Microsoft Drops Xbox One DRM Restrictions - UPDATED

[Xarathox]

Yeah, I call bullshit. No corporation has ever "listened" to the consumer voice and obeyed without some kind of scheme waiting in the wings. They may never re-implement the DRM and online requirements but I guarantee you they've got something just as horrid sitting on a shelf, waiting to be used.

 

[Sarge034]

Well, I said this in the facebook comments, but I'll repeat it here.

I call bulls--t! They are only saying this, and willing to do this initially, to get people to buy the console. Then they will slowly reintroduce all this garbage with future system updates. They have invested too much time in the ideas to just let them go.

That's exactly what I'm worried about too. Though I think there would be legal repercussions for them if they did. Not that it would stop them.

It would technically fall under "bait and switch" unless, of course, they had you agree to something that said, "we reserve the right to modify, change, and/or stop the service at any time for any reason... and you can't sue us, at all." Wait a sec, that sounds like MS' bullshit EULA... -.-

 

[Ruley]

Well, I said this in the facebook comments, but I'll repeat it here.

I call bulls--t! They are only saying this, and willing to do this initially, to get people to buy the console. Then they will slowly reintroduce all this garbage with future system updates. They have invested too much time in the ideas to just let them go.

That's exactly what I'm worried about too. Though I think there would be legal repercussions for them if they did. Not that it would stop them.

It would technically fall under "bait and switch" unless, of course, they had you agree to something that said, "we reserve the right to modify, change, and/or stop the service at any time for any reason... and you can't sue us, at all." Wait a sec, that sounds like MS' bullshit EULA... -.-

Yup, was just thinking this.

If theirs a terms of service thing before you can start using the Xbone i really hope people read it and take the console back for a refund if they pull that crap.

 

[lacktheknack]

Can we not just have a one-thread siesta before we go right back to "no, screw you" or "now get rid of the Kinect"?

Wait, why are we having naps in a thread? I think you mean fiesta

EVERY DAY I'M HERP DERPING

Although at this point, I'd take either over what we have now.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I love how the language in the press release is designed to give you the impression that they're surprised by how much people hate their awful proposition. Hilarious.

I don't trust 'em. I think they'll patch the features back in at a later date. I don't trust Sony either really. I have a feeling DRM will end up being a pain in the ass on both consoles.

 

[Synpathy]

You know I feel they didn't change this because they listened, or cared at all about the fans. They don't want to do this. They just realised they HAD to for their bottom-line financials.

Besides, even if the console no longer has DRM inbuilt they will just make every single game use the cloud[DRM] anyway.
Same sh*t different packaging.

I have no faith in MS and won't be buying Xbone.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Besides, if you guys really have a problem with privacy, then put a bloody box over the Kinect FFS.

While this is some sort of solution, it's not a very good one.

What if you don't want one at all? Can you buy the console without it?

What if you don't have space to even put a Kinect, let alone use one.

What if you don't have a lot of money and don't want to pay extra for something almost completely fucking useless barring it's advanced voice recognition (which could be implemented into a headset microphone).

Captcha: Pea brain.

Now now Captcha, you don't want to feel the banhammer do you? That's rude.

Apparently not at this time. I didn't decide that though. Go talk to Microsoft.

C'mon. If you can find a place for your Xbox then you can find a place for the Kinect. And if you're not going to be using it then that gives you even more freedom on where to put it. How about sticking it behind your entertainment center? lol

Again, implying I'm supporting the Kinect. I'm not. What I am talking about is the privacy issue or should I say the actual absence of one.

 

[nevarran]

I guess the digital gaming is delayed for another 10 years then... Shame.
Welcome back 60$ games. It may even go higher, I heard the prices of the plastic are going up.

Except that digital versions will still be available the same day as physical copies for those who still want to waste their money (if you want to buy overpriced digital copies Games on Demand already gives you that option on XBL). Or you buy a pc and never have to sully yourself with a corporeal copy again, and actually get them for a decent discount.

That's my point. As the things work right now, dev/publishers cannot offer lower prices for digital games, because they would anger the retailers. Even Steam cannot afford to have lower prices on new games, gladly they're balancing it with amazing sales.
As long as we have the current status quo, the situation is not changing.

