Seems that Microsoft has in fact been listening to the gamer’s regarding their upcoming Xbox One console and has seemingly given the gamer’s what they wanted. I for one am surprised to say the least, especially since it seemed that Microsoft was going to stick to their guns and force the DRM right down the gamer’s throats. However today that all changed with Microsoft backing down on several key factors.
Most importantly is that the Xbox One will no longer require an internet connection for offline game play and once you go through the initial system setup you will never need to connect online again, well unless you want to play online. Microsoft has gone on record stating that there is no longer a 24 hour connection requirement and that you can take your Xbox One and games any where you want to take them. That also means that any downloaded titles will also function in offline mode, more alone the lines of Steam does for the PC now.
Also seems that the used game debate has also caused waves since the Xbox One will no longer restrict used games, meaning we are free to lend them out or re-sell them as we see fit. I bet Gamestop and Gamefly will love that.
Lastly the Xbox One will not longer be region locked! A first for an Xbox console.
However there is a down side to the good news. The family share library which would have allowed up to 10 members to share any game in your library has been dropped as has the ability to allow download any cloud based games that are owned by anyone other than you, so basically if you have friends / family that often come over to game with you and they forget their disc this function would have allowed them to retrieve their game from the cloud. Sadly that feature seemed promising.
So Microsoft does have some heart and has eased up or perhaps it was their shareholders making some noise. Either way the upcoming next-generation of the console wars just got interesting again. Now if only they would drop the price to match Sony’s Playstation 4, I know it would make my wallet as well as everyone else’s a little happier.
For an official press release from Microsoft, just click the link.
