Next Gen Xbox Reveal Confirmed for May 21

[rell826]

After finally catching up on everything from the keynote, I can say that Microsoft had a full on disaster with the XBox One. They stumbled at the starting gate when they couldn't afford to. Ironically, the system isn't gamer friendly as seen by the Internet only requirement as well as account/disc thing. A poll on IGN had over 48k readers give Microsoft's announcement a negative reaction. That's just IGN, I haven't even visited the other gaming sites and forums across the net. They didn't do anything to help themselves yesterday and did the opposite by convincing people that the One will not be the one for them this generation.

[h1]Xbox One: What We Do and Don't Know[/h1][h2]Is it always-online? Does it require Internet? What's up with pre-owned?[/h2]

by Keza MacDonald

May 22, 2013

A bewildering flurry of stories has emerged from the Xbox One event, with Microsoft executives directly contradicting each other about several Xbox One features crucial to gamers. Foremost among these are the console's requirement for an Internet connection and the way that the console will handle pre-owned games, but there are several other areas of confusion as well.

After going through all the information and quote from as many different official Microsoft sources as I could find, these are the answers we currently have to these key questions.

Does it require an internet connection?

YES. Xbox One will need to connect to the internet frequently in order to let you play games, watch TV or do anything else. According to Microsoft's Phill Harrison it will need to do so approximately every 24 hours at least, more frequently for games and services that rely more heavily on the cloud. If you are somewhere without any Internet connection at all, such as a military base, you will NOT be able to use Xbox One.

It is reasonable to infer from this, and the other information Microsoft has provided regarding game-sharing, that Xbox One will need to connect to the Internet to authenticate you as well as connect to the Cloud. Games appear to be tied to your Xbox Live account, so without connecting to the Internet the Xbox One won't be able to verify that you own them.

Is it always-online?

Technically NO, but it depends on your definition of the phrase. You will be able to watch TV and Blu-Ray movies and play single-player games without being connected to the Internet at all times, but as outlined above, the console will need access to the Internet at least once a day. Microsoft's Harrison phrased it thus, speaking to Eurogamer: "Some bits of the system will work offline. I think the key point to make is that Xbox One requires an internet connection, but it does not need to be connected all the time. We think that most of the biggest games on Xbox One and most of the games and experiences and services you want to use will be internet-connected."

Can I play my friend's games on my console?

NO, not unless you're signed in as them. Otherwise you will have to pay, full-price, to access that game. The clearest stance on this comes from Eurogamer's  interview with Harrison: "I can come to your house and I can put the disc into your machine and I can sign in as me and we can play the game. The bits are on your hard drive. At the end of the play session, when I take my disc home - or even if I leave it with you - if you want to continue to play that game [on your profile] then you have to pay for it. The bits are already on your hard drive, so it's just a question of going to our [online] store and buying the game, and then it's instantly available to play. The bits that are on the disc, I can give to anybody else, but if we both want to play it at the same time, we both have to own it. That's no different to how discs operate today."

Microsoft's Major Nelson (Larry Hyrb) put it this way: "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." But then if you go home and leave the disc with your friend, they will have to pay for that game if they want to play it on their own profile.

What about members of my family on the same console?

YES. If a game is installed on a console, anybody who uses that console can play it through that console's parental controls. But what we don't know it how many accounts this will apply to: four? Five? Two?

Bottom line: you can only share games if your accounts are on the same console and parental controls are set up to do so.

Can it play pre-owned games?

YES, but we don't know how, and Microsoft isn't saying. It's likely to be based on a license system. The official Xbox One FAQ  is brief on this issue: "We are designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games. We’ll have more details to share later." That has been echoed since by Harrison and Hyrb.

So you will be able to trade in games both at retail and through some kind of online service, but we're not likely to get the details on exactly how that works for some time yet.

What about game disc-rental services like Lovefilm and Gamefly?

That's obviously going to be affected, but we don't yet know how.

Does every game have to be installed?

YES. This is partly down to the speed of Blu-Ray drives. If you want to play a game, it will have to be installed on that system.

How big is the hard drive?

500GB, but you can't use all of it. Microsoft's official Xbox One information site contains a significant caveat in the small print: "Xbox One system software uses a significant amount of storage; less internal storage will be available to users."

Will it work without Kinect?

