Microsoft Responds to Xbox One Petition to bring back DRM

4.7
Xbox One chief product officer Marc Whitten has responded to the recent fan petition asking Microsoft to re-reverse their Xbox One policies. In an interview with IGN, Whitten lamented Microsoft’s back-and-forth messaging since May, admitting that the company still has a lot to work on when it comes to communicating with consumers.

“I think it’s pretty simple. We’ve got to just talk more, get people understanding what our system is,” Whitten told IGN. “The thing that’s really gratifying is that people are excited about the types of features that are possible, and it’s sort of shame on us that we haven’t done as good of a job as we can to make people feel like that’s where we’re headed.”

“The number one thing I want to do is I want to get the product out, because people are going to use it and obviously a lot of this is more evident, but certainly what I want to do right is now is talk more about how we thought about these features,” he continued. “How we thought about how Xbox Live works, how digital works. I see people feeling like we’ve moved away from digital, when certainly I don’t believe that’s the case. I believe we’ve added on choice for people. It was an addition of a feature onto Xbox One, not a removal of a feature. And I understand people see things like Family Sharing and they’re like, ‘Wow, I was really looking forward to that,’ which is more of an engineering reality time frame type-thing.”

As far as the petition, Whitten believes that kind of response is directly related to Microsoft’s recent ability to communicate its policies.

“What it tells me is we need to do more work to talk about what we’re doing because I think that we did something different than maybe how people are perceiving it,” he said. “When I read some of the things like that petition, from my perspective we took a lot of the feedback and, while Xbox One is built to be digital native, to have this amazing online experience, we realized people wanted some choice. They wanted what I like to call a bridge, sort of how they think about the world today using more digital stuff. What we did, we added to what the console can do by providing physical and offline modes in the console. It isn’t about moving away from what that digital vision is for the platform. It’s about adding that choice. Frankly, I think we need to just do more to let people see how the console works, what they’re going to be able to do for it. I think a lot of the things they’re wishing for are frankly there.”

“What it tells me is we need to do more work to talk about what we’re doing because I think that we did something different than maybe how people are perceiving it,” he said. “When I read some of the things like that petition, from my perspective we took a lot of the feedback and, while Xbox One is built to be digital native, to have this amazing online experience, we realized people wanted some choice. They wanted what I like to call a bridge, sort of how they think about the world today using more digital stuff. What we did, we added to what the console can do by providing physical and offline modes in the console. It isn’t about moving away from what that digital vision is for the platform. It’s about adding that choice. Frankly, I think we need to just do more to let people see how the console works, what they’re going to be able to do for it. I think a lot of the things they’re wishing for are frankly there.”

On the subject of the removed Family Sharing feature, we asked Whitten if any kind of road map is in place to restore the ability to share your digital library with family and friends.

“If it’s something that people are really excited about and want, we’re going to make sure that we find the right way to bring it back,” Whitten said. “A ‘road map’ sort of implies more like ‘on date X it’s back’ than I think exists, but we believe really strongly in how you build a great experience on Xbox One for me as an individual, but also for my family. Family Sharing is a great example of how you do that with content. I think you’re going to see us, both with examples like that and with other things, keep pushing on how that’s something great. An example is some of the stuff we’re doing with what we announced around Gold, where other people in the house get the advantages of Gold when I’m a Gold member. You’re going to see us continue to push in those areas.”

Posted:
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/07/12/microsoft-shame-on-us-for-xbox-one-messaging

Comments

"Microsoft Responds to Xbox One Petition to bring back DRM" :: Login/Create an Account :: 214 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

-LivePosted:

Sounds like they will be brining back DRM soon after the console's launch.

El_Oso_BlancoPosted:

dnasty239
AAmbitionsIsBack
jreppt
AAmbitionsIsBack
Anticipate DRM is not the way forward if i was honest


DRM is not the way forward? So basically you're saying you want to buy a console that hasn't changed at all really? Good thing your parents are spending their money on something stupid. People don't understand that DRM is GOOOD..


How the hell is DRM good????


It's improving the console a lot!! Without it, the Xbox one is pointless. Please tell me a couple ways on how its bad and none of that 24 hr bull **** because that all i hear.


Don't waist your time with this jreppt ******* he was on here yesterday acting like a fool he's probably not buying any of the next gen consoles I like their DRM is has the potential to become a future Steam seeing as you lease all Steams games but people don't complain about that


Bitch you don't even know me so don't even talk like you do and also the reason you don't hear people complain about steam is because the games are cheap all the time you stupid idiot.

AAmbitionsIsBackPosted:

RATF
dnasty239
AAmbitionsIsBack
jreppt
AAmbitionsIsBack
Anticipate DRM is not the way forward if i was honest


DRM is not the way forward? So basically you're saying you want to buy a console that hasn't changed at all really? Good thing your parents are spending their money on something stupid. People don't understand that DRM is GOOOD..


How the hell is DRM good????


