Future of Xbox

[Incognitus]

Knowing that they had ill intentions from the start to control MY purchased good is enough for me to never give them a cent out of my wallet. I cannot believe some people are so ready to throw money at a company that, four days ago was perfectly prepared to **** you in all the ways you could be ****ed in regards to gaming and privacy.

I agree with you but I'm also not ready to exonerate Sony in this, either.

They may look like a bunch of geniuses that could do no wrong right now but the truth is, I'm sure they were exploring ways to pander to the Big Publishers, too. But Microsoft made the first move and Sony called them on it while holding their own hand close to their chest.

I'm sure there's a lot of juicy info from the Sony camp that hasn't been revealed because they deemed it more profitable to oppose Microsoft this time around instead of embracing the DRM Age only to receive the same backlash.

It's only a matter of time.

And let's be honest here: Microsoft didn't do this *strictly* for their fans or they wouldn't have tried pushing this bullshit on them in the first place. This move was a direct reaction to their chief rival, Sony, in order to compete this holiday season. Nothing more, nothing less. Those ridonkulous pro-Sony preorder sales figures must have added up.

I don't particularly trust Microsoft to throw all that DRM coding to the curb. They may sit on it for a while. This was all done to future-proof the console, right? To embrace a fully-digital future when that time comes? What if that future comes and they reimplement it on the Xbox One (or Xbox Two?). They can just as easily renege and go back to it (like Rowan said) at a time when consumers become more complacent and eat whatever MS spoonfeeds them.

I'm opting out of that gaming future if it ever comes to that.

[LocoColt04]

Personally, I'm fine with the concept of the online pass. I get that you want users to pay for the servers they're on, and if they didn't buy the product directly from you, you want them to give a little back in order to utilize that bandwidth. I get it. That's neat.

I don't like "activation codes" on a home console. As an avid, long-time PC gamer, I know all about activation codes and tying things to an individual user - certainly that itself is not my problem. But I don't view my PC as a multi-user device. That's what my consoles are for. Friends and family. Game together. Not for all of us to buy our own copy, or get to share it one time because they're on a list. What about the next time we wanted to play together? Oh, right, go buy your own copy. I mean, obviously they'd have to if we wanted to play online, but the idea that I couldn't hand my disc to my roommate to let him play something I'm done with (oh wait, this is me we're talking about... play it before I get around to it) was simply astonishing.

Sony isn't necessarily all super duper fancy good in this situation - but they did make the smarter business decision this time around. Microsoft's shitty policy was backed up by the worst PR I've EVER seen, and Sony capitalized on that. They'll win the second year of this generation¹ without a contest due to the global opinion on the matter. I mean, I can't even purchase an XB1 in Japan right now, even though it's now region-free and I could import if I wanted to. Foreign developers don't want to make games for a console that won't be sold natively, and Japan hosts a legion of developers.



1. The WiiU won the first year of the generation, because Nintendo pulled a Microsoft and launched a year early.

Work-safe, unless your boss is a toolbag:

[Unknown Entity]

What I saw from the Microsoft Xbox One announcement was a company that wasn't ready to announce their product. You know, E3 was coming up, Sony had had their announcement months ago, Microsoft looked like it had nothing... and what do they do? They announce a television box. Because, right from the off, all everyone thought of the Xbox One was "...are they actually going to show any games/gaming during this reveal?" Sure, the last fifteen minutes had your standard Call of "Dooty" crap (even though the dog had me sold. The dog) but they seemed to be selling a "multimedia" device instead of a competitive console. I saw "multimedia" loosely, as all I heard was "tv... tv... tv... tv...... tvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtv on your tvtvtvtvtvtvtvtv while masterbating to American sports on your tvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtvtv... TVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTV... arrgapoodletvtvtvtvlololidgaftv. TV."

I don't know what happened after that. Next thing you know, everyone was writing their thoughts down on online blogs, sharing them around and playing a big game of chinese whispers. There was the permanently online thing, the one use disc thing, the you can't trade in/buy secondhand thing, the permissions thing... stick to a 360 thing... I think I might have gone into a rage on Twitter. Actually, I know I did. Bottom line, it was a massive PR disaster, this whole reveal. It didn't seem like Microsoft knew exactly what the hell they were trying to announce. They didn't even try to confirm or deny anything, and what they did say just made it worse for them.

