Xbox One Used Games Policy Possibly Explained Through Reddit

VGR: Theataraxian posted a visual aid to how he believes the Xbox One used game policy will work. It seems logical and if true would screw Gamestop in the process, so I don’t see an issue. I just hope that Sony reveals more information soon, because if they aren’t careful they will receive a wave of backlash by angry internet nerds for no reason as well.

[boybato]

Jesus why use names such as Snoo and Soon when you could just use Bob and Joe. lol

Edit: As if Xbox Done hasn't make it more complicated.

[Muerte2494]

agreeing or disagreeing with you. If the used policy works as it's described in the article, then this isn't all that bad. It's a bit complicated but, apparently, you can let your friend can borrow your copy. What will happen is they then remove the game from your account and then associate with your friends account. The same game cannot be played at the same time on two different (main)accounts.

I can see two things happening with this

*A* Gamestop will definitely have to give you more for your trade-ins to prevent you from selling it to another bidder

*B* Getting your account hacked will have hasher ramifications. They can sell your game code and remove it from your game library. Forcing you to repurchase a game you already bought.

[jc48573]

not bad for those that buy them new only. It makes it even more complicated because the games are directly linked to your account now, so what happens when they decide to take the service down? Will I have a functioning console to play my hard bought games? I mean, this is the online only thing that people are concerned about. What's the point of buying xbozone realizing something is dead wrong?

[Soldierone]

Still begs the question.

What if we have a family, some people do this so bare with me, and more than one person in this family wants to play the same game. So these people both have accounts on the same Xbox in the same house, what happens then? Does person one need to "deactivate" and person two "activates" just to play the game?

I don't have an issue with not playing at the same time. That makes sense, you can't do that now, so who cares. However this system is in place to block something, and I want to know what it is. Can a game only be activated so many times? If not, then how is it restricting Gamestop at all?

[denawayne]

@soldierone - MS already said that every profile on the system the game is installed can play the game.

[xxV0rschlaghammer]

I think Gamestop and MAJOR retailers that sell used games now will most likely have a system in place whereby they place the game you trade-in to them into a machine that connects to MS's servers and deactivates the game from all accounts. Makes sense to me, if you think about it Gamestop was investing a bunch of money in trading DLC and digital content which this makes sense as it's basically one in the same with this.

The other thing thats far-fetched but I'd like to believe would be that maybe, just maybe DLC will be linked to the game discs as well as accounts, so say someone trades a game in with a season pass or some sort of DLC downloaded for it that it will transfer with the game thus maybe increasing trade values/etc, but thats just a pipe dream most likely.

I think MS will get a cut of every used game sale though, especially if they go with the route I think they will with some sort of way to deactivate the game in store. Whether it'll be enough to affect trade-in values and used prices remains to be seen.

[theBAWSE]

Complete and utter bullshit senior MD's have already stated if someone wants to play the game on THEIR account they gotta pay the fee of the game which conveniently goes to ms. If the average Joe can understand why can't these supposed journalists

[Soldierone]

@denaywayne

Okay, now what about families with multiple Xbox's in the house? You know, two brothers. Parents and kids, separate rooms etc....

[Darrius Cole]

@Muerte2494

I don't think that the policy works as described in the article. Once the second user installs the game then the system prompts him to pay a fee, which is the cost of the full price of the game.

If it worked as it is described in the article then the internet wouldn't be going ape-$#!+.

P.S.

Microsoft is going to be vague on the issue until AFTER E3 because they don't want the gamers to know. They want their faithful Xbox live subscribers to fall into the trap. So they are not going to give any clarity by E3 because the media machine would broadcast it to the heavens and ruin their strategy.

