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Originally Posted by chemgear
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This part of that article nails it exactly IMO:
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Secondly, Steam - like any store on a PC or a Mac - is a choice. I can buy software from Steam, but if I don't like the terms I can also buy through many other routes. Steam is chosen by consumers because it's the most convenient and often most cost-effective way to get games - it competes with lots of other channels, physical and digital. The same applies to iTunes, which dominates the music market but is entirely optional - you could buy all the music you want through other channels if you liked. I buy a lot of books on Kindle, fully cognisant that this is more restrictive than buying paperbacks, but accepting those restrictions in return for good value and superb convenience.
Xbox One doesn't propose to let consumers make a choice (other than "not buying an Xbox One", a choice a rather large number of consumers seem to be making right now). It intends to apply the same restrictive DRM to physical and to digital goods, treating them as one and the same despite consumers' radically different relationship with them. Sony will apply strict DRM to digital purchases on PS4, just as it does on PS3 (and as Microsoft already does to digital purchases on Xbox 360), but consumers won't complain vociferously because they accept this - it's an option. If you choose to buy a digital game over a physical copy, you do so aware of the restrictions but feeling that they are outbalanced by the convenience or other factors. In extending those restrictions to physical products, Microsoft removes a choice that consumers have become very attached to.
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I love Steam. I like pre-loading launch titles and playing as soon as they're released, instead of driving to a store and hoping they have it in stock if I didn't pre-order. I really like the sales and never having to worry about discs, and automatic patching is awesome. However there are still some games where I prefer a physical disc to use how I choose. I buy sports titles and fighting games on consoles because I like to take them to friends houses, to me the convenience of a digital download isn't worth losing that ability. With the PS4 I have that choice, with the Xbox One I don't
It's really just Microsoft's business strategy though. For anyone that's used Windows 8 you quickly realize that Microsoft hates giving the user choice and instead wants to force their view on how things should work for everyone. Xbox is just continuing this trend