10 Ways The PS4 Has Systematically Destroyed The Xbox One

6. Having Extremely Clear Intentions

Y'know, there was a way for Microsoft to save themselves in that crucial early period.

Right around the time we found out about DRM-based game borrowing and the transference of licenses to create 'family libraries' of games, there was a moment when Microsoft could've come out and clarified all. Because the idea of buying a game and having a select number of people you greenlight be able to play it is great, and very consumer-friendly.

Obviously it was clear Microsoft had jumped the gun considerably, attempting to enact a plan that would cost the industry more than it would benefit - hence the idea of 'paying a fee' to 'free up' the license on a previously shared game. It was the only way anyone on the business end would sign onto such a concept in the first place.

Rather than this all-digital utopia being showcased for its substantial positives, the reality was messaging that painted Microsoft as a company drastically in over their head, charging potential owners to play their friends' games.

Another thing to remember is had this gone down any better, Sony would've followed suit. There's nothing the industry would like more than a self-inclosed revenue stream that cuts out brick n' mortar stores (they're the ones offering deals and price cuts, after all), and thus, Sony went down the 'games, games, games!' route, to much aplomb.

"Show, don't tell" was definitely their mandate, and though it'll be VERY interesting to see where the industry goes in the next few years, Sony pulled off a masterstroke of recalibration when it came to brand messaging - one that'll come back around eventually.