xbox one – Techdirt (original) (raw)

Stories filed under: "xbox one"

Oops: Xbox Advertisement Results In Aaron Paul Turning On Your Console

from the reaching-through-the-screen dept

We talk a lot about what advertisements in our age are supposed to be and do, as well as what they aren’t supposed to be or do. Ads should be content, fun and engaging content wherever possible. The less annoying an advertisement can be, the better, and attempts to pretend advertising isn’t advertising should cease immediately. And, perhaps most importantly, a good advertisment connects with its audience. Or, perhaps I should say kinects with its audience. Check out this Xbox One ad, starring Aaron Paul from The Need For A Paycheck Speed.

Sort of your everyday, run of the mill console ad, right? Well, there’s a problem that apparently whoever made this ad didn’t forsee. Remember at the beginning of the ad, when Aaron Paul says, “Xbox on!” to turn on his console with the voice activated commands? Yeah, you already know where this is going…

Recently, a thread popped up on popular game forum NeoGAF with member MrPressStart saying, “What the fuck…. Sitting here watching tv and the xbox commercial starring Aaron Paul came on. Next thing I know I am reaching for the controller to turn it off.”

Yeah, see, when we want ads to engage the viewer, we didn’t mean to suggest that the ad should have an impact on their electricity bills. To be honest, most folks aren’t super upset about this. In fact, many people out there find this every bit as hysterical as I do.

Over on Reddit (via BBC), numerous Redditors apparently experienced the same thing. “Haha, this just turned my Xbone on,” wrote larae_is_bored. “Awesome!” Redditor brownbear1992, “Aaron Paul just started my xbox. Guess I better play it now it’s on.” Another Reddit user, The_Iceman2288, added, “Him saying ‘Xbox on’ turned on my Xbox. Dammit Jesse!”

The general amusement or apathy over this aside, this does indicate how both device-makers and advertisers are going to have to account for voice activated everything moving forward. An Xbox flipping on while you’re sitting in front of the TV is one thing, but the whole voice activated thing is only going to expand, and voice activation may become something which must be accounted for in the future. Advertisers may have to worry about what they’re going to turn on and product-makers had damned well better be looking into how to protect voice-activated devices from this kind of inadvertent activation. But for now, just enjoy the thought of Jesse Pinkman turning on people’s Xbox Ones.

Filed Under: aaron paul, advertisement, voice recognition, xbox one
Companies: microsoft

Xbox One Sales Lag PS4 As Microsoft Slowly Figures Out You Can't Tell Gamers What They're Supposed To Want

from the It's-innovative-because-I-say-so dept

Fri, Feb 21st 2014 05:18am - Karl Bode

Microsoft’s Xbox One console (now affectionately referred to as the “Xbone”) obviously had a rocky start, with the company having to back away from some of their more obnoxious DRM ambitions (and admittedly a smattering of actually interesting ideas) in response to user backlash. That effectively gave them public perception issues right out of the gate as the next-generation console wars got underway. That allowed Sony to enjoy a stretch of great press simply for giving consumers what they actually wanted and they had assumed was baseline functionality (like oh, the ability to still rent games).

Unsurprisingly, the latest data from the NPD Group suggests Microsoft’s stumbles have contributed to Sony selling twice as many PlayStation 4 consoles during the month of January. That’s despite some PS4 supply constraints in North America, and the fact that Sony’s console has yet to even launch in their home country of Japan. As any good fanboy worth their salt will tell you, it’s far too early to read too much into these results. Still, there’s numerous obvious lessons here that still somehow haven’t penetrated the somewhat thick, public perception shell known to ensconce the Redmond giant.

