Xbox One: No Games DRM or "Always Online"


Recommended Posts

Listen I aint lazy, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't make the same argument to anyone regarding TV remote controls (as in its obviously lazy to use one and its no great upheaval to get up and change the channel using the buttons on the TV/STB), so get your head out of your arse and STFU.

Actually I wont shutup. In fact I sometimes dont use the remote to turn on the tv. And I'm sorry 5 seconds of getting up will kill you.. :rolleyes:

What about minted Pete who lives in the country? He's got a diamond encrusted log cabin, but no ISP can be bothered cabling the countryside...

He would use satellite internet or mobile tethering, or if he's 'minted' pay to get a dedicated line put in. How many 'minted' people do you know without internet access?

Listen I aint lazy, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't make the same argument to anyone regarding TV remote controls (as in its obviously lazy to use one and its no great upheaval to get up and change the channel using the buttons on the TV/STB), so get your head out of your arse and STFU.

 

I wish, my TVs don't have buttons on the unit anymore, annoys me to no end, sometimes the TV is closer than the remote! I have to walk all the

way to the remote in the kitchen to turn off the TV! :shifty:

He would use satellite internet or mobile tethering, or if he's 'minted' pay to get a dedicated line put in. How many 'minted' people do you know without access to the internet?

 

Mobile tethering in that location? Spotty signal at best. Point is internet is cheap, most can afford, but people cannot "help" their location. Not many people choose a home based on internet reliability/speed, but you know, rather their budget, it's location and how it will suit their family.

No, I cant be arsed to go to the main page of this site and look up the quote from a post on the main page. Its not that its a massive inconvenience for me to do it, but because you obviously cant be arsed so why the F**K should I?

I will say though, that confirmed is you have to have the disk in to play any disk game, and all digital games now cant be shared at all.

The entitled generation.

Now I seriously hate Sony fanboys. They are like the lowest life form of life in this world. They just turned my hopes of next generation gaming to just regular gaming.

  

If blaming Sony fanboys helps you deal with the policy change because you don't want to admit that something you've been crusading for went belly up, then go for it. No one likes breaking their conditioning, but it's kind of like saying that Microsoft brought the Start button back in Windows 8.1 because a bunch of OS X users were upset to see it go.

No, I cant be arsed to go to the main page of this site and look up the quote from a post on the main page. Its not that its a massive inconvenience for me to do it, but because you obviously cant be arsed so why the F**K should I?

I will say though, that confirmed is you have to have the disk in to play any disk game, and all digital games now cant be shared at all.

No probs, I just thought you might have had the info to hand.

 

I will say that those features had their benefits, no doubt, but I'm afraid they were not worth giving up my rights for.

It's not that they can't afford it. Let's say ex. Assassin's Creed 3. What, 90%(?) play the single player only. Why would my brother, sister or friend want to buy they're own game to only play single player, instead of using my copy when I'm finished. And wouldn't they appreciate being able to loan it without needing to send the game disc with the mail? Family sharing would simplify this scenario. Instead of buying another AC3 copy, my brother could buy a new Battlefield game or something, which again I could borrow without sending the disc. It's EASIER.

 

I apologize that all my family and friends doesn't live in the same town.

 

If they can afford it why are they waiting for you to get done with it so they can leech off of you instead of getting their own game?

If they can afford it why are they waiting for you to get done with it so they can leech off of you instead of getting their own game?

 

I think we call it sharing, you know, that thing everyone complains about wanting to do with a disc?

God I hope not. The inability to sell used games was a good thing but people are too stupid to think for once. Did anyone actually consider what the final outcome would be or did they just jump on the bandwagon?

 

First effect: Game sales numbers would be low. This would happen due to two types of people no longer being in the market. The first is the type of person that buys a brand new game with the justification that they can sell it back and make some of the money back when they are done with the game. The second type is the one that waits for games to hit the used game market and buys them at a discount.

 

Sounds bad right? If you lack all common sense, I am sure it would sound bad to you. If you actually thought about it past this point though, you would realize how amazing this would be.

 

Second effect: After low sales numbers, all developers would be forced to lower the price of all future games in order to maximize profits to get back the lost customers. That, or they go out of business.

 

Third effect: Since this DRM policy was only for the Xbox One, only their prices would drop. PS4 and Nintendo prices would continue to be at the riduculus $60 price point since the people that did the work to bring us the games continue to get screwed out of money made off of their work through used game sales. This would cause people to switch to Xbox seeing lower priced games.