It's improving the console a lot!! Without it, the Xbox one is pointless. Please tell me a couple ways on how its bad and none of that 24 hr bull **** because that all i hear.


Don't waist your time with this jreppt ******* he was on here yesterday acting like a fool he's probably not buying any of the next gen consoles I like their DRM is has the potential to become a future Steam seeing as you lease all Steams games but people don't complain about that


1. Digital versions of games (downloaded) don't run as smooth as Disc versions do. 2. The fact that they restricted what you can do on the console was stupid therefore people said for them to remove it. Again it is your opinion but at the end of the day Microsoft have made their mind up and said No we are not putting it back on at the moment so stop crying about it and grow up.


I am buying both consoles actually. I am waiting to buy the Xbox one for about a year though because i want them to release othe editions of it. I am not the one acting like a fool either. Obviously I know how i want to spend my money and i don't want to spend it on a dumb console that isn't improving much. Idiots these days. How do downloaded games not run as smooth? I've only played minecraft both ways and they run the same

RuinsPosted:

dnasty239
AAmbitionsIsBack
jreppt
AAmbitionsIsBack
Anticipate DRM is not the way forward if i was honest


DRM is not the way forward? So basically you're saying you want to buy a console that hasn't changed at all really? Good thing your parents are spending their money on something stupid. People don't understand that DRM is GOOOD..


How the hell is DRM good????


It's improving the console a lot!! Without it, the Xbox one is pointless. Please tell me a couple ways on how its bad and none of that 24 hr bull **** because that all i hear.


Don't waist your time with this jreppt ******* he was on here yesterday acting like a fool he's probably not buying any of the next gen consoles I like their DRM is has the potential to become a future Steam seeing as you lease all Steams games but people don't complain about that


1. Digital versions of games (downloaded) don't run as smooth as Disc versions do. 2. The fact that they restricted what you can do on the console was stupid therefore people said for them to remove it. Again it is your opinion but at the end of the day Microsoft have made their mind up and said No we are not putting it back on at the moment so stop crying about it and grow up.

dnasty239Posted:

AAmbitionsIsBack
jreppt
AAmbitionsIsBack
Anticipate DRM is not the way forward if i was honest


DRM is not the way forward? So basically you're saying you want to buy a console that hasn't changed at all really? Good thing your parents are spending their money on something stupid. People don't understand that DRM is GOOOD..


How the hell is DRM good????


It's improving the console a lot!! Without it, the Xbox one is pointless. Please tell me a couple ways on how its bad and none of that 24 hr bull **** because that all i hear.


Don't waist your time with this jreppt dumbass he was on here yesterday acting like a fool he's probably not buying any of the next gen consoles I like their DRM is has the potential to become a future Steam seeing as you lease all Steams games but people don't complain about that

El_Oso_BlancoPosted:

AAmbitionsIsBack
jreppt
AAmbitionsIsBack
Anticipate DRM is not the way forward if i was honest


DRM is not the way forward? So basically you're saying you want to buy a console that hasn't changed at all really? Good thing your parents are spending their money on something stupid. People don't understand that DRM is GOOOD..


How the hell is DRM good????


It's improving the console a lot!! Without it, the Xbox one is pointless. Please tell me a couple ways on how its bad and none of that 24 hr bull **** because that all i hear.


In what way is it improving it???

EthanPosted:

I remember the website www.xboxdone.com kinda laughed after reading this.

liamcole123Posted:

RATF
Hue Either way I don't mind as I am not purchasing a new console!


im glad they got rid of it and i am a pc gamer


How can you be glad it's gone? Steam uses very similar policies for their games! A digital licence, no sharing games AT ALL and a required internet connection for almost all games! Tge Xbox One is doing this but with more flexibility and able to share and trade in games! You clearly know f*ck all about the DRM if you don't support it!

liamcole123Posted:

ODST Although I never liked the DRM kind of stuff, why can't the XBONE have the ability to change to either the new state (without DRM stuff) and to an ability the old state (with DRM)? If the only thing they apparently have to do to get rid of DRM is a single patch when you first buy the console, why not make it optional? Get the best of both worlds without really upsetting too many people. I'm still not pleased with how Micro$oft has been handeling this whole ordeal (changing their policies once their sales were lower than competitors and how they responded to questions by saying "just use the 360").


Doing that would completely split the community and would be difficult as people with different versions wouldn't be able to interact! Most of my friends (Including me) would be thrilled if the DRM policy is reinforced!

ODSTPosted:

Although I never liked the DRM kind of stuff, why can't the XBONE have the ability to change to either the new state (without DRM stuff) and to an ability the old state (with DRM)? If the only thing they apparently have to do to get rid of DRM is a single patch when you first buy the console, why not make it optional? Get the best of both worlds without really upsetting too many people. I'm still not pleased with how Micro$oft has been handeling this whole ordeal (changing their policies once their sales were lower than competitors and how they responded to questions by saying "just use the 360").