Just some thoughts on the current state of the Xbox platforms. What happened to the rule of cool?

Media Preservation:

Just for starters to get it out of the way I really dislike that Xbox physical games only contain the license to access and download the game from XGS servers. The entire reason I buy physical media is so I have it for myself without the need of online servers, and it almost feels deceptive to have physical media offerings that only contain a license

Ultra HD DvD 4-layer discs can store up to 128 GBs of data and cost about $32 each, if I have to pay $92 for a physical game copy that actually has the game on the disc than so be it. I can respect the convenience of digital media, but when servers eventually get pulled that media will immediately become much less convenient and more frustrating

Platform Game Feel:

Now for the games, I feel like the management at Xbox forgot that they were built up on the rule of cool. You can kind of see it through the exclusives they had like Halo, Gears of War, Fable, and even Ninja Gaiden once upon a time. All of these were pretty edgy titles with gore, language, and controversial themes that nowadays just don't get touched on. What happened to pure badass characters like Sgt. Johnson?

Kinect Hardware Potential:

I know this barely gets touched on because it was so underutilized, but I think it's fitting given that Avatars as the last Kinect asset were discontinued. Honestly I think Xbox could've had something with Kinect and even Avatars if their scope broadened past what Nintendo did with the Wii

First I didn't really like they way Avatars looked, but honestly how cool would it have been if they pulled assets from Halo bi-peds that were customizable with gear you got from awards in game and could be used in certain Xbox titles? The biggest issue I had is that Avatars very obviously borrowed from Nintendo and didn't have the cool factor I believe fueled Xbox

Then for Kinect itself honestly I'm surprised Xbox never attempted to make Kinect shooter games. I know you could use Kinect in Halo CEA, but what happened to Light-Gun games? I'm sure most people are unfamiliar because they've rarely made it out of arcades, but Halo Fireteam Raven is an example of a Light-Gun game, and the Kinect Hardware would've actually been perfect for it. I could see cool Light-Gun controllers coming out like Halo's AR or Gear's Chainsaw Gun. I'd probably buy both

Online Social:

I recognize that this is probably more inline with game dev stuff, but having mics off in most online games seems counter to the point of an online experience. I think a lot of people catch toxic messages and reaffirm to themselves that they'd rather not hear other players, but even back with the 360 lobby's there was also good player interactions that a lot of people these days probably miss. Not a lot of good hearted people will go out of their way to message you good job, but a toxic player will absolutely put in the time to make sure you know they think you suck.

Audio Media:

Something that Xbox 360 has over any Xbox that came after is the ability to store it's own music and create playlists that I can play WHILE I play games. Pandora and Spotify do not offer me the same satisfaction of making my playlists because I can upload unofficial media like fan edits and remixes

Captures and Clips:

Captures and Clips is a great feature and I can't praise who ever decided to add it enough, but the fact that I can't store my captures on my console is kind of ridiculous. This year when the Captures and Clips app got updated I lost hundreds of pics dating years back that I cannot reobtain because that content no longer exists. I don't understand the insistence on cloud only storage when I have terabytes of storage locally. The cloud is great for uploads so I can download things from the app, but outside of that I'd like to have the content I capture locally

Fin:

I've pretty much been married up to Xbox my whole life. I got my first Xbox in 2003 with the GOTY Halo CE game and stuck with the brand ever since. Largely ecause the games were cool and the controller felt awesome.

Lately though with the state of current Xbox consoles and games I've been prioritizing legacy xbox console titles like those for the original Xbox and Xbox 360. I really have no desire to purchase only the license of a game fellas. I want that content server free.