They've now gone back on the DRM bullshit, which hasn't really done much now. Too little, too late, and they've shown a weakness by whimping out. Let's just say if it did work, and revolutionised gaming for future generations? We'll never know now. Ahahahaha... yeah, right.

Sony have had a long time to prepare, and they kept most of their reveal a secret until last week. Considering they announced their PS4 back in February, people were glued the whole time. There were no complaints, other than from the odd "but I wanna see the console..." people. They've been cool the whole time, jus' chillin' in their offiices thinking "life is good". I watched a little of the E3 reveal for the PS4, and they knew they'd done right.

Only thing I want a Wii U for is Nintendoland. Say waaaht. No, seriously. That game is legit. Might get it when the price drops. I've already bought a 3DS XL this year, with plans to more or less get a Vita or PS4 near Christmas, so it might have to wait. The Wii U just needs more games - it was promised so much more.

[loaf]

PS: 4
Xbox: 1

[SuperSabin]

Want a new system for this new generation? Don't worry there's ONE 4 U!

[SOLDIER #819]

They may look like a bunch of geniuses that could do no wrong right now but the truth is, I'm sure they were exploring ways to pander to the Big Publishers, too. But Microsoft made the first move and Sony called them on it while holding their own hand close to their chest.

I'm sure there's a lot of juicy info from the Sony camp that hasn't been revealed because they deemed it more profitable to oppose Microsoft this time around instead of embracing the DRM Age only to receive the same backlash.

Yeah, and the Big Three are Big Publishers themselves. Controlling regional prices and how games are passed from one person to another is a prime concern to them. Sony has learned from past mistakes to be more subtle, but all three companies are en route toward the same place, wherever that may be. Assuming that Sony doesn't completely overhaul how PSN handles online play and matchmaking, we'll basically end up paying for downloadable PS4 games... as well as discounts on other online games, which people will no doubt want to take advantage of when since it's a mandatory $50 a year. So licensing out games online will inevitably become more prevalent (as opposed to "owning" them like you do with a hard copy, which is also on shaky ground due to untested publisher terms of purchase ).

Investors of Microsoft, Sony, etc. will keep the execs and their wacky ideas at bay (since they don't want their holdings to bomb), but companies as a whole still slowly push at and expand the boundaries of what we find acceptable. By next gen, most gamers may not even care that a console doesn't have an optical drive.

Just when I was jumping up n down at Microsoft leaving the industry to let Nintendo and Sony fight it out (and (continue) producing the best games on both sides) the slimy snakes just had to slither back in. ...

So (in my own lil nice way) I say no thank you to your BS lies and will be happily supporting Sony and Nintendo only, the 2 companies that truly do listen us gamers n have been there from the beginning.

[Crescent]

Just when I was jumping up n down at Microsoft leaving the industry to let Nintendo and Sony fight it out (and (continue) producing the best games on both sides) the slimy snakes just had to slither back in.

So (in my own lil nice way) I say no thank you to your BS lies and will be happily supporting Sony and Nintendo only, the 2 companies that truly do listen us gamers n have been there from the beginning.

[seanb]

Ah Xbox

I've heard all the xbox one and 180 jargon...

I remember my brother getting the real xbox one
AKA this ****in tank:
Attachment 23357
the controller alone was nearly the size of my pre-pubescent chest

what an exciting time,... was all so new, felt so alien.
The games were fresh!
halo, project gotham 1, turok, fable, abes oddessy!!
and that blinx game...

anyway,... hopefully they cop the **** on at microsoft and focus on making their console good at what its made for, playing games,.. and forget that online surveilance camera bullshit

wtf is happening to the worlld!?

[Rowan]

I still hoped that FF15 and KH3 would be exclusives. Doesnt make much sense to put KH3 on xbox since it never had any of the prequels. I suppose people will still buy it though.

[Odin1199]

PS: 4
Xbox: 1

Nuff said.

[RamesesII]

Haters gonna hate.


Don't worry xbox I still love you.

