Previously, Kotaku published a handful of Japanese gamer reactions to the recent Xbox One changes. How did gamers in neighboring South Korea take Microsoft's announcement?
While PC gaming dominates South Korea, the country does have a hardcore console fan base. South Korean sites have been buzzing with comments regarding Microsoft's change in policy.
"It doesn't mean anything to us," wrote a gamer on Ruliweb (via tipster Sang). "The Xbox One Asia launch is a year later." That staggered release window continues to raise eyebrows—something summed up when a gamer wrote this in the same thread: "Releasing a year later in Asia is crazy."
Many commenters were happy about the decision. "We won," wrote one, underscoring a feeling many had—namely, that Microsoft just gave up. "It's a done deal if they can add backwards compatibility and a replaceable hard drive," said another. "Good move," wrote a commenter on ThisIsGame.com (also via Sang). "This is why we need competition. The market wins. It is horrible to imagine one company dominating the console market." Others stated that the decision felt like a sea change and that the Xbox One's tide was changing.
Others were far more jaded. "The whole announcement feels like they are saints and doing us a favor," wrote one commenter on Ruliweb.
"It feels like Microsoft tried to feel the market on behalf of the publishers and took the blame," tweeted Eggry. "But publishers won't repay Microsoft for being brave." Another Twitter user, DCDaxter, had this to say, "Microsoft took the bullet on DRM but getting rid of used games is something the entire industry was interested in. Sony even had a patent on this…but Microsoft took the bullet."
But, there were still concerns. "If they can easily remove it like this...maybe they can easily add it back on," wrote another gamer on Ruliweb, echoing a similar comment made by a Japanese gamer. Another Korean gamer added, "They will reinstate their policy once they are number one in the market!!"
The Xbox One isn't number one in the market. It's not even out yet. That didn't stop biting remarks like this one made by Twitter user Mei: "I wake up to Xbox One DRM policy being changed which made me laugh. It is now a 'normal' console. But this only brought it from a negative to zero, never a plus."
엑스박스 원 DRM 정책 변경 전문 [Ruliweb]
엑스박스 원 DRM정책 공식 철회 [Ruliweb Thanks, Sang!]
Photo: Game Donga
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