Xbox One policy change means loss of family sharing, disc-free gaming
Microsoft's sudden reversal today of its 24-hour check-in policy and how it will handle used games means the loss of some features that the company had touted as important features for the new console.
Microsoft's sudden reversal today of its 24-hour check-in policy and how it will handle used games is obviously good news for those happy with the Xbox 360 status quo. But the change also means the loss of some features that the company had touted as important features for the new console.
Sharing your game library with 10 family members no longer viable because users are no longer required to store their games online, Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten told Polygon. Users will also not be able to play their game at a friend's house without a copy of the disk, since the installed game will not be stored digitally with your Xbox Live account.
"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. You are going to see us invest a ton in all of the ways digital builds experiences," he said, adding that digital versions of games will be available day-and-date with retail copies.
Cloud-powered processing is something the company still believes in, but now that an Xbox One needn't necessarily ever go online after setup, it'll be tougher to use. Third-party publishers will need to decide whether they want to require going online for a game, should they hope to use cloud processing or other online features, Whitten said.
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replyJohn Keefer posted a new article, Xbox One policy change means loss of family sharing, disc-free gaming.
Microsoft's sudden reversal today of its 24-hour check-in policy and how it will handle used games means the loss of some features that the company had touted as important features for the new console.-
Ultra sad face. I live in a two console home and I have two kids. And I'm always online, 24/7. This was gonna be really good for me (but probably really shitty for a LOT of other people).
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That's right, MS has CAST YOU OUT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TA5ncj50Alk#t=18s-
HAHAHAHA! Fucking hilarious!
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More games sales.
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hell yeah. I'm happy.
A disc free future is coming. MS simply tried to force it instead of waiting for it to evolve.-
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I disagree that it's here, it's available if you want to but there are still a lot of people like myself who want that actual disc, including Netflix. I have a Netflix account and I only use the disc service, I don't use the online streaming, I want to be able to watch a movie if I am in an area with no wifi or not at home, which on my weekend job is a constant. I enjoy having the discs of movies and games, and Microsoft forcing that was just wrong. Now that they have decided to follow Sony is good for everyone, you can still get your games digitally if you wish and I can get my games on disc if I wish, plus if I want to loan a game to my friends or brother I can do so and be able to get my game back. Granted I am not planning on getting an Xbox One anytime soon if ever, but now that their dumb policies are gone I might consider buying one when before there was zero chance of that happening. So yes I am very happy, thanks. :)
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lol, now MS gets a negative news article on every site about the features they had to pull in order to put everything back the way people wanted. they're just getting hammered over this.
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wow so now we get a glorified 360 instead of an xbox one this BS would happen right after i pre ordered why would i want a system that goes backwards instead of forward people adapt to changes gonna get another 10 years of unfinished crap games now
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Just cancelled my preorder and 360 order, heh.
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Don't see why this can't be maintained for digital releases...
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You can still share a game with a family member
You can still buy and play games without a disc. (Buy digital)
Just not in the way it was originally detailed.-
^this
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Petty, childish, ultra-douchebag Microsoft. What's stopping them from keeping family sharing with digital purchases?
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Because there's no way they were serious about enhancing the service qualities of digital games. It was a bluff, an attempt to stifle the backlash and maybe they would have eaten the cost of it if it worked. But it was not important to them at all.
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And neither does MS... which would be my issue. I don't give blind trust to a company that's come out with such gems as GFWL and Win 8.
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Publishers would be my guess.
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that's a mighty big assumption you're making, especially considering they had already confirmed it would be available on all first-party games. For third-party games, I think disabling those features for specific games would have been a risky move for publishers. Not that it matters anyway. Now that they aren't given a chance to implement it, we'll never find out what would have been.
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Did you miss the part where I said digital purchases? Try reading next time - it really works. Add online checks as a requirement for advanced features like the family plan and leave the rest of the damn games alone.
easy fucking peasy-
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There is no doubt in my mind that they will add draconian DRM and online checks later. But they gotta sell the consoles first.
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You can buy digital games, but the discs no longer register as digital. You have to have the disc in at all times to play those games (as of now), only your digital purchases will follow you around do different consoles.
The family share plan also appears to have fallen victim to this announcement as well. -
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All of these digital only features make me think of one thing: You'll probably have to buy the HDD's MS wants you to use much like how it was with the 360. Frankly, I'd rather have cheap as dirt used games on Amazon way down the line than their proposed system.
Now there's no reason why they can't have both. There is a way to pave the way for people to take a digital based DRM system with open arms. Valve has done this by giving competitive prices with their market place. People ignore the DRM or the fact that their entire game library is essentially held hostage by a single service which can go south any time it wants. Why? Because they paid $5-$20 for most of their games.
