I pre-ordered an X-Box One yesterday. The prevailing sentiment surrounding this revelation seems to be a concern that I’m suffering from some sort of head injury. Indeed, if you’d listen to the Internet right now, there’s no real point in Microsoft even going ahead with the console’s release in November. Sony’s already won. Their E3 conference was nothing more than a pointed assault on the X-Box One itself. Indeed, it was less what the PS4 can do than making fun of the so-called weak points of the X-Box One. It was the definition of negative campaigning – and it worked wonders. Nearly 84% of a recent IGN poll have stated that Sony ‘won’ E3. So, it’s over. RIP, X-Box One. It’s been fun. We’ll always have May 21, right?
But not so fast – the way I see it, there are four main points that most people finger as the biggest failings of the X-Bone (I like that. I think I’ll use it). To be honest, I think this is simply a case of the Internet overreacting (What? That NEVER happens!!!) and, actually, some of these points are more of a strength than a weakness.
4. The X-Box One Kinect Camera is spying on me! I suppose it’s only logical in a post-PRISM world that there’s a certain degree of paranoia regarding the all-seeing eye of Sauron that sits above your TV. Yes, it’s true that the Kinect has a microphone and a camera and that its default setting is to listen even in an idle state (ostensibly so you can turn on your system by voice command), but lest you be too concerned about someone sitting back at Microsoft HQ with a bag of popcorn watching you as you go about your daily life (think Carrie in the first season of Homeland) just remember that the machine’s Kinect settings are ENTIRELY ADJUSTABLE. If the idea of saying, “X-Box main screen turn on! We get signal!” doesn’t particularly interest you (and let’s be honest – the novelty will probably wear off pretty quickly), just go into your settings and either lower the sensitivity or (as I will do), turn it off altogether.
3. The X-Box One’s proprietary DRM doesn’t allow you to play used games. There is no denying this point. Because of the console’s inherent DRM technology, you don’t own a ‘game’ as much as a license to PLAY said game. To many, this seems to be a targeted attack at the used game industry (which – make no mistake – is huge right now. Even big boxes like Best Buy and Wal-Mart are getting into it) because you can’t just walk into your local GameStop and – for the low, low price of $5 off the MSRP - pick up a pre-owned copy of the latest hot title. You know what I have to say to that? Good. The used game industry is *hurting* video games as a whole. The gaming industry is a massive, billion dollar business that’s as big as it’s ever been. Why, then, are we constantly reading about huge layoffs and studios being shuttered? The reason – at least partially – is used games. When you buy a used game off the shelf, not a single penny of that goes to the developers who poured their heart and soul into the very game you’re hoping to enjoy for the next 15 to 20 hours of your life. While it’s not quite tantamount to piracy, it has essentially the same net result on the developer’s bottom line. What’s more – if there were no case for companies to worry about used game sales eating into their profit margin, the overall price for a new game could feasibly come down.
2. I can’t lend my X-Box One games to my friend. Sony’s marketing team had a brilliant little 20 second ad that they showed during their E3 panel that poked fun at the (admittedly convoluted) manner that you can go about lending a copy of your game to a friend on the X-Box. Basically, it involves sending a code to someone on your friend list which then temporarily (for a pre-determined period of time) transfers your license to your friend so they can play the game in your stead. This idea of a ‘digital license transfer’ isn’t exactly new – Ebook readers have been doing it for a couple of years now. But what everybody is so quick to gloss over is that you don’t actually have to lend your friend the *disc* itself. Because you’re just transferring a license, your friend can download a copy of the game onto their own machine and play. Now the idea of lending wonderful, downloadable Arcade games such as Braid or Mark of the Ninja becomes possible. What’s more – suddenly my friend in Winnipeg can ‘borrow’ my copy of Alan Wake, despite living literally halfway across the country. I think that’s pretty cool.
1. The X-Box One needs to be connected to the Internet to work. Let’s ignore for a second the fact that this statement is technically incorrect – it *does* need to connect to Microsoft’s servers once a day in order to authenticate or else the games won’t work, but a constant connection is not required. However, it’s true – an Internet connection is required in order to play your games. And this is a big deal because … why, exactly? Let’s be serious for a second – we’re living in The Future ™ here, people. We live in a connected world where everything from coffee shops to your local fast-food restaurant now boasts free WiFi. Whole cities are turning into giant hot-spots. In addition, a recent Reuters report stated that 53% of all people over the age of 18 own smart phones. Think about that for a moment. More than half of adults currently own a handheld device that fits in their pocket AND IS CONSTANTLY CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET. If a ‘net connection is really that hard to come by, just start up a hot spot using your iPhone and authenticate your games that way. PC gamers using Valve’s Steam system have been dealing with this ‘hardship’ for years – yet most still consider Steam to be the PC’s pre-eminent gaming platform. What’s more – the constant internet connection could actually end up being a boon for the X-Box One down the road. Thanks to cloud computing, over the course of the system’s lifespan, as MS’ cloud servers take more of the load off of your local box, developers will be able to actually stretch the bounds of what the system is capable of. Yes – your system may essentially become MORE POWERFUL over the course of its lifespan, simply by virtue of being connected to the ‘net. … But that’s terrible. Who’d want that?
In closing, Microsoft has never been afraid to drive the bus forward with regards to technological innovation. You may recall in 2002 there was a huge kerfuffle when it was announced that the nascent X-Box Live service was going to be *gasp* … broadband only! Now, 11 years on, can you even imagine anyone gaming over dial-up? The Future ™ is here, but – for the time being, at least – Sony’s new system is only promising more of the same. So that’s why I’m choosing the X-Bone – warts and all – as my preferred launch system.
What I’m Reading: 100 Bullets vol. 12 (Azzarrello / Rizzo)
What I’m Playing: – State of Decay on Xbox, (in three days) Last of Us on PS3.
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