 

Final effect: To avoid hemorrhaging customers, PS and Nintendo games would have the same price drop.

 

Right now, I am expected to pay $60 or more for a new game when it could be much cheaper. I refuse to buy used games because I feel I have the moral obligation to pay the people who own the content for the license that allows me to play it. Gamestop does not own the content nor the right to license the game. Yes, I full realize that it is considered old fashioned to pay the people who deserve to be paid as  most people in these forums believe there is nothing morally wrong with piracy but I don't share this misguided belief. I saw this as an opportunity to see a forced price decrease market wide and because of a few vocal douches, that opportunity will now be lost.

 

I must be the only one who thinks it would be nice for new games to have a massive market wide price cut.

No probs, I just thought you might have had the info to hand.

 

I will say that those features had their benefits, no doubt, but I'm afraid they were not worth giving up my rights for.

Sorry, I've lost all sense of manners in this thread and your response was just what I needed. Jesus I never thought that a game console policy could generate so much anger in me.

 

So apologies for my unnecessary and out of order rudeness there.

I think all the Xbox One DRM and online requirements was one big publicity/marketing stunt to bring a lot of attention to the Xbox. Just like the New Coke was supposedly a marketing stunt to make people cry about how bad it was and get the old coke back!

I'm really beginning to wonder if MS spent a lot of time thinking through this DRM/online mumbo-jumbo before talking about it in May. It's like they only recently started thinking through all these policities without getting a good sense of what the gaming world would like. MS needs to either:

 

1. Grow a spine and stick with what they're trying to do.

2. Do better research before introducing such broad changes.

(this applies to both Windows 8 and Xbox One)

 

p.s. Xbox 180 has a certain ring to it. :rofl:

You will still have your digital downloads. You will still have your cloud computing. You just lose your draconian DRM.

 

So sincerely and truly, anyone who is still defending MS like what they were going to institute was the "future of gaming" and "now they lack creativity" truly loses any ounce of credibility you may have had, which admitedely was very, very little to begin with.

 

Kudos to MS for coming around on this so soon. It was only a matter of time.

  • Like 7

You will still have your digital downloads. You will still have your cloud computing. You just lose your draconian DRM.

 

So sincerely and truly, anyone who is still defending MS like what they were going to institute was the "future of gaming" and "now they lack creativity" truly loses any ounce of credibility you may have had, which admitedely was very, very little to begin with.

 

Kudos to MS for coming around on this so soon. It was only a matter of time.

 

Oh cry us a river.  Just because you didn't agree with it didn't make it bad or draconian.  If anything you lose credibility for trying to tell others they're not credible for having a different opinion than you.

  • Like 2

I think we call it sharing, you know, that thing everyone complains about wanting to do with a disc?

 

When i think of sharing a game with someone i think of lending it to them for a short time to let them see if they like it. I don't give it to them with the intention of letting them essentially keep the game and get a free ride by leeching entirely off of my purchases, my money.

 

 

God I hope not. The inability to sell used games was a good thing but people are too stupid to think for once. Did anyone actually consider what the final outcome would be or did they just jump on the bandwagon?

 

First effect: Game sales numbers would be low. This would happen due to two types of people no longer being in the market. The first is the type of person that buys a brand new game with the justification that they can sell it back and make some of the money back when they are done with the game. The second type is the one that waits for games to hit the used game market and buys them at a discount.

 

Sounds bad right? If you lack all common sense, I am sure it would sound bad to you. If you actually thought about it past this point though, you would realize how amazing this would be.

 

Second effect: After low sales numbers, all developers would be forced to lower the price of all future games in order to maximize profits to get back the lost customers. That, or they go out of business.

 

Third effect: Since this DRM policy was only for the Xbox One, only their prices would drop. PS4 and Nintendo prices would continue to be at the riduculus $60 price point since the people that did the work to bring us the games continue to get screwed out of money made off of their work through used game sales. This would cause people to switch to Xbox seeing lower priced games.

 

Final effect: To avoid hemorrhaging customers, PS and Nintendo games would have the same price drop.

 

Right now, I am expected to pay $60 or more for a new game when it could be much cheaper. I refuse to buy used games because I feel I have the moral obligation to pay the people who own the content for the license that allows me to play it. Gamestop does not own the content nor the right to license the game. Yes, I full realize that it is considered old fashioned to pay the people who deserve to be paid as  most people in these forums believe there is nothing morally wrong with piracy but I don't share this misguided belief. I saw this as an opportunity to see a forced price decrease market wide and because of a few vocal douches, that opportunity will now be lost.

