It is a new business practice at the very least. Physical media and digital downloads are two seperate entities anyway and should be treated as such.
MSFT are trying to merge the two and I don't think the consumer should stand for it.
The physical media is just a convenient way of getting the download data though. There is no difference between them, this just allows us to install the game quicker.
The physical media is just a convenient way of getting the download data though. There is no difference between them, this just allows us to install the game quicker.
The always online part doesn't bother me too much as my router's on 24/7 & everything's always connected to it anyway.
The problem however comes if your internet goes out for whatever reason. I had a problem about 2 years ago where my internet was out for just over 2 weeks because my router failed & it took 2 weeks for sky to send out a replacement.
With PS3/360 I still had full access to all my single player games so while frustrating to not have internet access I could still play all my games.
If I owned an XB1 & the same thing happened I'd have not been able to play any games & thats where the problem lies, You lose your internet, Your £400 system turns into a useless brick.
Anyway my biggest complaints with the XB1 are the restrictions around pre-owned etc...., I do buy Pre-owned on occasion & thats helped me pick up a fair few games I'd otherwise never have brought & thats got me into game franchises I otherwise woudl not have got into.
I also hate the mandatory game installs, Thats just going to kill HDD space really quickly (Especially with DLC, Demos, Patches & other stuff that gets downloaded) & don't forget that the 500Gb HDD can NOT be changed, If it could be upgraded (Like PS3/PS4) I'd probably have less of an issue with that.
I know there's External HDD storage but thats just extra boxes & stuff you have to find room for & extra cabling laying around. Much better if you can swap the internal drive & be done with it.
All the mandatory installs really do is force people to go digital because there's no point in owning a physical copy if you only use the disc once & since I still love going down my local game store & browsing shelf's, looking at cover art, reading boxes & all that, Im not ready to give up physical yet.
My biggest complaint though is mandatory Kinect, Not so much because of the privacy concerns but more because, I've zero interest in Kinect so would simply be paying extra for something I'd never use. Not to mention the fact that as I've said before I don't actually have any room for it anyway (Think people are ignoring how big the Kinect 2 camera actually is).
Honestly, If they dropped the mandatory installs, Or at least made the internal HDD upgradable & if they dropped Kinect been mandatory, Then despite my complaints about all the DRM stuff I'd probably still consider buying an XB1 albeit not for a while (Since Im going PS4 at or close to launch).
As it is though they have totally lost me as a customer & I have zero plan to ever buy an XB1 as long as these things are part of the package.
It's the same with Sony too. That is why both systems have a streaming install system.
You are obviously ready to go 100% Digital Download only. But for me even on the fastest connection find it very inconvenient.
You have also accepted that PCs and consoles are the same and should operate in the same business model, but I don't think that's the right direction for gaming. I think you are giving up you consumer rights.
You are obviously ready to go 100% Digital Download only. But for me even on the fastest connection find it very inconvenient.
You have also accepted that PCs and consoles are the same and should operate in the same business model, but I don't think that's the right direction for gaming. I think you are giving up you consumer rights.
No I think current games are just a bit too big for download only, that's why I am glad you can get the data on discs too. Consoles/PCs/Tablets are all moving into the same area, everything is just digital data and physical media is just another means of transport. Consumer rights do need changing though, I do agree we need more protection for how long authentication servers are kept running.
What bothers me is that I cannot sell my copy of Fifa or any games I don't want on ebay after playing with it.
No one has said that you can't sell games. They've said, it's up to the publisher what happens for a particular title with regards to charges etc.
In fact it might be even easier with eBay as you only need to sell the license. The disc isn't really necessary so no worrying about scratched discs etc.
No one has said that you can't sell games. They've said, it's up to the publisher what happens for a particular title with regards to charges etc.
In fact it might be even easier with eBay as you only need to sell the license. The disc isn't really necessary so no worrying about scratched discs etc.
Don't think it's that easy, last time I read you can only pass on the game to one person. Unless you can provide me a link that says differently.
Don't think it's that easy, last time I read you can only pass on the game to one person. Unless you can provide me a link that says differently.
You've conflated two things into one.
Three policies to remember:
1) Family - share your games library with upto ten "family" members
2) Giving a game to a friend - only to a friend who has been on friend list for minimum 30 days, can only give once and he/she cannot pass it on again
3) Selling game - the murkiest of all: upto publishers to enable really, should be possible for most games, publishers may charge a fee (Xbox won't charge a fee)
If they was an ever a obvious trojan horse for the Xbox 1, it's Kinect!
That thing has more to do with it being a voice activated remote control than anything gaming related!
They want an early foot in the door for the Smart Home. You can tell it to change TV channel, you can tell it to play music and call your friends, you can even get it to answer your question through the web. All they need is for it to talk back and be able to control the lights in you house.
1) Family - share your games library with upto ten "family" members
2) Giving a game to a friend - only to a friend who has been on friend list for minimum 30 days, can only give once and he/she cannot pass it on again
3) Selling game - the murkiest of all: upto publishers to enable really, should be possible for most games, publishers may charge a fee (Xbox won't charge a fee)
On the site it states 'We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers'
It does not say anything about selling, only trading and only at participating stores. So likelyhood would be at Game or CEX but not your local game store.
Also, these places are only there to make profit so you are not going to get much value from trading there.
