***official*** all things Microsoft Xbox One (1 Viewer)

[thecatch]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice.

Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."
In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Microsoft IS running XBox at a loss, that's the whole point. So is Sony. And that is dangerous for the video game industry on the whole to trust two giant companies like this that are purposefully losing money more often than not. Think about it, Microsoft only made that much last year on those three properties. How much did they lose the year XBox360 was released and they were losing money on hardware? I would guess tons. I would be surprised if the division they are in showed a net profit over the life of the XBox, and if it did its because of Skype or Windows phones.

The Xbox division at MS has lost $3 billion over its lifetime. In that same timespan, Sony's gaming division has lost $5 billion. I'm not sure how much Playstation made/lost before the original Xbox released.

Then why are they still making consoles?

Nintendo has made a profit over those same time periods. If Nintendo is forced out of the video game console market, Sony and Microsoft will both abandon pure gaming devices for other devices that feature games as secondary functions as fast as they can. All true gamers should be supporting Nintendo, because they're the only hope we have left. You can see that from Sony and Microsoft's financials. They see video games as a net loss.

That was rhetorical.

 

[Fennis]

Xbox has been a profitable business for Microsoft for some time now.

 

[GoFishTN]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice.

Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."
In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

If September 2011 I paid about $20 for Mass Effect 1 from the Xbox download service. That's nearly four years after its release. I think it was around $10 at Gamestop, but I didn't want to wait. So, you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting on prices to go down because of digital delivery.

 

[Insein]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice. Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

If September 2011 I paid about $20 for Mass Effect 1 from the Xbox download service. That's nearly four years after its release. I think it was around $10 at Gamestop, but I didn't want to wait. So, you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting on prices to go down because of digital delivery.

When 3 year old DLC still cost the same as the day it came out, I'm not holding my breath either.

 

[thecatch]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice. Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

If September 2011 I paid about $20 for Mass Effect 1 from the Xbox download service. That's nearly four years after its release. I think it was around $10 at Gamestop, but I didn't want to wait. So, you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting on prices to go down because of digital delivery.

When 3 year old DLC still cost the same as the day it came out, I'm not holding my breath either.

If the used market for PS4 games is pushing down gaming costs for that platform, you would think there would be much more pressure on Xbox publishers to make sure their prices are competitive via digital distribution than there is now. Who knows how it will turn out, but I also don't expect this generation will end up being the one sided rout that the battle of the E3 press conferences would have you believe. I think I'm going to sit on the sidelines until we get some more clarity on these issues.

 

[Worm]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

 

[Worm]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

If Microsoft is able to bring Steam-type pricing to consoles, that would be a major selling point for their machine.

I'm skeptical that that will happen considering that Microsoft routinely nickels-and-dimes its customers as a matter of corporate strategy. (Proprietary headsets? Really?) It would be much more in character for digital prices to remain where they are, with Microsoft and publishers splitting the rents. But we'll see over the next few years.

 

[bigmarc27]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer. Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

Honestly I don't care about most of the drm stuff - the only thing that really bothers me is the Kinect being always on and a forced purchase. I have no need or desire to use a Kinect. None. I've already got a wii that collects dust.

 

[Worm]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer. Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

Honestly I don't care about most of the drm stuff - the only thing that really bothers me is the Kinect being always on and a forced purchase. I have no need or desire to use a Kinect. None. I've already got a wii that collects dust.

I think if you look at kinect as an add-on that allows you to play kinect games, then you're right, it doesn't make sense. If you look at it as a part of the system that enables developers (and the xbox itself) to do a variety of new things, then it makes more sense. It's not just for playing kinect games as it was on the 360.

I do understand that a lot of people just don't care about those 'extra' features and want to just turn a box on and mash buttons.

 

[Worm]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

If Microsoft is able to bring Steam-type pricing to consoles, that would be a major selling point for their machine.

I'm skeptical that that will happen considering that Microsoft routinely nickels-and-dimes its customers as a matter of corporate strategy. (Proprietary headsets? Really?) It would be much more in character for digital prices to remain where they are, with Microsoft and publishers splitting the rents. But we'll see over the next few years.

