Post E3 Coverage: Final Thoughts on the Xbone

So let’s talk about the Xbox one. A few weeks ago Microsoft revealed their new “entertainment center experience” called the Xbox One and centered its focus around water coolers, television, sports and a real seal team dog. The response wasn’t too good for Microsoft, and they exclaimed high on the mountain top ‘we haven’t forgotten you, the core gamer’.

Recap: My Expectations

Let’s take a quick recap: as a gamer I expect content and value for the money I am putting out. I expect to put the game in and play it. I also expect companies to keep their hands off of the product I just purchased, after I purchase it. Those are the core tenants of my gameplay philosophy and my expectations for game publishers. 

Xbox Claims It’s the Wave of the Future

Microsoft (according to the Wall street Journal) claims that the Xbox One’s new technologies, which we will call “DRM”, are the wave of the future of gaming and that they “the DRM measures” are the reason you should be buying their console. That’s a pretty ballsy move, and after the Redmond Campus incident they didn’t have much of a choice here. CNET says that Microsoft has regained “gamer credit” with E3’s showing. While that may be true just for the author of that article, the rest of gamerdom as a whole seems to disagree with him. One thing is correct though: Microsoft said not one thing about the intrusive DRM at E3.

There’s just one problem. Microsoft wants to demand what the future will be (that’s nice), but gamerdom as a whole has already spoken negatively about the intrusive DRM and privacy breaking Kinect 2.0. Hey- some people who adore and love Microsoft won’t care and are willing to shell out the money for the shiny new box. I’m here to pick between the three consoles- because every generation I like to pick, at a minimum, one game console.

Indie Support

According to TGS, Microsoft really has not gained indie support- and that can spell disaster for sales. Other sources I have looked into state that Indie developers are raving about the Playstation 4, it’s friendliness to work with and the capabilities it presents to developers. TGS also commented that “this is what Microsoft needed in terms of gameplay”. I disagree- they needed console exclusives at E3, and most of the stuff showed there was CGI or multi-platformed games. 

You see- I have this awesome thing I am talking to right now through an integrated device known as a PC. For $500 I can get a machine that runs every single game in existence at a respectable framerate with room to upgrade in the future. One downside to consoles is that you are stuck with what you have until the next generation. There’s nothing mysterious or high tech about them- if you want that stuff you’ll have to look at high end gaming rigs, of which mine is not one. If It’s on the PC it’s going to run better and look better. Controller support is increasing for PC games. So…. If Metal Gear Solid V is on the PC or is a multi-plat game, for example, I’ll take a pass on Xbone.

Xbox Live Required

For the console to even work you’re going to need to pay a fee to Xbox Live to get the thing jump started. Just to update my games and for Microsoft to “authenticate” me, I’ve got to pay money. In addition, a new “reputation” system will come into play. Other players will be able to vote you up or down depending on if you play like a moron or not. I see this system being abused to the core and not a good idea in practice.

At ‘Authorized Retailers Only’

There will be no freedom to do what you want with your used games. You’ll be free to trade them into Gamestop, which is so far the only authorized retailer. No other information has been put out about that, but it is a fact that if you want to trade/sell games with your friends, or at all, you will only be able to do it once, and ONLY once, AND the person has to be on your friends list for more than 30 days. There will be no game rentals. Microsoft is exploring that option (which means they may or may not be looking into it).

Again, if they can come up with a competitive pricing model like Steam, then it isn’t such a big deal. However the industry’s track record has proven to be poor when publishers want $39.99 to $49.99 for used games that are five years old. Like I said previously, I won’t bite on that. Publishers will now dictate the sale of used games- and that’s going to open a whole lot of problems under First Sale Doctrine.

What’s the Kinect 2.0 Really For?

So what’s the dang camera for, anyways? Microsoft has not put out any exclusives that used motion controls let alone talked about them at great length. So what exactly is that camera for? It’s always watching and always listening. Contrary to what Microsoft has said, that “they” are the ‘stalwarts’ of privacy, I do not trust a corporation such as Microsoft to handle my private information.

With CISPA and government spying roaming around, and that’s a topic for another day, I am not about to trust Microsoft sharing private information with the government, the CIA, the NSA, or anyone relevant. Yes, they can do that with each other. Yes, it is unconstitutional. No, the majority of people don’t care. Microsoft also has a patent to charge pay-per-view from what the Kinect 2.0 sees. 

I don’t trust Microsoft to keep personally identifiable information secure. That information is open for Microsoft to misuse, or more practically- available to hackers, thieves, and corporations that want to sell me products. To top it all off- if Kinect doesn’t recognize someone in the room, they ask that person to identify themselves. The Kinect then stores that information, including if the person made a rude gesture.

Why You Should Really Buy a Console

The main reason you should buy any console is the availability of good titles, exclusives as well as, nowadays a network that allows you to play multiplayer games and download extra content/DLC through that Network. Microsoft wants to take it one step further to make you pay to get in the door, and pay to get your brick to work. That is an unacceptable practice.

Always online DRM has been implemented in Xbone. 

In order to “authenticate”, which is a fancy term for Microsoft checking that you aren’t pirating, you need to connect to the internet once every 24 hours, even for single player games. Failure to do so means your console is temporarily bricked until you authenticate. If you log onto a console not your own, you have to “authenticate” every hour.

So let’s conclude with my thoughts on the Xbone. It’s always on and always watching and listening. The Kinect 2.0 serves no other practical purpose. There is a requirement to be online once every 24 hours, you have to register your games through the console on the internet to authenticate, You can’t resell your game more than once, the camera stores personally identifiable information, you have to pay to get into the “online store” so to speak, let alone pay Xbox Live to even make the console work, and to top it all off- the games revealed at launch are multi-platformers available on other consoles. They then have the balls to ask me for $500 for this DRM ridden entertainment box.

This is an immediate no. I am still waiting to give the PS4 a chance though as I consider it and the Wii U for a console purchase. Overall I am disappointed with where companies such as Microsoft and Electronic Arts want to take the industry. Let them defy gamers at their own peril.