An Xbox One DRM Breakdown

Luckily Sony doesn't have the online infrastructure to support an "always on" system. Hitherto, they will have less draconian policies that they will bill as consumer friendly. They will accomplish the minimum that the big publishers are asking for through the discs. Sony and the PS4 have just won the next generation before it even started. Wow.

Guys, I might be out this gen. I'm honestly considering going PC and being done with consoles.

So long Gamefly. It was nice knowing you.

I honestly don't think we are going to know for sure until someone gets their paws on a system and pop in a game, and then try to fuck with the system.

Patrick speaking for all of us @18:03

Got it in one.

this is complicated as balls

What's up with the recommended 1.5mbps dl speed. that cuts out me & all my friends from having the 'optimal experience'.

The sad thing is that we will never be able to play XBOX One games like we play old SNES games now. When the servers are no longer running the console is just a bluray player. There will never be a retro store selling XBOX One games. It is like an MMO, when they pull the plug it is just dead. Sure this won't happen for at least 10 years but what about children growing up who want to collect XBOX One games 20 years from now?

This is already a problem with current systems with DLC and such not going to be able to be downloaded at some point. The PS2 is the last system where you can just take a game and insert it and play and you know it will work. This is the downside of the digital age and it is not a problem exclusive to games. How many digital photos will be around for your grandchildren to see? I have pictures from my family back to the 1940's but will I show my pictures to my grandchildren? Who knows if the cyberimplats or whatever we use even support JPEG.

Don't get me wrong I love Netflix and PS Plus and such things, but the downside of all this will be that future generations will never have the same experience as we did busting out the old NES or some old paper photos because in the digital age only new matters. History doesn't matter. How many people even have access to their digital photos from the time before cloud services were a thing? You know where that CD of photos from 2004 is? It will take a couple of decades before we realize what we have lost in this age where no one have pohysical copies of anything anymore.

This all seems like such a mess at this point.

@cypherix:

Couldn't agree more, its not just the GB crew who seem to have a nonchalant attitude either (Ben Kuchera for example). Maybe if I was getting the majority of my games for free, I would feel this way too?

I never thought I would say this, but I am really going to miss Patrick, he seems to be the only one who tries to empathise with the average consumer. The apathy from the GB gang (sans Patrick) is incredible.

None of these new implementations benefit most people. Digital downloads are only beneficial for a handful of consumers (with fast internet etc). Plus, there is obviously a massive ascertainment with game journalists etc; who by necessity likely have great internet.

By killing off used games (one way or another), the games industry will become the only industry in existence who can actually prevent you from selling on a physical product.

Not quite draconian, but still highly restrictive. Microsoft isn't doing much to convince me I need their next console.

I don't know man, this whole next gen console thing is kinda starting to depress me. Like Vinny said, none of this really benefits anyone besides the publishers. Hopefully there will be some really cool stuff that we haven't been told about yet that they can do because of all this strict shit that will make it worth it. I wonder how many xbox 360's are out there right now that never connect to the internet, but still get played regularly.

Also I hate the kinect, don't care about it watching me, if someone wants to watch a dude sit and play video games, sleep, read books and study, that sounds like a really boring time. I just hate motion controls and I don't want to talk to my xbox (I know the kinect thing is a personal issue, I just wish there was an option to turn it off completely and unplug it, its the required thing that bothers me about it). I'm really hoping Sony doesn't follow suit, but I'm not naive, they will do something similar if not worse. Sure would be awesome if they didn't though. Maybe I should spend that money on a better processor and/or vid card since that's all I need to go from high settings to ultra on all games.

I know steam has some similar shit, but at least you get a full month offline, and something about it just isn't the same as with a console. The best thing about consoles was the disc was the game, you could play offline, take it to someone's house, give it to a friend etc. If its just gonna act like steam, why not just play games on a PC (plus the added bonus of the sales, even amazon has been having crazier sales than even steam)? I have been a console gamer for 20 years, but maybe its time to switch, of course the benefits on the new consoles we haven't heard about could be awesome, and there could be more exclusives that are incredible as a result.

This is just my rant of how I'm feeling about this. Personally I don't decide stuff like this until the things are on the shelves being sold though, so we'll see what happens. This is probably the longest thing I've posted on this site lol.

