Decline PS4 wins the console war against XboxONE, yet it is a hollow victory as Consolesdämmerung is upon us

[Bruticis]

Looks like they finally got the update up

Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience.

For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future.

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

• An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.

• Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.

In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console -- there will be no regional restrictions.
These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.
We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.
Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year.

 

[IDtenT]

Sounds closer to Steam policy. It also looks like they'll cut digital sharing - so that's shit. Fucking future. What happened to it?

 

[Diablo169]

The worst part about this will be all the circlejerking going on about how people ranting on the fucking internet "saved gaming"

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

In before CliffyB twittering like a twat.

 

[IDtenT]

Yeah, digital sharing is cut. You like that faggots? You like that? Fuck off. (Not that I share in any case. )

 

[Blaine]

Microsuck had to make SOME form of non-anti-consumer gesture to remain competitive.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

Fuck consoles, whatever, what is really amazing about this is how a bunch of internet rage managed to pressure one of the world's largest corporations into a major change in their product design. This is the same Microsoft that refused to put the Start Menu in Windows 8, bros. Remember how we all predicted that the consoletards will ultimately accept all the DRM and always online bullshit? Well, the consoletards didn't, and this is a really cool precedent.

 

[DraQ]

In before CliffyB twittering like a twat.

Twattering?

 

[IDtenT]

Microsuck had to make SOME form of non-anti-consumer gesture to remain competitive.

Going digital is not anti-consumer. It's future-proof. Now the progressives that have gone digital are not reaping the benefits that they could have had. It also means that digital will never truly catch on, on the next-gen consoles.

That's not to say their policy was perfect. Some of it was terrible, but they should have tried working within that frame rather than set console gaming back another decade.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Fuck consoles, whatever, what is really amazing about this is how a bunch of internet rage managed to pressure one of the world's largest corporations into a major change in their product design. This is the same Microsoft that refused to put the Start Menu in Windows 8, bros. Remember how we all predicted that the consoletards will ultimately accept all the DRM and always online bullshit? Well, the consoletards didn't, and this is a really cool precedent.

This situation wouldn't have been possible without Sony's epic-corporate-backstabbing. I have to hand it to them, it was a magnificent maneuver.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Doesn't matter what they all do, The Lord Gaben always wins.

 

[Blaine]

Going digital is not anti-consumer. It's future-proof.

Bricking disc-based games to one account isn't "going digital," you insufferable shill. It's a blatant attempt to get a piece of the used console game market.

I don't have a stake in that market personally, and I don't like GameStop either, but trading in disc-based games should remain an option—else they should cost $20 new.

 

[Rahdulan]

Oh wow, talk about pulling a 180. I guess them shareholders shit their pants good in fear to provoke this kind of response, which confirms everything Microsoft said to public about their brand new system and all of its online-only benefits were basically just bullshit DRM fueled lies. Hilarious.

 

[DalekFlay]

So where was all this media outrage which stoked the existing consumer outrage when Steam and SecuROM hit the scene?

Why the fuck do the media shove down our throats how awesome Steam is but the Xbox One is a tragedy that must change?

 

[Emily]

So it turns out IDtenT was an idiot after all

 

[IDtenT]

Going digital is not anti-consumer. It's future-proof.

Bricking disc-based games to one account isn't "going digital," you insufferable shill.

I already pointed out that they had a few shit policies - this particular one was better than what Steam is offering.

It's a blatant attempt to get a piece of the used console game market.

I disagree. It's a blatant attempt to get publishers in your pocket (and potentially to kill disc-based games). MS doesn't care for the second hand market - they only care about their ecosystem. I truly hope they try and kill the disc-based market with Steam-like sales.

I don't have a stake in that market personally, and I don't like GameStop either, but trading in disc-based games should remain an option—else they should cost $20 new.

Skyrim on Steam didn't sell for $20 when it first appeared.

 

[IDtenT]

So where was all this media outrage which stoked the existing consumer outrage when Steam and SecuROM hit the scene?

Why the fuck do the media shove down our throats how awesome Steam is but the Xbox One is a tragedy that must change?

The maturity of the internet. (Notice the utter irony)

 

[SuicideBunny]

Going digital is not anti-consumer.

going digital to allow publishers to circumvent pesky consumer rights like renting/reselling while minimizing distribution costs and still selling digital games at full price sure is.

 

[Turisas]

Revised marketing campaign:

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Going digital-only is okay if you are a privately held company that survives on the basis of creating value for consumers.

Going digital-only is not good for a corporation that only cares about creating shareholder value.

 

[IDtenT]

Going digital-only is okay if you are a privately held company that survives on the basis of creating value for consumers.

Going digital-only is not good for a corporation that only cares about creating shareholder value.

Utter bull. Both are driven by profit. I don't trust Zenimax any more than I trust EA.

 

[Suchy]

Aaaand MS pulled a 180.

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/microsoft-to-pull-complete-reversal-on-xbox-one-dr/1100-4673/

Sources indicate Microsoft is going to move away from what's caused the company so much headache.

UPDATED: Microsoft has confirmed these policy changes are happening.
--
The tug-of-war between Microsoft and Sony just got more interesting. Multiple sources inform me Microsoft will announce what amounts to a complete reversal on its DRM policies for Xbox One today.
What does this mean?

• No more always online requirement
• The console no longer has to check in every 24 hours
• All game discs will work on Xbox One as they do on Xbox 360
• An Internet connection is only required when initially setting up the console
• All downloaded games will function the same when online or offline
• No additional restrictions on trading games or loaning discs
• Region locks have been dropped

It is unclear what caused this huge change in policy right after E3, a week where Microsoft executives spent days explaining, justifying, and talking about its policies to the press. I suspect Microsoft’s official announcement will say something to the effect of “we've been closely listening to consumer feedback.”

(...)

 

[IDtenT]

So it turns out IDtenT was an idiot after all

It's all in the name...

 

[DalekFlay]

I disagree. It's a blatant attempt to get publishers in your pocket (and potentially to kill disc-based games). MS doesn't care for the second hand market - they only care about their ecosystem. I truly hope they try and kill the disc-based market with Steam-like sales.

I support all digital, and only purchase digital myself. I don't see why that requires DRM though. See: iTunes MP3s, GOG.com.

 

[IDtenT]

I disagree. It's a blatant attempt to get publishers in your pocket (and potentially to kill disc-based games). MS doesn't care for the second hand market - they only care about their ecosystem. I truly hope they try and kill the disc-based market with Steam-like sales.

I support all digital, and only purchase digital myself. I don't see why that requires DRM though. See: iTunes MP3s, GOG.com.

The whole sharing thing needs to have control over library activity. We'll see how Steam implements it and hopefully the consoles will follow with their digital versions of games (also the disc-based vs. digital-based ecosystems are going to clash as badly as ever).