238 replies to this topic

[Koh]

Remember when Microsoft didn't want the next Xbox to be called "Xbox 2" because it was competing with the PlayStation "3" due to the fact the consumers may think PS3 would sound more of a higher gen product? Look how they contradicted themselves with Xbox ONE. We all know 4 is greater than 1. Does this mean the 4th Gen Xbox (if there will be a 4th gen Xbox) will be called the Xbox TWO?

More like the XQuad.  Then we can 90s dub it as CrossSquad.  Sounds much more interesting XD.

[Ventus]

if you read it 90's fashion, it becomes "CrossBone."  Better than "CrossBoxOne" to me XD.

Gotta love the 90's terminology, the CrossBone fits the XB1 well.

 

You know what this whole thing reminds me of?, it reminds me of the Atari 5200 what a piece of crap that was. XD

[Dawnlight]

Well the "X" part of the name is irrelevant IMO because of the fact that all of the current consoles use support DirectX.

[Koh]

Well only the games will tell if the CrossBone (I'm so sticking with this now XD) will share a similar fate.  If it does, most of us really won't be surprised, but if it doesn't, what is it that will keep it afloat?  The um...*ahem* console exlusives?  The....*head tilts*  TV capabilities?  Umm....how about the uhh....*does a headstand* online community?  There will be SOMETHING that keeps it afloat if it does stay afloat.  Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll blow our minds.

 

@Dawnlight:  DirectCross actually sounds pretty fitting though.  Because it's a cross between the hardware accelerators and the graphics 83.

Edited by Koh, 31 May 2013 - 09:20 AM.

[Shane]

They should have called it the Xbox Y. Why? Hence the name, why would you name it something like that? It's the genius in it. It would even fit this console instead of Xbox One because of the raging fans lol "Y DID U DO TIS 2 MAI XBOX".

Edited by Shane, 31 May 2013 - 09:23 AM.

[TheLegend_njf]

Wow. What a difficult topic to keep up on.

If gaming was a simple industry, Nintendo would get it right, if gaming was such a simple industry, Capcom would get it right, but on the other hand, if gaming was as complicated as the people here say it is, Angry Birds would get it wrong.

People are followers, sometimes what really makes a difference is more random than you could possibly imagine. I believe it is very possible for a amateur company to make good from crap, and throw this entire argument out the window, from both sides.

Because the human race is sometimes the most difficult to please, but we are also at times so easy to please it is an absolute joke.

Ponder that one for a moment.

[Rambly]

Because the human race is sometimes the most difficult to please, but we are also at times so easy to please it is an absolute joke.

Ponder that one for a moment.

I don't think the people who like Angry Birds and the people who don't like Capcom's and Nintendo's stuff necessarily overlap completely, and I definitely don't think they represent the entire human race.

I pondered it.
 

Wow. What a difficult topic to keep up on.

Yeah. I guess that's what happens when people stray really far from the actual topic at hand.

So, how about that XBOX One, yeah? I'm not so sure it's going to be successful, but I'm not a video game industry analyst, so I can't really claim that I know for certain it won't be.

[TheLegend_njf]

Perhaps a coming new age video game crash is approaching?

(For those who don't know what a video game crash is, research Atari's downfall, or ET for Atari in particular).

[Koh]

I already told you....eventually the big companies are going to drag each other into the dirt, and all that will be left is the indie gaming market.  I can feel in on my One feel.

[Shane]

Because one (pun?) console is totally going to destroy the gaming industry.

[DashSim]

There are a lot of pages in this thread! I haven't read them all, so I apologize if I'm going to be just repeating thoughts already expressed here; I've been away for a while, and I'm a bit late on things here, but... I like to talk about video games! And it's always the time to talk about videogames.

 

All right. My issues with the Xbox One.

 

I'm a collector. I collect video games. At this point, I've amassed a fairly good sized lot of games ranging from the NES to modern consoles. Since childhood, I've kept the games, their boxes and their instructions in the very best condition I could. I take immense pleasure in searching garage sales, thrift stores, online auctions and what have you for old games I don't own. It is such an utter delight to me to come across a game, a little hidden treasure that I am taking away and giving a new home. I enjoy cleaning up the old, dirty, uncared for games and systems I find and returning them to proper shape, even taking non-working ones and bringing them back to life. I like seeing all of these lining my shelves, being able to have something real and tangible, something I can touch, something I can see.

 

When I put a game into my NES and play it (which I do often), there are no missing features that time has removed; it is the exact, identical, complete experience. I placed the same cart into the same console, plugged in the same controller... and I get the same experience I would have had upon its initial release; I can play it just as it was intended, like no time has passed at all.

 

Of course, I enjoy modern games, too. And once a game enters my collection, it does not leave. When I go out and buy a new game, I decide what to purchase based in part on what I think I will enjoy to play and replay for the years and decades ahead. It's an investment in something I will have forever. I enjoy having games in my collection, readily available whenever I want to experience it again, or perhaps show it to a friend. I want to keep them around. After all, these new games will eventually be old games, and I will then treasure them just as much, if not more so.

