Microsoft Drops Xbox One DRM Restrictions - UPDATED

[shrekfan246]

Thank you for at least getting the concept of what a 180 vs a 360 actually is. I remember towards the beginning of this generation, I kept seeing Sony fans saying things like "you know why its called a 360? Cause you see one and do a 360 and walk away." it made me wish I had a Facepunch key on my computer.

Actually...

Hm...

I don't know if I should spoil the surprise for you...

Spoiler: Aw, what the heck

OT: Still too little, too late in my mind. I'll give credit where it's due that they're backtracking on the phoning home and "sell back at participating retailers" thing, but the slew of bad PR that came out of Mattrick's mouth leading up to this has put me off the system. If they don't try putting it back in a year or two down the line, I may pick one up after it's about half the launch price, depending on what exclusives they can actually get.

 

[Darklord008]

Sweet. If this turns out to be true, I'll feel even less bad about buying an Xbone eventually.

 

[setting_son]

Prior to having details of the system I had been planning on getting an Xbox One, then the online requirement came to light along with the used game policy... I began to have doubts*.

(* My internet connection is fairly stable but occasionally Richard Branson has a spasm and it goes offline until Virgin Media come round to put the exchange back together. And I don't buy used games but if my wages are short, trading games in is the only way I can afford new ones. So these things... they wouldn't totally ruin my game experience but they could cause me inconvenience, theoretically)

And then the price was announced; I can handle restrictive online requirements even if it leaves a bad taste in the mouth but at the same time as paying £100 more than the PS4 which does all the same stuff minus the online tethering? Too far.

This move has done a lot to win me back to buying an Xbox One... however, given that Microsoft were adamant that all of their restrictive practices were 'the future', the fact they reversed themselves in the face of bad PR suggests to me that either they knew it was bullshit all along but didn't expect to get called on it. Or they do believe it but lack the courage of their convictions.

Liars or idiots? (Or both)

 

[Jesse Billingsley]

Too late Microsoft! I'm already planning on buying a PS4 now that most of my Live friends are already planning on doing the same thing. We even have our squad line up set for The Division. Have a nice day, it's been real

But Kudos to the community for sticking it to the man!

 

[unstabLized]

Too late and not enough for me. Nice of you backtrack this hard that goes against everything you've said about the damn console up to till this point, but no. That bullshit kinect is still on there, and the $500 tag is still unjustifiable. Also, everyone can thank Sony for actually causing this to happen, because God knows these corporate assholes have their head so far up their ass that they wouldn't change shit if Sony didn't sucker punch them at E3. They're not listening to the customers and the feedback, they're listening to the sounds of the Xbones being outsold.

 

[Gray Firion]

What? Really?! Ok, erm, gimme a moment...

HA haha Ha ha ha ha ha! Whooo, aw man, for the love of... xD

/inhale

Seriously. After 2 months (because this started earlier with rumours) of getting told every DRM measure is a separate dick move bigger than the last, and them defending their positions with the ultimate display of arrogance all throughout this time, now, NOW, they try to weasel their way out of this just like that?

Edit: They actually DID take it out?! HAH! Was this so hard?!

Make no mistake, I wanted this. I wanted them to take out their DRM and shitty policies. But after such a display of arrogance, of sheer stupidity? No, I like it, but I'll still lambast them on how it took a worldwide "oh, go fuck yourself Microsoft!" for them to get the picture. They didn't need a hit this big for their PR, they should have seen this coming.

Rampant stupidity with a kernel of inteligence at the very end. Still, good thing they took it off.

 

[Matthi205]

This, if true, would be a step in the right direction.

5 steps back, 2 forward
It's not far enough in the right direction, though. Kinect is still always on, and the price of the console is still at 500 euro.


18. All warfare is based on deception.
This could be true, but knowing Microsoft: I sincerely doubt it.

 

[Zipa]

Well shit the damage control has reached epic proportions. Though it is a good day to be a gamer we have collectively made a company go back on its encroachment of our consumer rights by saying in a loud clear voice NO.

They still are going to struggle though honestly, the damage is done not just with the DRM aspect but their general attitude of fuck you if you live outside the launch countries or have a poor/no internet connection.

