xbox-one-80
Latest
Behind the mic drop: Sony re-wrote E3 script after Microsoft backlash
Sony's E3 2013 press conference was the definition of mic drop – Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO Jack Tretton stepped on stage and devoted his finale speech to tearing down the contentious DRM, always-online and used-game restrictions that Microsoft had just announced for the Xbox One. He never mentioned Microsoft by name, but instead simply listed the things that the PS4 would allow. And the crowd went wild. Sony Computer Entertainment head Andrew House re-wrote that speech the weekend before E3, after witnessing backlash to Microsoft's policies, he said during the Develop 2014 conference (as reported by Eurogamer). "I remember reading an article literally the weekend before E3 that was basically saying that this is the direction Microsoft was taking and that it was only a matter of time before Sony adopts the same approach," House said. "That sort of put me on the back foot and I went and re-wrote portions of my E3 presentation script that weekend and we re-crafted the presentation because there was now an onus on us not to be seen to be going down the same path." House said Sony's policies never changed; only the messaging did. One week after E3 2013, Microsoft reversed the most scandalous of its Xbox One DRM policies. A few of Sony's promised features for the PS4 haven't yet materialized – such as sleep mode and the ability to let a friend take over your game online – but Sony is "working on it."
PSA: Netflix, Hulu among apps now free to use on Xbox Live
Last month, Microsoft announced it will no longer keep entertainment apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBO Go behind its Xbox Live premium paywall. The change to its Xbox Live service structure is now in effect, allowing non-paying users to use the aforementioned apps in addition to ones like Twitch, MLB.TV, NBA Game Time, YouTube and more. Microsoft's decision to modify its free and paid Xbox Live service offerings was announced the same day as the $399 Kinect-less Xbox One console, which will be available starting Monday, June 9. Free-to-play and subscription-based games like The Elder Scrolls Online will still require a paid Xbox Live Gold subscription to play online, however. [Image: Microsoft]
GameStop sees increased Xbox One interest following price drop reveal
GameStop President Tony Bartel noted an increased interest for Microsoft's Xbox One following the hardware manufacturer's recent decision to change course and package the console without the Kinect camera peripheral. "I definitely think we're already seeing in our stores with our reservation program as well as the dialog to Power-Up Rewards that there's a stronger demand as a result of the price drop," Bartel said during the company's earnings call this week. Microsoft announced that it will begin selling the Xbox One without the Kinect last week. The dis-Kinected console will hit retail on June 9 for $399 in North America and £349 in the UK. Following the news, GameStop began offering special trade-in prices for Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles in exchange for in-store credit towards the cheaper Xbox One. Microsoft also revealed that it will no longer keep media streaming app like Netflix and Hulu Plus behind its Xbox Live paywall, though it confirmed to Joystiq that free-to-play and subscription-based games such as The Elder Scrolls Online would still require the paid Xbox Live subscription to play. "The good news for us is it sells more units. We'll sell a lot more units, because like we shared earlier, we're driving a lot of the growth, and that means there will be more [Xbox One] units out there to put software on," Bartel added. GameStop reported total global sales of $2 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 (ending May 3, 2014), which amounted to a seven percent increase year-over-year. [Image: GameStop]
GameStop offers trade-in specials for pre-orders of $400, Kinect-less Xbox One
Did the news of an Xbox One sans Kinect convince you that now is the time to jump on Microsoft's wagon? If so, GameStop is ready to accept you with open arms - arms that are attached to hands, which in turn will offer you a pre-order of a Kinect-free Xbox One in exchange for your money and games. Online, you can reserve your copy of an Xbox One without Kinect for $399.99. If you need a little extra helping hand financially, you can trade in an original or 4GB Xbox 360 or 12GB PS3 and receive $75 in store credit. Trade in a 360 with 250GB or more of storage or a PS3 with 20GB or larger hard drive and you'll receive $125. PowerUp Pro members receive an additional $10. Those so inclined to travel outside (though why would you do that - the sun is out there) can also head to their local store to pre-order. We called several GameStops across the country and were told the minimum deposit for the console-only Xbox One package is $100. [Image: Microsoft]
Elder Scrolls Online, free-to-play games still require Xbox Live Gold
One of Microsoft's big announcements today was the restructuring of Xbox Live Gold; the company will now allow Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners to use entertainment apps like Netflix and HBO Go without requiring a paid Xbox Live subscription. As Microsoft's Phil Spencer clarified to Joystiq today, the latest in a series of "Xbox One-80s" doesn't apply to free-to-play and subscription-based online games. "Right now we haven't changed the policy on MMOs and free-to-play games," Spencer said. While not getting into specifics, he noted that with some games there are "engineering constraints, policy constraints and partner constraints in each one of these scenarios," so the decision to keep games behind the Xbox Live paywall reportedly doesn't rest solely in Microsoft's hands. Bethesda's latest MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, will still require a Gold subscription on top of the developer's own monthly fees. For the time being, at least; Microsoft has "about six months" to consider changing its policies, as the game was recently delayed for consoles. The developer was in talks with Microsoft back in August to cut the extra fees for The Elder Scrolls Online, which won't be enforced by Sony via PlayStation Plus for PS4.
