re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

They should just make digital downloads simple and attractive (i.e. patterned after what consumers are used to). For example:

New price of digital download game = $59.99

Within 90 days of purchase, the game can be "traded back in" (i.e., license turned back in) to MS for $39.99 in credit. MS, in turn, puts that license back on the market at $49.99 in a special "used" games store area. Of course, there's no difference here between the new and used game except for the fact that the license has been purchased once before. No more worries about scratched discs! :)

Between 90 and 180 days after purchase, a newly purchased game can be traded in for $29.99 in credit, and MS will, in turn, make that license available for download again for $39.99.

Between 180 and 270 days after new purchase, the game can be traded back in for $19.99 in credit, and MS will put it back up for $29.99.

Between 270 and 360 days after new purchase, the game can be traded back in for $9.99 in credit and MS will put it back out for $19.99.

That's what could happen with a one-time "trade in" of a newly purchased game within the year following that purchase. The prices, obviously, could be adjusted depending on the perceived value of the game, but I kept it simple for illustration purposes.

Trade ins of games bought "used" in this system could be handled the same way with reduced trade in and re-sale price tiers over the year. The tier would drop each time a license is recycled until it hits a floor. That would create the excitement of finding a "good deal" on a recent game if it had been cycled through five times within 90 days. You might find that rare used game for $19.99 during the first 90 days. You would never see that in a brick and mortar store! The tiers would be arranged so MS, etc. gets their cut off every cycle.

There would be a limited supply of such "used" games because it would depend upon buying and selling habits of customers, just like at a Gamestop. The money accummulated with each sale would, of course, have to be split between MS, publisher, developer, etc. This would provide a fair compromise for everyone, I think.

What's wrong with this picture?

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

My take on it was that it was essentially the full game, but they could only play it for an hour. If so, I don't see why achievements and game saves couldn't carry over if they bought the game.

You could be chatting with a buddy and say, "Try this cool new game I got." He's more likely to try it because you're recommending it. He doesn't have to go look for a demo. He gets to play it with fewer restrictions than most demos. He likes it and buys it.

I would never do any of those things, but I can see where others would. I can see why Microsoft and the other publishers would like it.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Trade-in is fine, "used" license is ridiculous, just put the game on sale.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

I'm not sure what "better" and "sales" have in common in this case. Sure, Halo, Gears and Forza will sell a bunch of copies, because that's just about all MS releases year over year.

Highlights from the last 5 years via wiki:*

PS3:
2008: Valkyria Chronicles, Metal Gear Solid 4, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Demons Souls
2009: Killzone 2, Infamous, Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time, 3D Dot Game Heroes
2010: MAG, Heavy Rain, God of War 3, Modnation Racers, Gran Turismo 5
2011: LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, Motorstorm Apocalypse, Infamous 2, Uncharted 3, Resistance 3
2012: Journey
2013: God of War Ascension, Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, Puppeteer

360:
2008: Left 4 Dead, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts
2009: Halo Wars, Shadow Complex, Halo ODST, Forza 3, Left 4 Dead 2
2010: Crackdown 2, Halo Reach, Fable 3, Dance Central
2011: Gears of War 3, Forza 4, Dance Central 2, Halo Anniversary
2012: Minecraft, Fable Journey, Dance Central 3, Forza Horizon, Halo 4, Gears of War Judgement
2013: Fable Anniversary

Hope you like Halo, Gears, Fable and Forza. :shrug:

* Left off Move and Kinect except where they transcended their inherent stupidity (Dance Central), and didn't get into PSN/Arcade except for Shadow Complex and Journey

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

I don't think it's ridiculous, because it taps in to what consumers are used to. You can do here what you can do at Gamestop, only better - better trade in value, no scratched discs, and cheaper prices on used games.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

I just assumed you were talking about sales since it followed:

Which also seems to use "caught up" as a term for sales. My mistake if I misinterpreted that.

That said, looking at your list, it was a pretty weak generation for exclusives. Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2, Lost Odyssey, Gears of War, Dance Central and a bunch of cash-in sequels.

Re: Xbox One: This Thread Requires An Always On Internet Connection
 

Glad to see this is being followed in both sides of the discussion here. 60sigh--

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

If it's only a passthrough and is sending IR signals to your existing cable box, then of course you can still skip commercials. Come on now.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

So family sharing was probably going to be shit and people only have speculation to go off of. If it was going to be awesome it will be resurrected with digital downloads.

