The Xbox One Would've Hurt Soldiers And Sick Kids

[Kennetic]

The Xbone still won't be of any use to military people who buy a console while they are overseas. It still needs to connect when you first set it up and that makes it useless. The internet in Iraq was so crappy that the 360 wouldn't recognize any connection at all. I imagine that Afghanistan wouldn't be any different. So I'm still getting a PS4.

 

[lostlevel]

"While Xbox One may work perfectly under controlled circumstances, Microsoft's attempt to "own the living room" may marginalize consumers who rely on consoles specifically because of their versatile and mobile nature."

This. This. This. This. THIS. A thousand times.

I broke the news to my boyfriend (we've been following the news closely with our roommate), and there was a strange moment where we both were thinking the same thing quietly - does this change our decision to jump the Xbox ship? We're already looking at where to pre-order the PS4. The three of us are kind of voting together for the next three consoles in this house.

But then I asked him, what about our roommate? His room is really, really cramped (he chose it, and prefers it), with hardly any room to stand and move. Do Kinetics even function in such environments, or would he end up with a $500 paperweight? Then we got to thinking about the Kinect - a seemingly-far-too-intrusive device for me to feel comfortable with, even *if* it functioned they way it's supposed to.

So many unknowns.

I agree, they haven't really clarified much on the existing information still. Kinect is still my main gripe with the Xbone really. I don't have the open space in my room for Kinect and frankly I don't won't one Orwellian or not.

The console itself seemed okay, apart from the definition of ownership and checking in although where I live in the UK we still don't have decent speeds -if it came down to cloud processing the games would somehow be worse for me, I think they should have invested more in the hardware itself in that respect. The lack of region free wasn't something I had thought about until I read this article but for something pertaining to be inclusive to people that buy the xbone 180 it seems stupid to let geographical location limit availability of games.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"For example, Polygon reports that cloud computing could allow 10,000-100,000 computer-controlled enemies in a single battle by offloading offscreen enemies to remote servers."

Sure, that COULD happen, as remote servers are capable of that, and so much more...
Except that it would COST a ton of money to have loads of servers burning electricity and cooling dollars.
So, no, this is going to be a temporary gimmick to wow a critic before launch and maybe the first two months of play, than silently they will reduce the backroom servers or drop them.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

All that leads me to think that the Xbone was largely designed in order to assuage the concerns of Microsoft's shareholders. Corporate wanted a foolproof system that would stamp out the used games market and the known Modchip scene, without giving much thought of what that would do to their consumer base. They were basically asking us to sign some rights over so they'd be free to reap as much profit as possible. We spoke out.

Will that hold, though? I wouldn't put a post-release rollback patch past them. They've already shown how much contempt they have for their consumer base.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

DAT VIDEO.

You're right, of course, but I just have to say this - I think I'm going to start spouting "DOSH!" whenever I'm asked to lay down some cash for something.

Back to teh Microsofts, though - I figure they've tried to do too much too soon, and to implement changes that today's conception of proper trade and general market value just doesn't support. We've spent years convincing ourselves that we'd eventually beam down anything that isn't inescapably physical through the Internet because, hey, who doesn't like convenience; when the bigger problem is making sure that hypothetical system is democratic and widely accessible.

The Xbox One's pre-one-eighty status failed on both accounts. The DRM killed any chances it had of being democratically available and more or less limited it to privileged types who'd only buy their games mint, and North America (and much of the world's) spotty Internet killed accessibility.

Too much, too soon. Add to that a chronic case of bad PR and there ya go. Don Mattrick needs a refresher course in that respect, and I think Larry Hyrb could do with some of that too.

 

[JemJar]

The Xbox One Would've Hurt Soldiers And Sick Kids

The Xbox One's now-removed online requirement would have been too steep a cost for some.

Read Full Article

Very good work. Best article on the Escapist in years in my opinion.

Are there plans for making mandatory Kinect games? Most developers in the last cycle viewed it as optional, and I'd be surprised if they didn't make games with a "turn Kinect off" feature for those games who don't want to or are incapable of using the Kinect.

Kinect is currently an expensive addition to an XBox 360 rather than an integral component, meaning that Kinect-based games are doomed to sell fewer units - but already there are major Kinect-optional games like Mass Effect 3 around.

A better comparison with new tech being integrated into the base hardware at launch is the inclusion of hard-drives and network adaptors in consoles of the current generation. You *could* get a HDD and network setup for a PS2, but it was expensive and therefore under-used. The current console generation is almost entirely *based* on hard-drives and network adaptors and the things they enable.

The only limitation for motion control in this console generation is the fact that the big two haven't yet worked out which system to go with, meaning that only console exclusives will really make full use of it. Personally I'm more excited by voice-control than motion-control (note that Mass Effect 3's use of Kinect is mainly for speaking commands directly to your squad) as it'll open up a wealth of avenues for faster, deeper, more strategic gameplay.

 

[ClockworkSailor]

This whole article... You really hit the nail on the head. When I was still in the Navy and serving on a sub gaming was an extremely important part of winding down and keeping sane. Its a huge deal to a N.U.B. (non useful body otherwise known as a new guy) when you are allowed to play in the ship's Halo tournament. A lot of the guys I knew would build insane gaming rigs into their racks which can't be done with a Kinect and I was on one of the larger subs. The constant internet connection would have screwed troops everywhere not just those deployed or at sea, trying to get a strong fast internet connection when you live in barracks is an exercise in futility, its expensive and it won't be anywhere fast enough to game on most bases, and that's in the States themselves much less those in foreign duty stations. Additionally, aside from the work of some of the great groups mentioned in the article like Operation Supply Drop most MWR (Moral, Welfare, and Recreation) groups have budgets for buy games and consoles for unit and ship libraries. Its an important market that the industry forgets about. Never doubt it, the highest grossing Best Buy in the world is on the base shuttle route for Goose Creek Naval Base, SC and that is no coincidence.

