Rumor: Next Xbox Will Feature Blu-ray, Anti-Used Games System

[Hitchmeister]

The only result of an anti-used game system being included that I can see is a mod chip t defeat that system hitting the market a week before the console.

Then when Microsoft comes up with a mod chip detection system to keep hacked consoles offline getting massive false positives resulting in a PR nightmare and little to no efficacy.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

More interesting, and far less obvious, is word that Microsoft is looking to incorporate an anti-used game system into the new box. How, or even if, it will work isn't clear; a mandatory online component for the hardware that links each game to a specific console or user account might get the job done, but it would limit sales of the console to people both able and willing to take part in the scheme. And while publishers might dig the idea, it would almost certainly alienate the great hordes of consumers who enjoy the benefits of the preowned market.

So no more grabbing some brews and my copy of Reach and heading around to a mate's house for a beer and game night because my game is locked to my console/profile? This is either incredibly poorly thought out by Microsoft or total myth.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I don't know how they plan to make the "Anti-Used games" system, but I have an idea that could work.

When they burn the games, the disk will not be finalized. It will be possible to burn some more data on it. When you put the game the first time in a console, the console will burn the serial number of the console and finalize the disk. Once it's done, the console will not be able to start the game unless the serial of the console equals to the one on the game.

This would obviously create many new problems. One of the most obvious would be that you wouldn't be able to just take your game, go to a friends house and play it with him. You would need to carry your whole system without. This is a deal breaker for me.

But I hate the whole idea behind preventing the second hand market. Every industry has it's second hand market, who are they to prevent something like this?

 

[jawakiller]

Please don't fuck it up, please don't fuck it up...

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I don't have anything against anti used games. I mean, that's essentially a given if you play things on the PC. But like the PC, this had better drop the initial price of the games or shit should fly. The reason PC games are cheaper is because there's no resale value. So if Micro$oft think they can get away with removing that resale value but still selling their games at £40 a pop, well I might just mail my own faeces to the Xbox head quarters in protest.

Also why not just use a serial key like PC games, no need for anything fancy. That would kill the legal used games trade like it did for the PC.

A PC game comes out, it's 60$, a console game comes out, it's 60$.
How are the PC games cheaper again? They took our used game market, but they didn't give us anything back. Do you really think that they will lower the price of the game just because you can't sell it later?

The same problem happened with the introduction of DLC's. People though "cool, now that they have new ways to get income from the same game, they will probably lower the price of the game to make it more accessible! I love the idea behind DLC's!!!"
But what happened? Take parts of the game and sell them separated, which in turn make the whole game more expensive. Parts that should be in the game in the first place are sold as DLC's most of the time.

Same will happen here. If they don't have to think about the used market, they won't have anyone to compete with. They will increase their prices and you will have no other choice but to buy it. Well, there is another choice, but people will not like it. Don't but the game.

 

[SinisterDeath]

Heres what I'm calling right now.
The PlayStation Infinity, is going to be questionably as powerful, if not more powerful as the Wii U, which 'might' be twice as powerful as the xbox 360.

I'm betting, the Ps4/Infinity (I'm calling that name now to! ) is going to use anywhere between 16 to 32 Core CPU using a 64bit/cpu/OS. (so they can actually have more than 2-4GBs of useable memory)

I don't have anything against anti used games. I mean, that's essentially a given if you play things on the PC. But like the PC, this had better drop the initial price of the games or shit should fly. The reason PC games are cheaper is because there's no resale value. So if Micro$oft think they can get away with removing that resale value but still selling their games at £40 a pop, well I might just mail my own faeces to the Xbox head quarters in protest.

Also why not just use a serial key like PC games, no need for anything fancy. That would kill the legal used games trade like it did for the PC.

A PC game comes out, it's 60$, a console game comes out, it's 60$.
How are the PC games cheaper again? They took our used game market, but they didn't give us anything back. Do you really think that they will lower the price of the game just because you can't sell it later?