NO.  Xbox's UK marketing director Harvey Eagle said at last night's Microsoft-hosted stream that Kinect requires  to be attached to the console in all cases, and this has since been echoed elsewhere. "The all new Kinect is now an essential and integrated part of the platform.  By having it as a consistent part of every Xbox One, game and entertainment creators can build experiences that assume the availability of voice, gesture and natural sensing, leading to unrivaled ease of use, premium experiences and interactivity for you," says Microsoft's Xbox One FAQ.

However, developers will not be mandated to use Kinect in every game, Phil Harisson clarified to Eurogamer. Another nugget of information: you also can't turn off Kinect's microphone, says hardware program manager John Link (via Polygon). It's always listening.

Will all that live TV stuff be available outside of the US at launch?

NO. At launch it will only work in the US, with a gradual global rollout planned.

How will Xbox One's live TV work with existing cable providers, like Sky?

DON'T KNOW. No Microsoft source has been clear on this - both Harrison and UK marketing director Harvey Eagle have stated that this will be revealed in due course. It's likely that all the requisite agreements are not in place yet. Xbox.com's own Xbox One information suggests that eventually it will work with any TV-viewing box via HDMI pass-thru: "Connect your cable or satellite box to your Xbox One and prepare for lift off."

Is it backwards compatible in any way?

NO. Not with any Xbox 360 games, digital or physical. "The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective," according to Xbox Live vice president Marc Whitten.

Will my Xbox Live Gold account transfer?

YES, says the Xbox One FAQ: "You do not need to buy a new Xbox Live Gold membership. Your current membership will work on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One."

How about my Gamerscore?

YES, that's coming with you as well - along with your Avatar. "All of the gaming identity that you have on Xbox 360 will be there on Xbox One as well," said Harvey Eagle.

And my digital games library?

NO. You'll have to say goodbye to your Xbox Live Arcade purchases, as outlined by Eagle last night. But entertainment purchases WILL transfer over.

Will I still have to pay for Xbox Live Gold?

YES. The head of Xbox in Europe told The Metro: "Yes, we still see that as a chargeable service... I think that people understand that for a premium service that gives access to so many different rich parts of entertainment. Our consumers are happy and I think we represent great value there actually. If you look at the plethora of things available now through Xbox Live, particularly the Gold service and what we put behind Gold, we’ve got no plans to change that."

 

[jking0821]

havent been following this at all but came across this on the misc


Microsoft officially announced the Xbox One this morning. This is what it provides:


-no backwards compatibility

-requires you to be online to register a game just to play it (confirmed by Microsoft VP)

-requires you to be online at least once a day (Confirmed by VP)

-requires u to have a Kinect just to use the Xbox one

-restricted amount of viewers able to watch videos making more fees if more viewers

-not able to lend, borrow or trade game with friends no more unless you pay a 60+ dollar fee.

-charging full retail price for serial keys/authorization codes

-HDD is not replaceable so if it breaks your SOL

-have to install game to play combined with limited HDD space makes it only limit to you to a small gaming collection

-requires you to purchase an extra device just to use the Tv portion




is this true?

I havent been following it as much as I would like to either, but if all of this is true then this thing really will not be bought by me. They CAN NOT be serious with ANY of this....

Can anyone comment on this?

Because i heard Kinect 2.0 or whatever may come bundled with every xbox one...and i thought it was supposed to be backwards compatible with the 360.

No matter what Price will drive this thing. Its nice....but not $500 nice...but if they can keep it around $400 i think it will do fine. But i like the fact that Sony is still focused on gaming....since that is why i buy a gaming console. I don't really care for all the TV integration stuff that much....im a simple man...i watch tv when i want to watch tv...turn on my playstation to watch blu-rays, netflix, or play games...thats it. I don't need twitter or facebook or sharing...whatever let me sit in peace and play games

What kind of phone do you have simple man? Do you have a smart phone? Any apps?.. or do you just have a old school nokia phone that just makes phone calls?
Base model car? .. some people want the most for their money..

I have an iphone....which is the simplest of smart phones(yes i know that is an oxymoron almost )...because i just call text and email....and use it as an ipod at the gym...bout it....
And sometimes you can be mediocre at a lot of things but never really good at one thing....and i want my GAMING CONSOLE to be really good at one thing.....GAMING. Not saying xbox one won't be but they didn't really showcase games enough for me to pass judgement.

