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Microsoft and Sony both are trying to get top spot in next-gen consoles battle with their upcoming consoles Xbox One and PS4 respectively. For Sony and Microsoft this is not just about gaining success for their new consoles, it's about long time kingship in terms of money, sales and their profit charts. But as we all know (a fact) that Microsoft remains bit more greedy about Xbox Platform than Sony with PlayStation, as they intend to earn more at every possible step.
A perfect example for this is the price of their new console Xbox One, it is costing $100 more than Sony's PS4. It's not just about costing more, there are more things at which Microsoft try to be more greedy. Just take the case of always online DRM and no self-publishing policies for indie developers on Xbox One (now these restriction are no longer applicable on Xbox One after fans outage). Microsoft should try to be a bit more generous to their customer on their own. Let's have a look at things on which Microsoft had to back-off to strength their position against PS4 and things which Microsoft should do to advance Xbox One position against PS4.
Always Online(DRM) connectivity (Already Cancelled)
When Xbox One was announced, Microsoft stated that Xbox One will require constant internet connectivity. But it really made a bad impact of Microsoft in gaming community, and hence as a result due to bad response from Xbox community Microsoft cancelled it. It was first step to become generous towards their loyal fans and attempt to keep them on their side only. And this cancellation surely reduces one reason to criticize Xbox One against PS4.
Self Publishing Freedom to Independent game developers (Granted)
At first Microsoft said that every developer will need to find publishers for theirs games to publish for Xbox One. Where from the start Sony have cleared that it will support indie developers to publish their games for PS4.
So again Microsoft has changed their policy to make Xbox One even better choice for gamers as well as developers. Microsoft have lifted their limits from independent developers allowing to publish their games on Xbox One without needing to find publishers. Not only this, they have also announced that each Xbox One console will act as development kit, yes you heard me right. Where you have to pay thousands of dollars to buy developer kit especially PS4 developer kits, Microsoft allowing any Xbox One player to be a creator of games they wanna develop by enabling Xbox One console to turn into development kit as well.
"Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox LIVE. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discover ability on Xbox LIVE. We’ll have more details on the program and the timeline at Gamescom in August." Mark Whitten, corporate vice president for Xbox said.
We all know that self-publishing is no small thing. Specially if you look at the graph of indie games success. Titles like Minecraft, Journey and Hotline Miami have already living great success and growing more popular day by day. This step will make huge difference for Microsoft against Sony. Sony also allows indie games development but their development kits are costly.
Now let's have a look on things where changing policies can benefit Microsoft greatly in terms of earning more Customers for their new console Xbox One.
Reducing price tag of Xbox One:
A standard price for Xbox One is $499, which is $100 extra than PS4. As we known now that Kinect 2 as a camera device is coming along as bundle with Xbox One which is the reason i guess for costing $100 more. Where as for PS4 to buy PlayStation Eye you'll need to pay $60. Which makes cost almost equal with just $40 dollar difference. But the thing is, not everyone including myself wants Kinect 2, why Microsoft not giving choice to not buy Kinect 2. Xbox One has no dependency on Kinect 2 and has no need to get bundle along with it. If Microsoft chooses to sell Xbox One without Kinect 2 then it will reduce price tag by at least $100 and will make Xbox One stand right equal to PS4 in terms of cost.
To be less expensive but more entertainment:
It's seems that both Microsoft and Sony will charge for Multiplayer services. And if we talk about Apps then only Microsoft going to charge for apps at Xbox Live whereas Sony has confirmed that streaming video content like Netflix, Hulu Plus and MLB.TV on PS4 won't require PlayStation Plus subscription. Microsoft should follow into the foot steps of Sony and should offers services like these for free for free just to increase their chances to make Xbox Live favorite over PlayStation Network, in turns which will benefit Xbox One.
Being loyal to Xbox 360 owners for future returns:
Microsoft should learn from their mistakes they did before. One was abandoning Xbox gamers with new titles when Xbox 360 was launched. If you see Sony it took care of PS2, when PS3 came and now also new lineups are coming for PS3 even after PS4 is announced. This will help Microsoft customers to gain more trust on Microsoft to buy their more services and products in future.
Verdict:
I don't say Microsoft doing bad or Xbox One is less against PS4, it's just if Microsoft wants compete equal to PS4 or want to beat it, Microsoft should at least make Xbox One equal with PS4 in terms of money and services as i mentioned above. This is just beginning of these consoles and even before their launch there is already so much to talk on both consoles. So talking difference between these two consoles will be a obvious thing in their journey as next-generation consoles. So what you guys think about asking Microsoft to adjust some more policies of them? Can you name few?
