At the E3 conference this week, Microsoft unveiled details on the next in their line of video game consoles, the Xbox One, which will replace the Xbox 360 as the penultimate Microsoft gaming machine. Some of those details have been met with backlash.
First, the price of the Xbox One is higher than expected. According to CNBC, the presented $499 launch price is about $100 more than expected. Sony quickly seized the opportunity to announce that the Playstation 4 will launch at just $399. This is a flip of the initial prices of last generations games - the Playstation 3 launched at at $599, $100 more than the Xbox 360.
But that's not the end of Microsoft's problems. In a controversial move to restrict game pirating and used game sales, the Xbox One will only function as long as it has connected to the internet in the last 24 hours. The Telegraph reports that Microsoft's decision was to make the Xbox One a purely 21st century console.
Finally, the Xbox One will veer from the usual disc-centered game marketing. Instead, according to ArsTechnica, games will be downloaded via the internet, in a way similar to Netflix's movie streaming.
This is a lot of change, maybe even too much change for the cutting edge gaming generation. Internet backlash has been prolific. So much so that Microsoft has released multiple videos in response. But there is no hint that they may change their plans; they are only defending their position as the future of the huge gaming market.