Microsoft recently decided it would be fun for the consumer if third party memory units weren’t able to work on the Xbox 360, effectively forcing everyone to buy proprietary machines or screw themselves to a wall. Datel, manufacturer of its own Xbox 360 memory units, is understandably unhappy with the news, accusing Microsoft of “disappointing” behavior.
“… We’re disappointed to see that Microsoft are taking these steps to prevent customers from exercising their freedom of choice,” said a Datel spokesman. “Everyone is looking for ways to make their cash go further at the moment and we believe that Max Memory offers a good value, high capacity, alternative to the official memory unit.”
It’s definitely a low and dirty stunt by Microsoft, a company that does very little to mask its greed in the best of circumstances. Not only does this screw over third party companies and consumers who don’t want to buy more hardware from Microsoft (the Xbox 360’s quality doesn’t exactly make you want to rush out and buy more MS products), it also means that existing users of third-party memory devices, people who haven’t done anything wrong, now need to spend time transferring all their data and possibly waste more money on another memory unit.
It is, simply put, a dick move, and I am more disgusted than disappointed by Microsoft’s selfish decision.
