Microsoft insists Xbox One policies are "definitive" (but may evolve)

Microsoft exec Phil Spencer says Redmond’s online and software authorization requirements for the Xbox are “definitive” and will remain in place (for now).

“We wanted to set our definitive policy in black and white terms on Xbox Wire, which we did last week. That’s our policy,” he told CVG.

However, Spencer did note that Microsoft listens to its customers, meaning the Xbox One could evolve over time.

“When we first shipped the Xbox 360 the idea of a Netflix didn’t exist. That robustness that we see in the digital marketplace around content wasn’t there. Free-to-play wasn’t a way that people bought games,” he explained.

“And through the life of 360 there have been policy changes and Marketplace changes that have responded to consumer demand, creator demand and what’s happening in the marketplace. These systems evolve. We’re a software company. If you think about the amount of times we changed the operating system on 360 – it was a number of times. But we wanted to set our policy as it is for Xbox One in clear terms so that there wasn’t ambiguity in what our stance was. That was our intent.”

Meanwhile, MCVUK reports that demand for the Sony’s Playstation 4 (PS4) may well outstrip supply.

“Amazon has apparently seen such a sales spike for the machine that it is no warning customers that it cannot guarantee day one delivery of the machine as it fears launch day stock will be unable to meet demand,” writes MCVUK’s Ben Parfitt.

“Interestingly, the standard Xbox One SKU has now slipped from third to fifth in Amazon.co.uk’s Bestsellers charts, although the newly listed Day One SKU has claimed fourth.”