The Official Xbox One Thread

[ImpulsE69]

LMAO @ this thread. It will be interesting to see how all of this pans out. I'm glad I have a large backlog of games that I can play at any time I want anywhere I want. Makes this next gen discussion moot.

Reminds me of why I'm still using an old cell phone, since they decided to charge more for less and force new contracts when you update your phone.

 

[smackababy]

Sorry I wasn't clear, I was talking about digital sales, since that's what Steam offers.

On PCs, digital sales are available from Steam, Origin, GoG, GreenMan, Desura, Humble, Amazon, etc. etc. ... and any developer who wants to put a download and paypal button up on their own $10-a-month website.

If you buy an X1, digital sales are available from: Microsoft.

So, Steam has to work harder for your business. Once you have an X1, if you want digital then MS has no competition.

How do you know it won't work like it currently does where you can buy codes for downloads? Why do you assume it will change? Buying a steamworks game in a B&M store is essentially the same thing. You get the license code, and you don't even have to use the disc.

Not to mention Sony has the same monopoly on PS4 digital games. But, since they are the white knights and saviors of gaming, they don't get called on it like big, bad MS.

 

[Tweak155]

I can follow his point. The comparison is slightly different than what you're making it. Steam is a service on top of the PC platform. If you don't like what Steam is doing, you can purchase games from other services that operate on the PC platform. The Xbox 1 is it's own platform and service. You can't purchase games that don't utilize base MS policies (ex. used game policy) to play on the Xbox 1. If they were to allow other markets to sell games that run on their system (ex. how Android does it) and don't conform to their policies, then they would be on a level playing field with Steam.

Sorry I wasn't clear, I was talking about digital sales, since that's what Steam offers.

On PCs, digital sales are available from Steam, Origin, GoG, GreenMan, Desura, Humble, Amazon, etc. etc. ... and any developer who wants to put a download and paypal button up on their own $10-a-month website.

If you buy an X1, digital sales are available from: Microsoft.

So, Steam has to work harder for your business. Once you have an X1, if you want digital then MS has no competition.

Edit: and yes, that's true for the PS4 and Wii U too, but this was a discussion of MS vs. Steam and why many of us like Steam but don't trust MS (which is allegedly hypocrisy).

I think Josh's comment makes more sense. We don't know if Amazon will offer digital MS games or not. You can get games that activate on Steam from Amazon.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I sure don't, but I'm not willing to drop $500 to wait and see either. I'm rich, not dumb.

 

[Tweak155]

I sure don't, but I'm not willing to drop $500 to wait and see either. I'm rich, not dumb.

This is my tactic. Outside of someone surprising me with a gift, I'll be interested ~6-12mo in.

 

[sze5003]

I'm also interested to see how it will work. My guess is we won't know until someone has the console and actually tried these features. For me they hold no value. No one in my my family except my brother would get an Xbox 1. And I would have to pay for it most likely. The type of games he plays there would be no need for me to share. I can see value in this if you have a good group of friends who all get the system but as far as I know not one of my friends is getting it.

The faq answered questions vaguely but not even MS knows all the scenarios that could take place. For me, it would just be another console because I've never bought DD on my ps3 and only use steam sparingly.

 

[purbeast0]

I think Josh's comment makes more sense. We don't know if Amazon will offer digital MS games or not. You can get games that activate on Steam from Amazon.

i am 99% sure that you will be able to buy digital versions from b&m stores. how this works, as in if it's a code you redeem or what not, i am not sure. but i do know that the killer instinct developers said they are going to have "preorder specials" on their game, and their game is downloadable only. and since it's a launch title, the only way that it will be able to be preordered is probably through a b&m store.

 

[purbeast0]

I sure don't, but I'm not willing to drop $500 to wait and see either. I'm rich, not dumb.

why is it dumb to purchase a console that has games on it that you want to play?

 

[sze5003]

I'm sure they will have a mobile interface to downloads games remotely to the console. I was reading an article that had a video of a group of friends doing that with ps4. I searched ps4 interface and that's how I found it. I'll try to link it when I'm not at work.

 

[Tweak155]

i am 99% sure that you will be able to buy digital versions from b&m stores. how this works, as in if it's a code you redeem or what not, i am not sure. but i do know that the killer instinct developers said they are going to have "preorder specials" on their game, and their game is downloadable only. and since it's a launch title, the only way that it will be able to be preordered is probably through a b&m store.

