Microsoft just became a competitor again, finally bringing an end to the horrendous nightmare that was the PR campaign for their new console, the Xbox One.
It looks as though the company heard the countless complaints over the company's policy on used games, and always online connection, and have decided to do away with both.
Microsoft informed fans of the switch via an update on the console's official site with the following notices:
- An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games- After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
- Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today - There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
The company caught an unbeknownst amount of criticism for its earlier decision involving the console's policies, but this move should finally silence critics, and put the console back in the running for next-gen.
Still, the company has yet to address the final big concern over the console, the ever watching, always listening Kinect, which is also the subject of a bill recently introduced into Congress. There's still a fair bit of paranoia over the peripheral as it's ever ready, and also that developer Microsoft was also named as a participant in the PRISM data gathering and surveillance tool. However, it seems that with Microsoft finally listening to the consumer, if they raise enough of an issue over it, the company could give that the boot as well.
We'll keep you posted if Microsoft makes any other changes for their upcoming console.