Lots of contradictions going around as to how used games can happen on the new Xbox One. This is a subject close to my heart and mind, as well as many others. The confusion here lies with the lack of actual real finalized information, but that's not the fault of the people reporting it, it's the fault of the company that can't seem to stay on message.
Here's a step-by-step synopsis of how these things are supposedly going to work:
1: You buy a shiny new game, most likely Call of Duty Ghosts, since that's... yeah. Whatever. You push it into that slot-loading drive. It begins to install the game itself to the internal HDD.
Personally, I'm fine with this. Installing games for consoles isn't really a new thing, and you can supposedly play them as they are installing. Storage space is an issue, of course, but 500GB is decent by console standards. As long as you can delete game data off of it, it shouldn't be too big a hassle.
2: As the game is installing, before you can play it, you must enter a one-time activation code that ties that copy of the game to your Xbox Live account. After that, you don't even need the disc itself anymore, just a semi-regular connection to the internet.
I can see the logic behind this, but it's still a bad idea. A majority of the country doesn't have what could be considered "regular internet access," not to mention the crappy ISPs who love to cut access for funsies. Also, DISPOSABLE BLU-RAYS BECAUSE MS CARES ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT BUT REALLY NO SERIOUSLY THROW THOSE DAMN THINGS IN THE GARBAGE.
3: Weeks or months later, you decide you are bored with this stupid shooting game. So you (apparently) have a choice: take it in to a Gamestop (or whatever) and trade it in, or (somehow, specifics are non-existent) trade it in digitally over Xbox Live, gaining... some form of reward, maybe.
As you may be aware, this last one is where much of the confusion comes in. If there's a one-time activation code, how can one trade the disc in to a retail shop? How would MS even know that you've done it? And the poor person buying the used copy from said Gamestop: how do they play the game without the activation code? The only thing I can think of is a partnership with retailers (maybe in the form of a "key generator"), but no one's even whispered about anything like that at ALL. All this comes down to is an attack on used game markets and an implementation of some weird DRM.
Another question: say you want to bring that sweet, sweet new Forza game over to a pal's place, play it there? Well there are two options, the primary being you can bring your disc over there and sign in to your account on their device. Not unreasonable, though there's no confirmed limit as to how many consoles you can be simultaneously signed into at any given time (if it even allows more than one, for instance). The other option is somewhat more likely: you lend your disc to the aforementioned buddy, then go about your merry life, eating tacos and (potentially, anyway) having sexual relations. Your buddy puts the game into their console, and is prompted for an activation code. Since he doesn't have one (you already used it, remember?) they are then prompted to pay FULL MSRP (that's the full $60 price tag for those of you not knowing what that term means) if they want to play the game. So they're basically paying full retail price for "renting" a game from a friend. Granted, they get all the "benefits" of ownership of the game: account ties, disc-less play, etc, but if someone is only borrowing to see if they enjoy the game or not, that's not a great way to go about it.
Some of you will cry "That'sh what DEMOSH are for, jerkfacesh," in your whiny, lispy voices, and I would agree with you, but demos are a rare thing these days; developers can't justify the cost of making one (and yes there is a significant cost; it's not just "cutting out" a chunk of the game and wrapping it up) since they don't bring in as much in the way of "extra" sales.
More of you may say "If you want your friend to play it, then you should GO TO THEIR PLACE AND SIGN IN, OR MAYBE GIVE THEM YOUR ACCOUNT PASSWORD." Again, this would make sense, if one was not conscious of how BAD an idea that is. I know you trust your friends and all, but it is really unsafe to do that, with ANY account. If they're devices you own, that's usually alright, as long as you change the passwords regularly. But devices you don't own, or have regular access to should NEVER have your account information saved on them, EVER. Again, NEVER EVER EVER. It's just asking for something to get compromised. It's fairly common sense, which is why it's surprising that Microsoft is encouraging folks to do just that. Wait, did I say surprising? I meant NOT SURPRISING AT ALL.
What if your friend has a console, but for whatever reason - no wi-fi, not enough cables, evil assbutt parents - no regular internet access? No borrowed (or whatever) gaming for you, my friend. That means you'd have to bring your friend to your own place. Not a terrible idea, but not always a viable one. You might have to share the aforementioned tacos or sexual relations, which is... just... not a fun afternoon.
A lot of these confusions and contradictions would be disrupted if Microsoft would just come out and actually say what the actual deal is. Instead, they let people just say things, and instead of clarifying, they fire off a "we'll talk more about that later" brush-off. Not smart, especially in this day and age of Twitter, Facebook, and, well, the goddamned Internet. People have been asking about this stuff, specifically, for months. If Microsoft didn't have a clear answer to give, then they should've waitied to announce until they did. Giving incomplete information, especially when the missing info is what most people actually want to know about, is just bad PR. Ask Sony. Their conference was mostly well set up, had good solid info, and a pretty clear message after the fact, but lots of people went "DURR WHERE'S THE BOX HUUUR."
Not surprisingly, none of this stuff was covered in the reveal event itself. Adam Sessler even tweeted that the enthusiasm at the event was a little disingenuous. It served the purpose of getting the core of the hardware specs (mostly) out into the public, showing off the interesting (but frankly fluff) TV controlling and multitasking features, and the media hub stuff. Games were almost an afterthought; games themselves weren't mentioned until over half an hour into the conference. And the ones they showed... weren't great.
It seems obvious to me that they stuck to the stuff that sells well on Xbox consoles: EA Sports stuff, Forza, and Call of Duty. Aside from Halo (which did get a bit of a mention in the form of a TV show) those are probably the most visible names Xbox has to offer (Gears of War notwithstanding). It's a clear strategy, but not a very exciting one, particularly for core gamers, who are typically looking for new stuff to consume fairly regularly. This particular "reveal" strategy focused on franchised that both A) are annual and B) sell well across most demographics. The result is that this "new" machine feels almost exactly like the old one, in terms of gaming, which is what the majority of folks are going to buy it for. Sony at least tried; in fact, most of their games announcements (which were touched on early with demos and lasted the majority of the conference) were new IPs. Microsoft announced that they were working on 15 exclusive Xbox One games, 8 of which were new IPs, but they were nowhere to be seen, aside from a thoroughly confusing trailer for Quantum Break. If they're all going to be released within the next 12 months, today would've been the perfect time to announce or tease them. As a result, the conference (and by extension, maybe the console itself) felt rushed and incomplete.
Most of what's going to decide the validity of these systems is going to depend on their respective showings at E3. With games being the core of that convention in general, it'll be a decent opportunity for more information, clarification, and actual games to get shown off. (Or, in Sony's case, an actual console box thingy.) Sony has a lot to prove given their rough start with the PS3, but with their changing attitudes and focus on actual gaming features, they're in a better position than Microsoft is right now in the "battle" for core gamers. Microsoft is in Sony's position from last gen - the clear winner of this last generation, going into the next with more than a little smugness and "we can do whatever the fuck we want" attitude. If they're not careful, they'll end up where Sony was this last gen, too: fighting hard for second place. (Wait, they're going up against the Wii U? Nevermind. Second place is pretty much a given.)
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