PC Gaming

It's the tracking vs utility conundrum. At the start people kind of knew that Google was gathering their information in return for free services like Gmail etc. And those services were useful/didn't show significant drawbacks etc.

But with Microsoft (who historically have allowed local accounts since the start and have comparatively only recently required or pushed for a linked account), the detriments are evident to people who use their computers for more than just surfing the web and watching Netflix or Tik Tok. It rubs them the wrong way when they have to connect a computer to the Internet to even set it up.

Some people don't live in a place where internet is a standard. Others don't necessarily want to set up a computer for themselves but for their small business or their aging grandma or for their kid (who can't legally sign up for anything but a child's account and that's significantly locked down in ways that maybe the adult doesn't want to deal with).

Some people work in fields where they have a different threat model and don't want Microsoft or other companies siphoning up their private data. Some of them are still forced to use Microsoft products because of work etc.

The thing is though, people should have the choice when they are buying a product that will belong to them about what that product does and how it functions. And the vast majority of people who do want that choice are against this measure and measures like it.