Xbox One will require online check every 24 hours
Microsoft has clarified its online validation strategy for Xbox One. It will require a check every 24 hours on your home machine, or hourly if you're accessing your library on someone else's.
Almost as soon as the Xbox One announcement ended, we started hearing contradictory tales from Microsoft regarding the system's connectivity requirements. The last two weeks have apparently given the company a chance to get its messaging straight, as it finally clarified today just how often the system needs to check in.
As confirmed on the official site the system will require an online check-in every 24 hours on your primary console. If you're accessing your game library on someone else's system, that window gets narrowed to every hour. The page warns: "Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies."
This is similar to what Phil Harrison told Kotaku, which apparently let the cat out of the bag early. Microsoft quickly told Polygon he was merely describing "potential scenarios."
More mundane details include the recommended connection speed (1.5Mbps), and the ability to sign in and install games from your friend's house to play them there. That's certainly convenient, but the one-hour check-in time might make it less welcoming.
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Steve Watts posted a new article, Xbox One will require online check every 24 hours.
Microsoft has clarified its online validation strategy for Xbox One. It will require a check every 24 hours on your home machine, or hourly if you're accessing your library on someone else's.-
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Pretty much. I hate to say it but most customers won't care about the always online requirement. It will only affect them once in a blue moon, certainly not often enough to keep most people from buying it.
So I REALLY hope Xbone doesn't get any good exclusives, because they will be unplayable in ten years when the servers are shut down.
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I don't know, every 24 hours doesn't seem like such a big deal to me. I don't think my 360 has ever gone 24 hours without a network connection. Even the times I've brought it to other places... I usually just connect to their wireless and I'll be online there as well. If it checked every few minutes and stopped in the middle of playing because my FIOS went down... then I'd be PISSED. But 24 hours seems reasonable I think.
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It's more that this feature isn't being added for any user convenience. What do the consumers get from having to be online every day? The possibility of servers being down for extended periods (Rendering the device useless), not being able to resell games, no luck for people with poor and/or no internet connections, and also the chance that in 5-10 years all the games that they bought will magically stop working. What a deal.
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Mandatory sign-ins even for offline games isn't convenience. We had installs and digital downloads on the 360, and there wasn't a mandatory sign-in requirements then. Why can't it just be an option for people who wish to use it? Install a game, select 'Make this game available on the cloud', THEN require a heartbeat for when the game is played. Unless, of course, it's not for our benefit.
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Uh, I'm going to try and be original and look at this in a "glass-half-full" sort of way. At the end of the article regarding game licensing, there are a couple of paragraphs that seem pretty gloom and doom, but I see them very differently than perhaps most of you do:
"As we move into this new generation of games and entertainment, from time to time, Microsoft may change its policies, terms, products and services to reflect modifications and improvements to our services, feedback from customers and our business partners or changes in our business priorities and business models or for other reasons. We may also cease to offer certain services or products for similar reasons.
In the months ahead, we will continue to listen to your feedback as we meet with our partners in the ecosystem to bring additional detail about our policies."
The key sentences I'm seeing here are: "Microsoft may change its policies, terms, products and services to reflect modifications and improvements to our services, feedback from customers....we will continue to listen to your feedback as we meet with our partners..."
Yes, the bits that talk about business partners and so on seem a little shady and self interested, but one thing I can say about Microsoft and Xbox is that while the company and the console hasn't always gone in the direction I would have liked, there are many examples with both the original Xbox and Xbox 360 where Microsoft has clearly listened to gamers and improved and innovated their services to satisfy them. Friends Lists were increased. Cross-Chat and Party Chat were introduced. License Transfer waiting periods on the Xbox 360 were shortened, and so on. My point is, this 24-hour limit could easily be expanded to 48 hours, 72 hours, or more, if Microsoft gets enough feedback from customers. And that's just one way in which it may open up. The Xbox 360 of today may not be as lighting fast as it once was in 2005, but it is far more flexible than it was back then too. It's all software, people.
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That bit of text is to give you the feeling you just had: that maybe it's not that bad and maybe they'll listen to the public and fix their shit.
It's bullshit, pure and simple. And this is why: once they start signing deals with publishers to behave a certain way, they will be locked into that way forever.
