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Microsoft Confirms Gamers' Fears Over Xbox One

StarOceanHouse

StarOceanHouse

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here have been concerns about Xbox One since before we knew it was Xbox One. Gamers were worried about used game restrictions, online requirements, and privacy issues, and the community at large was furiously underwhelmed with Microsoft MSFT +1.53%‘s ability to answer those questions at the console reveal. Now the company has provided some answers and the gaming community is finding many of its fears confirmed.

The tech giant posted a slew of information about the Xbox One on Thursday evening. It confirmed that the console will need to be connected to the internet once every 24 hours in order to function, making life very difficult for gamers with an unstable internet connection, and near-impossible for most soldiers. There will be restrictions on how you can loan games, and while you can still give games to your friends, each game can only be given once. Used games can be sold at retail stores only with the publisher’s permission.

We also learned that you can share games with your Xbox “family” of up to ten people, which is actually kind of cool. We also learned that the Kinect camera can be turned off, so it’s not as creepy as it could have been.

For right now, I’m not sure if Microsoft’s position with the hardcore gamer market can be salvaged. Sony is already highly favored with that crowd, and now all it has to do is be slightly less tone-deaf to cement its lead. I imagine that we’ll probably hear about similar used games restrictions — that feels like a publisher-led initiative to me, but it would be very difficult for Sony to damage the lead it has with hardcore gamers at this point.

We’ve still got a lot of time yet before launch day. Microsoft may be trying to get all of this bad news out of the way at once, in order to get gamers excited about software at E3. Judging from the consistent reaction to every piece of news about the Xbox, it’s a tall, tall order. In the fall, we’ll find out if Microsoft can sell a games console while alienating a core consumer base. I don’t know that it’s impossible, but it won’t be easy
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2013/06/06/microsoft-confirms-gamers-fears-over-xbox-one

pure genius on microsoft's part. i can already predict their downfall in the gaming industry.
 
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Doubtful.

Doesn't anybody grasp the irony of people shunning Microsoft in favor of Sony over DRM?

How many years did Sony hold it's customer base hostage to it's proprietary technologies?

Disclaimer: I don't own a game console and have no loyalty to either company.
 
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Microsoft are not going to make any money from individuals who are worried about DRM or similar copy protection initiatives so I doubt they will be too concerned. The consoles are usually sold at a loss so people who buy only second hand games hardly register on their profit ledgers. Where there is a will there is a way so give it 12 months from release and a crack will be produced to allow you to play torrented games free from Microsoft restrictions. It will probably kill online gaming but I rarely play these so I wouldn't be too fussed.
 
video games are becoming like any form of entertainment

the more money involved, the more bullshit involved

PC gaming has taken a nose dive because its cheaper to port console games to the PC than the other way around

except console gaming will never equal pc gaming so if something isn't designed for the PC from the start it just feels weak.

point and case:

Battlefield 2 - designed for PC

Battlefield 3 - designed for consoles first

I know which one I liked better
 
^ Seriously. That dead horse is still taking a beating.

With it's required Kinect set-up, it's pretty obvious Microsoft is heading down the casual route. They aren't concerned with the gaming market as much as the children's entertainment market. There's really no reason for any serious gamer to consider buying the Xbox One. Assuming Sony doesn't head down the same route (which, so far, it appears they aren't), they've pretty much locked down the next generation of gaming consoles until the Wii U picks up steam (if ever).
 
weeks ago they already admitted to having a selling fee to a game which equals the full retail price. why would anyone buy a second hand game at full price? it's just dumb.

i honestly don't care. i haven't used my x360 in months, and am about to pack it away. i could invest another $100 and have torrented games running from a hdd, but with the price of ps3 games going down, especially since i wait several months after release, there is no incentive to even bother with that. i'd rather just buy games for the ps3, and have free online services.

goodbye microsoft. you fucked yourself.
 
People don't understand this used game concept. New games wont be as expensive if you cant buy used games, that's the idea. New games become cheaper, publishers get more money. Everybody wins.
 
