14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi has attempted to defend the perceived changing of mind that the company has had in regards to many of their plans, saying that it's just proof that they're listening to what their customers have to say.
Yusuf Mehdi is one of the prominent figures associated with the unveiling of the Xbox One next-gen console, which has been considered controversial to say the least, considering how many policy changes the entire thing went through until it was finally launched.
Accused of having made many U-turns regarding the Xbox One's key features, Corporate VP of Marketing and Strategy Yusuf Mehdi has simply stated that it's not a sign of weakness, but of strength, to admit that their policies were not that great in the first place, and then to alter them so that they better suit their fans.
"In a way it's tough, but in another way it's not tough at all. I mean, being accused of listening to your customers and adjusting to their feedback? In my mind, that's a good problem to have," Medhi has told Fairfax Media.
He has said that he believes that people are starting to warm up to Microsoft, following the initial backlash from the community regarding the many things the company did wrong, and that the Xbox One is starting to win over those who were initially critical, through the changes it made with the console and its policy.
"Sure, you'd like to be able to get everything right the first time, but I think it's better to be able to be responsive. In the beginning I think we had some of those criticisms, like, 'oh you're changing, you're reversing positions,'" he continues.
"I think we've now shown our customers, hey, we're going to respond, we're going to adjust. I think if we back that up with continued innovation, it's something we can feel really good about," Mehdi points out.
He has further said that Microsoft and the Xbox division went to E3 very focused and very humble, and that it paid off, and as such the company will continue the same approach going forward.
Since the unveil of the Xbox One at E3 2013, Microsoft made some massive changes to the way they intended to offer the console, from dropping the mandatory, always online DRM, to integrating friends and family sharing and many more features.
Whatever can be said about the company's previous policies, they've shown that they're willing to correct their mistakes and listen to the public and their customers, providing the things that their fanbase asked for on the Xbox One.