Xbox One to Reinstate Family Sharing Feature in the Future?
Microsoft responded to the online backlash over some of the Xbox One's features by abandoning original ideas and catering to what the fans want, but reports have surfaced that some of those changed ideas may be reinstated.
The original plan that could be reinstated is the Family Sharing feature. This will allow users to share their digital games with up to 10 family members or friends in their network.
"I understand people see things like Family Sharing and they're like, 'Wow, I was really looking forward to that,' which is more of an engineering reality time frame type-thing," Marc Whitten chief executive for the Xbox One said to IGN.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"If it's something that people are really excited about and want, we're going to make sure that we find the right way to bring it back," he said. "A 'road map' sort of implies more like 'on date X it's back' than I think exists, but we believe really strongly in how you build a great experience on Xbox One for me as an individual, but also for my family. Family Sharing is a great example of how you do that with content. I think you're going to see us, both with examples like that and with other things, keep pushing on how that's something great."
He ultimately blames the quick feature reversals as bad communication skills on the company's behalf, and feels that now Microsoft is explaining itself better to potential buyers, and piquing their interest.
"I think it's pretty simple. We've got to just talk more, get people understanding what our system is," Whitten told IGN. "The thing that's really gratifying is that people are excited about the types of features that are possible, and it's sort of shame on us that we haven't done as good of a job as we can to make people feel like that's where we're headed."
Overall, the Xbox executive welcomes any feedback they receive because they know the voice of the people is what matters.
"There's nothing like being able to get so much feedback from the things people like and the things people don't like. It's, to me, what makes this special," he said. "They're the people that have built Xbox and Xbox Live. That's the place where we need to do a better job showing up, and we need to engage more."
Time will tell exactly what the console will bring back to their future, but if one thing is clear, when the fans speak, Microsoft truly listens.
