The new Xbox Console: Xbox One... okay....

[Agmen of Eladesor]

One thing to keep in mind, regardless of my arguments, is that I also hold to the belief that consoles aren't actually made for gamers.

Yeah, I said that.

Trail, you mentioned that you're now 23. When the Xbox 360 came out, you were 15, and probably didn't have the money available to be a hardcore gamer. While you now can afford it from a computer perspective - don't you about imagine that there are now just as many 15 year olds out there that are in the same position you were 8 years ago?

Hardcore gamers are not the console market - never have been, never will be. Hell, with the Wii fitness and not the Kinect stuff, they're targeting people who want to work out at home, in front of their TV, and don't want to go to a gym. (That's why we have a Wii here - we don't game on it, my wife uses the fitness programs on it.)

My son is also the perfect example of someone who's got enough money, but doesn't have the technical knowledge to upgrade his computer - so he plays Halo whatever on Xbox live and other stuff. He likes the graphics capability of the games avaialble, and doesn't care.

While I COULD be a hardcore gamer, I choose not to be because I got tired of spending money on upgrades every couple of years ages ago. It does appear now that finally technology has gotten ahead of things as far as games are concerned, but it was so annoying that the latest computer I got only a year before Crysis came out became obsolete so quickly. I got tired of the run around . Do I have a computer here that can run modern PC games? Sure - I it just so happens that the PC I have for my laser engraving and graphics that I do there has the capability to run damn near any computer game out there. But ...

Instead of sitting in front of my 26" monitor, at the computer station where I do work, I'd rather relax on the couch in front of the 60" TV when I'm gaming. You'll also note that I typically DON'T play multi-player online games - disco being the exception.

Regarding the stuff on 'used' games ... I saw an interesting article about that recently. You buy a used car, it's had some wear and tear on it, and it's not as good as a new one. Go to Goodwill and buy some used clothes - don't be shocked if they wear out quick, because they've had some usage in the past. But used games ... if the media is still in good shape (no scratches on the DVD, for example), then ... what's really the difference between a used game and a new one? Has there been any degradation of the software? Has the program in some way become less reliable? No - this is where the pre-owned label REALLY comes into play. The IS no difference between a pre-owned game and a new one - other than the person who actually spent the time, effort, and money into developing the game in the first place doesn't get paid the second (or third or fourth) time that pre-owned game is resold.

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Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.

[Bootsiuv]

Hook up your comp to your 60 inch tv and play disco like a boss.

Your welcome. (bow)

[zalsrevenge]

The whole Xbox one thing seems like one massive flop to me. Ever since everyone was pirating Win 98, Win 2k and XP, Microsoft has been on an anti-piracy frenzy. This is why they're going crazy with their DRM stuff. There were more copies of pirated 98, 2k and XP than legit ones.

Now they're putting more emphasis on the TV part of their console. Nobody who games on consoles cares about watching TV on their Xbox or PS. If they want to watch TV, they'll watch TV. If they want to play a game, they'll play their game system.

I stopped playing consoles a while ago. In fact, I'm 22 now, and I have been on the PC bandwagon since whenever Age of Empires 2 came out. That was a very long time ago. The thing with consoles is they will probably never die. Kids and teens want something easy to play. Just pop in the CD and go.

Sure it'll be a flop, but Microsoft can afford as many flops as they want.

I do consider myself a hardcore gamer. I'll play any game once, no matter how bad, no matter how unfinished. I'll find indie games that aren't played much, or play older games that bring me great nostalgic joy. I still play Quake, Freelancer and CS 1.6 and many other old games. Games these days aren't released as complete games. You get a few days of enjoyment out of them and then you got bored. With old games there's always the ability to replay them and get tons of enjoyment out of them.

A fairly long and meaningless rant, but I was playing games in what I would call the golden age of gaming. 1995-2005. I'm kind of a snob in certain ways.

[Fletcher]

I just heard that the Xbox One is breaking the law in Germany ans possibly the EU due to its Kinect being 'always on' and with no option to turn it off, due to reasons for 'spying'.

This is all I got to go on right now:
http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englis...html#p0126

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"Oh chuffing blimey, another day, another person being whiney!"
Fletcher's Feedback and Stories Thread

[Anaximander]

The whole Xbox one thing seems like one massive flop to me. Ever since everyone was pirating Win 98, Win 2k and XP, Microsoft has been on an anti-piracy frenzy. This is why they're going crazy with their DRM stuff. There were more copies of pirated 98, 2k and XP than legit ones.

The funny part is that it's always the Xbox series that are easy to mod/hack/jailbreak and not the Playstation series. With the 360 you could even play on Live with your pirated games np.