This is for those of you that think the grass is green on your side.

[Incognitus]

Well that was quick! I guess I didn't need to be patient, after all. I have all the answers I was personally seeking. No One for me, at launch or in the distant future. If I ever needed someone to pound out the final nail in the Xbox One coffin for me, Xbox Live corporate VP Marc Whitten happily supplied that hammer.

From this article:

Microsoft hasn't quite given up on its online vision just yet. Although it has moved to reverse its always-online DRM and used-game blocking policies on Xbox One, the company still plans to push forward its cloud-based architecture and transform the console into a digital platform over time.

"While we are adding in the ability to use physical discs, we still believe in the power of a digital and cloud-powered future played out at launch and rolled out over time," said Xbox Live corporate VP Marc Whitten.

"You are going to see us invest a ton in all of the ways digital builds experiences. You have to be connected [for cloud processing to work]. All of the things that require the internet will require the console to connect. We want and expect most people to take advantage of those things, but we also want to give people the choice that they can play offline."

Sounds like they are still trying to move away from the disc---possibly even within the Xbox One's life cycle. Digital is great. I get that. All-digital? I'm not so sure.

So many people compare this to Steam. I agree and disagree with that, and I'll tell you why. Like LocoColt04, I don't consider my PC a multi-user entertainment device. I use it for online games, sure. However I don't currently pick up and physically move my PC from place to place, from friend's house to friend's house (who may or may not have Internet), in order to share my awesome library of multiplayer Steam games. It just doesn't work like that. But I do that with my console systems. Unlike PCs, they are built to be small, portable. Easy to manage. And ever since the days of the Atari 2600 and the ColecoVision, consoles were built with more than one player in mind. Two controller slots! A console is built to be a party machine. Fun with friends. Hell, they support more than two controllers now.

I agree that an all-digital model with DRM is a lot like Steam on PC. It's easy for anyone to see the comparison. I can even accept that because I have no desire to share my Steam library with any of my friends. All of the games I have purchased through Steam (all three of them!), with the exception of Torchlight II, have been predominantly single-player with no multiplayer (or online) elements whatsoever. And like I said before, my PC is just too cumbersome to lug around to any ol' non-existent LAN party around here. But the current generation of systems, or any other preexisting console, has been built on a longstanding tradition of on-and/or-offline play. Local multiplayer with no online connection required. This existed before the Internet. Bring a required internet connection into the equation and it's no longer the same.

In my life, I break it down like this: use PC for single-player games and online games while accepting no local multiplayer. Consoles? Party machine! I use for single-player games and online games while local multiplayer is a much desired option. Moving toward an all-digital cloud-gaming environment for consoles will have to require an Internet connection. What's worse: it's a leash they can yank back at any time.

I get what he's saying about the cloud and requiring a connection. That's just how cloud anything works. What if developers specifically design games to utilize an element in the cloud that will force me to use an Internet connection, thereby sidestepping this Microsoft 180-degree-shift for the publishers entirely? Can you imagine if this was on the back of the game box or digital disclaimer?: "Don't have Internet? Then don't buy this game." That would suck. So I can't back the Xbox One---possibly even the PS4. I'd even turn my back on Nintendo if this ever became the norm.

From Joystiq:

What about changing the price by removing the Kinect?

"We still absolutely believe in Kinect. It's a core part of the architecture. Frankly, it's really critical that you build it as something that's always there, always part of the platform. So that game creators, experience creators can know they can rely on it. And you, the user, that there's always a consistent experience. That it's not just an accessory."

Thanks, Mr. Whitten. Now I can start budgeting for next year, as well.


EDIT: Almost forgot! For loaf:

TL; DR: No Xbox One for me, after all!

[Fluffy]

Prediction:

We're going to see the return of "always-on" as an option. Family sharing will make a return with this option. Selling your digital licenses will be coming. (Microsoft, or the publisher, or both, will take a cut). Disc-based installs will probably remain, but you'll still need to purchase a license online to play it without the disc.

The #1 mistake that Microsoft made is not offering it as an option. This whole mess could have been avoided. The "digital future" is coming, and now was a perfectly fine time to start shaping it. But people are not ready to take a leap of faith. They need to ease people in. Giving people an option was the best way they could have done this, and I still think they're going to.