Yeah, it's possible. I don't think the nickel-and-dime thing is exclusive to Microsoft though.

And for the record, I don't think prices are going to come down immediately. It's going to take a while to balance out, as it did when Steam started. If it happened at some point, the growing pains would be worth it, from my point of view. Imagine XBL sales that are like steam sales in nature. If/when it happened, people would forget all about buying/selling used disc games.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Imagine XBL sales that are like steam sales in nature. If/when it happened, people would forget all about buying/selling used disc games.

I definitely agree with this.

 

[thecatch]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer. Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

If Microsoft is able to bring Steam-type pricing to consoles, that would be a major selling point for their machine. I'm skeptical that that will happen considering that Microsoft routinely nickels-and-dimes its customers as a matter of corporate strategy. (Proprietary headsets? Really?) It would be much more in character for digital prices to remain where they are, with Microsoft and publishers splitting the rents. But we'll see over the next few years.

Yeah, it's possible. I don't think the nickel-and-dime thing is exclusive to Microsoft though. And for the record, I don't think prices are going to come down immediately. It's going to take a while to balance out, as it did when Steam started. If it happened at some point, the growing pains would be worth it, from my point of view. Imagine XBL sales that are like steam sales in nature. If/when it happened, people would forget all about buying/selling used disc games.

I would hope there would be downward pressure on prices immediately. As the developer pointed out, each X1 game will come with fewer "property rights" (in the form of multiple licenses) than PS4 games will. The average cost to most gamers for PS4 games will thus be substantially less than $60 when you factor in the used market. Given the overall similarities of the systems, MS will have to maintain competitive prices in order to compete.

 

[Worm]

I wonder what the general internet reaction would be if Microsoft announced a $50 price point for new games?

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

I hate the DRM issues with the X1 but the biggest reason for my switch to the PS4 is that ### #### kinect, mic and camera. I have zero interest in that crap. I would love to see a $30-$40 digital games "Steam" pricing model for either platform.

 

[Bonzai]

I don't want the Kinect either, but at this point I'll pay the extra 100 bucks for the online experience and the intuitive interface.

I have a Sony streaming machine and can't stand using it. Half the time I bring my Xbox into the room because I don't feel like screwing around with the horrible Sony interface/menu/whathaveyou.

 

[Jobber]

The Division looks fantastic. Did I see during the demo some player using a tablet to call in air strikes or something? That's really, really cool. Here's a quote from IGN's site on that component:

"The Division comes alongside a companion app that allows a tablet-user to become a guardian angel, a good samaritan, or a legendary troll."

 

[gandalas]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

If they want a "steam-type" console experience, then how about not selling small, proprietary hard drives for their systems for about 4 times what they should actually cost? Steam works on PCs because you can buy a 4TB hard drive for just a little over $100.

 

[Worm]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

I agree with what a lot of this guy is saying, and it relates directly to the last gen problem of digital downloads not coming down in price. From the beginning I've thought that a steam type model, if they are able to pull it off, would be amazing on console.

If they want a "steam-type" console experience, then how about not selling small, proprietary hard drives for their systems for about 4 times what they should actually cost? Steam works on PCs because you can buy a 4TB hard drive for just a little over $100.

I don't think that really has much to do with it. When you buy a game on steam you don't have to keep the content on your PC forever. You can delete it and DL it later if you want. A 500GB HD should be plenty for purposes of the XB1 for the forseeable future. And I don't think anyone knows what their new HD is, how to replace it, what you'll be able to replace it with, etc.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

So it seems the correct answer here is not eXbox One or PS4. Steam Box!

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Xbox has been a profitable business for Microsoft for some time now.

Profitable on a year to year basis over the last few years, but nowhere near enough to make up for the initial losses.

Sony is similar. $17million in profit last year for the PS division, so they're "profitable". Of course that barely puts a dent in the $2.8billion the PS division lost the year before.

 

[larry_boy_44]

Xbox has been a profitable business for Microsoft for some time now.

Profitable on a year to year basis over the last few years, but nowhere near enough to make up for the initial losses.