Haha, if I had to choose a video representation, this works nicely. Fitting; Giantbomb and all...

@dr_perscitus: The whole thing is crazy, isn't it?

Regarding GB's lack of strong response, it's baffling. I mean, they're critics right? That's what they do, criticize. They have no problem telling you that a game is fantastic, pure drek or somewhere in between. So one has to wonder, where's the feedback now guys? All you have to say is a couple throwaway comments? Again, maybe it's apathy, privilege, or maybe they're thinking that they know they're going to have to play it anyway, even if the console was made out of elephant dung.

I get that bit, the obligation, but not their willingness to go along with whatever tyrannical polices M$ puts in place. Whether they get their games for free, live a hermit's life whereupon they never lend any out, etc, you don't have to think too hard about this stuff to realize this is bad juju.

And the whole, "Finally we get digital distribution and get away from discs" mantra comes home to roost here. I know it's convenient, but at what cost? I like it myself, but not to the exclusion of physical medium. They should be part and parcel; just another avenue to get a game. That's what it's about really, consumer choice. And as time goes on, companies take more and more of it away. Great for business, terrible for the consumer.

Here's to hoping the next-next gen will be better *crosses fingers*.

This is so needlessly complicated and completely stupid. Just let people do what the fuck they want with their own shit. I'm seeing very little reason to be interested in the Xbox One at this point. I hope to hell that Sony's policies aren't going to be as ass-backwards as this shit.

The whole jokey-joke thing with Vinny and the box of fruit, at the end of this video, was the most disheveling thing I've ever seen.

I don't know whether to cry or slit my wrists with a plastic fork.

Jeff doin' the Zyzz pose in the thumbnail.

First off, this entire thing is a huge cluster-fuck and I'd almost like to see MS (and probably Sony) completely crash and burn for this nonsense.

Secondly, the GB crew were all critical, especially Jeff, Vinny, and Patrick. None of them seemed happy with anything that they read. Do you really need to see them jump up and down and stomp their feet and pout to sense their displeasure? They all called bullshit in their own way. Vinny flat out said "This benefits nobody but the publisher and Microsoft."

I think this is the overriding point here. Companies are going to do whatever they can to increase profit. It's up to the consumer to push back. Unfortunately, when it comes to video games, there are a lot of apathetic people. At a guess, the Xbox One will be a success, even if they restricted their policies further.

I will probably build a PC instead of buying into the problem. My sensibilities prohibit me from buying this, barring some unforeseen policy change.

Agreed. If you want to provide a Netflix like service, that's fine. Just don't present it like we're buying something and charge $60+ for each title.

I love Jeff's face in the thumbnail. He looks so confused.

Don't be ridiculous. For the type of consumer I am, this is still a better set of rules than Steam. Just because there are more rules doesn't mean I am ready to be okay with everything and anything they want to do.

Some of these features are disappointing, but not so much as me skipping who knows how many great games. If you want to stay clear of it that's fine. But don't pretend I don't care about my rights at all and will take anything they might want to do. If you can't see past your own opinions, then just speak for yourself.

Unnecessarily complicated. Simple as that. And still not adequately explained.

Glad to see Patrick is at least upset. Not sure why everyone else has the, "Ha, that sucks!" attitude. Well, except Vinny, who just seems bummed.

Well I guess that is it no more Xbox for me. That is about all I played games on also. If Sony can handle the DRM properly I will be getting a PS4, if not it will be Wii U and PC for me as well.

Oh man... ohhhh maaaaannnn oh...

The fact that it took four grown men almost 40 minutes to breakdown (essentially) three bullet points is kind of ridiculous.

I sort of wish they'd get a better mic for these phone vids. When it's Mondays, the videos are usually short enough that I don't really care but this beast is 40 minutes, yo.

Production complaints aside, I'm liking the sarcastic response to the XBONE info dump.

@huey2k2: "am an avid PC gamer, but what you are saying doesn't make sense.

Steam is literally the exact same thing, when it goes down, all your games disappear."

This is incorrect. Valve has repeatedly stated that if Steam is ever goes under they will do two things. 1.Give people time to download their games and 2. Release a patch that takes out ALL of the Steam DRM so you can keep on playing them. They have already tested this and know that it works. I highly doubt MS will have the same policy.

