It boils down to this: MS thinks they have a captive audience based on loyalty to their ecosystem, just like Sony thought loyalty to the PS2 would carry over to the PS3. I anticipate the result will be about the same. Some really hardcore loyalists will "relax and let it happen", and a lot of other folks will walk.

Ultimately, getting their ass kicked early this generation made Sony a better (or at least more consumer/developer friendly) company, and if this plays out like it looks like it will, Microsoft will be improved as well. Even in the short term, I'd be very surprised if MS didn't either drop prices or bundle content to compete, and I expect them to either get their PR shit together or adjust some of their DRM policies. If I'm them, I'm looking at a few heads that need to roll by name.

Competition is a good thing, and we all have a vested interest in both of these companies doing well.

Microsoft has to know by now that heads need to roll. It's been a one-two-three-four of Windows 8, Surface RT, Windows Phone 7/8 and Xbox One.

All the ideas are there, the execution is just off on most of them (I'm not sure how to fix WP8, it's a solid platform just under supported... Bluestacks would help).

The Xbox One was their gimme and they really fudged up.

I think "Dark Sorcerer" was just a tech demo, not a full game.

For me, here's the difference: I buy mp3s, ebooks for my Kindle and the occasional ultraviolet movie because they're portable. The songs on my iPhone are for going to/from work or in the car; the Kindle books to read on the train. I don't need from that from an XBox game. In fact, even if I did, what MS is doing makes it all NON-portable (can't bring your XB1 to a hotel and let the kids play, etc.).

...hotels usually have wifi, though the more expensive hotels charge for it.

I usually get your sarcasm, but this one is kind of random.

Excellent points. There is indeed a different mindset for "portable" digital stuff, and that's one of the many hurdles MS will have to jump through.

So, here's a small piece of forward-thinking speculation that is in no way based on reality, but I'll throw it out there anyway... Because I've spent my fair share of time in hotels.
What if... MS signs deals with major hotel chains to put an XO in every hotel room? It would replace those awful, dated gaming systems that some of them have... and all you would need to do is log into your Live account and start playing. No need to drag your own XO around for your kids to play. Your personal data would be wiped from the system when you check out of the hotel.
Again, there's probably a minuscule to impossible chance that that'll happen, but damn...
Sony could do the same with the PS4, so I'm not saying this is an MS-only sort of strategy, but MS already has the policy in place with the XO to support that if they really want to.

XO games aren't portable? What am I going to do with this Win8 phone?!

So you're saying, go to a hotel and pay to play your own games. Because you know that shit wouldn't be free. A 250 room hotel isn't going to spend $125,000 outfitting their rooms with XOs without turning a profit, and Microsoft isn't going to outfit thousands of rooms with XOs in hopes to spread the word.

I disagree. Retailers sold discs for the 360 as well, and the GoD section rarely dropped in price. But additionally, MS has made it clear that discs are pointless on the XO. Why have a disc when it does nothing more than act as an offline installer? They're trying to marginalize the disc, and so I can't see them worrying about disc price vs digital price. On top of that, they're banking on gamers having no patience to wait for a game to ship or, heaven forbid, get in their car and go to a store.

Just kidding. Nobody owns a Windows phone.

Hey!

Something like this COULD happen, though of course they'll find a way to charge. I'm sure some people would be glad to pay a nominal fee if they could access all their own games, profile etc. But you're totally right--I just stayed in a Hyatt in Boston that was $473/night (I didn't pay that--it was for work)--the TV programming was not in HD, and they offered Nintendo NES gaming. Seriously.

Microsoft is now working to open "Microsoft Store" type setups in Best Buys.

So you'll walk in to one of those places and it'll be Samsung, Apple and Microsoft stores then a DirecTV store. Best Buy: Mini Mall edition.

It was a response to the image in post # 2875.

I would imagine it would be included in the price of the room. XO owners would be able to use their Live ID to log in and play their own games. XO or even non-XO owners would get a "rental" menu, just like existing hotel-based systems, and they would play anything else for a fee ($5 per rental?)

I've seen some $99/night hotels with systems that looked like GameCubes (or at least, the controller did), but I didn't even bother trying to play it. But shit, if an XO was in my hotel room (I'm thinking business trips too, not vacations, although even on vacations, sometimes you just chill in your room at night and watch shitty TV if you're not into the "local night scene" or whatever people do), I'd play the shit out of it.

Again, pure speculation, and MS has proven that they're not smart enough to do something like that. Maybe they SHOULD hire my lazy ass!

I'm sure people are tired of hearing the PC comparisons, but there are physical discs for the PC still as well as digital download, and digital download is done really well done since people can pre-load all the data before release date, and play right at midnight (or here on the west coast, I can often play at 9 PM) rather then waiting for the next day.

You know it wouldn't be included in the cost of the room, it'd be a charge to use the item, just like those N64 and Gamecube looking devices currently in hotel rooms. Hell, then again most hotels can't be bothered to update their TVs to LCDs for < $200 a piece.

I don't know about that. I mean... with how much MS is going to hurt from all this E3 nonsense, they're going to need a bunch of ways to appeal to the customers that DO buy an XO, to generate positive word of mouth. I think "free" access to current XO owners (all 5 of them) would be a minimal cost that MS and the hotels would iron out. But, regardless of whether or not you own the XO, you'd still be paying to play rental games or movies on the thing. It would just be that the XO owners (okay, maybe 6 of them) would get to play their own games at no charge.

I see it as a "locked down" XO with the option to "input Live ID" or "use Hotel ID." Once you log in, you're just given an option to choose Games or Vudu (or whatever service for movies), and it would just go from there.

Of course, none of this will happen, because MS doesn't know what they're doing in this space (or any space, depending on who you ask)

Of course, they won't outfit thousands of hotel rooms with XOs for their 7 or 8 customers that own them, so this whole discussion is moot.

I honestly think Microsoft doesn't think this E3 stuff has hurt them at all. These are the same people that thought having a console that would prevent people from playing anything if it's off the internet for more than 24 hours is a good idea.

They've obviously completely lost touch.

I'd love to see stats that show how many current gen consoles are "offline" specifically when used for gaming. Like, how many "offline gaming hours" vs. "connected gaming hours." I think that stat is impossible to get because if it's offline, it can't be pinged...

But I imagine the Wii/WiiU has the highest percentage of "offline" consoles... I just wonder how low it would be for the PS3 or 360, to the point where, as Draven said, MS thought it was a good idea to go with a 24-hour check-in. They had to make that call based on SOME kind of stats, but I don't think they really thought about the impact (or outcry). Silly MS... *tsk*

While a great idea if they could manage it you are looking at a couple of problems. The cost to improve the TVs, the X1 units, and to ensure that they have enough bandwidth to support as many users as possible using a service that requires a broadband connection. Not to mention that they would probably then need to keep at least one IT person on call at the least for support.

Is it known how many Xbox Live subscribers there are? I would imagine those are the only people that go online on a regular basis. So compare the number of Live subscribers to the total number of consoles sold would give an idea how many people play online.

Personally, I have NEVER been online with either my 360 or my PS3. I would suspect many people that only play single player have never been online either.

It is known.

46 million.