Why the Xbox One isn't Hitler...

For those of you living under a rock, Microsoft has been getting a lot of flack and hate this last week from the internet overall, due to honestly....a complete lack of communication and when communication does happen to occur, it's more about what the Xbox One can't do, then what it can and a general lack of customer-friendly vibes. After doing some research online, I've come to my own conclusions about the Xbox One and it's offerings. I hope you'll give the full article a read before you put the rage glasses back on.

Yay! You stayed!

Okay. So I have had a change of heart about the Xbox One. Before you start pointing and screaming TRAITOR! or making some godawful screech like the scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers…let me give you something to read.

 

http://www.neowin.net/news/anonymous-xbox-engineer-explains-drm-and-microsofts-xbox-one-intentions

Read this article linked above, then come back and finish reading this article.

Did that? Okay good. Now you know what Microsoft should have told everyone on announcement day, instead of pushing all the goddamn TV features only some of their install base is actually gonna use.

Like you, when I first read about the DRM and online connection restrictions for the Xbox One, I was dumbstruck and full of rage.

How could they? How fucking could they!?! Blah blah, my rights, blah blah insert a rant about used games….yackity smackity. We all have said similar things and hopped on the hype train to rage town.

The internet after the Xbox One press conference.

Keep in mind, I'm writing this as a person that still isn't sold on an Xbox One, nor am I sold on a PS4. There are games out there that I want to play on both, but I will need to wait until that new tech smell dies down. I'm not getting boned with my new toy dying 3 months after opening the box. I will not suffer the woes of an early adopter. Remember Xbox 360's RROD? I do. It still stings sometimes.

I also know that the Xbox One will not be the choice for everyone. Not everyone is gonna buy one. People want more options and so thankfully there are other options to Microsofts console. This article is intended to inform you of what the Xbox One is intended to do. It's not intended to change minds or get people to come back over to Microsoft. I'm not a Microsoft fan by any means. What they've done to the 360 over the last few years has been sad to see. They have great games, but they have turned a corvette into a mini-van. With every dashboard & system update, they have turned the 360 into a bloated, sub-par media and ad device that takes forever to boot and play games on(at least in my case). But it offers the games I really want to play.

So here we go...

I read the article above, talked to a couple of tech heads, and started searching for more information. All the rage and incoherent babble that came from the internet was getting old. I needed to know what was really down with this console. And hopefully get more informed about it so I knew what I could potentially be fighting against if Microsoft really did turn out to be the devil, or a reincarnation of Hitler in corporate form. Sadly though, Microsoft hasn't been so forthcoming with their information about the new Xbox. Their current PR situation is a tiny boat out in the middle of a hurricane, and the gaming community is the hurricane. It's a shit storm. They are taking on water and essentially saying "We're Microsoft! FUCK PADDLES!" But I eventually found the article above, and Microsoft has been slowly trickling out information here and there.

To understand why the restrictions are there with the Xbone, you have to know what Microsofts wants to do with this console. (insert overly obvious Microsoft wants to rule all and take our rights way comment here...) Saw it coming guys. I made a few of those myself. You're not so clevah!

The short version:

They want a Steam-like console, that will offer cloud based access to your entire game catalog, but still allow you to be able to share games and resell your disc when you are done with a title. They want you to have a lot less load times with your games, and the ability to pick up where you left off in a game almost instantly if you go to do something else. They want your Xbox to link to your tv so you can switch between live television, gaming or a movie with a couple of words or a simple button press or hand swipe. And they want to be able to do this....AND offer you the ability to share and trade or resell your game disc if you so choose.

That's a tall order. Steam itself is restrictive as all hell when you compare it to any current-gen game console. But people buy the hell out of some discounted games on Steam. And you can still share and resell your games if you so choose on the Xbone. Can't do that on Steam.

The long version:

Imagine having a game console that you can watch tv through. You're having trouble finding something to watch on tv and you get a friend invite to a match in Halo or some coop in Borderlands 3. Without switching inputs, you can jump into their game at the drop of a hat. Or when you are done you can switch right back to watching TV or streaming content from the Marketplace without touching a remote to switch inputs. (yeah okay this may not be a big deal to everyone....but I personally think it's kinda cool to be able to do that.)

Imagine having 24 hour access to all your games without having to carry around discs or your console. Just a controller. You go to your friends house, and if they have a net connection, log in under your account and bam, there's all your shit. Saved games, DLC...all of it. Without toting your console and discs.

Imagine Steam-like bargains for games on Live Marketplace. Weekend deals and Summer sales offering up new titles like Metal Gear 5 or Titanfall, or the next Halo for half price or better. Or package deals allowing you a game, and all the dlc without having to wait for a game of the year edition. Or company specific deals that let you get a huge batch of games from one of your favorite developers. Gearbox sales, or Capcom sales...etc. That can happen now because of how the system is setup. One of the best things is....it's not killing the used game industry, it's helping the industry as a whole by putting more money into the pockets of the developers and publishers. Not in the hands of just Gamestop alone. So now...developers have to stop using used game sales as a scapegoat for the reason they aren't making more money. So they can focus on bringing us better content.

It does all of this....and it allows you to keep a disc, share your games with friends AND still trade in your games.

There HAVE to be some trade-offs. They offer these features, but there are going to be some restrictions. Why? They don't want people to easily pirate their software. Whether we agree or not...piracy is a concern for the game industry. Maybe not as big as they make it out to be, but Microsoft isn't going to make it any easier for someone to pirate their stuff. Just a fact.

