Gamer: Microsoft U-turn sign of maturity

UK Games Editor at IGN.com Keza MacDonald was surprised Microsoft would change its Xbox plans after gamers complained.

因玩家反感，微軟宣布，旗下次世代游戲主機Xbox One取消多個極具爭議的限制政策，如在線驗證、二手限制等。這讓微軟重新獲得了大量玩家的聲援。

Will you surprise that Microsoft went into reverse on this?

I was hugely surprised persoonally, because despite the enormous backlash from the gamers, Microsoft is not traditionally a company that tends to reverse in quite such a dramatic way as this. And they came from a position of market dominance, and in consoles for Xbox 360, and it's very strange of them to reverse like that.

So why did they make it?

I think a lot of people said it's because of the gamers, because so many thousands of gamers came out and said, we do not want restrictions on how we will play games. We don't want to be told when we can play them, and we don't connect to the Internet every 24 hours.

But they still use it, or will they threaten to boycott?

I think that most people will switch to the main rival, Sony, so here's the real thing. It's not so much, in my opinion, gamers that has caused these changes. Sony, who went all light to this years E3 Xbox, which is they expose video game experts every year. Sony went all that right for the firm of Microsoft and said, we support youth games. We support gamers. And I think Microsoft will probably look into the preorder numbers ...

But how did they get it so wrong? And also at the Window 8 doing. Surely, they test this thing; they have a policy; they must discuss this. Why do you think as they got this so wrong?

I think what Microsoft is shooting for is something like Apple's System, which is a beautiful, for a corporate standpoint, a beautiful system where everybody will have to play in a walled garden. And Microsoft is going for digital future, in which there is a great level of control and also benefits that came with that by causing things to be digital only. So if you want to buy games, you brought it from Mircosoft via the Internet.

Well, Apple can do it, why couldn't Mircosoft? Was it a case because Microsoft had got the genius out of the bottom and they can't back it again?

I think it is partly to do with console gaming culture. Everybody, Hughs, you know, …

But how did Microsoft get it so wrong? They must have known the gamers, like you and others, what will be up and out, pushing thunders.

You would think so, wouldn't you?

Yes.

And I think this is the most puzzling thing about this entire reversal. How could Microsoft possibly not have known that this would have this kind of reaction. And it's possible there is an element of bravery that would dominate the head of the Xbox business. Basically said, look, we know we were gonna get bad reaction, but we were gonna do it anyway. And if that's the case, then this is a sign of weakness to reverse on that vision. But I think, I mean, it seems to me that ...

You're an expert on all of this. So tell me, in a nutshell, do you see it as a sign of weakness, or a sign of bravery, or a sign of maturity that they've reversed?

I think it's a sign of maturity. I think that it's an adaptation of business strategy, especially in the game, one week after announcing. I think in the long term it's going to pay off very well. It looks ridiculous now for some people, but in the long term, they've done, I think, the best thing for consumers.