Sony is similar. $17million in profit last year for the PS division, so they're "profitable". Of course that barely puts a dent in the $2.8billion the PS division lost the year before.

and Vita is basically DOA. The list of Vita games from E3 is the saddest lineup of games I've ever seen, and I remember the Virtual Boy...

 

[FreeBaGeL]

From January of this year:

Xbox 360 and PS3 losses total $8 billionAccording to Cousins report on Kotaku, Microsoft has spent some $2.996bn on Xbox 360 since it launched in 2005, while Sony has fared worse, spending $4.951 billion on PS3. Both figures are a loss, and you can see an overview of both companys losses in Cousinss financial table here.

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/07/xbox-360-and-ps3-losses-total-8-billion-ex-sony-employee-paints-grim-future/Sony finally got things swung around to start making small profits, and then they lost $2.8billion in 2011 when they dropped the price of the PS3 (Source), a number that was more than all the years of PS3 profitability combined all on its own, not to mention the first few years when they were bleeding money. They did manage to turn a profit again this past year. A whopping $17 million on $7.2 billion in revenue (that's 2/10's of 1% profit to revenue, btw), which obviously won't even dent the $5 billion deficit.MS's $3 billion in losses are also backed up by forbes, which reported on Microsoft's profits being 75% Windows/Office and 25% servers/server tools, which of course leaves nothing for the Xbox division. I don't even want to speculate on how much they lost on the original Xbox.Now we're starting a new round of consoles, so any minor short-term profits will quickly turn back into major losses for at least the next few years.Adding more fuel, Microsoft's own analyst recently recommended that they ditch and sell off the Xbox division. DFC Intelligence, a major gaming and entertainment research company, had the following to say about it just this month.

Microsoft's forays into more consumer oriented products have generally been seen as a drag on the rest of its business. The Xbox has been a success from a consumer perspective but not so much financially. Now Microsoft has to start from scratch with a new game system that could be a drag on earnings. Meanwhile other Microsoft consumer forays have not done as well as Xbox," he said."I think the possibility of them selling to another company is unlikely. It is simply too unwieldy to try and sell an entire game system hardware and software business. My thought is they would have trouble coming to terms with a potential buyer and more likely just exit the game business entirely. But I don't see that happening anytime soon assuming they go ahead and launch the Xbox One. I think they are committed for at least the next few years.

 

[Insein]

So it seems the correct answer here is not eXbox One or PS4. Steam Box!

That would end them both in a hurry if valve ever does it. If they have been secretly making half life 3 and use it as a launch title, game over.

 

[larry_boy_44]

So it seems the correct answer here is not eXbox One or PS4. Steam Box!

That would end them both in a hurry if valve ever does it. If they have been secretly making half life 3 and use it as a launch title, game over.

Does Valve have enough money to launch a console?

I mean, Sony and Microsoft purposefully set the bar so high that no one can compete and make a profit on a graphical level. Nintendo is surviving (still), but it costs them a ton of money to launch hardware.

Does Valve have the billions upon billions necessary to launch a console?

Valve's whole company is worth $3 Billion. Nintendo has more than twice that in yearly revenue and have a worth of $85 billion, and they can't afford to keep up with Microsoft and Sony (they'd be out of business if they were. That or they'd be Sega).

Quality of hardware isn't the only issue necessary for consideration when launching a console, the company has to be able to risk losing a bunch of money up front as well (even Nintendo's "profit" generally goes way down when they launch hardware, it just traditionally never went into the red for a year).

Steambox sounds nice, I'm just not sure that Valve would survive the development of the product (and they probably realize that).

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Larry - Why must you bring Nintendo in every single post when we are talking about the XBOX and PS4?

 

[NCCommish]

Larry - Why must you bring Nintendo in every single post when we are talking about the XBOX and PS4?

Fanboys do what fanboys do.

 

[GoFishTN]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer.

Link

It used to be piracy was the reason game prices were high. Now it's because of Gamestop and used games. After they eliminate that what will be their next excuse?

Anyone that looks at the history of PCs will know that Microsoft is not a benevolent master after they eliminate their competition.

 

[Insein]

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly from a Msoft developer. Link

It used to be piracy was the reason game prices were high. Now it's because of Gamestop and used games. After they eliminate that what will be their next excuse? Anyone that looks at the history of PCs will know that Microsoft is not a benevolent master after they eliminate their competition.