 

 

The Xbox One is antithetical to so many of the joys I get from videogames. I'm not even exactly sure where to begin. (Though given what I've described about myself here, the big points are probably very obvious!) I will say that I don't necessarily mind it ostensibly being focused on things other than games, assuming those things don't impede it as a game console. I have zero issues with Microsoft focusing on non-videogame related features during their conference. I don't have any issues with the new Kinect being required. I've never used the original Kinect, but I think it's a neat idea and that it needs to be plugged into the system is really not an issue to me. Backwards compatibility is a wonderful feature to have, but every console ultimately is judged by the strength of its own library, so this too is not too large an issue for me. As well, I'm okay with the few games they showed at the conference looking uninspired; consoles generally have years available to build up a compelling library. Even the most forgotten of consoles usually end up with at least a few gems.

 

My issue is that one day the Xbox One servers will be shut down. What happens then? If I were to buy an XBox One and build up my own personal collection of games for it, will they all one day become as useless as DIVX discs are today once they can no longer authenticate? Are the games for the console I buy and love and want to keep forever only available as long as Microsoft keeps the lights on? And, what if I don't buy an Xbox One during the console's active lifespan? If I don't buy it during the (presumably) 5-10 years of its active life, have I just passed on ever experiencing the console entirely? If I miss the window of opportunity on that, have I permanently lost my chance to ever experience its library of games?

 

This is enough to keep me away from the console. This is enough for me to worry about other consoles implementing this, because I will not buy a console and games if one day they will become permanently unplayable due to DRM. This is even before considering how this policy eliminates the other aspects of videogames I love, that I mentioned above. There's no point for me in collecting cheap used games when they all require an activation fee anyway, and someday I won't even be able to activate them at all.

 

If the entire industry went in this direction... I can't imagine myself following it. We would have to part ways, which would absolutely break my heart to do. I've been here since my childhood. Videogames have a role in some of my earliest memories.

 

Of course, it's always possible this will be isolated to the Xbox One. It's also possible Microsoft has some sort of solution planned for allowing games to continue to be played after the servers go dark one day. As far as I'm aware, if there's any plans for that, they haven't mentioned them.

 

 

These are my thoughts on the Xbox One. This is what I think about, when the subject of the console comes up. Not quite a lot of positivity, it seems. And I went on a lot longer than I intended! This is just... the sort of thing that inspires a lot of thoughts in me, I suppose. I have a lot of passion for videogames as a medium and a lot of fascination for them as an industry. And the Xbox One concerns me on a number of fronts.

[TheLegend_njf]

Good post, also, I must share a scary reality about online purchases of games, in which I quite from Nintendo.

"When you purchase our games via our online store, you are not really purchasing a game. What you are purchasing is the licence (permission) to play that software, and there are terms and conditions that do apply"

Seems like Microsoft got it figured out, they want to sell us games without really selling us anything.

Edited by NewJourneysFire, 01 June 2013 - 09:48 AM.

[Koh]

But...that's how it's always been, even when you buy Physical copies.  It's just the right for you to use and play the game.  There are many things you can't do with it, like making copies and selling those, and etc.  Microsoft's online thing, just like Nintendo, pretty much shows that full force.

[TheLegend_njf]

Granted, that seems correct, but when that excuse is used to explain why people must pay to repair their wii if they want to transfer content over to another wii, explaining that the games are tied to te system unless transferred otherwise? Lucky for me I got mine repaired for free. But this is not about wii, but it makes me wonder what limitations this new direction Microsoft is taking.

Clearly it is licences we are purchasing and Microsoft wants to push into our heads that reselling their games is on their terms unacceptable and a breach of the new licence rules (or that it would seem).

What scares me most about hearing that is the reality of the situation. We are not purchasing games, but licences to use them in the bigger scheme of things. Who says that in our near future that the entire concept of owning a game becomes obsolete and expiry dates are set.

I dear hope the video game industry ain't heading towards expiry dates and renewals because, hell! Who says they can't, video games began with quarters, and companies may come to realize that the ability for unlimited play (which is something we take for granted) causes us to demand from the market unrealistic expectations, and again I state, if video games become licences that can very well expire at set dates, it would make us realize what we took for granted and gain a certain level of appreciation for what we have now.

Anyways, I'm just rambling, but I am amazed how pointless video game collections really are considering that if what we really are purchasing is licences, and licences can change.

[Aevin]

It's interesting how this mirrors the MPA's hatred of VCR's in the late 70's and 80's.  The MPA wanted to classify VCR's as an accessory to crime because of their ability to duplicate copyrighted content, and also wanted to stop the rental and resale of video cassettes.  Seems like Microsoft is attempting to do the same thing by adding locks in their own system.  Here's an interesting quote I found in an article I was reading about the MPA:

Foiling another attempt by studios to control the emerging videocassette market, Congress refused to forbid the renting or reselling videotapes of movies for profit. Blockbuster, Netflix and Redbox would be protected by copyright law’s doctrine of “first sale.” If they had bought it, they owned it.

Which raises the question ... Why aren't video game consumers protected by the same doctrine? Perhaps by the reasoning NewJourneysFire describes above? That we're not purchasing copyrighted content at all, but a license to access it? Seems like a pretty big, irritating loophole designed to screw over consumers.