[SMGSterlin]

I just heard that the Xbox One is breaking the law in Germany ans possibly the EU due to its Kinect being 'always on' and with no option to turn it off, due to reasons for 'spying'.

Another reason I don't like it.

Anything that has a camera in it that I can't control I will automatically not buy.

I'm even constantly aware of my laptop's built in camera when I have it flipped open... Call me paranoid.

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[Trail]

One thing to keep in mind, regardless of my arguments, is that I also hold to the belief that consoles aren't actually made for gamers.

Yeah, I said that.

Trail, you mentioned that you're now 23. When the Xbox 360 came out, you were 15, and probably didn't have the money available to be a hardcore gamer. While you now can afford it from a computer perspective - don't you about imagine that there are now just as many 15 year olds out there that are in the same position you were 8 years ago?

I dont actually remember if I got the 360 on release date that said I did get a part time job pretty early in my life (16, which co-incidentally is the lowest age you can get a part time job at here) and as a kid I never really had an issue not having money. So I got games and a computer pretty early and easily.

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[Fletcher]

An update on the preowned games system:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/vie...Owned-Sale

Reports suggest the retailer's cut will be less than 10%.

The Xbox One reveal left a lot of questions unanswered, among them what will happen to pre-owned game sales. Thanks to information let slip by retail sources we now know, among other things, why Xbox One will want to check in with home base every 24 hours; it's to see whether or not your account needs to be adjusted. If you opt to sell a game, you can only do it at Microsoft-approved retail outlets. Those outlets will have to agree to Microsoft's terms and conditions, and sign up to its cloud-based Azure system. It's Azure that manages the transaction, and tells the home office that you've handed in your title. The title gets wiped from your account at that point.

Retailers will get something less than 10% on each pre owned sale. The rest goes to Microsoft and the publisher. Prices quoted by MCV for pre-owned hover around the £35 mark, inclusive of the retailer's cut, so of that figure the retailer sees no more than £3.50. The £35 is the activation fee, so presumably that would be set in advance by Microsoft independently of conditions in the retail market. Stinker or classic, the price tag may be the same. When contacted by MCV, Microsoft was quick to say that "should you choose to play your game at your friend's house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile," but other than that was unwilling to discuss potential retail scenarios. It also leaves open the question of what happens if your friend wants to play your game on their profile. Or if three kids in the same house want to play the same game on their profiles.

Given this new information, it remains to be seen whether or not retailers will be eager to fall in line with Microsoft's philosophies. Having to sign up to Microsoft's conditions, using its system , only to get a less than 10% cut, isn't going to appeal to many retailers. It begs the question why anyone would ever want to sell an Xbone pre-owned title.

There has been a clarification regarding the 10% sales cut issue:

The source revealed that game retailers will be forced to sell second hand games at just a 10% discount on the original RRP. This news will come as a shock to consumers who are currently used to purchasing trade-in games at up to 50% of the retail value.

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"Oh chuffing blimey, another day, another person being whiney!"
Fletcher's Feedback and Stories Thread

[Agmen of Eladesor]

But used games ... if the media is still in good shape (no scratches on the DVD, for example), then ... what's really the difference between a used game and a new one? Has there been any degradation of the software? Has the program in some way become less reliable? No - this is where the pre-owned label REALLY comes into play. There IS no difference between a pre-owned game and a new one - other than the person who actually spent the time, effort, and money into developing the game in the first place doesn't get paid the second (or third or fourth) time that pre-owned game is resold.

The source revealed that game retailers will be forced to sell second hand games at just a 10% discount on the original RRP. This news will come as a shock to consumers who are currently used to purchasing trade-in games at up to 50% of the retail value.

[/quote]

If that means more money going to game developers - then that's actually a good thing. And if that means less torrenting of titles, well ... too damn bad.

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Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.

[Ichiru]

But used games ... if the media is still in good shape (no scratches on the DVD, for example), then ... what's really the difference between a used game and a new one? Has there been any degradation of the software? Has the program in some way become less reliable? No - this is where the pre-owned label REALLY comes into play. There IS no difference between a pre-owned game and a new one - other than the person who actually spent the time, effort, and money into developing the game in the first place doesn't get paid the second (or third or fourth) time that pre-owned game is resold.

The source revealed that game retailers will be forced to sell second hand games at just a 10% discount on the original RRP. This news will come as a shock to consumers who are currently used to purchasing trade-in games at up to 50% of the retail value.

If that means more money going to game developers - then that's actually a good thing. And if that means less torrenting of titles, well ... too damn bad.
[/quote]

Game developers don't get any money from 2nd hand game sales. That'll probably lead to more torrenting.

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Acolyte of NoMe