In the lead up to the release of the PS4 last week Sony’s main concern was how the PlayStation Network servers would handle the load. With a mandatory 308MB day one update required for the console, Sony took the intelligent decision to offer a way to download the update before release day. You could then load it on to a USB stick and update your PS4 without needing to connect to PSN on release day.
Microsoft is not offering Xbox One owners the same option. Yesterday the day one patch for their new console did appear on the Xbox One support page. It was classed as an emergency update in case Xbox Live was unavailable, but Microsoft has since removed it (the download link is still active, but returns an error). The download came complete with instructions on how to put it on a USB stick for offline updating, just like Sony offered. However, it looks like this was a mistake on Microsoft’s part.
According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the support site download was never intended to be a way to download the patch. They haven’t explained why the support site download was made available, but the removal is due to the “complexity of the customer support process” it created.
I think this is a mistake on Microsoft’s part. The Xbox Live servers are going to be under a lot of stress tomorrow, and there’s going to be a thousands? of gamers willing to prepare and download the update for offline installation. But they now won’t have that option. If Xbox Live does slow to a crawl or stop working completely tomorrow, then you’re a bit stuck.
Hopefully Microsoft has made the necessary preparations for the inevitable demand placed on Xbox Live during tomorrow’s launch and over the weekend. If they haven’t then they can’t really blame anyone but themselves for the failure and angry gamers it will create.
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