What supposedly set the Xbox One apart from Sony is its cloud gaming vision, hence the birth of the 24-hour online check-ins and digital game sharing policy. However, after retracting the policies, people have wondered if Microsoft is just regressing to the way of the 90s, when games were hardware and had to be in the tray to be played at all.

"Our vision around Xbox One and what you can do because of the power of both the architecture of the console, and also the cloud and the Xbox Live service, remains unchanged," said Marc Whitten, chief product officer for Xbox, said to Videogamer.

He goes on to compare the new policy to the way Steam works offline, wherein consumers can still access their digital games from any Xbox One console. There will still be games that will make use of the power of the cloud, naming Titanfall and Forza 5 to be one of them.

It may be that they will create a similar system with Sony's PS Plus, a paid subscription mechanism that will allow for optional online gaming or multiplayer modes. This may be the Goldilocks way of making use of the cloud without forcing even those who can't comply because of lack of Internet access.

Xbox One regains top position in preorders chart

After making the Xbox 180 switch yesterday, it seems that Xbox One is finally able to take the lead once more on Amazon's preorder charts against the PS4, showing that gamers may be going back to their top-of-mind choice of console, now that the restrictions have been lifted.

GameSpot reports that this was a retaking of the spot, as the Xbox One had previously been topping the charts, before two disasters (for Microsoft) happened: they announced all kinds of policies and Sony basically wiped the floor with their lack of constraints, both happening at the E3 2013.

Of course, the report does emphasize that, while the Xbox One has taken the top spot, this does not guarantee that it dominated the chart, as the PS4 has been holding to quote a large number of slots--five, according to GameSpot--while the Xbox One has just secured #1, and nothing more.

Part of the Xbox 180 policy has also abolished a new feature-the family-sharing of the Xbox One, since now, used games can be played, with the CD in the tray. This may also be the feature that's keeping some of the others from truly switching to Microsoft's next-gen console.

A lower price some time after its release?

Despite the change in policies, one thing that Microsoft is now standing firm with is its price point. Compared to the PS4, the Xbox One is still a whopping $100 above the price, and this difference, it seems is banked on the Kinect that comes with the package.

"While this levels things more, I still think Sony, with the $100 price advantage and goodwill from the Microsoft mess, still has the upper hand," said Edward Woo of Ascendiant Capital Markets in a statement quoted by CVG.

His forecast now of the sales of the Xbox One would be around 2 million in 2013, but with the PS4 getting a lead of 9 million in 2014, given the difference noted.

So does this mean that, if the Xbox One still doesn't get enough sales, it will move on to a cheaper platform promotion? The $100 has already been explained time and again, though it's actual use for the consumer's gaming experience was not very much touted, let alone experienced as of yet.

In fact, the Kinect, which has received flak for issues such as privacy breach, has not received much warm reception from fans--and they would forcefully be charged $100 for it.

Unless Microsoft is able to, once again, see it Sony's way and drop the Kinect as an option rather than a necessity (as in the PlayStation Eye), then there's a big chance that the gap will be fully closed before the holiday season comes.

The price cut may occur if, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, Microsoft fails to communicate a singular message across when it comes to the benefit of the extra $100 Kinect.

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