Quick update on the current console war

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but let's talk about the X-box ONE again. What with work and stuff and whatever going on, I haven't actually managed to play any games enough to review them, so this will have to do. Not to mention, this update might be quick, but it's also a biggie.

You might remember how much of a shambles the X-box ONE reveal was. All of these weird and confusing restrictions coming to something that didn't need them one bit. And to top it off, Sony decimated Microsoft at E3, not necessarily by being better, but by doing it better, taking a couple of jabs at Microsoft at the same time. For the full story, I'll refer you to my previous posts.

Be that as it may, a couple of days ago Microsoft came out with an announcement, the jist of which was "We listen to your feedback". The most annoying of the upcoming features are gone. No more region lock, just a one-time activation. No more 24h login required for offline play. No more DRM. 

Effectively, this means ONE is now supported globally, and lending, selling, buying or renting used games is back. Paying for XBL Gold is now levelled with Playstation Plus. We still have to deal with a pricetag $100 more expensive than the PS4 and no backwards compatibility, not even in the way Sony are trying to work around it. For current console owners, it basically boils down to a pricetag and the franchises available to the new consoles. 

Now I'm not saying I'm buying the official story, and I'm willing to bet money that it was either the very vocal internet community we have today, the low pre-order numbers or more possibly a combination of both that lead to this sudden change. A paranoid part of me foresaw this change and attributed it to a marketing ploy so Microsoft could appear to be the guys who listen, but still. 

Is ONE the One? 

No idea yet. But things are looking up for it.