Update 3 (7:15PM): Xbox Live's Major Nelson just put up a new blog entry saying that the company does not yet have any confirmed details on how used games will be handled.
He does, however, say that "should you choose to play your game at your friend's house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile."
That should clear at least one thing up.
Have I mentioned yet just how much of a total cockup this whole thing has been?
Update 2 (6:12PM): So, it seems like there is actually a fee associated with playing games off of your account. Microsoft's own Phil Harrison explains exactly what will happen when you buy a game.
You'll have to pay full price just to play the game on another console with another account? Oh God, why!?
But wait, what about used games? If you want to get rid of a game you bought, can you do that? Sure you can! Maybe. Well, Microsoft is still figuring that out.
I just sighed the biggest, saddest sigh.
(via Kotaku)
Update (5:22PM): [del]Apparently, Wired's original piece was incorrect. Xbox Support's Twitter account now says that there will be no fee associated with used games.
Whew! That's some really good news there.[/del]
Original: Microsoft has confirmed that all Xbox One games will come with a mandatory installation onto the system's hard drive. In order to play the game on another system, you will have to install it to the other hard drive and pay a fee.
Yes, that means used games are now an endangered species of the gaming world.
Well, that's unfortunate.
(via Wired)
He does, however, say that "should you choose to play your game at your friend's house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile."
That should clear at least one thing up.
Have I mentioned yet just how much of a total cockup this whole thing has been?
Update 2 (6:12PM): So, it seems like there is actually a fee associated with playing games off of your account. Microsoft's own Phil Harrison explains exactly what will happen when you buy a game.
Here's how the system works: when you buy an Xbox One game, you'll get a unique code that you enter when you install that game. You'll have to connect to the Internet in order to authorize that code, and the code can only be used once. Once you use it, that game will then be linked to your Xbox Live account. "It sits on your harddrive and you have permission to play that game as long as you’d like," Harrison said.
Other users on the console will be able to play that game as well, Harrison said. So you don't need to buy multiple games per family. "With the built-in parental controls of the system it is shared amog the users of the device," he said.
But what if you want to bring a game disc to a friend's house and play there? You'll have to pay a fee—and not just some sort of activation fee, but the actual price of that game—in order to use a game's code on a friend's account. Think of it like a new game, Harrison says.
"The bits that are on that disc, you can give it to your friend and they can install it on an Xbox One," he said. "They would then have to purchase the right to play that game through Xbox Live."
"They would be paying the same price we paid, or less?" we asked.
"Let’s assume it’s a new game, so the answer is yes, it will be the same price," Harrison said.
Other users on the console will be able to play that game as well, Harrison said. So you don't need to buy multiple games per family. "With the built-in parental controls of the system it is shared amog the users of the device," he said.
But what if you want to bring a game disc to a friend's house and play there? You'll have to pay a fee—and not just some sort of activation fee, but the actual price of that game—in order to use a game's code on a friend's account. Think of it like a new game, Harrison says.
"The bits that are on that disc, you can give it to your friend and they can install it on an Xbox One," he said. "They would then have to purchase the right to play that game through Xbox Live."
"They would be paying the same price we paid, or less?" we asked.
"Let’s assume it’s a new game, so the answer is yes, it will be the same price," Harrison said.
You'll have to pay full price just to play the game on another console with another account? Oh God, why!?
But wait, what about used games? If you want to get rid of a game you bought, can you do that? Sure you can! Maybe. Well, Microsoft is still figuring that out.
"We will have a solution—we’re not talking about it today—for you to be able to trade your previously-played games online," Harrison said.
I just sighed the biggest, saddest sigh.
(via Kotaku)
Update (5:22PM): [del]Apparently, Wired's original piece was incorrect. Xbox Support's Twitter account now says that there will be no fee associated with used games.
No fee, correct - and they just got that information wrong. As soon as we saw, we contacted them to correct it.
Whew! That's some really good news there.[/del]
Original: Microsoft has confirmed that all Xbox One games will come with a mandatory installation onto the system's hard drive. In order to play the game on another system, you will have to install it to the other hard drive and pay a fee.
Yes, that means used games are now an endangered species of the gaming world.
Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc.
But what if a second person simply wanted to put the disc in and play the game without installing – and without paying extra? In other words, what happens to our traditional concept of a “used game”? This is a question for which Microsoft did not yet have an answer, and is surely something that game buyers (as well as renters and lenders) will want to know.
But what if a second person simply wanted to put the disc in and play the game without installing – and without paying extra? In other words, what happens to our traditional concept of a “used game”? This is a question for which Microsoft did not yet have an answer, and is surely something that game buyers (as well as renters and lenders) will want to know.
Well, that's unfortunate.
(via Wired)
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