I wish that consumers would vote en masse with their wallets and tell both Microsoft and Sony that these types of anti-consumer shenanigans were unacceptable. But of course, that won't happen and both consoles will be moderately successful at a minimum, and the next round of consoles will be even worse.
And before one of you responds "but steam", please remember all of the things that steam gives you in exchange for the right of first sale.-
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That seems the same as Steam to me, the price is irrelevant to the discussion. If I don't have internet before I put steam into offline mode I'm screwed. Sure I can still do other things on my computer but I don't want to, I want to play that game on steam.
That said, it's still a shitty thing to have to deal with, especially on consoles where we haven't been used to it. We seemed to get used to it pretty quickly on Steam though.-
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They are perhaps different markets and products but the line of contention is that without internet, I can't play game X. That scenario can happen in both environments and sucks in both cases if it does. Whether you attribute "superior functionality" like being able to change resolutions and control options to the price of tying the game to the steam service is another thing, thats your way of justifying it. To me I still can't play it if the builder down the road has drilled through my internet cable. I think we're used to that scenario by now.
I guess the biggest issue for me, like you said, is the Xbox as a generational platform. What happens to my games in the next generation if they are tied to this weird online service. They certainly don't ever seem too interested about backwards compatibility, and I don't want to have multiple pieces of hardware around just to play the 3 games I like on that console.
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I honestly don't know. When I work from home through a VPN, I can't get online through Steam, so it just goes offline and I can still play most games. There are exceptions, but those are game-related, rather than Steam-related.
I think the reason people treat Steam differently is that it's merely one way to play games on a PC. On a console that requires online access to play games, if your internet is spotty or down, you simply cannot do anything with the console. On my PC, if the internet is down, I may not be able to play some games, but it largely functions as normal and even if online-only programs won't work, there's plenty of other stuff that will.
I like the way things worked this generation, where I could play downloaded games on other systems if I get online, but could play anything in my library on my home system even when offline.
I just don't see any benefit being granted to me by what MS is trying to do here. -
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The service and access to the games is surely why the comparison is relevant, just because it isn't the only way I can play games on my PC doesn't make it different. If I can't play Bioshock Inifinite because my internet is screwed and steam isn't in offline mode, having the ability to play Bioshock 1 from a disk doesn't solve my problem, I still want to play the other game!
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Steam gives me:
- all of the social features of xbox live, but steam itself is free (ie, invites into arbitrary games, joins in progess, see what my friends are playing, community features, achievements, etc)
- no disc in the drive when I play
- no physical media cluttering up my house
- unlimited redownloads of my games on any device I own. And also devices I don't own but have access temporarily (which matters to me because I travel a lot for work and use other people's machines)
- no (other) drm needed
- offline mode that works forever.
- cloud saves for games.
- cloud saves for settings.
And they did ask me to give up my right of first sale. Sorta. I could still keep it if I really wanted to:
1) Create an account.
2) Buy a single game.
3) Play the game.
4) Sell the account.
5) Repeat 1-4 as needed.
It's just not worth it to me to do that.-
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Something else I thought of this morning is when I upgrade my PC my Steam purchases follow me and in most cases performance is improved on previously purchased games. There are very few PC games that won't work on a future 8 or 12 core processor I may purchase down the road.
However with a XBone (or PS4) I may lose my entire library moving to whatever successor comes out 7 years from now unless I keep my original Xbone. Now the DRM schemes get ticker, can I give my son my XBone to play Halo5 down the road and I can play the new XBTwo games at the same time? I'm guessing not because both games would be tied to my MS account.
This shit is seriously stupid and I can't imagine they anticipate that much more revenue after all the infrastructure and support costs go into this for what will be a near 10 year period of time. It's way too complicated and even with so many IT PROFESSIONALS on the shack it's confusing.
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u got x-boned: http://www.abload.de/img/drm4yjrw.png
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If its true that this is coming from the big publishers (and every sign points to that) then I dont see how sony's system can be any different unless they're turning their nose up at EA / Activision / Ubi Soft etc.
Now it seems kind of obvious why EA isn't developing any titles for the Wii U, its not just the install base, they don't want to undermine their new DRM standards on other systems.-
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Yeah that is one possibility.
Frankly one of the reasons i'm so interested in the PS4 is that it is being pitched as a haven for indie developers, which is all i'm interested in really. I've missed most of the big AAA titles of this generation from not having either console, and there has only been a couple i've really regretted having access to. Mainly Sony first party titles.
