Just how badly does Microsoft want the Xbox One to fail

[drone]

True, but that's impossible with digital copies. PC gamers (me included) kvetched about this for a while after the switch to digital distribution started many years ago, but we long ago not only stopped complaining but actively embraced the system. If you asked PC gamers whether they'd prefer to keep the current system or return to the old disc-based economy, with its freedom to trade games, I would guess that the vast majority of gamers would prefer to stay where we are now. For most of us, the convenience (and lower prices) outweigh the loss of that ability. I think console gamers will follow the exact same trend in sentiment regarding this issue.

You like Steam, and I will admit that it is the best of the bunch. But Valve is a privately owned company that is currently run by a benevolent dictator, it is an anomoly which fortuantely controls a large share of the market. However, the day will come when Valve is subject to the whims of shareholders, and we will be stuck with crap like Origin which will get worse without the benevolent Steam alternative to counter the anti-consumer policies these companies engage in.

There's also a reality that these kinds of restrictions are designed to help the developers and publishers themselves and to fight piracy. I know plenty of game developers. They get paid peanuts and their jobs are constantly at risk due to being in a heavily volatile industry. If the consumer has to take a few knocks here and there to give a less-brutal existence to the very people who create the games we love to play, I think that's a fair trade-off.

Nothing a company does will successfully eliminate piracy and still give a positive user experience.