[BlindGuardian]

that's wrong, in particular the part when it says that the game is removed from the first account when oit's installed on a second

THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS

the games will be installed on both consoles but only playable from one profile, when the games returns to the original owner it will still be installed, and the friend won't be able to play it unless he buys it from the online store

[indysurfn]

I think the simular names for confusion was on purpose. Okay I will now be a Sony fanboy! The fact that Microsoft HAS a used game policy is restrictive. Right now I have FULL freedom. So am I to wait and see if they are giving me MORE then full freedom, even though they are NOT announcing it yet? NO! OBVIOUSLY they are going to bend us ALL over and are hoping Sony is in on it! Plus if you require me to be online to watch tv BLANK YOU! That add another and WORSE restriction then I was already dreadding. I was worrying about used games, and being required to be online to play a game. Now on TOP of that I cant even watch tv if I'm not online? HELLO! HELLO! BLANK MICROSOFT and any cable/satellite carrier that supports them! TALK ABOUT GETTING BUNDLED! Now even your games will be bundle except it will be a REQUIRED BUNDLE! Thang they DO bundle everything! Forget those $200 cable bills its 450$ now! And oh yeah why would I want to be forced to go to a store(that they approve to boot). How about I can sell my game to a buddy instead of getting ripped off by a store. Or give it to a nephew? They are not READY to give details? It is already restrictive!

[showtimefolks]

It seems logical and if true would screw Gamestop in the process, so I don’t see an issue.

you don't see the issue ok here i will explain since you seem quite a dumb ass

Unless Valve is running steam on these consoles i don't trust any of them with digital entertainment, when you leave it up to console makers they will charge you whatever they want.

you walk into a bestbuy or gamestop trade in your game and buy a brand new game, that won't be allowed

its not screwing gamestop its screwing the gamers, right now my copy of uncharted can be played by any of my friends and if a company wants to block that than i won't support them, i hope/pray MS goes through with this because they will be out of gaming business in a very short time.

this is signing your own death wish

[fermcr]

Don't like the names they used (Snoo and Soon), but actually... that image is starting to shed some light on the used games market scheme.

You have a game and lend it to a friend, he installs it and has 2 options:

- buys the game for his account and plays.

- or doesn't buy the game and installs and plays it (witch will remove the game from your library). When he returns the game, you can re-add it to your account.

To summarize, both of you can't play the same copy of the game at the same time, unless one of you buys another copy.

[PSVita]

This can't be how it works because if you sold your game to GameStop you'd still have it on your HDD until someone bought it and installed it to there system. Plus publisher still aren't getting money.... Right?

[1OddWorld]

This isn't correct. There is no image of the publisher of the game getting money when you give your old game to a friend who didn't actually pay to play their game.

EVERYONE MUST PAY TO PLAY!!!

Not an issue for me I play demo on Gaikai and if I like the game I either download it direct, or go buy a new physical copy. I keep my games and I never share because I hate people.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

"[...] because I hate people."

You must be such a delight to be around. ¬¬'

[Darrius Cole]

Ah yes, but he doesn't have to share his games because he owns them.

See what rights you get from owning something.

[r21]

Sooo owners who bought used games have to still pay to play the said game? Wonderful, offline passes.

[xPhearR3dx]

If these images are correct, then no, you're wrong. We can install games to the 360 now, but it requires the disc. Where on Xbox One, you install the game and don't need the disc. So to prevent people from buying and sharing one game. That specific copy can only be activated on one account. So if you let your friend borrow the game, you still have it installed on your Xbox, but you can't play until you have the disc again.

BUT, you can get the disc back from your friend, and instead of he/she running out to the store and purchasing it, he/she can pay a "fee" to unlock the game to be used on their account. Therefor no need to install or need a disc, it's already there for you to use.

Now. If what I typed above is 100% accurate. This is a VERY good thing and convient for people who don't care to own physical copies of games. Which means MS VERY poorly explained it.

However, if what I said isn't correct and that "fee" is to allow you to play used games instead of deactivating it on someone else's account. That's pure BS.