The blockbuster stuff from Ea / Activision don't even register with me anymore.
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Ha ha ha. Because who wants to connect to the internet every day? Amirite?
People will wail and gnash their teeth over how terrible Michael Bay movies are right up until they gross a billion dollars. It literally doesn't matter how bad the last few Star Wars movies were, every nerd is going to dutifully line right up to see the new ones. The games industry is figuring out what Hollywood has known for years, that consumers are liars, their actions do not follow from their rhetoric.
How did that MW2 boycott over dedicated servers work out? All this crying over used game support and always being connected is going to shrivel up and blow away just like the MW2 boycott. If you want to play modern video games you're going to have to support these types of systems, whether it's steam or xbox.-
Bottom line for some people is you have to have an internet connection to play even single player games on the XBOX One, it's the first game console to do this (require an internet connection) if I'm not mistaken. Steam and PC Gaming have been doing things different for years. The tradition here being broken is tough for many to swallow and it's a bit bet MS is making.
I know plenty of folks that play the XBOX 360 and do not have a constant internet connection or one at all for various reasons.-
I don't think it's a big bet MS is making, Sony is going to have a similar system.
I think the issue here is MS may be going a for a consistent user experience, since they know anything less would be confusing for consumers. Sony seems like they have systems in place, but are "leaving it up to the publishers" which means for most titles, it will be exactly the same. Some may not, but then they have an inconsistent user experience, and for most consumers it will not make any difference because they would assume they all work the same way.-
I'm willing to bet that Sony has a similar set-up in place, give or take a few stipulations here and there, but they are letting MS take all the heat in the lead-up to E3...perhaps even afterward. I can't see how Sony is going to be able to release a PS4 that does not adhere to the same standards that the Xbox One does if Gamestop is already on board with MS's "Always On" strategy. There will be similar DRM on Sony's console, of this I have little doubt.
And even if Sony has the stones during their conference to break rank and say "We won't be using online DRM", what if the publishers and developers who are keen on MS's strategy say "Uh...well then we're not developing on your console, because that wasn't part of the deal we had", Sony might be in for a world of hurt. Would Sony be willing to gamble losing EA for an initial launch boost? Monday is going to be VERY INTERESTING....I cannot wait, either way. It's gonna be a bloodbath ; )
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Exactly. I think I hooked up my Xbox360 to the internet a grand total of three times. Each time I got some huge-ass dashboard update which managed to both slow it down and gay it up even more at the same time, so I stopped plugging the network cable in.
I really didn't see the point in connecting it. The only real need - multiplayer - is irrelevant on the Xbox. I don't particularly want to play games online on a console when I can play the same game for free on the PC with a better frame rate, better controls, shorter load times and more communication options. Especially when I have to pay a fee for the privilege of playing online (what in the flying fuck?)
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You're not wrong, but that doesn't mean that people shouldn't voice their annoyance when they lose a bunch of things, and gain close to nothing. Also, there's PS4 in the picture here. Sony has a chance to find out for good if what you just said is literally true - if they come out without a comparable DRM system and so forth, and Xbox still outsells them, then I guess all hope is lost. Until that time I'm going to be upset about the shit MS is pulling, because it upsets me, and I wish things were otherwise.
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The point is that simply bitching about it is not enough. Until those communities show a real willingness to change their habits, no sane corporation will give in to them. A next generation console that plays used games without online checks already exists. I don't see much talk around here about everyone flocking to the Wii U.
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At this point I think it's a given that Sony has some similar DRM scheme.
I think the gamble both companies may be making is this:
1. MS is making this a uniform system, for a consistent user experience.
2. Sony may be taking a "hands-off" approach and leaving this "up to the publishers", which could make for a less consistent user experience. This might make the "hardcore" happy, but honestly, when you talk about mass-appeal this will mean next to nothing with the other masses. The big titles will be restricted just the same, and Joe Consumer will assume ALL PS4 titles work this way, regardless if they do or not.-
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I've had xbox live gold for years it's what 30 bucks for the whole year? Who cares I spend more on food throughout the week on lunch. People bitch at the most mundane thing.