MS shouldn't force their users to adopt their way with rope and chain. Just leave the honey pot where they can find it and they'll come willingly.-
you can add more storage space with any USB hard drive
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You are so wrong it hurts my head.
The first games out on steam for the first two years or so were all $50 or over, to include HL2.. people waited for the day when games would be cheaper besides just valve games.
Today it continues to be a mix of steam sales and full priced games.
Just open steam and see for yourself??
The real reason why people trust Valve with DRM over M$?.....
you need only look at their company history and their practices. Valve has earned their customer base while M$ continues to attempt to exploit and take advantage of them.-
Steam didn't get its momentum until after its first seasonal sale. When HL2 came out people opted in steam solely because of HL2 and nothing more.
Years passed and people stayed for the sales only. Think people like Steam for the client? Fuck no. Steam was considered totaled shit on its arrival. People objected to it left and right. Valve had to win people's hearts and minds with sales. -
and you are also forgetting a game that came out early on steam called RagDoll Kung Fu which was the first indy to come out on steam. This was not $50.
Also Ubisoft was one of the first adopters of Steam. They immediately were selling their games at about $20-$30.
I also don't see your point that just because there are full priced games on steam doesn't contradict the fact that Steam earned its success from bargain sales. At the time, getting games for under $10 was ridiculous. I remember Ubisoft sold HAWX and Far Cry 2 for $15 a pop on that first sale. Those games were less than 3 months old at the time.
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I would assume that although you would need to have the disc in the tray to play a disc game you bought at retail, you can still install the game completely to the hard drive and "fast-swtich" between that game and a game that you own digitally. The problem would be if you want to fast-switch between two disc-based games...that's not going to happen.
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dont buy disc based games problem solved
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They showed off the feature in their E3 conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fSXicnwHgss#t=3002s
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I wonder if they planned to digitally sign each disk, or it was just a code like on steam
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the whiners won't even buy it anyway, between "NSA is spying on us via Kinect" and "MS hurt my tender feelings I'll never trust them again!", "Did they seriously name it Xboners ololol M$", gg gaming community
it's still mostly Microsoft's fault for failing so spectacularly at messaging, but it sucks to see them give in to idiots just the same because now just about everyone loses. I see little reason to get an Xbox One over a PS4 now.-
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Get realistic here, do you really think they won't try and approach some kind of digital rights options in the future via firmware update? Games are going to go mostly digital in the next 2-5 years regardless, they'll have the policy / framework already half written up to go.
I'd be surprised if you don't see the game sharing shit back on the system in some form in less than 12 months from today (not launch)
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cool it McSweaterton
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Axefellow did u get Yessir Whatever
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they also did say someone would need to be on your friends list for 30 days before you could gift games to them, I'm sure that requirement would have been there for library sharing as well.
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They outlined the restrictions fairly well I imagine there would of been a few more to stop people gaming the system. But it still would of been neat for people who just wanted to use it as it was meant to be. Hopefully it'll resurface at some point even if it's in a different form.
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Yea, I think it would be nice if you could somehow opt-in to these features. If it's just a bit tied to your profile, you might be able to see your friends who have also toggled this and get back [at least some of] this functionality.
It could actually be a smart business move on Microsoft's part, because I would pay to have it if it really worked in the ways suggested.
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You take the good, you take the bad...
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Hey, remember when Sony allowed you to game share on up to five consoles, and then decided to just take that ability away? Thanks, I'll stick with my disc games.
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haha great PR move. The equivalent of snarling "Fine!" Mega petulant. "You say you want this? We'll see how you like it!"
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I wonder how hard it would be to announce they are offering... both. Can they? Then we'd really see how the numbers fall out. Everyone says they have been selling the xbox at a loss to get market share, so now they can offer multiple things like everyone else does. ipad and ipad mini style.
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They are still fucked. The bad PR has done a lot of damage to their image. Hardcore and casual gamer's alike have a firm hate for the Xbox One now.
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That wasn't the case beforehand either
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shouldn't matter too much, its going to play just like your current system should be the messaging.
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Still getting PS4.
Pressure like this should have been applied to stupid DLC and paid "expansion packs" that are no more than free maps and new water gun.
The monster only understands one language. MONEY
MS saw the pre-order numbers and the all the people ready to let their gold memberships expire. I know everyone in my list of friends sent a "see you on PS4 message" and that's like 70 right there.
Do the numbers. -
I was right, they put everything back the way it was before and people are mad about that too. They can't win.
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Kinda lame, retail has the best deals for consoles so it would have been cool to be able to get games on sale and still not have to use the disc.
Games on demand completely sucks ***, old games for full price.. Yeah, ok..
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