[r21]

So still offline passes then? You cant access the disc's content until you either pay the fee(offline pass) or use your buddy's account which you activated the disc. So what way was i wrong?

[xPhearR3dx]

No you're not understanding. If your friend has the disc, the game activates on THEIR profile and deactivated on YOUR profile. Meaning, your friend can play the game all he wants just like you can now if you let your friend borrow a 360 game. BUT if you get your game back, and put it in your Xbox, it reactivates on YOUR profile and deactivates on HIS profile.

So if your friend wants to continue playing the game, you'll need to give him the disc again, or he can pay a "fee" to unlock it and own it without the need to go to the store or download anything.

[Foxhound922]

Sounds like a complicated mess to me

[torchic]

I highly doubt it's as complicated as it seems right now.

a lot of what we're hearing about how this will operate is based on many different vague statements from Microsoft people being fused together.

Microsoft know what the whole process is, they definitely know what's up, they just won't tell us.

I personally don't think it works the way it does in the pic. from what I've been reading and hearing, your friend who has just borrowed a copy of Battlefield 4 from you has the ability to take the disc and install it on his X1, but then would be prompted to pay a fee to actually start the game (activation).

once you buy your own copy of Battlefield 4, it is 100% linked to your account and whoever wants to play it on their account would have to pay.

I don't mind used game blocks, but what I do mind is the fact that you can't borrow/lend games with friends.

[bratman]

"I don't mind used game blocks, but what I do mind is the fact that you can't borrow/lend games with friends."

that's the same thing :/

You lending/borrowing a game that has already been played by you or someone else is a Used game.

[swishersweets20031]

the picture is wrong, in order to loan your friend a game and not have them pay the full retail fee, you have to give your friend your game sign in and password and let him log in as you. At the same time you go home and cant log into your xbox under your account..

you can spin this anyway you want the facts are clear they are going to rape your wallet :p

[boybato]

bu bu but account sharing is against Lives TOS. lol

[denawayne]

Not true at all. One activated license on one account at a time. I play a game, finish it, give it to you, you download it and activate to your account, it deletes from my account. That way it can't be passed to 500 people and they all can play at same time unless they purchase a license.

[1OddWorld]

If you purchased the game new your wallet isn't being raped. If you are getting the game from a friend and then having to pay a fee to play it on your console then you are still not being raped. Paying to play a game that you want to play is just fair. Getting your wallet raped is when they sell you DLC that should have been in the game in the first place, or make you pay to play online.

[KILAfrmMANILA89]

If this is the way they're doing it, I don't see why it's a problem. That is almost exactly how discs work.

[MJ23007]

MS XBOX one process flow should just show bill gates bending us over while holding a used copy of halo....

[NoobJobz]

This makes more sense. I hope it's like this instead of what has been speculated.

[denawayne]

I believe games will be able to be played offline, also. They just won't download onto hard drive. They will play directly from the disk.

[SexyGamerDude]

They said that there are forced installs. They force you to install the game.

[paranoid1971]

see item 3
http://www.forbes.com/sites...

[SexyGamerDude]

What I don't understand is why would MS try to screw over GameStop?

Microsoft "Your second hand services won't be needed"

Gamestop "Oh yeah? Well your console won't be sold here"

Why would they want to p*ss off one of the leading sellers of video games?

[denawayne]

Why couldn't you sell it to Gamestop? They activate your game to their in house account, it deletes from your hard drive, and then they can turn around and sell the license to the next guy.

[SexyGamerDude]

MS is coming up with their own way for users to trade, and it doesn't include GameStop.