 

I must be the only one who thinks it would be nice for new games to have a massive market wide price cut.

 

You're incredibly deluded if think this drm would be a magical bringer of lower prices. Just look at xbla. There are many things you can only get there, and thus cant be bought used. And guess what, most if not all of them almost never got a price drop. Despite the fact that there is no used xbla game market.

You will still have your digital downloads. You will still have your cloud computing. You just lose your draconian DRM.

 

So sincerely and truly, anyone who is still defending MS like what they were going to institute was the "future of gaming" and "now they lack creativity" truly loses any ounce of credibility you may have had, which admitedely was very, very little to begin with.

 

Kudos to MS for coming around on this so soon. It was only a matter of time.

Well said Larry! You can still download the games and dont use disc for when you do that! Unless you bought it as a disc which makes perfect sense to me. Hopefully the xbox live for every console havent changed.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Google Pixel 11 series: Here's what to expect by Hamid Ganji Google Pixel 10 series In recent years, Google has successfully turned its Pixel devices into worthy contenders in the smartphone market. The search giant is now preparing to launch the Pixel 11 series in just a few months, and many Pixel fans are likely wondering what Google has in store for them this year. The next lineup of Google smartphones includes four devices: the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. This year, we don’t expect Google to bring revolutionary upgrades to its handsets, and the Pixel 11 series is likely to receive modest hardware improvements alongside a slew of AI-powered features. Here are the rumored specifications of the Google Pixel 11 series ahead of its official debut: When will the new Pixel phones be unveiled? The last two generations of Google Pixel phones (Pixel 9 series and Pixel 10 series) were launched in August, unlike the previous three generations that debuted in October. With that in mind, we expect Google to unveil the Pixel 11 series sometime in August 2026. The exact launch date has yet to be confirmed. Google Pixel 11 CAD renders - Image via AndroidHeadlines How much will the Pixel 11 series cost? Predicting the final price of upcoming smartphones has become increasingly difficult. As you may know, RAM and memory prices are rising sharply, leading to significant increases in the cost of consumer electronics. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that price increases for some future Apple products are unavoidable, suggesting that the iPhone 18 series could become more expensive. Google has remained tight-lipped about any potential price increases for the Pixel 11 series. If the company manages to maintain last year’s pricing structure, here’s what the lineup could cost: Pixel 11: $799 Pixel 11 Pro: $999 Pixel 11 Pro XL: $1,199 Pixel 11 Pro Fold: $1,799 Given current market conditions, it may be difficult for Google to avoid raising prices unless it adopts cost-saving measures, such as equipping the base model with 8GB of RAM. Google Pixel 11 series anticipated specs: We expect the Google Pixel 11 series to debut with a new Tensor G6 processor as well as an upgraded camera system. The overall design, however, is expected to remain largely unchanged across the lineup. Specifications Pixel 11 Pixel 11 Pro Pixel 11 Pro XL Pixel 11 Pro Fold Display 6.3-inch LTPO AMOLED / 120Hz refresh rate / up to 3100 nits of brightness 6.3-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 3600 nits of brightness 6.8-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 3600 nits of brightness 8-inch inner screen and 6.4-inch outer display, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 3600 nits of brightness RAM & Processor Tensor G6 / 8-12GB of RAM Tensor G6 / 12-16GB of RAM Tensor G6 / 12-16GB of RAM Tensor G6 / 16GB of RAM Storage options 128GB or 256GB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Camera 50MP main sensor, 13MP ultra-wide, 10.8MP 5x telephoto, 10.5MP front camera 50MP main camera, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, 42MP selfie camera 50MP main camera, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, 42MP selfie camera 50MP main camera, 10.5MP ultra-wide camera, 10.8MP telephoto camera, 10MP front camera, 10MP inner camera Battery 4,840 mAh 4,707 mAh 5,000 mAh 4,658 mAh Software Android 17 Android 17 Android 17 Android 17 The Pixel 11 series won’t be a major departure from its predecessor, with Google instead focusing on subtle improvements and AI additions such as Gemini Intelligence. However, a patent filed by Google suggests the company is working on a removable battery for its smartphones, and we could see this feature make its way to the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Given that nearly all smartphones today lack removable batteries, such a feature would be a welcome addition to future Pixel devices. That said, it may not arrive with this year’s lineup after all, and the final decision is yet to be made by Google. The Pixel 11 series could also face an uphill battle in the market. In the Android segment, Samsung is performing well with the Galaxy S26 series, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup is also expected to launch next month. On the other hand, Apple is preparing to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September alongside its first foldable iPhone.
    • At least AMD is still taking Windows 10 seriously (after the oops) before it consumer extended support ends.
    • So size is the ONLY selling point????? People have been plugging in PC's to TV's in living rooms for 20+ years. I would take a bigger box for more peformance. Also lot and lots of SFF/Mini ITX build guides out there.
