[Sum Gai]

Update: Last Week Microsoft confirmed that they would be imposing strict DRM policies on the Xbox One. They also announced a ridiculous launch price of £429. Here are the policies below.

Hopefully this will help people decide whether or not to support the Xbox One. I and many other gamers certainly won't.
I have to say that Microsoft have kind of messed this up. Sony confirmed the PS4 will have none of these restrictions.

• With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours. You will need to connect to the internet to verify your games. Therefore you cannot game offline after 24 hours without a connection, especially if the cloud is needed for a game then a CONSTANT internet connection is required at all times.
• Discs install to the HDD. You get a digital copy of the game to download at any time and on any console as long as you are logged in.
• You cannot give your disc to a friend to install. It won't work unless they are logged into your live account (as the game is tied to the account)
• Games are tied to the console as well, so any one or any live account can play the games on your console.
• If you are logged in at a friends house you can play the games you own.
• You can add up to 10 family members who can play your games on any console. Not the same game at the same time though. (likely a paid live gold perk, and likely only when the main account holders Xbox is signed out)
• You cannot privately sell games as games are tied to your live account
• Loaning or renting is forbidden
• You can trade games to one friend as long as they have been on your friends list for 30 days. This is a one time transfer of ownership. There is no fee and you cannot trade the game again after that one time
• If a publisher allows, you will be enabled to trade in games to SELECTED retail stores. This will disable the game on your live account/console.
• Kinect can be turned off when the console is off.
• Kinect does not listen and record conversations.
• Kinect is mandatory for some games/system applications.
• Kinect has to be connected to the system at all times. It cannot be unplugged.
• Microsoft will prompt you for permission before any information about you is sent to Microsoft.
• Xbox One is not backwards compatible with any physical or digital Xbox 360 games.
• Xbox Live will still have a premium price. However a new live account will be introduced which caters to families.
• A broadband connection of 1.5mbps is recommended/required.

More info here-http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/main
Or you can watch a video of Angry Joe explaining the policies here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryB-hdtpQRw

Here is a poster which sums up the main points

Connectivity
- Recommended connection of 1.5Mbps
- System is designed to verify if system, application or game updates are needed and to see if you have acquired new games, or resold, traded in, or given your game to a friend
- Games that are designed to take advantage of the cloud may require a connection
- Play offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console
- Play offline up to one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library
- Can’t game offline after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and Blu-ray and DVD movies
Licensing
- Play any of your games from any Xbox One console after signing in and installing
- This is possible because a copy is also stored in the cloud
- Share game access with everyone inside your home
- Up to ten members of your family can log in and play from your shared games library on any Xbox One
- “We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers. Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games.”
- Publishers can enable you to give your disc-based games to your friends
- There are no fees charged as part of these transfers
- Requirements: you can only give them to people who have been on your friends list for at least 30 days and each game can only be given once
- Microsoft Studios will enable you to give your games to friends or trade in your Xbox One games at participating retailers
- Third party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers
- Microsoft does not receive any compensation as part of this
- Third party publishers can enable you to give games to friends
- Loaning or renting games won’t be available at launch
Kinect privacy
- Choose what Kinect can see and hear
- You will determine how responsive and personalized your Xbox One is to you and your family during setup
- Key options include automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used
- When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded
- Control when Kinect sensing is On, Off or Paused
- If you don’t want the Kinect sensor on while playing games or enjoying your entertainment, you can pause Kinect
- To turn off your Xbox One, just say “Xbox Off”
- When the system is off, it’s only listening for the single voice command — “Xbox On,” and you can even turn that feature off too
- Some apps and games may require Kinect functionality to operate, so you’ll need to turn it back on for these experiences
- Control personal data
- You can play games or enjoy applications that use data, such as videos, photos, facial expressions, heart rate and more, but this data will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission

Want my opinion, click the spoiler tag

Spoiler:

Show

Anti consumer policies have ruined the Xbox. It's way too controlling. Don't buy it.

Get a PS4, Wii U or PC instead.

[Jaynii]

Thank you for this! I have now decided there is no way I am paying £599.99 for this (price from amazon.co.uk)

[Sum Gai]

(Original post by Jaynii)
Thank you for this! I have now decided there is no way I am paying £599.99 for this (price from amazon.co.uk)

No worries.

But £599 won't be the actual price. That's just a place holder until Microsoft announce the actual price.

[Et Tu, Brute?]

Sounds **** tbh

[Jam']

What a load of rubbish.

What happens when you sell the console? Sell the games too? Sounds like it could end up inconsistent with paypal terms - you can't sell virtual downloads and a 'game' would come under this header

[Jam']

The only way this could work is if the console was like £50

[Sum Gai]

(Original post by Jam')
What a load of rubbish.

What happens when you sell the console? Sell the games too? Sounds like it could end up inconsistent with paypal terms - you can't sell virtual downloads and a 'game' would come under this header

The games are tied to your LIVE account. So you can sign in on your live account on any Xbox (including a new one) and redownload the games at any time.

If you're selling then you'd probably have to wipe the system first then sell it on. You can't sell your games privately. So it's up to the publisher if you can trade in your games at selected retail stores. it's likely that trade in prices will drop due to this policy and you'll end up getting less for your games.

[dlaiden]

I bet Sony's getting ready to laugh all the way to the bank at this point. Oh Microsoft. With all their emphasis on online multiplayer, they've forgotten lesson number one: do not fire bullets into your own foot.


