Video Games Thread - Gamertags in 1st post

[Ken]

Not sure where this, "you can't rent games" thing is coming from; it's all hearsay at this point. Nothing has been confirmed on that front.

[Mike]

people rent games? weird.

[JustinG]

Not sure where this, "you can't rent games" thing is coming from; it's all hearsay at this point. Nothing has been confirmed on that front.

I read it on the internet.

[Mike]

i just read this <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.techhive.com/article/2039538/will-microsoft-allow-xbox-one-game-rentals-even-rental-companies-dont-know.html">http://www.techhive.com/article/2039538 ... -know.html</a><!-- m -->

[CaptainHenreh]

i just read this <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.techhive.com/article/2039538/will-microsoft-allow-xbox-one-game-rentals-even-rental-companies-dont-know.html">http://www.techhive.com/article/2039538 ... -know.html</a><!-- m -->

No one could possibly have predicted this question so the fact they don't have an answer for it is totally cool.

[Mike]

maybe they are still working out the details for the product they haven't yet released?

[CaptainHenreh]

maybe they are still working out the details for the product they haven't yet released?

Maybe they should have at least thought about how one of the biggest issues in console gaming today was going to be handled before their product was announced? :dunno:

[Mike]

i'm sure they've thought about it.

like backwards compatibility, it's a lot more complicated than you seem to believe. source: dealing with entertainment companies and licensing in previous employment.

[G.Irish]

They've been developing this console for YEARS. To be a few months away from launch and not have a clear answer on how used games and rentals will work is incompetence in the extreme.

To not know a major detail like that by now is unacceptable. If they're trying to gauge consumer reaction that indicates Xbox games division is run by morons. How could anyone with a half a brain not know that something like this would piss people off? Ok, maybe they wanted to know how much it would piss people off. A valid question, but chances are that the amount of revenue they'd get by dicking around with used games will in no way shape or form make up for the revenue they lose by pissing off their once loyal customers.

In the event that Microsoft knows the plan and is not sharing, that is an equally idiotic PR blunder. They're only making negative speculation worse, every day they do not clarify what the deal is. Maybe they think that if they delay long enough, the negative word of mouth won't hurt them as bad. Which, if that is the case, indicates that they shouldn't be doing whatever it is they're doing.

If the Xbox One underperforms, maybe the silver lining will be that Steve Ballmer finally gets fired.

[Apoc]

To be a few months away from launch and not have a clear answer on how used games and rentals will work is incompetence in the extreme.

Meh, seems like an overreaction to me. You can't buy it, does it really matter if the question isn't answered yet?

In my extremely unscientific opinion, about 1% of people who are the target market care the question hasn't been answered yet.

[Evan]

I remember renting games. They were cartridges and the year was 1992, and I got them at the local VHS rental place.
what in the world makes anyone think that game-disc rentals arent well on their way to the same fate that video disc rentals have?

movie rentals have gone online, why would you assume that video game rentals would not? Everything is moving to a subscription based model, I wouldnt be surprised if game "rentals" (or subscriptions) with various timeframes start being pushed harder and harder and eventually become the primary way people play games.
And MS gets to control it the whole thing in their ecosystem, which Im sure is a huge win for them.

[Mike]

In my extremely unscientific opinion, about 1% of people who are the target market care the question hasn't been answered yet.

about the same percentage that care about backward compatibility, but interestingly not the same people.

[HAULN-SS]

hmmm..that IS interesting.

[G.Irish]

To be a few months away from launch and not have a clear answer on how used games and rentals will work is incompetence in the extreme.

Meh, seems like an overreaction to me. You can't buy it, does it really matter if the question isn't answered yet?

Of course it matters. A videogame console is a luxury purchase. So that means you need to build and maintain desire of the product. Building up a bunch of negative sentiment about your console before you release it certainly doesn't help your sales.

Consoles are also sensitive to network effects. The more people that buy a console, the more it entices others to buy the console. The more people that buy a console, the more developers make games for that console.

Even if MSFT's misstep only slows down the adoption rate, that could significantly damage them for a few years as it will reduce the install base, reduce the network effects, and reduce the purchase rate of games.

The ideal scenario for Microsoft is to have millions beating down their doors to put down money for preorders. Having a bunch of the core customers either waiting on the sidelines or opting out is not what you want. Why bother with marketing and hype if you don't care about consumer sentiment on your console. In that case they should just put out a spec sheet, announce a release date, and call it a day.

In my extremely unscientific opinion, about 1% of people who are the target market care the question hasn't been answered yet.

It's not that people are mad that the question hasn't been answered yet. They're mad because they know the answer is likely to be bullshit. And far more than 1% are going to be unhappy if Microsoft implements shitty DRM. People will still buy it anyway, but it's going to cost MSFT (and potentially Sony) big money.