Microsoft could probably obliterate much of Sony’s lead by simply cutting the price by 100tomatchthe100 to match the 100tomatchthe400 PS4. That, however, would require lopping off the gimmicky head known as their Kinect motion-sensing attachment, something Microsoft seems insistent on believing everybody still finds immensely innovative. Except the lion’s share of gamers (there’s always exceptions) grew bored with the concept of full-body game controls somewhere in late 2010 (or about two days after it was released). There’s also the fact that the new-but-still-gimmicky Kinect 2.0 still just doesn’t work very well for many people:

“The Kinect for the Xbox One is a sophisticated, expensive piece of equipment that adds very little to the act of playing games. I’m able to get voice commands to work around 80 percent of the time, but my wife and children have much worse luck…The system is still new, but every Xbox One owner now has a peripheral that has little reason to exist, aids their gaming in very few real ways and costs them a significant amount of money.”

You can assume Microsoft will figure this out and offer an Xbox One without a bundled Kinect — about seventy meetings, four-thousand internal e-mails, and one year from now.

Another stumble came because while Microsoft wanted the console to be the innovative heart of the television experience, the company lacked the courage or aptitude to make that actually happen. Fundamental technologies required by the audiophile set were oddly excluded, like HDMI 5.1 pass through. Microsoft also sacrificed functionality for control; omitting features available in the last generation of consoles like DLNA streaming and MP3 playback capabilities (one can only assume with the purpose of driving users away from piracy or competing services and toward Microsoft and Microsoft partner content). The Roku 3 does significantly more things on the video and music front arguably better, and it’s around $90 and the size of a bloated hockey puck.

While many of these issues can be fixed or improved upon with software updates, Microsoft may not have the aptitude to course-correct their biggest stumble: the decision to hitch their shiny, sleek, new, black spacecraft to the innovatively-skittish donkey known as the traditional cable industry.

As with the Xbox 360, Microsoft seems intent on embracing the cable industry’s “TV Everywhere” mentality, where the lion’s share of your viewing options only work if you subscribe to a particular company’s cable or broadband services (sometimes both are required). Cable executives and Microsoft think hamstringing a powerful game console into being a less functional cable box with a fractured viewing experience is the height of innovation. While Microsoft has been tinkering with original content, if the company was truly interested in embracing next-generation options they would have followed Roku’s successful lead and embraced a much broader array of “channels” and services appealing to cord cutters — like Plex.

The PlayStation 4 isn’t exempt from criticism, given it too can’t play MP3s and lacks DLNA streaming support also courtesy of anti-piracy myopia, but at least it’s a console that appears to understand what it is, and Sony’s intentions aren’t buried under quite as many layers of assumptions and demands as to what consumers are supposed to desire. These consoles have an immensely-long life cycle and an ocean of updates will change them immeasurably over the next decade for better or worse; I have no doubt Microsoft can manage to keep the Xbox One in the contention if not beyond (competition is useful like that). But Microsoft would certainly take things a long way if they would stop telling consumers want they’re supposed to want — and actually deliver what consumers want.

Filed Under: kinect, playstation, ps4, xbox one
Companies: microsoft, sony

Buying Positive Coverage Of The Xbox One On YouTube Is Dumb On So Many Levels

from the and-there-goes-your-credibility dept

We’ve discussed in the past how important YouTube is to gaming companies, focusing mainly on not getting over-aggressive in protecting intellectual property. Our general suggestions had been for gaming companies to invest in supporting YouTubers and building good relationships with those who promote their works.

Except when we’re advocating “investing” in YouTube videos, we didn’t mean actually investing in them by paying trusted sources to provide positive coverage of the Xbox One. Yet that’s exactly what popular YouTube channel Machinima is doing — and most folks are easily going to connect the dots from there back to Microsoft.

It began with a thread on NeoGAF that included text from an email Machinima was sending out to their partners which offered bonus CPM (cost per thousand views, the standard way advertising is priced) payments on videos covering Microsoft’s new console. Their requirements for this “promotion” in the email were already problematic, including gameplay footage from an Xbox One game, a mention of playing the game on the Xbox One console in the video, and a vague reference to following the “guidelines listed in the assignment.” Just in those lines, most journalists would find deal-killers. While the line on whether or not YouTube video makers covering games like this being journalists may be a bit blurry, there’s little doubt that thousands of YouTubers look to these folks for help on their purchasing decisions. In other words, they’re fame rests squarely on their reputations for honest reviews. Minus those reputations, these people have no following.