A perfect example for this is the price of their new console Xbox One, it is costing $100 more than Sony's PS4. It's not just about costing more, there are more things at which Microsoft try to be more greedy. Just take the case of always online DRM and no self-publishing policies for indie developers on Xbox One (now these restriction are no longer applicable on Xbox One after fans outage). Microsoft should try to be a bit more generous to their customer on their own. Let's have a look at things on which Microsoft had to back-off to strength their position against PS4 and things which Microsoft should do to advance Xbox One position against PS4.
Always Online(DRM) connectivity (Already Cancelled)
When Xbox One was announced, Microsoft stated that Xbox One will require constant internet connectivity. But it really made a bad impact of Microsoft in gaming community, and hence as a result due to bad response from Xbox community Microsoft cancelled it. It was first step to become generous towards their loyal fans and attempt to keep them on their side only. And this cancellation surely reduces one reason to criticize Xbox One against PS4.
Self Publishing Freedom to Independent game developers (Granted)
At first Microsoft said that every developer will need to find publishers for theirs games to publish for Xbox One. Where from the start Sony have cleared that it will support indie developers to publish their games for PS4.
So again Microsoft has changed their policy to make Xbox One even better choice for gamers as well as developers. Microsoft have lifted their limits from independent developers allowing to publish their games on Xbox One without needing to find publishers. Not only this, they have also announced that each Xbox One console will act as development kit, yes you heard me right. Where you have to pay thousands of dollars to buy developer kit especially PS4 developer kits, Microsoft allowing any Xbox One player to be a creator of games they wanna develop by enabling Xbox One console to turn into development kit as well.
"Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox LIVE. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discover ability on Xbox LIVE. We’ll have more details on the program and the timeline at Gamescom in August." Mark Whitten, corporate vice president for Xbox said.
We all know that self-publishing is no small thing. Specially if you look at the graph of indie games success. Titles like Minecraft, Journey and Hotline Miami have already living great success and growing more popular day by day. This step will make huge difference for Microsoft against Sony. Sony also allows indie games development but their development kits are costly.
Now let's have a look on things where changing policies can benefit Microsoft greatly in terms of earning more Customers for their new console Xbox One.
Reducing price tag of Xbox One:
A standard price for Xbox One is $499, which is $100 extra than PS4. As we known now that Kinect 2 as a camera device is coming along as bundle with Xbox One which is the reason i guess for costing $100 more. Where as for PS4 to buy PlayStation Eye you'll need to pay $60. Which makes cost almost equal with just $40 dollar difference. But the thing is, not everyone including myself wants Kinect 2, why Microsoft not giving choice to not buy Kinect 2. Xbox One has no dependency on Kinect 2 and has no need to get bundle along with it. If Microsoft chooses to sell Xbox One without Kinect 2 then it will reduce price tag by at least $100 and will make Xbox One stand right equal to PS4 in terms of cost.
To be less expensive but more entertainment:
It's seems that both Microsoft and Sony will charge for Multiplayer services. And if we talk about Apps then only Microsoft going to charge for apps at Xbox Live whereas Sony has confirmed that streaming video content like Netflix, Hulu Plus and MLB.TV on PS4 won't require PlayStation Plus subscription. Microsoft should follow into the foot steps of Sony and should offers services like these for free for free just to increase their chances to make Xbox Live favorite over PlayStation Network, in turns which will benefit Xbox One.
Being loyal to Xbox 360 owners for future returns:
Microsoft should learn from their mistakes they did before. One was abandoning Xbox gamers with new titles when Xbox 360 was launched. If you see Sony it took care of PS2, when PS3 came and now also new lineups are coming for PS3 even after PS4 is announced. This will help Microsoft customers to gain more trust on Microsoft to buy their more services and products in future.
Verdict:
I don't say Microsoft doing bad or Xbox One is less against PS4, it's just if Microsoft wants compete equal to PS4 or want to beat it, Microsoft should at least make Xbox One equal with PS4 in terms of money and services as i mentioned above. This is just beginning of these consoles and even before their launch there is already so much to talk on both consoles. So talking difference between these two consoles will be a obvious thing in their journey as next-generation consoles. So what you guys think about asking Microsoft to adjust some more policies of them? Can you name few?
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