[G.Irish]

I remember renting games. They were cartridges and the year was 1992, and I got them at the local VHS rental place.
what in the world makes anyone think that game-disc rentals arent well on their way to the same fate that video disc rentals have?

Hey, I still get Netflix DVD's. I don't use Gamefly anymore though since I don't have the time.

movie rentals have gone online, why would you assume that video game rentals would not? Everything is moving to a subscription based model, I wouldnt be surprised if game "rentals" (or subscriptions) with various timeframes start being pushed harder and harder and eventually become the primary way people play games.
And MS gets to control it the whole thing in their ecosystem, which Im sure is a huge win for them.

I would think that is the future but for it to be accepted it'd have to be cheaper than it is with physical discs now. I think if greedy publishers have their way, they'll do away with physical discs and charge just as much.

I think most people wouldn't care much if physical video game rentals disappeared, as long as the replacement was reasonably priced. I do think though that if physical discs are still around but get disabled so that the console makers and publishers can double dip, people are not going to be happy. Right now you can stream via Netflix but no one is disabling your DVD's/BluRays.

Once things go all digital then I think used games will die but the key will be whether the games end up being cheaper.

[WRXtranceformed]

I would be fine with games going completely digital or into the cloud. That would make less stuff cluttering up around the house. If you wanted to try an older or "used" game they could just prorate the cost of it and you could download it same as a new one. It's the same principle just all software based. More profit because of less logistics costs of moving products to stores, creation of physical media to house the games, etc. Who knows, maybe one day new games won't cost $65.00 like they do now. You can buy digital albums cheaper than an actual CD now because of that same reason.

I am with Chris that it is annoying you won't be able to trade in your old games for Amazon credit or sell them to Gamestop. If you HAVE to use Kinect that would be retarded too, my XBOX is in my bedroom so I don't have like 6' of space around the TV.

[Apoc]

People will still buy it anyway, but it's going to cost MSFT (and potentially Sony) big money.

One of these things is incongruous with the other.

All of the people who don't care will still buy it and all the people that do will buy it 'cause everyone else is playing. :wink:

[G.Irish]

People will still buy it anyway, but it's going to cost MSFT (and potentially Sony) big money.

One of these things is incongruous with the other.

All of the people who don't care will still buy it and all the people that do will buy it 'cause everyone else is playing. :wink:

People, as in, more than zero. But maybe instead of selling 10 million units in year one they'll only sell 8 million or 6 million or whatever.

The interesting thing will be whether Sony does the same thing. If they don't, and the PS4 substantially outsells the Xbox One, it'll be clear why. If they both do it, and sales aren't affected, then that's that. If they both do it, and sales fail to meet projections then maybe they'll get the message. Or maybe they'll make excuses like, "The soft economy has weakened demand for our new hardware," or "Player satisfaction with our legacy consoles is slowing buy-in on our next gen consoles."

The icing on the cake will be if a bunch of people buy a new console with internet-authenticated DRM, and the servers go down, preventing everyone from even playing single player.

[CaptainHenreh]

I'm also interested in seeing what Gaben does. Valve is in a really interesting position. I'd seriously consider buying a "Steam Certified Spec" PC. Besides Halo 4 I can't think of a single title I've purchased in 3 years that not only wasn't cross platform but also wasn't objectively a poorer experience on console. Part of that you can certainly attribute to playing on 7 year old hardware but...Depending on Valve's moves I could feasibly be done altogether with console gaming.


edit: lol related

[G.Irish]

I would be fine with games going completely digital or into the cloud. That would make less stuff cluttering up around the house. If you wanted to try an older or "used" game they could just prorate the cost of it and you could download it same as a new one. It's the same principle just all software based. More profit because of less logistics costs of moving products to stores, creation of physical media to house the games, etc. Who knows, maybe one day new games won't cost $65.00 like they do now. You can buy digital albums cheaper than an actual CD now because of that same reason.

One would hope that's what they do but I'm not optimistic that this is what they actually will do. One reason is that costs are running out of control to produce triple A games. If publishers find a way to cut costs, the temptation will be to use those savings to bump up the profit and not pass it on to the consumer.

I am with Chris that it is annoying you won't be able to trade in your old games for Amazon credit or sell them to Gamestop. If you HAVE to use Kinect that would be retarded too, my XBOX is in my bedroom so I don't have like 6' of space around the TV.

Yeah I don't see why the system would need Kinect to function. The stupid thing is that there are a lot of people who have their xbox in smaller rooms where Kinect is impractical. This is widely the case in Japan, which is why Kinect gained zero traction there.

The cynic in me thinks that maybe Microsoft will use Kinect to target ads to different users based on who's in the room. They already filed a patent for just that functionality.