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Microsoft is seriously out of their minds....


ThermoNukePanda

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More and more info has been leaking out about the next Xbox, codenamed Durango, and all signs are pointing to the rumors being true regarding always online connectivity, mandatory Kinect usage, and the fight against used video games.

 

Previously it's been reported that MS and Sony were looking into ways to disrupt the used game market.  There was a lot of uproar over this. 

 

Check this out from the Durango Hardware Overview:

 

"Every Durango console will have a hard drive, although its exact capacity has not been chosen.  It will be large enough, however, to hold a large number of games.  All games will be installed on the hard drive.  Play from the optical disc will not be supported."

 

That is incredibly bad news.  On top of this, the rumors of forcing players to always have their Kinect hooked up seem to also be true.

 

"Every Durango console will be sold with a new high-fidelity Kinect Senor, which will be required for the system to operate."

 

And for good measure they're touting an "Always On, Always Connected" design.

 

"Durango will implement different power states so that it can always be powered on, but will draw minimal electricity when not in use.  The console will be ready instantly when users want to play, and will always maintain a network connection so that console software and games are always current."

 

 

 

Fuuuuuuuu.  I'm sticking with PC if all of this is true.  At least for the time being anyways.  There is no way in hell I'm going to be an early adopter.

 

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Most of that sucks, but I don't understand the problem with games not playing from disc. It doesn't prove that they are not allowing used games. Only down side is you'll have to wait on an install before you can play.

 

In the source document it details something more about being able to being playing and streaming the game somehow while it is still installing to avoid that problem of waiting.

 

My biggest fear is the mandatory installation, which can easily lead to one time activation codes.  Kind of like the evolving of the "Online Pass" codes that have come out recently in order to play online with others. 

 

Also the whole mandatory Kinect thing is silly.  I worry about that because of the patent MS created last year for person recognition and determining license use.  The idea being it can tell if you have 4 people in the room trying to watch Netflix and in turn blocking your use of the program because you've only paid for a license for 2 viewers.

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Yeah. I figured they'd design the installation process into something seamless. I don't think installation will effect their decision or ability to stop used games. At best,if you do have to be always connected, they will simply tie a one time key that comes with a new game to your account. At worst, they will tie the key to your console.

I'm hoping that they keep allowing used games. I don't really give a crap about the used game business. It's a rip off for the most part anyway. There is more to it than that though. What about businesses like gamefly? Plus we should be able to loan give our games anyway.

Oh well, Steam is no better and PC games lost that battle years ago. At least you can justify PC games by the stupid cheap deals that come through.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The one thing you all seem to be harping on is the "always on internet" requirement.  I'm here to tell you, as a business, MS will NOT do that.  They will not limit their market to less than 65% of the country and it's an even smaller percentage across the world.  There's no way in hell they would do that.  The other points are really moot honestly.  Playing from the HDD is not an issue and whenever I am playing something for an extended period of time, I install it now anyway.  If the Kinect is included, who gives a crap? 

 

<drops all the mics>

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Installing it isn't an issue, the problem is they're going to get rid of used games entirely. Once you install it on your HDD that disc becomes useless. Not only to you, but to everyone. I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but stores like Gamestop ONLY exist because of used game sales. Who do they think is going to distribute their games? Are they going to open up stores for it? I doubt it. I really have an issue with a company destroying their partner companies for no gain.

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First, used games hurt developers plain and simple. The second sale of a game makes them zero dollars. This stifles their ability to put more money back in to new ideas. Second, Gamestop's used game sales last year were only 25% of their business. Yes that is a pretty high percentage, but not catastrophic. However, as you pointed out, MS will not hurt their relationship with one of their top resellers. That is not good business and MS is a business. We often only look at things from a gamer perspective with these rumors and don't take time to think about the business side of things.

So, while I detest used games, I highly doubt MS will kill them. The same rumor came out before the PS4 reveal as well and has been debunked by Sony. Also, on a side note, GameStop posted a loss of almost $270 million last year so people seem to be getting fed up with their shitty business practices.

LG, there will still be a controller. You won't lose the manual abilities.

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I used Gamestop as an example of the retail side of it. Personally I despise the company, but it was just used as an example. I disagree with losing 25% of your income not being catastrophic. If you have a dollar and someone takes away .25 cents and throws it in the toilet, that's still .25 cent you're missing because someone was an asshole. They're not even borrowing your .25 cent, they just wanted you to not have it.

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