Don't know how they did it, but the folks at Wired managed to get some hands-on time with the new Xbox One, and ask some pressing questions about the console. The results are...kinda troubling.
One bit from their piece states that the console seemingly requires a mandatory installation for each game. "On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play," Microsoft said in an email. Alright, how about used games? The hard drive, of course, connects to player profiles on the console and Xbox Live accounts. So, one account, one game? Wired asked this, and that seems to be the case.
"Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc."- Chris Kohler, Wired
They had no word on if games could be played without installation, thus saving the used games problem and letting renters and buddies not have to pay a price just to trade and play games. Joystiq, however, reported via Xbox.com's Q&A that the console is designed, "...to enable customers to trade in and resell games."
Microsoft was also asked about the "always online" rumors that circulated the console before the reveal, and the answer isn't as terrible as once thought. One will give developers access to the company's Azure cloud computing service, meaning that certain features and jobs could be offloaded there, thus requiring the console to remain online for that particular game. Marc Whitten, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer, told Wired that developers are not forced to use the Azure service, however, "I hope they do."
Am I the only one getting a "one step forward, two steps back" vibe from all this? For all the amazing tech behind the console, the cumbersome features in the name of piracy combat don't make any sense. In my opinion, there are more people willing to pay than there are pirates, and these features are making things more difficult than they need to be. Hopefully, a few things will change at E3 or after.
No comments:
Post a Comment