[RamesesII]

Found THIS the other day, take that Haters, no seriously though it's funny but it has quite a bit of offensive language in it don't say I didn't warn you.

Also found this,



I wonder if this scenario could actually happen haha

[Crescent]

Found THIS the other day, take that Haters, no seriously though it's funny but it has quite a bit of offensive language in it don't say I didn't warn you.

I read that yesterday thought it was hilarious.

But Ive already said everything I needed to say about M$.

TL;DR I love Sony & Nintendo. Been onto M$ ever since they came onto the gaming scene. PS4 & WiiU ftw. M$ sucks balls. GTFO. And stay out. *now look at my avatar*

[Odin1199]

MS really wants to shove the digital gaming up people's asses because physical disks mean reselling, reusing, trading and that means loss of profit or same as piracy. They'll try to do everything to get people to switch. And they'll partially succeed as well but not completely. People will always want to have physical game copies.

[Incognitus]

Found THIS the other day, take that Haters, no seriously though it's funny but it has quite a bit of offensive language in it don't say I didn't warn you.

Also found this,



I wonder if this scenario could actually happen haha

I saw this, too. I thought the Kinect was configured to your own voice and facial recognition so things like this can't happen, but it would be funny as hell if it did.

[Dawezy]

Had my eye on this whole Xbox "One" thing since it was announced a few weeks back pre-E3 and it was funny the way the named it, because there is this youtube channel that I have subscribed to and the guy goes by the name of AlphaOmegaSin and this rant he done (note: this was made BEFORE they done their announcement that they were going to enable the offline stuff) made me laugh something fierce. So I think it's only fair that I share this.

XBOX ONE RANT Part 2 (Cause They Just Keep F*Cking Up) - YouTube

From 2:09 onward is where it gets interesting.

And um, warning, alot of language lol.

Aside from this? Even in light of this patch they released I ... don't really think it'll win back many of the fans they smacked in the face with crowbars at E3 after those announcements. Of-course some devout followers will buy it regardless that's to be expected.

[RamesesII]

I saw this, too. I thought the Kinect was configured to your own voice and facial recognition so things like this can't happen, but it would be funny as hell if it did.

I'm not gonna lie that's what I would do mwahahaha.

[Incognitus]

So the word on the street is that the Xbox One will no longer require the Kinect 2.0 to function as a console. Some sources say it can be unplugged and other sources say it can be disabled in the options. Clearly, obviously, anyone electing not to utilize the Kinect can't do some stuff (duh) but it's no longer forced on consumers.

Presumably they have made this change because of the somewhat recent news regarding the NSA and privacy concerns. Can't imagine what else it could be. I guess Microsoft did some calculations and came to the conclusion that having a good, dominant peripheral with *potential* wasn't good enough to force-feed every consumer who would still elect to buy their system.

Maybe they saw that enough people were vowing to pass on the purchase while it was still a requirement? I don't know.

Yet as of this post, every console will still come packaged with the Kinect at the $499 price. They've yet to announce a new SKU without it. (A lot of people expect a Kinect-less SKU with a competing price point to the PS4 to be announced soon.)

After their recent 180° turn a few months ago, this bit about the Kinect 2.0 being required was the one big obstacle remaining that would guarantee I'd never buy an Xbox One, personally. I still probably won't, but this got my attention.

Thoughts on yet another Microsoft 180°? What do you all think? I'd like to hear from both sides.

[LocoColt04]

Seriously, that should have been the name for the system.

Xbox About Face.

However, I do think this will help increase sales of the unit at launch, because a lot of people are incredibly paranoid about Big Brother Microsoft feeding all of your lifestyle points into Uncle Sam's gullet. It will sell a little better here Stateside than it would have otherwise, but I still think they're pretty doomed when it comes to global sales. It's still not launching in Japan, and that's where half of the developers are. Good luck getting them to work on games for your console now.

But... Microsoft said this isn't a console for gamers. It's a media center that also plays games. Good on them for pushing their standpoint. I think the system could be a fantastic media PC, and it seems like they're on that track. I don't see them being competitive in the gaming market after this generation, given the direction they keep trying to orient themselves.

