1766

I think with small changes, the DRM will be less dramatic bad.

  • Change the 24 hours limit to 2 weeks. Most people will not notice (people without Internet will still be baned from playing single player games).
  • Allow the Kinect to be unplugged. People suspicious of having a camera and mic always on will just unplug it, and feel safe. Connect it again to play some kinect based game,like a dance one.
  • Include eBay into the resellers that can sell used games. So you transfer your game to eBay, and somebody buy it from eBay. And everything is electronic, safe and very quick.
1767

If the major publishers are strong-arming Microsoft and Sony into supporting their DRM solution for consoles, then it only makes sense that they will (more or less) abandon that platform or only give it trashy ports, titles they deem trivial or kid-friendly. This would explain the mostly unspoken but undeniable indifference to the WiiU from EA and the like. They won’t come out and say “hey, we’re systematically killing your used games market” when they can leave it up to Microsoft to take that PR nightmare on the chin.

1768

Another name for the console that I have found on the internet:

XBox 1984

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/prism-collection-documents/

lol, privacy is dead

1769

I was thinking DIVXbox

1770

Not that I need it, but curious that no one is talking about this yet. The line in the official post is:

In areas where an Ethernet connection is not available, you can connect using mobile broadband.

To me that could mean two things.

  1. Mobile broadband = mobile hotspots, basically services like Verizon’s 4G LTE thing that give you a puck and you can connect your devices (laptop, console, etc.) to it to get them online.

  2. Mobile broadband = cell phone. In that case, I’d think there was maybe some sort of bluetooth connection, but a lot of providers charge an extra fee for using your phone as a mobile hotspot and prevent you from sharing the internet connection on them.

Neither is really an answer to the problem of “hey, I don’t have a broadband connection in my house, I just use my phone” because none of them are really that widespread.

I do think it’s interesting out of all this that Microsoft has come straight out and said they make no money off the used game sale mechanism. When it was first reported, a lot of people were pinning the new policies on Microsoft turning the somewhat popular used game market into a cash cow for themselves. So what’s their motivation for all this stuff? Is it all just secondary effects of them enabling digital sales (which they’ll definitely take a cut of), or is it something the publishers “forced” on them?

And does anyone seriously expect Sony is not going to come out with policies that aren’t effectively the same for the PS4? I’m really curious as to why they haven’t gone ahead and clarified their policies now. It seems to me it would be to their advantage to get them out in the open now, while there’s so much angst towards XBO. Even moreso if their policies are more consumer-friendly.

1771

If it is the same policy, it might be better for Sony to stand back and let MS take all the hits, and highlight only their bright new shiny games at E3. And then only later admit that they’ll have a similar scheme. I’d think people’s anger might be used up by that point.

1772

So. based on all we have seen, why would anyone choose the new XBox over the PS4? Apparently less powerful hardware, required connection to the internet, a video camera and microphone that you aren’t allowed to turn off or disconnect, probably more of a yearly or monthly fee, etc. What are the competitive advantages? I wish I was still in the writing game, because I would love to have an interview at E3 with ability to have follow-up questions and ask, for a gamer, what are the competitive advantages of the XBox One over the PS4?

1773

YOU CAN WATCH THE PRICE IS RIGHT ON IT!

1774

The advantages are actually about wondering when will Sony announce the same thing?

A better question is why would any publisher publish on the PS4 with less favorable product controls? All major publishers have to do is declare themselves Xbone exclusive until Sony gets in line. They can have the angry Blows and Indie crowd all to themselves.

1775

I’m having a hard time understanding the outrage. On paper this seems superior to Steam: You can re-sell games, you can borrow them and you can share them between accounts in the family. However it remains to be seen how they handle sales for older games (vs Steam sales).

Sure, offline time is limited, but is that really a massive problem? I get that this would be a problem with people who do not have a net connection, and that’s definitely true. But I’d argue you have similar problems with a PC as well, if you want to play the latest and greatest games.