So how do they accomplish the task of providing you crazy good deals, full access to your content 24/7 from almost anywhere, AND allow you to trade in your discs and share games with friends?

The Process:

Every Xbox One disc will have an encrypted registration code built into it. So when you install the game, it checks with Microsoft to say "Hey...so & so owns this game. We cool? We cool." Then you play. There's no paper code to type in. Having a paper code would actually be more aggravating for retailers to resell the games. They'd need a system in place to provide new codes for every trade-in. When simply all they need to do is de-activate a registration. They also don't want you to have to keep discs in your console, so the discs are for installs only, not for playing off of.

When you are done with your game, you can then de-register it and take it to Gamestop to get whatever slum-lord sum they decide to offer. But in order for this to work, Microsoft has to know when you de-register it, or if you're trying to just keep the installation on your hard drive and pass the disc around for free installs.

The 24 hour check-in keeps this from happening. Because of how quickly someone can de-register their game and trade it in, Microsoft has to implement this check once a day. The only way for Microsoft to keep up with your registrations, and allow you to de-register your game and trade it in, is to implement a mandatory check-in period.

If you decide to keep your game, you have what's called the Family System. With this system, your gaming library is available for up to 10 of your Xbox Live friends. You choose what games are available, and who can have access. It works the same as if you were handing out a disc. One person at a time per game. But with the added benefit that your friend won't fucking lose or mess up your collectors edition Halo 5 bluray disc and you'll have to kick their ass and you end up never talking again and then you run into each other at Cosco 6 months later and he's all like "Bro sorry about your disc," and you're all like "Nah Brah it's cool. Just a game bro. Can we be bro's again?" and he's like "Yeah bro." Then you fist bump and it's all kosher again. But you still don't have your Halo 5 disc, bro.

So overall, not evil. Not even close to Hitler. I'll bet that not even one Jew was harmed in the making of the Xbox One. 

No Jews were harmed in the making of this console...

 It works like Steam, but with disc-based media and you can still share your games and trade them in if you choose. That's BETTER than Steam. Right?

The downside is obviously, you have no internet then you can't play any games. It sucks. That's a fact. But you still have a couple of options. If you have a cell phone with a good plan, and can use it as a wireless hotspot, you can use it to let your Xbone check in that once every 24 hours. Now if you don't have a cell, no internet at all and can't go to a friends house once a day to check-in....then the Xbox One simply isn't a console you'll be able to use. That sucks. But thankfully you have other choices. The Xbox 360, the PS3 and the PS4, or your PC and mobile devices. The Xbox One is intended to be the centerpiece of your home theater. And you don't pack up your home theater and take it to your cabin in the mountains. At least in most cases you don't.

But why, oh why can I not just keep my disc in the console as the check instead of having to log-in every 24 hours? You ask snidely.

Good question. Honestly I don't have the answer. Maybe that's something they just chose not to implement now. Could they implement it later? I don't know. I'll try to find the answer to that and post it when I do. If you find it before I do, post it in the comments. The more real info out there, the better for everyone.

Well what about Kinect? It's big brother watching me masturbate! Well Microsoft claims we can turn the Kinect off so it doesn't react to voice command or movement. I guess we won't really know until the console is available. Can always use some duct tape or throw a little blanket over it.

Catbug from the Youtube series "Greatest Warriors".

Microsoft's big problem is how they've presented this information, and their reactions to their fans and the internet. They've basically taken a "this is how it is...." stance. While it's not the right way to deal with a potential customer base, they are right. With how the console works, the requirements aren't going to be met by everybody. So the console won't be for everybody. (insert even more obvious PS4 superiority comment here)

I'm not a Microsoft fan, but preferred their gaming offerings over that of the PS3 this last console generation. I have nothing against Sony or what they did offer. And I will be picking up a PS3 later this year with a few of the big titles that i do want to play. But a Sony device has not been my primary gaming device since the PS2. The PS3 just didn't impress me to begin with. It's just now showing enough titles for me to justify buying one.

Ultimately we all speak with our wallets. Even if this article has informed you, and now you being a more informed consumer, still do not like the offerings of the Xbox One, that's cool. Just be informed when you make your purchases. Know the facts, don't buy or protest based on over-reaction and lack of information. Step back and watch the hype train to hate town crash and burn. Don't be a part of the blaze. Use some common sense and look at the big picture.

"Oh sheet we're FOOOOOCKED!"

We gamers are a funny group sometimes. We are quick to choose our glorious gaming saviors before we even know all of the offerings. Sony and Microsoft both have screwed up royally this console generation. The only reason Nintendo hasn't swooped in and taken over is simple....they don't care. They are trudging a long, selling and reselling their back catalog over and over, offering new games like they are appetizers to a meal that never comes. I'm not hating on Nintendo, just stating an observation. Other than the hardware, their software offerings have not been as varied or enticing to me as with other consoles. Now that's just me. People who dig Nintendo and love their stuff, by all means keep loving their stuff. I have nothing against you. Nintendo just hasn't offered me anything I care to play. So I do not support their products. Just that simple. The same goes for Microsoft or Sony. If you don't like their offerings or policies, then you don't have to buy their product. It sucks because you want to experience all the great games that will be coming down the pipeline in the next year or so. And thankfully you do have options.

And for those out their who are worried about the Microsoft servers getting shut down whenever we move on 2 or 3 console generations from now, watch the video here:

http://youtu.be/2lMhjM9BK7M

I'm the Drunken Viking. A little less rage-filled, a lot more informed.

- D. Viking.