Should the Xbox One still Fail?

Gamer: "Xbox, how many restrictions to you have on your next console?"

X1 self-aware gaming machine: "Only one…after another, after another, after another, after…ERROR, ERROR…incoming messages from our master—just kidding, pulling your leg—no restrictions."

Gamer: “Xbox, forget it.  Go make me a sandwich.”

For a limited time, every X1 purchase comes with a Microsoft employee showing up at your house 

to make you a sandwich. Kicking them in the balls is optional.

Before any Xbox fan-boys go prancing off to gather pitchforks and torches, and then attempt to beat me with a sack full of hammers, let me say one thing: I'm an Xbox fan-boy too.  Well, at least I was, until the unveiling of the new console, the ridiculous restrictions and the competition selling $100 bucks cheaper with no stupid requirements or motion cameras.  Since then, I've fallen off the Microsoft wagon.  And after the beating they took at E3, I'm inclined to think many have fallen along with me.  But wait you say: "Microsoft has dropped all their terrible restrictions!"  I know, but does that mean they're now on the gamer's side?  Who knows?  At least the X1 still has the ability to watch TV through your cable provider, right?

BRIEF CABLE INTERLUDE:

Connect your Xbox One to your cable provider and you can watch the Price is Right in the middle of gunning down your 100th foe in Call of Duty.  What in your right mind makes you think I want to watch TV or anything else while I have my gaming console turned on?  I want to game.  Plain and simple.  I don't want to surf the Internet or watch a Blu-Ray, or masturbate to Wheel of Fortune—or whatever you Xbox executives think we do with our "gaming" consoles.

"Imagine being able to watch basic cable on your TV..."

BACK TO MAIN ARTICLE:

Microsoft isn't developing a console for their loyal fans.  They're developing a console for themselves.  And therein lies the problem.  Even if they've pulled all previous restrictions, they can't hide behind their initial intent: robbing the average gamer of their rights.

Initially, your Xbox One needed a constant Internet connection to cut down on overbearing piracy (and whatever other reason they threw at us).  Now, they've taken that away.  You don't need it says Microsoft.  So what they're really saying is "our initial claims for the necessity of the always-on Internet were total bull-crap, and all we wanted to do was benefit ourselves by making it harder on our consumers."  Going back on their word makes them look even worse.  Still, people think they've won and are currently skipping along, singing of lollipops and rainbows.  But you have to consider everything this company said in the beginning to really appreciate how full of crap they are.

Since Microsoft has dropped every terrible policy that they originally put in place, what does that say about the company?  Most people, after hearing the news, danced like leprechauns and instantly hit the preorder button for the Xbox One.  But shouldn't we slow down a second?  Only yesterday, this was the same company trying to cram policies we didn't want and definitely didn't ask for, down our throats.  Now all of a sudden they're changing their tune and they love the average gamer?  Are you really buying that?

The problem is Microsoft is not changing their tune because of their love for gamers.  They're changing their tune because of how Sony bashed their head in at the E3 conference.  They don't want to lose money, so they'll take away all those policies they initially told us were good…in essence, really saying that they were wrong all along. 

Millions were in attendance that day, as the X1 went down in flames. 

As of this moment, no civilians were hurt during the blunder.

On top of all that, if changing their minds from "we're always watching" to "we'll become Sony" is as simple as a day-one download, who's to say a few years from now after they've sold plenty of consoles, that they won't go back to all these restrictions?  Or slowly introduce them, one by one, making it easier for us to accept, since we've already purchased the console.  The framework for these terrible policies is already there just waiting for the flick of a switch.  If Microsoft is that quick to change its tune, then they might just be that quick to change back.

If you take into account everything that has been surfacing, could Microsoft have been any more vague or flip-floppy about their next generation box?  Think about this for a second: if I'm creating something for the consumers—a piece of hardware that I know they'll love—why am I going to hold back details, be vague when answering questions, or instantly change major policies after hearing the competition's selling points?  And since all their great ideas were the future, why are they so quick to throw everything in the garbage and move forward mimicking Sony?

Considering their initial greedy intentions, should the Xbox One still fail?

BRIEF FAILURE INTERLUDE:

Let’s just address those people that say: "I don't want to see anybody fail."  That's great and humanistic of you, but how the hell do you expect anything to advance without failure?  One product must fail for another to succeed.  What if we decided steam engines were good enough and never pushed for further advancement, where would we be?  Failure is the only way to move forward in life.  You either learn from it, or dig a hole deep enough, so no one can hear you scream. 

Microsoft unveils what's really under the X1's hood.

BACK TO MAIN ARTICLE:

Back to the whole "X1 failure" thing: So say Xbox One comes out and something remarkable happens: consumers don't buy it, because it wasn't what they wanted. (And I'm not promoting the PS4 either, because any company can make mistakes)  In essence, the X1 then fails and the landfill people clear a space right next to that ET game and dump the world's crappiest console in large mounds to forever show what happens when a company doesn't take its consumers seriously.  Is it the end of the world?  No, because two things will happen if the X1 craps out: one, Microsoft will scratch their heads and then each other's asses and ask the very important question of "why."  And somewhere in that massive company lies the one person who can then explain to them what they did wrong.  And do you know what happens next?  They make a better, more improved, more consumer friendly gaming console.  That's of course after they apologize for being the world's biggest smacked-asses.

After several test panels, Microsoft executives decide their new ad campaign.

Or two: Microsoft packs it up and decides the console business isn't right for them anymore.  In which case, no need to fret, because a company will always rise up to take its place—passing the baton, if you will.  Do I think this would be the case?  No.  I think Microsoft has invested too much time and effort into the Xbox world to let it go.  If anything, they'd take a huge loss and then produce another console that met our needs.

But do I really see the Xbox One failing?  Realistically, no.  We still have a little over 5 months before these consoles hit the shelves, and by that time people will forget all about this mess.  Also, casual gamers who don't pay attention to gaming news won't even know this happened, which will only benefit Microsoft in the long run.  And on top of that, there are still a ton of people who were getting an Xbox One even with all the restrictions.

 Sad, but true.  

*runs off to cry excessively*

THE SILVER LINING:

Now that Sony doesn't have an immense advantage anymore (aside from being 100 bucks cheaper), the competition between the two console giants will keep games and accessories cheap (hopefully) as each company attempts to outdo the other. 

After days of guesswork and speculations, analysts have come to a conclusion: 

these four letters made the crowd go wild at E3.

SO...

With Microsoft stuffing integrity into the garbage disposal and flipping the switch, only time will tell whether or not their initial restrictive views at game ownership will hurt their sales.  Good luck Xbox One.  Here's to flip-flopping: a quality every person/business should strive to possess. (Caution: sarcasm found in last sentence)