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.
Deal breaker (Score:5, Insightful)
Worse than Thought (Score:5, Insightful)
But you can still watch TV... (Score:5, Insightful)
I love that part. You mean I can still watch TV without "checking in", just as I could if I hadn't bought the stupid fucking box in the first place?
Re:*cough* bullshit *cough* (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Deal breaker (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:*cough* bullshit *cough* (Score:5, Insightful)
"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.
Joining the people's not buying one (Score:4, Insightful)
I owned a XBOX 1 and Xbox 360. I liked them better then Sony/Nintendo offerings. But this whole used game thing along with phone home. I haven't had my 360 plugged into the internet for 8 months now. I play most console games offline. If I want to play online with friends, that's what my PC is for.
So I had bought 3 xbox 360's, I won't be buying 1 One.
I'm sure XBox won't record our conversations... (Score:5, Insightful)
...just like I'm sure the Obama Administration would never obtain the phone and email records for every American! [pcworld.com]
What?
First game system you can't keep a collection of (Score:5, Insightful)
Think about what happens after this generation is over, in 10-15 years. Eventually, the XBO servers will be taken down, and none of the games will work.
It won't be like you pulling out your Dreamcast or SNES to relive fond gaming memories--this literally won't be an option. Now starts the time when gaming history eventually fades into nothing.
Don't get me wrong, any disc based game eventually will be in the same boat--as these discs will eventually decay. Whereas cartridge based game systems may work, no problem, in 100 years or more if kept in a dry place.
Because Sony is nicer? (Score:5, Insightful)
So you basically forgot all the crap Sony has pulled out over the years... (e.g. rootkits). At least Microsoft is being honest about it.
As someone else said, the solution is to forgo both PS and Xbox consoles.
Re:That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Insightful)
> the used game resale options are in the hands of the game developers
Which is funny because were I live it's in the hand of the law. The law that says "I can resell my own games."
Re:10 Minutes (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Steam Vs XBox One (Score:5, Insightful)
The difference between Steam and XBox One is only a matter of degree. Steam doesn't allow you to buy or sell used games. Steam needs to phone home every three months or so instead of every day, but it still locks you out after that.
So basically, if you want to play games from the major publishers, your only choice is who to bend over for. Steam uses Vaseline, Microsoft doesn't. Perhaps Sony will choose not to bugger customers at all -- I'm not really keeping up with the PS4 rumors.
Re:Because Sony is nicer? (Score:5, Insightful)
I did not, I still do not trust sony near computers. Microsoft is never honest. They claim it will not spy on you, but they were the first to get in bed with the NSA for PRISM.
I have been eyeing up the WiiU so that is an option.
Re:10 Minutes (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:10 Minutes (Score:5, Insightful)
Believing that the issue no longer exists because one person cracks the first implementation is foolhardy at best, and idiotic at worst.
All it takes is for MS to bump the minimum software version required for new games, or add a critical new feature that everyone wants and suddenly you need to updated, and get into the never ending war of jailbreaking and patching. By buying a console with the expectation of it being regularly jailbroken, all you guarantee is that you end up unable to keep up with the latest software update, and hence the latest games.
Re:*cough* bullshit *cough* (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh huh. And if I'm a Xbox non-owner who has no EULA with Microsoft, and I go visit my friend's house who has an Xbox and we have a conversation in his living room that gets recorded..?
Cease to Offer Services Clause (Score:5, Insightful)
They also have a "We may also cease to offer certain services or products for similar reasons." clause. So even if you like a feature (like sharing a game with up to 10 family members), you might find that feature suddenly removed or altered in such a way as to make it useless.
The elephant in the room: Rentals (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the bigger issue missed here is that rentals are simply no longer possible with Xbox One.
Microsoft has killed the game rental market in one fell swoop.
Personally, I think this is a dumb move... I've bought many games after trying them out as rentals; I doubt I am alone with that practice. That is a lot of potential marketing tossed down the toilet.
Even if the used game market survives (though I doubt it will ever be a factor again), the rental market is gone, gone,gone.
Re:...and people will buy it anyway. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Deal breaker (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Steam Vs XBox One (Score:5, Insightful)
Steam also sells games for super cheap. I buy my games for steam on disk, so if it ever disappears I can run the game with cracks. This is not a feature that consoles seem to offer.
No used game sales means less new game purchases (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Deal breaker (Score:5, Insightful)
Why would Sony be loving it? If history is anything to go by then Sony will be at least as worse, the difference is that unlike Microsoft they're just not being open about it. If anything it seems more like Microsoft is testing the waters to see what they can get away with, if there really is just way too much negative feedback they'll likely losen the restrictions somewhat. In contrast Sony's business model is, as always, keep quiet and just dump it on the user saying nothing and hope no one notices.
I don't really like any of it (though at least the ability to share games with family members is a step forward, because that's better than most DRM/unlock codes on existing platforms where you're expected to buy a copy per family member) but pretending Sony is going to be some magical saviour is sad. We saw the Sony fanboys spreading the exact same FUD and doing the exact same thing last console round and look how that ended up. Removed features etc.
