I’m going
to be honest here and I’m still trying to figure out where I stand since May 21st,
when Microsoft decided to reveal their all-in-one gaming system and successor to
the Xbox 360, the Xbox One. Now, I won’t be bumbling about “oh that’s a stupid
name, it’s a flop machine, etcetera” but I do think Microsoft did some ultimately
risky things with their current market push and if more clarification does not
come up at E3 favorably I regrettably will be ridding myself of console focus
towards Microsoft. What really made me so certain about where I stand does not
owe to Microsoft’s stance on backwards compatibility, used games policy, or
DRM; and while I’d like different choices to all of those three they are not
game changer’s for me—they might be for others, sure, but what concerns me is
the mandatory internet and the always aware Kinect that would be in my living
room. I’ll start with what bugs me about mandatory internet and that is how it
disregards a user base around the world with bandwidth issues and not to
mention those rural communities that cannot even have internet needed. How can
a company isolate non-internet gamers? Is this their plan to stop piracy? To be hyper aware of what is going on their system? This seems both a good offense but
the thing is that it is attacking pirates and regular law-abiding consumers if
that theory bears any relevance and I don’t care for that. I don’t know but I
hope Microsoft tells us more throughout E3 about this mandatory connection,
maybe I understand it wrong.
Moving on
to the second problem and the core issue I have with an Xbox One, the Kinect.
The Kinect is “always aware” and I feel that has applications that are
problematic to security and personal liberty. While this throws me in the “tin-foil
hat” camp by some, does that mean nations like Germany and Australia being
concerned about the same thing are wearing such hats as well? Orwell, Huxley,
and Bradbury warned us of these kinds of scenarios and I do fear it with a
legitimate worry. How can you trust a corporation to not do what is in their
best interests over your own? I simply can’t trust Microsoft to do the right
thing and not decide to use information they receive in alerting anti-privacy
ways and while I do understand they promise that privacy is one of their major
concerns with the Kinect I still can’t stomach it as it sits on top of my
television. This will alienate me from exclusives and Microsoft’s one billion
dollar investment in gaming of which I’m sad for that, but I can’t support an
always aware camera in my residence no matter the confidence Microsoft thinks
they have. If they dropped the Kinect being always aware I would reconsider abandoning
Microsoft and I understand it is throwing a lot of money down the drain.
That is
all I have to say at this point in time about the Xbox One.
