S&S News: Xbox One is basically Steam in console format, claims anonymous MS engineer
Microsoft's used games, DRM, and restrictions have become a constant target over the past few weeks, and an engineer from the company doesn't understand all of the hate. The anonymous engineer had some harsh words on anybody who is still complaining about the consoles restrictions.
“The goal is to move to digital downloads, but Gamestop, Walmart, Target, Amazon are KIND OF FUCKING ENTRENCHED in the industry. They have a lot of power, and the shift has to be gradual. Long term goal is steam for consoles. [...] If you always want to stay with what you have, then keep current consoles, or a PS4. We’re TRYING to move the industry forwards towards digital distribution… it’sa bumpy road..”
“The thing is we suck at telling the story. The whole point of the DRM switch from disc based to cloud based is to kill disc swapping, scratched discs, bringing discs to friends house, trade-ins for shit value with nothign going back to developers, and high game costs. If you want games cheaper then 59.99, you have to limit used games somehow. Steam’s model requires a limited used game model.
“The DRM is really really similar to steam… You can login anywhere and play your games, anyone in your house can play with the family xbox. The only diff is steam you have to sign in before playing, and Xbox does it automatically at night for you (once per 24 hours). It’s a long tail strategy, just like steam. Steam had it’s growing pains at the beginning with all it’s drm shit as well. [...] For digital downloads steam had no real competition at the time, they were competing against boxed sales. At the time people were pretty irate about steam, (on 4chan too…) It was only once they had a digital marketplace with DRM that was locked down to prevent sharing that they could do super discounted shit.”
“Everyone and their mother complains about how gamestop fucks them on their trade ins, getting 5$ for their used games. We come in trying to find a way to take money out of gamestop, and put some in developers and get you possibly cheaper games and everyone bitches at MS. Well, if you want the fucking from Gamestop, go play PS4.”
There is no word on any confirmation from Microsoft on these quotes, and we'll probably won't get any confirmation anytime soon.
Source: NeoWin
Oh yeah? here's a "middle finger" to the "annonymous" MS enginner.
ReplyDeleteWith PS4 you can go digital (with Day 1 digital downloads) or disc-based, Sony is leaving all options open not restricting them like Microsoft. Sony has already been using a sort of Steam like model with Day 1 digital downloads and those downloads, in general, actually drop in price at a rate faster than retail. The whole point of Steam and going digital is that it promises cheaper prices but Microsoft will be charging the full price for digital downloads as well (http://www.cinemablend.com/games/xbox-one-physical-digital-games-carry-59-99-price-tag-56761.html). I hope everyone will see that Microsoft's anti-consumer and anti-gamer business model, promising more "nickel-and-dime" policies, that runs under the principle that the "customer is always wrong" is in fact bad for the industry as a whole and insulting to everyone. Sony is the future!
ReplyDeleteif this is true, why are XboxOne games still prices at $59.99 for BOTH digital and retail?
ReplyDeleteprice reductions for digital games? anyone that thinks this will happen is a gullible retard.
Microsoft, you are not Steam....F off.
It's true, a lot of us hate Gamestop/Ebgames. yet your restrictions don't allow us to sell or trade our games as we see fit! F you for trying to tell me how to buy and sell my games...plus after everyone finishes with their double dipping, I'll get less in credit and pay more for a used game....no thanks!
Gamestop should just not sell your shit media pc.
I use Steam because I have full control of which programs I run, and what peripherals I have plugged in to my computer, at all times.
ReplyDeleteI can unplug my webcam and my Steam games will run.
I can unplug my microphone and my Steam games will run.
I can switch Steam to 'Offline Mode' and never connect that machine to the internet again and, *gasp!* the Steam games I have installed will still run.
Steam does not require me to check in every day in order to play my previously installed games. Steam won't shut me down if I fail to check in, or interrupt a single-player game if my internet connection get's spotty.
Steam's DRM is, at this point, unobtrusive. I think the last time I entered a serial number on a Steam purchase was when I claimed my copy of Strike Suit Zero from the Kickstarter Reward Email. Yet with every new game purchased for the Xbox One, one would need both the physical disc and need to enter a serial number? With a game pad?
