http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-yaverbaum/so-long-sony-why-the-crit_b_3333781.html"Microsoft has nothing to prove when it comes to making gamers happy."
Actually, they do.
Consider the following:
the Xbox was a GAMING console.
the Xbox 360, despite all the features that got added in along the way, was a GAMING console.
And Sony's PS4, is going to be a GAMING Console.
Xbox has to compete with it, and all the TV and sports and Halo TV shows in the world will not win over the gaming market, (particularly the core gamers of the market) who are tuning in to Microsoft's Xbox One to see GAMES. not TV, they can watch that already. they want GAMES. they want a gaming machine that will blow them away with graphics, speed and power, and any other bonus features are just icing on the cake.
However, MS has made all the WRONG decisions, and included all the WORST aspects of these features.
complex archaic DRM- you have to install your game to the hard drive, rendering the disc useless to star with when you can go full digital instead like Steam. (and given they are pushing their online, it's not impossible). To play used games, you have to pay a full game price fee. if you want to play your game on another console? you have to pay a fee. This system KILLS the tradition of game lending among friends and family, not to mention the used games market that many gamers use to get games cheaper.
orwellian Kinect surveillance. The Kinect MUST be connected for the system to work. And it will be active all the time. Even when the system is turned off.
TV SPORTS TV SPORTS- have I mentioned already, how nobody cares about this aside from the casual gaming market, who sees this as the most amazing thing? the non-gaming people will not buy this, because they already have ways of watching TV and sports and blu-ray, and don't need an "all in one" system. the hardcore market, aside from a select few, will skip this, because of the hoops and loops and un-friendly DRM you have to jump through to play games, and not be able to share a disc with your friend.
a select few of both of those groups, and even the casuals, will skip this because of the orwellian big brother kinect.
so who exactly is the target audience? casual gaming rich people who can waste money on an "all in one" that replaces things they already have?
the PS4 and Wii-U will be the winners of this generation simply because of one reason:
they are actually concentrating on making a system dedicated to playing GAMES, for GAMERS. Not watching TV and spying on your life. Also, since neither of them have all the extra bullshit added to them, they will both likely be cheaper than the One. (the Wii most assuredly is)
if Microsoft wants to make an all in one, go ahead, but don't mask it as a gaming console.