 

[WWmelb]

Am I the only one who's annoyed by this trade-off? Personally, two of the feature's I was most looking forward to were the ability to share games online with friends and family and the ability to play installed games without the disk, which have been removed along with always online requirement. I mean, the disk thing is just a matter of preference, but I live on the opposite side of the country to my family and quite a few of my gaming friends so just handing them the disk isn't really an option. This was going to mean I'd still be able to share games with my sisters and let my friends try out a game I've been raving about.

Now, instead of there being three fairly different consoles for three fairly different purposes (with Sony and Nintendo reprising their roles from the previous generation and MS having a more online-integrated approach) we're now back exactly where we were for the last two generation but just a little bit prettier; Nintendo is playing off in it's own little corner doing it's fun Nintendo stuff and PS and XB are both playing essentially the same kind of games with naught but a few exclusives separating them and trying to cater to the same audience.

If I wanted what the XBone is now providing, I'd have been planning to buy the PS4 as they're doing it cheaper and just as well (even if I dislike their controller). Now I'm just kinda left with a sour taste in my mouth at my ability to choose the kind of console I wanted taken away from me...

yeah I'm miffed by that too. the biggest, coolest, most interesting feature this whole console generation is gone. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS. god damn it this in not a victory this is a loss. god fucking dammit I hate the internet sometimes. it's shit like this that makes me ashamed to be called gamer it really does.

I knew it too, as soon as my friend told me why they changed I told him to mark my words and the cool sharing feature would be pulled. why? it's to easy to abuse with out the DRM. A feature like that can't exist with out some sort of system of checks to make sure it isn't abused. I thought that would be clear and understood. so much for my hope in the community. Fuck.

The thing is, if they remove the sharing feature completely , it is only to be assholes about it. There is absolutely NO reason why they could not still have this in place for digitally purchased copies of games. Sure, physical copies would be as they are now, share the disc how you do now, but it sounds like they are sulking now. "You complained about some parts of our things, so we are taking away ALL of it. Because fuck you for not accepting our shit".

The can still move in the direction they wanted to without fucking us over in the process, if only they weren't blinded by their own smug and arrogant selves. They are holding back progress by demanding it comes with conditions. Not the consumer for demanding the progress come without their sacrifice.

EDIT: Keeping the sharing option for digitally purchased games while leaving discs how they are would have actually benefited their goals perfectly. It would have left the step to the future up to the consumer to take, and not being manhandled into it, which i think many would have done gladly. Also, would have justified the same price point for digital games and physical copies, by giving the cheaper to produce version a benefit.

Really, corporations can't see the forest for the trees sometimes. Give consumers a choice. Make the choice you WANT them to make seem the better of two GOOD choices, and you will get the outcome you desire.

 

[The Lugz]

lovely, microsoft.. now drop the kinect spybot and the ingame social media interruption button that people are gonna spam the ever loving hell out of I might add.. and you're back to square 1, you have nothing new for a gamer..

well done. 'clap'

and people wonder why sony hasn't innovated much either, it just backfires like this..

wonder when they're going to announce a £100 price drop and removal of the licensed smart tv crap

'sigh'

whatever, it's just a fumble microsoft lives on and hopefully they'll be ready for the xbone 2 launch, so we can get some juicy competition.

 

[Grape_Bullion]

Dear Don,
You're a piece of shit and the only thing more crushing than the pure arrogance of the Xbox One's original business model is the economic one Microsoft is going to be feeling. This attempt at trying to win back customers, without an actual apology for the shit you tried to pull, isn't going to save you. You may get back a few die hards and frat boys. But you've shown your true colors. Congratulations on making the next Sega Saturn.

Go ahead and fuck off now,
Nearly everyone on earth

 

[Trippy Turtle]

Dear Don,
You're a piece of shit and the only thing more crushing than the pure arrogance of the Xbox One's original business model is the economic one Microsoft is going to be feeling. This attempt at trying to win back customers, without an actual apology for the shit you tried to pull, isn't going to save you. You may get back a few die hards and frat boys. But you've shown your true colors. Congratulations on making the next Sega Saturn.

Go ahead and fuck off now,
Nearly everyone on earth

I just don't understand why people care more about the principle of the thing than actual results. Would you still have he same opinion if the Xbox One does a complete turnaround and becomes the best console ever? I mean, in the end you would just miss out on an awesome product because you are having a tantrum over an apology.