I assume so as well... probably a cardboard "gift card" style or something like that where it won't work until the B&M activates it.

 

[smackababy]

I assume so as well... probably a cardboard "gift card" style or something like that where it won't work until the B&M activates it.

They already sell cards like this for XBLA games. They just have a scratch off (or cardboard tearoff) section that reveals the code. You input that into your console or on Xbox Live, and it activates it on your account. These are available through B&M stores.

 

[ronbo613]

Giving Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and hoping there won't be an updated repeat of the RROD experience of the original Xbox, I still have major concern regarding the Xbox One.
With a solid 3 Mbps internet connection, when playing online, I get major lag at times playing COD and Halo and with Forza 4 and Horizon, I always get the jumping and flying cars, making online play not even worth it. When I inquire about this on MS sponsored game forums or from Xbox.com, I am told my ISP is always the cause of the problem. I have also been told that the flying cars on Forza are caused by the difference in internet connectivity speeds of the game participants.
So, my major concern with Xbox One being so heavily online oriented, is how fast of an internet connection are you going to need to play the next generation of games? If a 3-5 Mbps connection is choking on current Xbox games, what's it going to be like with more sophisticated graphics and gameplay? Is online gaming going to be a contest of internet connection quality?

 

[smackababy]

Giving Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and hoping there won't be an updated repeat of the RROD experience of the original Xbox, I still have major concern regarding the Xbox One.
With a solid 3 Mbps internet connection, when playing online, I get major lag at times playing COD and Halo and with Forza 4 and Horizon, I always get the jumping and flying cars, making online play not even worth it. When I inquire about this on MS sponsored game forums or from Xbox.com, I am told my ISP is always the cause of the problem. I have also been told that the flying cars on Forza are caused by the difference in internet connectivity speeds of the game participants.
So, my major concern with Xbox One being so heavily online oriented, is how fast of an internet connection are you going to need to play the next generation of games? If a 3-5 Mbps connection is choking on current Xbox games, what's it going to be like with more sophisticated graphics and gameplay? Is online gaming going to be a contest of internet connection quality?

It is not just your connection that is causing the problems. In all of those games (well, I assume Forza Horizons) they are P2P connections with a person hosting. While, the game selects the best host, that could just be the best of the bad. If I get host and I have a bad connection, everyone will lag. Even if I had a decent connection, but someone hops on my router and starts using my bandwidth, it could have an effect on the game. MS is addressing this by making all servers dedicated. Meaning, their connection shouldn't fluctuate and your issues should be more or less resolved.

 

[Tweak155]

Giving Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and hoping there won't be an updated repeat of the RROD experience of the original Xbox, I still have major concern regarding the Xbox One.
With a solid 3 Mbps internet connection, when playing online, I get major lag at times playing COD and Halo and with Forza 4 and Horizon, I always get the jumping and flying cars, making online play not even worth it. When I inquire about this on MS sponsored game forums or from Xbox.com, I am told my ISP is always the cause of the problem. I have also been told that the flying cars on Forza are caused by the difference in internet connectivity speeds of the game participants.
So, my major concern with Xbox One being so heavily online oriented, is how fast of an internet connection are you going to need to play the next generation of games? If a 3-5 Mbps connection is choking on current Xbox games, what's it going to be like with more sophisticated graphics and gameplay? Is online gaming going to be a contest of internet connection quality?

I think one advantage with XB1 is that MS will start hosting (some subset) of the games on their servers for MP that is larger than what they do now. Depending what game you play, right now, it may or may not be hosted on someone's console. I'm not sure how Forza plays in, it is published by MS so it might already be hosted by them.

EDIT:

So yeah smackababy beat me to it.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

It is not just your connection that is causing the problems. In all of those games (well, I assume Forza Horizons) they are P2P connections with a person hosting. While, the game selects the best host, that could just be the best of the bad. If I get host and I have a bad connection, everyone will lag. Even if I had a decent connection, but someone hops on my router and starts using my bandwidth, it could have an effect on the game. MS is addressing this by making all servers dedicated. Meaning, their connection shouldn't fluctuate and your issues should be more or less resolved.

