Xbox One's downsides outweigh its benefits

With regard to the quality of the connection required I highly doubt that all single player games on XO will have a high server backend requirement. Most will require only a limited connection for authenticating the system with the Xbox Live service and afterwards work with online features enabled without regard to connection speed. The other class of games that will require a high performance network connection are games mostly or totally focused on multiplayer. I also doubt that publishers will not create a limited features version of the game for gamers that only want to play singleplayer and do not have a very good internet connection. For example Forza 5 that will have online features and AI should in principle work without fast connection or any connection to servers. And Titanfall should also have such a reduced features version. But these two games and other like them are multiplayer focused and those players that don't have Xbox Live Gold and a very good internet connection would be at a loss of features anyway. A second problem is the possibility of hacking to occur that would render the Microsoft servers unavailable. Xbox Live on XO should be a solid service done by a company with a lot of online services maintenance experience. Hackers attacking Microsoft had in time a lot more to gain from successfully hacking Microsoft platforms. From email services with Hotmail, Windows update servers to years of Xbox Live server maintenance Microsoft has delivered on security and stability. And that experience has only gotten better in time. That is by contrast to Sony with it's PSN outrageous security practices in the past. The PSN hack was Sony's Code Red virus. Microsoft has learned the security lesson long ago by having the Windows ecosystem and not gamers as it's guinea pigs. Another way of looking at things is considering the multiplayer games. Any game that provides multiplayer, be it an MMO, a racing game or an FPS, would completely lack any way of accessing that portion of the game with or without online authentication. That is exactly what happened with PSN where there was no online authentication for PS3 and multiplayer gamers where blocked out of playing online at all. My understanding from the Microsoft E3 conference is that the DRM on XO is a way to check whether the game disc was soled at GameStop. Taking a large cut from the resales will put them at a severe disadvantage to Sony so they will not do that. And when it comes to countries that were not shown on the list of starting countries for XO that is clearly a case of Microsoft not wanting to market their product in that territories. That means that they should not have a bearing in this debate because we are talking about Microsoft's XO good vs bad features and not how they might be nonexistent in certain markets compared to PS4 and Wii U. XO is an entertainment device that does not have access to work or leisure activities of it's user unless it is on and is actively inputing information. Fortunately there is the simple concept of shutting down a computer[simple_shutdown_no_tracking]. I doubt that would make XO not work for 24 hours after turning on. For that matter I doubt that using Playstation Network on PS3 or Xbox Live on Xbox360 is any safer. Price is one issue that is most different between Sony and Microsoft when you look at it like a games box and you are part of the audience Microsoft is looking for. They are a corporation looking for profit and contends that it has good enough features for the console to warrant a 100$ price premium. The main difference to the PS4 is the existence of backend servers that will create added value now and in the future for players of games released on XO and the innovative Kinect driven and integrated interface. Those are distinguishing features that will make a difference besides the exclusive titles of each console. And it is the way Microsoft is driving the marketing at the moment. They are saying they are a little better than Sony and therefore deserve a little more money. This is a small premium to pay for a console on time, with good launch lineup and with it's own distinguishing features to bring to the gaming public. PS Next time do a Microsoft vs Sony debate and not one Xbox One good vs bad features, that might make your arguments easier. [simple_shutdown_no_tracking] https://en.wikipedia.org...