The same problem happened with the introduction of DLC's. People though "cool, now that they have new ways to get income from the same game, they will probably lower the price of the game to make it more accessible! I love the idea behind DLC's!!!"
But what happened? Take parts of the game and sell them separated, which in turn make the whole game more expensive. Parts that should be in the game in the first place are sold as DLC's most of the time.

Same will happen here. If they don't have to think about the used market, they won't have anyone to compete with. They will increase their prices and you will have no other choice but to buy it. Well, there is another choice, but people will not like it. Don't but the game.

In Europe PC and Wii games are cheaper than PS3 and 360 games.

Until this year, and it seems only Ubisoft, EA, and Bethsoft, are doing it. PC games have been between $39.99 USD, and $49.99 USD. Though, anno 2070 was $50 this year.

 

[zombiesinc]

About damn time they got their shit together and added some blu-ray support. Although... as much as it saddens me, I'll have even less reason to use my PS3. >.<

 

[Epona]

I for one would welcome the anti used game system, if only to watch video games undergo a massive crash in the market.

A crash is needed. Games are getting too expensive and taking too long to develop. Publishers are getting very anti-consumer. Things need to change but they won't without something drastic happening.

 

[mirasiel]

Oh look, another console I might pick up second hand for a fraction of the release price....whoops guess MS don't get any money then either...Quick call the police!

If they did ever succeed in killing of the used games market...how are they planning on actually selling their games when most of the retailers go tits up?

Actually...how are they planning on selling their consoles to gamers when they kill off the primary outlets they use?

Christ knows I don't think I saw an actual store carrying the PSP go (that was the online/download only model, ya?) since y'know...no one makes any profit on the console, its all in the games and peripherals.

 

[Sylveria]

It would cripple the sales and it would do huge damage to the publishers. As Jim has said before, people trade in old games to get cash to buy new games. Cut out that income and sales plummet. A console that is made specifically to do that would suffer in huge ways in the shadows of ones that don't... Or people would just start hacking the shit out of it until they find a bypass. Either way, it would be disasterous for Microsoft and developers abroad.. and I would applaud them for speeding the industry along on the road to collapse.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

SNIP

In Europe PC and Wii games are cheaper than PS3 and 360 games.

Snip

It must be different in the US then, because in the UK a PC game comes out at £25-£30 and a console game averages a release price of £40-£45.

£50 for a limited edition.

I'm eastern Europe and I basically have the US prices plus 30$ at best (yes, they are that expensive, especially if you consider the average salary, the game costs 20-25% of it).
Both PC and Console games cost the same when they come out. But since you 2 say it's different for you, it's obviously my countries fault.

And Amazon doesn't deliver games to my country.

 

[EHKOS]

Because every DVD player is outfitted with a bomb that takes out half your house if you try to play a DVD you picked up for five bucks at ye olden second hand shop. I swear it's like people are trying to see just how utterly stupid they can be and get away with.

 

[Jak23]

I doubt it will use blu-ray, and if the anti-use games system is true... This console will Crash. And. Burn.

 

[Vie]

I'll stick my neck out and put a bet on the used game system: It will be a hardware based Project 10 dollar.

Ok, you go out and buy the game second hand, you bring it home and whack it in the console. So far so normal. The console then checks with MS's servers to see if the disc has had its unique ID used before, if not then no problem. If it has however, then the console will ask you to pony up X amount of MS points to "Unlock" the multiplayer content.

If they are smart then they will start it off with having the entire game locked until your pony up the points - then a little while later cut it back to just the Multiplayer content. That way people get used to the idea of the unlock, and MS get to be seen as "Being reasonable" about it while screwing people up the proverbial.

Sideways and without lube.

 

[The Bandit]

blahblahblah

I don't think you understand how large the casual market is on the XBox. Frat boy douches who don't give a shit about "OMG NEW HALO!" and can gladly go without video games.

