Suggestions for Microsoft and Xbox One game developers, from an angry and disappointed Xbox ...

Dear Microsoft, and Microsoft Games Designers

I love video games, have done for a long time. I'm now an adult, and whilst I love video games, I have to work to be able to afford them. This means that I have precious little time to play nowadays, but I look forward to it.

Except with the Xbox One, I don't play games, I spend the whole time updating them, and failing to play them.

The following describes my attempts to play Xbox yesterday. This is a frustrating tale, and apologies if just a smidgeon of that frustration finds its way into the following, but I thought I'd use it to give some constructive feedback to you and Xbox one
developers in their pursuit to improve the Xbox experience:

So, it starts with my continuing attempts to play Halo. Every time I go to play it, I have to download updates, So far these updates have not been small... 1.5 gig, 2.5 gig and 3 gigs big thus far. These are to fix the multiplayer modes apparently. That's
all well and good, but I just want to play the single player games. I have no interest in multiplayer.

TIP: DON'T MAKE HUGE MULTIPLAYER UPDATES MANDATORY UNLESS THE PLAYER WANTS TO PLAY MULTIPLAYER



Not just that, but yesterday I got Modern warfare for Christmas, so I put it into the machine to play. It required an update before it would let me play.

TIP: SHIP GAMES IN A STATE THAT CAN BE PLAYED IMMEDIATELY, JUST FROM THE DISK



Groan. So I chose to play Forza with my Brother, which I had previously downloaded. Except it forced him to log in with an Email account...

TIP: DON'T MAKE IT MANDATORY FOR SOMEONE TO REGISTER WITH AN ONLINE SERVICE BEFORE THEY ARE ABLE TO PICK UP A CONTROLLER

...except Microsoft Live was down, so he could not create a login, so we couldn't play Forza. Oh, and we couldn't download the updates for Halo or Modern warfare, and it wouldn't let us skip them, so we couldn't play those either.

TIP: ENABLE PLAYERS TO SKIP UPDATES, AT THE VERY LEAST IF THE LIVE SERVICE IS DOWN AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO



So yesterday, my Xbox One was a big black, expensive brick.

I object to this, Microsoft. I do, however, know where the root of these problems lies. Back when Microsoft announced the excruciatingly anti-consumer mechanisms in place for the yet to be released Xbox One (mandatory online connectivity, no lending games
or second hand games etc), I decided to buy a PS4 instead, despite the fact that the previous generation was all about my beloved Xbox 360...I have nearly 300 xbox 360 games. I managed to rack up a gamerscore of 87k. Not that impressive compared to some,
but I also have a job, and a partner who demands just a bit of attention. That gamescore represents my loyalty, lots of money, and much happy gaming time. But I decided to jump ship to the PS4.

Lots of people felt the same as I did, and the backlash caused you to reverse your staggeringly short-sighted decisions. You did a massive 180 and removed your anti-consumer policies. Happy about this, though I'd bought a PS4 already, I bought an Xbox
One to play Halo again.

Except...you didn't really remove the anti-consumer policies, did you Microsoft? Not really. You only moved the headstones... you didn't MOVE THE BODIES!!

The updated mechanisms and general account management is still inexorably tied to Xbox Live being there...and working. The old policies requiring constant connectivity, forced updates, creation of accounts...they still remain, they're just watered down.
As a gamer who just wants to play some games every now and again, this screws me over again....and....again.

TIP: MAKE YOUR LIVE SERVICE REDUNDANT AND AIM FOR 99.9% AVAILABILITY

TIP: WHEN DEVELOPING YOUR PRODUCT, INCLUDE USE CASES FOR WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN XBOX PLAYER GOES TO PLAY A GAME AND THE LIVE SERVICE, OR PART THEREOF IS DOWN, AND BUILD INTO YOUR PRODUCT "UNHAPPY PATH" USE CASES TO ENSURE
THAT A CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS ABLE TO PLAY A GAME EVEN WHEN THE LIVE SERVICE IS WHOLLY OR PARTLY UNAVAILABLE. IF THESE USE CASES/USER STORIES EXIST...PRIORITISE THEM FOR DELIVERY.



That last one right there is a doozy, so I put it into italics and everything. Maybe note that down and have your guys think about it? You never know, that may stop you getting angry and slightly patronising forum posts from some of your customers who
would much rather be shooting Covenant Elites in the face than writing to you explaining all the reasons why they've been unable to shoot Covenant Elites in the face.

And the worst thing of all for you, Microsoft? After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to play Xbox One with my brother on Christmas day, you know what I ended up doing? Playing PS4 with my brother. PSN was down yesterday too you know, but we could still
actually play games...

TIP: WHEN YOUR CHIEF COMPETITOR HAS A MAJOR ADVANTAGE OVER YOU, SEEK TO ADDRESS THAT ADVANTAGE

I want to like Xbox. I've been with you a long time, since the original Xbox and Halo on launch day in the UK. With the Xbox One you have seemingly done everything you can to alienate me by thinking about what is best for you as a company rather than for
me as a player.

Please, please, please think how you can help turn my big, black, expensive brick back into a console again.

:)

 

Xbox One Cloud system

MS have suggested they may scale to that many servers, not physical, for the platform, not for dedicated gaming servers. It includes all their hosting as well.

Not saying it isn't a good thing, but lets not suggest they are setting up 300,000 dedicated gaming servers when they are not.

 

Xbox One vs Xbox 360 games

I am totally not satisfied with the new Xbox One that is not compatible with the xbox 360 games. Microsoft should have made it compatible, now I need to buy new games for the titles I already own. They never said that the Xbox One would not play Xbox 360
games, this tactic will slow sales, I for one I am so disappointed that I will sell my Xbox One as soon as I can and stay with my Xbox 360S.

To Microsoft, this was a dirty sales pitch and my new gaming console will not be a Microsoft product or buy any more xbox games from now on.

 

I couldn't agree more with everything said above. Having played on a 360 for years now almost exclusively offline and watching the single player modes and offline content slowly drift away I have recognized that the joy of playing video games offline is
slowly fading. With that said I can honestly say I was disgusted when I tried to use the new xbox one I received for Christmas only to find out that I have to try and download content just to get it running and then before I can play any games I have to download
updates for those games. The fact that I have hundreds of dollars worth of equipment now sitting in front of my TV which are completely useless until the downloads are complete is absurd. To go a step further when I attempted to play Madden the game crashed
halfway through.

I really don't know what to say because the gameplay is promising and I really want to be able to enjoy the unit and go on gaming for the next ten years on it. Unfortunately I have yet to experience any of the joy of the xbox one and yet have been dealing
with massive amounts of confusion and frustration that I never once experienced with the 360. Microsoft im asking can you please give me a reason to like the xbox and stay with it rather than trade it in for a ps4 and cut my losses in order to at least have
a device that will allow me to use it in a way that I (The Consumer!) wants?!

 

Microsoft? Hello? The faint breeze of an empty room follows.

 

Hello, since here are only users like you and me, Microsoft or any game developer won't read your suggestions. The best place for your ideas, feedback or suggestions how to make your experience better is
Xbox Feedback.

 

CrazyLizard,

The best place to put your point across is on social networks like Facebook, Twitter. Official forums aren't worth snot when it comes to complaints, unless of course its a heavily used site by the population.

Which this site isn't.