Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#91

Post by InclinedPlane » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 10:00 PM UTC

sivam wrote: post #89

InclinedPlane wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you missed the point entirely. Person A installs the game. Then goes on a cruise ship, playing the installed game, giving the disc to Person B. Person B takes the disc and can't install it because the code that came with the game has already been used. If he or she wants to play it without the disc then they need to buy a new code. Person B plays the game as much as they want then lends the game to Person C. Pe…

I am confused here. >If he or she wants to play it without the disc then they need to buy a new code. From who? A used game code? Or a new one? How is that any different from the rules announced at E3 with no used games? >Person B plays the game as much as they want then lends the game to Person C. Person B can no longer play the game because they don't have the disc, but Person C can play the game as much as they wa…

Disc is required for disc-required play. Code is required for discless play.

They'd buy the code from the people that made the game, of course. If you want to install the game to the console and play it without a disc present then it's trivial to process that through a workflow that requires some sort of purchase.

You can have the best of both worlds if you like.

If it makes it any simpler just think of it as downloaded vs. disc-based games. You can pay to download the game to your console or you can play the game off of a disc. For convenience you could include a free download code in each new game, or even just provide a discount.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#92

Post by Retric » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 10:08 PM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #70

Retric wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With about 30 seconds of thought. You can still play the game without uploading so each game represents 2 copy's. Require an activation code to "load" the game which you can get automatically online or with a phone call. Require someone to unload the game which spits about a 6 digit code before you can upload it again. Make a fast online check to see if anyone registered the game via a partial code on the outside of…

Or register the game to your account and then be able to share it immediately, wirelessly across the country with 10 "family" members and being able to resell the digital copy. But noooooo, codes and short codes and registration verification sounds way better. >_ I guess this is so frustrating for me because I worked on a licensing system and had to deal with the hundreds of little places it could be attacked in ways…

I dont think you understood what i said. The codes are transparent if someone is connected to the Internet. The reason I added them is to add functionality. Also, I would suggest a pure digital copy shuld probably have more permissive digital lending features as a selling point, but there is no reason not to add them for a "loaded" game.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#93

Post by MichaelGG » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 10:15 PM UTC

magic_haze wrote: post #87

MichaelGG wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no reason that you can't avoid discs. Xbox One will still have the on-demand downloads, just like today, although it seems it'll be for every game. The rage was over adding "cloud DRM" to purchased discs. MS most likely had this planned out from the beginning. It's a great way to do PR. Announce something silly, get people talking about your product and not the competition. And when they do, it's on the thing…

I thought they announced the new xbox wouldn't have ads on the home screen?

Oh, wow, that's fantastic.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#94

Post by phene » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 10:42 PM UTC

ameen wrote: post #14

If this is true, there isn't going to be the announced "Family Share plan" or the "Disc-less" operation. Also, the fact that a few consoles might not be connected to the Internet means, MS can't really do cloud processing as it claimed (since it would lead to variable experiences of the same game). I see this as a step-backward than a step ahead. Sure there will always be a vocal minority, but rather than provide the…

Why not just market games that require cloud processing to play as online-only? It's a bit much for the entire system to have to take on this always-online requirement for games that may not have a multiplayer or large universe aspect.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#95

Post by jlgreco » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 11:18 PM UTC

MichaelGG wrote: post #74

nivla wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But how does that work when you are trading in the physical disc at Gamestop and you still have the game stored on your console that is disconnected from the internet? Or if you were to sell it virtully, pop in the physical disc onto your first or second console that has been disconnected from the internet before the sale.

Uh, yeah, just require to deactivate the disc before sale. That's reasonable and doesn't have the intrusive feel. This isn't hard. Edit: I see, if the DVDs are identical then that's not possible. But plenty of software comes with a serial anyways. Just make the serial transferable, problem solved.

That would have the problem of not allowing you to sell your games if your console was broken or stolen.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#96

Post by magic_haze » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 11:20 PM UTC

nivla wrote: post #31

During this whole fiasco, I was trying to put myself into their shoes on what they were trying to achieve. On the outside, it looks like a great idea. The ability to share games with family. No longer you need to carry discs to your friends house. You can lend them games to strangers on the Internet without worry about losing it. You can have an organized catalog on the cloud, and never have to get up to pop the disc…

Very simple. Keep the 24 hour restrictions as-is, but allow transition to an offline mode after notifying the mothership. This disallows all the family sharing features. Games installed using a physical disk would require the disk to be present, downloaded games are unaffected (since you can't sell them without connecting to xbox live.) This takes care of the submarine scenario. When you're back online, check for the disk again before allowing disk-less play. Make sure the offline transition can be done through smartglass, and you handle the hurricane/somebody-cut-the-fiber scenario as well.

Any holes in this approach?

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#97

Post by missing_cipher » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 11:22 PM UTC

tjdetwiler wrote: post #5

I always thought they should have applied all the new DRM features to digital downloads only. In that context, sharing and selling does look consumer friendly and if they make it convenient consumers will move away from physical media.

Plus with the "Family group" feature, it would have made even more sense.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#98

Post by theseanstewart » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 11:24 PM UTC

MichaelGG wrote: post #86

Microsoft was releasing a new console, with unimpressive hardware, focused on TV and family over games, at a higher price point. Announcing a crazy DRM plan was a fantastic PR move. If people liked it, they can just go ahead with it. If they didn't, they end up burning lots of press time talking about something on their terms, instead of focusing on what Sony wants you to think about the actual hardware No PS4 or XB1…

Sony has a price advantage still, which is why the 360 "won" the last generation's console war.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#99

Post by jstevens85 » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 11:28 PM UTC

thisisdallas wrote: post #42

nivla wrote: post #31

During this whole fiasco, I was trying to put myself into their shoes on what they were trying to achieve. On the outside, it looks like a great idea. The ability to share games with family. No longer you need to carry discs to your friends house. You can lend them games to strangers on the Internet without worry about losing it. You can have an organized catalog on the cloud, and never have to get up to pop the disc…

I believe it would be pretty simple. Keep the family sharing plan and the 24 hour check but only for digital purchases. If you have a disk based game than you wouldn't be able to share it but you also wouldn't be required to have the console connected every 24 hours.

I'm guessing that the publishers were only willing to allow features such as family sharing etc in exchange for limiting used disc sales.

Re: Microsoft reverses controversial game licensing policies

#100

Post by georgemcbay » Wed, Jun 19, 2013, 11:33 PM UTC

jlgreco wrote: post #95

MichaelGG wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, yeah, just require to deactivate the disc before sale. That's reasonable and doesn't have the intrusive feel. This isn't hard. Edit: I see, if the DVDs are identical then that's not possible. But plenty of software comes with a serial anyways. Just make the serial transferable, problem solved.

That would have the problem of not allowing you to sell your games if your console was broken or stolen.

Not necessarily, there's already a web component to Xbox Live at xbox.com that you can login to from any browser and you can even do things on it (today) like reset all your Xbox 360 digital content licenses (I think this is limited to once per year) for exactly this sort of situation where your console died and you had to buy a new one.

So, log in to xbox.com, see list of your active licenses, click 'deactive' link on the games you want to forfeit your current digital license for. No console required.