Kotaku is reporting that Microsoft is back peddling on their DRM restrictions. Original article: http://kotaku.com/microsoft-is-removing-xbox-one-drm-514390310
According to the article these are the following changes:
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
Authentication is no longer necessary
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
According to the article these are the following changes:
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
Authentication is no longer necessary
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
You and vdogmr both beat me to this by a minute.
Good news, but the family sharing is now gone. I think this is better in the long run.
I was just posting this! I'm glad they made this choice. I'm more of a PC/Playstation guy, but decent competition is what helps produce better systems all around, as well as better in-house titles. Until now, I didn't think the XBox One would be able to hold up.
Not sure how I feel about this. It's nice to know they rethought their tactics but did they do it for the right reasons? Probably not. Most likely they got rid of these restrictions for the sole reason that the Ps4 was going to outsell them if they kept the restrictions.
Now don't get me wrong, this is pretty awesome, but I will still be buying the Ps4 over the Xbone.
Oh man, I have been an XBox guy, but had made the choice to jump to the PS4... now the decision is back up in the air...
I'm probably being over-cautious, but I'm still in the PS4 camp. I simply can't imagine that five months from worldwide release they can fundamentally change their delivery mechanisms, DRM, and installation process, both at the OS level and at the software level, both internally and with vendors, and have it come out anywhere near playable.
Remember, too, that this is Microsoft we're talking about - the original 360 took years of tweaking before it overcame its reputation as being a Red Ring of Death engine, and that was under what you could call optimal launch conditions.
I'm still in the PS4 camp for many reasons, but it's not that I don't trust MS on the change. They screwed up, and they're fixing it. If they now fail to fix it, there will be hell to pay, and I think they know that.
I'm still going PS4 because the indie scene is much better with Sony, the price point is better, and so far the games shown for PS4 have been more interesting. I also really like the way they're handling game downloads (allowing you to download the single player or multiplayer parts first), and PS+ has always given me a ton of value, and that doesn't seem to be slowing down.
Plus, it has better hardware. The next gen is running on the same hardware platform so that's actually something you can tell easily. Plus, since it's on the same platform, it's more likely that the extra power will be used well, rather than the ports of this gen where they just pick a console and do straight ports. Depending on the engine they use, it could even handle that automatically.
A little part of me was sort of hoping Microsoft would stick with the DRM scheme, fail miserably, and let the Xbone's smoldering remains serve as a warning for other companies who might want to try aggressive DRM. But I also don't want Sony to be the only big dog in the yard. :)
Over all I'm glad to see Microsoft change course.
I wanted them to stand their ground on these choices. Partly, because I have zero care for another XBox and partly because I really wanted to see how the sales panned out.
Just because the internet exploded over this issue the way it did, I wasn't really sure that mean't a long term drop in sales. People often complain and then purchase or purchase a bit later. Plus, really the further both consoles are from each other the starker the competition is.
I agree with the Capn' here, if the DRM systems were so integral into the XBone then this is non trivial work to remove them. Unless they were creative with the truth and they really were just tacked on, either way its a pretty major course correction.
I am not sure in the end if this is a win though. I mean, consumers were heard and major company changes course but it just seems so insubstantial to me. Plus it seems many people were excited about the DRM and now they get less DRM and are upset. I read a few articles by people with "big important gaming press sites" that say we can't have nice things because Microsoft did what people wanted. Uh, sure, I guess.
People cite Steam and say "well hey look, you know Steam does what Microsoft wanted to do and now they are reversing course so we can't have nice things and gamers are hypocrites." I am forumlating my thoughts in specific response to that because they are comparing things I don't think make sense to.
Other people seem upset because people are not flocking back to the XBone and bowing down thanking Microsoft for being benevolent.
People are strange and what Microsoft is doing is even stranger. Personally, I think they should have stood their ground and doubled down on their ol' strategy because it would have been more fun to watch.
"well hey look, you know Steam does what Microsoft wanted to do and now they are reversing course so we can't have nice things and gamers are hypocrites."
It is painfully easy to pirate PC games. Steam's method is basically necessary for there to be any hope of the publishers/developers getting money these days. It's less easy with console games, requiring some real effort and sometimes physical modifications to the console.
There's also a different value proposition for console games. I'm not sure whether or where I've expressed this sentiment before, so forgive me if I repeat myself or if I repeat myself (ha), but I can't remember the last PC game I paid $60 for. Because of the historically minimal used-PC-game market and a commonly enforced "no returns on software" policy, I've become accustomed to paying about $20 and knowing I'll never get that money back. When I pay $60 for a console game, I expect to have some equity in the title - I can enjoy it forever for $60, or I can recoup part of my investment later via trade or resale. It's much more like owning property than licensing an experience, and it's that feeling of ownership that's warranted the higher price of console games for me - even though I know that most of that higher price is *actually* going toward development cost, so regardless of the delivery mechanism / rights conferral, the price of a console title is probably going to remain about the same.