It does sound like MS dodged a bullet for this gen by going back on the DRM.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

By "better", I meant to imply your choice of quality or variety. I can't remember the last time an Xbox exclusive was in any game of the year discussion. Maybe Bioshock in 2007, but it was only exclusive for that year. Meanwhile, Sony had Uncharted 2, MGS4, Heavy Rain, Journey won a few, and I'll bet Last of Us is in the mix this year. Granted, critical acclaim doesn't = sales.

I partly agree, but I'm not sure it's much different from previous generations.

I think Microsoft with Halo, Gears, Fable and Forza is on the verge of turning into Nintendo in terms of saturation.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

And Sony didn't with Gran Turismo, Killzone, God of War and actually I think they outdid them on Ratchet and Clank.

For what it's worth, I still don't get the heaps of praise Journey gets, it's nice but it isn't much of anything. I still prefer playing 'Splosion Man to it.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Shhhh... You can't stop totally irrational thinking from people who want so badly to think this specific tech corporation is the epitome of pure evil.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Shrug all you want but those games sell a bazillion copies while other exclusives like Kameo and Viva Pinata don't. Companies focus on what makes money for them.

There's a reason Sony kept eviscerating studios last year a week after they'd release an exclusive PS3 title.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

You are really overplaying that.

I support the added TV features, it's a great next step, but I understand people not wanting to pay $100 extra for somethings.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Let's keep the discussion friendly...

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

I just find it funny. Sure, it's a bit hyperbolic, but you can't say the others aren't doing the exact same thing.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Eh, I don't think it's Microsoft being judged as a evil corporation, it's a legit argument over the facts:

The Xbox One costs $100 more than the PS4, features fewer GPU streams, slower clock rates, non-upgradable storage, slower memory with less dedicated to gaming... but it includes a Kinect 2 and has HDMI-In.

You know that makes it an instant target, no matter who makes it.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Yes, but there is always new exclusive IP to go with them, and they allow devs to move on to new IP.

- Naughty Dog moved on from generation to generation from Crash to Jak to Uncharted to Last of Us.
- Sucker Punch from Sly to Infamous.
- Evolution from Motorstorm to DriveClub
- Quantic Dream from Farenheit to Heavy Rain to Beyond Two Souls
- Insomniac from Ratchet to Resistance
- Santa Monica from God of War to all kinds of stuff...and back.
- SC Europe and Japan are always working on something new and quirky (Puppeteer, Knack etc.)

Also, Killzone is on #3. How many Halos in the same timeframe? 4 + ODST + Reach + Remake...won't even count Wars.

Agree about Ratchet and Clank though...ruining one of my favorite franchises. :(

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

In terms of exclusives...the two games that propeled the 360 to the top were GOW and Halo. GOW is one of the reasons why I got the 360 followed by Halo. There is no GOW this time around though Titanfall mightbe a good substitute and Halo is going on Five.

This time around the playing field is much larger for both and equally spread out with each having some excellent exclusive games. I honestly think the future "game wise" is bright for both consoles.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Oh, I agree. But it's interesting just how much vitriol there is based on other aspects that were unconfirmed. At this point, people are latching on to anything that purportedly shows how much MS wanted to fuck us in the ass. I just don't buy it. If they want to back it up with sources and facts, great. Then the discussion can remain valuable.

$100 for a device that will last maybe 8 years is negligible, IMO, but I respect the concern. Modern PCs and laptops are lasting a lot longer than they used to. Now that consoles are based on common standard architecture, I think both launch versions (PS4 and XO) will be much more resilient than the previous gen.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

The console and three Day One games I pre-ordered on Amazon have all moved into Release Day Guaranteed shipping for November 27th.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Posting this in both PS4 and XO forums...

Xbox One, PS4 help Amazon post biggest preorder week ever

http://www.gamespot.com/news/xbox-on...k-ever-6410555


The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 helped the Amazon Video Games store post its biggest preorder week ever, the retailer announced today.

During "peak demand" last week, Amazon customers were ordering more than 2,500 Xbox One and PS4 consoles per minute, the company said.

Amazon also noted that E3 week preorders for Xbox One and PS4 led to a year-over-year increase in console orders of more than 4,000 percent.

In addition, day-one preorders for the two consoles was almost two times that of all video game sales during Black Friday 2012, Amazon said.

The Xbox One is currently the bestseller on Amazon's game chart, though the PS4 has five SKUs in the top twenty, while Microsoft has just one--the Xbox One Day One Edition.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

You can't upgrade the internal storage. But they did say you can plug any USB 3.0 drive in and use it for everything you can use the internal drive for.

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

What games did you order?

re: Xbox One: We said WHAT at E3??
 

Can't get to the site at work, but the PS4 has 5 SKUs????

Can't be right, unless they are bundles.