Also it's 50 bucks for the year which I am aware but just look at slickdeals and you will find a whole year for 30 bucks it comes out at least once or twice a month every month.-
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The subscription service brought Xbox players a lot of advantages over their PS3 counterparts who paid nothing. Things like faster patches and faster service. The ability of logging on the xbox and knowing the servers won't be down or slow. Also downloading from the marketplaces was much faster on xbox than it was in PS3.
I had PSplus and the one cool thing I did like from them was the fact that they threw in old games for the service.
Other than that. I felt I got more for my buck with xbox live. They have more applications than the PS3 has. They have more content it feels like and if it wasn't for their subscriptions they wouldn't be able to provide all that. Running services for apps like ESPN or HULU or Netflix cost money. Xbox has more due to its players while PS3 is always lagging behind because they can't afford the same products to give to their players. I use my xbox more as a media device now than playing games. Of course I am not speaking for the general masses here but in my opinion I feel having xbox live has gotten me exclusives than PS3 has. COD all the mappacks came out a month before on xbox why? because they had more money to buy that exclusive deal again thanks to their subscribers. PS3 has now learn that lesson and will charge for their service which again I don't mind sometimes paying for a services gives you more than not paying.
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Here in Canada a 12-Month Live subscription sells for $60 but you can usually find it on sale periodically throughout the year for $40. My brothers and I usually stack up on membership cards during those sales. I just renewed and I'm saving the other card to either add a second year or use it for my wife's account (which she barely uses so I let it lapse back to a Free account). I guess what I do will depend on how Live will work on the Xbox One with Family Members.
That brings up a question that's been bugging me for a while now. Will family members be able to earn their own achievements on their own account if they are playing a game in your shared library? Or are they simply your guests, unable to earn achievements? In the case of my wife, that won't matter so much, as she could care less about achievements, but that might irk some people. Will family members be able to chat online? Will they have access to your other services (e.g. Netflix, Skype, etc.) if you allow them, or will they require their own Gold Account for that?
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every single developer and publisher wants to recoup used game losses. don't be fooled. they might not come out and state it but it's in all of their interests. whether they'll be swayed by perception and develop for the more open (speculation) system and hope that increased sales on that platform will make up for used losses is up to each publisher.
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Systems have lived and died in the past on whether they had support from EA. Remember the Dreamcast? Look at what is happening to the Wii U right now as well. Granted, there's Activision and Indie games, but EA still carries a lot of weight in the industry. And remember, EA owns the NFL license as well as the Star Wars license exclusively, and with FIFA they might as well own all soccer (sorry PES). The console that does not have EA on their side is going to miss out on a LOT of opportunities in the coming generation. Don't underestimate EA's power.
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Because they thought people would tough it out because of COD sales? Who knows.
This is Microsoft you're talking about, the company that is the definition of inconsistency.
Now on Sony's side, we know that it'll be the same. They've said so:
http://kotaku.com/sony-wont-answer-these-questions-about-ps4-drm-and-use-510477281
"At a roundtable this morning, Sony's game studios chief, Shuhei Yoshida, told reporters that any requirement for users to register a game online in order to play it would be left to game publishers. Sony won't require that."
It's up to the publishers.-
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Yeah get that and love Steam for the same reasons we all do. I also feel like MS is taking it to another level and just adding so many complications especially when I go to a store and purchase a disc and just want to play.
It's ironic I remember people saying one reason console games were making more money than PC games is because you "pop in the disc and play" and even tried to develop some standards on the PC to do just that. Now they're requiring you to install a game, tie it to an account before you play.
As shackers who have kids, you know how often kids share games all this will do is put a lot of roadblocks on that but I know of several times sharing games has equaled a game sale because they liked it.
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"its up to the publishers" is so vague to me. To me the biggest question is did Sony develop and include tools in the PS4 that publishers can choose to use or will it require publishers to devise their own DRM schemes on the PS4? It's clearly obvious MS has done that with the Xbone.
If Sony (like Microsoft) builds a DRM scheme into the system and offers the infrastructure but it's "up to the publishers" to use is almost entirely the same thing IMO. Yes, it's not a certification requirement but they still developed and support the DRM scheme right into the system which means they put resources into developing and prepared to support this technology.
I'd applause Sony or MS more if they don't build any DRM tools to use and honestly 100% rely up to the publisher if they want to do their own thing.
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Save that every single year Xbox Live goes down during christmas, or its unexpected outage last month.