Yep. Only thing that will bring prices down is true competition. If Sony adopts a steam pricing model than ms will have to as well

 

[Worm]

Does steam have steam sales because of competition or because it's just a super awesome company who loves giving people deals?

 

[Spanky267]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice.

Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."
In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

If September 2011 I paid about $20 for Mass Effect 1 from the Xbox download service. That's nearly four years after its release. I think it was around $10 at Gamestop, but I didn't want to wait. So, you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting on prices to go down because of digital delivery.

Uh...Mass Effect 1 is selling for $17.99 preowned at Gamestop, today. I have never seen it for sale for $10. For Xbox360.

 

[Statcruncher]

Here's an eBay auction that ended a week ago that gets you Mass Effect 1 (in the case without manual) and Masse Effect 2 (in the case with the manual) for $10.51 plus standard shipping. It shows shipping to Texas as $2.58, so it would have cost me $13.09 to have both games delivered to my door.

Amazon offers Mass Effect 1 shipped to your door for $18.29 brand new or used for $12.07.

And Gamestops have varying prices on used games. There are 3 Gamestops in my area and the last time I was looking for a used game the prices were $15, $12, and $3 for the same game. I can only guess that different stores price the games based on how quickly a game sells and how many used ones they have on hand.

So I can download from Microsoft and get no media, no manual, and not be able to sell it, or I can spend 5 minutes looking around to find it cheaper and get a physical copy that I can resell. Regardless, whatever bargains are currently available on games has nothing to do with how Microsoft will price their product if they manage to create a monopoly.

 

[VA703]

http://www.raptureforums.com/forum/electronics-computers-webpage-questions/76293-ms-files-patent-use-kinect-xbox-one-count-number-people-watching-movie.html

MS files patent to use Kinect on Xbox One to count the number of people watching a movie

Talk about a serious issueThe new Xbox is going to:1. require an internet connection checkin once every 24 hours2. Kinect has to be attached to the system for it to work3. Used games are full retail price4. MPAA might be able to limit the number of people that can watch a movie in your own home (See below)

Microsoft’s new Kinect patent goes Big Brother, will spy on you for the MPAA | ExtremeTechMicrosoft has filed for a Kinect-related patent, and it’s a doozy of an application. The abstract describes a camera-based system that would monitor the number of viewers in a room and check to see if the number of occupants exceeded a certain threshold set by the content provider. If there are too many warm bodies present, the device owner would be prompted to purchase a license for a greater number of viewers.No, really. It’s that blunt. From the abstract: “The users consuming the content on a display device are monitored so that if the number of user-views licensed is exceeded, remedial action may be taken.”It’s refreshing to see Microsoft eschewing its play-nice-with-everyone approach to business for some old-fashioned, straight-up evil. The patent’s various claims can endow a device with a limited number of performances in a given period of time, a limited number of users allowed to view such performances, and the continuous monitoring of viewers during those performances. It also covers the determination of “when performance of the content to an identified user exceeds a threshold.”

 

[Statcruncher]

I gotta hand it to Microsoft, they truly are innovating home entertainment.

 

[Worm]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

 

[Insein]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

None of what you said is appealing in anyway.

 

[madshot31]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

None of what you said is appealing in anyway.

I can see the pay per view of like a UFC fight to be a big draw if it is pro rated by the kinect.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

None of what you said is appealing in anyway.

I can see the pay per view of like a UFC fight to be a big draw if it is pro rated by the kinect.

That would be awesome. And as a person who hates going to the theater, an option to watch new releases at home would be great.

 

[NCCommish]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

How about I imagine the MPAA not having a camera in my living room instead?

 

[SlaX]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

None of what you said is appealing in anyway.

I can see the pay per view of like a UFC fight to be a big draw if it is pro rated by the kinect.

What happens if you pay for the PPV for one person viewing and suddenly your wife or daughter walk through the room?

 

[NewlyRetired]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice. Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

If September 2011 I paid about $20 for Mass Effect 1 from the Xbox download service. That's nearly four years after its release. I think it was around $10 at Gamestop, but I didn't want to wait. So, you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting on prices to go down because of digital delivery.