Trade-in and resell your disc-based games:Today, some gamers choose to sell their old disc-based games back for cash and credit. 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.*
Just got this off the xbox site. So by the looks off things there is no change in the trade/resell of games
Trade-in and resell your disc-based games:Today, some gamers choose to sell their old disc-based games back for cash and credit. 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.*
Just got this off the xbox site. So by the looks off things there is no change in the trade/resell of games
Of course there is, its not a free market. Those game shops now have to kick back some of their used sales to the publishers so they will offer a lower price then they do now, meaning trading your game there will get you less money. And Games trade in value is laughable already. If I want the most money for my game I will sell on eBay or direct to somebody else. I cant do that. That is a huge change. Not to mention possible price fixing. What if Game say trade in value of that new game you got yesterday is £10. What can you do?
And you wonder how any independent video game store will manage. I don't think Microsoft will taking al the small stores on their "participating retailers"
Comments
The physical media is just a convenient way of getting the download data though. There is no difference between them, this just allows us to install the game quicker.
hahaah, now that's the Xbox One's new policy.
It's the same with Sony too. That is why both systems have a streaming install system.
The problem however comes if your internet goes out for whatever reason. I had a problem about 2 years ago where my internet was out for just over 2 weeks because my router failed & it took 2 weeks for sky to send out a replacement.
With PS3/360 I still had full access to all my single player games so while frustrating to not have internet access I could still play all my games.
If I owned an XB1 & the same thing happened I'd have not been able to play any games & thats where the problem lies, You lose your internet, Your £400 system turns into a useless brick.
Anyway my biggest complaints with the XB1 are the restrictions around pre-owned etc...., I do buy Pre-owned on occasion & thats helped me pick up a fair few games I'd otherwise never have brought & thats got me into game franchises I otherwise woudl not have got into.
I also hate the mandatory game installs, Thats just going to kill HDD space really quickly (Especially with DLC, Demos, Patches & other stuff that gets downloaded) & don't forget that the 500Gb HDD can NOT be changed, If it could be upgraded (Like PS3/PS4) I'd probably have less of an issue with that.
I know there's External HDD storage but thats just extra boxes & stuff you have to find room for & extra cabling laying around. Much better if you can swap the internal drive & be done with it.
All the mandatory installs really do is force people to go digital because there's no point in owning a physical copy if you only use the disc once & since I still love going down my local game store & browsing shelf's, looking at cover art, reading boxes & all that, Im not ready to give up physical yet.
My biggest complaint though is mandatory Kinect, Not so much because of the privacy concerns but more because, I've zero interest in Kinect so would simply be paying extra for something I'd never use. Not to mention the fact that as I've said before I don't actually have any room for it anyway (Think people are ignoring how big the Kinect 2 camera actually is).
Honestly, If they dropped the mandatory installs, Or at least made the internal HDD upgradable & if they dropped Kinect been mandatory, Then despite my complaints about all the DRM stuff I'd probably still consider buying an XB1 albeit not for a while (Since Im going PS4 at or close to launch).
As it is though they have totally lost me as a customer & I have zero plan to ever buy an XB1 as long as these things are part of the package.
You are obviously ready to go 100% Digital Download only. But for me even on the fastest connection find it very inconvenient.
You have also accepted that PCs and consoles are the same and should operate in the same business model, but I don't think that's the right direction for gaming. I think you are giving up you consumer rights.
That thing has more to do with it being a voice activated remote control than anything gaming related!
No I think current games are just a bit too big for download only, that's why I am glad you can get the data on discs too. Consoles/PCs/Tablets are all moving into the same area, everything is just digital data and physical media is just another means of transport. Consumer rights do need changing though, I do agree we need more protection for how long authentication servers are kept running.
No one has said that you can't sell games. They've said, it's up to the publisher what happens for a particular title with regards to charges etc.
In fact it might be even easier with eBay as you only need to sell the license. The disc isn't really necessary so no worrying about scratched discs etc.
Don't think it's that easy, last time I read you can only pass on the game to one person. Unless you can provide me a link that says differently.
Same here I buy most of my games 2nd hand.
You've conflated two things into one.
Three policies to remember:
1) Family - share your games library with upto ten "family" members
2) Giving a game to a friend - only to a friend who has been on friend list for minimum 30 days, can only give once and he/she cannot pass it on again
3) Selling game - the murkiest of all: upto publishers to enable really, should be possible for most games, publishers may charge a fee (Xbox won't charge a fee)
It's all there on the official xbox website:
http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license
They want an early foot in the door for the Smart Home. You can tell it to change TV channel, you can tell it to play music and call your friends, you can even get it to answer your question through the web. All they need is for it to talk back and be able to control the lights in you house.
But, they haven't. OK it's not the same way but you can still lend a game and they said you will be able to trade at specific retailers.
On the site it states 'We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers'
It does not say anything about selling, only trading and only at participating stores. So likelyhood would be at Game or CEX but not your local game store.
Also, these places are only there to make profit so you are not going to get much value from trading there.
Just got this off the xbox site. So by the looks off things there is no change in the trade/resell of games
Of course there is, its not a free market. Those game shops now have to kick back some of their used sales to the publishers so they will offer a lower price then they do now, meaning trading your game there will get you less money. And Games trade in value is laughable already. If I want the most money for my game I will sell on eBay or direct to somebody else. I cant do that. That is a huge change. Not to mention possible price fixing. What if Game say trade in value of that new game you got yesterday is £10. What can you do?
And you wonder how any independent video game store will manage. I don't think Microsoft will taking al the small stores on their "participating retailers"