XBOX 720 to ban use of used games

[jame]

I just came across this article talking about how the upcoming "Xbox 720" will have always-on DRM protection and may block used games via one-time-use activations codes. How would you all feel about this?


Personally, with the patent filing of how the Kinect can block the use of "unlicensed people" watching a rented or purchased movie, I think I'm going to go ahead and get a Playstation 4 now. Microsoft is going in the wrong direction (on various products), and the Xbox was the only one I was happy with. Welp, I have rid my life of Windows, and soon the Xbox.

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to Satelliteguys!!

I am hearing this may happen on PS4 also. If one does it the other will. We will just have to wait and see.

 

[Kraven]

Close friend of mine is way high up in a company that makes/produces videogames (Harper anyone?)...I recall the conversation we had 3 years ago that "the industry" wanted a piece of this secondary market.. besides making all games dowloadable...the only way to stop it was to "marry" the disc to the machine.

Personally, it wont fly IMO. EB Games, Ebay etc will protest, along with millions of gamers. The only solution I see is to drop the prices to the point resale isnt worth it. I buy my games new, but never on release date and full price.. I usually wait for holidays or specials.

Cheers, K

 

[yourbeliefs]

It's all speculation, and honestly at this point the game industry is not in a position to pull such a move, and they'll piss off a lot of their customers who will then intentionally hold off as long as possible to upgrade, which doesn't bode well on the bottom line because it will cause longer loss-based sales. Until I hear it formally announced I won't believe it.

I also love how the gaming industry is the ONLY one that pulls this crap. Imagine if this happened with other things you bought. Imagine a CD player that wouldn't play used CDs, or a movie player that wouldn't play used DVDs/BDs. None of these industries get up in arms like gaming does, yet as gamers we are expected to accept these awful business practices.

 

[jayn_j]

I also love how the gaming industry is the ONLY one that pulls this crap. Imagine if this happened with other things you bought. Imagine a CD player that wouldn't play used CDs, or a movie player that wouldn't play used DVDs/BDs. None of these industries get up in arms like gaming does, yet as gamers we are expected to accept these awful business practices.

We have a short memory. Both the music industry and the home video industry tried to push this stuff through in the 80's and 90's.

Who can forget the infamous DIVX fiasco that required a phone line be connected to your DVD player. They were attempting a PPV model where you would get charged for every viewing, after paying money for the disc. Then there was the videocassette aimed at a rental market that had a razor blade to slice the tape as you watched it.

Sony tried the copy protection virus fiasco for CDs, and there was legislation they tried to push through making sale of used CDs illegal.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Look like the same may happen for the PS4 which will be introduced tonight.

I am hearing games will be stored in the "PS Cloud" and will require broadband access.

 

[yourbeliefs]

We have a short memory. Both the music industry and the home video industry tried to push this stuff through in the 80's and 90's.

Who can forget the infamous DIVX fiasco that required a phone line be connected to your DVD player. They were attempting a PPV model where you would get charged for every viewing, after paying money for the disc. Then there was the videocassette aimed at a rental market that had a razor blade to slice the tape as you watched it.

Sony tried the copy protection virus fiasco for CDs, and there was legislation they tried to push through making sale of used CDs illegal.

DIVX was different. That wasn't to protect from selling used stuff. That was just a sales idea gone bad (one of many bad ideas that Circuit City had.)

Let's hope that the used games backlash suffers the same fate as all these other things. I'm just tired of video game publishers demanding more and more from us gamers, while giving us less and less in the meantime.

 

[Teehar]

Greedy you know whats!Count me out on a new console if this happens.

 

[Hart5150]

Look like the same may happen for the PS4 which will be introduced tonight.

I am hearing games will be stored in the "PS Cloud" and will require broadband access.

We have 3 consoles, 1 in each of the kids rooms and 1 in the living room. Me and my kids play almost the same games. Its bad enough I've got to pay $20 extra already so all of us can have online for EA games, there's 0% chance I'm buying the same game 3 times.

 

[Hall]

Personally, it wont fly IMO. EB Games, Ebay etc will protest, along with millions of gamers. The only solution I see is to drop the prices to the point resale isnt worth it. I buy my games new, but never on release date and full price.

I'm sure that EB/Gamestop and other stores that deal in new and used games will protest, but MS and Sony simply won't care. They only care about NEW game sales and gamers always have plenty of options. The prices are fixed as well, so other than pre-ordering at Gamestop or similar stores, they'll pay the same at Walmart, Best Buy, and so on.

I know that personally if this were to happen, my son would be pretty disappointed ! Other than Christmas where he gets new games as gifts, we always buy used (and he's 100% okay with it too).

 

[Hall]

We have 3 consoles...

