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"Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

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Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#171

Post by b3b0p »

mortenjorck wrote: post #119
nostromo wrote: post #72

The real misstep here is that Microsoft is still selling physical media. Nobody (well, almost nobody) gets mad when they can't resell their iPhone games or mp3s or Kindle books; compare that to the outpouring of anger when a company puts limitations on used optical media games or CDs or books. Humans are wired to see a physical item (disks, etc.) and think mine .

Humans are wired to see a physical item (disks, etc.) and think *mine.* Well, yes, but you oversimplify. There is a long-established doctrine of first-sale in the US, and it's not just part of case law, it's part of the culture. The non-resaleability of Kindle books or anything else digital is still new to the popular mind, and carries with it a certain implicit devaluation. Even though most people at least abstractl…

The price doesn't concern me too much.

With Steam I am in control of the hardware. I can build a new, faster, better PC at any time and still play my games.

When Xbox Two comes out and they discontinue production of Xbox One what happens to my games? What happens when the servers are shut down? Are they stuck in the cloud or a computer recycling center someplace? When my Xbox One stops working (I'm sure it will) can I buy a used one on eBay, plug it in and continue to play my games?

At least with my PC I can build a new one if it breaks. With my NES I don't need to rely on a server some where in a data center still operating. Also, I still have more faith in my NES lasting and working longer than any console put out in recent years, including the Xbox One (or any Playstation model) even though it's over 20 years old now.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#172

Post by ameen »

b3b0p wrote: post #171
mortenjorck wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humans are wired to see a physical item (disks, etc.) and think *mine.* Well, yes, but you oversimplify. There is a long-established doctrine of first-sale in the US, and it's not just part of case law, it's part of the culture. The non-resaleability of Kindle books or anything else digital is still new to the popular mind, and carries with it a certain implicit devaluation. Even though most people at least abstractl…

The price doesn't concern me too much. With Steam I am in control of the hardware. I can build a new, faster, better PC at any time and still play my games. When Xbox Two comes out and they discontinue production of Xbox One what happens to my games? What happens when the servers are shut down? Are they stuck in the cloud or a computer recycling center someplace? When my Xbox One stops working (I'm sure it will) can…

Your analogy doesn't really make sense. Your Xbox account is similar to a Steam account works on PC/360/One and you control the hardware if your One breaks, buy a new one and authenticate it with your account. All your games would now be accessible.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#173

Post by chrisbolt »

ameen wrote: post #172
b3b0p wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The price doesn't concern me too much. With Steam I am in control of the hardware. I can build a new, faster, better PC at any time and still play my games. When Xbox Two comes out and they discontinue production of Xbox One what happens to my games? What happens when the servers are shut down? Are they stuck in the cloud or a computer recycling center someplace? When my Xbox One stops working (I'm sure it will) can…

Your analogy doesn't really make sense. Your Xbox account is similar to a Steam account works on PC/360/One and you control the hardware if your One breaks, buy a new one and authenticate it with your account. All your games would now be accessible.

The problem is that the One isn't backwards compatible with any of the 360 games I already bought and are stored in the cloud, which leads me to believe they'll do the same with the Two.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#174

Post by MiguelHudnandez »

orf wrote: post #68
MiguelHudnandez wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact Xbox tosses ads in your face on every single home screen except settings is also extremely distasteful, and MS burned a lot of goodwill on that. This is the single biggest thing that puts a bad taste in my mouth from my Xbox. Am I a customer or a product? Companies should pick only one. If I pay money, I don't want to be sold.

> If I pay money, I don't want to be sold Ever watched TV? Ever been to the cinema? Ever read a newspaper or a magazine? Get real.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm saying I resent it, and I wish there were more alternatives.

For me, Netflix is better than Hulu. I wish I could pay more for Hulu's content with no ads.

For me, "The Magazine" is better than ad-subsidized magazines. I wish there were more like it.

I would pay Facebook to be exempted from creepy data mining and ads.

I would pay more to NPR to never have to listen to their insufferable fund drive again.

When a "kill the ads" in-app purchase is available, I buy it.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#175

Post by CurtHagenlocher »

I call fake. I'm skeptical that anyone working in Studio A would call out that it's on 40th street. Even more damaging is that Typhoon is in the Commons, not in any of the Studio buildings. And I've never heard anyone call it "Streets of Asia" -- "Typhoon" is both its primary name and faster to say.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#176

Post by daeken »

gverri wrote: post #159
sirclueless wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't really work. The game is still supposed to be $60 at launch, that's when games make the most money, they really are worth that much (and more) as evidenced by the many people who pay that much for them, even on DRM-laden platforms like Steam. The point is to let the price fall faster after launch. Xbox can't exactly promise "Our games' prices will fall faster than the other guys" because the market will…

Sony will have digital sales too. But that doesn't mean they will neet to put restrictions on Disc Based transactions. If steam selled Disc Based games I very much doubt they would adopt the same model.

> If steam selled Disc Based games I very much doubt they would adopt the same model.

Valve does sell discs for their games, and they're just ways of delivering bits for Steam. The DRM is 100% identical in every way.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#178

Post by anoncow »

daeken wrote: post #176
gverri wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sony will have digital sales too. But that doesn't mean they will neet to put restrictions on Disc Based transactions. If steam selled Disc Based games I very much doubt they would adopt the same model.

> If steam selled Disc Based games I very much doubt they would adopt the same model. Valve does sell discs for their games, and they're just ways of delivering bits for Steam. The DRM is 100% identical in every way.

So the PS4 is Steam for consoles with offline support. Best of both worlds.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#179

Post by nknighthb »

sirclueless wrote: post #144
wtvanhest wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If Call of Duty 8 retails for $59.99 on the PS4 and $29.99 on the XBO, that suddenly makes the DRM a very appealing tradeoff. If they're both $59.99, Xbox is dead in the water. Exactly, if MS had been thinking this all along, they could have proved it with a low price game option announced with the DRM. That would have been really appealing to a lot of people.

That doesn't really work. The game is still supposed to be $60 at launch, that's when games make the most money, they really are worth that much (and more) as evidenced by the many people who pay that much for them, even on DRM-laden platforms like Steam. The point is to let the price fall faster after launch. Xbox can't exactly promise "Our games' prices will fall faster than the other guys" because the market will…

The reality is that nobody cares about the poor schmuck in rural Nebraska.

80% of the US population is urbanized. Most of the ones that aren't still have access to DSL, cable modems, or fixed wireless of at least a few megabits.

Of the remaining population, a lot of them don't want to play video games or can't afford them anyway. Some (probably large) portion of those that are viable gaming customers will simply make do with satellite connections.

The "poor schmuck in rural Nebraska with 25kb/s" market segment is just too small to economically justify catering to.

Re: "Microsoft engineer" on Xbox1

#180

Post by Blockhead »

Complete bullshit. It's not a "long tail" strategy at all. Allowing people to sell their games means consumers can recoup some of the cost and put it towards a future purchase. So the $60 price tag isn't as bad as it seems, and developers shouldn't actually see any lost sales as long as they continue to make games.

You can also circumvent unfair DRM on the PC by pirating games, so the consumer ultimately has the power to take back their rights in that situation. On a console, this sort of DRM would absolutely be the death of "owning" your games. That's why the reaction to Xbox One's DRM has been so extreme.

I doubt the guy even works for MS though. His writing is barely as good as your average forum-trolling college dropout.

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