    • My point is, if you buying this instead of a console for TV purposes, that you need to understand that you will not be able to play the most popular MP games with Steam OS. Now if you are not into those games, and into some of the perputual alpha/beta games on Steam then this is an option. I would argue a gaming PC would be the better route, more expensive but take the 1k -1.4k you are about to spend on this thing and build a better one. Because it is running Linux you can overide its 1080p settings. However The Verge complained about its 1080p cap and how you would have to get around it at the CLI, so someone buying this instead of a PS5 or Xbox might have a challege on their hands.
    • A review of Synology's BeeCamera software for the BeeStation Plus by Christopher White Synology is leaning into the BeeStation and the BeeStation Plus, and it's easy to understand why. While power users will want something more customizable, the BeeStation and its more powerful sibling, the BeeStation Plus, are great for those who want a device they can simply plug in, click a few buttons, and have it work as their own personal cloud. Until recently, the device was mostly used for the storage of files, photos, and videos, and with the Plus model, you could install and stream media through Plex. Synology recently released a new free application for the BeeStation Plus called BeeCamera, which is basically a stripped-down version of Surveillance Station. First, let's get the confusing naming out of the way. While you might initially think that BeeCamera is a physical device, perhaps a camera that Synology created specifically for the BeeStation Plus, that would be incorrect. BeeCamera is simply the name for the application that runs on the NAS and on your mobile device. I think the marketing team missed the mark here, but it does fit the other naming on the device, like BeePhotos and BeeFiles, I guess. Camera Support As of right now, only Synology-branded cameras are supported, which many will see as a callback to the drive locking the company implemented and then backtracked on. That said, while I 100% disagree on drive locking, I agree that camera locking for a device made to simply plug and play is the right decision. The whole point of the BeeStation line is simplicity. There are currently three camera model lines available, a wireless device for indoor use, and two PoE models for external use. CC400W (Wi-Fi): Plug it into power using the included power adapter, and connect it to your wireless network. This camera is rated only for indoor use and is the one I was provided to review the BeeCamera. $198.36, in line with the Unifi G6 Compact. BC510 (PoE): A bullet-style camera. Connect it to an Ethernet cable that is providing Power over Ethernet (PoE). This camera is rated for both indoor and outdoor use. $240. TC510 (PoE): A dome-style camera. Connect it to an Ethernet cable that is providing Power over Ethernet (PoE). This camera is rated for both indoor and outdoor use. $240. Although this isn't a review of the actual Synology camera, I did want to note that a positive for the Synology CC400W is that it uses a magnetic base. This means you can mount it on any magnetic surface, which is pretty handy. However, a downside to the camera is that it's powered by a built-in USB cable that's about six and a half feet (two meters) long. This means that the cable will probably be either too long or too short, but more importantly, if the cable is damaged at all, you'll likely need to buy an entirely new camera because there doesn't appear to be a way to replace it, unlike many competitors, like the Unifi G6 Instant. Hopefully, this is something Synology addresses in a future revision of the hardware. The BeeStation Plus supports up to four cameras. Setup The setup of BeeCamera is, like everything in the BeeStation family, very straightforward. Simply make sure you're on at least version 1.5 of the BeeStation OS, and BeeCamera is automatically installed on the device. BeeCamera Setup Screenshots Setting up the CC400W was just as easy. Plug it in, open up the BeeCamera app, and follow the on-screen steps to add the camera. During this process, you'll configure the camera name and how many days of retention you want to keep. The system will also automatically update the firmware for you. The whole thing took only a couple of minutes, excluding the time it took for the camera to update the firmware. Once the camera is connected to the BeeStation Plus, you can manage the various camera settings within the app, although there aren't many to choose from. You're able to configure whether the microphone will record audio (some privacy laws may preclude you from recording it), select what codec to use (H.264 or H.265), configure the color and exposure of the camera, and determine what data you want to overlay onto the video. Finally, you can set up AI detections so that BeeCamera will alert you if it sees certain things. These are all of the common detections you would expect in a camera system, such as people, pets, and vehicles. Under people and vehicles, you can also add extra monitoring for lingering and congestion detection, although pets are currently in "Lab" and therefore have no extra features yet. Recording in 4K using H.265 for 30 days will take roughly 300 GB of storage, which is very reasonable for most regular households, as the BeeStation Plus has 8TB of native storage. If you want to set up detection zones, you can. These are areas that BeeCamera will look at for the various detections, and are helpful if, for example, there's a tree in your frame and you don't want to be notified each time the wind makes the branches move around in the frame. Finally, you can also schedule when the camera should and