Microsoft Couldn't Stop Talking about Cross-Buy

Microsoft's E3 conference covered a lot. New games were advertised, new functions were discussed, and even new hardware was teased. However, there was one phrase that showed up throughout the presentation.

Buy it once, play it on both Xbox One and Windows 10

But... what if I buy it twice?

Microsoft calls this Cross-Buy. During this year's E3, they couldn't shut up about it. Nearly every announcement and trailer either plastered the message on the 12 story projector or book-ended the news with the quote. And if the presenters refused to, Phil Spencer was damn sure to remind everyone himself. I understand that they're excited. This is a feature that Sony and Nintendo don't really have the option to counter. However, the fervor they used to pimp the concept gave me flashbacks to 2013's "Watch TV on your Xbox."

And we know how well that worked out

Instead of an interesting and potentially game changing new feature, it comes off as a gimmick. Hopefully, it won't act like one when it becomes a household term.