So far, much of what we’ve seen about the Xbox One hasn’t been good, and yesterday’s news about iffy policies around internet connections, used games, and loaning games isn’t reassuring. Here’s another quote from Microsoft that was lost in the shuffle yesterday — it’s worth keeping in mind.
Hopefully, the internet’s backlash against some of what we’ve heard so far means we’ll actually see some policy changes. One can dream, at least.
Comments
45 responses to “The Xbox One Might Seem Like A Horror Show Now, But That Could Change”
Are you nuts? That only means they can make it worse.
“We may cease to offer products or services”
What do you mean I can’t buy a copy of X anymore?
What do you mean I can’t play my copy of Y anymore?
What do you mean I can’t turn on my Xbox One anymore?
Thats one of the reasons I fear for the new online restrictions…
Yes, relax policy until people are comfortable and start buying the xbone. Once they have sold enough, reinstate shit policy.
Here’s hoping. I don’t think MS has received this much backlash since WinME?
I haven’t played through all of Halo 4 yet but if Cortana winds up dead at the end of it maybe in Halo 5 they can replace her with Clippy just to add insult to injury!
I’m still not buying it. I’ve yet to see or hear anything from Microsoft that’ll inspire me to spend hundreds of dollars on this.
From the amount of time it took them to come up with something this half-arsed.. i’m pretty sure this was already Plan B.. whereas Plan A would have given you 23 hours and 59 minutes less offline per day, no lending, no trading, no selling AT ALL… so this WAS the backlash plan.. but yeah there could be a backlash 2.0 plan.. let’s see..
Lets hope Peter Beattie consults for MS. He was the backflip king!
Stuff people who sell and trade. Give me single install, offline forever play, with one initial validation check and I’d be much happier. If you cant afford all the games you want, find a better job or just don’t buy as many games. People have gone without wants for time immemorial and you can do it too instead of making everyone else’s day shitty.
Yeah stuff consumer rights, who needs those?
I don’t really have a problem with the Xbox One, I don’t care about online DRM or used games but saying that I’m still not getting it. It’s just a PC without any advantages over PC. I know consoles are that already but with no trading in games to reduce my spending I can buy games for the same price using CD Key sites.
I’m betting all there non Halo, Gears and Forza exclusives will be on PC also. So not a huge loss.
I will buy the Xbox One controller for my PC.
Definitely getting that controller for my pc thats for sure.
Yeah, it would be good. But I’m sure MS will try hard to make sure it doesn’t work on PC for as long as possible.
Advantages
– Usability
– Lifestyle
– Development
– Compatibility
I’m sure developers love making games on a console compared to PC considering they’re limited by the devices technology and compatibility with their game isn’t much of a concern compared to PC’s which everyone has different hardware and software.
All in all it’s just simplicity and people want that.
The whole DRM and Used games business, sharing games…they were luxuries we (PC gamer’s) had 10 years back before Steam and other companies decided to do the same thing.
What makes us so numb about this issue is that we’ve gone through the cycle or some were born into it. So we’ve recovered and adapted/accepted the industry as it is.
The console gamer’s are going through the same cycle.
The cycle of grief can be used =)
This article – Denial.
The people – Anger and some Depressed (at the industry)
Soon…acceptance.
There’s bargaining but I can’t figure how that fits (so maybe we skip that)
I know you mean people in general, so I won’t argue specifically with that, but I feel the need to put my hand up as an exception in this case. I do like simplicity, but not at the cost of possibility.
They are advantages for developers and not the user. Besides Microsoft creating TV shows (which will probably go on normal tv channels or buy online) there isn’t a real advantage for customers to go with consoles this generation.
I think the industry loves the console market less about it’s simplicity and more about the fact that pirating games is harder on consoles, requiring special modifications in order to get them to work and hacking attempts can be actively monitored, traced and banned (just look at the Halo 4 Crimson Map pack debacle where this tracing goes wrong). They know what you play, how you play it, and where you got it.
The only downside that I can see to consoles in terms of profit is the used game market, as like piracy, it cuts the profit to the publishers substantially as the used game market only benefits the retailer/owner of the game, and with Xbox one they are fixing that while maintaining the above points. Making it a profit machine.
As a PC gamer nowadays I enjoy using Steam. I understand that it is much like the Xbox One in the way it works. But I still enjoy it, more because unlike most retailers Steam has plenty of bargains that allows its DRM model to not be such a detriment, cause hey, when a 70 dollar game goes down to 25 dollars, compared to the 90 dollar version you can buy at EB games, you think less about the way it is being controlled and more about the bargain. Plus with Steam I don’t need to be online to enjoy my purchases.
My gripe about the consoles DRM system is that the developers and publishers better make sure to release demos of the gameplay, or ensure the gameplay is top notch. Since if they release a game and a player buys it, then finds out it is much less then what he desires, he’s stuck with it unless the publisher allows him to trade it in, and only to select retailers. I don’t even know how people will be able to buy games as gifts for anyone anymore.
It will make the current console gaming generation much more cautious in it’s spending, as well as drive smaller indie retailers into the ground. I personally think the game rental stores was a big plus to console gaming, and I don’t see how they will function in this new cycle of DRM. All this is power to the publishers, and only them. It’s taking what used to be a simplistic method to game and over-complicating it.
Been a console gamer (primarily) my whole life, and even on PC, until a year ago, bought the discs.
This still doesn’t phase me. I only have 2 concerns about this box.
