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People you followTaggedGeneral - Opinion/EditorialCommunity ReviewsOff-topicCommunity PodcastersBloggers Wanted ResponseLetters to Dtoids EditorsGet InvolvedGeneral BadassnessJoin a Live Stream EventListen to CommunitoidJoin a Playdate EventCompete in a ContestNext Xbox always online? Blocks used games? Not buying it
More rumors are surfacing surrounding Microsoft's next generation Xbox system, fittingly nicknamed Next Xbox. Once again, the new gossip spells gloom and doom for fans of used games, suggesting Next Xbox will demand an always-online connection and block secondhand titles. Yeah ... totally not buying it. According to those forever-anonymous sources, Next Xbox's 50GB Blu-ray discs will require a one-time activation code, which will render the discs unplayable on any subsequent system. Edge claims it'll boast an AMD eight-core x64 1.6GHz CPU, a D3D11.x 800MHz graphics solution and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. It'll also have a new waste-of-time Kinect thing built in.
Here's why I totally don't believe it. This current generation, there are still many Xbox 360 users whose systems aren't online. While it seems obvious to we more absorbed gamers that an Xbox's biggest strength is its online capabilities, there are still many who are happy to just have the disconnected box and do whatever weird things they do with it. Would Microsoft alienate the many potential customers who don't have reliable Internet connections, or those in situations where connecting a console is impractical? Not to mention, America's broadband situation is pathetic right now. Many places are sorely lacking the ability to access Internet of a decent speed, and download caps will still be in place for as long as "service" providers can get away with them. Hell, there are plenty who still rock that dial-up bullshit! Despite all the rose-tinted talk of a digital gaming future, It's doubtful there's an infrastructure in place to support such publisher-friendly ideals at the moment, and I'm not sure we'll get there in the next few years. Steam may be popular, but a console just going after Steam's crowd would be nonsensical. As big as Valve's service is, it could still be considered niche compared to the mainstream console market, full as it is with kids and "casuals" ready to spend their ill-gotten gains. In an industry where everything's desperately trying to be more accessible, such imposing restrictions could be a potential disaster. As far the secondhand block goes? Can't see it happening next generation. Oh, I am certain executives in Microsoft and Sony have considered it, talked about it, masturbated each other vigorously while dreaming about it, but I don't believe even the remedial fantasists who run these companies are quite so delirious as to actually do it. With the console market already in a precious position, it'd be downright reckless to piss off GameStop and the other used game retailers who would be relied upon to see the Next Xbox. I'm with Michael Pachter when he says a console designed to snub the secondhand market would suffer. The only companies it would benefit would be the rival ones, especially if they exploit the heck out of it for their own marketing purposes. Sure, if all three companies decided, at the same time, to institute such a restriction, they may just get away with it, if they somehow convince all their potential customers to get on board with it and don't finally crash the market trying. That's a hell of a gamble, though, and if we learned anything from the past few years of this generation, there ain't nobody in the console business with the spine to gamble anymore. Naturally, I could be totally wrong. Microsoft could suddenly get an insane dose of blind courage and give all this a whirl. I won't believe it until I see it, though. Did you know? You can now get daily or weekly email notifications when humans reply to your comments.
6:00 PM on 05.23.2013 PC gamers don't have used games, and we're just fineWith the recent lack of clarification of the used game market for the new Xbox One, some gamers are complaining about the possible death of physical used games, and the need to tie all of our games to an account. Microsoft wi...
4:00 PM on 05.23.2013 Confessions of an Achievement whore: Demands for next-genEarlier this month, Brett shared his love of Xbox Achievements with us, and cautioned that Microsoft's rumored next-generation revamp to the system may end up ruining part of what makes them great. For Brett, the idea of Achi...
3:15 PM on 05.23.2013 Podtoid 254: A Cup Of Blanka's SpermOn this week's UNITED Podtoid, the gang celebrates and praises the announcement of the Xbox One. Only joking! It's tormented and mocked and stretched cruelly upon the Lust Gurney. Microsoft discussion dominates a lot of the c...
11:30 PM on 05.22.2013 Sunset Riders: How the west was fashionableWhen we think of the American west, we think of outlaws and lawmen, settlers trying to eke out a new life in an inhospitable place and, most of all, stylish dress composed of pastels and fringe. It is in that spirit that Jordan and I approached Sunset Riders for the Super Nintendo, knowing that while it was important to be good, that should be secondary to looking good.
4:00 PM on 05.22.2013 One Xbox to rule them all - Office ChatIn this special, singularly-focused edition of Office Chat, I'm joined by Jim Sterling and Jordan Devore as we discuss our reactions to the Xbox One reveal. From the frustrations of having to figure out what to now call the ...
4:00 AM on 05.22.2013 The horrible secret behind EA Sports' Ignite EngineI'll admit, when EA Sports' Andrew Wilson took to the stage during Microsoft's Xbox One reveal, I tuned out. If memory serves, I used the opportunity to take a much needed trip to the bathroom because I was certain there would be nothing there to hold my interest. I was wrong. Hopefully, it's not too late for us.
6:30 PM on 05.21.2013 Team Fortress 2sday: Yes, this is still a thingI have a confession to make: I'm terrible. Here in the Dtoid offices I have two jobs. One of those is driving wheelbarrows full of money down the aisles. The other is TF2sday posts. Sadly(!) we have waaaaaaay too many wheelba...
4:00 PM on 05.21.2013 Comparing the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 revealsThe highly anticipated reveal of the next Xbox, Xbox One, has just come to a close, and I find myself sitting here thinking back a few months to Sony's own reveal of the PlayStation 4. The two shows couldn't be more different...
1:30 PM on 05.21.2013 Xbox One reveal: What are your thoughts?All day long we've been bringing you hard-hitting news from Microsoft's Xbox One reveal event. Now that you've seen the new console and some of its games and features, it's time to weigh in with your thoughts on the whole ord...
2:30 AM on 05.21.2013 To the depths and back in Fallout: Brotherhood of SteelJordan and I are pushing further in our play of the tragically existent Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. The mayor of Carbon, Texas is sending us down to the bottom of a crater where he swears the people we're looking for...
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