Admittedly, I don't need a next generation console, but it's pretty nice having one. I have enjoyed my time with the Xbox One and I will say it has firmly entrenched itself as the center of my entertainment system. And while not completely perfect nor always the most efficient, I enjoy moving from app to app, game to Netflix, music to TV, with relative ease. With Titanfall coming sooner than one might think, the number one priority for Microsoft at this point should be re-establishing what made Xbox Live such an advantage in the first place, creating and connecting with my community.
Remember when the Xbox 360 came out and the tag line was to "Jump In"? Remember when cross-game/app party chat was readily used, notifications would pop up when a friend wanted to play with you? Of course, if you're still on your 360, remembering is but a power on away.
This morning, I started up the Xbox One, headed into Netflix and went about my business with no idea that Ivan was on playing Battlefield 4. Sure, from Netflix, I could discover that he was online and playing with a mere three steps: 1) "Xbox Go Home"/guide button push; 2) "Xbox Go to 'Friends'"/left window; and (after a brief loading of the app and info) 3) select "Friends" option to wait and see who's online. I guess alternatively, I could use my Xbox One app on my phone or tablets.
It really does not make a whole lot of sense. While I appreciate some fantastic, "next gen" features like the cloud -- the ability to race against friends' drivatars instead of AI in Forza is as big a game changer as I've seen -- losing ease and accessibility has meant not racing against friends who were actually online at the same time. Funny, because that's one of the things I thought the Vita did really well, created a multiplayer feeling even if you weren't playing with or against anyone else at that time. In Powerstar Golf, it is the very embodiment of the issue itself: there is no simultaneous multiplayer but the player gets a ton of information in comparison to friends and others on each shot if desired. It's almost a hyper-level of information, but it almost emphasizes the isolation of single player.
I'm not sure if it's because I haven't utilized the "favorites" option for friends, but I'm not particularly looking forward to going through and changing folks status either. I think Pez had mentioned that maybe the lack of notifications as become a necessary by-product of the increased friends list. Of course, there's the follower distinction too but you know, I don't really want to be bothered with that. I want to play games with my friends, is that too much to ask?
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