As a developer I try to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions on platforms until I have a lot more info, or some hands on time. As an example, Windows8 sounded like the worst thing ever, but I actually ended up liking it more than 7 almost.
Microsoft is making it incredibly hard to not get worried though. This consistent bad attitude to consumers, and developers alike, is starting to get frustrating and making me wonder about the true viability in this next console. I know we don't have all the details yet, so I could be off base in my worries, and I accept any "I told you so" after the fact.
As a gamer this console seems to be lacking many things I want, and adding in many things I don't care about. I don't think I need beat a dead horse but I'll elaborate my points of concern which are: used games, no backwards compatibility, cloud servers, and discouraging indie developers.
The used games thing for me is not much of a deal breaker, because I prefer to buy all my games new to support the companies who make them. I do miss out on other games as a result of the higher price though, and some people just don't have the luxury to buy all new, or prefer to get more used games at a lower price, than a few new games at a higher price. I personally have only purchased about 4 used games in my entire life as a gamer. Two of which (EarthBound and Chrono Trigger) were out of print and sold out at the time. To which I paid $60. I regret nothing, and would do it again with pleasure. While digital titles makes this availability thing less of an issue, more issues arise as a result and combine to paint a bleak picture...
No backwards compatibility is something I am growing increasingly concerned about as hardware begins to fail more often within a console lifetime these days, which basically is a huge gamble that you will be able to play older games at all 10 years later. Games, as art, don't deserve to have a finite time period where you can enjoy it. Not allowing backwards compatibility is really hurting long term exposure for some developers as well, and just punishing gamers who happen to like older games or may not have discovered them until later. This same issue also punishes new gamers who never had the opportunity to play the older titles. How many of us have discovered an NES, SNES, or Genesis game 10, 15, 20 years later, and ended up really liking it? I've seen games on Nintendo's Virtual console that I never played before. I then also purchased, and liked them. And while, the elephant in the room, emulation is making this preservation easier for gamers, how many PS2 emulators do you see around after the system released 13 years ago? Let alone ones that work with wide support on games and little issues? It is getting too hard and time consuming to make them now. For the real kicker, we roll into the next point.
Cloud computing and the online requirements, big or small, are ruining the longevity of games. For an MMO title it is a huge issue that if the company goes down, or the cost of maintenance outshines the income of the game, that the servers get shut down and the game is effectively lost. There are some good legitimate reasons for this to happen, and I can't effectively blame the developers when it just doesn't work out right. But now we're adding in online requirements to games that don't need it. What happens when EA decides SimCity isn't pulling in the money anymore? Just like their other games, they will eventually shut down the servers. If you're a legitimate paying customer, who isn't hacking their game, you are screwed. The game no longer operates. What if EA was not lying, and the online service did actually perform needed calculations to run the game? Then you wouldn't even be able to hack it out. It would be gone forever, unless EA released the server software for others to support independently. We know this is NOT going to happen.
Microsoft is now putting the power of always online DRM in the hands of the console developer, and giving developers a platform to explicitly add in some cloud server calculations which could be for the sole purpose of total product domination. When their servers go down, or the next Xbox is shipped and One's service is cut off, your game stops working FOREVER. This is what bugs me the most. We could see some games that have an availability for roughly 6 years then be unplayable forever after that.
Microsoft is also very much against indie developers. Their system for dealing with indies has never been the best, and they're not only keeping that stance but making it even worse. I am not willing to sell out and jump on with a publisher just to get a shot at being on this console. Likewise since they are restructuring their online marketplace allegedly, making it even harder to find indie games, it is hard to imagine any reason I have to approach Microsoft with a game for their console as opposed to just hitting up Sony and Nintendo who are making great strides for all developers these days.
That's my current take on the matter. I hope they turn things around, but at this rate I'll find it very hard to support them as a gamer or developer. I have no qualms about missing Xbox exclusives and not buying this system. Which is a shame because I really liked my 360, and felt it was a good console with some genuine advantages to it.
Also for the record, their first press conference doesn't bug me. They needed to get the extra stuff out of the way anyway, and I really believe they are saving most of the game talk for E3.