Microsoft Confirms Xbox One's Phone Home Requirement, Game Resale Rules 581
Following the confusion surrounding Microsoft's announcement of the Xbox One, the company has now clarified many of the hot-button issues in a set of posts on their official site. First, they confirmed that the console will need to phone home in order to continue playing games. On your primary console, you'd need to connect to the internet and check in once every 24 hours. They also announced that you'll be able to access and play any of your games by logging in on somebody else's console, but the internet connection will be required every hour to keep playing that way. Other media don't require the connection. Microsoft also explained how game licensing will work. On the upside, anyone using your console will be able to play your games, and you can share your games with up to 10 members of your family for free. The downside is the news about used games; Microsoft says they've "designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers." The key word there is can, which implies that you can't without the publisher's express permission. Finally, the company made a set of statements about how Kinect's audio and video sensors will collect and share your data. "When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." They also say data gathered during normal use won't leave the console without your explicit permission.
Steam Vs XBox One (Score:5, Informative)
Thanks for making it easy MS. (Score:4, Informative)
Well I guess I am getting a PS4. That was an easy decision.
Re: Deal breaker (Score:5, Informative)
Re:This'll be fun (Score:2, Informative)
So, apparently Microsoft think that they're not selling you games.
They aren't selling you games; they are selling publishers rights to sell you game licenses on a common platform.
EA etc. are Microsoft's customers, not you. Well, you need to be courted to get more consoles out and to make the platform more attractive to more publishers, but you are more of a product selling point and less the target market.
Re:Deal breaker (Score:5, Informative)
But in the meantime maybe you can brush up on your coding skills, make some really cool games and give them out for free like you think everyone else should. Tell us how that goes for you.
If that's what you as an industry are hearing from us then you're missing it entirely.
We are willing to pay for quality consoles and games, but:
+ we want to "own" the console and have full control over it's use.
+ we want to "own" the games we buy and be able to loan them, give them away or sell them like any other piece of property we've purchased.
If you are going to control how we play, when we play, what we play and who we can loan/trade/sell to then drop your fucking prices and call it "console and game rentals", not "sales". Your greed, and your contempt for your customers, seem to be affecting your hearing and your judgement. If you want to make more money then make it easier for your customers to enjoy themselves with your products.
Kindle - publishers can allow lending (Score:5, Informative)
Just like publishers of e-books CAN allow you to lend out a kindle-book to someone.
They don't though.
Granted, I haven't bought many kindle books, but as far as I can see none of my books are lendable.
As a former Navy Veteran - (Score:3, Informative)
We used to play video games while deployed on ship underway. No internet to connect to, and the XBOX360/PS3 were the consoles of choice in our rec-room. This completely screws the active duty military in a lot of places. Looks like more military will be using their PC's instead of the consoles, however this also happened when 'SPORE' came out on PC.... it required an internet connection to play and the people who bought it for deployment were many unhappy people.
Re: That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Informative)
Adobes licensing matters not if it conflicts with the law of the land.
Some nations have actual consumer protection.
Re:Then I'm not buying it. (Score:3, Informative)
So whatever the first next-generation console is which can be ran entirely offline without any network connection over its lifetime stands a pretty good chance of getting bought.
The Nintendo Wii U.
Re:Deal breaker (Score:3, Informative)
Sony must be loving this.
Let's be realistic for a minute. Any same person would agree, but this is Sony we're talking about. The company that makes a cock-up of almost everything when it comes to the consumer year after year. Look at how they fucked up the Vita, but no one knew the anti-customer crap they had until it launched. Once people knew, the console flopped.
Sony are making noises they're not doing the XBone crap, but they have also confirmed that it's all built in to the PS4 already, and i will be up to the publishers whether they implement it. Even when a title comes out that can be lent to a friend, or dumped on ebay etc, they're all 1 mandatory patch away from being locked out for a per-account activation fee around the same price as a new game.
Let's hope they do the right thing and force MS to backtrack. If they don't, the console market will be doomed (which wouldn't be such a bad thing if it prevents companies spending over $100,000,000 on hype, PR and advertising for CoD++).
One other major fail... (Score:4, Informative)
Having looked at the Xbox One page on Amazon UK, all I can say is this:
NINETY QUID for a ****ing GAME?
At that price, they can keep it.
Re:This'll be fun (Score:5, Informative)
Backward compatibility:
The Atari 7800 is backward compatible with almost all Atari 2600 games.
The Game Boy Color is backward compatible with all Game Boy cartridges.
The Game Boy Advance line, except for the Game Boy Micro, is backward compatible with all Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.
The Nintendo DS and the Nintendo DS Lite are backward compatible with all Game Boy Advance games.
The Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo 3DS XL are backward compatible with most of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi software. However, the 3DS and its predecessor the DSi lack the Game Boy Advance slot found on the DS and DS Lite, causing certain titles to lose functionality when played on the systems. The Guitar Hero: On Tour series is incompatible with the DSi and 3DS because of this.
Initially, the Nintendo Wii was backward compatible with all games from the Nintendo GameCube, due in large part to its PowerPC CPU and ATi graphics architectures being evolved versions of those from the GameCube. However, a "Family Edition" model released in North America and Europe in late 2011 removed GameCube support, and all Wiis manufactured thereafter also lack backward-compatibility.
The Wii U is backward compatible with all Wii games and peripherals.
The PlayStation 2 is backward compatible with most of the original PlayStation library.
Initial PlayStation 3 models are backward compatible with most PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games. This is provided by the inclusion of the original Emotion Engine chip that is built inside the PS2. However, subsequent models removed this and the "Graphics Synthesizer" GPU, thus removing support for PS2 titles, but still able to play most original PS games.
The PS Vita is backward compatible with PSP games, Minis, PlayStation and Neo Geo games downloaded from the PlayStation Store. The Xbox 360 is backward compatible with some Xbox games via software emulation.
Re:*cough* bullshit *cough* (Score:4, Informative)
"When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." They also say data gathered during normal use won't leave the console without your explicit permission.
"Explicit permission" defined as signing any EULA associated with XBOX One.
You misspelled 1984.
Re:This'll be fun (Score:2, Informative)
The Sega Mark III is backward compatible with the SG-1000.
The Sega Mega Drive is backward compatible with the Sega Master System with the base converter, which acted merely as a pass-through cartridge adapter as all SMS hardware exists inside the Mega Drive already.
The Bandai Wonderswan Color and SwanCrystal are backward compatible with the Wonderswan.
Re: That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Informative)
They don't even have to do that. MSFT has now said that it's up to the developer if they will allow games to be resold or not. They don't need any sort of a fig leaf, they just say the game is only licensed for 1 xbox live account.
To me, the thing that sucks even more is that the console has to phone home once a day, or you can't play anything.
Look at all we've read in the press lately about the government deciding they own all phone records, and they've been compiling this data without our knowledge for some time.
Why should we believe the console which is phoning home won't be collecting information about us and reporting it to anyone who has access to use/abuse the system?
Sure, they say the Kinect isn't going to record you. But we pretty much know the government collects first and asks permission later (if ever). They don't even need suspicion to get your phone records anymore.
Maybe the Xbox One should be called the Telescreen instead?
A specific European case (Score:5, Informative)
Specifically, the European Court of Justice ruled last year on a case involving Oracle and UsedSoft, with the latter wanting to resell used Oracle software. The court found that licences could be resold, notwithstanding a claim to the contrary in Oracle's licence agreement. Interestingly, they also ruled that if Oracle was offering free maintenance updates to the original purchaser then they must continue to offer the same to the purchaser of the used software licence.
Obviously with any legal case you have to look at the specifics and not assume too much of a precedent, but still, this seems a clear shot across the bows of Big Software that they don't get to close down the used software market through either blunt legalese in the licence agreement or trying to tie related services to the original purchaser only.
For anyone wondering, yes, this ruling is sharply at odds with the US Ninth Circuit's view in the Autodesk case.
(I'm not a lawyer, just an interested observer, so don't read any legal technicalities into the above.)
Re:That doesn't fix anything (Score:4, Informative)
I don't think you understand. In the EU, software you buy is yours. You are not able to "rent" anything. Even if the EULA says so, it is still void and null. You outright OWN it if it is sold anywhere in the EU. It is why when you buy a machine with an OS on it, that OS can no longer be "tied" to the system or motherboard. You are able to resell it to anyone else, as you own it outright. You have expensive CAD software with hardware dongles that tie the software your machine only? No longer, you can resell it and the publisher MUST allow for that dongle to now be tied to the new owner. They have NO say after the software is sold. It is treated as resellable property for eternity.
The same will be for the XBox One and any other console vendor. If they intend on selling any sort of software in the EU, they must allow it to be resold by the original purchaser, on their own terms, at their own prices, with zero restrictions from anyone. It is the law. Period.
Re:Deal breaker (Score:5, Informative)
Sony confirms 'you can play used games on PS4' [cinemablend.com]
Shuhei Yoshida confirms: no 'always-on' requirement for PS4 [vg247.com]
This was all news in February, now it should be fairly common knowledge.
Re:Typical Microsoft (Score:2, Informative)
Just get a Wii U. Believe me, it's not nearly as horrible as the gaming media portrays it.