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 On 06/19/2013 at 05:10 PM by Jesse Miller See More From This User » |
So Microsoft is now backtracking on some of the Xbox One's "Key Features" by stating that they are no longer going to impose DRM, always online, restrictions on lending/reselling, etc...
Here's the official statement from Microsoft's Don Mattrick:
Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience.
For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future.
Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.
You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.
So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:
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 to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console — there will be no regional restrictions.
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.
We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.
Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year.
Of course there is still the issue of the mandatory Kinnect and that price tag, but I feel that this is a move in the right direction.
Let your thoughts be known!
Game on.
Well, they did try to dick me over in the first place, Jesse. I cannot simply forget that. Grudge aside, I applaud MS for what they are doing! Granted, gamers had to literally force microsoft into reforming but at least now the X box 1 will be a good game console that can compete.
Heck, I might even get one in the future! (But not before I get a PS4)
Im happy they are finally pulling their head from their asses and listening to all the feedback they got. Those few changes will actually encourage me to get one sooner then I was thinking about getting one. However when I do get one it prolly wont be for atleast till sometime next year.
See bitching changes minds and im so glad they got it together now they may have a shot at the console wars
And as a 360 gamer and a supporter of MS for 4 years this really is awesome news.
What's messed up is we will have people saying "See? You bitched for nothing! Microsoft came through!" without realizing it was our collective outcry that was the catalyst for the positive change in the first place.
I'm happy about it because otherwise I would not have bought an xbone, and as a hobbyist I like to collect all consoles. Now I feel better about it, but I'm still going to get a PS4 first.
I am not going to be fickle.
I'm still not going to get one right away, not until there are enough good games I want to play on it to warrant a purchase. That's the deciding factor on when I buy a new console.
There's virtually no difference between the two systems now, they were already very similar and now they're near identicale. Fanboys on either side won't let you say that but it's true. Now it's all just about which one has games you want more. Both are multimedia devices. Both do games, bluray, dvd, music, tv, internet, used games, no drm, both have share features, background downloads, and streaming, etc. It's basically the current generation with 360 and PS4 except both systems are more powerful and have gameplay streaming and recording.
The console war just got more competitive and bloody than ever, and it's more satisfying than ever. Microsoft listened to consumers and responded in a massive way to community feedback. It kind of requires people (at least rational people) to rethink the whole "M$ is evil and anti-consumer and doesn't listen to anybody but the illuminati and the NSA" nonsense. Microsoft is a business and they will do whatever it takes to win hearts and minds in order to make as much money as possible from consumers, just like Sony is doing, just like Steam has been doing, and any company in the gaming world that can create a positive image while making profits. The biggest thing making me want a PS4 was Xbox One's internet requirement, now that's not an issue. I now have more options as a consumer and I'm happy, which console I buy will be up in the air now. I haven't decided.
It's been an interesting week, Microsoft is changing unpopular policies 180 degrees meanwhile the new PS3 firmware update is bricking a lot of consoles and boning Sony fans. The tone of this console war will be changing back and forth and inbetween all throughout this post-E3 period just like I anticipated. The real war is finally on and both companies are on the same wavelength and fighting for the same core gamers to early-adopt their systems at launch as well as support all the launch titles coming for each system.
There's some hilarious irony in all this on the gamers side. All the people here in the Pixlbit community who were once saying "I hope Xbone fails and greedy M$ burns to the ground with their illuminati NSA spying conspiracy!" are all now saying "Yay for competition guys! Nice to see Mircosoft back in the fold!"
What now?
All MS has to do now is make the Kinect "optional" and match sony's price. (As well as have more friendly policies in place for indie game developers) All in all,a great comeback!
The Kinect is already optional in funtionality, you can use the controller for anything that's controller-or-Kinect. Pretty much every game we saw at E3 was Kinect optional, they're no longer using the philosophy of forcing Kinect into everything. They learned their lesson, just like Sony learned it wasn't a good idea to force six-axis functionality into all PS3 games being developed for it early on. They could sell some without the Kinect but it would probably be a better idea to subsidize the console and sell it at $200 or $300 but sign people up for 2 years of Live in order to make up the costs over the long term in smaller digestible payments. Consoles aren't phones, having a contract won't be a big deal because people don't get rid of consoles like they do phones. People will buy a console and stick with it for a very long time if it's an appealing product. Kinect is a really impressive piece of tech and they want people to have a chance to play with it, it's part of the new experience so they need to find a way to include it in the console but make the purchase more digestible for people.
What I mean is The Kinect automatically comes with the console,Michael. Aka, you have to have it on account it is bundled in with everything else already. Personally I'm still kinda paranoid about The Kinect's possible affiliation with PRISM & the NSA. I realize I'm coming off as a paranoid conspiracy nut but I rather play it safe than sorry,mate.
Nice reply, Michael. I agree that it is kind of funny that a lot of people are going about face, but this doesn't address my biggest issue with the Xbox One. Personally, I could handle the online requirement and other restrictions so long as I got some cool features out of it (keep an eye out for an incoming editorial on that subject), but that price point is just too high for me to be really interested in it, especially since Sony puts out more 1st party titles that I care about (Sly Cooper, inFAMOUS, Uncharted, Twisted Metal, God of War, etc...).
This is a win for consumers. This fixes the vast majority of the issues people had with the Xbone. I will no longer boycott it. Too bad I already sold my MS stock. When it has enough games I want to warrant a purchase, I will get one. Though I still worry abit about this changing again.
This is a victory for the consumers, in my opinion. I don't think Microsoft realized just how many people were going to vote with their wallets and go over to the competition. Brand loyalty only goes so far, and Microsoft crossed that line and found out the hard way that those decisions were going to cost them big, as well as make them the laughing stock of the industry. My issues with the console have been addressed, I'm not crazy about having Kinect bundled in, but I don't think it is the spy device that some people think it is. I just don't particularly care for the Kinect as a device and I'd rather have a cheaper unit without one, but it's not a deal breaker. Either way, I still don't know if I will bother buying either console. I'll wait and see what software comes out and how many bugs show up in the hardware before I even think about which one to buy.
Mandatory Kinect can be unplugged, it's the pricetag I'm presuming comes mostly from it I'm worried about.
I'm still leaning towards PS4, but Xbox One is now once again a very much viable option.
I still don't trust 'em.. Sadly..
I loved my Xbox and 360, but they've been complete dicks
No way. The total cost of the package when you add up the cost of X1 with just five years of LIVE, one game, and taxes is $920. The price is inflated by superfluous nonessential hardware in the Kinect and the 500GB hard drive, and the RAM is eat up by the OS.
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