 

[ritchards]

"They forgot the Marine at Camp Leatherneck, putting in a round of Call of Duty: Ghosts before he hits the rack.

They forgot a hospitalized little girl, whose only bright moment in a day of blood draws and chemotherapy might be a few minutes with Fantasia: Music Evolved."

Am I the only one who thought that those games could easily be the other way around?

 

[Podunk]

This headline is horrible and whoever wrote it should feel bad.

 

[Kinitawowi]

It's quite funny that Microsoft has thrown itself wholesale into the Battle For America's Living Room, because they're blatantly chasing the money-printing tendencies of the Wii without having the faintest clue how it did it. People poured scorn on the Wii for relying on motion controls and not bothering with DVD playback facilities - facilities perfect for being a single console in the living room, which had the space and presumably the DVD player already - at a time when flat-screen HD TVs were becoming affordable enough to send consoles flying out of the living room and into Junior's bedroom. My house has eleven people living in it at the moment (long story). There are four 360s in people's bedrooms and a single Wii in the lounge.

And now we have the XBox180, and given all the gags about the device allowing Americans to watch TV on their TV it's obvious that it's trying to get back to being the One Box in the living room; toss the Blu-Ray and the cable box, you've got the XBone and Netflix and all the NFL you could want! And if you don't play in the living room - if you play in a hospital or a barracks or a sub, or even in your bedroom - then the hell with you.

The Wii made scads upon scads of money because it got lucky with a couple of killer apps at day one, not because it owned the lounge. This is Microsoft reading it all wrong, again; they've misread the OS market, they misread Nintendo's money truck and they were completely sucker punched by Sony.

 

[Reyold]

Fantastic article, Robert. It's sad that Microsoft was so intent on grubbing as much money as possible that they failed to consider those unable to enjoy their console. You'd think, with them wanting so much money, that they'd try to make it more available so that more people would buy it, and yet the way they were originally going, only a few would have managed to enjoy it (and by enjoy, I mean signed away your game ownership and whatnot).

.

That was great. Felt like it was made by the same guy who made "EA in a Nutshell," but apparently not.

 

[NihilCredo]

Hah! Did you do a ctrl-F for "will" to replace it with "would've", Robert? Or did the Escapist editors have to do it?

I don't blame you of course, you couldn't foresee this development, and kudos on not just hashing out a quick random article in less than a day like a procrastinating student.

But it doesn't make it any less funny to read such a borderline melodramatic appeal to the heartstrings "think of the little sick children! Think of the heroes dying for your freedom!" being abruptly bracketed by "...I mean, you already have, but if you hadn't"

 

[A Weakgeek]

People have lost track of what the Xbox and Microsoft are.

They have evolved far beyond just a company and a console.

Microsoft is all thats evil in this world and with its instrument of destruction, the Xbox One, It will take away your rights, it will hurt your kids, it will wound your troops and cover the world in darkness.

One Box to rule them all, One Box to find them,
One Box to bring them all and in the darkness bind them​

 

[Hime-chi]

Really enjoy your articles Robert, but the Xbox180 restrictions aren't entirely gone. You still need to connect to the internet to set up the console and every game you install from the disk needs to connect for an initial connection. While a lot better than the original setup, it still kind of inconveniences the military and sick kids. Now someone has to take the entire console somewhere with internet whenever they get a new game.

And this is a policy when there are competing consoles that are at least $100 cheaper and doesn't have these inconveniences.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

Well at least they finally listened. We all know it's because of the pre-order numbers but a win is a win

 

[pretzil]

They also forgot about fishermen etc, lots of boats have consoles installed on high end boats to help the crew fight boredom during long haul trips.

 

[ClockworkSailor]

People have lost track of what the Xbox and Microsoft are.

They have evolved far beyond just a company and a console.

Microsoft is all thats evil in this world and with its instrument of destruction, the Xbox One, It will take away your rights, it will hurt your kids, it will wound your troops and cover the world in darkness.

One Box to rule them all, One Box to find them,
One Box to bring them all and in the darkness bind them​

Oh dear lord... that is amazing, you sir are fantastic! As soon as someone finds Mount Doom I pledge my meager skills as a mechanic to join you in a fellowship to throw Microsoft's product development team into it.

 

[Lilani]

Considering they were able to so easily drop the 24 hour connectivity, I think that pretty much proves their "cloud gaming" excuse was pretty bunk. If games were really going to be relying on it that much, or if they had any exclusives lined up to take advantage of that, they would have stood by it more.

"They forgot the Marine at Camp Leatherneck, putting in a round of Call of Duty: Ghosts before he hits the rack.

They forgot a hospitalized little girl, whose only bright moment in a day of blood draws and chemotherapy might be a few minutes with Fantasia: Music Evolved."

Am I the only one who thought that those games could easily be the other way around?

I was just thinking of how many hospitalized kids aren't exactly going to be up for jumping around in front of a kinect, making the kinect a constant reminder of what they aren't able to do because of their illness. While they can at least play the console now...it's still a rather depressing thing, when you think about it.