8. Mandatory Kinect
If there's one thing gamers can't stand, it's being held hostage by a console, and simply, having freedom denied to them. While it was widely expected that the new Xbox would ship with an updated version of the Kinect motion-sensing apparatus, few might have anticipated that Microsoft would be quite so strict about how integrally it ties into the functioning of the console. Indeed, the Xbox One will not operate without the Kinect sensor being plugged into the console, a curious decision that has yet to be explained in a way that makes much sense, short of strongarming players into doing what Microsoft wants when they want. Of course, this decision would be a whole lot creepier if not for the fact that you
can turn the Kinect sensor off in a menu - so Microsoft can't just randomly watch you through the camera - but still, if the console senses that it isn't plugged in, your console, it seems, will essentially be bricked and incapable of being used. So, if you're playing a non-Kinect game and your Kinect is damaged, you won't be able to play anything until you blow more money to get it fixed, even if you have no interest in motion control games. Awful.