Report: All Xbox One games must be installed, secondhand players must pay fee (Update) (original) (raw)
Xbox One may support used games
May 21, 2013, 6:32 PM UTC
All games for Microsoft's Xbox One must first be installed onto the console's HDD before they can be played, according to a report from Wired.
Wired reports that game discs must first be installed onto the Xbox One and, if owners want to use the disc with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc. This suggests that, once installed, games may no longer require their discs.
It is unclear whether this means Xbox One will support used games and what this means for users who rent games or lend them to friends.
Current-gen consoles like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 support used games, which make up a significant portion of retail game sales.
While competitor Sony is yet to confirm whether the PlayStation 4 will support used games, its VP of Worldwide Studios, Michael Denny told CVG back in February that it would "do the right thing" by consumers, saying that Sony understands that it's a "massively important issue" and it would be considering the wants of both gamers and game makers.
Update: A Microsoft spokesperson tells Polygon that used games will indeed be supported by the Xbox One.
"Xbox One’s support for used games and these other scenarios may not look like they have on previous console generations, and that’s what we’ll be explaining as soon as we’re able," the spokesperson said.
According to an official Q&A, the Xbox One is being designed to "enable customers to trade in and resell games. We'll have more details to share later."
Update 2: One of Xbox's support Twitter accounts recently responded to concerns over the Wired report, stating that there were no fees associated with Xbox One's used game policy.
Update 3: Microsoft has dismissed earlier reports on used-game fees as "potential scenarios."
@modronfixer No fee, correct - and they just got that information wrong. As soon as we saw, we contacted them to correct it. ^EM
— Xbox Support 3 (@XboxSupport3) May 21, 2013
The Wired article has indeed been updated to mention that Microsoft will unveil its used game policy for the One in the future; however, it still references a fee required to transfer the game over to a second party. We're still waiting to hear the official policy from Microsoft, and will update this post if and when we get answers.