Steam also has exceptionally good sales, which is important for me as a consumer when I am purchasing a product that cannot be returned. Let's face it - retail stores treat video game sales as 'No Refund' / 'All Sales Final' transactions. You're either foced to take in-store credit or take your game to a reseller to recuperate your loss.
Steam does the same - you can not get a refund on any purchase you make on Steam. You cannot even resell games purchased from Steam. However, I am more willing to risk a permanent loss of $5 for a game that looks promising on Steam than I am willing to risk $60 for a 360 title, or even $30 at a used game reseller. I can then treat the purchase of a poor Steam game as a rental, and not the unrecoverable loss of the 6 hours I labored to earn that money.
I like to be Entertained - I like to make Rent on time, too.
1 if games are supposed to be cheaper downloading how come Microsoft confirmed 59.99 for downloads same as disc which cost extra to produce...shipping and making.....2 giving money to developers will make games top give u less for your game...3 we like selling games on eBay and Craigslist where ganestop can go fuck itself with its 5 dollar trade in value that will decrease since gamestop will make less money since they have to pay developers.
ReplyDeleteWhen Steam first came out, it wasn't any different than this, the same amount of backlash too, if not more.
ReplyDeleteSteam got a TON of shit when it first came out, full price games, got shit for DRM etc. it was a mess, Steam had to grow into the system it is today.
ReplyDeleteyes, but I guarantee that Valve didn't have money flowing out their ass like Microsoft. Initial sales were to build an infrastructure. Microsoft are just coming off as cheap.
ReplyDeleteBy the time Microsoft feels they made enough money, and prices are cut the XboxOne ThreeSixty will be out. (Assuming this one even takes off) and it won't matter.
Steam works on a PC because the system you play it on is up to you, while this thing is proprietary with an expiry date.
What makes steam nice is i DONT HAVE TO BE ONLINE EVERY TWENTY FOUR HOURS. You just have to verify your account for that computer. I don't mind the xbox one its the ling from e3 that makes me not want to get one. Most games i liked from Micro press conference i can get on pc. If microsoft shows it can have good sales like steam or greenmangaming i will buy I WILL SO BUY. But proof is in the pudding.
ReplyDeleteBut it evolved and changed into something awesome. If xbox one can change into what steam is today, id settle.
ReplyDeleteNo one wants digital only media... The choice to have sure. But no discs? Never gonna happen. Not with data packages and caps. If everything was unlimited and bigger hard drives greater than 2 tb. It might be an option.
ReplyDelete5$ trade in at gamestop? now I know why gamestop doesnt exist in Belgium even electronics stores give better trade in prices over here
ReplyDeleteWhat he is saying is true.. But the problem is they are still selling these games for 59.99 digitally.. Which is a problem.. There is a bit of hubris in his voice once he started talking about "if you want fucking from Gamestop, go play PS4" Utter nonsense
ReplyDeleteReason i say its nonsense is because didn't Sony just acquire GAIKAI/NVIDIA GRID which is actually a better "Cloud Gaming" server/ service than Microsoft's yet pseudo "Cloud Gaming" servers..
Microsoft Azure was never designed for cloud gaming.. Unless Microsoft went and started purchasing Tesla/GRID racks from Nvidia then we won't be seeing these so called persistent worlds for awhile.. On Xbox One sure you will get cloud storage ( PS3 already does this been doing it for a few years even for your vita games )..
A lot of people will argue that oh well they are offloading computations via the cloud.. My question is what about player latency.. ?? I mean unless they expect everyone in the U.S. to have a consistent 5 Mb upload speed.. which is sorta impossible looking at U.S. isp's but people with Verizon Fios might be able to enjoy this..
We will not be seeing persistent worlds for awhile.. Multiplayer AI has been done for a while now.. So in a way forza is right about being able to add the ability mimic a player sounds like a logical computation process.. but right now "Titan Fall's" claims about creating these huge mechs.. I'd love to see that..
if anybody here has ever played "killZone" even the new Call of Duty all have player vs AI options.. well for killzone its called "Bot Zone"
Bottomline is all the above is my opinion multiplayer AI has been done for several games for several years now.. I don't really see what's new.. last but not least Microsoft Azure in layman's is basically a rent-a-server/cloud system. The hardware backing it is not designed for gaming to the like of the Nvidia Grid system..