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Just as The Verge has every right to report on Microsoft and their shortcomings, its readers have every right to comment on The Verge’s reporting. There is a difference between informed criticism, and biased criticism. Reporting on Microsoft’s actions and products in a full, objective manner, even if they are negative, can be very helpful. However, writing articles and headlines that mislead, don’t tell the full story, or are based on pure speculation aren’t helpful to anyone.

Here are some examples from recent headlines from The Verge:

1) Xbox One confusion: Microsoft leaves used games and ‘always-online’ requirement unclear
Tom lays out some pretty tough truths that don’t put Microsoft in the best light. However, they are just that – the truth. There was a lot of confusion regarding Xbox One’s online requirements and used-game policy following the announcement. Different sources claimed different policies, and no one seemed to get a definitive answer. It may be a tough read for Microsoft and its fans, but it is a fully informed article, and Microsoft can avoid such articles in the future by getting their ducks in a row prior to making such a large announcement.

2) Live TV on the Xbox One: Microsoft learns nothing from Google TV’s mistakes
In this article, Nilay reports on the Xbox One’s TV capabilities. However, in Microsoft’s brief announcement yesterday, they didn’t get a chance to announce exactly how, when, and where the service works. Therefore, based on Microsoft’s lack of information, Nilay uses his speculation to write a sensationalist headline that may or may not be true. No one, not even Nilay, has had a chance to really get hands-on with the X1’s TV functionality, likely because it’s still being finalized and developed. Yet, because it’s been announced and features IR blasters, Nilay assumes it will fail just as GoogleTV has. Does it have that same potential to fail? Absolutely. Will it fail? It’s impossible to say seeing how it’s still under development. Instead of jumping to conclusions and speculating, Nilay could have simply based his article around the headline “Live TV on the Xbox One: Will Microsoft learn from Google TV’s mistakes?” There. No harm done. Nilay can still present his speculation of how Xbox One TV might work, and can even use his article to implore Microsoft to get it right (which they absolutely must do for it to be a success). But until Nilay has a chance to review the Xbox One in his own home, it is poor journalism to produce headlines and articles like this. It reeks of the bias so many have accused The Verge of in the past, and it’s really not that hard to avoid.

3) Unlike PlayStation 4, prospects for indie games on Xbox One are murky
This one’s a little tricky. The article states the fact that Microsoft has yet to detail how it intends to target independent developers. There’s not getting around that truth – they just haven’t reached out (publicly) to independent developers in the way that Sony has. However, a completely informed article would mention the large developer conference, BUILD, Microsoft has scheduled for June 26-28, where they have the perfect opportunity to go into detail about all the scenarios of developing for the Xbox One. Unfortunately, this one fails to do that.

All in all, rather than stop completely, Microsoft fans need to realize when criticism is based on informed truth, and when it is truly based on biased views. Sometimes the truth hurts, but sometimes the “truth” is twisted based on personal biases. We all do it in nearly everything we do. However, as a news operation, The Verge owes it to all of its readers to report using all the information available, and to not allow any bias they have to lead to false speculation, sensationalist headlines, or incomplete truths. When the criticism is presented in complete truth, then there is no basis to complain. However, when it clearly is speculative, misinformed, or biased, Verge readers have every right to call them out and ask them to do better.

21 minutes ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft

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I know Microsoft hasn’t yet detailed how the Kinect is able to respond to noisy environments or rogue guests determined to interrupt your Halo gameplay, but it appears they have a few mechanisms in place.

The new Kinect is able to track you as a user, and whether you’re looking at the TV or not, whether you’re talking, etc. I think I read/saw somewhere that the Kinect will only respond to voice commands that are spoken with the user looking at the screen, so that’s should cut down on a chunk of casual “false positives.”

I’d wager there’s also mechanisms that allow it to track who initiated the activity (e.g watching a movie) and only allow them to directly control the XBO with their voice provided they’re still in the room and engaged with the Xbox. There’s probably even some sort of voice profiling going on that can further assist this scenario.

