Microsoft Reverses DRM and Always Online Policies for Xbox One

I don't really want to keep writing post after post about the Xbox One, but the story keeps unfolding.  I had to at least mention the DRM policy reversal.

Microsoft Could Have Taken a Page from Another Major Competitor for Xbox One Positioning

The console wars are not over.  Sony's "win" at 2013's E3 cannot be, at this point, directly associated with units shipped, sold, in-use, etc...  But one can argue that an interesting stage has been set for the two "hardcore" gaming consoles that will be going head to head in the coming months and years.  That narrative seems to be painting the underdog, Sony, as the early fan favorite, essentially erasing their transgressions from the $600 PS3 late launch, and turning the tables on last-gen titan, the Xbox

I'm pretty firmly a Sony guy, I'll admit that.  But that's not to say I'm not interested in the Xbox, the games I never really get to play, and some of it's services.  I kept a close tab on their two recent press conferences, the world-wide reveal, and the E3 press conference.

A lot of criticism hasn't been solely on the lightning rod features such as a more complicated software licensing model for purchased games or the online requirement (which by the way, they're right, and isn't a big deal...it also has HDMI as your only output and I don't see people complaining about a HDTV requirement), but much of the criticism has been on messaging.

It's no secret that MS has been looking into how the Xbox can be a central entertainment hub for the living room and when looking back to the initial reveal of the Xbox One a few weeks ago in May, I was thinking that maybe they could have taken a page or two from Steve Jobs' playbook.