3. Microsoft’s missteps
Microsoft got a lot of bad press when they announced that the Xbox One would require a permanent online connection.
In “The Book of 5 Rings”, Japanese author Miyamoto Musashi said that in order to defeat an opponent one should “allow his useless actions”. And one would argue that the PS4’s success is due as much to Sony’s marketing savvy and product design as to the competition’s failings. It all began at the Xbox One’s launch event, in which Microsoft focused on the multimedia features of the console, such as video streaming, which left gamers wondering “what about the games?”
And speaking of games, the fact that Microsoft initially announced that reselling Xbox One’s games would not be possible had gamers up in arms. Also gamers without an Internet connection felt gutted when Microsoft executive Don Mattrick said, regarding the Xbox One’s 24 hour connection requirement, that those without online connectivity should stick to the Xbox 360. And although Microsoft later allowed game reselling and stated the Xbox One would not be phoning home, the bad press they got haunts them to this day.