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Video Games: Xbox One disappointing clarifications
Member Since: 4/22/2012
Posts: 15,844
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Xbox One disappointing clarifications
1. Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison clarified a couple of details about the system's used game policy.
Goodbye to used games as we knew it
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Here's how the system works: when you buy an Xbox One game, you'll get a unique code that you enter when you install that game. You'll have to connect to the Internet in order to authorize that code, and the code can only be used once. Once you use it, that game will then be linked to your Xbox Live account. "It sits on your harddrive and you have permission to play that game as long as you’d like," Harrison said.
Other users on the console will be able to play that game as well, Harrison said. So you don't need to buy multiple games per family. "With the built-in parental controls of the system it is shared amog the users of the device," he said.
But what if you want to bring a game disc to a friend's house and play there? You'll have to pay a fee—and not just some sort of activation fee, but the actual price of that game—in order to use a game's code on a friend's account. Think of it like a new game, Harrison said.
"The bits that are on that disc, you can give it to your friend and they can install it on an Xbox One," he said. "They would then have to purchase the right to play that game through Xbox Live."
"They would be paying the same price we paid, or less?" we asked.
"Let’s assume it’s a new game, so the answer is yes, it will be the same price," Harrison said.
But that doesn't mean used games are dead. In fact, Harrison told us, you'll be able to sell your Xbox One games online.
"We will have a solution—we’re not talking about it today—for you to be able to trade your previously-played games online," Harrison said.
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2. Playing a game at a friend's home will need your profile
Goodbye to lending games unless you also want to lend your profile
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Microsoft's Larry Hryb has issued the following clarification:
Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house – should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.
What this means is that if you take a game to a friend's house and try to play the game on their system using their account, you'll need to pay. If you take it to their house and try to play it on their system using your account, you won't need to pay.
In other words: playing while you're there is free. If you want to lend it to them for a few days/weeks? They'll have to pay.
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3. Kinect is always listening on Xbox One. Microsoft's hardware program manager John Link explains it all.
Goodbye to your privacy
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The Xbox One's Kinect microphone is always listening and waiting for specific commands, Microsoft's hardware program manager John Link told Polygon today.
Microsoft revealed today that Xbox One will support commands native commands for powering the console on and off. Xbox 360 Kinect users can power off the console by using voice commands to navigate the menus, but not power on their consoles with the device.
In response to a question about whether that functionality means that Kinect is always on, Link said that Kinect is always listening, but in a limited capacity. It also helps ensure developers can count on the peripheral, he said.
"The Kinect has a variety of settings," he said. "You know, it's always available to the system, so ... you can count, as an application developer or a game developer, [that] everyone's going to have a Kinect. You always have that stream available. And then, you know, there are settings, obviously, in the console to be able to change the settings of how your Kinect is used, if you're interested."
The always-on functionality even when the console is powered down comes courtesy of "multiple power states," he said. At its lowest setting, which Microsoft refers to as "wake on voice," the peripheral is "listening" for specific commands.
The Kinect will "be just listening enough to know that, 'Hey, I heard something interesting. Somebody's probably trying to wake me up.' It sends it to the console for confirmation, and then it can really power up to that high-power state."
The Verge contacted Microsoft about potential privacy concerns of a device that's always listening — if not recording — the sound it hears. A spokesperson for Microsoft responded by saying that the privacy is a "top priority" for the company.
"The new Kinect is listening for a specific cue, like 'Xbox on,'" the spokesperson said. "We know our customers want and expect strong privacy protections to be built into our products, devices and services, and for companies to be responsible stewards of their data. Microsoft has more than 10 years of experience making privacy a top priority. Kinect for Xbox 360 was designed and built with strong privacy protections in place and the new Kinect will continue this commitment."
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4. Xbox One will not be backwards compatible. Neither Xbox 360 games nor Xbox 360 controllers.
Goodbye to your current collection
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If you were hoping to play your vast collection of Xbox 360 games on Microsoft's latest creation, we've got a spot of bad news. Microsoft Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten confirmed to The Verge that the new Xbox One console will have no backwards compatibility whatsoever.
"No, there's not," said Whitten, when we posed the question. "The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective."