Both of those methods seem pretty straight forward, but even more wildly: I think the Kinect (v1 and v2) have ‘stereo’ microphones, so it may even be possible to echolocate where the sounds/voices originate and pin them to a certain user within the room.

Hopefully Microsoft has implemented a way to prevent the Kinect from ever responding to any sounds/voice coming out of the Xbox itself – as watching yesterday’s presentation on an Xbox360 with a Kinect was painful (with several pauses, stops, and rewinds instigated by the speakers on stage).

All this to say – with Kinect being an “essential” part of the new Xbox, and with it having so much more processing power and resolution, I think it’s reasonable to assume Microsoft has figured out ways to keep the device operating to users’ expectations.

1 day ago on Xbox One won't lead the post-TV revolution and here's why...

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I think you’re right and on to something. I had the same thought about the benefits of having the Gaming OS separate from the System OS – in that it allows them to cleanly create a piece of hardware that only runs the System OS while being able to update and run apps on both systems.

Some sort of simplified set-top box has been rumored for quite a while now. I don’t think it’s necessary for the simplified version to have a blu-ray drive, unless they can offer a sub $150 price point if they include it. Otherwise, a sub $100 price on the disc-less box would be appropriate. Give it the same input/output ports as the XBO, and allow Kinect 2.0 to be optional, though not required (in the interest of hitting the <$100 price).

In my opinion, Microsoft really needs to get the TV part of the new Xbox(es) right if they want to increase their share of the living room market. None of this “it works most of the time if you have X provider and do steps A, B, and C”, but “it works 100% of the time regardless of provider after you plug it in.” This will likely involve working closely with Cable/Satellite companies and their STB manufacturers. Yes, with any luck, traditional cable and satellite services will become a thing of the past as we move towards more on-demand or a la carte programming, but I don’t think anyone can reasonably expect that switch to completely happen within the next 5 years – at least half of the XBO’s projected life span. If they can’t get the TV part of the new Xbox to “just work”, it will forever go down as an expensive and unused foray.

1 day ago on Xbox One won't lead the post-TV revolution and here's why...

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It might be just for gaming for you, but for Microsoft, the Xbox has become more than just gaming. That’s what yesterday’s event was about. If all you want is a box to sit under your TV and ONLY do games, then the Xbox is not for you. If, however, you’re like me and want a box to sit under your TV where you can access all of your entertainment options (games, movies, music, TV) then the Xbox makes a lot of sense.

1 day ago on Unlike PlayStation 4, prospects for indie games on Xbox One are murky

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Shouldn’t you guys, who both work and report for The Verge, have these sorts of conversations before posting articles about speculation and a lack of news? Andrew, wouldn’t your speculative article be stronger if you would have included and consulted with Tom, the main editor for Microsoft at The Verge?

1 day ago on Unlike PlayStation 4, prospects for indie games on Xbox One are murky 1 recommend

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Whoa whoa whoooaaaa. You expect developers to wait for a “developer conference” to find out more information on how they can build games for Microsoft products? That doesn’t make any sense AT ALL. Why wouldn’t Microsoft spend hours talking specifics about developing for XboxOne at it’s very first public unveiling. We ALL need answers to ALL our questions and we need them ALL yesterday! You’d think if Microsoft had some grand conference to talk directly and specifically to developers, they would have AT LEAST announced it already. /s

1 day ago on Unlike PlayStation 4, prospects for indie games on Xbox One are murky 10 recommends

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But that’s the thing, it’s not only a games console any more. Just because it’s called “Xbox” doesn’t meant it’s all about games. Microsoft started branching out what it included under its “xbox” umbrella last year when they rebranded Zune to “Xbox Music” and “Xbox Videos”. Do you open up Xbox Music and then get disgruntled when there’s nowhere to buy games? “Xbox” is now their brand for any and everything entertainment, and you can/should expect their “xbox” hardware to match that vision.

1 day ago on Unlike PlayStation 4, prospects for indie games on Xbox One are murky 1 reply 6 recommends