Which is what makes the details in those “guidelines” mentioned above so misguided.

Now here’s where we enter really sketchy territory: Ars Technica tracked down a copy of Machinima’s contract for the promotion, and there’s one line that stands out: “You may not say anything negative or disparaging about Machinima, Xbox One or any of its Games in your Campaign Video.” What’s more, these YouTubers can’t even be transparent about this arrangement, according to the contract:

“You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above. You understand that You may not post a copy of this Agreement or any terms thereof online or share them with any third party (other than a legal or financial representative). You agree that You have read the Nondisclosure Agreement (attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A”) and You understand and agree to all of terms of the Nondisclosure Agreement, which is incorporated as part of this Agreement.”

Hear that sound? That’s the sound of this entire promotion exploding with enough payload-force to also take out both the guilty and innocent Machinima video-producers. What this does is put everyone under suspicion. Given what we said about the importance of reputations above, this could be the meteor that destroys Machinima’s world.

And it isn’t just them. Even if you’re the sort to withhold judgement on Microsoft for being linked to all this (and a lonely sort it must be), a lack of a direct link doesn’t really matter. Microsoft will be under suspicion as well, assumed to have a paid arrangement for all this. That will not only make everyone suspicious of Machinima coverage of the Xbox One, but it will make folks wonder what other arrangements Microsoft may have made with other reviewers and video-producers. Now nobody will be trusted for an honest review. Oh and this doesn’t even touch on the fact that this practice (and the agreement) almost certainly violates the FTC’s disclosure rules concerning promoting products. In other words, not only could this kill some reputations, but it might also get some people into some fairly serious legal hot water.

And all because someone wanted to sneak in some paid positive coverage, which in the end will torpedo the possibility of any positive coverage. That’s not how you embrace the internet, folks…

Filed Under: buying coverage, ftc, xbox, xbox one
Companies: machinima, microsoft, youtube

Teenager Pays Hundreds Of Dollars For A Picture Of An Xbox One

from the worth-a-thousand-words? dept

In prep for writing this short piece, I was surprised to learn that apparently eBay sellers sending pictures of items, rather than the items themselves, to buyers was something that existed. It’s obviously a shady sense of humor that thinks bilking buyers out of their money this way is funny. I guess there are lots of ways it can happen, between ambiguously worded sell posts and incomplete reading by buyers. I imagine the latter is often fueled by a newly released item that is in high demand.

Such would seem to be the case with an English teenager who found out he’d paid hundreds of dollars for a picture of a new Xbox One, rather than for the console itself.

Peter Clatworthy thought he had bought one of the consoles on the auction site, but actually received a picture of one. The Post highlighted his story today, with Mr Clatworthy having now received a refund with the help of eBay.

Well, good on eBay for doing the refund, but this wasn’t just a simple matter of a jackass seller sending the picture when he or she had promised the console. The actual seller listing did indeed promise a picture, not a console.

Despite the listing stating it was a photo of an XBox One Day One edition console, Mr Clatworthy said he’d expected to receive the console as it was listed in the video games and consoles category on eBay.

He instead received the photo in the post on Monday, with it having ‘thank you for your purchase’ written on the back.

I imagine somebody did the listing as a joke and then found out someone had purchased it after obviously not reading the listing carefully. That doesn’t absolve the seller from completing the purchase process, obviously, but it does serve as a warning for all of us during this holiday shopping season. Read what you’re buying, people.