How many Xbox 360 games have online multiplayer via P2P as opposed to dedicated servers? I was under the impression that part of the reason Xbox Live costs money is because there are dedicated servers to guarantee a smoother multiplayer experience. I haven't done much in the way of online multiplayer on the 360, so I don't have much experience with it myself, but if I was paying an annual fee to have access to multiplayer and it was only available as P2P, I'd get a little bit pissed off; why should I pay for something that uses none of Microsoft's bandwidth?

Regardless, it's nice to hear that MS is fixing this for the XBone. It's a little ridiculous that it was ever an issue in the first place, but whatever.

 

[smackababy]

How many Xbox 360 games have online multiplayer via P2P as opposed to dedicated servers? I was under the impression that part of the reason Xbox Live costs money is because there are dedicated servers to guarantee a smoother multiplayer experience. I haven't done much in the way of online multiplayer on the 360, so I don't have much experience with it myself, but if I was paying an annual fee to have access to multiplayer and it was only available as P2P, I'd get a little bit pissed off; why should I pay for something that uses none of Microsoft's bandwidth?

Regardless, it's nice to hear that MS is fixing this for the XBone. It's a little ridiculous that it was ever an issue in the first place, but whatever.

Pretty much every MP game I can think of is P2P. The big ones for sure (every COD, every Halo with online, every fighting game except SF3: Third Strike, which uses GGPO and isn't a hosting system per say) are P2P. Xbox Live has dedicated chat servers and the matchmaking system was hosted on their servers. I guess Dark Souls might be hosted on servers and not P2P, but I am not sure. I could see your game instance being P2P and just connecting to their servers as well.

 

[purbeast0]

How many Xbox 360 games have online multiplayer via P2P as opposed to dedicated servers? I was under the impression that part of the reason Xbox Live costs money is because there are dedicated servers to guarantee a smoother multiplayer experience. I haven't done much in the way of online multiplayer on the 360, so I don't have much experience with it myself, but if I was paying an annual fee to have access to multiplayer and it was only available as P2P, I'd get a little bit pissed off; why should I pay for something that uses none of Microsoft's bandwidth?

Regardless, it's nice to hear that MS is fixing this for the XBone. It's a little ridiculous that it was ever an issue in the first place, but whatever.

hope you realize this is exactly what you will be getting on ps4 as well.

 

[Skel]

I think Josh's comment makes more sense. We don't know if Amazon will offer digital MS games or not. You can get games that activate on Steam from Amazon.

i am 99% sure that you will be able to buy digital versions from b&m stores. how this works, as in if it's a code you redeem or what not, i am not sure. but i do know that the killer instinct developers said they are going to have "preorder specials" on their game, and their game is downloadable only. and since it's a launch title, the only way that it will be able to be preordered is probably through a b&m store.

Sorry I wasn't clear, I was talking about digital sales, since that's what Steam offers.

On PCs, digital sales are available from Steam, Origin, GoG, GreenMan, Desura, Humble, Amazon, etc. etc. ... and any developer who wants to put a download and paypal button up on their own $10-a-month website.

If you buy an X1, digital sales are available from: Microsoft.

So, Steam has to work harder for your business. Once you have an X1, if you want digital then MS has no competition.

Edit: and yes, that's true for the PS4 and Wii U too, but this was a discussion of MS vs. Steam and why many of us like Steam but don't trust MS (which is allegedly hypocrisy).

From everything I've read, every store will be selling licensees as that's all the physical disk is. It's installing on the Xbox One and just cutting out the download times, much like Valve games on St. Steam. I'm really not sure how this is getting spun around to say that St. Steam is better (because duh.. it's St. Steam) as while they're close to the same thing they really aren't. The difference is Xbox One is a closed ecosystem, vs a St. Steam being a platform running on other people's systems. You really can't champion St. Steam's awesomeness (like you'd have to...) by saying MS is a monolopy anymore than you can claim Apple has one because Google Play isn't on the IPad.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Got this off another forum. Answers some a few of the questions still up in the air:

Of the many concerns of the Xbox One, one of the most pressing issues would be how the system would function after its heavily focused online infrastructure would shut down. Requiring an internet connection every 24 hours to be playable, many gamers assumed the system would be dead in the water after servers shut down. However, Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb assured gamers this is not the case.

Answering questions on reddit's r/games section, Larry assured gamers that games will be playable after Xbox One servers shut down. "That's certainly something we would not do. That's not the way the system is designed. It's designed for flexibility. But let's get the system out there first."

