Xbox One

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, it says "IR OUT" and is the port that the IR blaster will connect to to allow it to control your cable box.
 
*Edit* - Though, assuming they could get a deal worked out in the future, there'd be nothing stopping them from selling a USB dongle that allowed it to hook straight into the coax.
 

 

 

Most likely is that the current state of cross-plats being available for PS3, 360 and PC will end and there will only be console cross-plats

 
Why do you say that? Legitimately curious.

 

 
I think that because it's what happened the past two generations. I think there are a number of contributing factors. For example, as development costs decrease for the new generation's hardware, developers can put more time into porting; median PC graphics capability in the PC gaming marketplace increases to the point where the market is justified to port from the more powerful new generation consoles (8GB RAM is a lot for most folks still); and there are fewer exclusivity deals with the console makers, or initial exclusivity deals expire.

 
Oh, okay, I guess I just read it a little too literally. Yeah, I don't think they'll stop altogether, but you're right that they'll probably be fewer and farther between.

Although that said, I think the PC market is a lot bigger deal in the overall games market than it has been since the very start of the whole console cycle model. Probably as a result of this generation lasting so long, but whatever the reason I think it's less likely to die off as much as it has in the past.

Edited May 24, 2013 by TheMightyEthan

[TheMightyEthan]

The officially confirmed box art:

 

 

Looks like a brighter green than the BF4 shot.

[Thursday Next]

Thursday: look upthread for a fuller discussion. The long and the short of it is that US cable providers are quasi-monopolies and will not allow MS to function as their front-end, controlling the user experience, unless MS pays a huge amount of money. They make a lot of money from cable box rental fees. They fear the impact of streaming entertainment and don't want to help along their own irrelevance. they are leery of giving third parties information on how to decrypt their digital cable signals. 

 

Maybe next generation, if cable TV companies have finally been disrupted by streaming on-demand entertainment.

 

Edit: Just looked at the picture. There's no connector for coaxial cables, which run from the wall to the cable box/TV in the USA. Just the HDMI out and that weird in/out (probably audio of some sort), apparently  The lack of any out except HDMI  means the Xbone won't work with analog TVs without a weird  converter. Makes sense for a console released in this day and age, but I'm sure there are a few people out there who will be upset at this.

 

Yeah so I get that there's a few players that hold all the cards, but already Sky has put a lot of their big hitter channels on Xbox 360. I know plenty of people that would be quite happy with just Sky Atlantic. If MS really wants to own the living room then they either have to get the content creators (for TV) to sign up, or take the content themselves. Either way that will take money.

 

Also, there's a rental charge for Sky boxes? Over here they just give them to you. Hence, handing off the box duties to MS would = *huge* savings. The model I'm envisioning here is you buy an Xbone, you sign up to Sky, to whatever package you want and you get those channels through the Xbone. Sky collect the same monthly fee they always did, but they don't have the cost of supplying hardware or employing people to go out and fit it. Yes, the situation today doesn't allow that, nor does it allow much cloud side computing, but this thing is going to sit under your TV for the next 7 odd years. A lot can change in that time.

 

Mark my words. MS want this to be as near to a cable box as damnit and they will make that happen one way or another.

[TheMightyEthan]

That's not how it's set up in the US.  In the US you pay a monthly fee for the box.  Also none of the content providers want to piss off the telecoms by letting their content through another service.  It's why even Hulu Plus has a one day delay between TV air date and streaming date.

 

*Edit* - New rumor about used game sales:

 

You can still sell them, but only through retailers that have partnered with MS.  When you sell the disc to them they connect into MS's cloud system and remove the license to play it from your account.  Then when somebody else comes into the store and buys it they can activate it on their account just like a new game, but the retailer pays MS and/or the publisher a fee to let this happen.

 

From the consumer standpoint very little has changed with regard to a Gamestop transaction, although the cut going to MS or the publisher will no doubt drive up the prices of Xbone's used games.  Looks like person-to-person used game sales are gone though.

Edited May 24, 2013 by TheMightyEthan

[Thursday Next]

That's not how it's set up in the US.  In the US you pay a monthly fee for the box.  Also none of the content providers want to piss off the telecoms by letting their content through another service.  It's why even Hulu Plus has a one day delay between TV air date and streaming date.

 

*Edit* - New rumor about used game sales:

 

You can still sell them, but only through retailers that have partnered with MS.  When you sell the disc to them they connect into MS's cloud system and remove the license to play it from your account.  Then when somebody else comes into the store and buys it they can activate it on their account just like a new game, but the retailer pays MS and/or the publisher a fee to let this happen.

 

From the consumer standpoint very little has changed with regard to a Gamestop transaction, although the cut going to MS or the publisher will no doubt drive up the prices of Xbone's used games.  Looks like person-to-person used game sales are gone though.

 

Fair enough. Still stand by my statement. It'll happen.

 

Also, love that MS has chosen to screw the consumer by preventing legit ebay sales of used games where the consumer gets what the buyer pays, and forcing them to get bent over by getting £10 from gamestop for a nearly new, pristine disc which is then lobbed on a shelf and sold for £35. Gamestop meanwhile probably pay a tiny de-activation fee per disc.

