you’re not online, not connected.
Before you know it you’ve got an always-online, DRM focused console – you just won’t notice it. It’ll be more subterfuge than it would have been had we all just rolled over and accepted the DRM in the first place.
Don’t believe for a section that Microsoft is suddenly the bastion of honour. It might be paying lip service to the demands of the internet, but nothing will change. Not really.
Perhaps you’ll consider this flamebait? Perhaps you think it's an article written by a fanboy or just trolling the internet for ‘cheap hits’?
This is just the effect of the mistrust that Microsoft’s strategy with the Xbox One has imbued. We should be cautious and wary. Worried, even. Will Microsoft stay true to these polices? Will they be as beneficial as these surface comments from Mattrick and Whitten made out?
Let's sincerely hope so.
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they knew it would damage their sales, so they changed it to try win back the people they'd pushed away. doing so makes me think what else have they got up their sleeves once they have your money.

as soon as that console is brought people are in the cycle and then microsoft can throw anything at them, chances are they will ride with it as its going to be costly to change to a different console.