I don't work for Microsoft but I have been informed that is the idea. Game developers lose a lot of money on second hand games. With this new way of buying games they get more money to develop new releases. Used games are like £5 cheaper, I mean really, what are you losing? Think of the long term benefits for gaming. With the free DLC content you get for buying the game new it's worth an extra £5 anyway. Only good thing about used games is actually selling them yourself, not buying them.
 
i don't see why there's a big fuss over this anyway; like people really buy all their games used?

i'm not a console person but definitely favor the ps4, it has the hardware advantage, so just like 360 vs ps3 the ps3 always comes out with the better graphics. I'd really prefer the destruction of all consoles and have the whole market geared towards PC gamers who will upgrade every 3-4 months no problem. I don't like the name Xbox One so they've already alienated myself.

and being able to share a game with 10 family members or whatever? that's pretty damn cool. Definitely makes up for whatever loss the used game market faces, or its buyers/sellers.
 
Microsoft sucks. Dont give them any of your hard earned money. They take in enough as it is.
 
StrutterGear said:
I don't work for Microsoft but I have been informed that is the idea. Game developers lose a lot of money on second hand games. With this new way of buying games they get more money to develop new releases. Used games are like £5 cheaper, I mean really, what are you losing? Think of the long term benefits for gaming. With the free DLC content you get for buying the game new it's worth an extra £5 anyway. Only good thing about used games is actually selling them yourself, not buying them.
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thats the thing i usually sell all my games after i know im done with them.
 
If you can share the game with a family of ten... isn't it like only one person can play the game at once?

If this is the case, I imagine a game sharing program would be possible. I'm not sure what the stipulations to make people "family" are... But even if they had to be on your friends list that's not too huge of a deal to me. I have sold maybe five games and bought one used. One or two.

But what I am getting at... There might be like a sharing site where people can pay to be in the family, to get the title. Would this work? I don't know the exact rules about it. Just thinking there may be a way to still buy and sell titles outside of the publishers. Just abuse this feature.
 
Microsoft To Reverse Xbox One Policies After Fan Revolt

In a stunning reversal of the announced capabilities and restrictions of the Xbox One, Microsoft MSFT -1.08% has just made the next generation console race much more interesting.

Confirming a report from Giant Bomb earlier today, Microsoft has announced today that they’ve listened to player feedback, and are lifting two of the most important restrictions of the console. Here they are, pulled straight from Microsoft’s blog. The link may be not working, but rest assured the post was live at one point.

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
In addition, they’ve done away with region locking, and it should be noted that these changes come with a price.


The Xbox One Might Let Sony's PS4 Win By Default
Paul Tassi
Contributor

PS4's Price And Policies Humiliate Microsoft's Xbox One At E3
Paul Tassi
Contributor

No Country For Used Games: Why GameStop Is Still In Trouble After Microsoft's Used Game Clarifications
Erik Kain
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“These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray. ”

But what’s been shouted from the rooftops the past few weeks is that this is a price most customers are more than willing to pay.

This seems like the best of both worlds, and it’s more or less identical to what Sony has proposed for the PS4 on first glance. You can stick with disc based games to lend and share if you want, or you can build a digital library, understanding you can’t share it. And though the online check-in would have realistically affected a relatively small percentage of the player base, that group is surely celebrating right now. The same goes for those affected by region locking, which in truth is probably the bigger deal.

This whole sequence of events is, quite frankly, stunning. Microsoft was ultimately led to the right decision regarding these policies, but they had to be dragged kicking and screaming through the mud to get there. The past month has been nothing but a PR nightmare for them, with E3 possibly doing serious, lasting damage to the Xbox One. Even with these changes, it’s unclear what sort of trust and good faith they’ve lost along the way.

It’s hard to see this as anything but surrender from Microsoft to both outraged fans and Sony. Obviously Sony isn’t being mentioned at all in these new proclamations, but their shadow looms large here as these new policies mirror their own. I have to wonder how this affects any deals Microsoft had cut with publishers regarding used game policy, as there were surely many of those in place leading up to this change.

This was a necessary, direct response to public outcry, as even longtime loyalists were starting to swear off Microsoft as a result of these policies. And it wasn’t just rabid fanboys, the entire Xbox-loving military took offense to an internet requirement policy that seemed to say to them, “the Xbox One is not for you.” In truth, that’s how many people felt, those who liked lending discs, trading in old games for new ones, or having the ability to play completely offline. The Xbox One was not for them.

The question is, what happens now?