Hryb also helped answer some confusion about Xbox One account bans. It was previously thought that an Xbox One account that was banned would lose access to all their games, as they require internet connection. However, Hryb said this is false, saying "Absolutely not" to if gamers would lose the single player portion of their games with an Xbox One ban.

 

[DaveSimmons]

The pro-X1 complaint was: why do we like Steam but not like MS' store, and how could you not like MS without being a hypocrite?

The answers were that we like Steams' sales and policies better, and trust Steam more than MS because Steam has competition. Pointing out that the PS4 and iOS app stores are walled gardens too doesn't contradict liking Steam more than MS's store.

 

[BoberFett]

From everything I've read, every store will be selling licensees as that's all the physical disk is. It's installing on the Xbox One and just cutting out the download times, much like Valve games on St. Steam. I'm really not sure how this is getting spun around to say that St. Steam is better (because duh.. it's St. Steam) as while they're close to the same thing they really aren't. The difference is Xbox One is a closed ecosystem, vs a St. Steam being a platform running on other people's systems. You really can't champion St. Steam's awesomeness (like you'd have to...) by saying MS is a monolopy anymore than you can claim Apple has one because Google Play isn't on the IPad.

Apple does have a monopoly on apps on Apple devices. PCs including Macs and Android are both open platforms. If you have a compiler, you can create and distribute any software you want. iOS, Xbox, Playstation, Wii, those are all walled gardens where everything has to go through a single gatekeeper.

 

[smackababy]

The pro-X1 complaint was: why do we like Steam but not like MS' store, and how could you not like MS without being a hypocrite?

The answers were that we like Steams' sales and policies better, and trust Steam more than MS because Steam has competition. Pointing out that the PS4 and iOS app stores are walled gardens too doesn't contradict liking Steam more than MS's store.

But the problem is you are liking Steam because of their aggressive pricing. That is fair. You put up with the DRM because the value of getting cheaper games. But disliking MS because they might not have sales on a platform not yet introduced is kind of silly. And MS doesn't set the prices anyway, publishers do. And I can tell you this, the market will dictate how long a game sells for $60. The reason COD goes for $60 for like 6+ months is because it sells. It is the same on PC. The hope is that being able to cut out the B&Ms and the physical costs of moving the games will lead to pricing being aggressively dropped. In fact, publishers would make a killing by just selling for whatever it is they currently make selling to B&M. Gamestop and the like would have a fit, but who cares? If every new game on Xbox One DD was $40 or whatever new, people would eat that up. Sadly, publishers aren't as forward thinking as forum posters and will probably have games for $60 regardless of the savings and see it as profit, and gamers will still buy them.

 

[cmdrdredd]

But the problem is you are liking Steam because of their aggressive pricing. That is fair. You put up with the DRM because the value of getting cheaper games. But disliking MS because they might not have sales on a platform not yet introduced is kind of silly. And MS doesn't set the prices anyway, publishers do. And I can tell you this, the market will dictate how long a game sells for $60. The reason COD goes for $60 for like 6+ months is because it sells. It is the same on PC. The hope is that being able to cut out the B&Ms and the physical costs of moving the games will lead to pricing being aggressively dropped. In fact, publishers would make a killing by just selling for whatever it is they currently make selling to B&M. Gamestop and the like would have a fit, but who cares? If every new game on Xbox One DD was $40 or whatever new, people would eat that up. Sadly, publishers aren't as forward thinking as forum posters and will probably have games for $60 regardless of the savings and see it as profit, and gamers will still buy them.

Not all games on steam are DRM. That is the difference. Every game on xbone is drm

 

[DaveSimmons]

. But disliking MS because they might not have sales on a platform not yet introduced is kind of silly. And MS doesn't set the prices anyway, publishers do. ....

It might work out that way, but that's a good argument for waiting until after the X1 is shipping to possibly buy one.

Steam's behavior is known, MS store behavior is speculation at this point. We :heart: Steam because we know what we're getting, so there's no contradiction or hypocrisy in being wary of the unknown MS store.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Total BS. Pretty much anyone who likes Steam and isn't some irrational Microsoft hating fanboy likes what the Xbox One is. Anyone who likes Steam but doesn't like Xbox One is the finest example of a hypocrite the Internet has seen in ages. The hatred for the Xbox One at this point is religious.

Have you actually looked at the internet for that last week??