News & Rumors: Xbox One (codename Durango)

[3dcgi]

Mandatory internet connection is facing objection only on principles.

Not just principles. Every now and then my internet goes out. I'd like to be able to play single player games during that time. Not a big problem but it exists. I also sometimes get disconnected from Xbox Live for unknown reasons. It's annoying enough to get kicked out of a multiplayer game, but I'd rather not get kicked from a single player game.

Dragon Age on the PC required an internet connection to validate DLC and it was very annoying as the authentication was slow and sometimes timed out such that the game needed to be restarted to make it work.

Making the internet check not be continuous would help alleviate these issues. Though we'd still be left with the possibility of not being able to use the system > 10 years down the road.

 

[Inuhanyou]

My internet sucks, and out in the midwest with no landlines, is people automatically having access to internet at acceptably fast speeds really something Microsoft wants to bet on?

I hope Microsoft does not expect me to change my living area to accomodate their hardware. its not just about me, its about how they are perceiving the market for their console.

For the past few days i've been randomly not been able to get onto Live, is that something i have to get used to in order to even access functionality for the console?

And as 3dcgi above states, there are serious implications toward the company being able to brick your product simply because they don't want to support it anymore.

I take huge offense to that, and i hope that those defending these practices aren't ignoring the true issues.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I take huge offense to that, and i hope that those defending these practices aren't ignoring the true issues.

It's not something I agree with, but like it or not, business doesn't care about the individuals. I'm in an area without cable and won't get it because the business sense isn't there, and there's nothing I can do about it. If MS sees the future in internet enabled cosmopolitan populations, and feels they can clean up in the easily targeted cities at the loss of the sticks, that might be a business route they take. Those who cannot technically run an always on console and cannot consume MS's media and services may just not be of interest to them and may not be supported. And if MS go that route, it may backfire, or it may not. They might lose 20 million existing customers, but then due to their product proposition might gain 50 million more lucrative customers happier to spend more frequently on content.

No-one should be getting angry at this point though, because nothing is confirmed. We have no idea of the business strategies of any consoles. Rumours should only ever be taken as possibly information, and not something to respond to (although vocal protestations may sway the decision makers in office prior to any rumoured unpopular action being carried through).

 

[Gerry]

No-one should be getting angry at this point though, because nothing is confirmed. We have no idea of the business strategies of any consoles. Rumours should only ever be taken as possibly information, and not something to respond to (although vocal protestations may sway the decision makers in office prior to any rumoured unpopular action being carried through).

Well indeed. Nobody knows yet what the ramifications of "always-on internet" really are (even if it's true). Perhaps it only requires an authentication stage to tie a specific game disk to a console and after that you're good to go. Perhaps it requires you to be online every single second of playing the game. Who knows.

 

[Brad Grenz]

For all we know someone in the chain of information mistook "always on" in the Roku or DVR sense with "always online" in the Uplay DRM sense. The former has been heavily rumored for some time, and the later does not seem needed when a simple activation scheme would seem sufficient.

 

[Gerry]

For all we know someone in the chain of information mistook "always on" in the Roku or DVR sense with "always online" in the Uplay DRM sense. The former has been heavily rumored for some time, and the later does not seem needed when a simple activation scheme would seem sufficient.

If it were me I'd probably have a system well the BR disc was just a delivery system. It would install the game to hard drive in exactly the same way as if you downloaded the game from an online store. The install is then tied to your account via an online activation and you can store the BR in a dusty cupboard somewhere. Either the disc has a unique code that automatically authenticates the installation once or the game simply ships with a code the user enters (much like DLC codes do now).

No need to have the disc in the drive to play it - for all intents and purposes it doesn't matter how the bits got onto your hard drive.

Disadvantage of this is of course large game installs and (from a user perspective) the fact that it possibly destroys the 2nd hand game market.

 

[expletive]

For all we know someone in the chain of information mistook "always on" in the Roku or DVR sense with "always online" in the Uplay DRM sense. The former has been heavily rumored for some time, and the later does not seem needed when a simple activation scheme would seem sufficient.

Possibly.It would need to have some level of 'always on' in order to be turned on to full a fully functional state via voice commands.

 

[Arwin]

Which is why games are supposed to install (inc download or copy from BD) why playing next gen. It makes a lot of sense, proposed it ages ago on this forum.

 

[anexanhume]

Which is why games are supposed to install (inc download or copy from BD) why playing next gen. It makes a lot of sense, proposed it ages ago on this forum.

