I very much agree with this article. As a past Xbox brand fan I'm very afraid that Microsoft may have lost touch with gamers and what they desire. All the pencil pushers/number crunchers in the world can't make up for understanding the way a garner feels when he or she believes in something enough to purchase it. I think the insight of what it feels like to be a gamer might have been lost on Xbox One development and may cost MS dearly.

I agree that next gen console sales won't be as good as the current gen but not because console sales have peaked but because the three console makers are not all in touch with their consumers and what they really want in their next console purchase. The Wii U isn't next gen but late to the last gen battle. Once again Nintendo did its own thing but it's not going to be as lucky as it was with the Wii. Many of us let the Wii slide but felt burnt and let down----not ever again. Nintendo needs some excellent hardware to back its big ambitions. It has always come up short after the Super Nintendo, unlike with Sega, now it has real competition and it needs to start acting like it and step up. Sony may actually win the Next Gen if MS keeps making mistakes by under estimating consumers and over estimating brand loyalty. Give your consumers what they want and most will always come back.

Have to admit that I love the look of the new controller design but I hate the look of the Xbox One and the name. I always say that every gaming company screws up on its 3rd console, I hope that I am wrong. But so far every console maker who has survived at least three or more console generations has proven me right with their 3rd console. The new Xbox might be powerful but it looks like an over sized old VCR or Tivo unit. The design seems to have taken a couple of steps back instead of forward. I liked the look of the Original Xbox better even. It looks rather sad in comparison to my Slim Xbox 360 model.

I think MS just answered my question, "Who'd really own the console that I'd buy?" If you are to tell the consumer what they can play, where and how, then I think that you have become the consumer and the purchaser of your own product. You don't need the consumer and it becomes obvious to the consumer that they too do not need your product. In the midst of all that is going on financially one should never tell your consumer how to spend their money, just be happy that they are spending it with you. It shows a little bit of loyalty as well as good business sense. So many great companies have gone under lately because they have forgotten that concept.

I don't feel that the buyer of a used game should have to personally give MS or any developer/publisher any money for a pass. But on the same note I feel that it is the responsibility of the reseller to include in the resell of a used game any fees that might be required to play the game by the purchaser on his or her console. If I'm not buying the game from MS or the developer/publisher I shouldn't have to pay MS or that developer/publisher extra fees, the reseller should and he or she can add the pass in the retail box as well as any fees I might owe to my resale purchase price. And if I trade a game in, the reseller would deduct the value of a pass out of my trade in credit. As a gamer at this point I won't get angry with MS or the publisher but the reseller for knowingly selling me something I can not use without all the parts. I do hate not being able to lend/borrow games from friends but I don't see me paying anything out of my pocket to MS or a publisher for a used game. Also such tactics will limit the number of new games I buy based on not knowing the quality of the game play. I don't gamble on if I'll like a $60.00 dollar game or not. I try never to buy games I won't keep. This is an issue between Publishers/ Developers, resellers and MS, the consumer shouldn't be penalized for their inability to come up will a reasonable solution to properly conduct business, it's just bad customer service and business.

@GalvatronType_R I completely agree with you.

Just waiting to see what MS has to say for its self on the new console on May 21st. Not sure that I'd trust them no matter what they say at this point. I'm majorly on the fence about skipping the next gen period at this point but I will wait and see. Ironically it's not about the price this time ---as the fact is if I really want it I'll buy it regardless---but the principle of not being given a choice. There are tons of other things I could spend my money on instead.

My question is if you are already verified through Windows 8, do you really need to go through all of that if everything is linked together in the first place? I thought that the idea was to do it all through that process any way or does one have to do it again and add the Xbox 360 to the device list? If one has to do it differently for every MS device it will be rather cumbersome after awhile to remember all of this. I'm all for the concept of synergy but it needs to happen in a uniformed manner not every time a new idea for a service or feature pops up. It should be old hat by now as Apple and Google have been tying everything to a single account for awhile now. Why is the safety concept just now hitting MS and will it make it easier to transfer accounts to the New console once it arrives? I'm not complain about this but curious as to why it's just now becoming a concern and if it will help simplify things really.

@LEALR I agree and you're not the only one that feels this way at this point. I think that a great deal of game companies and gamers that are new to the console market---mainly those who jumped on the online console ban wagon with the 360 and PS3 consoles' arrivals---think that a great deal of gamers can't live without being online. That's a cocky idea, It's worked for PC but never really worked for consoles until this generation to such a great extent. It's a nice extra but not a have to have. Most of us do it because it allows us to be social and make new friends but sometimes we just nuke the online feature for self play time. To not be given that option and told you have to be online to play a game period on a console, not a PC, could kill the experience for some. Lol. I even put my laptop in Airplane Mode at times because there is no need to waste the bandwidth if I'm doing something intensive in the background that doesn't require being online. I don't do pc games, I stopped back when the monthly video card wars began years ago. Playing a casual game on my tablet/phone is nice but there are very few games on those out there that have true quality multi-player online support. I think the Next Gen consoles might be interesting. More gamers might sit on the fence this time than buy rather quick depending on official announcements from MS. Console gaming isn't what it use to be, it's lost some of its luster.

@sargentpsgamer I agree 100% especially on the lack of BC. I've only been buying games that I know that I'm going to finish before the Next Gen of consoles arrive and feel that I don't want to miss. Last time I stock piled games thinking that I could play them later hopefully on my new console only to find that not even a fraction of them where BC. This time I'd rather save the money for next gen games/consoles instead unless it's a have to have game for me or I find it at a great deal at the moment.