Hardcore Gamers Boo Xbox One at EVO Fighting Game Tournament

This weekend developer Double Helix and accessory maker Mad Catz showed off the upcoming Killer Instinct for Xbox One at the EVO fighting game tournament, but the fans in attendance weren’t too happy about the game’s Xbox One exclusivity.

When discussing the game, company representatives mentioned that Killer Instinct will come to the Xbox One later this year, and the fans in attendance let them know just how they felt about the console. The gamers booed just the mention of the new console for about 30 seconds, showing that Microsoft may still have to fight an uphill battle to convince gamers to buy their console.

It is worth noting EVO uses the PlayStation 3 for all multiplatform fighters, though several in attendance do play on the Xbox 360.

After showing off the game fans asked developer Double Helix why Rare, the original creators of the Killer Instinct franchise, isn’t developing the new game. Rare does have some involvement with the project, but the Double Helix team is doing most of the work for Killer Instinct.

Gamers also questioned why Microsoft made the new fighting game free-to-play. Anyone can download the new Killer Instinct for the Xbox One for free, but it only comes with one character. Players who want more than a single character will have to pay for each individual fighter.

The reaction is likely more of a problem for Microsoft than the developers, however. Despite Microsoft reversing its DRM policy to let gamers play their games offline and easily buy and sell used gamers, there are still those who dislike the console.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 dominated the current generation — it was the top-selling console every month for the past two years — but the company can’t just coast on that success. With a new console generation gamers have to start anew, especially since neither the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 support backwards compatibility.

Microsoft does have a strong lineup of exclusive games for the Xbox One, but that may not entice all gamers. Despite the views of some hardcore gamers, pre-orders for the Xbox One Day One Edition are no longer available from Amazon or Best Buy.