[Incognitus]

From what I understand, several of the features that would make it a nice, solid home theater PC solution--their OneGuide, simple Netflix app use (not membership)--are paywalled behind the Xbox Live Gold membership. I think that's what I read last week. Netflix is similarly paywalled on the 360. So there's a monthly cost incurred on top of that if you want the full functionality of this entertainment device as such, without utilizing the gaming.

Of course, it does play games, too. Both of us, as gamers, might incur that cost because of the obvious multi-player gaming element this media device *also* provides. To me, though, it seems more sensible for someone purely looking for a home media entertainment solution (I.e. a non-gamer) to look elsewhere, like the low-cost Chromecast or something.

(My phone thought I meant non-American by non-gamer. Silly autocorrect.)

Count me among the paranoid, though. However, I'm not worried about the Big Brother government as much as I am concerned of an intelligent cyberhacker using the device to remotely case my room for activity and/or stuff to steal. The thing detects heartbeats, for crying out loud. Recently hackers were able to hack Samsung smart TVs to remotely access apps and the camera. It's not a stretch to think that Kinects will be next, especially when it becomes commercially available, and *especially* given its capabilities. It's naive to think it will be immune to such hacks.

I'd just prefer not to wilfully install a peripheral like that. While it has the potential to be an awesome control interface, it comes with the silly side-effect of being a great surveillance device for someone who knows how to access it.

[loaf]

EDIT: Almost forgot! For loaf:

TL; DR: No Xbox One for me, after all!

Lol I just saw this and it took me like 5 minutes to realize wtf you were editing that for me for.

I ****ing hate you Microsoft. I have a bet with someone that they would stick to this shit.

[Incognitus]

A few more bits of Xbox One in the news:

- Launch date: November 22
- Reputations built on the 360 experience won't carry over to the One experience.
- Xbox One won't support external storage at launch.

The reputation reset could be good or bad depending on your personal experience with Live! (personally I only ever played with friends). Sucks for people who built up a positive reputation score over the years. Essentially a "Get Out of Jail Free" card for the trolls and asshats.

The last point about the external storage sounds bad on the surface, but it will only affect a small percentage of gamers who buy every game on the shelf initially. They should have a decent window to get that shit sorted by the time more games come out than the non-replacable 500GB HDD can provide storage for.

In reality this is probably a rushed race to meet or beat Sony's projected PS4 release date in key markets. Either that or the team(s) responsible for external support on the One were re-allocated to all of the recent reversal decisions and simply didn't have time.

[loaf]

Cool all my trash talk De Reps will go away. Just because I say owned when I really owned you in Halo/CoD/BF3 isn't trash talk. That's just competitive fun.

[postalblowfish7]

All you have to know about XBox One is that it's essentially an entertainment center with a game leasing model. You'll never actually own the games you buy for them, as you are still subject to their terms after the purchase.

Most games will have an always on internet requirement ala EA, if you buy a game on a disc you can only lend it to a friend on their terms, which includes loads of cross registration and extra conditions.

If you get the ultimate bad rep: your account gets banned, you'll lose access to your ENTIRE game library. Doesn't matter if you downloaded or popped $60 on a disc, the moment they say "no" you no longer own what you purchased.

A grim vision of the future of gaming. I say, "No thanks, Microsoft."

[loaf]

Licensing at it's finest.

XBOX ONE strictly for Halo5 and Lost Odyssey 2 (if they make it).

[Incognitus]

XBOX ONE strictly for Halo5 and Lost Odyssey 2 (if they make it).

Funny you should mention Lost Odyssey. It was the first game I bought for the 360---actually, I bought it with my first non-elite 360 along with a spare controller.

And I just found it in its original shrink-wrap last week. I guess I forgot about it. I never bothered to play it. Is it any good? I might give it a shot.

[loaf]

It's created by OG FF makers. It revolutionizes Turn Based with what they add to it.

It's an amazing game and people put it as the true Final Fantasy XIII.

It was also the first game of bought for 360 and I bought it 2 years before I even had a 360...got it for 10 dollars brand new.