should not be recording, which is a very useful feature. For example, you may want to record only at night when you're sleeping, but not during the day when you're up and about the house, so you can easily shut the camera off between 8 am and 10 pm. Each hour of each day can be configured to record continuously, only upon a detection event, or disabled completely. You can't fine-tune to record at a specific time, though, only hourly blocks on the hour. Daily Use The best part of BeeCamera is that it's easy and just works. If you only care about being notified when things happen, the mobile app sends those notifications and lets you click the button to bring up the video and see what's going on. For example, when I went out of town and had the camera pointed at the cat tower in our hallway, it was nice to be able to drop in and check that my furry friends were doing okay without me. Initiating the remote connection to the BeeStation Plus through the app is very responsive, but this will heavily depend on your ISP. In my case, using Xfinity, I'm able to go from starting the app to seeing live video in roughly three seconds, which is about the same amount of time it takes to connect to my Unifi UNVR system that costs much more. If you want to see footage from a specific day and time, you can do so using the calendar icon. You can also scroll through the timeline, looking for detections that are labeled in blue (vs. the normal gray when there's nothing of interest). There are buttons that let you go to the last/next detection on the timeline, which is helpful if you missed the notification on your mobile device. That's where the ease of use stops, though. While you can download clips that are flagged by detection, there's apparently no way to select generic time frames you're interested in, and the only place to download is to your phone. In addition, sharing a video shares the actual video, not just a link back to your BeeStation Plus. While that's good from a security and privacy perspective, it's a little awkward for sharing large videos. Limitations While the ease of implementation is great, there are some things that are lacking from BeeCamera. The most obvious is that there is no way to view the footage on the desktop. You can log in to the BeeStation Plus to see how much storage BeeCamera is using, but unlike BeePhotos and BeeFiles, there is no BeeCamera on the web console to manage or view footage. This means you'll be viewing all of your security footage on your mobile device, which is pretty limiting. In addition, there's no way to download the video to your PC without first using your phone as the intermediary. The one exception to this is that you can use BeeFiles to see the raw MP4 files. They're saved in 5-minute increments, and it's just raw data with no detection information or any other way to identify what any of them are. The lack of a way to interact with BeeCamera on the desktop also makes configuration of the cameras more difficult. For example, trying to set up detection zones using a tiny screen and your finger to draw boxes is more cumbersome than it needs to be. This reinforces the idea that BeeCamera is not made for power users. It's also missing some of the more advanced functionality of Surveillance Station. For example, I couldn't find a way to say, "Alert me if the thing in this zone is no longer there." Another major deficiency with BeeCamera, and a feature I suspect may come out in the future, is that while it can detect generic people, there is no specific facial recognition yet. This is an interesting omission, given the fact that other Synology tools can detect specific individuals, and competitors such as Unifi Protect also do it. This is probably a software limitation, so we will have to wait and see if this feature is added in the future. Conclusion If you need a security guard to monitor surveillance cameras to make sure your property is secure, then BeeCamera is not the solution for you. That said, you probably wouldn't be using a BeeStation Plus as the brains behind the system either. BeeCamera (and BeeStation in general) is clearly aimed at households that want to avoid sending personal data to Google and Amazon, and now want to add some cameras to keep an eye on their home and their pets while they're away. BeeCamera excels at doing this. The target market isn't interested in creating cases, tying multiple views together in a single pane of glass, or the like, and for the intended use case, the system works great. Where it starts to fall apart a bit is with more advanced features. Not being able to use a desktop app is a major compromise in my opinion, and having to do all of the configuration on a mobile device is annoying, but not impossible. If you don't want to have a full-fledged NAS device in your home, but still want control over your data (or maybe want an easy way to backup your data for World Backup Day), and want to add a couple of cameras to keep an eye on your house and your pets, this is a great, cheap, and easy way to go, and I suspect more functionality will come over time. If Synology releases a desktop app or at least a way to configure cameras and view footage on a desktop browser, this would be a near-perfect solution for a general home user. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      timbobit earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      dorf went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      mike_rumble earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      476
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      172
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      104
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      88
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      70
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!