On topic however, this is great news. Depending on if I like the games and possibly if they make the kinect non-compulsory I may yet get one. In the end it will come down to how much I want the games on it though, and how much I like the controller.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

The Kinect requirement was something I was willing to forgive from the start, since it can be solved easily by covering it up with a towel. Now that Micro$oft is redacting the two things that were complete dealbreakers for me, it's looking like an option for me.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

EDIT: I'm a dumbass, forgot to click the quote button!

Feel free to remove this post, sorry mods.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Apparently not at this time. I didn't decide that though. Go talk to Microsoft.

C'mon. If you can find a place for your Xbox then you can find a place for the Kinect. And if you're not going to be using it then that gives you even more freedom on where to put it. How about sticking it behind your entertainment center? lol

Again, implying I'm supporting the Kinect. I'm not. What I am talking about is the privacy issue or should I say the actual absence of one.

Firstly; I never complained about any privacy issues. Go back and look, I never once even said the word privacy. I never even implied anything of the sort.

Secondly; saying that I can use this overpriced camera/voice recogniser as a dead weight/dust collector behind my unit is not a solution. I don't have space for it on top of my unit because my unit is at the base of my bed, and my bed goes a little higher than my unit, rendering the Kinect useless. And I don't want to pay for this thing I can't use! It'd be like buying a bicycle even though you can't ride one, and leaving it at the bottom of the garden to gather cobwebs for no good reason.

 

[Frostbyte666]

Yeah don't trust this in the slightest...if they can turn around and turn off those functions so easily what's to stop them from turning it back on in a mandatory patch and hide this in the EULA. Also still has kinect as a dealbreaker.

 

[Grape_Bullion]

I just don't understand why people care more about the principle of the thing than actual results. Would you still have he same opinion if the Xbox One does a complete turnaround and becomes the best console ever? I mean, in the end you would just miss out on an awesome product because you are having a tantrum over an apology.

On topic however, this is great news. Depending on if I like the games and possibly if they make the kinect non-compulsory I may yet get one. In the end it will come down to how much I want the games on it though, and how much I like the controller.

If your morals and principles are so poor that you can purchase a product that originally fringed upon your rights and represented everything wrong with the consumer side of the gaming industry, maybe you should buy yourself an Xbox One. It's not about "awesome" for people who have even the slightest respect for themselves. No "turnaround" has happened. Microsoft isn't all of a sudden the good guy because they say so. They want to make money. They want to make it so badly that they'd bold face lie to you. If you pick up an Xbox One because of these "new" changes, you directly represent how gullible and weak a consumer base can be, especially when a company has done something wrong and then comes back with "lol just kidding guys, you don't gotta do all that shit we said you would have to originally".

 

[SSJBlastoise]

If your morals and principles are so poor that you can purchase a product that originally fringed upon your rights and represented everything wrong with the consumer side of the gaming industry, maybe you should buy yourself an Xbox One. It's not about "awesome" for people who have even the slightest respect for themselves. No "turnaround" has happened. Microsoft isn't all of a sudden the good guy because they say so. They want to make money. They want to make it so badly that they'd bold face lie to you. If you pick up an Xbox One because of these "new" changes, you directly represent how gullible and weak a consumer base can be, especially when a company has done something wrong and then comes back with "lol just kidding guys, you don't gotta do all that shit we said you would have to originally".

So because I was still contemplating my choices and kind of preferred the Xbox One I have no morals or principles and no respect for myself? I find that to be pretty disgusting really.

 

[SSJBlastoise]

There's still an extra hundred bucks (probably 200 over here)

Just out of interest, which country are you from? In Australia it's only $50 more and what I find pretty poor form is that when you look at the price increase from the US the X1 has gone up $100 while the PS4 has gone up $150 for whatever reason that is.

 

[___________________]

The damage has been done. It doesn't matter how they sell it now. A few more people might buy it, but not that many. You can't just tell your customers to sod off and then suddenly say you care about them. Besides, the price is still 100 dollars above the PS4 and then there's the kinect shenanigans. And the console looks ugly. If they want to really sell, they're gonna have to get a crap load of exclusives to appeal to fans.