Yes, I was very glad about the commitment to this. I like that devs can count on streaming those assets from the (less slow, but still slow) HDD. 360 was a step backwards in that regard. I'm also excited about the prospect of single disc games, no matter what the game is. Now I'm just wondering what the min hard drive size will be going forward. I guess they can go two routes: dedicated flash (a la Wii U deluxe) plus HDD, or traditional HDD only. I hope 120GB is the base.

 

[Scott_Arm]

One of the rumours said a 500GB HDD was the standard size. I don't remember which one. Either Edge or VGleaks.

 

[Arwin]

Yeah, and I think that makes sense, for currently being one of the most cost-effective sizes, I think? Just like currently the Playstation 'Super' Slim comes with a 500GB HDD.

 

[MrFox]

They have been consistent with HDD sizes so far, the most cost effective size is whatever will fit on a single platter. For 2013 I think it's 500GB. Anything above raises the cost significantly, and anything smaller is saving very little.

 

[anexanhume]

They have been consistent with HDD sizes so far, the most cost effective size is whatever will fit on a single platter. For 2013 I think it's 500GB. Anything above raises the cost significantly, and anything smaller is saving very little.

Also minimizes seek time due to high disk density.

 

[XpiderMX]

Please Rare, a core game, please...

 

[AlNom]

Viva Perfect Project Crimson ShadowCrackWarriorRun Elements of War Instinct Fables Zero Furz Motorsport Power in the Skies: Exile Evolved.

 

[joker454]

All I remember is that the last time there was a "jaw dropping" announcement it ended up being Championship Pac Man.

 

[RobertR1]

All I remember is that the last time there was a "jaw dropping" announcement it ended up being Championship Pac Man.

Pretty much. Gamers are suckers for hype though....

 

[orangpelupa]

the kinect can use PLC to transmit / receive data to Xbox easily and flexibly on any where as long as there got power socket. But dont know how expensive will it be.

 

[oramay]

I saw a post on neogaf which I find interesting.
http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=514319

It's about a survey that gauges market reaction for various gaming and set top box products and scenarios. Specifically, I find the products offered for comparison intriguing. If you look at the details of the "things" compared, like Nintendo set top box or Valve set top box, they show quite a lot of mix and match in basic features like game content quality (the survey has it's own scale, ranging from mobile app to next gen quality as detailed in that post). That suggest to me these devices are more hypothetical, and if they do appear, their features are more uncertain for the people who designed the survey.

There are a few products with much less mix and match in basic features shown (which I interpret as uncertainty in the survey designers' minds). The products out in the market now IPhone and IPad are two. The other two with the most certainty about basic features are Xbox 720 and PS4. The details associated with PS4 in the survey tally well with publicly available information. The Xbox 720 however is constantly described as compatible with PC games and I don't think normal people with some understanding of the gaming industry would be so compelled to make this association persistently. This suggest to me, either the survey designers are totally clueless about what the Xbox platform has been like, or they have insider information about MS's plans.

(As a side note, the survey designers may have written off the Wii U. It would be super funny if the survey is initiated by Nintendo, armed with inside scoop about Xbox 720. )

 

[dagamer]

I saw a post on neogaf which I find interesting.
http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=514319

It's about a survey that gauges market reaction for various gaming and set top box products and scenarios. Specifically, I find the products offered for comparison intriguing. If you look at the details of the "things" compared, like Nintendo set top box or Valve set top box, they show quite a lot of mix and match in basic features like game content quality (the survey has it's own scale, ranging from mobile app to next gen quality as detailed in that post). That suggest to me these devices are more hypothetical, and if they do appear, their features are more uncertain for the people who designed the survey.

There are a few products with much less mix and match in basic features shown (which I interpret as uncertainty in the survey designers' minds). The products out in the market now IPhone and IPad are two. The other two with the most certainty about basic features are Xbox 720 and PS4. The details associated with PS4 in the survey tally well with publicly available information. The Xbox 720 however is constantly described as compatible with PC games and I don't think normal people with some understanding of the gaming industry would be so compelled to make this association persistently. This suggest to me, either the survey designers are totally clueless about what the Xbox platform has been like, or they have insider information about MS's plans.

(As a side note, the survey designers may have written off the Wii U. It would be super funny if the survey is initiated by Nintendo, armed with inside scoop about Xbox 720. )

I think it's just some analyst doing market research. If Microsoft or Sony are just now doing this kind of stuff, they are screwed.