Will wait and see though....i don't plan on buying a new console until at least 2015. Content with my ps3 for now

 

[nako xl]

[h1]The Kinect is mandatory, and can’t be turned off: Welcome your new motion sensing, Xbox One overlord[/h1]
The most frustrating things about the press event for the Xbox One were Microsoft’s inability to accurately answer even basic information about its own hardware and services, and the presentation of conflicting information. There were many times during a quiet moment when I shared notes with other writers, and found we had been told contradictory details about the system.

Take, for instance, the new and improved Kinect hardware. I was given a demonstration of its power and accuracy, and the new technology is certainly impressive, but I had a simple question: Would the system be able to operate without the Kinect hooked up? In other words, if I wanted to use the system with only a controller and didn’t connect the motion sensing device at all, would the Xbox One still work?

“We’ve today announced that we’re selling them together. I’m not sure if we’re sharing details about what happens when you unplug them,” Scott Evans, Microsoft's Kinect program manager told the Report.

First, that’s the worst kind of PR answer. The sane response is that yes, the system should be able to operate fine without the Kinect attached. But of course this is Microsoft, and no one can seem to figure out what’s going on with the features of the system. Everyone is being given different answers.

I told him I was a little freaked out that he couldn’t answer such a simple question.

“I think it’s a policy decision, we’re not going to discuss it,” he replied. I pressed him: Could he go out on a limb and say that the system will turn on without the Kinect plugged in? “I don’t know what the policy is going to be yet, so I’m not commenting.”

It’s not a worthless question. When moving the console from room to room, I don’t want to worry about the Kinect, and the whole thing gives me the heebie jeebies. “We have a combination of processing in the sensor, and the console. Even when the console is turned off, the sensor can listen for ‘Xbox On’ and wake up the console,” Evans said. I’m not sure I like the idea of a piece of hardware that’s hooked up in my living room listening to me on an ongoing basis. 

It turns out that other sources in Microsoft are stating that the Kinect does have to be connected for the system to function. Look at this article, featuring a quote from Xbox's UK marketing director Harvey Eagle.

“Kinect does require to be connected to Xbox One in all cases, yes,” he said. Asked whether the Xbox One will accommodate people who perhaps play in their bedroom rather than their living room, Eagle replied: “Yes, absolutely. We use the living room almost as a moniker - that's where we assume the best screen is in the house. But if you like to play in any other room in the house, the Xbox One will deliver the same quality of experience whatever the environment.”

So it sounds like the Kinect is mandatory. You can’t unplug it, you can’t turn it off, and you won’t be able to buy an Xbox One without the added cost of the motion sensing peripheral. It's always on, at least on some level. Listening to you. Waiting to be told to wake up.

So what happens if the Kinect breaks, is the entire system now useless? It's one thing to create a production that's so useful and compelling that we want to use it, but quite another to say you can't interact with the system at all unless the peripheral is connected. Microsoft wants to control how you use your system, and this is just another step toward that goal. 

If you didn't like the Kinect before, too bad. You don't have a choice.

 

[Cryptomoon]

Yawwwwwwww

 

[Undefined]

Microsoft needs to stop trying to shove ish down our throats, I already pay for xbox live. I should be able to do what i wanna do with my games and i never needed a kinect

 

[concordflightxi]

Will I still have to pay for Xbox Live Gold?

YES. The head of Xbox in Europe told The Metro: "Yes, we still see that as a chargeable service... I think that people understand that for a premium service that gives access to so many different rich parts of entertainment. Our consumers are happy and I think we represent great value there actually. If you look at the plethora of things available now through Xbox Live, particularly the Gold service and what we put behind Gold, we’ve got no plans to change that."

Wait. Wut... Does that mean I HAVE to pay for Xbox Live to use the Xbox One? So basically its ANOTHER subscription that I have to pay for just to play videogames? That on top of my Cell Phone Bill, Cable Bill, Netflix, Hulu, etc?

Just let me play videogames in peace.

 

[ihatemyshoes]

MS trying to battle Nintendo, Sony, Apple & Google all at once with the XBOX One 

 

[bigrockford]

I watched the video yesterday. It honestly has nothing new going for it except the things that the new kinect does for it. I can surf my channels with my WiiU gamepad, thats good enough for me. Im not going to be in my house talking to my xbox. All they talked about was TV, movies, internet, and a little bit of gaming. The COD graphics comparison was the only thing worth watching about the whole announcement. At least PS4 showed some actual game play. So far Kill Zone on PS4 > COD on Xbox One.