Too many questions = failed console. It's too soon for all this crap. No way am I paying $60 a game for renting. When the service is down eventually those dics will be useless. F THAT. PS4 for me next gen, and I'm someone that bought every console.

Imagine if Hardcore gamers are confused... Now imagine casuals... This system will be a mess. The discs are nothing but an install discs. And years from now want to play that game? Forget it, it won't work if that service doesn't exist anymore. It's a steam box. MS is shooting themselves in the foot, knee and crotch at the same time. collectors will not buy this that's for sure. I can see all the fools trying to return games in the store and stuff, what a mess. Also some people don't have more then 20,40,60 gigs of bandwidth... So installing games online that take 10 to 40 gig... Good luck on that great Games on Demand. Total flop. I predict it will die sooner then the Dreamcast unless they change everything by launch. The technology is too early to force people on it, maybe in 8 years but not today, especially if not all the other consoles are like this.And yes... This will be a hackers dream, maybe then it will be a console worth getting.

Sony will surely have something similar or the big name publishers who called for this will be charging WAY more for the titles released on the Playstation platform. Either that or those publishers are going to favour the platform they get more revenue from...

I honestly don't mind either way. I can live without a pre-owned industry. I always buy my games 'new' from game stores as I have always thought the pre-owned market was exploitative to consumers and damaging to the industry. Just finding new games in a game store these days can be a challenge with their shelves-upon-shelves of pre-owned. It's disgusting.

Should have gone with a download only console. Yeah, some pushback is expected, but the 24hr bs would be unnecessary and they could have made it cheaper without a disk drive or a just put in a much larger HDD.

@misterlinton: I think you might be right, MS should have just taken the next step towards the inevitable especially if they were going to rule out people who don't connect to the internet anyway. I'm sure there would have been less of a backlash.

Remember when you could just put in a disc/cartridge/etc and you could just play the damn game.....*sigh* good times

That's apparently too much to ask for.

Diabolical!

Jeff's shirt is dope.

We know what all of this means ... PC IS BACK, BABY! WOOOOOOOO! Ok, fine, maybe not but still.

Really wanted to know what fruit was in that box.

The quagmire of XONE DRM gets even more convoluted, if possible. Good heavens.

This guy knows what's up. It seems like everyone thinks Sony's going to ride in on a horse and save everyone from not being able to trade games the old fashioned way. Well that's just not going to happen. If one console offers publishers features the other doesn't, guess which console's going to get more exclusive games? That's right, the more profitable one. To the folks who think sheer numbers of PS4 units sold will matter to publishers: you're also crazy, not to mention the PS4 is almost guaranteed to be more expensive than the Xbox One. How much more expensive is to be seen.

ATTENTION FIGHTING GAME FANS this DRM thing makes it impossible for tournament organizers to easily run tournaments on the Xbox One, therefore at least one good thing will come from this DRM stuff. the next generation of FGC will all be playing on the same console.

Explanation if you don't get it: An organizer who runs a tournament for say 7 games (a big tournament like EVO, maybe even less big) will need numberous consoles and many copies of each game. they will need to have accounts for each Xbox as well as make sure that the venue has constant stable internet (WHICH ANYONE WHO WATCHES STREAMS KNOWS IS NEVER THE CASE) so any organizer worth a damn will save themselves a couple hundred (or thousand) dollars(and some serious hassles) and just run it all on ps4.

i only skimmed the video for now so i don't even know if there are further problems this will cause for my particular neck of the woods.

None of this will matter when Halo/COD comes out and tons of people buy it. There are few groups of people who are more "oooooh shiny" then gamers.

You've screwed up, Microsoft. You had this long to prepare answers to the questions you should have answered correctly the first time, and none of us are closer to knowing exactly what your policies are. We are past the point of incompetence, and we are all convinced you're now hiding something.

Although I too wish to see Microsoft beaten down for this DRM disaster, it's pretty clear that Sony will have to do something similar to compete. They might have the benefit of revealing last, but sadly the consumer will not win with either company.

Jeff's shirt means "little bear" in Russian. Mishka is sick. You are now even cooler Jeff!

Patrick, does your girl know you stole her watch? :)

No matter how you cut it , it still sucks monkeyballs !

Sony has saved us!

I come from the future. "Wouldn't it be awesome if they didn't?" Yes Patrick it would. Too bad about paid online though