Microsoft changes Xbox One's DRM policy, but they still don't get it.

Marc's picture

Xbox saw the very public outcry from the gaming community, and probably also noticed the reports of PS4 pre-order sale rates, and have made some changes to their DRM policy for Xbox One games. One would assume that they would do as many had expected and just removed the 24 hour checking for games that have a disc actually sitting in the console. Unfortunately they completely re-worked their strategy. Now they will let you buy, sell, and resell games as you can on the 360; however, they lost the few good introductions that came along with their DRM scheme.
The pros and cons of their new policy versus their initial proposed policy are listed below.

Pros:

  • No 24 hour checking for online games.
  • Physical disc games can be shared and resold.
  • If a game is bought from a retailer, the game can also be downloaded from Live and can still play them offline.
  • No region locks

Cons:

  • Downloaded titles can not be shared across accounts. Family sharing has been abandoned.
  • Games that come from a disc must always have the disc in the console to be played even if the game is fully installed.

A classic example of one step forward and two steps back. Microsoft has seemingly abandoned their new aspects to sharing games and fallen completely back on the old, instead of a mix of the pros of both. Not exactly the best situation, but at least it has put to rest some of the negative press they have been getting.
This is proof that just like the changes they have been making with Windows 8, Microsoft just does not get it. They seem to just half listen to consumer feedback at times. Still awhile yet till November though, so there is still time for changes to be made.