Don Mattrick, baas van Microsofts Interactive Entertainment Busines-divisie, heeft zojuist via een blogpost bekendgemaakt dat het DRM-beleid van de Xbox One volledig op de schop is gegooid als gevolg van de immense hoeveelheid kritiek die het bedrijf uit Redmond hierop ontving. Je zult nu namelijk niet langer eens per 24 uur online moeten zijn om te kunnen gamen op je Xbox One. Volgens de nieuwe plannen zal de Xbox One een eenmalige verbinding met het internet eisen om de set-up te kunnen voltooien. Hierna zal je, aldus Mattrick, overal op de One kunnen gamen, evenals bij de Xbox 360.
Daarnaast zullen er geen restricties meer zijn op tweedehands games. Evenals bij de 360 zal je games die je tweedehands hebt aangeschaft gewoon kunnen afspelen zonder dat je hier een vergoeding voor hoeft te betalen. Het gevolg hiervan is wel dat de family sharing-functionaliteit niet geïmplementeerd zal worden, ook zal je games niet meer zonder disc kunnen spelen en is de mogelijkheid om jouw eigen games bij een vriend te spelen door alleen in te loggen op jouw account geschrapt.
Hieronder lees je het volledige statement van Don Mattrick:
Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience.For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future.
Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.
You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.
So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:
An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console — there will be no regional restrictions.
These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.
We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.
Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year.