In the News: Microsoft Removes 24-Hour DRM and Used Game Restrictions from Xbox One

By Zach Goodier

Microsoft recently decided to change their policies on 24-Hour DRM and used game restrictions, the statement they made was,

“We love getting feedback from gamers. My ideal scenario is always that I’m working to build a product they love."  We still believe in how games and entertainment are transformed by being connected and powered by the cloud, and frankly you’re going to see us really innovate against that experience. But as part of making the changes to allow you to use physical discs the way that you do today, what’s going to happen is your online games and your physical games will work like they do today. That does mean that features like Family Sharing won’t be there. Another example that we think is awesome is that when you move to any Xbox One, the ability to see all of your games in your Games Library. While you’ll clearly only see the ones that you downloaded online, you’d have to bring your physical discs for the other ones.”  

Source: IGN

Maybe I won't miss out of Forza 5 after all...

I, personally, am excited to see these changes.  I was not a fan of what I heard during the conferences at the reveal and E3.  While I know some people feel like this is a step backwards, I like the traditional setup for consoles.  I use Steam on my PC, but consoles allow me the opportunity to trade discs with the guys to let me try other games without potentially wasting some of my limited funds on them.  I can see where Microsoft may have been trying to lead us, but all their explanations were too vague, and there was too much potential for disaster in the minds of many gamers.  Not only that, but many of the features simply didn't appeal to me; I don't like Kinect, my cable box already does fine for TV, and I'd rather trust my own hard drive than a server in some building.  Beyond that, I simply didn't see how the potential benefits of Microsoft's features would outweigh the harm it could do to us as consumers.  

Still not a fan of Kinect, but if I'm not connected to the internet then hopefully the NSA won't be able to watch my pets for terrorist activity xD

Is there some paranoia? Probably.  However, the question that we have to ask ourselves is, "Do we really want to give up control over what we do with the things we pay for?"  I understand that Microsoft is out to make money, all companies need to make money to stay in business; however, it all comes down to how they try to make money.  Sony is planning to start charging for online services, and I'm OK with that.  Microsoft wanted to start telling me I couldn't trade games without losing them forever (to control the used game market), and that I needed to connect to the internet once a day or my console would brick.  I wasn't OK with that, and there were many who agreed with me.  

Those points aside, now that Microsoft has decided to change these features I may look back into investing in the system somewhere down the line.  I like that Microsoft finally listened to the public on this, but the trust has been broken for me, and it will not be fixed so easily.  Microsoft can still implement these features at a later date, and while allowing people to use the system the same way they used the 360 is a relief, the potential for disaster still looms overhead.  

My advice is to just stay alert for any updates, and think carefully about what investments you make.  There are a lot of people who will be going back to the Xbox One.  Hell, I might be one of them.  However, this incident has reminded me that while we as gamers have a lot of freedom through our games, there is always the potential for losing that freedom as well.