Microsoft Announces Some Positive News on DRM, Used Games and Privacy

Microsoft instead of waiting for E3 has clarified on there most confusing topics, like DRM, used games, and privacy

Microsoft in a bold move came out today and clarified on there used game fees. Basically they are letting the publishers make the decision whether or not to put a fee or not. Microsoft has said that none of there owned studios will implement this fee. Microsoft has also said that games can be given to friends that have been in your friends list for at least 30 days and the game can only be traded once. Also to note you can also have up to 10 people in your "family" that can access your games and be able to play them as long as they have already been downloaded to the console. This seems to be a lot better then what we thought would happen so I am very happy to hear this straight from Microsoft. I think its clear that Microsoft isn't pushing the fees the publishers are. If the publishers are willing to push the fees its up to them which makes me wonder if Sony may be implementing a similar system. There is no need for Sony to comment on the Used games immediately sense they have almost no negative media on them but I would like to hear a defiant answer form them at E3.

Microsoft also addressed there privacy policy with there new Kinect. They said that the Kinect will only be listening to key words and not listening in on personal information.You can also determine how the Kinect will work when setting up the device. There exact words were "You are in control of what Kinect can see and hear. By design, you will determine how responsive and personalized your Xbox One is to you and your family during setup. The system will navigate you through key privacy options, like automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used. When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." It also says that while playing games you can determine whether or not the Kinect is on, paused or off. You can put the Kinect in a paused state while playing the game, while only be able to listen to "Xbox off" to turn off the system. I think this clarified what the Kinect is actually doing and it is not invading the users privacy. On the other hand I can see how some people may still be spectacle sense it will be "always on" as long as the system is on and it will be listening to you sense it has to react to the key words like "Xbox On". Some people will still be worried but clearly if they are that worried they shouldn't buy it. For me this is great news and shows that the Kinect wont be invading on anyone.

They also said that the Xbox will have to connect to the internet every 24 hours. “With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies." I kinda don't like that we are forced to connect to the internet every 24 hours. I feel this will be preventing some people from even playing there single player games sense not everyone has internet yet. I see why they are doing this but am surprised they would do it. They are blocking out a portion of there audience by demanding an internet connection. Unfortunately this is something you will just have to deal with if you want to buy the console. This just means I cant bring it to my grandmoms house because she has no internet connection yet. At least on the bright side of this you can watch TV if you cant connect! Right?

I am very happy that Microsoft decided to address there problems and come right out and give us a statement  Hopefully this clears things up with people and will start to change the perception of the Xbox One form a negative to positive. Lets hope Microsoft doesn't make similar mistakes at E3 like they did at there reveal. 

Top 5 things I hope to see at E3 this year

E3 is already less then 2 weeks away and I couldn't be more excited. There are so many things I hope to see there but I made a list of the top 5 things I hope to see this year at E3.

5) New Wii U games 

I really hope that at E3 Nintendo comes out swinging showing some of there legendary first party games. Nintendo already promises to show some games like a new Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda Wind Waker HD and Super Smash Bros which are all awesome titles but I hope to see more. A new Metriod, Pokemon ( that isn't a Pokemon rumble) Star Fox would be awesome to see. Show some more of these first party games and the Wii U will be basically flying off the shelves. Nintendo may not have a press conference at E3 but they can still dominate the hype if they announce some of there awesome titles.

4) 3DS and PS Vita games

As an owner off both portable systems I think both are awesome and full of potential. The 3DS is already in its prime, selling massive amounts of units every week. The 3DS  is a huge success because of the huge library of excellent games playable on it. Super Mario 3D Land, StarFox 64, Zelda Ocarina Of Time, Fire Emblem, I could go on and on about all the great games out for the 3DS. I still want to see a steady flow of games come out for the 3DS so I would love for Nintendo to show some upcoming games for there portable system. The PS Vita is almost the complete opposite of the 3DS at this point. Not selling well week by week and has very few games that are actually good on it. The PS Vita is defiantly off to a slow start but just like the 3DS the PS Vita can come back. I think Sony should announce a worldwide price cut and announce some strong titles for the PS Vita. Also elaborate on some of the PS Vita's cross play features for the PS4. If Sony does this I would suspect the PS Vita to make the same exact shift in sales the 3DS had after it got its price dropped. Both companies have very promising portables and I hope they get some attention this E3.

3) The Exclusive games for each console

If there's anything I hope Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo focus on at E3 its there exclusive titles for there console. This is especially important for Sony and Microsoft because they have to convince people to buy there console. Microsoft already promises 15 exclusive games coming to the Xbox One and says there E3 press conference is all about games, so I defiantly expect for Microsoft to be all about the games especially after its disappointing reveal. Sony also needs to show some strong exclusive titles also. I doubt Sony will let Microsoft out play them at exclusives sense Sony has the most first party developers so I expect to see a lot from them too. Nintendo also shouldn't have a problem showing some of there awesome first party games.

2) Clarification on DRM and Used games by both Sony and Microsoft

After all the confusion with the whole Xbox one and used games policy I think the first thing Microsoft needs to talk about is used games. People are confused and worried so Microsoft needs to help clarify things. Also talk about DRM. Do I have to connect to the internet or not? Its that simple just tell the consumers because right now everyone is searching for answers and not getting any. The same goes for Sony. They have been silent on there used games policy sense there press conference in February. We need answers from both companies at E3 because this confusion is only scaring people away from purchasing there consoles.

1) Next Gen Games

I want to see next gen games! At E3 last year the publishers were to scared to show any next gen games ( except for Ubisoft ) but this time there should be nothing holding them back. I want to see some of the games they were probably not allowed to show at E3 last year. I want to see more then what we all ready know I want to see some surprises, something that hasn't been revealed yet. The next gen games are going to be the thing that makes us want to buy the next gen console so I expect them to be great. I cant wait to see what each company has in store for us in the upcoming year.

That is the top 5 things I want to see at E3 this year. There was more things I want to see like some talk about indie games and next gen console's features but these were my top 5. I know for sure that E3 will be awesome this year!