 

[va757va]

Wait. Wut... Does that mean I HAVE to pay for Xbox Live to use the Xbox One? So basically its ANOTHER subscription that I have to pay for just to play videogames? That on top of my Cell Phone Bill, Cable Bill, Netflix, Hulu, etc?

Just let me play videogames in peace.

yup..look like im going back to sony for this round...

i refuse to go thru all that extra ish just to play some madden..no way no how...

 

[The_Isomotion31]

yup..look like im going back to sony for this round...

i refuse to go thru all that extra ish just to play some madden..no way no how...

With more details or rumors surrounding this, I am beginning to feel the same way. I just wanna play some games to unwind, I don't need all that.

 

[deleted]

Wait. Wut... Does that mean I HAVE to pay for Xbox Live to use the Xbox One? So basically its ANOTHER subscription that I have to pay for just to play videogames? That on top of my Cell Phone Bill, Cable Bill, Netflix, Hulu, etc?

Just let me play videogames in peace.

Jesus...I think you guys like being upset.

The XBL system on the One will likely be the same as it is now. You pay for the premium service, but you won't need that premium service for the daily online verification.

 

[jaydee]

So if i get the new system i would still have to have the 360 setup to play batman and gta 5

 

[swendro]

So if i get the new system i would still have to have the 360 setup to play batman and gta 5

Yeah, so?

 

[jaymosenvied]

Homie went in!

 

[GrizzlyAnimal]

Homie went in!

 

[Deleted member 38182]

So if i get the new system i would still have to have the 360 setup to play batman and gta 5

Yeah, so?

that sass

 

[AEA18]

Homie went in!

His name is AngryJoe for a reason

Posted that vid earlier in this thread.

 

[GrizzlyAnimal]

To be honest.. i was kind of lost on what was going on, but this dude in the video just broke it all down for me

 

[tommyicerocking]

i want to get both

 

[sundoobie]

i want to get both

Same here. All these people complaining will probably still buy em anyways.

 

[Bad Religion]

I wonder how much of the backlash we've seen on the internet will actually translate to lost customers?

Its kind of a neat social experiment... seeing the reaction that both Sony and Microsoft have gotten to their initial reveals, then coming back to those once you have sales data a year or two down the road.

Im beginning to think alot of the reaction is just mob mentality. "I want to join the conversation but I dont want to be ostracized for my opinion, so I'll just troll for laughs with more extravagant hate".

Either way, it'll be interesting to see if either company adapts or sticks to their guns.

 

[nawghtyhare]

Honestly, the whole thing just looks like a huge focus group right now. They threw out a bunch of ideas yesterday and are going to figure out which ones will lose them the most money and they will change those things. And people will be happy.

With all the backing off of some of the things in the conference its pretty obvious that this wasnt the final product. Sony and Microsoft dont really want to make the systems backwards compatible because it costs them more to produce it and people will just buy the $60 previous gen version of the games that come out for a year or so rather than the next gen versions and they will lose money that way as well. But if people ***** enough they are going to include it at the end of the day.

This was a clear marketing tactic. To get expectations low. Then they make the necessary changes (to whatever the consumer is *****ing about the most) and that will be the final product. More than likely the "always online" will go away as will paying fees for used games (which already seems to be going away)

Like I said yesterday. Im not going to make my decision on what console im going with till like a couple weeks before release anyways. So right now its kind of pointless to argue since neither of the consoles are in final production model stage anyways.

how are they not in the final stages though if both consoles release this year and BEFORE christmas they want those holiday sales. They have 6 months left to maufacture enough thats not really a lot of time especially if its a global launch. i think that was the final model

 

[sole vintage]

@majornelson: We are months away from the launch of #XboxOne & policy decisions are still being finalized. When they are, we will let you know.

PR damage control

 

[hellaflush]

Nice

 

[hybridsoldier23]

Xbox One won't allow indies to self-publish games

http://www.shacknews.com/article/79309/xbox-one-wont-allow-indies-to-self-publish-games

Both Sony and Nintendo allow developers to publish their own games onto PlayStation Network and Nintendo Network

It really sucks since the Microsoft SDK for Indie devs had always been the easiest to learn and use.