[bomboclaat_gamer]

thanks for clearing this up
this is the same as having the game anyway. you cant play a game you dont have right?

all this does is prevent the same game from running on 2 xbox ones at the same time, which is the same as we have now. YOU CANT PLAY ONE DISC IN 2 PS3s CURRENTLY. SO HOW THE HELL IS THIS DIFFERENT.

if you didnt understand that then you are just stupid or in denial. this is good to prevent wearing away of the dics. i like it

[badkolo]

its not different but the one thing that is different is now you cant give your game to anyone , becuase once they link it to there account they have to pay full price,

[bomboclaat_gamer]

yes you can give the game away
it clearly says once the other person installs it on his xbox, it automatically uninstalls from the original xbox that it was on

why is that so hard to follow?
no one has to pay anything.

let me dumb it down for you:
i bought BF4 and installed it on my xbox one

i finished it and gave it to you

you installed it

it automatically deactivates on my xbox 360 and activates on your xbox

you give me back the disc when you are done with it then it reactivates on my xbox and deactivates on your xbox

if you want your own copy you still have to buy it anyway. how is this so hard to follow?

[paranoid1971]

@ Bomboclaat_gamer.
But it does'nt work like that.
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

[Swiftfox]

This is a theory created by a reddit user—one person's idea on what they system might or could be like. This is not a Microsoft employee, nor is he affiliated with Microsoft in any way. I would advise you and others to stick with official Microsoft statements--otherwise this user's post will be quoted as truth instead of theory.

I truly wish this user hadn't done this—it will simply add to a confusion for others.

[badkolo]

the one thing that sucks is what if i want to give the game to a friend, even if deactivate it he still has to pay full price for the game to use it under his account, so while the trading thing isnt a isue for me, not being able to give a game i paid for to a friend or cousin or anyone on a diufferent console and they have to pay full price, thats wrong.

[bomboclaat_gamer]

no true. go read the reddit post properly
its so simply laid out

im surprised how people are so hard to understand something so simple

[ceed911]

I'm afraid they are trying not to understand it, so they can still feel outraged.

[torchic]

the Reddit user is not an affiliate of Microsoft.

he's just a random dude like you and me so there is no wrong answer.

in one of Microsoft's statements, they clearly say that people can take a game from a friend and install it on their X1 but to actually play it, some form of activation would be needed, this could be a fee (the price of a full game, a small initial fee, who knows) and I think that's where

think about it, if it was that simple and not much of a big deal Microsoft would've come out at flat out said it.

[paranoid1971]

The games are locked to your account/profile. You can play the game on any system as long as you are logged in with your profile. If you want to play on a different system with a different profile you have to pay.
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

[badkolo]

bombcat that is not true, just watched the video were he says if you give the game to someone and they use it on their console they have to pay, you cant give games away

[badkolo]

http://n4g.com/news/1263124...

watch the video, if you give your game to anyone else, when they install it they have to tie it to there account and pay.

so no you cant give games away.

you can play the game on other consoles logging into your account, but once you deactivate it and give it to anyone or trade it in, they have to pay

[KingKevo]

I think they explained it like this. If Snoo can bring the game over to his friend Soon's house and they can play together on Snoo's account (probably by using a guest account feature or something. But if Soon wants to play the game on his account, he would have to buy a license (full price if the game is recent).

Personal addition: Snoo could also just create an account on Soon console, but he'd probably not be able to use his account if the account is already logged in on another console and MS will also know what's going on using Kinect to identify that the person playing on Snoo's account is in fact Soon and the'y log him out. The posibility discribed in the picture could also be true, but MS didn't tell us anything about that, did they?

But gosh, I didn't plan to buy an Xbox at launch (never had one btw), but now I'm not planning on buying ONE (lol?) at all.

[grassyknoll]

You can bet your life their be a limit on activations on consoles with your profile. There's no way Microsoft will allow you to do it indefinitely. Don't buy into this anti consumer bullshit. Anyone who buys this when there's competitors & PC needs their hand examining.

[iistuii]

Do you all really think this will only be an Xbox thing ?. I mean EA took away the online code last week because they knew this was happening. I will be very surprised if this isn't the norm in console games now.its not stopping you playing used, you have to pay a fee, just like the old EA pass, & I can't see that being just Microsoft doing it.