After a week-long of bashing from angry fans, and a seemingly one-sided winning battle against Sony's PS4, Microsoft has given up its strict policy and is making a U-turn.

Following bashings, the company abolished 24-hour check-ins as a major policy change was implemented today, now allowing gamers to play offline.

"After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc-based game without ever connecting online again," according to the Microsoft statement

Basically the Xbox One will now function just like the Xbox 360--so much for Microsoft being the pioneer to digital technology and gaming, as they have previously claimed at the E3 2013.

Another policy that will be seeing a 180-degree turn is the used game policy. In the same statement, it was reported that disc changes will no longer follow the complicated policy previously stated. However, the change, according to The Verge will now mean that the CD will have to be in the tray for the game to work.

"Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold," according to the statement. But this also means that the 10-family feature will no longer be applicable s well.

It is clearly a move to appease the fans, which have been shown to be favoring the PS4 since the E3 2013.

"We appreciate your passion, support, and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity," according to Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, as quoted by CNBC.

"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds."

If the time before the launch was anything to go by, Microsoft could have listened back then before implementing the idea in the first place. Though the move has clearly appeased some fans, it has already delivered word which cannot be taken by an abolishment of these policies.

A U-turn reaction over fans?

As mentioned, the policy reversal followed several fan criticism, the latest being the US Armed Forces' reaction to Xbox One's now-old policy.

ExtremeTech reports that Don Mattrick was quoted to have merely stated that, despite the individual needs of those in the forces, it did not have a means of addressing the issue back then.

"I've got to imagine that it's not easy to get an Internet connection. Hey, I can empathize. If I was on a sub, I'd be disappointed."

Microsoft was then criticized for this lack of concern, as the forces, though a smaller target market, has been a demographic of their own right, being subscribers of the Xbox 360 for their first-person shooter games, according to the report.

The change in policy will indeed put the Xbox One to a different light, and perhaps a different reception to those who have been rallying about the old policy.

For Xbox fans, there now seems to be a split--one that felt relief over the change in policy, while the other half that has found this move to either be too late or one that has questioned fans on why Microsoft would place such a policy in the first place.

Trending in Twitter now is #Xbox180--a trend thread for fans who are reacting all over regarding the Xbox One's 180-degree U-turn policy.

But what does this mean now for the PS4? It gained attention for being the next-gen console that listened to its consumers, the one that can boast about no online requirements, and the only one that allowed for easy used games trading?

Price tag still on

So what basically sets the Xbox One apart from Sony's PS4 this time would be its policy on indie games and the fact that its price tag is still at $499.

For fans, this is a huge step up, compared to Sony's PS4, which is a full $100 below the given price. However, previous reports have shown Microsoft standing its ground about the price, as the Kinect already comes with the Xbox One.

With the PS4, the PlayStation Eye is not yet part of the package, though Sony has already announced that the PS Eye is merely for gaming experience enhancement, and not a necessary part of the deal.

Best to wait out if Microsoft will be pulling another reversal in the coming weeks, though it's already a given that this reversal will be fuel to many online discussions, and will contribute to major changes in the gaming trend.

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