Why I'm unhappy with Xbox One and Microsoft

Dear Microsoft,

I write this as a VERY disgruntled Xbox One owner. I have been a huge fan of the Xbox platform since I was given the original Xbox by my wife as a gift in 2003 and fell in love with the big black/green machine. I bought my first Xbox 360 on launch
day, 2005 and saved hard to be able to afford an Xbox One just after launch at the tail end of last year. After owning 5 Xbox 360's (I suffered in the red ring of death debacle on two separate occasions with my launch day model) I decided I simply had to have
the Xbox One as Forza Motorsport is my favourite racing franchise and the hype surrounding Forza 5 had blown me away and with the news that Xbox One was to be the only next-gen console to get Titanfall, it seemed like an easy decision. After months of saving
I was finally able to afford my new machine and eagerly purchased it on 20th December 13.

My eagerness and joy were short lived and shattered when after over 2 hours of firmware updates and game install time my first experience of Forza was a jagged mess of graphics glitches and texture tears which signalled a faulty GPU. Very disappointed,
but undeterred I returned the machine to the store for a replacement but unfortunately there were no more in stock, so I had to wait another 3 days for a replacement to arrive.

To say that so far I have been underwhelmed is an understatement.

Kinect? This overly expensive and seldom used gimmick is good for nothing except being reprimanded or even sacked in FIFA 14 career mode for using inappropriate language. The system rarely recognises any of my attempts at commands, it cannot learn
my accent or instructions and to me it seems to be almost devoid of any sort of committed support from Microsoft. An over-expensive paperweight foisted upon consumers at extra cost for very little useful purpose. Swapping Forza Motorsport 4 for Forza 5 I
discovered, is a backward step. Yes, it looks nice but with such a limited selection of tracks available in the game it’s a far less varied and ultimately less enjoyable experience than its forebear.

My main two gripes however come in the form of the recent price drop and Xbox Live itself. Last week I went to work and soon got a call from my wife who was at home tending after our sick daughter. “Why is Netflix not working?” was the question.
It was only after a short conversation that I then realised my Xbox Live Gold membership had expired. And it was also then that I realised I have to have an Xbox Live Gold membership to watch Netflix, (a service I already pay for) on Xbox. Why is this so?
I would not have to pay extra if I were to watch on a Sony Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii. So why then are we forced to pay £39.99 by Microsoft for the privilege of watching a service that has its own subscription fee?!!

Now, the price drop. Microsoft has outdone itself here. Yet again, it has shown absolutely zero loyalty to the millions of fans and customers who have shown loyalty to them. I, as well as millions more no doubt, paid £449 for my Xbox One and a digital
copy of Fifa 14. A mere 3 months have past and Xbox One now comes with Titanfall for under £400. To me, this shows nothing but utter contempt and disregard for existing loyal customers. Titanfall, as I alluded to earlier, is a game I had been very eager to
play and having participated in the open beta last month was looking forward to its release. However, this new cheaper bundle hit me like a brick in the face. That couple with the fact that I’d now also have to shell out another £39.99 to renew my Live Gold
membership on top of the game price in order to play it left me utterly bemused and wondering if I really had made the correct choice in choosing Xbox One. The realisation that if only I’d held off buying my Xbox One for two months, I’d then have heard the
wonderful news of the price drop and game bundle and I could have had this game effectively for free, made my blood boil! As a married man with three young children and limited disposable income, my gaming time is limited and precious. And as its getting more
and more expensive I wonder if perhaps it may be becoming too expensive, especially if I have to pay extra to reach content I already pay for (Netflix again!)

To me, Microsoft have completely disregarded my enduring loyalty and shown that they really have no concern for their existing customers, only for our money. I now find myself asking, given the problems I’ve experience with the hardware, Kinect, Netflix,
Forza, Titanfall etc is it still really is worth being an Xbox One owner at all?

Now, before a million loving Xbox One owners jump on me and tell me why I’m wrong, Xbox is ace etc etc. These are my opinions from my own experience. I tried to find a channel to send my gripes to MS privately via e-mail or post but this doesn’t even
seem possible. So an open public forum seems to be the only way to complain. Not ideal in my view but nothing much else for it. Had to get this off my chest.

Thanks for taking the time to read my point of view.

