AngryJason
Shared on Fri, 05/24/2013 - 07:09Just read this article http://www.gamespot.com/news/xbox-one-preorder-plan-revealed-6408850
Basic highlights:
According to retail sources speaking with MCV, retailers will be able to charge whatever they want for secondhand Xbox One games, but Microsoft and publishers will receive a cut of every transaction.
The system will reportedly work as such: consumers can trade in physical Xbox One game discs only at retailers that have agreed to Microsoft's terms and conditions and have integrated the company's cloud-enabled Azure preowned technology into their own.
The traded in title is then registered on Microsoft's systems as having been re-sold and the data files will be cleared from their Xbox One account. Such a system would explain Microsoft's position that the Xbox One must "check in" wince every 24 hours.th its servers
It doesn't really bother me, as I'm not a used game buyer - unless I somehow get turned on to an obscure game that I missed at retail and can't find anywhere new. Case in point this gen: Battle Fantasia. So while I don't partake much, I do acknowledge that the secondary market benefits me. For others, used games are their primary means of getting games. Then I think of going to cons, where there will be some small video game dealer with games from the 2600 all the way up to 360/PS3. Sometimes, I see something that catches me eye. In 20 years, I won't be able to pick up a copy of Halo 5 when I'm feeling nostalgic about the One(durrr) years?
I still believe Sony has been intentionally vague about it's plans for this. Sure, they've said "we'll let you play used games" but haven't gone into any detail. Gamers though, have taken it to mean they're continuing on the status quo? Are they? It's quite possible I missed something. With Sony's past anti-consumer transgressions, can we really trust that they're making this stand for freedom and gamer's rights?
In the end - if Microsoft is indeed doing with this secondary market, regardless of what Sony is doing - it seems like a hostile move towards consumers. I can't imagine what business sense there is for Microsoft to do this, unless they've got a lot of deals in place with major publishers to go exclusive over time, and that seems unlikely (although, one could argue that EA ignoring the Wii-U may be a market test of this concept). If Sony follows suit, the IGN kiddies will all say "I'm going to Steam" which is closed off even more (try trading in or borrowing a game there). Maybe consoles really are dying...
Which leads to another article I came upon http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/05/xbox-one-gaming
This highlights how both Microsoft and Sony are making the play to control the living room and posits that the console is dead. It certainly seems that way.
FTA: By broadening the functionality of the Xbox 360, Microsoft hoped to attract more users (and dollars) from outside the core. By positioning the Xbox One as an everything device right at launch, it’s hoping to widen that circle even more. I’m not saying it will necessarily prove to be a successful strategy. But neither is it the obvious misstep that people think it is. Maybe my household is just another cliche, but we’ve been using our Xbox 360 at home to binge-watch Game of Thrones, and the HBO GO app on the 360 is an infinitely more appealing experience than navigating Comcast’s On Demand menu. And yes, I have heard a lot of people do like sports.
Having games as just one part of a broad entertainment device with multiple, diverse revenue streams might not just be Microsoft’s (and Apple’s and Google’s) preferred outcome. It might be the only way that high-end game machines survive at all.
- AngryJason's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments
Submitted by CrypticCat on Fri, 05/24/2013 - 14:25
It'll be the dead of console-gaming. If not of Xbox in general. The main flaw MS is overlooking is that PCs do this better and are cheaper to maintain. Just a better graphics-card extends the life of a midrange PC by three years before a major investment has to be made. So you're talking about longevity.
Since gaming evolves faster than consoles do, you'll be looking at buying a new Xbox four years down the road (if you're an early adapter), while your midrange PC can still last 3-4 years longer than that... and do everything the Xbox One does.
Overhere in the Netherlands, the console-companies are more or less done for already. Unless something remarkable happens, this will be last gen widely sold. The next gen after that will be obscure niche machines again.
PC wins. Not because it is superior (superiority in PC gaming is directly tied to the amount of money spent) but because the console-industry became greedy control nazis. They killed themselves.