I’m not specifically pro-MS either, I’m just having a hard time understanding why people are so upset and calling this a disaster of epic proportions.

1776

It’s possible, but by waiting, they’ll probably stir up a whole new batch of outrage (of which the internet seems to have an infinite supply). If they get it out now, people deal with the anger all at once and then they can start settling in on which console performs better with games, has the best exclusives, etc. I know everyone thinks all this is great for Sony, because off all the “What?! I’m going with a PS4!” talk that’s going around, but I don’t think you want to be the one poking the bear last when it comes to consumer outrage.

1777

Unfortunately, Microsoft canceled a lot of the one-on-one interviews. IGN, Kotaku, and a couple of other major outlets still have their interviews scheduled, but basically anyone without a ton of skin in the game are out.

1778

I don’t think this is the case. One of the PR flacks said something to the effect of “if someone in my family, like my son wants to play my game, he can use my Xbox to do it because it’s in the same house”

Total doubletalk douchery.

1779

TIME weighs in on the Xbox One policies.

Microsoft marketing department is keen to remind us that the Xbox One’s architecture is “modern.” You’ll note the word is used prominently in two of the company’s three Xbox One explainer pages. “We’re making these choices because it’s the “modern” thing to do” — that’s the implication, anyway. But some of these choices aren’t questions of modern versus legacy thinking. They’re about deploying modern technology to enable (and excuse) what amounts to pure and simple protectionism, and that’s never been a positive development from the vantage of consumer rights.

1780

Yeah, back in the day (hitching up my pants like the old man I am) when I was writing a lot for CGW, Computer Games mag, etc. I had a great relationship with Microsoft and Edelman (the folks who did their PR - is Stone Chin still there, writing peoples?) and was able to get a lot of back room one on ones. But that was a long time ago. Like, back when a lot of people here were editors and writers for CGW and Computer Games. ;)

1781

You must compare the next gen with the current gen. Otherwise don’t make sense. Console gamers are losing a lot of rights here. (And about Steam, PC gamers can buy games in other places with different rules. We have not being able to sell used games for so long, we don’t remember the world before it). Its also a set of very complicated rules and most of them seems completely arbitrary. Is like Microsoft has decided to make buying games on the XBox One to suck. Because:

1782

That’s your competitive advantage? From a gamer’s point of view, the PS4 is more powerful (from a hardware point of view) and, at least for the moment, does not require a monthly fee and an internet connection to play your games and does not require that you keep a video camera and microphone on. Even if Sony announces a yearly fee that is the same as MS and a call-home internet connection requirement, they still have what appears to be superior hardware and no requirement for an always on video camera and microphone. But nowhere do I see anything that says “This is the competitive advantage for the new XBox that will make it better for playing games than the PS4.”

1783

If I understand this correctly, you can use another local account if the game is deemed valid for the console itself:
“Share access to your games with everyone inside your home: Your friends and family, your guests and acquaintances get unlimited access to all of your games. Anyone can play your games on your console–regardless of whether you are logged in or their relationship to you.” (http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license)

But yeah, if there are multiple xboxes, I guess it could get complicated. As in you need to have same accounts on all consoles or something. Then again, Steam does have the same problem.

1784

Stone moved from Edelman to internal Microsoft PR (focused on third party relations; he basically represented MS at Activision/EA/Ubisoft events) for a few years. Most recently, he left MS for a spot on Ubisoft’s product PR team (specifically Assassin’s Creed franchise).

1785

And what are those options for Steam? If you mean publisher-owned digital stores, you are correct: It is an alternative, but what’s the difference it makes? It’s not like they are going to compete against themself by lowering the price there compared to Steam.

Seriously, I’m an avid PC gamer, so I’d love to hear what my alternatives are, because really, Steam is pretty much the only option I’m using. And Origin.

Having said that, PC is definitely more appealing when we talk about indie games etc. I’m now considering more the average consumer who wants the latest blockbusters.