14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox One continues to have a bright future in terms of digital games and gaming and that features originally planned for the console, like Family Sharing, could still appear at some point in time.
The Xbox One was revealed last year as a forward-thinking console with an always-online system that allowed digital games to be shared with others, and all retail discs had codes that could be redeemed and added to a user's library.
Unfortunately, after a huge amount of negative feedback, Microsoft was forced to implement some major changes and actually eliminate everything it had planned for the Xbox One.
Even so, the company is still confident in the digital future of the console, as well as in certain features like Family Sharing, which allows titles to be loaned out digitally to friends or family members.
"We believe in a digital future on our box," Microsoft's Phil Spencer told Gamespot. "On the digital space, and the things that we've talked about, what that opens up...like we understand what games you own and who you are and how you move around and who you might want to loan rights to your games or gift your games to. We totally believe in that future. And any other marketplace you play in, these kind of mechanisms are out there."
Spencer emphasized at the same time that Microsoft wants to keep the tight relationship it currently has with regular brick and mortar retailers, as it believes that digital and retail can work together to serve customers with different tastes in terms of gaming.
The executive confirmed that the company’s internal teams are prototyping and thinking about new ideas for the digital side of the Xbox One and that some ideas presented last year could end up appearing for the console at some point in time.
"We are now fully heads down on thinking about and building out the future of our digital marketplace to enable what people would expect, and hopefully some things that will delight them beyond their expectations," Spencer said. "I know when I say this I always get beat up, but I think some of what we were trying to say last summer was right."
As of yet, however, Microsoft is trying to make the Xbox One more attractive, as the new console is losing the battle against Sony's PS4 in many areas around the world due to a variety of factors, including price.