1) If my Kinect dies (unlikely, but still), will my console function? Will it still know it’s plugged in and notice it’s dead? Will it let me continue playing, but prompt me to get it replaced or repaired?
2) As a collector, will this console become a massive doorstop/oversized blu-ray player if MS ever happens to shut down Live? What would be cool, is if MS came out and said “While we plan on never shutting down live, if we do, as we did for the OG Xbox, we will release a firmware update that removes the 24 hour check in”.
They do that, and I’m cool with it.
Seem like? it’s already gore porn. I can’t watch it anymore.
“As we move into this next generation of games and entertainment, we will crap on our customers as much as possible. From time to time, Microsoft may adjust the amount of crap in order to find the maximum amount of crap the customer will take while still buying our products.”
That sounds a lot like Microsoft’s answer to the IT enquiry.
I don’t think they can do a full turnabout though. It would require a complete overhaul of their game loading system, which would have to be supported by devs. Otherwise the one thing they didn’t want: installing games for unlimited play on unlimited systems, would become a thing.
“We may also cease to offer certain services or products for similar reasons” [including various causes] “or for other reasons”.
In other words, Microsoft may make policy changes or remove services for any reason whatsoever.
“The Xbox One Might Seem Like A Horror Show Now, But That Could Change” – it could become an even WORSE horror show. Or this could be one of those movies where you’re watching a horror show then mysteriously get pulled into it to confront the maniac with an axe PERSONALLY.
Darth Vader: I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.
“We may also cease to offer certain services or products for similar reasons.” That right there is one of the biggest issues. ‘Xbox one old and unprofittable? Alright shut down the servers, everyone will NEED buy our next console then.’ No thanks, I like the fact I will still be able play Halo, Gears of War, etc (or any games I haven’t sat down to finish – like Assassin’s Creed 3 lol) in a few years.
And THERE is one of the biggest fucking problems. When that console cycle ends and the servers for the XB1 are shut down, what then? I know thats like 7 years away but still, do people get to play their games still? Are they lost? They cannot interact with the server then, (the old Xbox cant interact with a server any more, so dont say it wont happen) so games wont be able to verify…
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the next gen systems are pushed to last longer than 7 years.
Neither would I at all. Not one bit.
At the rate Xbone is going it’ll be lucky to see three
Don’t worry, you get to buy them again on the next console’s xbla
I’d like to think they won’t change the Architecture of the machine every generation so that the old games work on the new machines.
I’d like to think when they don’t want to run the authentication server for game X they make a patch that stops it needing to go online.
Yeah I’d like to think that way, unfortunately I don’t. Back in the NES era when you purchased a game you purchased a game, it was yours to do with as you wished. Eat it, Lend it, Sell it, whatever. I get the feeling they are trying to bring about an era where you don’t own the games and your ability to play them may be rescinded whenever it’s convenient. Halo 4, 5 & 6 Forerunner Trilogy is coming out, let’s shut down Halo 5 & 6. and only make Forerunner Trilogy work.
I have the Steam argument a lot, if Steam disappears my game collection works offline. I purchased most of my Steam games for less than $10 so it’s a less painful loss. I don’t think Steam is going anywhere, I don’t think games will be removed from Steam barring an EA hey let’s start our own store approach. I’m more comfortable with Steam because long before it came along PC games where locked to the one machine via codes etc.
If my internet connection disappears for a week or two, my steam games work but I’m yet to know if my XBone games will. It seems Microsoft makes this console less appealing every time they talk about it. It’s like that Cursed Doll in the Simpsons, it comes with a free Frozen Yoghut, that’s also cursed, but it comes with a choice of toppings, that are poisonous.
Plus, Gabe Newell said openly, IF Valve were to go under, before that happened, all games on STEAM would receive codes via automated download to allow them to function online. Valve have done their ‘worst case scenario’ planning, I wonder if MS has even thought about it.
I did not know that but that is seriously good to hear.
yeah thats OK for games that dont run on servers but hey, scince quake ive been playing games that REQUIRE servers like MMOs and MOBAs…. servers get switched off games u never get to play again except on pirate servers (look at vanilla wow) so you guys have alot more to think about the way games are headed down this path…. servers cant be kept on forever it costs
but then again steam and GOG sells emulators like dosbox and mega drive classics
so emulated servers being sold to revive nostalgia is not out
Even assuming they change all their policies to more sensible ones, they should not be rewarded for their bungled announcements, get the PS4 instead to show them we’re not interested in their stupid ‘market research’ nonsense under the guise of announcements. Surely they can get it right the first time!
If you think they are going to make it more consumer oriented you have rock in your head, it’s only going to get worse.
Please Kotaku it’s your job to rail against this anti-consumer piece of equipment.
yeah you have to actually PAY for your games now, wow.
This is just stock standard TOU/EULA/”Get out of trouble free” terminology. It’s part of how Sony justified the removal of OtherOS support and how other online services have an out when they remove or add features that are detrimental/beneficial to a subset of users. Nothing really new or news worthy.
You’re right, this kimd of stuff is in every TOS. After people had their credit card information stolen, Sony altered its TOS to prevent you from being able to sue them.
Would that actually hold up in court though? Especially given they changed it AFTER the attack.
I’m not sure, I’m no expert on contractual law.
If companies listened to their consumers in this industry, it wouldn’t be teetering on the verge of a crash.
Microsoft don’t have to change. People are still going to buy it. They will rage, and cry then the next halo will come out and they will buy it because its what they do.
Its why these companies do whatever they want.
I’ve never played halo, but I wouldn’t of bought it anyway..