Haven’t interacted with a #Microsoft product in a long, long time, then my son got really into #Minecraft and I bought a Windows computer. So far I’ve found:
- Not only is internet required to install Windows, you also need a Microsoft account¹.
- The Switch, Xbox and PS4/PS5 versions of Minecraft can only connect to “featured” servers rather than custom servers.²
Not a good track record for like… 1 week of interacting with their products.
¹I realize that there’s some convoluted way to do this, but it definitely derailed me from doing the Windows install when I wanted to. Particularly since I’m just dual-booting Windows as a “just-in-case” type situation.
²Luckily someone has hacked around this requirement, though who knows how long that can last.
Oh, also apparently you need a Microsoft account to connect to even custom Minecraft servers, and you need to pay for a Nintendo Online account AND have a Microsoft account to connect to Minecraft servers on the Switch.
Presumably the Microsoft account is to manage authentication so that you get the same character every time you connect (no matter what IP they come from), and so that the custom servers can manage permissions and access.
Kinda fair, though also I imagine most people would be perfectly happy with each user generating a UUID and access being managed with an optional TOFU model where admins are asked when someone tries to join a server.