Xbox One Online Requirement, Used Games Details, NSA Spying Revealed: Is This The Worst Console Ever? Probably
By Apolon on June 6, 2013 9:54 PM EDT
The Xbox One online requirement is now officially confirmed. So is its policy towards used games, blocked from the system -- at least sometimes. So is its new sharing function ... the Xbox One shares all of your data with your best buddy, the National Security Agency. Yea, it was a pretty day for Xbox supporters, if there are any left. We'll take you through the dreadful details, and if you aren't in denial (or a true Scotsman), you'll see that Microsoft has really birthed a dreadful beast this time around.
First off, the Xbox One online requirement has been codified, and what we already heard through backdoor channels was spot on. In order to play games, the Xbox One must phone home at least once every 24 hours, or, like Cinderella, it will turn back into a pumpkin pricey cable box and Blu-Ray player (that's the story of Cinderella, right?). If it doesn't phone home, you can't play games on your game console. Wow.
If the Internet is down when you first get a new game, too bad; you can't authenticate it. If Microsoft's servers go down for a week (remember, PSN went down for almost a month in 2011; it's not all that farfetched), too bad. If you decide to move to the remote reaches of Alaska, too bad (and can I come with you?). When Microsoft discontinues the Xbox One servers fifteen years from now, too bad -- now X1 is a brick forever.
Even if you don't care about any of that, the Xbox One online requirement is anti-customer. It does not benefit customers in any way; it is just fancy DRM mixed with data mining. It is dreadful. Speaking of DRM, the Xbox One is officially killing used games, too: Microsoft is letting every publisher decide for themselves whether to allow used games to be sold at all. Spoiler alert, they are the ones who lose most from used games. This is a CYA way for Microsoft to ban them. Short some GameStop and GameFly stock, folks.
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More..
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain...-even-scarier/
http://www.businessinsider.com/xbox-...-issues-2013-5
http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnew...amera-and-mic/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...ail_rt_mc_body
New Xbox Reportedly Won?t Let You Play (Unless It Can Spy On You)
People throughout the world could soon be voluntarily outfitting their homes with indefinitely active cameras, infrared sensors and microphones if they purchase Microsoft?s new Xbox video game console, slated for release sometime next year.
According to leaked screen captures, the new console, codenamed ?Durango,? will be ?Always On, Always Connected,? meaning it will require a perpetual Internet connection, in addition to a new high-fidelity Kinect Sensor, ?which will be required for the system to operate,? representing a huge win for Big Brother in infiltrating homes across the across the world under the guise of trendiness.
Being touted as a measure to ensure ?software and games are always current,? the new Xbox will not allow users to play games unless a permanent Internet connection is established, according to leaked screenshots obtained by the website Vgleaks.
?Durango will implement different power states so that it can always be powered on, but will draw minimal electricity when not in use,? the grainy, leaked screenshot states, adding, ?The console will be ready instantly when users want to play, and will always maintain a network connection so that software and games are always current. With this ?Always On, Always Connected? design, users will quickly and easily enjoy their connected entertainment experiences, with no waiting for the console to restart or install updates.?
?Durango would require a permanent internet connection,? writes Vgleaks. ?Yes, if you want to play a single adventure, you would have to be online. Whatever you will play, you must be online. Take the time machine and come back 3 years ago to erase the responsible person.?
Likewise, the new system reportedly will not ?operate? unless ?a new high-fidelity Kinect Sensor? is attached, which will reportedly be sold with the console, granting the new Xbox eerie Big Brother-like powers.
As the current Xbox 360 Kinect device is already equipped with motion sensors, infrared sensors (enabling it to map out environments ? like your room ? and detect different faces), a multi-array microphone (capable of distinguishing different voices) and a 640×480 pixel VGA camera (enabling it to see as we do), we can expect the next Kinect?s technology to be exponentially more intricate and dangerous.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogo...lled-xbox-one/