That means that Xbox 360 discs won't work, but also extends to Xbox Live Arcade downloadable titles. Anything that was designed for the Xbox 360 will have to be rebuilt, and it sounds like Microsoft doesn't plan to do so.
Technologically speaking, it's not wholly a surprise that backwards compatibility is off the table. Today, the company confirmed months of rumors that the new Xbox would use an x86 CPU. Games designed for the Xbox 360's Xenon processor simply won't run natively on the new hardware, since the Xenon used a PowerPC architecture instead. Of course, Sony's PlayStation 4 has the same problem: Sony also chose to move to x86 from PowerPC, and the PS4 also won't directly support PS3 games.
But while Sony is promising that PlayStation 4 users will indeed be able to play PlayStation 3 games at some point, by streaming them from the cloud, Microsoft is not promising any such thing for Xbox One. When we specifically asked Whitten whether the company had any streaming option or download option for existing Xbox 360 games for the Xbox One, he confirmed that there was no such thing in the works at Microsoft.
Microsoft does, however, plan to keep selling the Xbox 360 alongside the new console for the foreseeable future. "This isn't about getting rid of the Xbox 360," Whitten said. Perhaps the lack of backwards compatibility will be good for business there.
Update: Polygon reports that the new Xbox One won't be compatible with Xbox 360 controllers as well.
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5. Xbox One Does Require Internet Connection, Can't Play Offline Forever.
Goodbye to those who still haven't internet connection
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The Xbox One doesn't have to be online all the time, but it does have to be online. Not just once in a while—once a day, according to Microsoft vice president Phil Harrison.
In a Q&A on their press site for the new Xbox, Microsoft tackles the always-on question with a strangely-worded answer: "No, it does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet."
At the event in Redmond today, Kotaku boss Stephen Totilo asked Phil Harrison for clarification on this. And what Harrison told us might not please people who enjoy playing Xbox on military bases or other locations without Internet.
"There are many devices in your life that require the Internet to function," he said. "Xbox One is no different in that it requires, at some point in the beginning and at various times through its on state, to connect to our cloud and to our Internet. That is to deliver Xbox Live functionality, that is to deliver download content to you, that is to deliver some of the innovations around TV and entertainment that we showed today. But it doesn’t require it to be online all the time."
So how often does it check your connection? "Depends on the experience," Harrison said.
"For single-player games that don’t require connectivity to Xbox Live, you should be able to play those without interruption should your Internet connection go down. Blu-ray movies and other downloaded entertainment should be accessible when your Internet connection may be interrupted. But the device is fundamentally designed to be expanded and extended by the Internet as many devices are today."
And here's the bombshell:
Kotaku: If I’m playing a single player game, do I have to be online at least once per hour or something like that? Or can I go weeks and weeks?
Harrison: I believe it’s 24 hours.
Kotaku: I’d have to connect online once every day.
Harrison: Correct.
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So who's ready for Xbox One?
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Banned
Member Since: 6/25/2011
Posts: 37,192
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Head to the blog gorls
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Member Since: 9/3/2011
Posts: 22,014
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A mess
So what's going to happen to the price of used games for the One? Are they going to be mega cheap ($3) because the discs are practically useless? I'm interested
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Member Since: 5/29/2012
Posts: 26,389
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Member Since: 1/1/2013
Posts: 19,579
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Absolute mess. And the Xbox stans are still trying to make this **** sound good?
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Member Since: 11/16/2011
Posts: 11,544
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I'm so disappointed.
That "IllumiRoom" mess had me SO ready for this. Hopefully playstation has enough time to swipe the idea from under them.
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Member Since: 4/21/2011
Posts: 42,362
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Microsoft is making it easier, now I'm definitely getting the PS4.
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Member Since: 5/29/2012
Posts: 26,389
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The most annoying thing is that we gotta be connected to the internet.... **** I hate when **** do that
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Member Since: 3/15/2013
Posts: 25,228
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If this is true, then BYE.
Microsoft just keeps digging it's own grave.
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Member Since: 11/16/2011
Posts: 11,544
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Originally posted by H-I-M
Microsoft is making it easier, now I'm definitely getting the PS4.
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They're really entering their 'Basic Instinct' era. Jesus be with them.