Posted from TSR Mobile

[Stickyelmo]

"Loaning or renting is forbidden"

So we can't test out games? There better be a lot more demos since you can't borrow a game to test it.

[Sum Gai]

(Original post by Stickyelmo)
"Loaning or renting is forbidden"

So we can't test out games? There better be a lot more demos since you can't borrow a game to test it.

correct. Microsoft have said they can change their policies at any time so it may be something they look into in the future. But for the moment the disc is tied to an account until it's traded.

Demos should be available. But knowing microsoft you'll probably need a gold subscription or something.

[Manitude]

It's almost as if they don't want people to buy their console!

[Choppie]

This is why I'm a PC gamer - play offline, play most games since 1995, upgrade your PC at your will (PCs are already able to surpass performance of the Xbox One and PS4). When will console manufacturers learn?

[Jaynii]

(Original post by Sum Gai)
No worries.

But £599 won't be the actual price. That's just a place holder until Microsoft announce the actual price.

I know but still for me anything over £400 for a console is expensive. I don't have that kind of money to waste. Out of curiosity how much do you think the Xbox one will cost?

[Sum Gai]

(Original post by Jaynii)
I know but still for me anything over £400 for a console is expensive. I don't have that kind of money to waste. Out of curiosity how much do you think the Xbox one will cost?

I'm no expert. But i'd probably say somewhere around £350-£400.

[SpicyStrawberry]

(Original post by Stickyelmo)
"Loaning or renting is forbidden"

So we can't test out games? There better be a lot more demos since you can't borrow a game to test it.

" Loaning or renting games won’t be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners."

I didn't see anywhere on the webpage that loaning or renting is forbidden, just that it won't be available when the console is first released. Presumably it will take some time to implement it.

[SillyEddy]

It's amusing how Adobe, the company who probably have more pirated software than any other company, have less strict rules on connectivity than the Xbox. With the creative cloud, you just have to connect once a month to validate the software!


I hope they change these policies, and I secretly hope this violates some sort of EU law forcing them to drastically change their policies on this console. It wasn't broken, it doesn't need fixing. To make it worse, they're fixing it in ways which have recently been proven to be catastrophic.

[Sum Gai]

(Original post by SpicyStrawberry)
" Loaning or renting games won’t be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners."

I didn't see anywhere on the webpage that loaning or renting is forbidden, just that it won't be available when the console is first released. Presumably it will take some time to implement it.

You can't loan a game to a friend, nor can you rent a game from a third party. Like i said it's something that may change in the future.

(Original post by SillyEddy)
It's amusing how Adobe, the company who probably have more pirated software than any other company, have less strict rules on connectivity than the Xbox. With the creative cloud, you just have to connect once a month to validate the software!


I hope they change these policies, and I secretly hope this violates some sort of EU law forcing them to drastically change their policies on this console. It wasn't broken, it doesn't need fixing. To make it worse, they're fixing it in ways which have recently been proven to be catastrophic.

Yep, it's a very strict and controlling policy. It probably does violate a law in the EU. I can see at least one attempted court case.

The thing i hate is that they're punishing paying customers more than pirates here. If i buy a game for £40 i'd expect to be able to play it when i get home... but if my internet is down i can't. So can i sell it? Nope... not unless the publisher allows and you have to go through a third party who will give me nothing for the game.

Makes sense though. The Xbox One was green lit very late in 2011 (compared to 2008 for the PS4) when Online DRM was looking like a successful method of preventing piracy/used game sales. Obviously we all know how it failed epically and every publisher removed it/reduced it. I'm guessing the Xbox was too far along in development as online console so they couldn't turn back and had no choice but to go ahead with their plan.

[Sum Gai]

You know what's really funny. Microsoft confirmed that your private data won't be monitored through Kinect.

And then this story broke
http://www.washingtonpost.com/invest...497_story.html

Basically the NSA are mining info from MS and it's users.

So that puts kinect back as a privacy risk again.

[Andaxay]

Point one is the point that irks me the most.

When I play single player, it's because a) I feel like playing a decent single player game BY MYSELF and b) I DON'T WANT TO PLAY ONLINE. So why, for the love of God, do I HAVE to connect my Xbox, however briefly, JUST to be able to play alone?!

I mean, when you're with Orange Broadband, you don't stand a hope in hell of even being able to connect it. So basically, if I feel like playing alone and my Internet refuses to connect me to my Xbox (happens a lot and it constantly kicks me off Live, refusing to reconnect), I can't play a damn single player game.

Grrr. I've been an Xbox fan for a long time but this constant demand to be connected to the world these days is really starting to grind me up. Maybe I'll move to PS4 or PC.

[paddlesnap]

With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours. You will need to connect to the internet to verify your games. Therefore you cannot game offline after 24 hours without a connection, especially if the cloud is needed for a game then a CONSTANT internet connection is required at all times.
You cannot privately sell games as games are tied to your live account
Loaning or renting is forbidden
Xbox One is not backwards compatible with any physical or digital Xbox 360 games.
Xbox Live will still have a premium price. However a new live account will be introduced which caters to families.

They have shot themselves in the foot. Shame, as I like Microsoft, and love my 360. It probably speaks volumes, however, that my all time favourite is my PS2, and I think when the 4 comes out I'll be buying one of them.