Or how Office 365 keeps going down. It was out for 2 days a few weeks ago. Our parent company had no access to their email (we run our own server, so we were fine).
Their history is exactly what makes this more concerning, but I do not see them fucking up the XbOne launch, frankly, because I don't expect they'll have or sell enough units to make an impact. -
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That's not a good article.
Microsoft already has a shitload of traffic from their consoles. Day one buyers of XBOne numbers will pale in comparison to the number of current XBox owners.
Adding a small authorization check will barely be a blip on the radar in terms of traffic increases.
Being "hacked" (DOS) is a decent concern, but Microsoft already has to deal with tons of attacks as it is I'm sure, so I have a fair amount of faith that they can handle it.-
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It's a fear mongering tactic based on "WHAT IF!"
It's the same kind of shit people said about Steam in the beginning. Now no one gives a shit about Steam. If there's a problem on launch day everyone rallies behind Steam and screams about how they shouldn't have to support infrastructure for 24-48 hours of excessive load and that you were an idiot if you thought it was going to work right on launch day.
Now all of a sudden we're going to preemptively question if Microsoft can handle it as if it's going to be the downfall of the console.
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Pretty much this. Gamers really had no other choice for a quality Diablo game. And the fact that the game was by Blizzard and called "Diablo" helped sell a bunch. But gamers got pretty burned at first, and then burned again with Sim City. Now if Sony gives players a viable alternative, it might become the console of choice since I would assume a lot of players have become wary of online only.
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This is true and there are a several examples of this including the one above. I know myself as much as I hate some of this shit I am interested in a PS4 and maybe it will be less evil? My game time is so limited as of now so we'll see but i'm sure there will be a ton of PS4 exclusives over it's lifetime that I will want to play.
I do wonder though after all the infrastructure costs, support costs over 7-10 years how much more money will they make in game sales to cover that plus a profit. I'm really curious and I know we would never see it but there is a cost to them to have all this in place.
I can see a lot of people getting frustrated with all the limitations and really for what benefit to the consumer? Kind of sucks something so easy to use now has all these wizz-bang limitations, technology is supposed make things easier for the consumer not more difficult.
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Eurogamer has a really good article on why the Xbox One is going to be bad for gamers: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-06-07-microsoft-kills-game-ownership-and-expects-us-to-smile
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The worst part about this is that means one day Microsoft can stop "supporting" the console, rendering it completely useless. If there's no server to connect to in order to authorize it every 24 hours, then you have a useless paperweight.
It will be like how City of Heroes stopped being supported for example, but with hardware.
Fuck. That. -
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They better have a damn good reason for this. Im pretty burnt out on every one of my devices being connected all the time.
My fucking cell phone(s3) has like 6 different lines of communication and can be reached from 4 different numbers through my companys pbx. I also have wifi passwords saved for pretty much everyware in my city because of work The data coverage is really good in my area and its always online and always with me. I fucking hate emails while im fishing.
I have 2 gaming computers one big ass laptop and my desktop The laptop comes everyware with me and has every wifi password remembered. The desktop never moves but its always online.
...... you know I even have internet at the cabin. Perhaps this really Is not such a big deal for me with the xbox. But I still think its stupid.
Sorry this is more of a rant than a post.
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This is a horrid idea, one single major internet outage and you
cannot play the games you paid for, that's theft if you ask me,
if i steal your car but return before you go to work does that
make it ok? its the same principle, im so tired of people agreeing
that what we buy isn't even ours anymore, why would you want
a world where you can buy something but not even actually own
it at all? pc gaming is different in many ways but you know what
is great about pc gaming? i can get around all their BS if i want to,
i buy games and then download a cracked copy, that way i avoid
that DRM and any annoying online checks, i customize anything
i want to, i play it the way i want to and when i want to internet
or no, any chance they might have had to lure me back into the
console market is flat out gone on the xbox front, i will be keeping
an eye on PS4 to see if they will still actually make a product im
not just renting, the prices they charge for a dedicated gaming
system are already high, now it wont even do what its suppose to
if the internet is down for more than 1 day, yeah great idea.
So far the US hasn't seen a major internet outage but its
bound to happen, while the console crowd are twiddling their
thumbs and watching that same blu ray for the 150th time
i will be happily playing skyrim on my pc, or starcraft 2, or any
number of wonderful games i can play any time i darn well please.
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