Xbox One: Microsoft "didn't push on its benefits enough", says anon dev

Microsoft didn't do enough to sell gamers on its original Xbox One DRM policies, according to an individual presenting as a Microsoft developer.

An anonymous, alleged Xbox One developer and Microsoft employee took to Reddit to host an AMA on the new console.

"Personally I was a little surprised at the timeframe which we decided on the DRM reversal. I thought we didn't push on its benefits enough," the supposed developer said.

"The petition shows there are lots of people who want these benefits as much as I do and clearly our execs care or Marc Whitten wouldn't have referred to it in his IGN interview."

As for what those benefits were, the dev apparently confirmed that the no-disc game sharing feature was for full games - not short trials, as rumoured.

"Its purpose was to eliminate the need to ever have to physically hand someone a game that you bought to share with them," they said.

The dev also has come interesting little snippets to share about the console in general. One thing he or she revealed is that the OS's Snap feature - allowing you to switch back and forth between applications - only works with some app.

"Snapping is only available to certain apps such as IE, Skype, the game DVR upload tool, etc. Game titles cannot be snapped," they said.

The dev said the Xbox One's fans are "almost inaudible", and that the new Kinect sensor costs almost as much as the console to manufacture.

"The goal with having a Kinect ship with every Xbox is to guarantee to game developers if they implement Kinect features into their games, everyone who has an Xbox will be able to experience it," they said.

"I often see people dismiss the Kinect instantly because they haven't seen it work like I have. It is an integral part of the Xbox One experience. The number of features on the Xbox One that uses the Kinect is almost too many to count. I can't imagine using the console without it."

The site's moderators believe they have confirmed the poster's identity, and the dev is notably careful to avoid outing their identity, but the information cannot, of course, be verified.

Thanks, OXM.