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Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

news.xbox.com

21–30 of 232 posts

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#21
post #7

I'm pretty sure short-sighted consumers/gamers shot themselves in the foot on this one, big time. I would have liked to have seen if Microsoft's move would have led to cheaper per game pricing like we see on PC. I guess we'll never know. I actually respected them for making a ballsy change like this that may have brought the console gaming industry into the Steam era. Also, it now looks like you can no longer share/l…

I've brought this point up before, but I can't help but feel a significant factor in steam pricing is the ease of piracy on PC.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#22
post #16
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly how is it the consumers fault for Microsoft deciding to restrict lending/sharing/etc of digital copies?

Because previously, you could lend/share/give digital copies and the fact that the xbox connected every 24 hours could verify the license. Now, without the 24hr check lending will not be allowed. (I could lend all of my games to Bob, then Bob simply never connects to the net and is able to play them indefinitely)

From their statement it seems like disk-based lending will work exactly how it does in the past. You give your friend the disk, and he plays it. This seems to be what most gamers want.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#23
post #16
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly how is it the consumers fault for Microsoft deciding to restrict lending/sharing/etc of digital copies?

Because previously, you could lend/share/give digital copies and the fact that the xbox connected every 24 hours could verify the license. Now, without the 24hr check lending will not be allowed. (I could lend all of my games to Bob, then Bob simply never connects to the net and is able to play them indefinitely)

They could divide users in two camps - those who want the old system and those who want the new system. If buying used games is good for you (e.g. you are living in country with less income than average American), don't enable the feature. If you like digital sharing, enable it.

IMHO, their proposed system is OK, but it should be opt-in, not opt-out. I mean to buy a lot of games and I have zero interest in playing online. Why should I care about that anyway? 24-hour check is...let's be honest and just say it is limiting.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#24
post #7

I'm pretty sure short-sighted consumers/gamers shot themselves in the foot on this one, big time. I would have liked to have seen if Microsoft's move would have led to cheaper per game pricing like we see on PC. I guess we'll never know. I actually respected them for making a ballsy change like this that may have brought the console gaming industry into the Steam era. Also, it now looks like you can no longer share/l…

This is incorrect as Steam allows for offline play.

Steam (while it doesn't have used game transfer) pricing has more to do with publishers and many competing platforms (Amazon, Gamesfly, Origin etc).

I imagine Xbox One prices would be determined by Microsoft and the publishers (with the cost of licensing factored in), and not quite the free-for-all pricing that we've come to know and love about Steam.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#25
The reason Microsoft is doing this is not what you think it is. The Xbox is a subscription business. $50/year * 46 million subscribers. Microsoft can't afford to lose those subscribers.

The box, the DRM, media integration, etc. means nothing if they lose those subscribers to the Wii U or PS4. So, don't piss off your core customers.

Anecdotally, a lot of my friends and family who are longtime Xbox gamers have no intention of buying a $500 DRM laden Xbox 360. Removing a lot of the DRM restrictions still doesn't fix the price and now Microsoft already looks a bit foolish for not being very customer friendly in the first place.

The "console war" is a long game, but Xbox One didn't start out on the right foot for sure.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#26
post #7

I'm pretty sure short-sighted consumers/gamers shot themselves in the foot on this one, big time. I would have liked to have seen if Microsoft's move would have led to cheaper per game pricing like we see on PC. I guess we'll never know. I actually respected them for making a ballsy change like this that may have brought the console gaming industry into the Steam era. Also, it now looks like you can no longer share/l…

This is talking specifically about disc-based games, which will return to operating as they always have. Good news for everyone. If you want to lend your game to a friend, give them your disc ("Lug" it around? For real?). Further when the inevitable system outage/hack attack happens, yay, those disc games still run. When Microsoft bans your Live account because your nephew trolled some people, yay, those disc games still run.

Game makers can choose to do other things, just as they can on the PS4. Specific downloaded games might have specific activation policies, and so on.

The outrage was that Microsoft seemed to make the baseline one that was very anti-consumer. They have done these sorts of things quite often, going above and beyond to serve interests other than their customers. Recall when Microsoft Media Center forcefully imposed completely irrelevant broadcast flags that no other DVR or cable box in the world listened to, deleting recordings after a prescribed period and so on.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#27
post #16
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly how is it the consumers fault for Microsoft deciding to restrict lending/sharing/etc of digital copies?

Because previously, you could lend/share/give digital copies and the fact that the xbox connected every 24 hours could verify the license. Now, without the 24hr check lending will not be allowed. (I could lend all of my games to Bob, then Bob simply never connects to the net and is able to play them indefinitely)

Why couldn't they make it so the 24hr check still exists, but only for validating shared games. Traditional disc/downloads could continue working just as they do already.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#28
post #7

I'm pretty sure short-sighted consumers/gamers shot themselves in the foot on this one, big time. I would have liked to have seen if Microsoft's move would have led to cheaper per game pricing like we see on PC. I guess we'll never know. I actually respected them for making a ballsy change like this that may have brought the console gaming industry into the Steam era. Also, it now looks like you can no longer share/l…

1) Microsoft doesn't set the price of games. What would have happened would be developers setting slightly higher prices than XBOX360, citing inflation and 'increased costs of development for more sophisticated systems' as reasons why the games are still more expensive. In other words, they'd be saying, "If it weren't digital only, it would be $89.99 instead of $59.99, so count your blessings!" Consumers are so well-trained to believe that they have no control over price; it's sad, really.

2) While you may have the luxury of a decent internet connection at a reasonable price, that is nowhere near the case for much of the USA. Gaming consoles are least common denominator products by design, so cutting off that huge segment of people for selfish reasons isn't a smart idea.

3) At 0.58 oz, a DVD weighs less than a sippy cup, so even the smallest of toddlers should have no issue carrying it. You're also missing the bigger point that, with a disc, you don't have to wait 2 hours for a game to download before you can play it.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#29
post #7

I'm pretty sure short-sighted consumers/gamers shot themselves in the foot on this one, big time. I would have liked to have seen if Microsoft's move would have led to cheaper per game pricing like we see on PC. I guess we'll never know. I actually respected them for making a ballsy change like this that may have brought the console gaming industry into the Steam era. Also, it now looks like you can no longer share/l…

I agree. I was looking forward to buying a game and being able to play it completely offline without a disc. The disc would just act as a way to get the data onto your hard drive faster than a download.

I'm annoyed that they are removing this functionality. While I don't like being prevented from reselling games, I have never resold one that I've bought, but I HAVE had a disc get scratched after bumping my Xbox with my foot. The only solution is to buy another disc, which sucks.

Still, I think that they should push the online distribution model by selling online games at a CHEAPER price than the disc. The reason I currently buy discs instead of the online downloads is because the downloads never go on sale. For example, you can get Halo 4 on disc for $20 right now, but it's $60 on Xbox Live.

Re: Your Feedback Matters – Update on Xbox One

#30

The quick summary: + No more needing to connect in every 24 hours to validate your game. It connects once the first time you run it. + You can now lend, share and sell disc-based games exactly as you can with PS3 and Xbox 360 discs - All other advanced sharing features have been dropped (share with 10 friends/family, virtually lend to a friend, etc) - Discs will need to be in the tray to play

I really don't understand why they aren't trying to do something in between.

If you download/buy a game from xbox live you can virtually lend it and a connection is require to lend the game (and temporary disable your access to that game). If you own a physical copy you can lend it as you did before. Everyone's happy and if the new system is that good and the consumers are happy then maybe the next system could be through xbox live only.

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