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Why Trolls LOVE Xbox Live’s New System

Why Trolls LOVE Xbox Live’s New System

Microsoft recently announced future changes to the Xbox One’s reputation system in an attempt to curb trolls from dominating the online landscape, or at least that’s what I think the plan was at some point. If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft’s reputation system, it’s a combination of player-generated feedback in conjunction with an advanced algorithm that is used on Xbox Live in order to weed out and punish disruptive players. In essence, it’s supposed to keep the jerks on one side and the righteous dudes and dudettes on the other. Unfortunately, the system is crap, and has been crap since its inception several years ago.

The idea behind the practice is actually quite genius when you look at the current landscape of online gaming as a whole – there is, and always will be, a huge issue with problem gamers. However, the current operation both unfairly punishes players and requires the Xbox Live community to do its due diligence. Countless players have complained that the system is flawed because of unjust feedback and the fact that players seem to only offer their negative opinions.

I had a recent conversation on the interwebs with guy who had his rep thrashed because he had finally gotten good at Halo. He said his reputation took a tumble, and he even got banned for a day in what he described as a rant from poorly skilled players calling him a cheater and submitting negative feedback as a result. Now I don’t know the guy personally, but he seemed like a good dude and not one that would yell obscenities like the world is ending. Regardless, the system is deeply flawed and Microsoft still can’t seem to get it right after all these years.

The recent announcement came with few details, which is both unnerving and not surprising for some gamers. The biggest question is why? Why can’t Microsoft seem to get their process ironed out? They have had over ten years to figure it out. Perhaps the even greater question is why do they continue to pump resources into useless projects that are almost certainly doomed to fail? Better yet, why do they continue to present features and accessories that most core gamers couldn’t care less about? Yes, the reputation system is an important feature to fix, but if you still can’t figure it out after a decade of research, then you’re never going to conquer it.

Why Trolls LOVE Xbox Live’s New System

Take the current Xbox One for instance – October will mark the third tweaked release of the system since its launch in late 2013. We had the day one launch with the mandatory Kinect accessory that no one wanted, then the standalone console, and now the Elite version, which will save 30 seconds of load time and include an over-priced controller that only a small portion of hardcore gamers will want. Let’s compare that to the PlayStation 4, which has only released a few firmware updates since launch. Now, I’m not trying to rally up the fanboys with this one, because they’re both great systems, but I can’t help but wonder why Microsoft continues to try and be “the smartest guy in the room” with all of its ridiculous decisions. Everything from the prelaunch announcements to the player reputation issues continue to plague the console giant. This could ultimately be the reason why PlayStation continues to outsell the equally powerful and equally fun Xbox One by 2-1.

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