How forgiving will Xbox fans be with Microsoft here? To what degree does this pull them back on equal footing with Sony? There are still issues aplenty for the Xbox One, even with always-on and game lending/resale sorted out. There’s still the increasingly creepy Kinect, with its all-seeing and hearing eyes and ears that’s a mandatory part of the system. And most importantly, there’s still that $100 price difference from PS4′s $399 to their $499.

Before, the choice was incredibly obvious between consoles as the PS4 has way less restrictions and cost less to boot. Now, they essentially have the same capabilities, but one is $100 more. Between that fact and the goodwill Microsoft may have lost for good among customers, the PS4 is still in a pretty great position heading into November, even if the playing field has been leveled somewhat.

Still, it’s rather insane that the backlash to this was so great that it actually caused Microsoft to do a full 180 here. Perhaps it was mandatory with how much the Xbox One was getting slammed by the press and the public, but it’s still amazing they actually did it. Imagine how many headaches they could have saved by just having these policies from the get-go. This was Sony throwing a wrench in their works, plain and simple, and they were forced to respond. If the PS4 had simply fallen in line with Microsoft’s utopian vision of a new era of digital downloads and constant internet access, the resulting outcry would have surely been met with silence by both companies.

This console war just got even more interesting, and now it’s likely to be a much closer race in the early stages than before. This development obviously requires much more follow-up, and we’ll be checking in with Microsoft, publishers and fans for more angles to this breaking story.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...o-reverse-xbox-one-policies-after-fan-revolt/
 
Good move. Now the two consoles are on an even playing field since the ps4 will require ps+ paid membership for multiplayer.
 
What 23 said:
If you can share the game with a family of ten... isn't it like only one person can play the game at once?

If this is the case, I imagine a game sharing program would be possible. I'm not sure what the stipulations to make people "family" are... But even if they had to be on your friends list that's not too huge of a deal to me. I have sold maybe five games and bought one used. One or two.

But what I am getting at... There might be like a sharing site where people can pay to be in the family, to get the title. Would this work? I don't know the exact rules about it. Just thinking there may be a way to still buy and sell titles outside of the publishers. Just abuse this feature.
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The issue wasn't about sharing games or being able to get back less than 1/6th of what was originally paid for the game. The issue was the Microsoft was trying to get people to accept a system where they no longer own their games; They are simply "licensed" to them. Being banned from Xbox Live would mean you forfeit all of the games you bought and paid for. Moving to a place that doesn't have broadband access means you forfeit all the games you paid for.

Basically, they were saying you don't actually own any of the games you purchase on the Xbox One. Combine that with the Kinect recording your every move (it seems like it would be very possible to hack, if hackers are able to listen into your conversations by remotely hacking cellphones, imagine what Microsoft might do in the name of consumer data) and you have a gaming system that apparently invades your privacy, which is just fucked up on so many levels.

Glad they retracted, still won't buy. I know what their intentions are now, they have lost my trust. They lost my trust with the RROD thing anyways, actually. That should have led to a massive product recall, but they probably made millions of dollars selling the same console to the same person twice when that person didn't purchase the warranty.
 
L2R said:
Good move. Now the two consoles are on an even playing field since the ps4 will require ps+ paid membership for multiplayer.
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Well, if by "even" you mean "the PS4 costs $100 less, has more powerful hardware [dat DDR5] and has 3-4x the 3rd party support [prior to today's announcement] of the Xbox One", then yes, they are even.

Basically, I see it like this: Sony has stated from the start that the PS4 is geared specifically towards providing the best gaming experience possible, whereas Microsoft is all about providing the best entertainment experience possible. If I'm going to spend several hundred dollars on a gaming console, I want a console optimized for gaming. I already have Netflix and Hulu+ - I don't need another cable box I won't use, even if it does have motion controls.

Plus, Microsoft has openly demonstrated that they will fuck you over given the chance - this time their plan happened to backfire. I don't want to support a company like that. At least Sony, with their hacking scandals and disastrous firmware updates, always make good on their mistakes and they support the players who support them (free games, promotional items, extra content). What did I get for my "10 years of Xbox Live"? 150 MS points...less than 2 dollars (for $500 of Xbox Live Gold fees). I think I've given Microsoft more than enough of my money.
 
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