Microsoft introduced us all to the Xbox One yesterday – and they opened a can of worms when it comes to pre-owned/ used games.
About the only way to put it is… confusion reigns.
Microsoft said yesterday at the Xbox One unveiling that the console will provide support to used games, but a fee would have to be paid by those who want to experience the game’s pre-owned version.
Phil Harrison, a corporate vice president of Microsoft, took several stabs at explaining the way this would work to Tom Bramer at Eurogamer.
His last attempt made some sense.
In essence, it appears that games titles will be tied to a user’s profile. A user will be able to use their game on their own system – or on other user’s system, if they log in under their own name.
If another user borrows the disc and installs the game on their own Xbox One, they will have to pay for the game before they can save any of it under their own profile/username.
That sounds reasonable…. oh, but what happens when you get to the used game market?
“We will have a system where you can take that digital content and trade a previously played game at a retail store,” Harrison told Bramer. “We’re not announcing the details of that today, but we will have announced in due course.”
And that sounds… well, we don’t know yet. But it does sounds that there may be some changes when it comes to how we will be buying/trading used Xbox One games. At least they are entertaining the idea of doing that. Unlike, say, Amazon…. where if you buy a Kindle book, it’s your’s for life. There’s no selling or trading it to another user like you would with a regular book.
What do you think of what we know so far about th eXbox One and the way it will handle game licensing?
Let us know in the comments section below!
Have A Question? Ask Jessica!
-
Jessica: Hi, I'm Jessica, the Consumer Press AI, can I help you with a consumer question?