...and you're by far in the minority of console owners who have two consoles, let alone three ! Just like above, MS and Sony won't care. The loss will be so minute to them. Even MS adapts to some degree with multi-license copies of software, like Office for Student/Home where they allow (3) PCs to use the same copy. Do they do that with console games today ? Nope -- cause the market is next to nothing.

 

[dont24]

We have 3 consoles, 1 in each of the kids rooms and 1 in the living room. Me and my kids play almost the same games. Its bad enough I've got to pay $20 extra already so all of us can have online for EA games, there's 0% chance I'm buying the same game 3 times.

Exactly my situation. 3 consoles in my household. Same here. No way I'm paying for the same game 3 times, to play on all 3 consoles. Only ones I buy 2 of is COD, since we all play.

 

[Neutron]

No new consoles for us if they do implement that. We don't really play video games any way. When our kids get older we may look at a Wii U or whatever its successor will be as long as Nintendo doesn't implement this crap.

 

[dishfan82]

So Microsoft means if you buy madden 2014 and use the activation code that you can't take the game to your buddy's house without him having a copy of the game?? If that's the case I won't be buying any new system. That's just pure greed.

 

[Hall]

Of course that's what they mean or plan ! Buy two copies -- that's what they want you to do.

 

[Neutron]

I wonder if the game programmers will balk at this idea due to public backlash?

 

[Hall]

The game producers benefit very little from the used game market. In theory, this will force everyone to buy NEW games only, which the producers would LOVE to see happen.

 

[king3pj]

I'm sure that EB/Gamestop and other stores that deal in new and used games will protest, but MS and Sony simply won't care. They only care about NEW game sales and gamers always have plenty of options. The prices are fixed as well, so other than pre-ordering at Gamestop or similar stores, they'll pay the same at Walmart, Best Buy, and so on.

I know that personally if this were to happen, my son would be pretty disappointed ! Other than Christmas where he gets new games as gifts, we always buy used (and he's 100% okay with it too).

Again this is just a rumor. Everyone should relax until we know if it is actually true.

And not to sound like a jerk but you are right. They don't want the used games customers. New consoles are typically sold at a loss especially at the beginning. Sony and Microsoft get a licensing fee for each game sold. Eventually you buy enough games that they make their money back and start making profit off you.

When you buy used they get no licensing fee. They are almost better off not having the used game only gamers as customers. They lose money on the console sale to these people and they don't make it back let alone make a profit because they don't buy anything new. They probably wouldn't care one bit if all the people who only buy used games decide to boycott their consoles.

That being said... I say they should let the market handle this. If they copied steam and offered every game day 1 in downloadable form at a discount with steam style sales every now and then people would gradually shift to buying their games that way. They could cut out the retail middle man and lower prices. They would sell new copies at an average lower price but less people would buy used so they would come out ahead. The customer gets a lower price for downloading a game they can't sell and they get more money by not sharing with a retailer as well as reducing used sales that they don't see a cent from.

I'm not saying to do away with physical copies for those that want them but if every system came with a minimum 500GB hard drive and they made their online marketplaces competitive like steam does more people would buy online. Downloaded games should never cost more than the physical version. Unfortunately Sony and Microsoft are currently too slow to reduce prices in their stores and that is often the case. People are willing to sacrifice some of their digital rights for convenience and cheaper prices.

I don't personally buy used games because I want the people who develop games I like to make more games I like. I want my money to go to the people who created the game not GameStop. Also, like I said in the PS4 thread, you can usually beat GameStop's used prices with new games through other retailers like Amazon. However, I don't think they should block used games. Build a better online store and let the market stop them.

 

[Teehar]

You know there is another way of looking at this.What will become of all the used games that can't be traded or sold?I suppose they will end up in the landfills.

And not to sound like a jerk but you are right. They don't want the used games customers. New consoles are typically sold at a loss especially at the beginning

So your saying that Sony is losing money on a console that launches at $499?Or MS at $399?I don't believe that at all.It's also very clear that the console makers are making plenty of money,otherwise they wouldn't still be making them.

They probably wouldn't care one bit if all the people who only buy used games decide to boycott their consoles

I also disagree with that comment.

 

[king3pj]

You know there is another way of looking at this.What will become of all the used games that can't be traded or sold?I suppose they will end up in the landfills.



So your saying that Sony is losing money on a console that launches at $499?Or MS at $399?I don't believe that at all.It's also very clear that the console makers are making plenty of money,otherwise they wouldn't still be making them.



I also disagree with that comment.

Yes that is what I'm saying. Look at how much it costs to get a gaming PC. They are essentially trying to build a gaming PC that will be used for the next 5 to 8 years. They have to start with decent parts or they wont last that long. It's hard to get a gaming PC for less than $500 let alone one that will last 7 years.

They make their money in software sales not hardware sales. Yes, later in the console life cycle they are probably making money on the consoles as prices come down but not at the beginning.