One of the most memorable moments from Sony's Press conference was when Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment executive, gave this thinly-veiled jab at Microsoft and the constantly shifting policies of the Xbox One:
"While others have shifted their message and changed their story, we were consistent in maintaining a message that is fair and in tune with consumer desires."
However, Microsoft Studio executive Phil Spencer has fired back, telling Eurogamer that he feels that the changes made to the Xbox One come from communicating with gamers, which is a strength for the company:
"The two-way conversation we have with our customers is a strength. Certain people have tried to turn that into something that's a bad thing about what we're trying to do, and I just disagree...We built a platform for gamers. Gamers invest their time and their money in the things they want to play, and they're going to invest their time in telling us what they love about the platform, and they're giving us feedback on areas where they have more critical feedback. That two-way conversation with gamers has to be core to who we are as a platform. And if we don't have the capability of listening and reacting to what people are saying about our platform, then we're being too disconnected from customers who make investments in our platform and the games we build."
While listening to gamers is a plus for any video game company, the fact remains that Microsoft chose to include very unpopular policies with the Xbox One, and then retreated very quickly from the policies. If Microsoft truly believed in such policies - the always online policy, the Kinect having to remain plugged into the device, the DRM check ins that prevented game sharing, used game fees - then they would have stuck with them.
Sony has been fairly antagonistic towards its rival. At E3, Sony famously released this video mocking the Xbox One's then-complicated game sharing policy, and now they have fired another pointed shot at Microsoft and the Xbox One.
Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are both scheduled for a November release date. The PlayStation 4 was slated for a Nov. 15 release date, while the Xbox One does not have a release date yet. Look out for more next-gen console news right here as Gamescom continues and Microsoft announces a release date for the Xbox One.