Harmonix reacts to Kinect-less Xbox One in tweets, statement
Harmonix is the studio behind Xbox One Kinect game Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, plus Xbox 360's Dance Central franchise, which also relies on Kinect – so Microsoft's announcement of a Kinect-less Xbox One hitting the market for $100 cheaper in June could have a direct impact on how Harmonix does business. Today, we see two reactions from Harmonix: gut and official.
Microsoft stops asking HBO Go, Netflix customers to pay twice
Microsoft announced this morning it will no longer keep Netflix, Hulu and other streaming apps behind the company's Xbox Live Gold paywall. "Coming in June, anyone with an Xbox will be able to access popular entertainment experiences – whether or not you have an Xbox Live Gold membership," the company stated on Xbox.com. "This includes great gaming apps like Machinima, Twitch and Upload, popular video services like Netflix, Univision Deportes, GoPro, Red Bull TV and HBO GO, sports experiences like the NFL app for Xbox One, MLB.TV, NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center and more." This announcement was bundled with word of an Xbox One console available in June without a Kinect. A year later and the Xbox One-80 reversal is still going strong from the console's vision a year ago, as the company shifts executives and puts the focus of Xbox One back on games. Sony's PlayStation consoles and Nintendo's Wii U have never charged a premium for access to streaming services. [Image: Microsoft]
Dis-Kinected Xbox One coming June 9
Microsoft has announced that it will release a new lineup of Xbox One consoles that do not include the Kinect motion-sensing peripheral. Starting June 9, Microsoft will offer Kinect-less Xbox One hardware bundles at $399 in North America and £349 in the UK. Microsoft cites customer feedback as the driving force behind the Xbox One's new hardware options. The Kinect was bundled with every Xbox One sold since the console's launch last year. A standalone Xbox One Kinect sensor will be released at retail this fall.
Penello: 'People just weren't ready' for all-digital Xbox One
Microsoft Senior Director of Product Management Albert Penello called the reveal of the Xbox One "the dark days," when the company didn't present a clear message to customers and it saw a wave of backlash to an all-digital, DRM-tuned console. "I do feel like we never got a chance to have a rational conversation about what we were trying to do," Penello told Engadget. When Microsoft revealed the Xbox One, it didn't have consistent answers to basic questions: Was it always on? Would it allow used games? Eventually, Microsoft announced Xbox One would require an internet connection once every day, and that didn't go over so well. Microsoft reversed its DRM features a few weeks later. "Sometimes the customer just says, 'No. I look at it this way, I'm done, I've made up my mind,'" Penello said. "And we go, well, we've gotta fix it. It's not worth it. And that's where I think we were on the digital stuff. We'll get back to some of the cool stuff, and we have a lot of the cool stuff still in there." Penello said Microsoft hasn't given up on a fully digital future. "We just think that's the way the future's gonna go," he said. "We may have been right. What we were wrong about was that it's just too soon. People just weren't ready to make that leap right away."
NMA TV takes on Microsoft's Xbox One-80
Yesterday, Microsoft backpedaled (hard) on the Xbox One's always-online and game sharing policies. You could (and should!) read all about it right here. For a more visual take on the entire saga, watch NMA's scatalogical recap.
