Microsoft exec reflects on controversial Xbox One reveal and launch

When the Xbox One was announced in 2013, it was very poorly done. Microsoft focused on TV, sports, Kinect, and basically everything but games. On top of that, they wanted some crazy DRM features that wouldn't allow you to sell your games or give them to your friends. There was a massive uproar with that and many of the other features and it caused Xbox to quickly change their plans for launch later that year.

Microsoft Windows and Devices VP Yusef Mehdi recently reflected on the rough launch on his LinkedIn profile.

"With our initial announcement of Xbox One and our desire to deliver breakthroughs in gaming and entertainment, the team made a few key decisions regarding connectivity requirements and how games would be purchased that didn’t land well with fans," Mehdi writes. "We heard their feedback, and while it required great technical work, we changed Xbox One to work the same way as Xbox 360 for how our customers could play, share, lend, and resell games."

Mehdi talked about how they realized that their fans were passionate. They were hating because they cared about the brand and when they did something everyone wanted, they were rewarded as a company.

"You hope to get such cheers from a new release of a game like Halo, but to get this kind of reaction for Xbox Backwards Compatibility reminded me yet again how delivering on the things that your fans really value trumps all,"

"This experience was such a powerful reminder that we must always do the right thing for our customers, and since we’ve made that commitment to our Xbox fans, we’ve never looked back,"

Despite its rocky launch, Xbox One has become very successful in the last few years. It keeps releasing new fan-requested features, you can play hundreds of Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One, and it will continue to grow with Project Scorpio later this year.

[Polygon]