Désilets: the future is digital, Microsoft just fluffed Xbox One message
"Some people still buy CDs and vinyl, but nobody's yelling at Apple because of iTunes."
Ex-Ubisoft developer and Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets has said that Microsoft was right to focus on a digital-based future for Xbox One games, but the company failed to deliver its message correctly.
Désilets, whose own blockbuster game 1666: Amsterdam is on hold after he quit Ubisoft, gave his thoughts on the lifespan of physical media, as well as Microsoft's recent U-turn on Xbox One game ownership, to Eurogamer sister site GamesIndustry International.
"I just think, 'come on, guys, the future is going to be digital,'" Désilets explained. "Maybe right now we don't fully understand it, so we don't know how to communicate what digital is and how it will actually work.
"I was a bit like, 'Really?' It's all going to be digital, and we're already halfway through it. I know some people still buy CDs and vinyl, but nobody's yelling at Apple because of iTunes. I just find that a bit hypocritical. Just a little bit."
Microsoft's initial vision of how Xbox One game ownership would operate was loudly rejected by the gaming community. The company's plans would have seen game discs largely redundant after a game had been installed, while the Xbox One itself would need a 24-hour online check-in to function.
"Microsoft was trying to do something [different], and yes the message wasn't the best one, and it wasn't delivered the best way," Désilets continued, "but in the end I think people will buy most games on PSN on PlayStation 4 and Xbox Live on Xbox One.
"The problem is the message, and how to deliver the message. They focused on the wrong stuff. They didn't have to mention that you needed an internet connection every 24 hours. They didn't have to do that.
"I can't be the only one seeing all of these music and game stores closing. What's the reason? People aren't going to them anymore."