Filed Under: auctions, peter clatworthy, photograph, scams, xbox one
Companies: ebay

Microsoft Folds Again: Xbox One Will Now Work Without Kinect Enabled

from the about-face dept

Microsoft may have ditched its numbers as naming convention scheme for its consoles, but the company has been doing more one-eighties than a mildly talented snowboarder as of late. You may recall that when the Xbox One was debuted, Microsoft firmly stated that the console would require an always-on internet connection, would carry heavy restrictions on used and traded games, and would require the included Kinect to be functioning. Since that firm stance, Microsoft rolled back the internet requirement, eased up on their used games policy, and have now completed the backing-down-trifecta by removing the Kinect requirement as well.

Microsoft already stated that the Kinect doesn’t have to be powered on, but at that time, it was still required to be plugged into the Xbox One. This, of course, remains a little nerve-racking. The paranoid among us suggest that the Kinect never actually shuts off, and Microsoft could spy on us in our undies. Speaking with IGN, Xbox vice president Marc Whitten confirmed that the Xbox One will no longer require the Kinect to be plugged into the console. Yes, another Xbox One reversal.

On the one hand, yay, Microsoft is listening to their customers. On the other hand, whoever in the company thought these ideas were worth floating to the public in the first place deserves some significant time in the employment penalty box. Nothing about these endeavors was in the least bit customer-oriented and, when we’re talking about any policy that restricts that lack of customer benefit is going to be a deal-breaker.

The end result is and should be a boon for Sony, who has gone out of their way to run something of a “Sure, we’re Sony, but at least we’re not Microsoft” campaign. Rolling these policies back may be the right thing to do, but it also serves to keep what Microsoft had originally wanted in the headlines, and that’s going to turn customers towards competitors.

Filed Under: kinect, xbox one
Companies: microsoft

Microsoft Capitulates, Removes Online DRM From Xbox One

from the customers-win dept

So, remember when the Xbox One release confused the hell out of everyone and then Microsoft confirmed a bunch of hated, needless restrictions on used games and internet connection requirements? Then there was that whole thing at E3 where the crux of Sony’s presentation was, “Hey, at least we’re not Microsoft?” The backlash, as you can imagine was immensely fierce, with pissed off gamers who know inherently how important the used game market is and how stupid and insulting online requirements are.

Well, Microsoft apparently now knows it too, as they have done a serious about-face on nearly every single one of these plans. Xbox chief Don Mattrick stated on the Xbox blog:

“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.”

So, all’s well that ends well, right? Fans pushed back and Microsoft listened. Well, perhaps not. When you consider that the chief reason for the backlash was the obvious nature of restrictiveness and money-grabbing in Microsoft’s plans, I expect gamers to not be assuaged by those plans being walked back in the aftermath. The company has made it quite clear what they think of their customers and where their priorities lie. Many jilted people won’t be fooled by this new conciliatory tone.

There is a lesson to be learned here about how a company should treat its customers. Customers meaning the gamers, not the game publishers Microsoft seemed so focused on. I don’t believe they have wiped the chalkboard clean without stain with this announcement.

Filed Under: consoles, drm, used games, video games, xbox, xbox one
Companies: microsoft

Sony At E3: Look How Unlike Microsoft We Are!

from the no-connection-required dept

It has been no secret that Microsoft’s handling of the launch of their Xbox One console has been controversial at best and a complete debacle at worst. As rumors of mandatory internet connections and fees for playing used games made the unsteady transition to reality, dedicated fans of other consoles mobilized to make sure their voices were heard. Most substantial was the fanbase of the Sony Playstation, who made their wishes for a more traditional and open PS4 known. I had mentioned in that post that Sony in particular had a real opportunity on their hands, assuming they were willing to both stick up for their customers and take the issues against Microsoft head-on.

Well, to some extent, that’s exactly what they did at this year’s E3 convention, going out of their way to point out all the ways in which they are not doing things the Xbox-way.

During their Electronic Entertainment Expo press event, Sony Computer Entertainment of America president and CEO Jack Tretton says its PS4 will not restrict used games, nor will it require an online connection.

