Xbox and PlayStation have been competing against one another ever since the original Xbox console launch in the early 2000s. As part of that competition, the two companies make various decisions to appeal to their audiences and attempt to carve out larger slices of the marketplace. While both companies often try to make decisions that will please consumers, they are both guilty of making controversial and unpopular decisions as well.

In 2021 already, both Xbox and PlayStation have made hugely controversial announcements. But what makes these announcements different than other ones is that both companies changed course. Following fan feedback and severe backlash, both Xbox and PlayStation reversed the controversial decisions that they made, which shows that both companies are making it a point to keep their fanbase as happy as possible going into the next-generation of consoles.

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Xbox was the first company this year to make an unpopular announcement. A few months ago, Xbox announced that it was going to increase the price of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. The plan was to charge $10.99 for one month of Xbox Live Gold, $29.99 for three months, and $59.99 for six months. This was a significant increase, as previously players were able to sign up for an entire year of Xbox Live Gold for $59.99.

Understandably, this led to quite a bit of backlash, especially since this price increase was announced in the midst of the economic peril associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after the uproar, Microsoft admitted that it made a mistake by raising the price of Xbox Live Gold and decided to reverse the decision.

A couple of months after the Xbox Live Gold situation, Sony made the disappointing announcement that it was going to shut down the PlayStation Store for its legacy platforms, the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita. As one might imagine, this too led to quite a bit of backlash, as there are many classic PS1 and PS2 titles available on the PlayStation Store that are otherwise extremely overpriced if fans have to buy the physical version.

To make matters worse, the PS3 PlayStation Store was hit by error codes as fans tried to rush and make some last minute purchases for their retro consoles. Just as Xbox did with its decision to reverse the Xbox Live Gold price increased, Sony has confirmed that it will not be shutting down the PlayStation Store on PS3 or PS Vita after all. The PSP PlayStation Store is still getting shut down this summer, but the majority of digital PSP games are available to purchase on the Vita as well, so it's not nearly as pressing of an issue.

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