Microsoft admits surprise at extent of Xbox One negativity

Was I surprised that people had a reaction to it? No. I mean, we knew it was going to be a controversial decision. Was I surprised how negative the reaction was going to be? Yes.”

That’s the admission of Xbox One strategy boss Albert Penello, who admitted to Rev3Games (as transcribed by CVG) that the extent of the backlash Microsoft endured after revealing the Xbox One was beyond what he had envisioned.

"We were surprised at how vocal it was, we were surprised at the reaction and the assumptions that people had about what we were trying to do. So we did the famous ‘180’.

"If I had to go back and wish that I could rewind time and redo one thing, that would be the one thing.

"People got in their minds that what we were trying to do was evil or anti-customer when, in fact, we were looking at what Steam does, we were looking at what iOS is going, we were looking where the customers were going and saying ‘I think we can actually give you a better all-digital experience’.

"I think with time, people have understood what we were trying to do, and in fact I’m sure you’ve seen it with the fans. They were saying, ‘God, I wish some of this stuff would come back’.”