Great news came out this past week for Xbox fans. Microsoft finally caved into popular demand and reduced the restriction on gaming that the original Xbox One had in store. From a 24-hour online check to only being able to sell used games at specific retailers, Microsoft looked like they wanted a lot of control over how you, the gamer, would be able to play games on the Xbox One. A lot has been made mention of the pre-order numbers for PS4 vastly outnumbering the Xbox One’s, but even then, that is still the consumer speaking, and Microsoft had to listen. Kudos.
The problem though, is that Microsoft seems intent on blaming others than themselves. They strip away practically everything that they thought was ‘the future’ in order to meet the gamers demand, all the while spouting that their version of ‘the future’ is still the best and you guys will cry later when you realise just how you have restricted them in giving you that future. There in lies the problem. Microsoft’s lack of ability to future-proof its console is not the fault of the gamer, but their own thickheaded-ness. Apparently, all it required would be a day 1 patch in order to eliminate all those restrictive settings Microsoft wanted to impose. Really? A simple patch was all that was needed? If anything, that makes it sound like the restrictions were shoe-horned in at the last minute or something.
Thing is, if all it takes is a simple patch, then all it would take would be a simple patch to reactivate it, wouldn’t it? We all read how Microsoft’s terms and conditions are subject to change at any time (granted, all companies do this), so what’s stopping Microsoft from future implementation? Nothing really, except more bad press. But if you’ve won the console war, then people will have to follow.
My personal biggest irk with the recent Microsoft u-turn is that they could have simply added the new features to the old. Keep their online check policy for downloadable games. Heck, keep it for disc-based games too for those that don’t want to change discs all the time and instead want quick access to all their games from the hard drive, but prefer buying retail. They could’ve just added the disc checks for those that don’t have a good online connection or don’t want to be constantly online. You know, provide the choice. Choice is always good. They could’ve even kept their used game policy, lending policy and family sharing policy. Instead they look like they’ve spit their dummy out at having to cave in to popular demand. The inability to adapt is yours Microsoft, not anyone elses.
You have to keep in mind how the game developers must be feeling now too. It seemed like a lot of games were going to use this ‘cloud’ system or require being constantly online anyway. As such, to play most of Xbox One’s games to their full extent, you will likely need a stable internet connection anyway. The ideology behind the Xbox One is still there and the games being created are utilising it. To change stance now might not change anything. Games will require that online check where the Xbox One doesn’t. Making us all go back to square one. Thank God they got rid of region locks at least.
Interesting read. They really should of added to old features – what a missed opportunity.
Without the online check you can’t implement installing from disc and then running without the disc. Otherwise you could install to your HD and then sell the disc to someone else. Who could then do the same.
The DRM is either tied to the disc or tied to your Xbox live account. Each user can’t pick and choose or the system would be completely open to hacking.
Now they may be able to bring back all the cool new features in the future for downloaded games only. But that remains to be seen
This article epitomizes everything anti-xbox and pro-PS fanclub. MS tried to make an online console where we didn’t need discs anymore, could still buy and sell used games, could share our libraries remotely, and could access our libraries from anywhere. They only thing it required was an online check in every 24 hours to make sure that the game license still belonged to one person and people weren’t installing multiple copies off of the same license.
AND PEOPLE LOST IT! My console is ALWAYS online via an Ethernet cord. Would not have affected me in the slightest. Maybe MS didn’t do a good enough job explaining and demonstrating how it would work, but I have never seen so many senseless complaints about any consumer product in my life.
The reveal: They announced that 15 exclusives would be available at launch, more titles in development than at any other time than in the Xbox’s life, more to come in 20 days at E3. All I heard was blah blah blah blah blah all it’s focused on is media functionality and they don’t care about games and gamers anymore.
Then the news about the 24 hr online check in. All of a sudden EVERYBODY on the internet is complaining about how they don’t have an internet connection. And all these paranoid mofo’s thinking Kinect is watching them, beaming all of their info to some MS nerds in a room somewhere. Literally every complaint in the book. Backwards functionality WHO CARES?? That didn’t even start until generation 6. It was never and should never be considered a requirement.
So after all of the whining and complaining by the simpleton mouth breathers, mindless lemmings, and hordes of PS fan clubbers and MS haters, MS buckled to popular demand and changed the policy. No more online check in’s, which directly leads to no more DRM. The downside? No more diskless play, game sharing, or remote access of games you installed via disc. This is so multiple people can’t install the same copy of one disc and play them diskless. No online check in means losing a few features to accommodate the apparent majority.
Happy now? NO!! Whilst searching for the latest news on Xbox One and maybe hearing about some new games and/or features, I have to see this ridiculous excuse of an article. Apparently now all the haters are complaining because MS can’t give people a choice between the two? What is the matter with you? And also you think they will bring the old “closed restrictions” back once they trick enough people into buying their console?
The PS fanclub and MS haters will NEVER be satisfied, will ALWAYS complain, and will accuse anyone saying anything good about Xbox of being a paid shill of which I can assure you, I am not. No amount of switching seamlessly between all of your TV channels/movies/games/music/apps, Skype calling through your TV by telling your console to call someone, some of the best exclusives this generation, and having the best online platform will ever be enough for you.
Damon is it? You are front and center in the fanclub. Biased, choosing 1 company over another. Your a fan boy, not a gamer. You have no place writing video game articles. And for the record, “MS’s u-turn still can’t help it’s image” outside of the fanclub, NO ONE will care that MS changed their policy. Only a few begrudged haters will hang on and complain, making up ridiculous notion’s like the one’s you’ve proposed in this article.
Sorry for the long rant, but the complaints are getting ridiculous. Let it go, jeez. It’s gonna be a great console. Get over it and enjoy your PS4 in peace.
There are no used games to buy. Sure they may have gave you some money to give up the license to play but there are no used games to buy.
By sharing games, they actually meant sharing DEMOS of your games via family sharing. Didn’t you get the memo? Yeah, more MS lies.
You mean the rumor that surfaced on Pastebin by a “supposed” MS engineer? Yeah, I got the memo.
All I see are more complaints about unconfirmed rumors.
They could make these cool features a add on to Xbox live. Call it Xbox Live Plus, and get all of those features, and it would be the same price as Xbox Live.