 

[SinisterDeath]

I don't have anything against anti used games. I mean, that's essentially a given if you play things on the PC. But like the PC, this had better drop the initial price of the games or shit should fly. The reason PC games are cheaper is because there's no resale value. So if Micro$oft think they can get away with removing that resale value but still selling their games at £40 a pop, well I might just mail my own faeces to the Xbox head quarters in protest.

Also why not just use a serial key like PC games, no need for anything fancy. That would kill the legal used games trade like it did for the PC.

A PC game comes out, it's 60$, a console game comes out, it's 60$.
How are the PC games cheaper again? They took our used game market, but they didn't give us anything back. Do you really think that they will lower the price of the game just because you can't sell it later?

The same problem happened with the introduction of DLC's. People though "cool, now that they have new ways to get income from the same game, they will probably lower the price of the game to make it more accessible! I love the idea behind DLC's!!!"
But what happened? Take parts of the game and sell them separated, which in turn make the whole game more expensive. Parts that should be in the game in the first place are sold as DLC's most of the time.

Same will happen here. If they don't have to think about the used market, they won't have anyone to compete with. They will increase their prices and you will have no other choice but to buy it. Well, there is another choice, but people will not like it. Don't but the game.

In Europe PC and Wii games are cheaper than PS3 and 360 games.

Until this year, and it seems only Ubisoft, EA, and Bethsoft, are doing it. PC games have been between $39.99 USD, and $49.99 USD. Though, anno 2070 was $50 this year.

Are you going off of the Steam release price? Because that's usually a good £10 more expensive than Amazon or normal retail in the UK.

Steam lists iat $50, I haven't seen it at a retailer to claim thats what it costs there.
But its still true over here in the US, that PC games, for the most part, have alwasy been $10-20 USD cheaper than their console counter-part.
Its only recently that they have been the same price as the console version..

RAGE
Skyrim
Arkham City
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reconning
CoD MW3
all $60 USD.

And since the Euro is more valueable than the USD, its going to be listed at a lower price in Euros over that of the USD.

So 30 Euro = 40 USD, give or take
ect

 

[skywolfblue]

Dollars to Doughnuts that this has been part of Sony and Microsoft's under the table talks. I imagine that the PS4 will include an "anti-used" system as well.

If there was ever a good reason not to buy a new console, this would probably be it.

For me it's not so much the "used" part, as in the "you won't be able to borrow a friends game to play it". That's completely unacceptable to me.

 

[Bomberman4000]

I'm sure it's probably been said, but the ONLY way this could work is if the price of brand new games came down. The construct of a used games market is so engrained into the gaming community that banning one of the primary means of buying games will create a huge backlash. You can't ask gamers to constantly shell out $60 for games. That's just too much. Because games are so expensive, I honestly cannot tell you the last game I bought at full price. I've bought "new" games that have been marked down only because of sequels or I had coupons or something for them, but I have not paid $60 for a game in a long time. It's too much.

I've seen several people talk about borrowing games from friends, and before my gamer friends moved I did the same thing. I would ask to borrow something, and if I liked it, you know what I did? I BOUGHT IT. Funny how that works out. It was essentially an extended demo that lead to me buying a game. If this Xbox 720 doesn't allow that, there will be a pretty big backlash from gamers (as evident by this thread).

I've also seen a lot about "accessibility" usually from the point of few of software, but why wouldn't a console want the same approach? Based on the technology alone, the Wii should've done horribly, but it sold very well because it was accessible. This brought in a much larger demographic untapped by consoles, the "new gamer". What the Xbox 720 sounds like it's going to do (if this rumor turns out to be true) is alienating current gamers who choose to shop used and save money on their games.

Essentially: Don't do it Microsoft. Please don't do it. I want to play your console but trust me when I tell you I'm not going to if I have to shell out $60 for every game you allow me to play.

 

[emeraldrafael]

This has terrible idea written all over it.

 

[sharinganblossom25]

-_- No. No to the anti-used game system. Just no. Half of my gaming collection is used games.