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Member Since: 12/6/2011
Posts: 1,899
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I don't get it having to connect every 24 hours. What happens if it doesn't? Why would you have to connect to the internet every 24 hours anyways, it can't just update with whatever when you sign on next?
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Member Since: 7/18/2010
Posts: 29,717
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Banned
Member Since: 6/25/2011
Posts: 37,192
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DEATH at a CONSOLE having more restrictive internet requirements than my COMPUTER.
This is all just a ploy to get people to buy Windows PCs for Gaming, its so clear
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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I would take the whole backwards compatibility thing out of the OP, to be honest, because, with the new infrastructure being used, there was simply no way that you could have played 360 games on Xbox One without it costing more for the consumer. It's a new CPU and a new infrastructure. Trying to implement BC in this case would have meant more money spent by the consumer in order to obtain the next console. Would it have been worth it then? Unless you're going to be playing 360 games more than Xbox One games, not likely. And "goodbye to your current collection"? Is it going to walk away all of a sudden? Will the 360 just stop working once Xbox One is released? That argument is so silly and just needs to go away. Unless you sell your 360, you're still going to be able to use it and play games on it.
The other points have valid aspects to them, certainly. I'm most disheartened by the "once a day" confirmation from Phil Harrison, as it pretty much just screws over anyone who doesn't have a reliable internet connection or an internet connection altogether. This basically means that, if you have an internet outage or can't afford to pay for your internet for a certain period of time, your Xbox One becomes a brick. That is a new level of garbage.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2011
Posts: 27,655
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Member Since: 6/19/2012
Posts: 29,579
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Quote:
Originally posted by Red
I would take the whole backwards compatibility thing out of the OP, to be honest, because, with the new infrastructure being used, there was simply no way that you could have played 360 games on Xbox One without it costing more for the consumer. It's a new CPU and a new infrastructure. Trying to implement BC in this case would have meant more money spent by the consumer in order to obtain the next console. Would it have been worth it then? Unless you're going to be playing 360 games more than Xbox One games, not likely. And "goodbye to your current collection"? Is it going to walk away all of a sudden? Will the 360 just stop working once Xbox One is released? That argument is so silly and just needs to go away. Unless you sell your 360, you're still going to be able to use it and play games on it.
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Agreed completely. BC is nice and all, but the way gamers demand it or refuse to buy a new system without it is becoming quite ridiculous. Nintendo spoiled everyone.
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Member Since: 4/16/2011
Posts: 20,617
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Goodbye to the XBox
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Member Since: 5/18/2010
Posts: 3,104
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I've always preferred the Xbox...looks like I'll be switching back to Sony.
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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The way games are treated these days is a joke.
I remember the days when I would buy the WHOLE game and not have to buy 5 DLCs.
Or The Sims 1.
I could play that game on any PC10 years ago I can play it today and I'll be able to play it in 10 years.
Now everything is about online accounts and stuff and servers that will be shut down in a few years.
An absolute punch in the face for everyone who still buys games legally
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But enough off topic I was going for PS4 anyway.
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Member Since: 4/22/2012
Posts: 15,844
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Quote:
Originally posted by Red
I would take the whole backwards compatibility thing out of the OP, to be honest, because, with the new infrastructure being used, there was simply no way that you could have played 360 games on Xbox One without it costing more for the consumer. It's a new CPU and a new infrastructure. Trying to implement BC in this case would have meant more money spent by the consumer in order to obtain the next console. Would it have been worth it then? Unless you're going to be playing 360 games more than Xbox One games, not likely. And "goodbye to your current collection"? Is it going to walk away all of a sudden? Will the 360 just stop working once Xbox One is released? That argument is so silly and just needs to go away. Unless you sell your 360, you're still going to be able to use it and play games on it.
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I added that point to the OP because it's a fact that people must know before buying the new Xbox. I know that the new architecture makes the backward compatibility impossible via hardware. It's all well-explained on the article and it does also mention that PS4 has this problem too.
In addition, the article also points out that Microsoft is not offering an alternative to hardware backward compatibility unlike Sony with PS4.
And I admit that the 'goodbye to your current collection' thing is maybe too dramatic but you'll definitely lose all your collection if you replace your 360 with Xbox One. I know people who sell their current consoles to buy the new ones so the subtitle is not that out of place after all.
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