 

[inkheart_artist]

Okay, Jim Sterling. Can we now take a look at how shitty the PS4 and the Xbox One (really the whole next gen of consoles) are now that they're on equal footing?

 

[Rack]

And now MS have made me actually need to think about which console to buy. Not too hard I guess, PS4 is still cheaper and more powerful with a much better promise of upcoming games and better value service in terms of PS+. Still I have to at least consider the 180.

 

[Trishbot]

I'm still getting a PS4 over an Xbox One...

... But this is good news.

Granted, Microsoft isn't doing this out of the kindness of their heart, but rather because the PS4 was kicking its ass in pre-orders and positive public PR. It's a response to PLAYSTATION, not to consumers, because they've made it quite clear they'd screw us over immediate if they knew they could. They just forgot that there was another opponent in the console race.

Still has the problems of the Kinect, the extra $100 price tag, mandatory game installs with non-removable hard drive, inferior hardware specs, and general loathing for the common consumer and their consumer rights and game ownership...

But this is "good" news that they've decided NOT to become the most anti-consumer product to ever exist.

Because, geez, the list of things the Xbox One COULDN'T do was nearly triple what it COULD, and no amount of "the cloud" PR could change that.

 

[Entitled]

ITT: A big Fuck You for everyone who was whining about how everyone else should just shut up with the whining until they can vote with their wallets, and belittling the "vocal minority" of gamers that obviously doesn't matter to Microsoft.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

They still don't have my business. They still force Kinect, still don't support indie games, and I will not praise them for JUST NOW doing the right thing that is to be expected of a good game console to begin with. Sony got praised because they did it right the first time, Microsoft waited to see if they could get away with it first. I don't like that abuse. I'm sure if not as many people voiced their opinions and the press wasn't busy writing 300 articles about why the Xbox One was bad, they still would have went through with everything.

 

[BrotherRool]

So we won then? I feel a bit bad because I'm still going to buy a PS4 instead. $100. Sucker Punch. Naughty Dog. Quantic Dream

 

[Ragsnstitches]

While its a nice gesture... no scratch that, it's the fucking obvious thing to do, in all practicality I can't see any incentive to buy it beyond exclusive titles.

- Still heavy restrictions for Indie developers and complete denial of self publishing (of which sony claims to be embracing... we shall see). This is the real clincher for me.

- Still costs a 100 bucks more then the closest competitor for entirely gimmicky features. That is a pretty significant price difference.

- Have a pension for strong arming publishers into exclusivity deals. Xbox users may get a better experience, but these antics are detrimental to the industry. That goes for sony too, but they are far less culpable. Self published titles are fine (Sony entertainment or Microsoft studios developed games) but wrangling up 3rd party studios and publishers to play favourites is total ass waste. This is a practice I despise.

In the end I don't feel like getting either PS4 or Xbone. Wii U's lack of interest in 3rd parties doesn't make it a viable 3rd option. Guess I'll just upgrade my rig again instead.

 

[Ham Blitz]

This sounds pretty good, though they also announced returning to the way of xbox 360 style disks, which gets rid of that whole family sharing thing for games. I could have played Coop Dead Rising 3 with my brother with only me buying a copy of the game with that method.
Oh well, I guess that is a bit of a selfish complaint but it would of been nice (Since I can't convince him to buy one after he tried DR2 alone and didn't like it). Now all those who buy and sell used games can do that, so good for them I suppose.

 

[Legion]

Microsoft have re-entered the ring, can they hope to take the title from the premature defending console the PS4?

I suspect that this will convince a lot of people to change their mind. The $100 extra isn't ideal, and the Kinect will still upset many people, but those two issues were by far the most hated.

It makes you wonder though, if they could just snap their fingers like that and change their mind, clearly it wasn't built in as a necessary feature. Rather they decided to impose it on us for no reason but to benefit themselves.

Personally it doesn't change my mind, because I had already given up on the Xbox before the XBone was even revealed. I traded my 360 in for a 3DS XL.

 

[wulfgar_red]

they should drop Spynect