1) Microsoft
The Xbox One had a shaky start, but what a fantastic job Phil Spencer has done changing public opinion of the console over the past 18 months. Under its previous administration, Kinect was the console’s focus, requiring constant online connectivity, and marred by an inability to trade second-hand games. It was a PR disaster. The backlash completely undid the momentum Microsoft had started to enjoy after the 360’s success and handed the initiative straight back over to Sony. The Xbox One has been playing catch up ever since.
The upshot for gamers, though, is that Microsoft has had to seriously clean up its act. The company has been forced to put a premium on user experience, hoping to massage away the wrongdoings of the past. Microsoft now boasts the most consumer friendly mandate of the big three, and the Xbox One is packed full of retrofitted features that make it highly appealing.
E3 2015 is best remembered for Sony’s big reveal of several anticipated games, including Final Fantasy VII Remake and The Last Guardian. But Microsoft arguably had the biggest announcement, and it had nothing to do with exclusive games. The Xbox One boasted backward compatibility, a function that has grown since that initial reveal into a 375 game strong library. With Sony unable to retort, except with its limited PSN streaming service at $20 a month, the Xbox One offers unrivaled bang for buck thanks to this unique feature.
Xbox consoles have always boasted excellent online functionality and a user-friendly store, and while Games With Gold is both the same price and offers similar perks to Sony’s PS Plus, Microsoft now offers an option to refund digital purchases. Moreover, it is now complemented by the recently launched Game Pass, a game subscription service that offers hundreds of Xbox games for a monthly fee. It is also worth noting that thanks to Microsoft’s Play Anywhere functionality, digitally bought games can be played on Xbox One or Windows 10.
There have been other neat additions, too, such as the console’s custom controller designs and the excellent redesign of the Xbox One S, complete with 4K streaming and the option of a massive 2TB HDD. It all adds up to one superb user experience that has been built around a mission statement to listen to fans and better accommodate them according to their best interests.
Certainly, all of these improvements were born out of necessity. Microsoft has lost the generation and it is well aware that winning back trust among gamers starts with prioritizing user experience. All that is missing now are the games, but that might well change with the reveal of Scorpio, Microsoft’s premium console, which, incidentally, also looks more of a complete package than its PS4 Pro rival.