Tretton specifically noted the PS4 “won’t stop working if you haven’t authenticated within 24 hours,” a jab at the Xbox One and its requirement to perform online checks of consoles.

Now, to be sure, this isn’t a completely unambiguous stance in favor of its customers, but credit Sony for doing what many of our commenters thought they wouldn’t: seeing an opportunity in sticking up for customers and running with it. Having said that, there are still many questions surrounding whether or not the Playstation platform will simply be agnostic with used games, leaving that decision instead up to the game developers and publishers. It might seem a better thing for Sony to simply say they won’t allow the kind of used game pocket-picking that MIcrosoft is codifying, but that might be a bit too much to ask. After all, Sony needs developers for their platform, too. Besides, as long as it isn’t Sony acting in an anti-consumer way, developers that might wish to be restrictive on used games can be judged on their own individual merits. In other words, we’ll actually get to see what the market impact of anti-consumer behavior on used games is.

And if some of the reaction I’ve seen thus far is any indication, such as Sony Entertainment now being listed on Wikipedia’s list of “burn centers in the United States” after they torched Microsoft at E3, developers might begin rethinking their plans.

Filed Under: consoles, drm, e3, online connections, ps4, used games, xbox one
Companies: microsoft, sony

Reports Of Xbox One's Handling Of Used Games Mobilizes Playstation Fans

from the opportunity-is-knocking dept

We recently discussed the somewhat mishandled release announcement for Microsoft’s new gaming machine, the Xbox One. While a big part of the problem was a lack of firm answers to gamers’ questions, it’s clear that something is going to change in how the new Xbox handles used games. The rumors vary, but we know that the used games market that has existed for the past several decades is going to be altered to come under stricter control of Microsoft directly. Reception of this news has been cold, but it isn’t just Xbox fans reacting.

No, the ultimate effect of Microsoft’s actions may end up being a highly mobilized Playstation fandom and a massive opportunity for Sony if they want to grab it. You see, famousmortimer of the popular gaming message board, NeoGAF, decided to bring the wants of the customer to Sony’s attention through a simple Twitter hashtag, #PS4NoDRM.

I can say, for sure, that the past week’s PR nightmare for MS has not been lost on Sony and they, in fact, do have a used game ‘solution’ working and have been going back and forth for months on whether to use it. This past week is pushing them strongly into “Yeah, let’s not use that.”

He then suggests that readers politely tweet several high-ranking Sony executives, indicating that they want a free and open used game market, and including the aforementioned hashtag. While he later went on to say that he didn’t expect any of this to become much of a movement, that’s exactly what it became. Not only did something like 14,000 tweets with the hashtag go out across Twitter, it has become big enough that even the mainstream press is reporting on it.

The campaign has reached dozens of news sites including NBC News. Even now, people are tweeting messages with the hashtag in hopes of getting Sony’s attention.

“It’s much larger than I ever imagined,” Dodd told me this afternoon. “Honestly thought the post would go about 2 pages.” As of right now, the NeoGAF thread has 105 pages and 467,690 pageviews.

Several Sony executives have replied with encouraging tweets, suggesting that, at the very least, they’re seriously listening. And listen they should, because that isn’t just the sound of gamers typing on their keyboards ringing over the Twitterverse. It’s opportunity. Real opportunity.

Imagine what happens if Sony issues an official response to this campaign. Imagine further that this response acknowledges the fans, thanks them for all of their interest, and firmly states that, on its system, the used game market will go on unhindered. Let’s say that a company that has an unfortunate reputation on consumer rights flips the script completely in the gaming arena and positions itself as the consumer’s choice compared to Microsoft. What would the market’s reaction be? It would be huge.

Finally, if you believe that used games don’t harm game sales, but rather spur them along by creating added value, then this should represent the easiest no-lose choice in the gaming business’s history. Now let’s see if Sony hears opportunity knocking through those corporate walls.