Xbox One sticking with $499 price, Kinect still 'core part' of experience
We had a chance to speak with Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten this evening, following the company's DRM policy changes on Xbox One, and figured if we're already talking about changes, how about that $499 price? "We really believe deeply in the value that we're delivering. Not just for the first day of launch, which we think is going to be amazing, with amazing games and entertainment experiences, but what this architecture can deliver over the long term." said Whitten. "We feel good about our price." What about changing the price by removing the Kinect? "We still absolutely believe in Kinect. It's a core part of the architecture. Frankly, it's really critical that you build it as something that's always there, always part of the platform. So that game creators, experience creators can know they can rely on it. And you, the user, that there's always a consistent experience. That it's not just an accessory." Consumers aren't the only ones happy with today's changes. Both GameStop and rental service GameFly have applauded Microsoft for today's Xbox One policy shift.
Microsoft's cloud computing 'vision' for Xbox One remains unchanged
Though Microsoft has changed its stance on the digital rights management-based requirements for the Xbox One, the company remains committed to cloud computing. "Our vision around Xbox One and what you can do because of the power of both the architecture of the console, and also the cloud and the Xbox Live service, remains unchanged," Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten told Joystiq. When asked why Microsoft would not simply offer an offline mode akin to the one featured on Steam, Whitten said "that's absolutely" what Microsoft is doing. Whitten listed a host of examples of how cloud computing still exists as part of the Xbox One plan, noting players will "see great games like Titanfall take advantage of the cloud processing power" as well as have the ability to get games from the online marketplace and use them on any console. "We're going to continue to really invest in how those experiences work," Whitten added. During E3 2013, Fairfax "Mackey" McCandlish, lead designer on the always-online Titanfall, told Joystiq that cloud computing on the Xbox One allows Respawn to "spin off dedicated servers" whenever it wants. "Instead of having everything prepared ahead of time, or misallocate different areas, or have some places be too slow or too much, we can just say 'cloud, find us the right number of computers,'" he added.
Gamestop: 'We applaud Microsoft' for reversing Xbox One used-game rules
Gamestop is pleased with Microsoft's announcement that the Xbox One will allow games to be traded in as usual, a spokesperson tells Joystiq. On June 6, Microsoft announced a system for Xbox One that would allow games to be shared only once, and only to someone the player has known for more than 30 days on Xbox Live. Under this system, retailers would have to sign up with Microsoft to resell Xbox One games. Today, Microsoft reversed this decision. "Gamestop welcomes today's announcement from Microsoft about changes in functionality for its next-generation console, the Xbox One," Gamestop says. "This is great news for gamers and we applaud Microsoft for understanding consumers and the importance of the pre-owned market." Gamestop makes the majority of its profit from used game sales, and following reports that the Xbox One wouldn't support used games, GameStop's stock fell 5 percent. Currently, Gamestop's stock is up 2.5 points in after-hours trading, almost 6 percent.
GameFly calls Xbox One reversal 'a win/win for consumers'
GameFly is happy that Microsoft will keep things "business as usual" in the next console generation, following today's stunning reversal of its Xbox One digital rights management policy, which will now allow rental games again. "I always felt good about the future of GameFly, but I feel better today," said Sean Spector, GameFly co-founder and SVP of business development and content. "Today is a win/win for consumers, as well as GameFly. I think choice is always important and now consumers have more choice. And I give [Microsoft] credit for listening to their consumers." Spector was unable to share what he knew about the console's previous plans, but he notes there were discussions with Microsoft. He said, "I think the original proposal would have been detrimental to lots of people's [business] systems. Not just GameFly. And, most importantly, gamers. Based on what I've read today, which is all I know today, it's business as usual for Xbox. Their statement is really cut and dry." GameFly plans to have Xbox One and PlayStation 4 listings up on the rental site sometime towards the end of the summer. Asked if he had anything else to add about today's events, Spector concluded, "It's a good day for gamers!"
Xbox One-80: Microsoft reverses Xbox One DRM features
Microsoft has announced an almost full reversal of the controversial digital rights management features built into the Xbox One. The console, launching later this year, will no longer require an online connection, or need to ping the Microsoft servers every 24 hours to hang on to life. It will also now play discs like any regular console and no longer place restrictions on trading games. There will also be no regional restrictions. "The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold," said Xbox division president Don Mattrick. "Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray." Microsoft previously addressed concerns about Kinect's always-on, always-listening monitoring of your living room. Why the reversal? Um, if you paid attention to E3 last week, you observed one of the greatest pummelings in industry history. Sony's PlayStation 4 presented itself as the other side of the coin to Microsoft's restrictions and stole the show.
