I think this is a pretty "weird" situation here, one somewhat new. There was a time when you couldn't even play a game console, I'm sure there are many job titles that still can't bring something like that, or get one when they arrive, to a deployment. Further, things like MWR tents and the like are neat but not all encompassing for sure and even if they were everywhere doesn't cover every gamer deployed, or when they themselves want to play.
I don't think that Microsoft actively is against the military on this. What you have with the military is a vast array or military and civilian people put abroad in wildly different situations which have varying degrees of ability to play games on their down time let alone connect to the internet.
The real issue then is not so much the military, even though I myself am from the Army, I think this is mainly a situation unique to the United States with its large Navy and multiple overseas bases and constant wartime deployments that you just don't get anywhere else. I'm not even sure it should be expected or demanded that a company or service directly provide means for soldiers to circumvent stuff like this.
That said, what I think the real problem is then is this situation is that again things like a 24 hour check in and the like have absolutely no value to the end consumer in the first place. It has no value to the consumer who has constant internet and is only a pain in the ass to anyone without a guaranteed connection and is now a large obstacle to gamers in special circumstances, whether this be military deployments, volunteer work, exchange programs and the like.
Connecting it negatively to the military is fun because everyone supports the troops, naturally, even when they really don't and voice their support in some kind of idiotic condescending way, and like most I like some good mud slinging but the reality is that this is bad for the consumer period.
People are an accepting bunch, if there was a real and compelling reason why something can not work somewhere people accept it, if there was a real reason why something could work but you wouldn't want to use it anyways because what doesn't work is too much and drags the whole product down then again people would accept it, with the Xbox one you don't get that. There are two ways of looking at things, you could say an online only shooter or MMORPG is hampered by its reliance on an always on connection and needing a good ping but on the flip side in exchange for those requirements it allows you to play with people across the world, provide updates, keep stats and things like that. A mandatory check in every day, disc based activation, region specific ip activation, I can tell you how those features inhibit people, stop them from playing a game, what I can't and Microsoft can't tell you is what those add to the game or experience and why they must be mandatory across the entire system.
This is a weird world that's changing quickly. Many of us have seen jobs where you realistically had nothing to do in your off time change to now having tons of stuff to do and while in the past you may have been stuck just reading an old book over and over or throwing darts or playing cards counting down the time until you could actually go somewhere else and do something you now have all these neat little toys you can bring along with you, whether it be personal computers, game machines, tvs, whatever. I don't believe there's an inherent right that these things be made to allow operation all across the world but for the life of me I can't imagine why not either.
Microsoft, and their supporters, clearly have a different view of the always connected digital world that I do. My view has become one where I want an always connected digital world to mean that quite literally technology continues to work for me where ever I'm at, that I could be in the US today and maybe vacation somewhere else or see a friend in another country and it all still works, barring you can supply it electricity(damn you world for not having a standard). I want technology to enable people to see the world and stay connected while doing so, to not have to give anything up, even if what they're giving up is something ultimately silly like a game or internet, Microsoft on the other hand seems to tell me that people should stay at home and be content seeing and meeting people from the comfort of your home, that they've no intention of making technology that works for me but if we ourselves work to always stay connected what little Microsoft does do will remain working for us. It's the opposite of where I want the world to move. At a time when the Iron Curtain has fallen, people are embracing more open borders, where incomes have risen(excluding this recession of course) and more people can travel abroad, where traveling abroad is becoming more convenient and faster, I finally feel that as a species were starting to come together and now they build this digital cage for us in its place. For no fucking reason.
Luckily it's just a games console so it's easy not to buy it it's just I think the mentality behind it is backwards and don't want to see these type measures gain traction in more important products.
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