Filed Under: drm, playstation, used video games, video games, xbox, xbox one
Companies: microsoft, sony

Xbox One Release: Tons Of Questions, Very Few Answers

from the confused dept

Unless, like me, you are looking at the release dates for the next generation of gaming consoles the way a starving hyena watches an approaching gazelle that’s been eating nothing but butter for weeks, perhaps you’re not up on all the information coming about regarding Microsoft’s next console. Actually, as I’ll discuss in a moment, even if you are paying constant attention, you probably still don’t know a whole lot for sure. See, after months and months of speculation on possible features of the next Xbox, Microsoft stupidly decided to not firmly address any of that speculation at the release event for the Xbox One. The most troublesome in terms of bad press have been rumors about online connection requirements and how used games would be handled. I say press, but perhaps I should rather say non-mainstream press, because it’s really been the smaller blogs and citizen journalists that have produced a roundly negative buzz for the Xbox One.

You would think that in a negative and uncertain climate that’s been brewing for the past several months, Microsoft would use the official release press event as a way to clear all of this up. Good answers or bad answers, it’s important that the public and the press have a firm understanding on what to expect out of the console. Aren’t we constantly told that uncertainty is four letter word in economics and business? That’s why it’s so curious that Microsoft appears to have provided very little in the way of answers and what answers it has chosen to supply have been both contradictory and confusing.

So, let’s take the two issues in order. First up is rumors about online requirements.

It turns out that the detail we were murkiest about was the one Microsoft themselves are the murkiest about. The official Microsoft party line on the day the company revealed the Xbox One: “It does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet.”

Welcome back. I say that because I assume you just spent the past fifteen minutes rereading that last sentence over and over again trying to figure out what the hell it means. As it turns out, the key word is “always.” The Xbox One will require an internet connection at certain points, but it won’t need to constantly be connected to function. So, what are those certain points? Well, nobody, including Microsoft, seems to know, which is strange of them to admit since it’s their nun-punching freaking product. Microsoft executive Phil Harrison told Kotaku that he “believes” a connection is required once every 24 hours. Oh, and possibly one is needed in order to play a new game for the first time. Also when you first use the console. The lack of finality in these answers is astounding, particularly coming from a Microsoft executive giving interviews at the release event. Imagine going to your local auto show and having a Ford Motor VP telling you how wonderful their new car is, but can’t firmly answer any questions about its motor or how many miles-per-gallon it gets?

And with the question of used games, we do no better. Harrison told one reporter:

“We will have a system where you can take that digital content and trade a previously played game at a retail store. We’re not announcing the details of that today, but we will have announced in due course.”

Then told another:

“We will have a solution—we’re not talking about it today—for you to be able to trade your previously-played games online.”

What you immediately notice is not only the lack of any specifics to one of the major questions hanging over the console like a set of rain clouds, but even these two non-answers are different. The first talks about used games being traded at retail stores, while the second seems to mention trading games online. That’d be a huge development if true, with some kind of Microsoft online trading platform threatening GameStop and other used game retailers. Speaking of which, reports are already surfacing that Microsoft is requiring agreements limited to select retailers to actually be able to buy and sell used games. If those reports are accurate, trading games will only be possible through those select retailers and the game publisher and Microsoft will take a massive cut of the transaction, leaving retailers with very little margin. The end results of this setup will be higher prices for used games and the inability for gamers to trade games with one another.

Still, as bad as that would be, Microsoft hasn’t even officially confirmed that program either. Between that uncertainty and that of online connection requirements, it’s no wonder the general public hasn’t been keen on the Xbox One release yet. There is a market, sadly, for the kind of walled gardens and restrictive requirements discussed above. Apple’s mobile devices prove that. But where Apple officially and boisterously owns those concepts, Microsoft’s opaque stance on these questions can only mute any release buzz for their new console. It’s high time the company got everyone on message.

Filed Under: always on, used games, xbox, xbox one
Companies: microsoft