Since the Xbox One reveal, saying that Microsoft has been confusing in regards to their various policies would be the understatement of the year. Between VP Phil Harrison “confirming” used game fees and Major Nelson denying it, (kind of,) to always online requirements and Kinect needing to be plugged in at all times, the entire situation has been a PR nightmare.
With E3 only a few days away, Microsoft has FINALLY confirmed many of the rumors that have been swirling like a firestorm all across the internet. Courtesy of IGN, our questions are finally answered.
And they’re not pretty…
On the always online rumor…
“Xbox One is designed to run in a low-powered, connected state. This means your system, games and apps are always current and ready to play—no more waiting for updates. While a persistent connection is not required, Xbox One is designed to verify if system, application or game updates are needed and to see if you have acquired new games, or resold, traded in, or given your game to a friend. Games that are designed to take advantage of the cloud may require a connection.”
“With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. 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.”
“…because every Xbox One owner has a broadband connection, developers can create massive, persistent worlds that evolve even when you’re not playing.”
Oh, well as long as I can still watch TV, enjoy Blu-Ray and DVD movies, I guess that fixes everything!
On buying used, trading, renting and borrowing:
“In our role as a game publisher, Microsoft Studios will enable you to give your games to friends or trade in your Xbox One games at participating retailers.Third party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers. Microsoft does not receive any compensation as part of this. In addition, third party publishers can enable you to give games to friends.”
“We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers. Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games.”
“…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.”
“Xbox One is designed so game publishers can enable you to give your disc-based games to your friends. There are no fees charged as part of these transfers. There are two requirements: you can only give them to people who have been on your friends list for at least 30 days and each game can only be given once.”
“…loaning or renting games won’t be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners.”
So some of this is in line with what Sony told Kotaku, which is that Microsoft won’t be the ones placing restrictions on game trade ins, but the publishers will have the option to if they so desire. Notice how they consistently point out that “participating” retailers will offer trade in services. What it means to be a “participating” retailer isn’t clear, but there were rumors that there might be a fee associated with stores allowing trade ins. The above clarifies that Microsoft won’t charge publishers or retailers for doing so, but since it’s up to the publisher as to whether or not it would be allowed in the first place, it’s unknown whether or not there would be a fee from the retailer to the publisher. If so, that hurts small stores much worse than giants like Gamestop.
But the worst part is the confirmation of our fears. While there won’t be a “used games fee” like Harrison had alluded to, the fact that you can only GIVE games rather than lend, and that once it’s given, it can’t be given again… it’s nothing other than consumer suicide as far as I’m concerned. What does that do to people like me who review games, but can’t go out and buy everything I’m slightly interested in even if I wanted to? Or new IP’s that people would be reluctant to drop full price on without being able to try it first? The option to rent or borrow won’t even be available at launch! But hey, they’re exploring the possibility!
On mandatory installs and digital downloads:
“…you’ll be able to buy disc-based games at traditional retailers or online through Xbox Live, on day of release. Discs will continue to be a great way to install your games quickly.”
“After signing in and installing, you can play any of your games from any Xbox One because a digital copy of your game is stored on your console and in the cloud. So, for example, while you are logged in at your friend’s house, you can play your games.”
This is the only good news so far. While I wasn’t a fan of mandatory installs on the PS3, at least it will be accessible from the Cloud so you don’t have to haul your library to a friend’s house if you want to play… assuming you sign in on their profile first.
On Kinect always on and potential spying:
“…at Microsoft, we prioritize your privacy. We understand that your personal data and privacy are important. Xbox One and Kinect will provide tools to put you in control of your data.”
“…you are in control of what Kinect can see and hear. By design, you will determine how responsive and personalized your Xbox One is to you and your family during setup. The system will navigate you through key privacy options, like automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used. When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded.”
“If you don’t want the Kinect sensor on while playing games or enjoying your entertainment, you can pause Kinect. To turn off your Xbox One, just say ‘Xbox Off.’ When the system is off, it’s only listening for the single voice command — ‘Xbox On,‘ and you can even turn that feature off too. Some apps and games may require Kinect functionality to operate, so you’ll need to turn it back on for these experiences.”
“You can play games or enjoy applications that use data, such as videos, photos, facial expressions, heart rate and more, but this data will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission.”
So it seems that Kinect WILL NOT be sending videos of you walking around naked straight into Bill Gates’ office. That’s a relief.
In closing:
“…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,” Microsoft concluded. “We are excited about this new generation of games and entertainment and look forward to sharing more news with our fans.”
So there you have it. To wrap up the important points, the Xbox One WILL need to connect online every 24 hours on your console, or every one hour on a friend’s console if you’re using your library. Used game sales and trades will be up to the publisher, so while Microsoft Studios as a publisher WILL NOT place restrictions on trade ins, Ubisoft or Activision can choose to do so for example. Games can only be given to friends that are on your Xbox Live friends list for at least 30 days, and each game can only be given ONCE. Renting and buying WILL NOT be available at launch at all. Games can be downloaded or installed from the disc, but can be played on a friend’s console without the disc from the cloud storage if the owner signs in. And finally… Kinect will not transmit your blood type to Obama.
Outside of the Cloud storage feature, Kinect not playing Big Brother, and having up to 10 family members having access to the original console’s game library to play with friends as they please, I can’t find much to be happy about. Oh well, that’s one less console to buy.
But what I think isn’t important. You’ve gotten enough of my rambling, so what do you all think? Let us know below!
Source: IGN.com