Uh...Mass Effect 1 is selling for $17.99 preowned at Gamestop, today. I have never seen it for sale for $10. For Xbox360.

You need to use ebay, not Gamestop. Ebay is typically much cheaper. Here are all the pre owned Mass Effects that have recently sold on ebay for xbox360. The entire trilogy just sold for $21. The first Mass Effect has been sold for under $5http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_Sold=1&_sacat=0&_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&_nkw=mass+effect+xbox+360&_dcat=139973&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=4

 

[IvanKaramazov]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

You're seriously asking if I'm interested in somebody watching me watch a movie to verify that I'm alone?

 

[Fennis]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

You're seriously asking if I'm interested in somebody watching me watch a movie to verify that I'm alone?

what if I promise to keep my pants on this time.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

A friend of mine wants to know what happens if the PPV movie features a nude scene with a hot actress, and my friend feels the need to get more personally engaged with the scene. Will Kinect be watching and tracking his hand movements?

 

[Worm]

Well, it does have the ability to track 'gestures'.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

IGN article about that patent

Today, however, the company has responded to speculation with the following statement: "Microsoft regularly applies for and receives patents as part of its business practice; not all patents applied for or received will be incorporated into a Microsoft product."

Imagine however, 5 years from now, that xbox releases a service which allows streaming of new release movies. It costs $15 for the movie, but you have to agree to allowing the kinect to verify you don't have more than 4 people watching. Or maybe instead of having to pay $59 for a pay per view event, they allow you to pay $10 to watch it alone (again, assuming you consent to the DRM). Not interested?

I think it's much more likely that they'd use it the other way, starting at full price and increasing costs for too many viewers.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

If you can turn the camera/mic off, I don't see why its an issue. If the price point is going to be a deal breaker, then it looks like the PS4 is the obvious choice. Read this article today. I thought this was interesting:

"As you go into a digital world, what's happening is publishers are choosing to have different business models and consumers are saying 'Hey, if I can't resell the title, provide me a different way to get value to get into your game.' And we think the market will be efficient in finding good models that work for consumers."In essence, Mehdi said, consumer demand for good value from games will drive prices down, even if a publisher decides to fully cut off the market release valve of used game resale.

Sure seems like they are moving toward a Steam model, and that works for me - Frankly, I'd rather pay $40 for a relatively new game than buy it at 60 and have to go through the hassle of selling it on ebay a month or two later for $25-30.

If September 2011 I paid about $20 for Mass Effect 1 from the Xbox download service. That's nearly four years after its release. I think it was around $10 at Gamestop, but I didn't want to wait. So, you'll excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting on prices to go down because of digital delivery.

Uh...Mass Effect 1 is selling for $17.99 preowned at Gamestop, today. I have never seen it for sale for $10. For Xbox360.

You need to use ebay, not Gamestop. Ebay is typically much cheaper. Here are all the pre owned Mass Effects that have recently sold on ebay for xbox360. The entire trilogy just sold for $21. The first Mass Effect has been sold for under $5http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_Sold=1&_sacat=0&_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&_nkw=mass+effect+xbox+360&_dcat=139973&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=4

It's kind of a moot point anyway, as MS has made no point of hiding that they have intentionally priced Games on Demand games higher due to their current contracts with retailers.

A more apt comparison would be the cost of a used game vs what it costs on Steam, where they recently had the entire trilogy for 10 bucks.

Doubting whether MS would ever really get to the Steam level of discounting when they'd be the only retailer in town (while Steam is essentially the only retailer in town from a practical standpoint, there are still alternatives that could usurp them if they got cocky about it) is a much fairer point.

 

[Slapdash]

A friend of mine wants to know what happens if the PPV movie features a nude scene with a hot actress, and my friend feels the need to get more personally engaged with the scene. Will Kinect be watching and tracking his hand movements?

"Sorry, you don't have enough Microsoft Points for that"

 

[Worm]

It's all theoretical now. No one is going to force anyone to do anything. They've already said you can turn the Kinect completely off.

But new technology brings new options. Some people will like a service, and utilize it, and others won't.