:)

 

Having issue installing purchased games from Microsoft store

well that's stupid. Why cant Microsoft let me download the xbox one version for free because I've already bought and played for the game on my account why would they make you buy it again really unhappy with this. But thankyou now I know why

 

Xbox live gold gives 2 free games UP TO the launch of xbox one???

I'm not arguing against your right to be unhappy with their direction or anything else. And not necessarily you specifically, but every day I see people who repeatedly say they won't buy one, can't trust Microsoft, ect. If so, why continue to come complain?
Just don't buy it.

 

One thing Ill point out, if you owned 5 360s why does it now just come as a shock that you have to pay for gold to watch Netflix?

And MS owes you no loyalty and you owe them none. MS is only loyal to its stockholders.

 

I swear these are copied and pasted from somewhere... each and everyone starts out as Dear MS, I have been a loyal customer for years... lets see here... hmmm he got gimmick in there... +1 price drop bundle +1 RROD (owned multiple Xboxes previously)
+5 (for the amount of Xb360s owned) Used the word loyalty +1 Open letter like this is the official page +1 Only mentions PS3 not PS4 -1 didnt sign it "Disgruntled Xbox 1 owner" -1 didnt mention Ryse or any PS4 games -2

you sir have scored 5/10 almost.. almost

 

It is unfortunate that you wrote that entire piece of literature and no one from MS will read it here. We're all gamers/users just like yourself.

I also don't know exactly what it is you're looking for? An apology from MS? The recent price drop, while it sucks for some early adopters (myself), it is what it is. 100% of electronic devices drop in price at some point. It is inevitable. As for the
Gold to watch Netflix, that "policy" has been in place for years.

 

Why have you lasted this long 5 xbox 360? but you only have one xbox one go buy another 4 i would say mate

 

Finally... Another original thread

 

Ok, first thing, there was ZERO copy and paste here. Every word I said is true. I just want them to know i'm unhappy and if I did this in the wrong place its hardly surprising given how hard it is to find the correct place! And why should I just sit and
stew? I don't want a reward, or a medal. Whats wrong with speaking our minds?

2nd, @x24hrs2livex yes 5 360's. Two 20gig models, 2 120gig elites and the 250gig "slim" but whats that got to do with Netflix? when did I get Netflix? oh yeah, I didn't say. You just assumed I always had it, right? Am I not correct in pointing out that
other platforms don't restrict you on this one?

I'm glad you guys are all happy to be trod on. I'm sure as hell not. I'm angry! I know this is none of you guys faults, but none of your oh so helpful comments are going to make me feel better. Thanks for your time.

 

@24hrs i think you'll find he is merely making a point about Netflix and xbox live, try to not look to deep in to comment's purely to discredit a person's comments

it is bonkers to pay for app subscription and xbox live, great if you plan on playing online not so good if you dont

and you think a company owes you no loyalty, why not? what about respect?

 

Just because people don't agree with you certainly doesn't mean they're being "trod on".

None of the things you complain about affect me personally... Therefore they're not an issue for me. Therefore I'm not being "trodden on"... See.

 

Very disgruntled for:

Kinect is pointless (facial recognition, skype while playing, voice control everything, pic in pic game dvr recording etc etc)?

Netflix has to have gold..nothing new on this gen console. You dont pay for Netflix on the Xbox, you pay to be able to use Netflix everywhere. The subscription has nothing to do with the console other than it can be played there, rofl.

And lastly the price drops and sales, do you really expect a product to stay at the same price forever?

You should count yourself lucky you are not living in Canada wanting a PS4, they actually Increased the price on the console now.

There is so much wrong here, but that is my opinion.

 

Gone through 5 360s and multiple red rings and you are shocked at the issues with the one? As for price drops, if you bought before that is too bad and I'd probably be a little bummed too. However, I also realize it's a business and they do what they have
to if it moves consoles.

gm

 

I look at my "day one 2013" and chrome D-Pad and it makes it all worth while, having the price drop just means more people to play with

I love kinect, odd repeated command, but hey, i press remote buttons several times also.

3 days to get it replaced and your complaining, I had a freezer brake and it took 3 weeks to replace, that sounds like an excellent service in comparison.

 

Xbox live is £25 online for a year not a lot of money to pay for the amazing servers IMO they have to be funded some how