Anyone pretending Sony is going to be a saviour right now given that we've not even seen a picture of their fucking device yet let alone had any real concrete information about it is having a laugh, especially when track records are taken into account.
How generous! (Score:5, Insightful)
On the upside, anyone using your console will be able to play your games
How nice of them not to implement biometric identification. Yet.
Re:That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Insightful)
In some nations what you describe would be illegal. Some places have this thing called consumer protection and depriving the consumer of something he paid for would be basically the same as fraud.
Re:Deal breaker (Score:2, Insightful)
Where did he say that games should be free?
A phone home or persistent connection requirement for a SP, offline game is treating your customers like criminals. If you treat us like criminals, why shouldn't we limit our game purchases to developers who treat their customers like human beings? Of course people like you will attribute the sudden drop in your sales to piracy instead of your own unscrupulous conduct.
Bottom line, you can keep your ridiculous DRM. Just don't come whining when your company is in ruins because you treated your customers like crap.
Re:That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Insightful)
What about rentals?
If MS is going to bend over backwards for the game publishers. What about rentals where you rent the game and then return it. You know to see if you actually like it or not. There are a lot of junk games out there, why should you spend $60.00 on something you will hate, and then not be able to sell back.
I prefer to rent it. If I like it then I will buy it.
With these bending over backwards for the publishers, The software better be Dirt Cheap.
Re:Cease to Offer Services Clause (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sorry.. the "sharing up to 10" 'feature' is just as bad.
My family doesn't use the vaginas of the females like clown cars and I would never hit the limit, but this is total bullshit. If I buy a game the family should be able to play it, whether it is 2 or 2 dozen. It's just as bad as the other DRM 'features.'
Yeah, Microsoft doesn't care about one missed sale, but if anyone that knows what DRM is refuses to buy it then it has to hurt sometime.
Re: That doesn't fix anything (Score:2, Insightful)
Having said that, those limited choices have also driven the demand for spectacular free products like gimp.
Not recording? (Score:4, Insightful)
> "When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded."
Says the company that jumped on board the PRISM train so happily and willingly....
Re:Deal breaker (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a PS3 but bought it after Linux was already removed.
Being a PS3 owner and not having had the feature removed from me personally though doesn't mean I magically have to give them a free pass because guess what? I'm not a fanboy.
Removing features from customers is still a fucking shitty move however you cut it and guess what? Microsoft are twats for adding more and more ads to XBL when I already pay them for the service, Nintendo are twats for selling me a turd that never ended up with any compelling games, Apple are twats for being such restrictive power hungry patent trolls, and Google are twats for being such a bunch of tax dodging idiots.
You know, it is possible to hate companies for all piss poor anti-consumer moves. I'm a customer so I don't owe them a thing, I have no vested interest in defending them and I have every interest in calling them all out when they do bad things.
But what makes your post so utterly sad is that what you're basically saying is that you're disappointed that I called Sony out with the implication that I shouldn't have, that I should give them a free pass and focus on just the bad things of other companies. Do you know why you think that? Because you're a fanboy. The very thing you're criticising.
Re:Deal breaker (Score:5, Insightful)
I totally agree. Owned (and loved owning) two 360's, but I won't be touching the One with a barge pole. Microsoft seems to have taken the relative success of the 360 as a "Well, now we can do what the fuck we like".
Re: That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Insightful)
Especially when these companies want to treat it as a license when it benefits them, but then as a sale when that is more beneficial.
Doubly so when all the advertisements say "own/buy it today!".
Re:That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Insightful)
As someone who still owns and occasionally plays many of the games bought new in the late 80s early 90s this bothers me... I have no interest in buying games with an expiration date.
Re: Deal breaker (Score:4, Insightful)
People modding this troll are being unfair. As someone who likes the console, it needs more games. I played completely through every game I was interested in on it. And I'm a working stiff without a lot of time on his hands. I can't imagine how someone in college or high school would feel.
Why would anyone ever agree to any of this (Score:5, Insightful)
Always on camera, every 24 hours license checks, you have to ask permission to resell your games. If you agree to this you're a chump full stop.
Re: Deal breaker (Score:3, Insightful)
The WiiU does 1080p the same way current Xbox 360 and PS3 do. While it's technically possible, in practice the console isn't powerful enough to do it on anything but the most graphically simple games.
Re:*cough* bullshit *cough* (Score:4, Insightful)
*knock knock*
Citizen, we recieved a report that you turned off your telescreen.
That gives us probable cause to enter and search the premises for illegal activities.
Re:Deal breaker (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: That doesn't fix anything (Score:5, Insightful)
Inkscape is free and already as good as Illustrator.
I like to advocate FOSS solutions too, but I like to tell the truth while I do so. Illustrator is better than Inkscape, but Inkscape is good enough.