 

Why the hell didn't they just make the fee to activate a second hand disc sensible, like £10? Yeah, you'll get some people abusing the system "sharing" discs but that's small potatoes compared to the amount they've been missing out on thanks to Gamestop hoarding all the second hand wealth.

[Mr. GOH!]

ThursdayNext: I don't think you have a firm grasp on just how bitterly cable TV providers are fighting against other distributors or packagers of cable television content and any move towards a la carte streaming video entertainment.

 

Cable companies want to make money packaging content, not merely being operators of a data utility, largely because they'd lose a shitload of revenue. So they fight back against other entities looking to distribute TV-like content and seek to establish that they are the gatekeepers of TV programming. Allowing MS to change the essential experience of using television and blend it with streaming entertainment threatens the perception that they're the gatekeepers. I know it seems petty, but the cable companies are running scared. 

 

I think that the television industries in other countries are far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far more likely to use a console as a set-top box than cable companies in the USA, at least as long as USA cable companies continue to operate as they do currently.  

 

 

Edit: The restrictions on resales won't really affect me personally, as long as the prices for old games aren't radically different than they are now. But that will piss off a lot gamers. Now everyone will have to pay an inflated price for GameStop used games. 

Edited May 24, 2013 by Mr. GOH!

[TheMightyEthan]

It seems to me like if you knew your business model was on the verge of collapsing and being replaced with a newer model you would invest resources into dominating that newer model so you could remain on top.  Trying to scare others into not developing the replacement technology seems like trying to order back the tide.

*Edit* -

Now everyone will have to pay an inflated price for GameStop used games.

 

"Now"?

Edited May 24, 2013 by TheMightyEthan

[Mr. GOH!]

I agree; the cable companies are not necessarily long-term rational.

 

However, in order to adapt to the new realities as content providers, the cable companies would still need to provide content. MS is squarely a competitor in this regard, as are Hulu and Netflix. Allowing MS to have so much control on the end-user interface re: cable companies' content would hinder establishing a strong brand.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

It seems to me like if you knew your business model was on the verge of collapsing and being replaced with a newer model you would invest resources into dominating that newer model so you could remain on top.  Trying to scare others into not developing the replacement technology seems like trying to order back the tide.

 

*Edit* -

Now everyone will have to pay an inflated price for GameStop used games.

 

"Now"?

 

Eh, at least I could come in a year later and get most games I want for a decent price used. Or even at a PC-level bargain. Personally, I'm sick of the entertainment industry thinking itself a victim. It's the same sort of thinly-veiled greed that's influenced how many asinine decisions now? SOPA?

[WTF]

Actually cable companies here wouldn't use it as set-top box either. Youview which is what BT has been pushing into homes has already publicly said they won't be partnering with Xbone.

 

While Sky and Canal+ will, however it might be an app rather than a set-top box. Similar to what was mentioned before if you're on satellite TV it works with a coaxial cable. My sources at VM tell me they're not interested in Xbone due to their whole TiVo deal.

 

Sky is actually losing customers in a way which is why they separated pay TV from their satellite services. In fact they probably will work on the same principle as Sky Go. In I wouldn't be surprised if what Xbone has is just SkyGO but fancier than the 360 version.

 

People are into instant TV and VOD. The market for 'cable' and 'satellite' is shrinking outside of the free ones.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

What do you mean by TiVo deal? I've seen a lot of people complain that this isn't a DVR?

[TheMightyEthan]

I read it as meaning that VM has a deal with TiVo so they won't use the Xbone, cause your question was my first thought too.

Edited May 24, 2013 by TheMightyEthan

[Mister Jack]

About this used games info... If trading in an xbox game is linked to your account via the retailer, will they even give you store credit to use for games on other systems or do you just get a bunch of shitty Microsoft points in your live account?

[Mr. GOH!]

I meant  the inflated Gamestop price is the only option for buying used on the Xbone. Their current used prices are ridiculous.

[Mister Jack]

Yeah but what I'm getting at is if Microsoft is aware of every individual game being traded in, does Gamestop itself even have to give you credit that can be used on something besides more Xbox games or is Microsoft taking over that part too.

[TheMightyEthan]

[WTF]

Ethan is correct. I meant VM (Virgin Media) have a deal with TiVo so they wouldn't really care to have another deal with Xbone. However yes the Xbone does need a separate box for TV. It's just Sky and Canalplus might just do apps.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

 

lol

 

 

from CoD: ghosts. So they still don't have the power to properly render light in a scene.

Edited May 27, 2013 by TheFlyingGerbil

[deanb]

I'm still bemused that of all games they could have chosen to show off the power of their next gen console, they picked COD. A series known for using cutting edge tech.

[CorgiShinobi]

[Mister Jack]

[Vecha]

[TheMightyEthan]

An exploration of the implications of MS's cloud claims.

[Mr. GOH!]

The internet infrastructure in the USA just isn't there to support mass-market streaming video games. 

 

Cloud computing is good for crunching data for things like simulations or brute-force hacking. Not sure the Xbone is really gonna need it for either of those.

[Vecha]

I don't trust the "We have 300K servers!"